Her Captain's Heart (4 page)

“Yes, my whole family was very active in the abolitionist movement,” Verity replied.
Where was this leading?

Hannah nodded. “I figured so. What're y'all doing here in Fiddlers Grove, then?”

Only God knows the full answer to that.
“I came to teach school.”

“What school?”

“The school Matthew Ritter is here to build.”

Hannah stared at her. “I heard the Ritter boy come back.”

“Yes, he has.” So Matthew was generally known here. Verity tried to discern what Hannah's attitude was toward the man's return, but Hannah's reaction was not apparent.

“What you two living here together for? Are you married?”

Verity sighed silently and tried to quell the trembling that wouldn't leave her. The close living arrangement with Matthew would be a topic of gossip and speculation, so she might as well tell this woman. She explained the mistake about her coming too soon and Matthew moving to the cabin. Hoping to sidestep the queries and pick up some information, Verity continued, “May I ask thee a question?”

Hannah nodded.

“Soon it will be First Day. And I see that thee has but two churches in town—”

“First day, what that?” Hannah looked puzzled.

“Quakers use Plain Speech, meaning we try to speak simply and truthfully. We do not use the same names for the days of the week as other Christians do because each one of them is named after a pagan god.”

“I never knew that.”

Beth piped up, “Wednesday is from Woden. He was a Nordic god.”

“Do tell,” Hannah replied with a grin.

Verity chuckled, but pressed on, “I was inquiring about the churches—”

“We got St. John's and Fiddlers Grove Community,” Hannah said.

“Which church does thee worship at?” Verity asked, setting down her cup carefully so as not to let it rattle on the saucer.

“Neither. I attend Brother Elijah's preaching on the Ransford place on Sunday afternoons. Elijah is the Ransford butler and my husband.”

Verity nodded. “I see. Does either town church have an evening service?”

“Fiddlers Grove Community has 6:30 p.m. service. But St. John's only meet at 9:00 a.m. sharp. They got a bell. Y'all hear it, all right.”

“Thank you, Hannah.” Verity waited, sensing the woman was finally about to reveal her reason for coming.

Hannah put her empty cup down on the step. She bowed her head for a moment and then looked up at Verity. “I can't read or write. Can you write me a letter? I know the name and a place to send it. I can pay.”

The request pricked Verity's heart.
How awful not to be able to read and write. Lord, help me get this school started here or wherever Thee wishes.
“I have time to write a letter. And I would take it as a kindness if thee would let me do it for thee without pay. I don't think it's right to charge a neighbor.”

Hannah grinned. “I thank you. Will you write that letter for me now?”

“Certainly.” Verity rose and dragged her chair back inside, leading the way for her daughter and Hannah to follow. “Who am I writing to?”

“The name's Isaiah Watson and he live in Buffalo, New York.”

“Is this a matter of business?” Verity asked.

“Don't know if you'd call this business or not. There be someone I want to find. And I think Mr. Isaiah Watson might know where that person be.”

“Aunt Hannah,” Beth asked, “who is the person that you want to find?”

“Miss Beth, I want to find my boy.”

I
n the dazzling light of First Day, Verity gazed at St. John's Church, which sat on a gentle rise in the midst of an oak grove at the edge of town. It was small but impressive with its tall steeple and golden marigolds along its cobblestone path. Her father-in-law and Beth walked beside her, through the red door and into the sudden dimness of the church foyer. Matthew brought up the rear. A very grim and reluctant Matthew.

She hoped that three visits to three churches would remind the people of Fiddlers Grove that they shared a common faith in Christ. Still, her spine had become a tightly wound spring she couldn't relax. She feared that this would be worse than visiting the store. Quakers never called attention to themselves—never. And worst of all, the fear Matthew had sparked within her lingered.

Inside St. John's, a pipe organ began playing. Beth did a little jump. “Music.”

Verity smiled, though her lips felt stiff. Beth shared her late father's love of music. Verity waited until the congregation had finished the first verse, then she nodded at Joseph and Matthew. Joseph led them down the center aisle to seats in an empty pew near the back of the church. Matthew removed his hat and stood beside Verity, taking the aisle space. He hadn't brought his rifle, of course, but he looked as forbidding as if he had. It was almost as if he expected someone to attack them.

As expected, many heads swiveled to watch them enter. Verity smiled, her lips wooden. Then Beth began to sing along, as did Joseph. Their voices—the high wispy soprano and the low bass—blended in with the singing. “‘Lord, as to Thy dear cross we flee, and plead to be forgiven.'” She hoped the people singing were listening to the words coming from their mouths. “‘Kept peaceful in the midst of strife, forgiving and forgiven, O may we lead the pilgrim's life, and follow Thee to heaven.'”

