twelve

“The first shot downed that stag,” Samuel Walsh said. “Widow Wheelock is the one who loaded my flintlock. Her red hair about the trigger reminded me so. She ought to take some credit for the fine venison we’ll all be eating.”

Garnet pretended she hadn’t heard him. She’d rinsed the tripe thrice, making it suitable for casing sausage. Ruth and Mary both chopped the bits of meat left over after Sam and Falcon both butchered their bucks.

“I can tell you fattened your swine with milk and corn. ’Twill be tasty,” Ruth said. “Are you sure you want to share the pork?”

Garnet nodded emphatically.

“You know venison sausage alone tastes gamey. The hog was of great size, and adding the pork to the sausage will improve it.” Sam stared at the bucket of dill, fennel, onion, and garlic Garnet had washed, dried, and minced. “Adding Widow Wheelock’s spices will make for an excellent flavor.”

Garnet walked in the opposite direction and added more tansy to the steaming pots of water. The smell kept flies away from the butchering. If only there were a way to keep Master Walsh away. He spoke his mind to a friend, and I heard the truth. Surely he cannot believe fulsome praise will make me forget the truth. I am here by his sufferance.

Slaughtering a hog at the same time they dressed two deer made for a long, wearying day. Garnet appreciated Ruth’s help, but even more, she needed her presence. Trying to do all of this alone with Master Walsh would have been impossibly awkward.

By the day’s end, venison, sausage, and ham joined the fish hanging from crossbeams and pegs in the smokehouse. Garnet and Ruth boiled the tongues and fried the livers, and both families ate together. Afterward, Samuel went to the Mortons’ so he could help suspend the meat in their smokehouse. Garnet fell asleep with thanksgiving—not only for the providence of plentiful food, but also for Samuel’s temporary absence.

The next afternoon, Garnet inspected the meat and assured herself it was curing well. Nothing looked spoiled. She added another handful of hickory chips to the fire.

“It’s hot in here.” Hester wrinkled her nose. “It doesn’t smell pretty like when you cook.”

Garnet forced a smile and led the little girl from the smokehouse. While the children were at school in the mornings, Garnet strove to complete tasks too difficult for Hester. By keeping the simpler chores for when the little girl came home from school, she managed to make Hester feel both cherished and helpful. With the schoolmaster sick, Hester followed Garnet like a little shadow. Garnet loved her chatter and companionship. After Garnet latched the smokehouse door, they picked up their buckets and started toward the house.

“Ho, now. What have we here?” Reverend Clark dis-mounted and pointed toward Hester’s pail.

Beaming, Hester swung her pail from side to side. “Widow Wheelock never walks out without returning with herbs for cooking and healing. The herb garden was a fright, but we’ve reclaimed it. She’s teaching me plant lore.”

“That’s a fine thing.” The parson scanned the yard and asked, “Where’s your father?”

“On the other side of the barn, sir. He’s scraping a deer hide.” Hester popped up on tiptoe and added, “He shot a big buck.”

“So I heard. Your brother Christopher also helped bag some fine turkeys. I was most grateful to receive one, as was your schoolmaster.”

Hester threaded her small hand into Garnet’s. “The widow and me—we’ve been busy. She’s teaching me how to salt and pickle and cure all sorts of things. We spent yesterday making sausage. Did you know that adding pork to the venison makes for a better sausage?”

“Indeed.”

Hester continued to chatter. “The smokehouse is full now.”

“God be praised for His bounty.” The parson looked at Garnet. “Widow Wheelock, mayhap you could accompany me to pay a call on Samuel Walsh. Hester, take the widow’s bucket along with yours and go bind the herbs for drying. I’m sure Widow Wheelock will be pleased to come back to the keeping room and see how industrious you’ve been.”

Unsure as to why the parson had come, Garnet accompanied him toward the barn. It would be fitting to welcome him to their nuncheon table, but she would leave that to Samuel. In the past two weeks, they’d accomplished much about the farm. They both labored diligently, but a strain existed between them.

