“Did you miss your Muse from Malden-on-the-Hudson?” Poultney whispered in Ella’s ear as he climbed out of the boat onto the shore of Pine Knot weeks later.
“No. If anything, not communicating with you has done wonders for my writing. Less irritation to deal with. I’ve never liked pests,” Ella teased.
“Sir? Do you know where you and your friend are staying?” Ike inquired of Poultney, glancing at his friend from Yale. It was going to be a busy couple of weeks. Besides Poultney and his friend Steven, other guests were already here: cousins Howard and Estelle, and Ella’s friend Fran Murphy, Hannah Durant and Margaret, and Reverend Dix was arriving any day with his wife Emily.
William had done his best to finish the construction and furnish the chalet and a cabin specifically for the men to go for after dinner smoking and playing cards. There were private cabins as well: one for Ella and one for his parents. He knew his father would be pleased.
Poultney shrugged at Ike and glanced at Ella, looking for a clue to where he and his friend were staying. William provided the answer as he came up to the group, sunburned and wearing his workman’s attire.
“The men are all staying in the chalet, it’s not quite complete but should do. Ella and the other young ladies are in a cabin down the pathway.” He motioned toward the path and shook the men’s hands all around.
“William.” Poultney took his hand. “You look years younger. And where is your silk top hat you are never without in the clubs?”
“No need for that here,” William said.
“Promise me you’ll take us on an overnight trip. We brought tents,” Poultney said.
“Of course we will, and more,” William assured them all. “We may even provide some swimming lessons on the Barque. Now you must all be hungry for some supper. Louise has been busy cooking.”
“So tell me, Poultney, what’ve you been doing without me these past several weeks? It must be pure torture not receiving my poems so you can tear them apart,” Ella teased as they went for a walk in the woods later that day.
“Actually, I read ‘Raquette’. You did a brilliant job describing the place. ‘Here in the depths, Oh Lethean Lake! We drop our griefs, our vain regret! As from an evil dream we wake, tasting health’s sweetness, learning at last life’s completeness.’” Poultney swooned.
“My, my, you’ve memorized my work. And you’re complimenting it! How unusual for you.”
“Not really, my dear. If I spent too much time praising you, you’d never like me. You’re all about the challenge. Besides, the poem shows you’re finally getting over your lost love in England, or Scotland, or wherever he was from. That makes me happy.”
“Don’t be too happy just yet, Poultney. I may be over him, but I’m not head over heels for you. You play cat and mouse with me too much for my liking. I don’t want to be batted around like a plaything for your amusement.”
Poultney threw his head back and let out a hearty guffaw. “Ella,” he said, “you are more than a mouse to my cat-like cravings.”
They walked the shoreline path that led away from Pine Knot and before too long found themselves in front of the hunting cabin.
Ella had not seen it since the summer before when she was on the boat with William. It was much improved. There was a porch and glass windows that faced the lake. They went inside. Two rooms split the front of the cabin; one was a small bedroom with two cots, the other a parlor. Behind the small bedroom was a kitchen and behind the parlor was a master bedroom. The two could not squelch their curiosity — they went to the master bedroom. And there it was: a bed the likes of which neither had ever seen before. Similar furniture was scattered throughout Pine Knot but this bed was a piece of art. It was sculpted out of wood with ornate geometric patterns of inlaid woods decking the headboard.
“My God, it’s a marriage bed!” Poultry said.
Ella saw William’s Swiss chalet music box, the one he had intended to give to Florence, on the dresser and felt the need to get out of there. Ella was embarrassed for William and their intrusion on what must be his private lair.
Poultney turned to her, his eyes full of desire. Ella caught her breath.
“Should we try it out?” he asked.
“Poultney,” Ella said, flustered by his proposal. “Don’t jest with me.”
He put his arms around her waist and kissed her passionately. Then he reached for her bodice. “You’re not wearing a corset are you?” He breathed on her neck.
She blushed, aroused, and scared to death of his presence. She kissed him back. “No, I never do,” she whispered. “Not here anyway.”
He started to untie her bodice so he could see what was underneath her blouse. As surprised as she was, Ella didn’t stop him.
Just then they heard voices in the woods. It was William and Louise, walking toward to the cabin. If they came in through the front Ella and Ppoultney would be found out. This was one situation that Ella would not be able to talk her way out of.
Ella and Poultney looked for an escape and saw the door leading out of the master bedroom. An easy exit, how had they missed it before? They stifled their laughter until they were a safe distance from the cabin and then exhaled in the woods.
