Riverbreeze: Part 2 (44 page)

* * *

It was five hours later when Robert finally arrived back home. He had politely eaten breakfast with the Archers, but had hardly tasted the food. He had never taken his eyes off of Robin, who had been settled on a pallet on the floor, watching for any signs of distress from him. And then as soon as the temperature seemed warm enough, Robert had immediately gathered Robin up in his arms and taken his leave. At that point, he couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

Surprisingly Jamie met him at their dock, welcoming him with an enthusiastic wave. He had been passing the time carving a small horse out of cherry wood for Robin and now he sheathed his small knife and tucked the horse into his coat. “Thank God you’re back!” He called out. “We’ve been worried sick. What happened? Is Robin all right?”

“At least let me get out of the boat before you bombard me with questions!” Robert griped. He steered the craft towards the shore and hoped the sudden jarring of the canoe when it hit land wouldn’t disturb Robin. But the syrup was still working its magic and Robin never stirred.

“Sorry.” Jamie said, grabbing the front of the boat. Robert jumped out with a splash in the shallow water and the two of them pulled it further ashore.

“What are you doing here?” Robert asked. “Shouldn’t you be working?” Jamie raised an eyebrow at his brother. “No.” He straightened, putting his hands on his hips. “I thought I would meet you since I just finished all my work. I mucked out the barn, then fed and watered and exercised the horses. Then I cleaned and shaved their hooves. And I located the kine on one of my rides and checked on the goats. The boys are chopping wood and the women have been doing laundry all day so I decided to come down here and wait for you.”

“Oh.” Robert said, bending to pick up Robin from the bottom of the canoe. He winced a little at the continuous pain from the burns on his palms.

“What happened to your hands?” Jamie asked, eyeing Robert’s bandaged hands. Robert had finally allowed Phillip to bandage them, knowing he would need some protection when holding the paddle. “Do you need any help with him?” Jamie said softly, anxiously eyeing the unresponsive boy.

“Thanks, but I’d rather carry him myself.” Robert said, but then added, “But you could get my pistol and that sack of salted beef Maureen gave me.”

“Salted beef?” Jamie questioned, reaching into the canoe for his brother’s gun and the beef after Robert had picked up Robin. “Why did she give you some beef?”

“She said we should make beef tea for Robin. She said it would help him recover.”

“Recover?” Jamie gasped, stopping short for the moment in the process of straightening. He tilted his head to look at Robin, all bundled up in the blanket. “Did he get burned then?” He asked softly, standing up. “Is that why your hands are bandaged?” He stepped closer to Robert to look at Robin’s face.

Robert jerked to stare at Jamie. “How did you know he got burned?”

Jamie looked startled. “So he did?”

“Yes, damn it!” Robert shouted, startling Robin. The boy whimpered a little. Robert immediately felt bad and shushed the boy. He fell back into his drugged sleep.

“Oh Rob. The poor boy. I’m so sorry, but he seems to be sleeping fairly peacefully.”

“He’s not sleeping peacefully. Phillip gave him syrup of poppy.” Robert said, gazing at Robin for a moment.

“Oh God.” Jamie moaned, sympathetically looking at Robert. “’Tis bad then.” It was not a question.

“Not as bad as it could have been, but his feet and legs were burned. Let’s get him to the house. Will you carry the beef?” Robert took a limping step, cursing under his breath.

“Of course I’ll carry the beef!” Jamie agreed readily, shoving the pistol into his coat and slinging the sack over his back while moving in step with his brother. “What happened to your leg? Did you injure it again?”

“No, I bruised my foot kicking in the bloody door.”

“Ow.” Jamie said sympathetically. “I remember when Phillip put that lock on the door.” He shook his head at the memory. “He said that should keep the savages out.”

“Well, it kept me out too.” Robert said bitterly, limping up the path through the patch of woods in front of their property. He moved as quickly as he could on his sore foot, wanting to put Robin to bed and to get that beef stewing as soon as possible.

“What happened exactly?” Jamie asked, easily keeping up with Robert.

