Camping
They rode for about another hour. The sun set low in the sky and straight in front of them, making it hard to see.
Luke pulled the wagon well off the road in a level grassy area. He tied the mules to some trees with long leads, so they could graze but couldn’t reach the wagon. Patsy and Luke gathered some wood from under the trees.
Luke made a ring with rocks to contain the fire. After he had it going, he went to the back of the wagon and pulled out the iron pot on legs. He also had tin cups, deep plates, and spoons.
Leah put some water in the bottom of the pot and set it directly on the fire, while Patsy shelled the peas and peeled and diced the potatoes and onions. As the water started to boil, Leah added small hunks of the side meat. When Patsy had finished the vegetables, she added those, too.
“Do you have any pepper?” she asked Luke.
“I do. How much flour will you need, and I’ll get it at the same time?”
“About a cup. Just put a pinch of pepper in the flour and a little salt, too, if you have it.”
Luke nodded. He came from the back of the wagon and handed it to her in one of the cups.
Leah cooked the mixture until it looked almost dry and set it off to cool some. She poured half the milk into the pot and placed the flour mixture into the container with the milk, beat it with a fork, and shook it until it was smooth. She poured it into the pot and stirred well. Then she set the pot over to one side of the fire so it could continue to cook but hopefully not scorch. She didn’t want it to boil too quickly either, because it tended to form lumps when it did.
She stirred the soup until it barely came to a boil, and then she set it off the fire. “It’s ready, whenever you want to eat.”
“I’m ready,” Luke said. “I became hungry just smelling it.”
Leah dipped the food, while Patsy got out the bread Frances had sent. Luke said grace and they began to eat.
“This is really good,” Luke said. “I had my doubts when you were getting it ready, but it’s delicious.”
“I could have cooked some dumplings in it, but I knew we had plenty of bread.”
“I like it just the way it is,” Luke said.
“It is good,” Patsy said. “I’m glad you can cook, Miss Leah. I can cook a little, but I’ve been trained as a lady’s maid.”
Ivy didn’t say anything, but everyone must have liked it, because they cleaned the pot.
“I ate too much,” Luke said. “That’s the problem. When the food tastes this good, I tend to overindulge.”
After supper, Luke laid out three of the bedrolls and rearranged the back of the wagon for Ivy’s bedroll. He also put out the things they would need in the morning. When he’d finished, they sat around the fire and talked for a while.
“Tell us about your mother, Luke,” Ivy said. She seemed more satisfied since Luke said she could sleep in the wagon. “I don’t remember you telling me anything about her. What was her name?”
Leah looked up in surprise. Luke had mentioned his mother to her.
“Her name was Sarah, and she was a very special person. She was beautiful with long, black hair and dark-brown eyes. She did everything she could to make Father’s and my lives easier. Father met and married her when he was home with Grandmother after he’d finished college. Then they moved to Salisbury, where she wasn’t always accepted into the social circles.”
“Why not?” Ivy asked.
“Mama was half Cherokee Indian. Her mother was a full Cherokee, and her father was Irish-American. I never knew them.”
Ivy’s mouth flew open, but, thankfully, she didn’t say anything.
“That must be where you get your dark, good looks,” Leah said before she thought, and then felt her face grow warm with embarrassment. She hadn’t meant to be so forward. She had considered it inappropriate when Luke complimented her on her looks in Salisbury and here, she’d done the same thing.
Luke smiled at her. “Mother died of a high fever, when I was five, and Father married Frances a little over a year later. Frances never liked me from the very beginning, although she pretended to until they were married. Father eventually saw how difficult Frances made things for me, so he sent me to live with Granny and Grandpa. Grandpa died about three years ago. After her own children were born, I think Frances has resented me even more. ”
“I’ve never seen a Cherokee,” Ivy said. “They have dark skin, don’t they?”
“All Indians have darker skin,” Luke said, “but not as dark as your slaves. What does skin tone have to do with anything?”
“Not a thing,” Leah said.
“Well, everyone knows you don’t mind dark skin,” Ivy said to Leah. “If you did, you wouldn’t let yours tan, because it’s just not becoming. You wouldn’t have been so friendly with the plantation slaves either.”
“My skin’s darker than Leah’s,” Luke said.
“It’s different for men,” Ivy said. “It’s acceptable for men to be outside enough to have tanner skins but not women.”
“So if my father had been a Cherokee, and my mother had been white, that would have been fine?”
“Certainly not. I think everyone should marry their own kind. That’s what birds do.”
