Riverbreeze: Part 1 (10 page)

Because the beagles were small, only nine
inches at the withers, she was able to pick each one up with one
hand. They didn’t like being taken away from the goodies on the
apron, so they squirmed and wiggled and whined, but Elizabeth kept
a firm grip on them while she held them, one on either side of her.
Evelyn quickly stripped off the apron, wadded it up, and put it in
a basket of other dirty laundry in the corner of the room.

“Thank you, but you need not worry. Maureen
and Sally are doing a fine job of setting out all the food with the
help of one of the field hands. I do not remember his name, the
poor fellow…” She said with a chuckle. “He was quite displeased at
having to work in the kitchen.” She came back from the corner and
smoothed the wrinkles out of the skirt of her gown as she seated
herself back on the edge of the bed.

Elizabeth put the dogs down and they
immediately ran to the basket, dragged the apron out and proceeded
to press their snouts into it, pushing it around to find the grease
stains again.

Elizabeth just shrugged her shoulders.
“Better on the floor than on you.” She said, not making any move to
correct the dogs.

“I should have taken it off before coming in
here.” Evelyn stated, but she didn’t make any attempt to stop the
dogs either. Then with incredulity, “There is so much food down
there! I never knew these people were so well established.”

“Papa didn’t want us to know. He wanted us to
think they all lived like savages.”

“I never understood that. I understand he was
angry at Uncle Francis, but why would he denounce the whole
colony?” Evelyn wondered.

“Maybe he was afraid one day we would leave
him as well.” Elizabeth stated simply.

“To Virginia!” Evelyn exclaimed. “I doubt we
would have even entertained the idea.”

“Unless two gentlemen had come along who
would have promised to keep us together. We may have entertained
the idea then if the gentlemen were honorable and worthy.”
Elizabeth said matter-of-factly.

Evelyn peered at Elizabeth. “Would you have
considered following a man here if he promised to keep us
together?”

“Maybe.” Elizabeth said truthfully, but was
quick to add. “But only if you were happy with the man who had
promised you the same thing. You know I would never make a decision
on my own.”

“I know.” Evelyn smiled at her sister. “And I
would never make a decision without consulting you either.”

“I know.” Elizabeth said, grabbing her
sister’s hand and squeezing it. She looked out the window again and
her voice turned thoughtful. “I’ve been watching all the people
arrive from the window. There are so many of them.”

“What’s wrong, Bess? Are you still feeling
sick?” Evelyn looked closely at her. Both of them had not felt
their best when they had arrived and had spent most of the past two
days in bed recovering from the overly long voyage.

The Atlantic crossing had taken nearly twelve
weeks, much too long for anyone’s liking. The first few weeks of
the journey had gone well enough; they had had good weather, strong
steady trade winds taking them from the English Channel down past
Portugal, landing in the Canary Islands to restock, then across the
Atlantic. After their initial fear, the girls had actually enjoyed
their allotted time out on the deck of the sturdy little ship,
their governess and their pets, beside them. But then they had hit
a storm, a raging freak late-season hurricane that had battered and
beaten the poor little boat until both the mainmast and the
mizzenmast had snapped in two like dry twigs underfoot. Six lives
had been lost: three crewman, two passengers and the girls’ beloved
governess, the one servant who had vowed to stay with them after
every other servant had been sent away.

After the storm there had been a calm period
which had allowed the crew to do whatever repairs they could, which
wasn’t much, and the girls spent the time grieving below decks, not
feeling up to anything despite the faithful company of the dogs.
They didn’t even care that the ship had to continue the journey
north up the coast of North America under the measly power of two
sails or that food had become scarce and had to be carefully
rationed, despite the catching of several large fish. They barely
had any appetite at all and only ate or drank at the encouragement
of the other caring passengers. It was only when they had finally
arrived at the mouth of the James River when the girls had started
to show some interest in their surroundings and had joined the
other passengers in prayers of thanksgiving. They had arrived alive
and well and for that alone, they praised the Lord.

Now Elizabeth sat down next to Evelyn,
fingering the skirt of her gown nervously. “No, I’m feeling fine,”
She said, looking down at her hands. Then her voice lowered to
almost a whisper. “But, I had a dream last night…” And those words
were enough to make both of them nervous. Each of them had had
dreams before that had come true and each of them had been in each
other’s dreams too.

“I know. I’m surprised you didn’t mention it
earlier. You were being kissed by your husband.” Evelyn said in a
gentle voice.

Elizabeth gaped at her sister, her eyes wide,
shock evident in her expression; but then the shock subsided. She
should have known that Evelyn would have seen this dream. “Did you
see him?” She asked in a hushed voice. They had to be very careful
sometimes; the way they talked to each other could draw
suspicion.

“Yes, but only from the back. He was tall and
he had long, blond hair that covered his shoulders like a
mane…”

Elizabeth was nodding her head. “And he was
strong; so strong.” She said with wonder. “When he held me…”

“I know.” Evelyn interrupted, sparing her
sister the need to describe what had happened next in the dream. “I
felt your response to him.”

“What!” Elizabeth exclaimed, her voice loud,
but then she quickly lowered it. “You
felt
my response? That has never happened before.”

Evelyn smiled impishly. “And you have never
been kissed by a strong, handsome husband before.”

“How do you know he was handsome?” Elizabeth
demanded. “You said you could only see him from the back!”

Evelyn laughed. “I know you, sister. You
wouldn’t do what you did in that dream if this man was not
handsome.”

Elizabeth turned a pretty shade of pink. “I
am not shallow, you know.” She said indignantly.

Evelyn hugged her, saying soothingly, “I
know, Bess, but ‘tis better if the man is handsome, is it not?”