In a weary voice, Robert told Jamie the whole terrible story, not noticing how quiet Jamie had become. There were no more questions from him; he even seemed to have stopped breathing.

They reached the top of the bank and Robert never slowed down. The house was in view now and despite the pain in his foot, he just wanted to get Robin inside and to put him to bed. But Jamie stopped in his tracks, thunderstruck. “Oh my God.” He whispered in awe.

When Robert realized that Jamie was no longer beside him, he turned around and frowned at his brother. “What?” He demanded.

“They were right! It happened just as they said!” Jamie exclaimed, louder. In four steps, Jamie reached Robert. He stopped in front of him and looked at him, astonishment on his face. “‘Tis true; their dreams do foretell the future.”

Robert let out a sardonic laugh. “That’s what they’ve been trying to tell us.”

“But did you really, in your heart, truly believe them?” Jamie asked, his eyes probing.

Robert hesitated, then sighed. “No.” He admitted, ashamed. “As much as I led you to believe that I did believe in Elizabeth with all my heart, when it mattered the most, as in this morning, I doubted her. I wondered, how could she really know what was going to happen? How could she know, Jamie?” He asked, bewilderment in his voice.

Jamie just shook his head, holding his hands out helplessly, just as dumbfounded.

“Well, I’ve learned my lesson. Now I do know, like you, that she was right. I shouldn’t have slowed to watch the deer or stopped to scrape the mud from my moccasins.” He said with regret. That would haunt him for the rest of his life, that decision to stop and scrape his moccasins.

“But Robin is alive. You did get there in time to save him. That’s what Elizabeth and Evelyn were worried about.”

“I could have prevented the whole disaster!” Robert exclaimed, pure anguish in his voice. “If I had only trusted Elizabeth completely, I could have prevented the whole thing!”

“You didn’t know. You shouldn’t blame yourself.” Jamie said, laying a supportive hand on Robert’s shoulder.

“No, I guess not.” Robert sighed, looking down at his son’s face. “But from now on, I will always listen to Elizabeth. I will never doubt her again.”

“Nor I, Evelyn.” Jamie said. “We’ve been blessed, Rob, blessed with remarkable wives.”

“Yes, Jamie.” Robert agreed, sharing a moment of truth with his brother and thinking about poor Kathleen and how she had to die in order for him to be available to marry Elizabeth. Chills broke out all over his body. “We have.”

* * *

“Oh thank God he’s back. He’s finally back.” Elizabeth cried, turning briefly to Evelyn before returning her gaze out the window. “And Jamie is with him.”

She had been standing by her bedchamber window for the past half hour, watching for Robert to return, while Evelyn sat on the bed sewing the last few stitches on the new smock she had made for Robin. The dogs were curled together at the foot of the bed, sleeping.

“Is Robin with him?” Evelyn asked. She secured the last stitch on the hemline, then clipped the thread with her small pair of French sewing scissors.

“It looks like Robert is carrying him, all bundled up in a blanket.”

Evelyn laid the smock down on the bed and came to stand beside her sister. She put her arm around her waist. “Oh! Robert is limping again.” She observed. “That didn’t happen in your dream.”

“No, but in my dream he didn’t save Robin either.”

“Do you think he’s all right?”

“I don’t know.” Elizabeth said anxiously. “’Tis so frustrating not being able to see their faces from here and to see if Robin is alive.” The past five hours had been a true test of her patience and faith. She had prayed continuously for Robin’s safety while she, Evelyn and Abigail had tended to their chores. This was the first time she had been able to warn someone openly of imminent danger. In the past she and her sister, along with the help of their governess had always had to warn people in a cleverly oblique manner. She had often wondered what it would feel like to be able to warn someone of danger without the fear of being declared a witch, and now she knew. It had been hugely satisfying, but she still didn’t know if Robert had arrived in time to prevent any injury to Robin. She turned aside and covered her face with her hands. “Oh, Evie! What if the whole dream had come true and Robin hadn’t survived?” She wouldn’t be able to stand it if Robin died. So many times in the past she hadn’t been able to warn people and the whole tragic event had taken place, casting her into a deep depression. She didn’t want that to happen this time; she didn’t want to have to live with another burden, as the scene from her dream plagued her mind over and over again.