Ella finally composed herself so she could put her bodice back in place. She was shocked at how quickly and easily she had responded to his desire. Still giggling, they took each other’s hand and walked back to Pine Knot.
They had loaded up all the gear they would need for an overnight camping trip to a place William had discovered, a small lake not too far from Pine Knot. They had all gotten up early in anticipation of taking off at dawn and were about to get into the canoes and take off when their parents showed up.
“It’s just like him to try to put a stop to our fun,” Ella said.
“If you ask my opinion, I would guess you never told Aunt Hannah the ladies were part of this expedition,” Estelle said to Ella.
Someone let off a slow whistle and Poultney started to pace about anxiously. Ike batted at a fly that was hovering over him while he sat in a canoe.
“Come on, Ella,” William said, taking his sister’s arm and leading her toward their parents.
“You never told us you planned to bring the ladies on this jaunt of yours,” Hannah said to William.
Ella opened her mouth to speak but William took hold of her forearm and squeezed it lightly.
“Mother, I’m not sure what all the fuss is about. The young ladies are quite safe. As you can see, I have my rifle strapped to my back, so does Ike and so does Poultney. And Ike knows these waterways better than any guide around here. We are not going that far.”
“It’s not their safety I’m worried about son, it’s their reputations,” Hannah said.
“Pffft,” Ella said. William squeezed her arm harder, this time digging his fingers into her skin. She let out a small squeal.
“Your mother is right,” Dr. Durant said. “Tell the ladies to get their things, including Louise. You cannot take them with you into the woods.”
“Father, be reasonable. Look at us.” William waved at their group of friends waiting on the shore. “We’ve been planning this since they arrived last week. Estelle especially has been looking forward to it.”
“Who will cook for our guests if you take Louise?” Dr. Durant said.
“I’ve arranged for another cook to help out while Louise is away.”
“Humph, maybe we’ll finally get somebody that knows how to cook a béarnaise sauce,” Hannah said.
“And Ella’s friend Fran told me she wanted to scout out land to talk her father into buying from us,” William said, ignoring his mother’s insult of Louise’s cooking. “You know how enthralled she is with Pine Knot.”
Dr. Durant’s face brightened as he contemplated the prospect. “Oh all right then.”
Hannah let out an unhappy sigh.
Just then Poultney came bounding up to them, all ruddy cheeked and tousled hair. “Is there any trouble?”
“Nothing that concerns you,” Hannah said.
“Well looks like we are all ready to go then!” Poultney said.
“Curb your enthusiasm young man,” Dr. Durant said.
Blushing, Poultney looked from Ella to William for support and finding none said, “Ok, I will get back to the canoes and wait for you both.”
“The nerve of that boy!” Hannah said when he left.
“William, I am counting on you to chaperone these ladies and make sure they are safely in their tents by a decent hour,” Dr. Durant said.
“Of course, Papa, what else—” Ella started, but didn’t finish her sentence because William gripped her arm tightly and started to lead her away.
“We will see you tomorrow evening!” he called back to his parents as he pulled Ella along with him.
“You’d think by now Ella you would have learned to keep your mouth shut when I am negotiating with father,” he said.
Ella wrenched her arm away from his and stormed away.
“Tout va bien maintenant?” Poultney asked her as she headed toward one of the canoes.
“Ouais. Ça va.” She waved her hand in the air as she climbed into the bow of one of them.
Poultney was about to jump into the stern behind her when William stopped him. “As Ella said, everything is fine. We are taking off now. Ike, you ride with Ella,” he said.
Poultney got into the stern of the canoe with Ella’s friend Fran and pushed off.
They canoed through one of the inlets and stopped when the stream became narrow and ended at a waterfall. There they got out to portage in the woods a short distance before getting back into the canoes on the other side.
After a few more portages they reached the lake.
The clear lake sat like a bowl in a basin of green forest.
“What an enchanting place!” Estelle said.
After they had set up their tents the ladies went in search of wood while the men tried their luck with their fishing rods.
That evening Louise fried perch and trout over the fire. Afterwards, Ike took the left over food supplies and packed them in a sack he had brought especially for the occasion. It was tied with a long rope that he could use to hoist it into a tree. They watched in awe as he shinnied like a monkey up a White pine and swung the rope over a thin branch about ten feet off the ground. The rope dropped to the forest floor where Louise picked it up and tied it to a nearby sapling, anchoring the sack over the limb in midair.
“What are they doing?” Ella asked William.