Leah knew Ivy was parroting things she’d heard before. “What about animals like dogs, cats, cattle, and horses?” she asked her sister. “They mate with different breeds and colors.” Ivy looked confused and didn’t have an answer.
“What about me?” Luke asked quietly. “I’m one-fourth Cherokee, and my children will be one-eighth Indian.”
“I never thought of that,” Ivy said.
“Do you still want to marry me? I’ll take you back to your home, if you want. I realize I failed to tell you about this before you agreed to marry me, but I didn’t think it might be an issue. I assumed you were marrying me because of our love for each other.”
Leah knew she and Patsy shouldn’t be hearing this conversation, but she sat mesmerized. She couldn’t bring herself to get up and walk away to give the couple privacy.
“No, I can’t go back now,” Ivy said. “How would I face everyone? It would look as if you didn’t want me.”
“That doesn’t sound like a good reason to get married, Ivy. Marriage is forever. You need to be sure I’m the man for you.”
“I’m sure,” Ivy said, but she didn’t sound sure at all.
They all sat in silence for several minutes. Leah couldn’t believe Ivy. She always knew her sister to be shallow and vain, but not to this extent. Leah felt nothing but shame over the way Ivy had been acting, and she felt so sorry for Luke. She’d heard him tell his father he planned to live up to his promise to marry Ivy, but would he do so no matter what Ivy said or did?
Leah felt in a precarious place herself. She hesitated to tell Luke he shouldn’t marry Ivy, although that’s exactly what she thought. Leah also found herself more and more drawn to Luke, but it wouldn’t be right for her to try to pull Luke and Ivy apart.
“How long will the trip tomorrow be?” Patsy asked to break the silence.
“A little longer than today, but we’ll get an earlier start. We’re going to stop in Wilkesboro, because I have some business there.
“Have any of you ever camped out before?” Luke asked.
“Of course not,” Ivy said.
“I haven’t,” Patsy answered, “but, until I was twelve, I lived in a slave cabin, and there’s not much difference.”
“I’ve camped out for fishing and hunting with Papa and Paul a couple of times when I was younger,” Leah told him, and Luke smiled.
“See what I’ve been telling you,” Ivy said. “Leah has been allowed to run wild.”
No one said anything, and Ivy gave a huff. “I’m going to lie down soon,” she said. “Come with me, Patsy. I want you to brush my hair. Just because we’re out in the wilds doesn’t mean we can’t be civilized.”
“Ivy is rather hard on you, isn’t she?” Luke said when Ivy and Patsy were in the wagon. He spoke quietly, so his voice wouldn’t carry.
“Ivy’s never liked me,” she said. “That’s why it surprised me so much when she asked me to come with her.”
“I told her I wouldn’t bring her unless she had a chaperone. She said she could bring her slave, but I knew that wouldn’t suffice in most people’s eyes. I guess you were the only one she thought she could convince. When she said she would ask her sister, I had no idea she also planned to bring her slave, too.”
“Yes, I guess I must have been her most logical choice. Ivy doesn’t have many female friends and none who are close. The other girls have always been too jealous of her looks.”
Luke remained silent. He looked deep in thought.
“Are you sorry you agreed to bring us?”
“I can see now it may have been a mistake. I’m wondering if Ivy is going to be happy in the mountains. I tried to explain to her how different things would be, but it seems she didn’t hear any of it.”
“Ivy tends to hear only the things she wants to hear. She makes up her mind and becomes intent on getting her way.” Leah looked at Luke. She realized she could depend on him to answer her questions truthfully. She couldn’t blame him for wishing he’d left the three of them back at the plantation. They’d become a terrible burden for him. Patsy came back and joined them around the fire, and the more personal conversation ceased.
“Would you mind fetching my medicine chest?” Leah asked Patsy. “I have some lotion I’ve made to help keep insects away, and we may need it tonight.” Patsy quickly returned with the chest, and the three of them applied the lotion to their exposed skin.
“What about Ivy?” Luke asked. “The mosquitoes will certainly fly into the wagon.”
“Patsy can ask,” Leah told him, “but Ivy won’t use it. She says she doesn’t like the smell, and she’s afraid it might make her skin look less than perfect.”
“If the insects don’t like the smell, that’s all I care about,” Luke said.
“Miss Ivy refused the insect lotion,” Patsy said when she came back. “Where are we going to sleep? I’ll put out the bedrolls.”
“I’ll take care of mine,” Luke said. “I’m going down closer to the mules. You can choose wherever you like close to the wagon. Many people sleep under the wagon.”
“I think I’d rather be out in the open tonight,” Leah said. “Put our bedrolls between the fire and the wagon,” Leah told her. “It doesn’t look like rain.”
