He was sorry now that he hadn't taken the mint julep Rebecca had offered him, since he was thirsty. But he didn't want to run the risk of spoiling things with Allison—in case she disapproved of drinking spirits while the sun was still high in the sky.
Royal's fresh paper collar was already sticking to his neck in the heat. But he didn't dare touch it, for fear that it might fall apart with the least bit of tugging.
He never thought he would ever want a woman again. His wife, Lily Mae, had been a nagger. And frankly, rest her soul, he'd had more peace with her gone than at any time when they were married.
He guessed it was the cow that did it—the Forsyth woman calling his bluff about Daisy Belle. And when Big Caesar gave her one of his prize cows, that sort of clinched it. Whether it was an animal or a human being, Big Caesar could always tell good bloodlines.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Freemont."
The man jumped up from the settee with such force that his hat fell to the floor. "Miss Allison," he said, trying to ignore the hat sprawled at his feet.
She didn't seem to notice as he bent to pick it up. She sat down in the blue slipper chair. With those wide, serious eyes that resembled the purple haze on a soft spring morning, she looked at him and said, "The suit fits you well, Mr. Freemont. I hope you're pleased with it."
"That I am, Miss Allison. And with the quilt, too. You're a fine seamstress."
He cleared his throat as he took his place again on the settee. "You may wonder why I'm here today, Miss Allison. Well, I tell you. I like what you do so much that I've come with another request."
Before he could continue, Allison said, "That's very kind of you, Mr. Freemont. But if it's something that will take awhile, I won’t be able to help. You see, I'll be leaving here in the next day or so."
The sound of a wagon coming down the long drive forced Royal to forget his carefully rehearsed speech. Instead he blurted out, "That's exactly why I'm here, Miss Allison. Seeings you're a widow woman with a small child, your future don't look too bright. So I'm offering to marry you—to give you and Morrow a home. My house needs a woman's touch, too," he added.
Royal looked at the tastefully arranged bouquet on the tea table in front of the fireplace. "My house ain't had fresh flowers in it since Lily Mae died."
Allison attempted to disguise her surprise, but she was not successful. "I'm sorry, Mr. Freemont. I had no idea…"
When he saw Rad Meadors coming up the steps, he stood. "No need to say anything now, Miss Allison. Think it over. And I'll come back tomorrow for your answer."
He grabbed his hat. "I'll see my own way out," he said, and disappeared into the hallway.
A bemused Allison was still seated in the slipper chair as the doors opened and closed. A brief conversation between the two men was soon replaced by the sound of Royal Freemont's carriage headed back down the drive.
"What was that all about?" a curious Rad inquired, standing in the doorway of the parlor. "Royal acted as if he couldn't get away fast enough. Did I interrupt anything?"
Allison had a difficult time trying to remain serious. Rad was Royal's friend, and she was determined not to say anything to cause embarrassment, especially after Royal had been so kind to them through the winter and spring.
"As a matter of fact, you did—Mr. Freemont's marriage proposal."
Allison sailed past Rad and out of the room, then walked up the winding stairs to her room, where Flood was keeping watch over Morrow.
"Well, did the dress fit all right, Flood?"
"Oh, yes. It's a fine dress. Only I'm so used to wearin' trousers…"
"But those days are over now. You'll get used to being in dresses again."
"Maybe."
That evening, Rad was unusually quiet.
"Did you get a good price for the tobacco?" Allison finally inquired, to break the silence.
"The auction isn't until tomorrow." He frowned, and Allison made no further attempt to make conversation since he seemed to prefer the silence.
There had been no need to light the candles; for the sun was late in setting. But now the shadows invaded the room. And although Rad didn't seem to want to talk, he appeared to be in no hurry to leave the table. Allison tried not to show her impatience, even though the meal was over.
Finally, Rad stood. "That was an excellent meal, Allison."
"I'm sure Rebecca will be delighted to hear that you enjoyed it."
He left the dining room, and a few minutes later, as Allison took the dishes to the kitchen, she heard a horse gallop down the drive.
