The Endless Forest
Page 159
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“What things?” Annie said, her brow drawn down.
Anje looked at the door as if she wished she could see through it, and then she lowered her voice.
“She had hopes of one of the Sampson brothers. I think it’s hard for her to see all of you so—”
“Settled. Happy,” Susanna suggested. “I’m sorry for her loss.”
Elizabeth hadn’t thought very much about the Sampsons, and she felt a pang of guilt about that. But the three brothers had lived alone, and there had been no grieving family to look after.
Hannah said, “Which one?”
Anje looked confused.
“Which brother?” Hannah said.
“Oh,” Anje said. “I don’t know.”
“She didn’t confide in you?”
Anje lifted a shoulder. “She didn’t know herself. She would have taken any of them. She’s worried she’ll die an old maid.”
They were all quiet for a moment, because there was little to say. Ethan and Daniel and Gabriel had all married very quickly; the Sampson brothers were lost in the flood, and most of the other single men were Quakers, who married among themselves or went to Baltimore or Philadelphia to find wives.
There were no men for the younger women like Joan and her sisters to marry, which meant they must resign themselves to spinsterhood, or leave home to take up work in some bigger town. And that, in turn, meant that should one of them find a husband, she could never come back to Paradise, unless there was money to buy land.
“Ethan planned so carefully,” Hannah said.
“A few things did slip his notice,” Annie said. “And then of course one of the eligible men went and married a squaw.”
Elizabeth heard herself draw in a sharp breath. “Annie.”
The girl raised her brows. “I’m not making it up, Auntie. People say such things to me.”
“Who?” Jennet asked. “Who would dare to talk you to like that?”
Anje’s color drained away and she turned back to her work.
“It’s not important and I don’t want to say. If word got back to Gabriel—”
“Och aye,” Jennet said. “Better to avoid that.”
Simon was sound asleep, and Elizabeth took him from Hannah so she could put herself to rights.
Just at that moment the kitchen door swung open and Callie came in, a pulse fluttering in her neck and her eyes very large in her face. She said, “I can’t find Nicholas. I’ve looked everywhere.”
It took a good five minutes to settle her down and get the story, which was very simple, in the end. Callie had dozed off in the shade of the trees watching the games, and when she woke there was no sign of Nicholas anywhere.
“I checked the barn and stable and all the outbuildings,” she said. “I went over to your place, Hannah, and I checked there too.”
“But think, Callie,” Jennet said. “The boy makes friends so easily, there’s no cause for panic. Our lads go off for days at a time playing in the fort at Lake in the Clouds or exploring—”
“You’re thinking of Harper,” Martha said. “That’s what has you so worried.”
Just that simply Callie dissolved into tears. “If something happens to him, I couldn’t bear it.”
In her calmest voice, Jennet asked Callie an obvious question. “Did you see the other bairns? What did they have to say about Nicholas?”
Callie’s mouth crimped with irritation. “I wasn’t looking for them,” she said. “I was looking for Nicholas.”
There was a small silence in the room, and then Martha came forward and sat next to Callie.
“Callie,” she said. “The boy will be with the other children.”
With a studied slowness Callie raised her head and looked at Martha so coldly that Elizabeth’s throat closed for a moment.
“His name is Nicholas,” she said. “Why can’t you say his name? He’s your half brother, whether you like it or not.”
Martha closed her eyes and opened them again, and then she stood. “I’m going out to look for the children. When I find Nicholas, I’ll send him to you here.”
“There they are,” Hannah said from her spot by the window. “Don’t you hear them laughing? And Nicholas is there too. Callie? Nicholas is there.”
Callie got up and went to the door, where she hesitated for a moment. Then she turned and looked at each of them. She said, “I know what you’re thinking. You think I’m too attached to him. But he’s the only blood kin I have in the world. In my place you’d feel the same.”
Jennet said, “Callie, lass. What will you do when his mither comes to claim him?”
She heard the question, Elizabeth was sure of it, but Callie simply walked away, out of the kitchen and through the hall and front door, letting it close behind her with a sound as sharp as an axe meeting wood.
—
Despite the disconcerting episode in the kitchen, the rest of the afternoon went smoothly. Elizabeth returned to her spot under her apple tree and was glad when Martha and Susanna joined her. For a long time they spoke very little, half dozing in the shade while they listened to Jennet telling stories to the older children while Hannah and Annie finished in the kitchen. Over the next half hour they all drifted back together, sitting quietly in the shade to watch the game that ranged up and down from one goal to the other.
With a flick of his bagattaway stick Blue-Jay sent the ball flying and Gabriel leaped into the air to intercept it, as graceful as a deer. Elizabeth watched Nathaniel running, his long hair flying around him.