Quaker meetings were composed of silence, praying and speaking, not singing. Though Verity didn't feel comfortable singing, she enjoyed the music, which calmed her wary heart and lifted her spirit. Still, Matthew stood beside her as stiff and silent as a sentinel. Waves of infectious tension wafted from him. But his formidable presence also managed to reassure her. No one would antagonize Matthew Ritter without good reason.

Verity looked up over her shoulder and saw what must have been a slaves' balcony. It was empty now, showing that—after emancipation—the black population must not want to come to the white man's church.

The hymn ended. There was a general rustling around the church as books were put back into their holders and ladies gathered their skirts to sit down. Verity concentrated on the vicar, who in his clerical collar and vestments looked about the same age as her father-in-law. Then she noted that one man, who looked to be about Matthew's age, kept glancing back at her and Matthew.

Throughout the rest of the service, Verity tried to ignore the surreptitious glances from the people of Fiddlers Grove. It was no surprise that people would be curious about them; still, it made her uneasy. Who was the one man who looked at Matthew over and over?

After the final hymn was sung, the congregation rose and made its way into the aisle. Verity, Joseph, Beth and Matthew made their way toward the clergyman, standing at the doorway and shaking hands with everyone as they left.

She was very aware of the same man who'd kept glancing at Matthew. Was he planning on making trouble? Matthew, on the other hand, pointedly ignored the man.

When it was finally her turn to offer her hand to the vicar, it felt as if the whole congregation on the steps and in the foyer paused and fell silent, listening. Verity swallowed and tried to smile.

“Good morning,” the vicar said. “I am Pastor Savage.”

“That's a scary name,” Beth said.

Verity touched her daughter's shoulder. Beth hung her head and then curtsied. “I beg your pardon.”

“Mine is an unusual name, especially for a clergyman.” Pastor Savage smiled. “You are new to Fiddlers Grove.”

“Yes,” Joseph responded, and shook the pastor's hand.

“Everyone has been wondering why you have come to our little town. Many believe you are one of those meddling Yankee schoolmarms we've heard of.” His tone was friendly but uncertain.

“It is hard to be a stranger in a small town,” Verity said without giving him an answer. She liked the pastor's eyes. They were good eyes. But very sad ones, too.

“Maybe our new family moved to Fiddlers Grove for their health,” a pretty woman in a once stylish but now faded dress suggested in a sly tone. She stood beside the man who'd been watching Matthew.

Verity smiled, though a frisson of fear went through her. Had there been a veiled threat in that statement? Would it be “unhealthy” here for them? There was a pregnant pause while everyone waited for Verity to reply.

When she did not, the man beside the woman said, “May I make myself known to you? This is my wife, Lirit, and I'm Dacian Ransford. I wish to welcome you to our town.”

Mr. Ransford must have served in the Confederate Army. He had that “starved and marched too long” look she'd seen so often in '63. “I am pleased to meet thee,” she murmured, for once not really sure she meant her proper words. It was obvious in the way Dacian dressed that he was a prominent member of society here. Hadn't Hannah said that her husband was the Ransford butler?

Joseph accepted Dacian Ransford's hand and Beth curtsied. Then before Joseph could introduce the fourth member of their party, the man faced Matthew. “Hello, Matt.”

“Dace.” Matthew nodded, no emotion visible on his face.

“I didn't expect to see you in Fiddlers Grove again.” Neither Dacian Ransford's tone nor his expression gave any clue as to whether he thought it good or bad to see Matthew here now. Yet neither offered a hand to the other.

Verity tried to behave as if she were unaware of the heightened tension that ran through the milling congregation. Matthew's expression became stony.

“Oh?” Matt replied. No emotion. No inflection.

Perhaps war did this to men; perhaps it “closed” them. Suddenly she wondered why Matthew's family had left Fiddlers Grove.

As Verity studied the two men, a forceful wind moved her skirts. Overhead, large white clouds glided across the blue sky.

“How is my aunt Samantha?” Dacian asked Matthew.

“My mother died of cholera in '62. She had been widowed for a year then. And my aunt Sarah Rose?” Matthew asked.

“My mother passed just after Lincoln was elected. A fever. My father survived her by two years.”

“I'm sorry to hear that,” Matthew said, sounding sincere.

“And I'm sorry also about your parents passing.” The two men were silent for a moment, and then Dacian nodded and took his wife's elbow, steering her down the church steps.

Verity tried to make sense of this exchange between first cousins, as well as the shocking news she'd gathered—the fact that Matthew hadn't mentioned Dacian. Why hadn't Matthew just told them he had relatives in town?