Patsy got up and began clearing the area of twigs and debris, before she put out the bedrolls. When she was through, she came back to Leah. “I’m going to lie down,” she said.
“I won’t be long,” Leah told her.
Luke pulled out his Bible and slipped closer to the fire for the light. “I’m going to sit here and read for a while,” he said.
“Would you mind reading some aloud?” Leah asked.
“Not at all.” He read several chapters from Psalms. The words came out strong and sure as he read. When he got to Psalm 57, he looked up at Leah. “Be merciful unto me, O God,” he read, “be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in Thee: yea, in the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast. I will cry to God most high: unto God that performeth all things for me.”
Leah realized Luke had tried to tell her not to worry. Everything would be all right, because God was in control. They might not have things figured out, but God did. Luke looked up at her again, and she smiled at him in understanding and appreciation.
Leah slid into her bedroll fully dressed and lay looking up at the stars. It had been a tiring day, and it felt good to stretch out, but she didn’t fall asleep. Her mind sifted through the situation with Luke and Ivy.
Leah knew Ivy would not take kindly to the fact Luke had Cherokee blood. Ivy was one of the most prejudiced people Leah knew. She was almost as bad as Archibald. Leah knew for a fact, Ivy had hit Patsy before when the girl did something Ivy didn’t like.
Ivy had told the truth, however, when she’d said she wouldn’t go home and have it rumored Luke had rejected her. Ivy had always cared a great deal about her image.
Leah decided she needed to pray for God’s will to be done. It would take God to straighten out this mess.
Luke lay in his bedroll almost numb from the events of the last few days. How could he have been so blind? Ivy had turned out to be so different than he’d thought. He’d seen her as a vision, a dream come true. To him she’d been everything a woman should be—beautiful, sweet, kind, innocent, loving, and caring. He’d realized she wasn’t as knowledgeable as he would have liked, but no one was perfect. The reality of how far off he’d been in his assessment had just begun to set in.
His father had tried to warn him, but it’d been too late then. He’d already asked Ivy to marry him and made her promises. He knew God expected him to live up to his promises. He’d just have to trust the outcome to God. Luke would be like David, when he refused to kill Saul, even though Saul was determined to kill him. Luke would do what was right and honorable and leave the rest to God.
His thoughts turned to Leah. He had never met anyone like her. She was smart, knowledgeable, and had a strong faith.
If Ivy had much faith, she’d never shown it. She certainly didn’t try to live by the principles in the Bible, as far as Luke could tell. Would marrying her make him unequally yoked? Would that be grounds to call off the wedding? He should have thought about all this before he asked her to marry him, but the forced marriages had made it necessary to rush things. Surely God would eventually give him the answers and work everything out for the best. He always had.
It had been cooler sleeping out on the ground than Leah had expected. After all, this was June. Her bedroll felt damp from the heavy dew, which had fallen during the night. Maybe she should have slept under the wagon, Leah thought to herself. The ground had also become hard and uncomfortable by morning, but she stayed where she was until she saw the sky begin to lighten.
When she heard Luke moving around to collect wood for the fire, she got up. She went through the things Luke had brought out for breakfast. She saw coffee, but no tea. At least someone had ground some of the beans, so she took a small cloth and tied enough coffee to make a pot-full. That way she wouldn’t have to wait for the grounds to settle in the bottom before they could drink it. She added the water and set it aside to wait until Luke got the fire going.
They still had enough bread left, and the housekeeper had sent a small crock of fresh strawberry jam. They also had butter left.
Luke came up carrying a big armload of branches and twigs. “Good morning,” he said. “Did you sleep well?”
“I slept okay once I got to sleep. What about you?”
“I lay awake for a long time, but I feel fine this morning.” He smiled at her, as if to prove his point. He didn’t appear as worried as Leah would have been in his place. Luke had the fire going in no time, and Leah set the coffee on.
Patsy roused. “Is it already morning?”
“Yes, sleepyhead,” Leah laughed, and Patsy laughed with her. They sat around the fire.
“Patsy, has Ivy hit you before?” Luke asked.
“Yes, sir. Whenever I did something she didn’t like.”
“How often?”
“Oh, about once a week, I guess. It’s common practice with slaves. The missus would do the same, maybe even worse. The Master, Paul, and Miss Leah never struck anybody, as far as I know.”
“I can believe that,” Luke said, as he looked at Leah. “You know you don’t have to be Ivy’s slave any more. You don’t even have to be her maid.”
“Yes, sir, I know, but I think it’s best that I do be her maid for now.”
