The Promise Read online

  Uriah finally retook his seat and reached for a cup of tea. “But the posters promise land.”

  “More lies. They are given no land, no tools, no livestock and no money. They have no families or friends to turn to, and many do not speak English.”

  “How dreadful,” Caleb said.

  “'Tis why we have too many servants. Mrs. Henderson simply cannot turn them out. We've the King to thank for it. The man should be flogged!”

  Uriah could not keep from laughing, “I would like seeing that.”

  “Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Men sell their children or their lazy brothers and the King allows it because England becomes crowded.”

  “Not that crowded,” Caleb said.

  “Indeed not. The King sends his orphans too. If I would allow it, Mrs. Henderson would fill this house with children. But I forbid it, so she delights herself by finding them homes. I pretend not to know, but many a day Mrs. Henderson can be found buying orphans off of ships.”

  A HUGE, MULTI-CANDLE chandelier hung over the grand dining room table. Uriah and Caleb watched in amazement as Matthew heaped his plate full and reached for more. Finally, he loaded his fork, lifted it to his mouth and closed his eyes. He mumbled a quick prayer, said, “Amen” and immediately shoved the fork into his mouth. Only then did he realize his guests were staring at him. “Are you not hungry?”

  Uriah hid his grin and reached for a platter of roast duck. “There is so much, I hardly know what to choose.”

  “Yes, well, women like to cook. Makes them feel useful. Tonight is Louisa's turn. What we do not eat, Mrs. Henderson will take to the streets. She thinks I do not know. Tell me, what plans have you?”

  Caleb took a spoonful of potatoes and passed the platter to his brother. “I had hoped to...”

  Before he could finish, Etta Henderson carried John into the room and the men got to their feet. “Matthew, I've come to speak to you about sinking that ship!”

  “Sink it? My dear the ship has done nothing wrong. 'Tis the Captain who needs sinking.”

  Etta grinned. She handed John to Uriah then wrapped her arms, as best she could, around her husband, “Indeed he does.”

  Matthew's smile bubbled with warmth, “My dear, how very much I love you.” As if they were completely alone, he kissed her full on the mouth. “How go the ladies?”

  “They do quite well. They are asleep again, poor dears. And if Mister Carson pleases, I will put young John to bed as well.”

  The boy hugged his father’s neck. “He is nearly asleep already.”

  Caleb cleared his throat and bowed to Etta, “Mrs. Henderson, we are greatly indebted...”

  “Indebted? Mister Carson, it is we who are indebted. Your wife took a pistol to the man who thought to assail our Caroline!”

  Caleb was stunned, “She did? When?”

  “The very day after LeRoy passed. Your poor wife was fraught with fever at the time as well. I cannot think how she managed it.” Etta took John back and started for the door. “Like it or not, you are family now ... our family. Might as well get on with it.” Etta winked at her husband and left.

  Matthew tucked his napkin back under his chin and sat down. “She's right you know. Caroline is all we have and without you, we would not have her.”

  Caleb was slow to retake his seat. “I would never have guessed. Elizabeth, with the pistol?” A look of horror crossed his face, “Thank God she did not shoot it – she might have hit the gun powder.”

  Matthew was up again, ripped his napkin away, excused himself, and left the room.

  “Where does he go?” Caleb whispered.

  “I have no idea.”

  Soon, Matthew was back. “We've a report of Indians.”

  Caleb nearly choked, “In Boston?”

  “Certainly not in Boston. Indians fled our neck of the woods when farmers tried to enslave them. They refused to work, you see. No, no, you'll not see but one or two Indians in Boston. These go to help the French again. We should take six or seven of our fiercest Indians to London and scare the King out of his wits. Confounded King.”

  Uriah burst out laughing. “Matthew, I am acquainted with King George, and...”

  Matthew's smile dropped, “You know the King?”

  “Aye, we played together as boys.”

  Matthew eyed Uriah suspiciously, “Has the King sent you to spy on us?”

  “Of course not. I find the man intolerable and he finds me equally so.” Uriah waited but Matthew didn't seem convinced. Casually, he took another bite of meat, chewed, and swallowed. “Had I been in the King's service, I'd have known not to board my family on MacPherson's ship.”

