Dawn on a Distant Shore (14 page)

"A most
unfortunate business," agreed Aunt Merriweather, one finger tapping on an elaborately
carved armrest. "Clearly something must be done, but it is a matter best
left to the men. William must go, of course." She barely glanced his way,
and took no note at all of Amanda's stunned expression.

"I would be very
thankful to Will if he should agree to come with us," Elizabeth agreed,
trying to catch her cousin's eye. "If Amanda can spare him. I would think
that his experience before the bench would be very useful. But I will not stay
behind, Aunt. I cannot."

"I see." But
it was clear that she saw not at all, and that she was far from being
convinced.

"Pardon me,
Elizabeth," said Mrs. Schuyler. "But while you and Lady Crofton talk,
I will find General Schuyler and inform him of the situation. He will make
suitable arrangements. I believe Captain Mudge is docked here, and there is no
better man to see you to Montréal."

"Really,"
breathed Aunt Merriweather before Elizabeth could respond with surprise or thanks.
"Pardon me, Mrs. Schuyler, but your kindness is premature. The matter is
not settled. You must agree that there is no need for my niece to make this
journey herself, if my son-in-law is willing to go. Runs-from-Bears will
accompany him; he could not want a better guide."

"I am afraid it
is not so simple," said Catherine Schuyler firmly. "If there is any chance
that Elizabeth's presence will be of use in bringing about a happy conclusion
to this situation, then she should indeed go to Montréal with the
viscount."

One thin white eyebrow
arched in disbelief. "But my dear Mrs. Schuyler, what possible use could
Elizabeth be?"

Mrs. Schuyler's placid
expression and matronly demeanor were suddenly transformed, gone with a flash
of her mild eyes. "Nathaniel is married to an Englishwoman with good
connections, and they have two new infants. This cannot hurt his cause with
Carleton--the governor is very family-minded. Beyond that, Lady Crofton, may I
point out that there is more at stake than the freedom and lives of these good
men. Perhaps you do not realize the potential repercussions."

"Repercussions?
Does she mean political repercussions? William, please explain."

He cleared his throat.
"Do you really want to concern yourself with the local politics, Lady Crofton?"

Aunt Merriweather
tapped sharply with her cane. "I am not an idiot, young man. Politics,
indeed. Simply explain."

"Very well,"
Will said, with a brief bow. "The lieutenant governor of Lower Canada-- Somerville,
you remember, is also an officer in His Majesty's army--has arrested American citizens
and charged them with spying in peacetime. It might be construed as an act of
war."

"Exactly,"
said Mrs. Schuyler. "There are men in our government who would not
hesitate to use it as an excuse to take up arms against Canada again--an event
I do not like to contemplate. If the worst should happen, and if Somerville, idiotic
man that he is, should actually hang one of them--I am sorry, Elizabeth, but we
must consider--it would be a catastrophe of larger proportions than you imagine.
General Schuyler must be informed at once. He may want to write to President Washington."

Aunt Merriweather let
out a small and awkward laugh. "Nathaniel Bonner a spy! He has not the
slightest interest in politics!"

"Aunt," said
Elizabeth, overcome by a new kind of dread. "The point is that politics may
have taken an interest in Nathaniel."

Her first thought at
the sound of howling infants was one of relief: better two hungry and angry babies
than another half hour of gentle arguing with Aunt Merriweather. Elizabeth
claimed the twins from a harried nursery maid and escaped upstairs to the room
she was to share with Hannah. They settled down to nursing quite quickly, and Elizabeth
was alone with her thoughts.

She was at least two
weeks away from Montréal, two endless weeks of travel by water and land. The
thaw was upon them; she could feel its touch in the air, in spite of the late
snow. The world would turn to mud, a sea of mud between her and Nathaniel that
she must navigate with three children. It might mean a longer route. The thought
of leaving Nathaniel and Hawkeye in gaol for even one more day was unbearable.
"What canna be changed maun be tholed," Robbie would tell her if he
were here.