“As long as you don’t feel forced. Don’t let Ivy mistreat you, either. If she does you let me know, you hear?”
“Yes, sir, I surely will. I won’t take it no more. I promise.”
“Why don’t you speak like most slaves, Patsy? Your English is pretty good.”
“When I first come to be Miss Ivy’s maid, my talk bothered her. She said it grated on her nerves, and, if I wanted to stay in the big house, I needed to learn to speak proper. Miss Leah, she said she would teach me, and she did.”
Luke gave Leah a look of admiration. “Did Leah also teach you to read?”
“No, sir. Miss Ivy didn’t allow us much time, and I didn’t want to know how to read and get Miss Leah into a heap of trouble. It’s against the law to teach a slave to read, you know.”
“Would you like to learn to read, Patsy?” Leah asked. “I could teach you now that you’re free.”
“Yes, miss, I’d like that very much.”
“We may not have much time during the summer,” Luke said, “but the winters on the mountain can be brutal. There’ll be plenty of time inside for reading lessons then.”
“Why is it illegal to teach slaves to read?” Luke asked. “I’ve heard plenty of slave owners argue slaves are inferior and incapable of learning. If they’re incapable, why would you need a law to prevent them from being taught?”
“It doesn’t make much sense, does it?” Leah said. “Nothing about slavery really makes much sense to me. Most of the harsher laws designed to keep the slaves subservient came about because of the Nat Turner rebellion. The law preventing the education of slaves was one of those. The slaveholders became obsessed with fear their slaves would revolt and kill them in their sleep. The slaves outnumber the whites on many of the big plantations.”
Luke nodded.
“Do you think slavery will ever end?” Patsy asked.
“I’m sure it will one day,” Leah said.
“The coffee smells good. Is it about ready?” Luke asked.
“It should be. I’ll pour the coffee. Patsy, would you get us the plates, bread, and jam? How do you drink your coffee?”
“Just black for me,” Luke said.
“I’ll put some sugar in mine, if that’s all right.” Patsy said.
“Help yourself,” Luke told her. He asked the blessing on the food, and they began to eat.
“Do I smell coffee?” Ivy asked, coming from the wagon.
“Yes, come have some breakfast with us,” Luke said.
“I don’t drink coffee without cream,” Ivy said.
“I just put some sugar in mine,” Patsy said, “and it’s good.”
“The coffee helps wash down the bread and jam,” Leah told her. Leah thought it all tasted pretty good. The bread was a little dry now, but the strawberry jam must have just been made, and it was very good.
Leah looked at Ivy. “I see the mosquitoes found you last night.” She had red welts scattered over her neck and what was exposed of her hands and arms. There were even some on her face.
“Oh, my,” she looked at her arms in disgust.
“Leah’s repellent worked great,” Luke said. “I heard a few mosquitoes buzzing around last night, but they didn’t land on me.”
“I didn’t have any problem, either,” Patsy smiled.
“What are you smiling about?” Ivy snapped. “Stay away from me. I don’t want to smell that awful concoction.”
“That’s going to be hard when we all have it on,” Luke told her. “I don’t think it smells much at all, certainly not bad.”
“I’ll ride in the back, then. You three can have the seat.” She stomped off to the back of the wagon. Leah could hear her rambling for her hand mirror.
When they all got into the wagon to resume the trip, Patsy took the end, which left Leah beside Luke again. Leah began noticing how often they touched, especially on some of the bumps. If the ruts were molded in certain positions, one of them would almost fall into the other, and, when the wagon leaned left, Leah would slide his way. Her face reddened at her thoughts. She almost wished Ivy would come back up and sit between her and Luke again. This was uncomfortable in more ways than one.
As the road became rougher, Patsy clutched the edge of the seat to keep from bouncing off, even though the wagon wasn’t going fast at all. Ivy must’ve been really bouncing around in the back.
“Take hold of my arm, if that would help you brace,” Luke told Leah.
“And, whose arm do I take hold of?” Ivy asked crossly from the back.
“Mine if you want to switch places with Leah.”
“Never mind,” she replied. “I can hold to the side of the wagon.”
Leah held onto Luke’s arm and tried to ignore the way her heart picked up and the odd tingle that ran through her. Lord, help me. Don’t let me feel attraction for my sister’s fiancé.
They came around the bend to find a freight wagon in the middle of the road with a broken wheel. The driver had a spare wheel, but he was having a hard time jacking up the wagon and changing the wheel by himself. He’d already unpacked most of his crates to make the wagon lighter.
“Looks like you need some help there,” Luke called out.
