Thorns in Eden and the Everlasting Mountains (40 page)

Rebecah
laid her head on her husband’s shoulder and closed her eyes. She listened to
the wheels turn, to the breeze pass through the trees.

They
came to a stop, the horses shaking their heads and snorting. The footman jumped
down and opened the door, and held out his hand to the lady. Rebecah climbed
down, brushing the folds of her dress with her hands. Nash followed and tipped
the driver. 

The
house belonging to Lucius Heinz was two stories tall made of red brick. This
fortress, surrounded by a black iron fence six feet high, had every window
blocked by heavy draperies. Rebecah saw a hand pull one back in the window
closest to the door. They had been seen.  

Nash
opened the gate and she passed through it. Together they walked toward the
door. The lawn had no trees, nor a garden.

The
door opened and a servant escorted them into the sitting room. Rebecah sat in
an overstuffed chair. With his hand on her shoulder, Nash waited with her. A
cold and lonely atmosphere permeated the house. A gaudy porcelain clock on the
mantle ticked on, its feet tipped in gold. Cherubs clung to the sides decked in
laurel leaves.  The clock struck a high-pitched chime on the hour. At that
precise moment, as if planned, Heinz entered the room. 

Beneath
his wig laid a shock of gray hair that had once been as gold as his late
sister’s. His face was gaunt with heavy lines, his mouth drawn tight. With a courteous
smile, he bowed first to Rebecah, then Nash, and turned to his servant.

“Bring
my visitors coffee, Ulysses.”  His voice held a hint of an accent. “And a few
cakes.”  Easing into a chair, Heinz opened a wooden box that lay on the table.
“Do you smoke, Mr. Nash? I’ve some excellent Maryland tobacco if you would like
some.”

“I
never took up the habit,” said Nash. “Thank you just the same.  May I introduce
my wife Rebecah?”

Heinz
lit his long-stemmed pipe and blew out the smoke. He gazed at her. “I’m
charmed, Mrs. Nash.” 

“We’ve
come to discuss the children—your niece and nephew.”

“They
are well?”

“Very
well indeed considering their loss.”

“I’m
deeply grieved for my sister and her husband. Karien was a treasure and he not deserving
of her. Did you know them?”

“I’m
afraid I never had the honor.”

“I’m
not surprised. They were determined to live apart from society.”  Heinz ran his
hand over his spaniel’s ears. “I warned them, but they would not listen.”

The
servant entered with a tray and set it in front of Heinz. Coffee was poured and
handed out. Rebecah held the Blue Willow cup and sauce and looked at the black
liquid. She could not get used to the taste no matter how much she tried.  She
glanced at the tray. No cream or sugar to flavor it? Obviously, Heinz had bland
tastes. His courtesy to his guests left much to be desired.

“I’ve
thought long and hard.” Heinz paused, sipped his coffee. “It is too dangerous
for the children to stay in the frontier. My duty is to see that Adele grows up
taught in the graces of womanhood, and that she marries well. I’ll not have her
marry a backwoodsmen or farmer.”

Nash
stiffened at the remark. “A backwoodsman usually takes a wife of his kind, sir.
As for farmers, we’ve some of the most prosperous in Maryland.”

“But
so few. And I doubt my nephew would ever wish for such a hard life. He will
need educating.”

“The
children need a mother,” Rebecah interrupted.  “I’ve grown to love them.”

“I
understand your attachment, Mrs. Nash. It’s natural you should have grown to
love them. What woman would not feel that way?”

“We
want them to stay with us. Our house is very fine, surrounded by acres of rich
forests and fields, and we are close to town. We offer a good life for them. We
will instruct both children in the Faith and provide for their schooling. You
can see them often.”

 “I’m
grateful for what you’ve provided. But I must insist they come to me. I’m
within my rights.”

Nash
moved from around the chair and faced Heinz. “Yes, you have your rights. But is
this the best for the children? Please, reconsider.”

At
that moment, Rebecah thought about her cousin Hugh Brent. He was sent away to
school too. She never forgot the way he gripped her hand when he left Endfield,
the fear and tears in his eyes. They loved each other, and for him to be parted
from his family at such a young age was hard.

