Matthias walked up the boardwalk after his visit to the livery. He had accomplished much on this Tuesday, despite his mind being elsewhere.
On a lovely Southern belle with sparkling eyes, for instance.
He couldn’t stop thinking about Annalise and how they had spoken of courtship and someday marriage. He couldn’t stop thanking the Lord that Annalise had given him a second chance after his careless words. If only he had more to offer the woman who had stolen a place in his heart.
“Love and devotion are the most important things you can give someone,” Bets had declared when he’d told her Annalise had accepted his courtship. “The two of you will be able to serve the Lord even more so than individually. You have found your true helpmate, Matthias.”
Whistling, Matthias thought of how he had successfully sent the telegram to his parents in Ohio that the “parcel” he was sending would be the last for some time. He hadn’t mentioned his plans to leave and move to Ohio in the coming month. That was not something he could send in a telegram. Not with the nosy Mr. Burns honing in on every word.
Besides, Matthias needed to address his congregation and tell them he had been called to another congregation. Most importantly, he had to discuss his plans with Annalise and reassure her that he would return for her next spring.
Matthias had secured a wagon for today’s load of “potatoes.” He had managed to get Tandey and Jinny off the plantation, but the delivery was risky, especially given Mr. Thorn’s preoccupation with Matthias’s supposed role in the Faith Train. He had worried most of the night, but the Lord continued to help Matthias overcome his fears daily.
The Lord Almighty would deliver both Tandey and Jinny to their freedom.
Matthias had to believe that. Just as he had to believe that the Lord would protect him, Annalise, Betsy, and Adam.
A slave ambled behind his owners, carrying a large sack of flour. Masters Matthias did not recognize. The slave tugged on his ear, and Matthias did a double take.
Another person seeking freedom whom Matthias was called to assist.
He lingered by the mercantile, eyeing the slave and awaiting a moment of time to confront him.
Within moments, the slave had turned and headed back toward the mercantile, presumably for a second load. Matthias purposely ran into him. “Watch where you are going,” he said.
“Sir, can you help me escape?” the slave asked, his voice more of a hiss.
Something indiscernible in the slave’s eyes caught Matthias off guard. A jolt sent warnings through him.
But why? Never before had warning signals presented themselves in such an odd manner. Or at all, for that matter.
“Sir, can you?” The slave took a rapid glance back toward his master, then at Matthias, then back at his master once again. A shifty demeanor radiated from him, as the slave transferred his weight from one foot to the other.
Was he concerned his master would inquire why the slave had so brazenly confronted Matthias in public?
Matthias stared at the man. He should say yes and give the man hope of freedom. While Matthias didn’t know any of the conductors on the railroad between here and the “promised land,” he did know that once the man reached Ohio, Matthias’s parents would be eager to help him continue his journey to Canada.
“Uh…” Matthias had never been speechless before when asked this question. Why was this time different? How many slaves had he assisted? At least twenty-five, counting Tandey, and that was just in the past year. Matthias took in his surroundings and noticed that the master had not been waiting for the slave, nor insistent upon his quick return.
Something wasn’t right.
“Please promise me, Matthias, that you won’t give in to the slave that Uncle Phineas sends.”
Annalise’s words pierced Matthias’s mind, almost as if they were spoken aloud.
Was this the slave Phineas Thorn had sent? How would Matthias know for sure?
“Reverend Sorenson!” Mrs. Robinson’s voice sounded from across the street. Her hand waved frantically in Matthias’s direction. “Oh, Reverend Sorenson! May I have a moment of your time?”
Lord, are You trying to tell me something?
“The Lord your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you.” The Lord’s impression on Matthias’s heart was not audible, but it left no questions.
Matthias cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, but I don’t assist slaves in running away. You’d best get back to work, or I will tell your master.” Matthias held the man’s gaze.
The man quirked an eyebrow, as if pondering whether to believe Matthias’s words. “Yes, sir,” he finally said, and shuffled dejectedly away with his head held low.
“Reverend Sorenson, I’m so glad I caught up with you.” Mrs. Robinson’s round face loomed as she bustled near him. “Did you not hear me calling?” She knit her thick eyebrows together in concern.
Oh, Matthias had heard her all right. For Mrs. Robinson might easily have been the tool the Lord used in saving many lives that day.
Before the recent turn of events, Annalise never would have imagined herself to be a busybody who eavesdropped on the conversations of others. But it had become necessary.