Her shock about her maternal condition gave way to a mix of wonder and sadness. Though Garnet would never marry again, God had chosen to give her a child of her own. ’Twas a gift beyond imagining—but Samuel considered her babe an encumbrance. She’d vowed to remain here, and her word was her bond. Samuel promised to provide for the baby—more than Garnet could do on her own—but a child ought to be cherished, not just tolerated. Emotions and concerns bundled into a knot in her stomach. Just yestereve, Garnet decided her inability to speak had turned out to be a blessing in this situation.

“Samuel Walsh.”

Sam looked up from the hide. “Reverend Clark. Welcome.”

“So Ethan is of an age where he’s helping with deer hide.” The reverend smiled at Ethan. “You’re on your way to manhood.”

The sound of the axe made him turn to the side. “I see Christopher’s chopping more firewood. A good thing, too. Winter’s on its way.”

Sam rose and wiped his hands on his thighs. “That’s a fact. My winter wheat is already sown.”

“The wind carries a decisive chill. Mayhap we ought to take Widow Wheelock into the barn, out of the cold.”

Garnet tensed. Until now, she’d believed this to be a social visit. Clearly, it wasn’t. The parson quite deftly had managed to ascertain where the children were, then asked Samuel and Garnet to come away from them for a private conversation.

As they entered the barn, the parson halted. “Is that a cheese ladder?”

“Aye. The widow’s been making use of the overage of milk. As you said, the wind’s stronger. She asked me to move the ladder inside so the cheese won’t be tough. Widow Wheelock, when the reverend takes his leave, perchance could you allow him some cheese?”

Garnet nodded.

“You work together well.” The parson looked from Garnet to Samuel and back again.

“The widow is unafraid of labor. She puts her hand to any task quite willingly.”

Samuel’s praise would mean far more if he didn’t keep referring to me as “the widow.” He does it a purpose, too. He means to remind me and all others that I am set apart from him.

“It is rumored that you are with child, Widow Wheelock.”

She gave the parson a startled look.

“Word reached Goodwife Ryder. She’s gathered a handful of others and approached me, saying Hester needs to be removed from this unwholesome place and returned to her care.”

Samuel bristled. “Hester is staying here. Dorcas and Eras-mus are angry at me and seek to cause strife.”

“I supposed that might be so after the incident in the churchyard, but there is still the—” The parson shot a look at Garnet. “The other matter.”

“The widow bears her husband’s child.” Sam’s tone held a definite edge. “When the babe is born early next spring, ’twill be evident the gossipmongers were wrong in assuming I’m the sire.”

“The Ryders wasted no time in spreading tales. Until spring comes and your point is proven, it would be best for Hester to—”

“No!” Sam’s eyes burned with fury. “My daughter is not a pawn to be moved about in some game.”

Reverend Clark picked some lint from his sleeve. The seemingly casual action didn’t fool Garnet in the least. He looked at Samuel. “It defies the natural order of things for a woman to be alone—especially when she is with child. Four of the men in the congregation have reminded me of that fact and stated they are willing to wed the widow.”

Clenching her teeth, Garnet shook her head.

Samuel’s eyes narrowed. “Not a whit do I care for what others may say or wish. The widow has vowed to remain to assist my household, and I promised to provide for her and her child. The arrangement suits us.”

The parson remained silent for a few minutes. “The Bible exhorts us to abstain from the very appearance of evil. The arrangement, which suits the two of you, sets a poor example for the children. The Lord Himself said it was not good for man to be alone and thus He created Eve. By keeping Widow Wheelock here, you rob some other man of the God-given need to be complete.”

The parson’s features pulled. “I confess, I hoped to answer the issue by way of the fact that the woman was bought; therefore, she is your indentured servant. When Goodman Brooks told me that you bought her as a bride and hold such papers, I lost the ability to justify your reason to keep a woman here without wedding her.”

Samuel bristled yet again. “Thomas Brooks asked for her?”

“He did so out of mercy. Alan Cooper was boasting to him that he’d decided to place a claim on her. Thomas said if you’d not wed Widow Wheelock, he would.”

A wave of revulsion washed over Garnet. She’d seen Alan Cooper at church. He stank of libation and leered at the women. Brooks had shown great kindness in trying to spare her such a match.