Heinz
shook his head. “I cannot understand why you would want the burden. You should
have children of your own.”

Troubled
by his comment, Rebecah looked at him. “Adele and Gustav are no burden. They
are a blessing.”

“We
would be good parents, Mr. Heinz, and you would always be their uncle and
welcomed at Laurel Hill,” Nash said.

Heinz
knit his brows. “I must do my duty.”

“Yes,
and duty requires doing what is best for you sister’s children.”

“I’ll
think on it a little longer. But for now, my decision stands.”

Heartbroken,
Rebecah rose from her chair. Ulysses saw them to the door. She was silent,
stared out the coach window.

The driver cracked his
whip above the horses’ heads and they pulled away from the bleak house with its
humdrum lawn. And as the last amber light of day faded, so did Rebecah’s hopes
of being a mother to Adele and Gus.

Upon arrival at the Blue Heron Inn, the innkeeper handed Nash a note. Although
he anticipated being alone with his wife in their room upstairs, and wanted to
refuse, he could not decline this particular invitation. Certain Sons of
Liberty were gathered in the dining room. He explained to Rebecah. Leaving him
for the conversation of men, she went upstairs to dress for dinner. She would join
him later.

The
patriots sat at a long table near the fire in the great hearth. Cedar and pine
scented the room. All faces serious, they smoked their clay pipes and drank
from pewter tankards frothed with ale. Present were Mr. Thomas Stone, Samuel
Chase, and William Paca, joined by four others who were officers of alarm
companies. Some were gentlemen bred, owning large tracks of land. Others were
simple men, sober beyond their years, committed to the
Glorious Cause
,
understanding what it could cost them.

“Good
evening, gentlemen.” Nash smiled with a slight bow of his head. The men echoed
his greeting. 

“God
save our country,” said Samuel Chase, his way of greeting those loyal to
freedom. “How is our sister in the wilderness?”

“Anxious
and watchful,” Nash replied.

“Our
threat in the east is but from one side—the British. We hear terrible stories
of Indian massacres in the frontier.”

“It’s
true. But it will not deter the supply of the ammunitions from Frederick County.
I can give you my word on it.”

Chase
settled back in his chair. “That is a relief.”

Paca
leaned forward. “Tensions are mounting in every town and village. Here in Annapolis
neighbors are no longer speaking, merchants suspected of being Tory sympathizers
are losing business, while patriots meet in secret.”

Mr.
Stone drew on his pipe. “The governor’s carriage was shot at last week outside
town. He was not in it.”

Out
in the frontier, Nash knew the seriousness of the Indian wars, but he had not
realized what was happening in the towns to the east.

“I
heard Sir William is holding talks with Brent and Red Jacket. Is this true?”

“Aye,
it’s a fact. The winds of revolution are blowing swifter now, and Americans
will have to take sides one way or the other, and I’ve no doubt the British
will win the Indian Nations over to their side if they haven’t already. Boston
is besieged, and more troops will be on their way. The Sons of Liberty will be ready
for them.”

Paca
tapped his hand on the table. “It’s all in God’s hands.”

A young
man leaned forward. His expression was grave, and his hands hugged the pewter
tankard he drank from.  “We must act soon, or we may end up besieged like
Boston. It’s reported people are starving and young children have died. I’ve a
sister in Boston and I grieve for her suffering.”  

Paca
patted the young lad’s shoulder. “All in Boston are near and dear to our
hearts, Danny. We’re doing all we can to help and to assure the same does not
happen in our city.”

 Nash
narrowed his eyes. “How I would like to be among the men demanding an account
from the King for this atrocity.”

As
the hour passed, the men listened soberly to Nash’s accounts of what he had
experienced in the frontier. When he had concluded, he pondered the past year,
from his journey to England, his painful love affair with Rebecah, his return
home to Frederick County, to the thick of a horrific Indian uprising. Then she
appeared, the love of his life. What hardships were to come with the Indians
and the British, he could not predict. Only he vowed a thousand times over in
his heart he would protect her with his very life.