She rounded the corner of the parlor where Aunt Lavinia and Uncle Phineas sat on overstuffed chairs. The pungent odor of Uncle Phineas’s cigar swirled toward her. Add that to the list of things she wouldn’t miss when she left.
“Reverend Sorenson didn’t fall for our plan with the slave, so the men and I are talking about taking further steps. That man needs to be stopped.” Uncle Phineas paused. “While I cannot prove it, I have every reason to believe that he is why two more of our slaves have gone missing.”
“I am sure you are right about him, Phineas. If you and the menfolk decided to take extreme measures, it wouldn’t be the first time blood has been shed upon your direct order.”
Annalise sucked in a deep breath. Were Uncle Phineas and his cronies planning to take Matthias’s life? No, Father, please don’t allow that to happen!
Uncle Phineas chuckled, a low, rolling, thunderous laugh that caused chills to ripple up Annalise’s spine. “I am quite cunning, if I do say so myself.”
“Indeed.”
“On a more serious note, if we continue to lose slaves, we will no longer have a plantation. I cannot afford to keep purchasing new ones to replace those the good reverend has helped to escape. We have already used all of the money Annalise’s parents left when they died.”
Aunt Lavinia laughed, a high-pitched cackle. Annalise squeezed her eyes shut. Her aunt and uncle had wasted all of her family’s fortune? That quickly? Without her knowledge? While Annalise had suspected the loss of her inheritance, this confirmed the greed of her aunt and uncle.
“When do you plan to execute your scheme against the reverend?”
“Next week. Sheriff Bleyer, Percy, and I discussed some of the details at Percy’s home last night.”
Annalise heard Aunt Lavinia clap her hands. “Splendid! After that, we will plan the wedding for Annalise. The sooner we are rid of her, the better. Dale Hiram will put that impertinent young woman in her place.”
She had to leave the life she knew. Her aunt and uncle’s plan to fatally harm Matthias, their plot of forcing Annalise to marry Dale Hiram, and the loss of Annalise’s entire inheritance confirmed her decision. There was only one thing to do.
Beg Matthias to take her with him when he left Ridge Gap.
The second Nehemiah stopped the carriage, Annalise leapt from it, not waiting for the slave’s assistance. She had to catch Matthias before services started.
He sat in the front pew, likely praying, as he always did before delivering the sermon. “Matthias!” Her voice sounded breathless. Only a matter of minutes remained before members of the congregation arrived.
“Annalise, so nice to see you.” Matthias unfolded his hands and stood. He took a step toward her. “What’s wrong?”
“Matthias, you have to take me with you when you and the others leave. Please.”
“What happened?”
She took a deep breath then began to speak, her words sounding jumbled, even to her own ears.
“Annalise, please slow down.” He gently reached for her upper arms as a look of concern spread across his handsome face.
Where should she start? And with so few moments of privacy? “Matthias.” She lowered her voice. “I am so thankful my uncle’s first plan did not work. But Uncle Phineas, Sheriff Bleyer, and the others are not going to stop. They want to destroy the Faith Train and everyone involved, especially you.”
“Annalise—”
She shook her head and put a soft finger to his lips. “Please hear me out, Matthias. They are planning to take your life.”
A look of alarm crossed over Matthias’s face, and Annalise fought the bile that rose in her throat. “This will happen next week.”
“We plan to leave in two days.”
“Good.” She closed her eyes and offered another quick prayer heavenward. “Matthias, take me with you,” she begged. “Please. By the time you return for me, my marriage to Dale Hiram will have already occurred.”
Matthias shook his head and a look of determination lined his face. “Annalise, I will never allow them to marry you off to Dale Hiram. I don’t want to lose you.”
“Then please take me with you.”
Matthias removed his hands from her arms. “It will be dangerous taking you from Thorn Plantation.”
“You recently assisted Jinny and Tandey from that very place.” She jutted her chin out. She must get away from her aunt and uncle at any cost.
A sparkle lit his eyes, and he smiled. “Why do I think I can ever win a battle with you?” He placed a kiss on her forehead. “Annalise, we will take you with us, but I must make one request: that you will find me fitting to be your husband.”
“Are you proposing?”
“What better place than in the Lord’s house?”
Annalise giggled, a laugh that felt good after all the trepidation she had experienced. “My answer is yes.”
“That’s the answer I was hoping for.” Matthias paused, looking at the door as if expecting a parishioner to walk through it at any moment. “I love you, Annalise.”
“I love you too.” And she did, with every part of her being.
“After church, we will discuss the plans for your escape.” His words settled her fear for the time being.