Robbie had seen her
through the hardest times in the summer, when Nathaniel's life had hung in the balance
and she feared she would lose her mind with worry. And now Robbie sat in the
garrison gaol too.

A wave of exhaustion
swept over Elizabeth, and her self-control burst like a seed pod. With both
arms supporting the babies, she had not a free hand to wipe her face, and so she
lay among the pillows and wept, furious with herself for tears that could serve
no good purpose.

Some time later
Curiosity came in to stand at the foot of the bed, her hands on her hips and a
soft expression in her eyes. "My mama used to say that milk and tears flow
from the same well. You showerin' these children with both, looks like."

She leaned over Lily,
already asleep and dribbling milk, and dabbed at her with a handkerchief. Then
she did the same for Daniel, and finally she took Elizabeth's chin between her
cool fingers and turned her face up to dry it. A frown twitched at the corner
of the wide mouth, but her tone was as gentle as a lullaby as she wiped the wet
cheeks.

"Don' need to
tell me, I heard all about it. They still at it down there. Spencer is trying to
talk sense to her. The man don't look like much, but he's got a way about
him."

"He is perhaps
the only person who can convince her," Elizabeth agreed.

"What is that
name that Chingachgook gave you?"

"Bone-in-Her-Back."
Elizabeth let out a wobbly laugh. "That seems very long ago."

Curiosity turned her
face from side to side and, satisfied with her handiwork, let her go with a small
shake. "Look like backbone run in the family, all right."

"Were you
listening at the door?"

The damp handkerchief
fluttered dismissively. "You know me better. That housekeeper, now, ain't
much she don't know 'bout what goes on."

"Ah, Mrs.
Gerlach. She told stories about Nathaniel at our wedding party."

"I don't doubt
it. Mighty fond of a tale, is Sally." Curiosity eased the pillow that
supported the sleeping babies off to the side and settled them comfortably.

Elizabeth said,
"In case you are wondering, I intend to leave for Montréal in the morning,
with or without Will Spencer. General Schuyler is arranging passage with a
Captain Mudge."

Curiosity nodded.
"I expected as much. I don't suppose Merriweather will throw herself in
the road to stop us, but she won't let you go easy, either."

"Yes, well,"
Elizabeth said wearily. "You forget that I grew up arguing with her."

"She didn't much
hold with you leaving England, I reckon."

"No, she
didn't."

"And here you are
anyway."

"Yes,"
whispered Elizabeth. "Here I am. She warned me that I would regret it,
although at the time I did not realize she meant to come and see to it
personally." She managed a small smile. "I see your line of
reasoning, Curiosity. You needn't worry, her disapproval won't stop me."

"Didn't think it
would. Don't see how an army could stop you now." Curiosity wrung her handkerchief
out in fresh water from the washstand, and then put it in Elizabeth's hand.

The cool was welcome
on her flushed cheeks. "You could turn back to Paradise with Galileo, if
you wanted to. It isn't too late."

"No, child. I got
my mind set on seeing this through, and that's what I'll do."

"Good," said
Elizabeth. "It is very selfish of me, but I find that I cannot do without
you."

There was a soft
scratching at the door.

"Looks like
there's folk here feel the same way about you." Curiosity's heels tapped briskly
on her way to the door.

"That will be an
emissary of my aunt's," said Elizabeth, putting her clothing to rights.
"Sent to speak common sense to me."

Amanda's apologies for
her mother began before she was in the room. On her way to Elizabeth she paused
to embrace Curiosity, which took the older woman by surprise but left a pleased
expression on her face.

Elizabeth held out her
hands toward her cousin. "I am very glad to see you, Amanda, even if you
come bearing disagreeable messages."

Amanda was one of the
few people she truly missed since leaving England; she had been closer to
Elizabeth than to her sisters. The youngest of Aunt Merriweather's three girls
and the prettiest, she also suffered under what her mother called a nervous
disposition--a vivid imagination and a demonstratively affectionate manner,
both of which put her at a disadvantage in a household of strong-minded,
pragmatic women. Now she came to stand by Elizabeth's bedside, but her gaze was
fixed on the sleeping infants.