“You’ve backed me into a corner.” Sam’s face darkened. “The only way I’m to keep this woman here is to wed her. If I fail to do so, you’ll remove Hester from my home?”

“I would not, but the council has the power to do so.”

“Ryder is on the council.” The muscle in Samuel’s jaw spasmed.

“He is.” Reverend Clark paused, then added, “The council is to meet regarding the matter tonight. I hoped to appeal to you ere it came to that.”

“I stand by my word. I promised Hester she is home to stay, and I vowed to provide for the Wheelock child. If marriage is the only way for me to do so, then I have no choice. We will wed.”

Garnet watched as the men shook hands. Once again, I’m bartered in marriage. Samuel is bleak. He doesn’t want me, yet he spoke for us both.

“I’d normally conduct the marriage on Sunday after the sermon, but waiting is unwise.”

“Ruth and Falcon can witness the marriage.” Sam finally looked at Garnet. “I’ll hitch the wagon whilst you gather my children.”

My children. Before they’d discovered she was with child, Samuel always said “the children.” Ever since, he’d referred to them as his—a potent reminder that she and her babe were outsiders.

She held out her left palm and walked two fingers across it.

“No. We’ll ride.” Impatience tainted his voice. “It’s faster, and we’ll get this over with at once.”

Sam didn’t say a word on the drive over to the Mortons’. It turned out that Falcon was at Thomas Brooks’s. Ruth sent Aaron to go fetch him. Still, Sam remained utterly silent.

“Mary, you and Hester go gather some pretty flowers. A bride deserves beauty on her wedding day.” Ruth tugged Garnet toward the house and called back over her shoulder, “Let us know when the men arrive.”

Ruth shut the door, then let out a mirthless laugh. “If I don’t miss my guess, Sam didn’t propose—he ordered.”

Folding her arms across her chest, Garnet nodded.

Dipping a rag into water, Ruth said, “Falcon did the same with me. He later told me he wouldn’t allow me a choice because he feared I’d refuse.” She handed the soggy cloth to Garnet and urged her to freshen up. “I reminded Falcon that I could have spoken my denial when asked to speak the vows. Can you believe he’d not thought of that?”

Ruth barely paused to draw in a breath as she swiped the cap from Garnet’s head and started to run a brush through her hair. “I’ll bet Samuel hasn’t thought of that, either. Then again, you can’t speak. They’ll allow you to nod your head. Hear me, Garnet. ’Twill be a sound union. Other than my Falcon, there’s not a finer man in all of the colonies. You and your child could do no better.

“Mary came home from school yesternoon saying Erasmus Ryder was congratulating the Cooper man on finding a wife. Now I know why. I’m not sure whether it’s a sin or not, but I’m relishing the fact that their scheme failed. No, now that I think of it, it can’t be a sin. King David was a man after God’s own heart, and he wrote many a psalm in which he delights in how the wicked are laid low.”

She teased out a snarl and continued to brush Garnet’s hair. “This marriage will protect you from such scheming men, and that is good. Better still, you and Samuel make a fine team. Yes, this marriage is right, no matter which way I look at it.”

Lord, what am I to do? The day we learned I’m with child, Samuel changed. He said he’d endure anything to keep Hester home, and so he’s being pushed into a marriage he resents. I don’t want it, either. How are we to abide beneath the same roof in harmony?

❧

“Do you, Garnet Wheelock, give your consent to wed and freely enter into the covenant of holy matrimony?”

Clutching a handful of flowers, Garnet stood at Sam’s side. For the first time, he realized she’d been herded into this, too. He’d been so desperate to shelter Hester that he’d been blind to the fact that Garnet was caught in the same trap. His blood boiled at the thought of Cooper trying to wed her. No woman ought be bound to such a sot.

Reverend Clark held The Book of Common Prayer and had already made opening comments concerning the church and holy matrimony. Never before had Sam paid any attention to the fact that the reverend always ascertained publicly if the bride and groom were willing.

The corners of Garnet’s mouth tightened, and her shoulders rose with the deep breath she took.

Agree, Garnet. Though not pleased, I’m at least willing. He stared down at her, silently entreating her to grant approval for the ceremony to continue.