  Matthew brightened, “True, quite true indeed. Tell me, where do you think to settle?”

  “We have not yet decided,” answered Caleb. “Have you a suggestion?”

  “Well, if you've the price, cleared land can be had near the Colonies. Un-cleared land is more plentiful and less costly with...are you quite certain you were not sent by the King?”

  Uriah set his fork down and blotted his lips with his napkin. He laid the napkin aside and folded his arms. “I was a little boy when I first began to hate the House of Hanover, and I have learned no love for them since. However, entertaining an intolerable Prince gave me access to a means of retribution.”

  “In what way, precisely?”

  Uriah chose his words carefully, “An acquaintance was falsely accused and executed by Redcoats, so I lowered their rank and pay accordingly.”

  Matthew's lips curled. First, his belly began to jiggle, and then his soft chuckles rose up until he bellowed with laughter. His laughter filled the whole house and soon every face lit up. Upstairs, Mary opened an eye, smiled, turned over, and went back to sleep.

  A WEEK LATER, THE CARSONS enjoyed better health. Even Elizabeth was up and about, being fitted for new clothing, eating five or six times a day, trying new hair styles, and begrudging the naps the doctor in Matthew insisted on. Caroline had friends to tea, forced herself to cry when telling of poor LeRoy's untimely death and secretly fancied half a dozen other men. Etta fussed from morning till night and then slipped off to feed the poor.

  Mary seemed slow to recover. She spent long hours sleeping and had trouble regaining her appetite. Uriah was worried and for her comfort, he slept in a different room.

  As he did each afternoon, Matthew invited the brothers to join him, led the way to the book room and took a seat near his favorite roll top desk. “Never have I seen my Etta so happy. She quite adores the lot of you.”

  The walls were lined with well stocked book shelves. But instead of finding a book to read, Caleb was more interested in the construction of the shelves. Each bookcase was decorated with a meticulously carved figurine at the top and scalloped fringes down the sides.

  Uriah accepted a cup of tea and settled down in a chair where a nearby window afforded him a full view of the backyard. “We find Etta delightful as well. Is she always this exuberant?”

  “Tried tying her to a chair when we first married. The old girl nearly talked me under. It is for her sake I must ask ... do you think to leave us soon?”

  “We can hardly take advantage forever, but I had hoped we might stay until Mary regains her strength,” said Uriah.

  “Excellent, my Etta frets you will leave. Now, I've news to report.” Matthew paused to sip his tea. Displeased, he set the cup down. He got up, walked to the book shelf and removed three books. Reaching through the hole, he withdrew a bottle of rum. “Simply must get that Jane a husband. She's taken to hiding my spirits merely to turn a profit. Where was I? Oh yes, MacPherson. He may be vicious enough to starve women and children, but he lacks a shrewd mind. I hear tell smugglers dressed as Redcoats made away with his entire cargo in the night. No doubt his muskets are half way to the French by now.”

  “Good,” Uriah said.

  “Care for a drop of rum...either of you?” When the brother's declined, Matthew topped off his tea, shoved the cork back in and retu
rned the bottle to its hiding place.

  Uriah smiled and looked out the window. The ladies were seated in a semi-circle in the backyard.

  In the bright November day, Mary closed her eyes and turned her face up to feel the warmth of the sun. Then Elizabeth touched her arm and pointed. John was attempting to catch a fal­ling poplar leaf before it reached the ground. He failed. His attention quickly turned to a large white goose. Screeching, the two-year old opened his arms wide and rushed toward it. Just as he neared, the goose flapped its wings, squawked, and ran away. John looked at his mother, rolled his eyes, and flopped down in a large pile of leaves.

  Mary laughed, “He'll not make a great hunter that way.”

  “He needs a less strenuous profession,” Etta said. “I will speak to Matthew about it directly.”

  Caroline reached over and took her Mother's hand, “Mama, how did you know LeRoy and I had boarded the wrong ship?”