“I sure do,” the driver replied with a grin. “I’m tickled pink to see somebidy come along.” The burly man looked like a lumberjack with wide shoulders and thick arms.
“Ladies, you might as well get down and stretch a bit.” Luke helped them down from the wagon. Then, he went to the broken wagon. “I’m Luke Moretz,” he said to the driver and held out his hand.
“Jack Soots here.” The driver shook Luke’s hand. “If you’ll help me raise the wagon up some, I can hold it while you slip the new wheel on.”
He had a log laid across a thick tree section as a lever under the wagon. Luke helped him raise the wagon. As he’d said, Jack held it there, while Luke took the broken wheel off and slipped the new one on.
Jack eased the wagon down and came around to secure the wheel. “That should hold until I get to the next wheelwright.”
“Do you need some help to reload the wagon?”
“I guess I do.” He sounded reluctant. He put the log and tree trunk in the wagon, and started loading.
“It looks like you came prepared, anyway. Where are you headed?”
“I’ve had this happen a few times, so I carry the stump and beam with me. I’ll stop briefly in Yadkinville, but I’m going to Salisbury.”
“We just came from there. What are you hauling?”
“Just some farm products.”
“Produce?”
“It ain’t exactly produce. It’s more like corn products . . . corn juice.”
Luke helped him load the crates. “Does the road get worse as we go west?”
“I reckon it does. You be careful. Breaking a wheel’s bad enough, but you break an axle, and you’re in big trouble.”
“You take care, too,” Luke told him. “You don’t want to break your cargo.”
“That’s a fact. I’m hopin’ I got it packed and padded enough. I appreciate the help, Luke.”
Luke helped the women back into the wagon, and they moved forward again. They had lost about an hour.
“What did he mean about his cargo?” Leah asked.
“He must be hauling corn liquor. There are stills all through the region, especially Wilkes County and up the mountain.”
“Oh, my!”
“I don’t drink any strong drink,” he added. “I don’t like the idea of not knowing what’s going on or not being responsible for what I do. I guess I don’t like losing control to anything or anyone but God.”
“Does that mean you are authoritative and bossy?” Leah teased.
“What do you think, Leah?” he answered with a question, but he sounded serious.
“I think you’re fair and reasonable,” she said, matching his tone.
He was actually too fair sometimes, like in dealing with Ivy. It might be better if he could be a little more authoritarian there.
They rode without talking for a while. Leah could tell Luke tried to be careful how he hit the ruts and holes in the road. He didn’t want to damage the wagon and be stranded. They met a few other wagons, but they managed to get over and let the other wagon pass.
“Do we have enough food left to have a little to eat?” Luke asked. “Since we lost some time back there, I’m getting hungry.”
“There’s some since we bought food, and I cooked for supper yesterday. I think there’s some bread, cheese, and apples left.”
“That’ll do. I’ll pull off, when I can.”
“Do you have anything for this incessant itching, Leah?” Ivy asked when they’d stopped.
“Not with me,” Leah told her. “Luke, do you have any oats for porridge or apple cider vinegar?”
“I have some oats. Granny is partial to them in the winter.”
“I can make a paste by crushing them more and adding a little water. It will curb the itching and help the welts heal.”
“What will it look like?” Ivy asked.
“It’ll show some, but so do the red bumps. If you apply it carefully, it’ll help disguise the redness and look more skin toned.”
Ivy nodded. Leah prepared the paste after they ate, while Luke took the mules to a small stream. Ivy applied the paste very lightly and rubbed the edges, so the affected skin did look better.
“Apply it thicker tonight before you go to bed,” Leah told her. “It will make them heal faster.”
When they resumed the trip, Ivy took the end seat, and Patsy got in the back. Leah still ended up beside Luke, but Ivy must have decided she didn’t like the bumpy ride in the back.
Leah realized her attraction to Luke continued to grow, but she didn’t know how to stop it. She wondered if he felt it, too. Because of the way Ivy was acting, they seemed to be thrown together more and more.
If Luke minded Ivy’s pouts, he gave no indication. He allowed her to withdraw from him and didn’t appear bothered. If Ivy sought to punish Luke, it might just prove to punish Ivy more.
“Look,” Luke told Leah. He pointed to a dark-green, tree-covered mountain in the distance.
“Oh, that’s pretty,” Leah said. She’d never seen a mountain before. She’d seen pictures, of course, and Papa had told her about them. He and Paul had been in the Uwharries, but Papa said they weren’t good examples, since they were old and worn down to almost hills.
“That’s the start of the Brushies,” Luke told her. “Wait until you see the Blue Ridge and the Appalachians.”