Anje looked at the door as if she wished she could see through it, and then she lowered her voice.
“She had hopes of one of the Sampson brothers. I think it’s hard for her to see all of you so—”
“Settled. Happy,” Susanna suggested. “I’m sorry for her loss.”
Elizabeth hadn’t thought very much about the Sampsons, and she felt a pang of guilt about that. But the three brothers had lived alone, and there had been no grieving family to look after.
Hannah said, “Which one?”
Anje looked confused.
“Which brother?” Hannah said.
“Oh,” Anje said. “I don’t know.”
“She didn’t confide in you?”
Anje lifted a shoulder. “She didn’t know herself. She would have taken any of them. She’s worried she’ll die an old maid.”
They were all quiet for a moment, because there was little to say. Ethan and Daniel and Gabriel had all married very quickly; the Sampson brothers were lost in the flood, and most of the other single men were Quakers, who married among themselves or went to Baltimore or Philadelphia to find wives.
There were no men for the younger women like Joan and her sisters to marry, which meant they must resign themselves to spinsterhood, or leave home to take up work in some bigger town. And that, in turn, meant that should one of them find a husband, she could never come back to Paradise, unless there was money to buy land.
“Ethan planned so carefully,” Hannah said.
“A few things did slip his notice,” Annie said. “And then of course one of the eligible men went and married a squaw.”
Elizabeth heard herself draw in a sharp breath. “Annie.”
The girl raised her brows. “I’m not making it up, Auntie. People say such things to me.”
“Who?” Jennet asked. “Who would dare to talk you to like that?”
Anje’s color drained away and she turned back to her work.
“It’s not important and I don’t want to say. If word got back to Gabriel—”
“Och aye,” Jennet said. “Better to avoid that.”
Simon was sound asleep, and Elizabeth took him from Hannah so she could put herself to rights.
Just at that moment the kitchen door swung open and Callie came in, a pulse fluttering in her neck and her eyes very large in her face. She said, “I can’t find Nicholas. I’ve looked everywhere.”
It took a good five minutes to settle her down and get the story, which was very simple, in the end. Callie had dozed off in the shade of the trees watching the games, and when she woke there was no sign of Nicholas anywhere.
“I checked the barn and stable and all the outbuildings,” she said. “I went over to your place, Hannah, and I checked there too.”
“But think, Callie,” Jennet said. “The boy makes friends so easily, there’s no cause for panic. Our lads go off for days at a time playing in the fort at Lake in the Clouds or exploring—”
“You’re thinking of Harper,” Martha said. “That’s what has you so worried.”
Just that simply Callie dissolved into tears. “If something happens to him, I couldn’t bear it.”
In her calmest voice, Jennet asked Callie an obvious question. “Did you see the other bairns? What did they have to say about Nicholas?”
Callie’s mouth crimped with irritation. “I wasn’t looking for them,” she said. “I was looking for Nicholas.”
There was a small silence in the room, and then Martha came forward and sat next to Callie.
“Callie,” she said. “The boy will be with the other children.”
With a studied slowness Callie raised her head and looked at Martha so coldly that Elizabeth’s throat closed for a moment.
“His name is Nicholas,” she said. “Why can’t you say his name? He’s your half brother, whether you like it or not.”
Martha closed her eyes and opened them again, and then she stood. “I’m going out to look for the children. When I find Nicholas, I’ll send him to you here.”
“There they are,” Hannah said from her spot by the window. “Don’t you hear them laughing? And Nicholas is there too. Callie? Nicholas is there.”
Callie got up and went to the door, where she hesitated for a moment. Then she turned and looked at each of them. She said, “I know what you’re thinking. You think I’m too attached to him. But he’s the only blood kin I have in the world. In my place you’d feel the same.”
Jennet said, “Callie, lass. What will you do when his mither comes to claim him?”
She heard the question, Elizabeth was sure of it, but Callie simply walked away, out of the kitchen and through the hall and front door, letting it close behind her with a sound as sharp as an axe meeting wood.
—
Despite the disconcerting episode in the kitchen, the rest of the afternoon went smoothly. Elizabeth returned to her spot under her apple tree and was glad when Martha and Susanna joined her. For a long time they spoke very little, half dozing in the shade while they listened to Jennet telling stories to the older children while Hannah and Annie finished in the kitchen. Over the next half hour they all drifted back together, sitting quietly in the shade to watch the game that ranged up and down from one goal to the other.
With a flick of his bagattaway stick Blue-Jay sent the ball flying and Gabriel leaped into the air to intercept it, as graceful as a deer. Elizabeth watched Nathaniel running, his long hair flying around him.