  “A lady acquaintance spotted LeRoy paying your passage in Bristol and watched you board the ship. However, she neglected to see the name of the ship. She boarded another ship, sailed the day after and reached Boston in a timely manner. The next day, we waited twelve hours on the dock. Each day after, Matthew boarded his schooner and met all the ships. The second week, he was beside himself and by the third; I thought the man might die of fright. He'll not let you go again, you know.”

  “I assure you, I have had quite enough of England.”

  Uriah chose his words carefully, “Matthew, in order to buy land, we must sell a thing of value.” He stood up, stuck his hand in his pocket and withdrew a closed fist. Then he crossed the room, held out his hand and dropped six, half inch diamonds in Matthew's open palm.

  Matthew's head jutted forward. Slowly, he tilted his hand back and forth and watched the jewels glisten. “Magnificent! The finest I have yet to see. Have you more?”

  “A few.”

  Reluctantly, Matthew took his eyes off the diamonds. “I see.” He handed the jewels back, watched Uriah retake his seat and strummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. “I've just the acquaintance. He's a Baron, or so he claims. He lives in an exorbitant house in the meadow lands of Virginia. A hateful man, cruel to his animals and his indentured alike, but of considerable wealth. He'll give a fair price.”

  “Aye, but will he want them?” Caleb asked.

  “We will see that he wants them. A man like that deserves to be relieved of his fortune.”

  Etta and Caroline took John back inside leaving Elizabeth and Mary alone. Elizabeth sighed, “We should tell them, you know. It is dishonest not to.”

  “Tell them and deprive ourselves of pleasure? I prefer to wait to see what they will do.”

  “How long have you known?”

  “Since a week into the voyage. I found the jewels sewn into the hem of Uriah's cloak. A child could have found them.”

  “Perhaps our husbands wanted to be discovered.”

  “Then why not simply tell us? No, they're up to something and I cannot wait to see what.”

  Elizabeth dreamily looked up at the fluffy white clouds drifting across the sky. “We will not be servants in America, will we?”

  “We will never have to work again, I suspect.”

  “But where did they come from? Oh sister, you do not think they are thieves?”

  Mary irrupted in anger, “They were not thieves!”

  “Were?”

  With a pained expression, Mary turned to look at her husband through the window. When he saw her, he started to rise up out of his chair, but then she smiled. “I meant to say 'are,' Elizabeth. They are not thieves, I would know it if they were.”

  Elizabeth followed Mary's gaze through the window. Uriah’s eyes had not left his wife's face. “Mary, is there something you have not said? Why does he look at you like that? He is so vigilant where you are concerned, but why?”

  Mary's smile became more genuine, “He's a man. Men are supposed to protect their wives.”

  “Yes, but from me? And there is more. Caleb said he is filled with rage.”

  “Well, if he is, we best not get him all in uproar.”

  Elizabeth giggled and laid her head against the tall back of the chair. “It is possible the jewels are not ours. Uriah did have mysterious business with that man before we left England. Perhaps he intends to deliver them to someone else.”

  “Perhaps. We can but wait.”

  “Where have I heard that before?”

  Mary lifted her face to drink in the sun. “But this time it will not be for long.”

  “Why not?”

  “Sister, have you noticed how they do not mention Aunt Charlotte?”

  URIAH TURNED HIS ATTENTION back to Matthew, “Tell us more about this Baron.”

  Matthew downed the last drop of tea and got up. He crossed the room, yanked on a bell rope and sat back down. “Bloody bells never are within easy reach. I happened upon the Baron quite by accident. He lay along the side of the road not far from his house, with a grievous injury to his wrist. I tended the ungrateful man for nearly four days before he recovered his wits. Or so I thought. First, he insisted his horse threw him intentionally, and then the blame fell on his indentured. Not a day later, he threatened to shoot his horse again.”

  “Surely his servants did not think to do him in,” said Caleb.

  “I would if I were indentured to that man. He has a vile nature and imagines all manner of conspiracies. So much so, he's run nearly all of them off his land.”

  Easing the door open with her foot, Jane entered carrying a fresh tray of tea. “The honey has arrived Matthew. I've already set the dough for making honey bread.”