* * *

Upstairs
Rebecah twisted the ringlets falling over her shoulders. She changed into a
gown of dark teal silk with rosettes along the bodice. While she pulled on a
pair of white silk stockings, she thought about the children. At least Mr. Heinz
had not been angry they had not brought the children with them. He certainly
would have kept Adele and Gus. There was time for him to reconsider, and she
prayed his heart would yield.

A
knock came at the door and the maid entered.  “Captain Nash told me to bring
this up to you, ma’am.”

Opening
the box, Rebecah moved aside the cotton packing and sighed. She stared at the
gift within it, picked it up between her fingers.

“Oh,
Jack,” she whispered. 

Holding
it against her throat, she turned to look in the mirror. The necklace sparkled
in the candlelight. A pearl dangled like a teardrop from the center. His
gesture melted her. She smiled and put it on, then turned out the door to go
downstairs.

A
servant approached her at the foot of the staircase and offered to escort her
to the dining room. The room was aglow with candles. Nash looked handsome in
his dark blue coat and black boots. When his eyes caught sight of her, a smile
swept over his face and he stood. 

“My
wife Rebecah, gentlemen,” he said. His eyes were warm.

The
gentleman stood and greeted her. Nash introduced them one by one, and she
curtseyed.

“Well,
sir,” said Paca. “With more faces like your good lady’s, we shall win this
revolution. Your wife is bound to inspire any man to fight for our freedom.”

“Thank
you, gentlemen,” Nash said. “Now, I hate to leave you, but I promised my wife a
fine meal alone. If there’s anything more, you know how to find me—in the
morning if you please.”

He took
her hand and led her to a table in a darkened corner of the dining room.  He ordered
wine, broiled fish and crab, seared beef and vegetables, baked rolls. The fire
in the hearth crackled. People filled the room.

Rebecah
touched the necklace and smiled. “Thank you, Jack. It is lovely. The prettiest
thing anyone has ever given me.”

He
seemed distracted. She realized a lot of things were on his mind. She was not
put off in the least, but saw his mood as a challenge and determined she would
get his thoughts off politics and on her.

“People
are staring,” she whispered. “Is it my gown, you think? Perhaps I should have
worn something else.”

Nash
looked at her. “Your gown is lovely.”

“Do
you like me in it?”

He
touched her fingertips with his and let out a breath.  “Yes, I adore every inch
of you. I can prove it.”  

Her
face flushed and she held her finger up to her coral lips. “Someone may hear
you. You’re bold to say such things in a public place.”

“Have
you another place in mind where I may speak of love?” he said with a slow smile.
His meaning was understood and she laughed. “I do see what you mean though, for
it is crowded in here.”

“Yes,
suffocating.”

He
leaned forward, his eyes fixed upon hers. “
You
leave me breathless.”

“Is
it true Governor Eden comes here to dine?” she asked, tasting the succulent crab. 
“On my word, this is good.”

Nash
sipped his wine. “I don’t know. Taste the rockfish. You will like it.”

She
pierced it with her fork. “You dislike the Governor?”

Nash
set down his wineglass and jabbed the beef with his knife. “The man is a bootlicker
to King George. One day we will send him packing on a boat to England. Tom
Johnson will be the first governor of a free Maryland.”

“Mr.
Johnson is a good man. But all of this is long in coming…if you win your
revolution.” She felt a sudden tremor of dread. What would happen to them if
the
Glorious Cause
failed?

“The
odds look slim, but we will win, God willing.” 

“But
what if the Americans lose?” she said, keeping her voice low.

“We
won’t.”

“I
am worried. Can’t war be avoided?”

“Try
not to worry.”

“I
cannot help it. Men will die, women will be made widows, and children orphaned.
The Sons of Liberty might hang. I’ve heard of the King’s Chief Justice, that he
holds no quarter to rebel’s, and that is what you men will be branded.”

“Yes,
and proud of it.”

“I
am afraid—to lose you.” She could not eat a morsel more and sent her fork down.

He
picked up her hand and squeezed it. “Change the subject.” 

Still
she looked at him anxious, picked up her fork and moved the food around on her
plate. “Fine, I will talk of something else.”

“For
instance?”

“I
cannot talk about the children right now for it would make me sadder than I
already am. I’ve been thinking about Maddie.”