“They are securing our food from bears and raccoons by leaving it hanging on the tree limb,” he said.
That evening they sat, leaning against some large logs that the men had dragged over by the campfire and listened to Steven play folk tunes on his banjo.
He strummed a tune that Estelle recognized. She crooned along with him:
We're tenting tonight on the old camp ground,
Give us a song to cheer
Our weary hearts, a song of home
And friends we love so dear
Many are the hearts that are weary tonight,
Wishing for the war to cease;
Many are the hearts looking for the right,
To see the dawn of peace.
Dying tonight, dying tonight,
Dying on the old camp ground
The last line hung over them as the hushed group waited for the sound of the humming strings to vanish in the air.
“That was lovely, Estelle. Where did you learn it?” Ella asked.
“Oh that is an old civil war ditty they taught us in school,” Estelle said. “You missed those years, Ella.”
The only sound then was the cicadas and crickets buzzing in time with the flicker of the fireflies.
“Well,” Steve slapped the palm of his hands on his lap, “I’m off to bed.”
The others followed his lead and one by one said good night until only William, Ella and Poultney remained around the fire.
William waited for them to go to their respective tents, knowing that Louise was waiting for him in his. He watched as Ella inched closer to Poultney.
“I think it’s time we called it quits as well don’t you agree?” he said to them.
“Don’t wait up for us, William, we are going to enjoy the fire a little longer,” she said.
William simmered in his seat. He didn’t want to cause a scene but he did not trust these two. In the meantime, Louise was waiting for him, having agreed to sneak into his tent once it was dark enough so that nobody would see her.
He gave up. “Ok.” He got up to leave and stopped by the bucket of water. “Poultney, old chap, would you mind dousing the fire before you retire for the night?”
“Of course. And I will be sure to escort Ella back to her tent.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of, old boy,” William said.
“William, really,” Ella said.
“Good night you two, don’t stay up too late.” William left them.
As soon as he was out of sight Ella moved next to Poultney. “I’m shivering,” she said facing the glowing fire.
“Dear me, we can’t have that,” Poultney said, putting his arms around her.
They looked up at the stars. “Did you know Emerson wrote a poem called Adirondacs about a trip just like this one.”
“Hmmm, yes I’ve read it,” Ella said as she reached her hand up to Poultney’s face and caressed his cheek with the back of her hand.
“Of course you had, I should have known,” Poultney said. “I fancy myself a writer as well.”
“You do?”
“Yes, even though my father would like me to pursue law. I’d much rather spend my time writing. Like you.” He looked down at her.
“Like me indeed,” she said, smiling.
“Tell me why are you so fascinated with Dante? Is it because he is a poet as well?” he asked.
“Well that yes, and the fact that we share a name. His real name was Durante you know.”
“No I didn’t know that,” Poultney said.
He leaned down to kiss her.
Ella responded by reaching until their lips locked and they kissed, deeply.
“Oh my,” Ella said when she stopped to breath. “I think this is what my father was worried would happen.”
Poultry smiled and put his hands on her hips to turn her slightly so she was in front of him. He ran his hands up and down her slender waist and she moaned softly.
“Ahem.” William appeared out of the inky blackness, holding the bucket of water above the fire. “Do I use this to douse the fire or you, Poultney?” he said.
“No need, William, I’ve got a handle on it.” Poultney gently pushed Ella away from him.
“Yes, that’s precisely what I’m worried about,” William said.
Poultney scrambled to his feet and took the bucket from William. He poured the water over the fire and they listened as the coals hissed and then went dark.
“Ella, I’ll escort you to your tent now.” William walked over to Ella, took her arm, lifted her off the ground and led her to her tent, holding her steady so she wouldn’t trip along the way, leaving Poultney standing by the dead coals.
A few weeks later, when it was time to leave, Poultney pulled Ella aside.
“Here, I want you to see my work of art,” he said. “It’s for your guestbook.”
He showed her the sketches he had done of their adventures that summer. There was a picture of the canoe they had taken out at sunset. That was a beautiful evening, Ella remembered. Poultney had rigged a pole with a sail so they could catch the last restless breeze of the evening. In the sketch he wrote the word ‘Kismet’ on the sail.
There was a sketch of their friends swimming off the deck of the Barque and a picture of the men tramping through the woods with the canoes hoisted on their shoulders during their camping trip.
Ella loved the drawing. “I’ll put this in our guestbook.”
He glanced around and planted a kiss on her lips when he knew nobody was looking.
“Keep that memory alive,” he said.