6

Sunshine bounced into the room from the surfaces of melting snow.

Ann’s declaration about his father still hung between them. His father had been a harsh man. When Reed gave his life to the Lord, he’d renounced his past. The first time he’d felt the kind of anger he had as a young man was when he’d seen his foreman whipping Cubby.

He wasn’t sorry he’d whipped the man responsible. It was a just punishment for the man’s crime. And he couldn’t promise it would never happen again. He could promise he wouldn’t beat his children with a belt the way his father had done. He wouldn’t beat anyone the way his father had done—

Reed found Ann in the barn with Cubby at her left side. Long curls of wood puddled at their feet.

“That’s right, “she was saying. “Ye have to remove the bark in order to see the wood beneath. Only then will ye know what it should be.”

“I want it to be something for my Mama.”

“We’ll start with something simple.” Her lips curved to a bright smile as she looked up and noticed Reed standing in the doorway. “I was teaching Cubby to carve. I hope that’s all right.”

He nodded. Wonder filled him. That he loved her was no surprise. That he kept finding things to love about her surprised him. A couple of nights ago, she’d plucked up her courage to talk about his father beating him. This morning he found her teaching a small boy to carve.

“When ye’re finished here perhaps ye’d like to ride with me? The snow is nearly gone but the ground is still hard.”

They’d not discussed marriage again since her pronouncement. Reed would have to answer her, but he hadn’t formed the words yet. Being home, which he thought would be a relief after such a long absence, was proving to be a challenge at every turn. Ghosts of the past continually speared him with guilt. He barely got through a day without running across some memory that caused him to mentally take to his knees for forgiveness.

“I would love to get out of the house.”

Another thing they had in common. Early rising and being outside.

“This afternoon we ride to Maple Bridge, so we’ll need to make it a short journey.”

“We are nearly finished. Meet ye in the stable?”

Reed nodded and left to find Randall. Like a refreshing wind, Ann appeared a few minutes later dressed in a riding habit the color of his morning chocolate. The urge to take her into his arms and kiss her again caused him to take a step forward.

Ann slipped by him to her horse.

Once out of the stable yard, Reed took them east.

~*~

A small, white clapboard house with black shutters and small hollow-looking eyes for windows came into view in the distance. A reedy stream of smoke rose from its one chimney.

“What is that place?” Ann asked.

“The house my grandfather first built on this land.”

“Someone lives there?”

“My grandmother lives there with Catherine, her caretaker.”

“Alone?”

“My mother thought it would be best for my grandmother to live where she was most familiar. She’s forgetful and she seemed to be comforted in the old place.”

“I heard ye were home.” A tall spare woman, who must be Catherine, greeted them at the door.

“How is my grandmother?”

“Come see for yerself.”

The woman stepped aside to allow them access. She showed them into the first of two rooms. Polished within an inch of its life, every surface, the few pieces of furniture to pine walls, gleamed. An old woman rocked and stared into the flames escaping the small fireplace. Bright red ribbons tied cushions to the spindles of her rocking chair.

Reed knelt down in front of his grandmother.

She recoiled into her chair raising frail arms as if to protect herself from blows.

Ann’s heart melted at the mist in Reed’s eyes. She remembered Mother Gibson as a strong, forthright woman, not unlike Reed’s Aunt Clementine. To watch people who had been her stars grow frail with age was the one thing about adulthood that Ann did not wish to embrace. Sharp, quick minds slowing. Slim, fit bodies shrinking in their clothes. Heart-wringing conversations with her Grandfather came to mind. She breathed deep and prepared to be sad.

“Grandmama. It is Reed.”

She let down her hands to peer at him. She creaked forward and placed a hand on either side of his face. “Reed, my boy.”

“Grandmama.”

It’d never occurred to Ann that Smith Archer, while mean enough to hit his wife and children, would mistreat his mother-in-law. Yet she could derive no other meaning from the recoil of Reed’s grandmother from the mere sight of him. Reed’s resemblance to his father was striking, but only a woman lost in the mists of her mind would have confused the two. Ann sent up a prayer for the woman’s comfort and provision.

“I would like ye to meet my friend.” Reed raised his hand to beckon Ann to join him.

Catherine left the room.

“Grandmama—”

A hesitant smile lifted the wrinkles in the old face and hooded brown eyes flecked with blue met Ann’s own. “It’s been a long time, Sarah King.”

“This is Sarah’s daughter, Annie Wright.” Confusion crossed the depths of Mother Gibson’s eyes as she processed the information. They cleared, and a confident smile broke through. “I remember Little Annie Wright. Yer mama had a time with yer carving knife. I expect ye outgrew that.”

Ann nearly giggled at the recollection. “No, ma’am.” She retrieved her leather-bound knife from her pocket.

The old woman continued to look at her with a smile still in place. As though she’d lost the thread and waited for the next line on a timeline that didn’t synch with everyone else. “Are ye still carving?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I should like to see yer carving work, if ye’ve a mind to stop by with it sometime.”