Elizabeth couldn’t help but smile at her
sister’s teasing. “You know I haven’t seen anyone yet who resembles
the man in my dream. Do you suppose it was just a dream this
time?”

“Well,
they
haven’t
arrived yet.” Evelyn stated simply.

“They? Who?” Elizabeth looked blank.

“Our cousins, Robert and James. Maybe one of
them was the man in your dream. Didn’t Uncle Francis say they have
blond hair? And hasn’t Maureen told us more than once how handsome
they are and how all the women fall all over them?”

Elizabeth snorted. “He couldn’t be one of
them. And they’re not really our cousins. You heard what Uncle
Francis said about them. They’re just orphans he took in.”

“Why couldn’t your dream man be one of them?
And Uncle Francis didn’t say it quite like that.”

“No, he made it sound like they were the most
neglected children in all of England and they were so brave about
coming here and they worked like little soldiers and were perfect
in every way.”

Evelyn laughed at her sister, amused by her
description. “He was a little excessive in his praise, wasn’t he?
Now I’m truly curious though. What will you do if one of them is
the man in your dream?”

Elizabeth frowned, considering. “Mmm…I do not
know. I can’t just go up to him and say, ‘good afternoon, sir. I’m
Elizabeth and I dreamt you are my husband and my dreams always come
true.”

Evelyn laughed. “No, you couldn’t do that. He
probably wouldn’t believe you anyway. But if one of them is the man
in your dream, and I have a feeling that one of them is, you must
talk to him and get to know him.”

“But I fear I could not look him in the eye.
I mean, this man was naked in the dream and if he is the man…Oh
Evie, I would be so embarrassed.” She said in a whisper.

“If you like I could pretend to be you, and
you could be me, and that way you would be me when you’re talking
to him so you would be looking at him through my eyes and not
through your dream!” Evelyn suggested.

“No, no, I cannot do that to him the first
time I meet him. ‘Twouldn’t be right.”

“You’re right.” Evelyn agreed. “You should be
you the first time you meet your
husband
.”
She said, putting a suggestive emphasis on the word, husband. Then
she said, teasing Elizabeth even more. “After all, if I met him
first as you, he might like me better!”

Elizabeth gasped indignantly, but she knew
Evelyn was only kidding. Just the same, she took the bait. “We
shall see who he likes better. Come on, we are going downstairs to
meet this man of mine, whoever he is.” She stated with confidence,
having gotten over any embarrassment or shame she had been feeling
from that most revealing dream.

“Excellent!” Evelyn said excitedly, smiling
widely. “Then, if one of the brothers is the man in your dream,
then the other brother could be for me!”

Elizabeth threw her sister a shocked look,
but then slowly smiled in return, agreeing with that thought. That
would be the perfect situation for the both of them.

Now eager to meet her future husband,
Elizabeth, along with Evelyn, placed homemade harnesses on the dogs
and together they made their way to the staircase. The din of
numerous voices reached their ears, among them the familiar voices
of their cousin, Maureen, and her husband, greeting the guests and
exchanging the latest news from their respective contacts in
England. Scents of roasted meats, warm breads and yeasty ale filled
their noses and Elizabeth’s stomach grumbled, making the girls
giggle. The dogs smelled all the delicious odors as well, making
them strain at their harnesses and Elizabeth and Evelyn smiled at
each other, amused once again. The dogs could always bring a smile
to their lips.

And then with an unspoken bond that they had
shared since before birth, they reached for each other’s hand. The
small smile they shared showed their acceptance of the dream and
the contentment that came with that acceptance. They knew this day
was going to be special; they knew Elizabeth was going to meet her
future husband, and possibly Evelyn too. The dream had portended it
and whether anyone else believed it or not, they knew, without a
doubt, that their dreams always came true.

Chapter Three: Welcome Home!

Jamie was as happy as a lark. He was thrilled
that he, Robert and Robin were riding his horses through the
backcountry to the plantation of his adoptive father. They had
gotten a later start than originally planned due to Robert’s little
accident, but now that was all forgotten as Jamie led them away
from Riverbreeze through the woods from atop his precious
stallion.

Traveling through the backcountry on
horseback was not the usual way of travel; river travel being the
most practical since all plantations were on the numerous rivers
and creeks that graced this new land of Virginia, the James River
being the widest and most populated. When Jamie had seen how
painful it was for Robert to walk on his sore leg, he had naturally
suggested that they take the shallop, hiding his disappointment.
But when Robert had rejected the suggestion, Jamie’s spirits
soared. He felt like he had been waiting for this moment all his
life, this moment of transition from traveling by boat to traveling
by horseback.

Of course this didn’t mean that they would
never travel by boat again, but now they had a choice. Jamie knew
he would ride his horse whenever possible.

He led the way, following an old Indian trail
through a great forest of huge, old hickory, oak and chestnut
trees. Robert had never been this way before and Jamie had only
traveled this way recently, scouting out these old Indian trails
after hearing about them from various older planters in the region.
They could have followed the shore along the James River all the
way south to Tyler’s plantation, but with so many loops and curves,
it was easier to take a straight line further back from it. And by
traveling behind the plantations, they avoided crossing over their
neighbors’ properties.

They were well armed with pistols and hunting
knives since they knew they could encounter danger anywhere in the
colony. Everyone traveled heavily armed whether they were going to
church—in fact, a recent general law had been enacted that required
that at least one member of every family should bring with him a
fixed gun with the necessary amount of powder and shot—or to the
monthly council meeting or even to go visiting since there was a
wide variety of wild, dangerous animals that roamed the woods and
farm lands: bears, buffalo, wild boar, wolves, foxes, badgers, lynx
and bobcats. And they also never knew if there might be a stray
savage or two sneaking around, ready to strike a single Englishman
unawares.