In the kitchen, while Allison and Rebecca put up the clean dishes, Rebecca said, "So what are you goin' to do, Miss Allison? You goin' to marry that Mr. Freemont?"
"No, Rebecca. You know I'm not. I don’t love him. But I wish I did. It would make things so much easier for Morrow and me."
"And when did you ever take the easy way out?"
Allison laughed. "I presume, then, that you think I should tell him no when he comes back tomorrow for his answer?"
"Not any of my business. It's up to you."
Again, Allison laughed. She could read Rebecca so well. There was no need to ask her what she thought. Her mouth, the way she held her head and stood with her arms crossed, gave her away every time. "Still, I hate to hurt his feelings."
At her words, a satisfied Rebecca turned her back to put up the kneading board. She gave a sigh of relief at Allison's intentions. But she was uneasy, too. She would have thought the major would have said something to Allison before now. Especially with just two days left. But Rebecca had done all she could. It was now up to the major.
The two left the kitchen and made their way up the stairs. "Did the major say where he was goin' tonight?" Rebecca asked, pausing at the landing where the two usually parted company.
"No, he didn't. But then I'm not surprised. And it really isn't any of our business, Rebecca."
"Good night, Miss Allison."
"Good night, Rebecca. I'll see you in the morning."
Allison went to bed, but she was restless. Morrow was restless, too, waking off and on and finally asking for a drink of water. As Allison climbed out of bed and walked into the annex to pour water from the pitcher, she saw Rad's horse from the window.
A few minutes later, the sound of the man's footsteps up the winding staircase indicated that Rad had already put the horse in the barn and come inside the house. Not really realizing that she had been staying awake and listening for his return, Allison relaxed and went to sleep.
The next day passed slowly, with the major away at the auction. All afternoon, Allison kept busy, dreading her encounter with Royal Freemont. But it was Rad who finally returned, while there had been no sign of his neighbor.
When the two sat down to dinner that evening, Royal still had not appeared. To Allison, that was a puzzling thing. Just as Rad's behavior for the past two days had also been puzzling. During the meal, he stared at Allison as if she were a total stranger and not the woman who had sat at his table these past few months and seen to the running of his house.
Finally, he got up. "Twenty minutes from now, I'd like to see you with Flood and Rebecca in my office." He didn't wait for a response from Allison, and she offered none.
"Looks like the time has come," Flood said. "And I can't say I'm sorry."
"I'll be happy to leave here, too," Allison agreed. With Morrow beside her, she allowed Flood and Rebecca to go ahead of her. By the time she appeared in the doorway, Rad Meadors had already begun to talk.
"I want to thank you for all the work you did here on Bluegrass Meadors. Without you, I doubt that it would still be standing or that we would even have a crop of tobacco to sell this year. Here are the envelopes with your pay. I hope the money will see you through the next few months until you can get home and find other work."
Rad gave the first envelope to Flood. "Thank you, Flood," he said. "You did more than your share of the work load." Then he turned to Rebecca. "The same goes for you, Reb
ecca. I'll miss your cooking."
"Thank you, Major."
Now it was Allsion's turn. With the last envelope in his hand, he walked toward her. She also waited for a thank you. But it seemed to get caught in his throat as he suddenly thrust the envelope into her hand. "This is your share, Allison."
He looked at her as if he were about to say something else. But then he abruptly turned his back and returned to his desk. "Caesar will take the three of you into Louisville first thing tomorrow morning."
The abrupt dismissal, after all her work, her constant care of the house and the herb garden, canning and preserving—and not even a thank you for all of it—made Allison furious. She picked up Morrow, to leave the room as quickly as possible, to follow Flood and Rebecca out of the man's presence.
His voice called her back.
"Yes?"
"Oh, there's one more thing, Allison.
" If you're still looking for Royal Freemont to pay you a visit, you can forget it. He's not coming."