Catherine clattered into the room with a laden tea tray. “Miss Ann is a busy woman, Mother Gibson, she’ll not have time to stop by for silly whims.”

Mother Gibson’s face fell.

“I am never too busy to visit an old friend. Ye may count on seeing me soon, Mother Gibson.” Ann clasped her shaking hands in her lap. Perhaps she’d bring her mother with her. She couldn’t promise that, but she made a mental note to ask her mother to pay a visit.

The woman set down her tray and poured tea for each of them.

Ann and Reed took seats across from Mother Gibson.

Once anchored, Mrs. Gibson followed the conversation without a hitch. She asked Reed about his schooling and his voyage home.

Reed asked about her Christmas.

“I should like to get out of this chair and take a turn about the room.”

Reed went to his grandmother, hands outstretched, to help her from the rocker.

“Absolutely not,” Catherine declared.

Ann contained the outrage she felt. What right had this woman to tell Mother Gibson whether she could get up and walk around the room?

Reed took his grandmother’s hands in his. “She will be just fine.” With gentleness, Reed steadied his grandmother. Then he tucked her arm in his and slowly advanced on their trek around the room.

Ann lifted her tea cup for another sip forgetting the cup was empty.

Catherine speared her with eyes nearly black they were so brown. “She could fall.”

“She will be as safe with her grandson as she would be in that chair.” Ann glanced at the chair. Something wasn’t right about it, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was that seemed out of place. Then she was struck by what she’d said, and realized she believed it was true. Since she’d come to Archer Hall for Christmas, she’d seen Reed be nothing but kind. Even his discipline of the man he’d whipped was a kindness to Cubby. Not only did she trust Reed, but apparently she noticed other admirable qualities as well.

A gentle playfulness demonstrated with the Brent twins manifested itself before her again as he carefully walked with his grandmother. Mother Gibson let out a blast of laughter underlain by Reed’s deep-toned laughter.

“Mother Gibson needs her rest.”

“She’s enjoying her visit.”

A cold wind breezing through the room would have been warmer than the look that Catherine shot her way. Ann looked instead to the pair on the far side of the room.

Mother Gibson declared herself tuckered out after three turns around the room, so Reed and Ann took their leave.

“She appears to be doing well,” Reed declared when they’d reached the road.

“I didn’t see anything of the forgetfulness ye mentioned.” A thread of worry twined itself in the back of Ann’s mind.

“Me, either. I suspect it was mother’s excuse to move her out of the main house away from my father.”

“He’s been gone awhile.”

Reed didn’t respond, and Ann didn’t press him. Something bothered her that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Perhaps Reed felt it, too. Mother Gibson appeared to be clean and well cared for, and the house gleamed. Ann knew she wouldn’t figure it out until she made another visit. She could bring her mother if she were so inclined. Whether mother came or not, Ann would make sure she went back to see Mother Gibson soon. She could take her latest creation. A doll for her brand new niece, Rebecca.

She had finished the head and body just before Christmas, only a few finishing touches on the dress, and the doll would be ready. Then she would need to ask Ruby to lead her to the wood scraps. Having nothing to carve on this trip would simply not work.

They arrived back in time to meet a frenzied house preparing to remove to Maple Bridge for the night.

Ann allowed herself to be carried away in the preparations, for tonight Mattie would go to the house that would eventually be her home.

“Mattie’s parents seem happy in her choice of husband,” Ann’s mother offered as the carriage made its way down the drive toward Maple Bridge.

“What’s not to be happy about? He’s a good man.” Papa kept his gaze out the window towards the tobacco fields.

“Do ye have any news for us?” Her mother’s look was as transparent as it was hopeful.

Ann’s stomach clenched. How could she tell them of all she thought without them jumping to the wrong conclusion? In the last week, all that she’d known about Reed Archer had been turned on its head. He’d been gentle, kind, funny, steadfast. He’d confessed to Richard and found forgiveness. He’d found life-changing faith. But what of the old-man nature? That nature that refused to change, that part of us that rears its ugly head at unguarded moments. Challenging moments. What then? “Not yet.”

“He’s been very attentive.” Her mother prompted.

Two pairs of eyes watched her—hopeful Mother and careful Father.

“I don’t mind saying it gets my goat that Mattie Lawson is engaged to that lovely man, and ye are still floundering around with Reed.”

“Surely ye do not wish for me to have a life like Mrs. Archer.”

Her mother cast her gaze to her father. “Of course not. But Reed was always a pleasant boy. He used to come and carve with yer grandfather. Remember that?”

How could she forget it? Their friendship had formed there. If he hadn’t become friends with Hugh, none of the bad things that shaped his adolescence would have happened. No, that wasn’t true either. As he said himself, he was easily led when in his cups. He’d made decisions he wasn’t proud of. He’d done things he shouldn’t. It was the same question she’d been wrestling with the entire time she’d been at Archer Hall. “Of course I remember.”