Matthias hadn’t been looking forward to bidding his congregation farewell. He would miss the fine folks of Ridge Gap and this little church that had been his place to serve the Lord for such a short time.
“It is with mixed feelings that I must say good-bye to this congregation. Some of you have known of my plans before now, while this is the first time others of you have heard this news.” He paused and gazed out at the faces of the people of whom he had grown so fond.
“The Lord has called me to another place to serve Him. The life of a reverend is never dull when we have absolutely surrendered to His will. However, I would not have it any other way.”
Sniffles erupted, and Matthias found he was having a difficult time containing his own feelings. “Until a permanent replacement is found, Mr. Lawton will lead the church.”
His eyes met Annalise’s gaze.
He loved her.
And soon, Lord willing, they would begin their new lives together in Ohio.
“Annalise, are you coming in for the evening?” Aunt Lavinia poked her head out the door where Annalise sat on the veranda in a rocking chair.
“Soon, Aunt Lavinia, soon. For now, I am taking a moment to escape the heat of the house.”
Aunt Lavinia narrowed her eyes. Would she accept Annalise’s weak excuse? “Very well, Annalise. But neither your uncle Phineas nor I will wait up to accommodate your ridiculous antics of sitting outside until the wee hours of the night.”
Wee hours was right. If that’s what it took to proceed with her plan, then that was what Annalise would do. “Do not worry. I will be in soon.”
Without so much as a kindly farewell, Aunt Lavinia stepped back into the house, leaving Annalise to her thoughts.
And to the three very long hours that awaited her.
In the distance, she could hear singing, likely from some slaves, as they finished their nighttime chores. A whiff of something cooking reached her, and Annalise’s stomach growled. Good thing she had packed a sandwich in her carpetbag.
She glanced to where she had hidden the only items she would be taking with her to her new life. From an exhaustive supply of fancy dresses to three meager ones. Annalise’s life was about to change.
For the better.
She begged the night to come faster as she slowly rocked in the chair. Every few minutes, Annalise checked the pocket watch she held in her lap. She mustn’t be late to meet Matthias and the others.
Sometime later, all of the lanterns in the house and elsewhere grew dim. The only sound was the snoring of Mr. Talon.
Mr. Talon.
The hideous man Uncle Phineas had hired three days ago to provide surveillance over the plantation at nightfall.
That man unsettled her. From his leering at her when Uncle Phineas first introduced them to his spiteful words toward the slaves, Annalise knew Mr. Talon was not a man she wanted to cross paths with. His name fit him well, as his face had the appearance of a pinched bird beak. He reminded Annalise of a bird of prey settling his eerie gaze on his victim.
He was somewhere near the barn. The man would take no mercy on her if he found her sneaking off into the night during his watch.
Lord, please, please be with me as I go forward with this plan. Let it be successful.
At the proper time, Annalise stood, reached for her carpetbag, then slowly meandered down the steps of the veranda. Constantly looking to and fro, she tiptoed past the barn, where she eyed Mr. Talon lying on the ground. Obnoxious wheezing sounds came from his open mouth and a bottle of whiskey sat beside his right hand. A rifle lay across his chest.
She almost turned back to the house.
No, I must keep going. I must. For if she didn’t, Annalise would be married to Dale Hiram and forever be his prisoner.
And a life without Matthias was a life she didn’t want to live.
Out of the eyesight of Mr. Talon, Annalise took to a run. She must only make it to the gate at the edge of the plantation where Matthias and the others would meet her. It wasn’t that far. Not really.
Why, then, did it feel as though it was an eternity from the house to the gate? She willed her breath to quiet. Her heart rumbled in her chest, and her carpetbag slid off her elbow and clunked against her wrist. Clasping it in her hand, Annalise increased her speed.
A noise startled her. Mr. Talon? Could he have discovered her presence?
She glanced behind her and thought she saw something. Or someone. Had Aunt Lavinia or Uncle Phineas realized she hadn’t returned to the house?
A thought rammed through her mind. Was this how the slaves felt as they escaped?
For she didn’t doubt for a moment that her life would be at risk if she were caught.
Ahead was the gate. Just a few more steps…Once she was in the wagon, a friend of Matthias’s would take them to the next town where they would stay the night before embarking on their journey to Ohio.
Would they make it there safely?
As Annalise crossed over from one side of the gate to the other, she nearly collapsed from exhaustion and gratitude.
Strong arms lifted her and carried her to the waiting wagon.