Chapter 36
Once again in the early morning light, the soft haze swept over the meadow, giving an impressionistic view to the distant background of grass and trees and orchards. But in the foreground the features of the landscape were etched in strong, focused lines and curves—the white-graveled drive, the brown and yellow leather carriage, the impatient horse attended by Big Caesar.
Allison stood on the steps for a moment, drinking in the view like a spectator who knew she would never pass this way again. She was also a part of the picture, dressed as she was in the familiar soft gray calico with the lavender shawl over her arm. Beside her sat the shabby valise that Royal Freemont had given her as a bonus when she'd made the quilt to his liking. And at her side stood an excited Morrow, a small replica of her mother, with identical features and hair, and dressed in an identical dress made from an extra panel of material that Allison had removed when she was remaking the dress.
"Go bye-bye," Morrow said, seeing the waiting carriage.
"Yes. Soon," Allison agreed.
Coming down the backstairs, through the kitchen, and into the front hall, Flood walked slowly, carrying a bundle hoisted over her shoulder. For a moment, she stopped. Then she shored up her courage and went out to face Allison. She was wearing the same working trousers and shirt that she'd worn the day before.
When Allison saw her, she said, "Flood, I thought you were going to wear the dress I made for you."
Flood had an apologetic look on her face. "It's not that I don't appreciate what you did, Allison. It's a beautiful dress. And it fits me fine. But the truth of the matter is, I just don't feel comfortable in a dress. Guess I got so used to pretendin' I'm a man, that I hardly want to go back to bein' a woman.
"In fact, I stayed up most of the night thinkin' about what I was goin' to do." Her face grew a little redder, as if she were dreading what was coming next. "Would you be too upset, Allison, if I didn't go back with you and Rebecca?"
"What would you do, Flood? Stay here in Kentucky?"
"No. I think I'd like to go west and stake a claim in the gold-minin' area. I could do that, you know, if I kept on bein' a man. Or if that didn't work out, I could get me a little piece of land and homestead, now that I've got the hang of farmin'."
"You don’t want to go back to Roswell?"
"Well, it was like I was tellin' Madrigal one day. I couldn't get my old job back even if they were to rebuild the mill. All the jobs would more'n likely go to the men comin' home from the war. So there's nothin' left for me there."
She looked at Allison as if waiting for approval.
"You have to follow your heart, Flood. And if your heart tells you to head west, then you don't need anybody else to tell you what to do, do you?"
"But I sure would like to go knowin' I have your blessin'."
"You have it, Flood. I assure you." Allison reached over and gave Flood a hug. "Thank you for everything you did. And may the Lord bless you wherever you go."
"Thank you, Allison."
Allison brushed a tear from her eye. Trying to disguise her emotions, she said, "I wonder what's keeping Rebecca. "
"I think she went down to the orchard to pick a few apples for the journey."
"Pony. Want to see pony," Morrow begged.
Flood looked at the impatient child. "If you want to take Morrow for a walk, I'll stay here and wait for Rebecca. We'll put the things in the carriage for you and then call when Caesar is ready to leave."
"I suppose that might be best. Morrow will certainly be penned up for a long time once we start traveling."
Allison left the house and began to walk past the white fence toward the meadow where the colts were romping. The mare that Glenn had left in the livery stable in Louisville was also in the meadow, but Rad's horse was nowhere to be seen. In fact, Rad himself was nowhere in sight. Allison decided she should have been prepared for that. But somehow she wasn't.
It seemed only good manners for the man to wait and see them off. But, of course,they had been no more than hired help to him. It was only friends who saw each other off, bidding each other good-bye and godspeed. Perhaps she should be grateful that he had even thought to arrange transportation to the railway station for them.
Rad stood by the weeping willow that jutted from the creekbank into the water, and allowed the horse to drink. He couldn't understand his feelings. Particularly his anger with his friend, Royal. He had no right to be angry with him, just as he'd had no right two nights before to act like a jealous husband and tell Royal to stay away from Allison Forsyth.