“Well, then.” Her mother rested her hands in her lap as if the argument were made.

Yes, Ann had known Reed when they were children. So what? People did not remain young. Quite a few years had come and gone since they were children sitting next to Grandpa learning to carve. She smoothed her skirt over the pocket with her knife resting on her thigh.

“Peel back the bark. Look at the grain,” Grandfather’s voice whispered.

She glanced out at the fields beyond the carriage. It was fair to say that childhood was part of the grain.

~*~

The same band played in a corner of the ballroom in front of a bank of eighteen-light windows.

“Are ye ready to be mistress of all ye survey?” Ruby wiggled her eyebrows across her lemonade glass at Mattie.

Despite pinking cheeks, Mattie straightened and scanned the room. “I believe so.” She brought her gaze to rest on Ann. “I hope so.”

“Of course ye are, Ruby only teases. Ye’re as ready as any of us are.”

“I was only teasing,” Ruby placed her hand on Mattie’s arm. “Besides ye have to admit ye got the man ye dreamed of all yer life. Not everyone can say that.”

Mattie cast her gaze downward as her blushes deepened. “That I did.” When she raised her head to Ann once again there was a sparkling challenge in her eyes. “And what of ye, Ann?”

Ann shot a look across at Ruby.

Ruby raised her hands in defense. “I don’t know what ye’re talking about.”

Ann slipped to Ruby’s side. “Surely ye are aware that this entire Christmas party is aimed to match us all up.”

Ruby rolled her eyes. “That’s nothing new.”

“Do ye think ye’ll have a say in who ye’re betrothed to?” Mattie asked.

“Yes. Mother and I have discussed it at length. She’s most concerned that I make a happy match.”

“And Reed?” Ann asked before she could pull the words back.

“He will agree with Mama. He’s more like her than I am.”

Ann stifled a snort. “How’s that?”

“It used to frustrate Father. It may be why Father was so hard on Reed.”

Ann continued to stare at her friend.

“I think Father expected Reed to be more like him. When he wasn’t, he got—”

“Mean.” Ann found she might have more in common with Reed’s Aunt Clementine than she thought. “Mean. There I said it.” She took in their shocked faces. “Look. I am not sorry. Smith Archer was mean, and it is all right if we say so. It might not be polite in company, but I think—”

“Ruby’s Aunt Clementine was right?” Mattie asked.

“There is something freeing about this blunt honesty. I feel better.” Ann glanced at Ruby. “I hope I did not hurt you with my new-found bluntness.”

“Not at all.” Ruby collected herself. “Mother and I have done a lot of talking and being ruthlessly honest with ourselves in the last couple of months. I feel better than I have in years.”

“Since we are being ruthlessly honest, what of Griffen Foster?” Mattie asked.

It was Ruby’s turn to skitter and turn pink. “What about him?”

“Is he courting ye?”

“He’s not asked to court me, if that is what ye mean.”

“Do ye like him?”

“He’s tolerable pleasant company. Do I like him better than any other man?” Ruby paused. “No.”

“Let him down gently.”

“There is nothing to let down. We have not been parading around like love-sick ninnies.”

Ann pointed her look at Ruby. “Ye’re turn is coming.”

“I’m much too practical for that. I expect to find a kind man who will indulge me. I shall do my part to care for him, and our existence will be peace itself.”

Griff appeared behind her before they could warn Ruby. “Peace itself,” he said, eyebrows raising. “Don’t know if I could stomach a life of nothing but ‘peace itself’.” With a grin, Griff extended his hand and Ruby took it. They glided toward the dance floor.

Mattie and Ann closed the distance created by Ruby’s departure.

“Ye still haven’t told me what ye think about Reed.”

Ann glanced around to make sure she would not be heard. “Honestly, I don’t know what to make of him.”

Mattie took her arm and led her to the terrace. “Now, tell me what ye feel about him.”

“That’s just the problem. My head is warning me, reminding me of who he’s been. Grandpa always told me, ‘Ye’ve got to pull the bark away to see the grain.’ If I go by everything he’s done in the past—the answer is easy. No. But then he smiles at me, and my stomach does a flip.”

Mattie grinned. “Surely that means something.”

“Of course it does—but Mattie. What of children? He’s already shown he is capable of the same violence as his father. I mean, everyone behaves when they’re courting. It’s the old-man nature that I’m worried about.”

“Jacob said his friend underwent a profound change recently. Said he hardly recognized the character of Reed, so altered was he. And Ruby says Reed is more like his mother than his father.”

“Reed did tell me that he’d had a conversion experience.”

“If ye cannot trust Reed, can ye not trust that God has worked a change?”

“I know I should.”

“What will it take?”

“I don’t know, but when it happens I’ll know.”

“It’s a bit vague.”

“I know, but it’s the best I have. I don’t want to hurt him.”

“Perhaps it will take longer than this Christmastide.”

“It’s all the time I ‘ve got.”

Jacob stepped up to them, Griff in his wake.