“Stop jumping to conclusions.” Evelyn gently scolded her, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her a little. “There’s no need to make yourself sick by blaming yourself when you do not know anything yet.”

Elizabeth took a trembling breath. “You’re right.” She said, tenderly touching Evelyn’s cheek. “I think I would feel something if Robin were dead. I do believe he’s still alive; I pray that he is still alive because I think I would die myself if he had died.”

Evelyn hugged her sister. “He is alive.” She whispered. “Go meet Robert. I’ll be in my room.”

Evelyn left, ordering the dogs to follow her.

Elizabeth took one last look out the window before running downstairs. The brothers were almost to the house and she opened the door wide, not caring how much cold air she let into the house. Abigail appeared in the doorway of the keeping room, asking, “Are they back?” Earlier Elizabeth had confided in Abigail about her ability. She had decided that if Abigail could confide in her about the abortifacient then she could trust Abigail with her own secret. Abigail had been shocked by this news, but promised to keep the information to herself. Keeping secrets was nothing new for either of the women.

“Yes, thank God.” Elizabeth said, hugging herself against the cold.

Abigail tenderly squeezed Elizabeth’s hand. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do for Robin.”

“Thank you, Abby.” Elizabeth smiled warmly at her.

Abigail just nodded once, then disappeared back into the parlor, closing the door to give Elizabeth and Robert privacy.

Just as Robert was about to step through the doorway, Elizabeth glanced expectantly at him, but mostly tried to get a look at Robin. “Is he alive?” She asked anxiously.

“He’s alive.” Robert answered, immediately reaching for her. Somehow he managed to hug Elizabeth while still holding Robin. “Thanks to you. Thank you. Thank you.” He repeated wholeheartedly.

“Thank God.” Elizabeth whispered to herself, sagging in relief. Robert had gotten there in time to save Robin.

Jamie followed right behind Robert, closing the door and then slipping past them to head straight for the kitchen. “I’ll put the kettle on.” He announced, disappearing through the kitchen doorway.

“Why is Jamie putting the kettle on?” Elizabeth asked, stepping back.

“For beef tea.” Robert said, adjusting Robin in his arms and pulling the blanket away from his face.

“Beef tea?”

“Let’s put Robin to bed and then I’ll explain everything.”

“All right.” She said, almost in a whisper, a slight frown wrinkling the clear skin of her forehead. As they proceeded to the staircase, she took notice of his filthy buckskins and the bandages on his hands. He was limping again and she wondered why. Some part of her dream must have occurred, but what part? She was so curious to know what had happened, she was ready to burst. But he said he would explain once they put Robin to bed so she kept quiet while she lifted her skirts to her ankles and mounted the stairs beside her exhausted husband.

As they entered their room, she couldn’t remain silent any longer. “What happened? Why are your hands bandaged? Why are you limping again?”

“It happened just like your dream. Jamie told me how you dreamt about the fire and Robin chasing a ball into the fireplace. I got there in time to put the fire out, but as a result, I suffered some minor burns to my palms and I hurt my foot kicking in the door.”

He sounded quite unconcerned about his injuries and she sensed he wouldn’t tell her the truth about their severity. Nevertheless, she asked, “How badly burned are your hands?”

“Not bad.” He said dismissively. “Phillip only bandaged them so I could hold the paddle without injuring them further.” He nodded towards a fresh, white garment lying on their bed. “What is that?” He added quickly, not allowing her to respond. It was clear he did not want to talk about his hands anymore.

“Oh. That is a new smock for Robin. Evelyn made it today.” Elizabeth picked it up by the shoulders and proudly showed it to Robert.

He frowned. “I do not want Robin wearing smocks anymore. They’re dangerous for little boys.” He said harshly.

Elizabeth’s face fell. “Oh. We only thought….” Her voice trailed away.