Now, he had only a few minutes to decide what to do. Big Caesar was waiting for him to return from his ride before leaving for Louisville. He gazed back toward the house. Only a few minutes more and Allison would be out of his life forever—unless he acted fast.
Suddenly, Rad made up his mind. He threw his leg over the saddle and urged Bourbon Red into a gallop. As he rode across the fields, he saw the woman strolling hand in hand with the child. And in a burst of speed he headed straight toward her just as Allison turned around to walk back to the house.
"Allison, wait!" he shouted.
At first, she didn't see him because the sun was in her eyes. "Wait!" he shouted again when she continued walking.
This time she saw him, coming toward her with incredible speed. Quickly, she bent down and picked up Morrow to protect her from danger at the rapid approach of the rider.
She looked up at the large, powerful man in the saddle. His magnificent horse snorted, as if breathing fire through his nostrils, while a trail of dust obliterated the landscape. The two stood—a man and a woman, challenging each other, with their destinies suspended like the silken threads of the spider's web in the ancient oak tree, subject to the whim of the wind.
"You can't go, Allison. You know that."
His voice held a quiet strength, at odds with the pawing animal digging clumps of earth with his hoofs, while the colt, Standing Tall, as if sensing some momentous happening, took off, running parallel to the fence in a burst of energy, his speed proclaiming kinship with his sire, Bourbon Red.
"Stay here with me, Allison." Rad slid from his horse and stood before Allison, towering over her.
She was silent, forcing him to say the things he had vowed never to say to a woman. "I want you to marry me. I need you, Allison."
"To need someone is not enough."
Allison's voice was sad as she began to walk away.
"No, it isn't," Rad agreed. "But what about love? Would you stay if I told you I love you?"
Morrow struggled to get down from her mother's arms. Allison hardly noticed as the child wandered toward Rad, pulled up a dandelion, and brought it to him. "Da-da," she said, holding up the flower to him.
He stooped down, took the flower, and picked up the child. "You see, Morrow wants to stay. What do you say, Allison?"
She looked in the direction of the carriage where Rebecca was loading her valise. And she looked again at Morrow, content i
n the man's arms.
"I'm not sure I'll ever be able to love again—the way a woman should love her husband…"
"Nothing will ever be the way it should be, Allison. Ever again. The war has taken care of that. And I suppose I'll always be jealous of your captain and your love for him. But if you decide to stay, I promise to care for you and the child with as much love as he would have shown you if he had returned home from the war."
Flood and Rebecca were already seated in the carriage. Big Caesar, trying not to notice what was going on between Rad and Allison a short distance away, adjusted the reins, got down from the carriage, kicked one of the wheels, then climbed aboard again.
"Well, Allison, which is it to be?"
Her voice was so low that Rad had trouble hearing it. "If you want me to, I'll stay."
Rad, holding his breath until she gave her answer, breathed again. And there was something unfathomable in his serious eyes as he said, "Thank you, Allison. You won't ever regret it, I promise you."
"Is it all right if Rebecca stays, too?"
"Of course. We'll need her now more than ever. And Caesar will be particularly glad of that."
With Morrow still in his arms, he took Allison by the hand, and they walked together from the meadow to the waiting carriage in the driveway.
"Rebecca, may I see you for a moment?" Allison asked.
The black woman wasted no time in getting down from the carriage. And when they were nearly out of sight, Allison said, "Major Meadors has asked me to marry him."
Rebecca's white teeth were evident in the broad, satisfied smile. "It was high time. And what did you tell him?"
"I said yes, Rebecca. But that presents another problem."
"Such as ?"
"If I don't go to Savannah, then you'll be traveling by yourself. That is, if you still want to go. But I'd rather have you here with Morrow and me. You have a choice, Rebecca. What do you want to do? Stay here with me, or go back to Cypress Manor?"
It took a split second for the woman to decide. "If it's all the same to you, I'll stay and continue workin' for you. I sure don’t want to be in Miss Araminta's employ. I can tell you that."
The Roswell Women Page 26