  “My dear, there's a husband out there in the world who has no idea how fortunate he will be. But I'll have a promise if you do not mind. Promise you'll not let him take you and your honey bread very far away.”

  Snippets of unruly hair peeked beneath her bonnet and her cheeks were blushed. “I promise.” She set the tray down and scurried away.

  “Now, Jane could tell you about the Baron. He paid a handsome price for her voyage and then took a dis­like to her. Her short leg, you see. When I offered to buy her contract, he quickly agreed.” For a second time, Matthew thoughtfully strummed his fingers on the chair arm.

  Caleb poured each of them another cup of tea, then sat down and waited.

  Finally, Matthew stopped strumming. “Precisely.”

  “Precisely what?” Uriah asked.

  “You will see this Baron for yourselves. He's nearly a giant, you know. Just last week, he sent a post requesting my presence. The truth be told, I've grown tired of traveling alone and vowed to give it up. But with the two of you, I'd not be alone. Besides, we've land to see, ship yards, Colonies and...”

  Caleb frowned. “How far is it to the meadow lands of Virginia?”

  “Not far, not far at all.”

  “I'd not like leaving Mary,” said Uriah.

  “My boy, leaving your wife is precisely what you should do. Women do not have our strength. They sail across the sea, rest up a bit and too soon, they are with child. Over and over, I have seen a man lose a wife and child for lack of restraint. Come away, my boys, lest you be tempted too soon.”

  Uriah considered it, “Perhaps you are right.”

  “And there's another advantage. Left without us, the ladies will tire of each other. Otherwise, we might never separate them.”

  “When do we leave?” Caleb asked.

  “We sail in two days.”

  Caleb took in a sharp breath, “Sail? Surely there is another way.”

  “It cannot be helped. A journey over land would take twice the time. You need not fret, my boy, I've the finest seamen, we'll not be far from land and should a storm arise, we'll put to shore. I promise it.” Matthew got up and headed for the door.

  “Wait,” Uriah said, “I neglected to say our wives are unaware of the jewels.”

  “I see.” Matthew clasped his hands behind his back and studied Uriah
's face. “Is there more?”

  “More?”

  “You've been followed, my boy, by a British regular. He sought to find you three days ago.”

  Uriah rubbed his forehead, “There was a man...a Redcoat who tried to reach the ship as we sailed from Bristol.”

  Caleb set his tea cup down, “And you did not tell me?”

  “I did not want to worry you.”

  “Did you recognize him?” Caleb asked.

  “I could not see his face.”

  Matthew had begun rocking from heel to toe. “Allow me to understand. You have diamonds your wives are unaware of, and a Redcoat followed you across an entire ocean. Have you a price on your heads?”

  “Of course not, the jewels are our inheritance,” answered Uriah. “The Redcoat hopes to steal them.”

  “That explains it. Do not alarm yourselves, my boys; I've put a word around town. Most think you've taken your wives north. Nevertheless, we best travel by coach and board my ship in New Bedford just in case he remains in Boston harbor.”

  AT NEW BEDFORD, A FULL crew of seamen lingered on the deck of Matthew's top sail schooner. Every inch of the ship glistened, her lines were sleek and her crisp white sails waited to be unfurled. The instant the coach arrived, the men flew into action. They helped the guests board, let down the sails, disembarked, and glided through the calm coastal waters. The interior was comfortable and decorated with Etta's flair for bright colors. The galley was well stocked with fresh food and Madeira wine. Even so, Caleb's face had lost its color. He wearily kept an eye on the land as the ship left the channel and sailed into open water. Then a familiar voice interrupted his thoughts.

  “'Tis a much better ship, Mister Carson,” the man said with a wide grin that exposed his missing tooth.

  “Mister Masters? But how?”

  “I've your Matthew to thank for it. Offered me a fine position, he did. No more sea crossings, Mister Carson, and I’ll be seeing my little boy a might more often.”

  “I am quite pleased.”

  “Did ye hear, Mister Carson? MacPherson's missing. Normally he'd not leave the Benison Felicity, but four days past, he did leave, and he's not been heard of since.”