"Come," said
Elizabeth, and patted the bed. When Amanda had settled, she put Lily in her arms
and together they watched the baby stretch, her mouth working even in her
sleep.

Amanda's shoulders
bent into a protective bow around the baby. "You know how very fortunate
you are."

"Oh, yes. I am
very aware of my good fortune."

A soft flush crept up
Amanda's neck. When she looked at Elizabeth, there was a nerve fluttering
gently in her cheek. "Will is all I have. You will send him back to me as
soon as possible?"

"Yes,"
whispered Elizabeth. "Of course I will."

While Elizabeth
visited with Amanda and Aunt Merriweather continued negotiations with Will, Mrs.
Schuyler performed a miracle and reduced the population of her sitting room
drastically, seeing her visiting children, their families and servants off to
their own homes. Even the Hamiltons departed for the first leg of their journey
down the Hudson to their estate in New-York City. Elizabeth watched them take
leave from her window, vaguely curious about Betsy's husband, the famous
Alexander Hamilton. She mentioned his Federalist Papers to Curiosity and found
that she had read them, as she read everything that came into the judge's
possession, and was little impressed by them or their author.

"Look at
him," she snorted. "Fought in the Revolution all right, but there's a
man in love with the old ways. Making up to your aunt as if she was wearin' a
crown. Don't he put you in mind of one of them yappy ginger-haired dogs, always
worrying at a woman's heels?" At Elizabeth's shocked expression, Curiosity
sniffed. "The man famous for more than his writing. Cain't resist a lady
with a title, and always lookin' to get his belly scratched. And I'll wager
it's freckled, too."

Elizabeth might have
choked, if not for Curiosity's vigorous thumping between her shoulder blades.
"Look at him hard, now, and tell me you don't feel sorry for Betsy."

"I shan't argue
with your superior knowledge of his reputation," Elizabeth said when she
had regained her composure. She picked up her brushes in a last attempt to tame
her hair. "But right now General Schuyler is downstairs waiting to discuss
details of the journey with us, and I think it is not very wise to be
criticizing his son-in-law behind his back."

Curiosity laughed
loudly at that. "Elizabeth, you wait and see the look on Nathaniel's face
the day that Lily bring home a husband. Ain't nobody more critical of a woman's
choice than her daddy."

She picked up the gray
watered silk, the only formal gown Elizabeth had packed, and smoothed the lace.
"You go on and have your set-down with the general. He won't need me there."

Elizabeth looked up in
surprise from the unfastening of her traveling gown. "But I need you. I
depend upon your judgment. Runs-from-Bears will be there, too."

"Bears is
something special, they've known him since he was a boy. But they ain't going
to set a place for your daddy's housekeeper at their table, Elizabeth, and
don't you get no ideas about teaching them different. You just go see to
getting us to Montréal as quick as possible and I'll see to the children."

"I can hardly
believe it is almost a year ago since I saw them last," said Elizabeth. "To
think that I might have forgot my own first wedding anniversary--" And her
voice cracked as she stopped herself.

Curiosity's eyes
narrowed. "Don't you lose hope, now. No reason to believe that you won't see
Nathaniel before your anniversary come around. And this time there won't be
Richard Todd interfering."

"True enough. But
there is the small matter of George Somerville."

With a flick of her
fingers, Curiosity dismissed the lieutenant governor. Elizabeth hoped it would
be so simple.

General Schuyler's
study smelled of old paper and strong ink, tobacco and ashes in the cold hearth.
Hannah's breath hung milky in the air, but it was quiet here and there was a
deep chair by a window that looked toward the river. She stood there a moment
to watch the last of the afternoon sunshine spark rainbows from fingers of ice
that hung from the eaves. One crackled suddenly and fell to the softening snow.