 

Later that day, Matthew trailed after Verity and her family, heading toward the singing coming from a maple-and-oak grove on the Ransford plantation. Why had the Quaker insisted they attend three church services today? She'd only smiled when he'd asked her. He was tempted to stay behind, but he hadn't wanted her going without him. And of course, he'd come face-to-face with Dace this morning. His emotions from that meeting continued to bubble up inside him. He crammed them down.
Forget it. Forget all of it.

The singing drew them closer and he began to recognize many of the black faces as people from his childhood. He tightened his defenses against all this remembering. Yet he still searched for Samuel's face. From him, he might get a genuine welcome.

Before emancipation, slaves had been required to attend church with their masters. Now they were holding their own service and singing a popular freedom song he'd heard in the streets of Richmond and Washington D.C.

At sight of them, the whole congregation broke off in the middle of a note and fell silent. Abashed, the widow's little girl hung back, hiding within the folds of her mother's skirt. The boisterous wind that had come up this morning was now picking up more speed. The black ribbons of the Quaker's bonnet flared in the wind. Verity smiled, looking untroubled and genuine. But was anyone that cool? What would stir this woman enough to pierce her outward calm? Or did it go straight through to her very core?

Matt had eaten the cold midday meal with them, but hadn't offered any explanation about his past in Fiddlers Grove. Why couldn't he just tell her why his family had left and why he'd come back? Somehow, explanations remained impossible.

He recognized Hannah in the shade of a twisted old oak and felt a pang. Samuel's mother had survived. She hurried to him and hugged him. “Mr. Matt, welcome home.”

“Mr. Matt!” Hannah's husband, Elijah, grasped both Matt's hands. “I heard that you had come back to town. As I live and breathe, sir. As I live and breathe.”

“It's good to see you, too, Elijah.” Matt swallowed down all the memories that were forcing their way up from deep inside him. He wanted so much to ask about Samuel, but he found he couldn't say the name.

Elijah visibly pulled himself together. “Yes, welcome home, Mr. Matt.” The man's genuine warmth had been so unexpected that Matt glanced skyward, hiding his reaction.

It struck him that Elijah wasn't quite as tall as Matt remembered him. Perhaps because Matt had been a child the last time he'd seen Elijah. Elijah looked gaunt, and his closely cropped hair and bushy eyebrows were threaded with silver. He was dressed in a good-quality but worn suit and spoke with a cultured cadence. After all, he was the Ransfords' butler.

Again Matt felt the urge to ask where Samuel was. But what if Samuel had died? He couldn't bring himself to stir those waters.

“Y'all come just like you said you would.” Hannah approached Verity and offered her a work-worn hand. “I told everybody about how you wrote that letter for me.”

What letter? To whom?
Matt's heart started throbbing in his chest.
What was the woman up to now?

Verity shook Hannah's hand. “It was a pleasure to help thee. Hannah, thee remembers my daughter, Beth. And this is my father-in-law, Joseph Hardy.”

Hannah introduced Verity and her family to Elijah. “Sister Verity, we're glad to have you and your family. Welcome,” he said.

“I ain't glad,” declared a large woman wearing a patterned indigo kerchief over her hair. “Do the Ransfords know this Ritter boy back in town? And what a white woman and her folks doin' comin' here? I want to know if she with the Freedman's Bureau. And when we going to get our land? That's the only reason I stayed in this place—to get what's due me.”

“I told you they was Quakers and abolitionists afore the war.” Hannah propped her hands on her ample hips. “And why shouldn't the Ritter boy come home?”

Come home.
Matt was undone. Blinking away tears, he stared up into the gray clouds flying in from the northeast.

The woman with the indigo kerchief demanded, “Are they are our side or master side?”

“We are on God's side, I hope,” Verity said. “I wish thee will all go on with thy singing, Elijah.”

Matt glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.
Thank you.
Hannah urged the widow and her family to take seats on the large downed log in the shade. Matt hung back, leaning against an elm. The brim of the widow's bonnet flapped in the wind, giving him glimpses of her long, golden-brown lashes against her fair cheek.

Soon, the congregation was singing and clapping to “O Mary.”

Matt wondered if, in their minds, Pharaoh's army was the Army of the Confederacy. It had gone down in defeat like Pharaoh's army. But it hadn't been an easy defeat. Why was it that he could stand here in the sun listening to beautiful singing and yet still be on the battlefield, with cannons blasting him to deafness? Why wouldn't his mind just let go of the war?

The little girl was singing and clapping with the gathering. Her mother sat quiet and ladylike, her gloved hands folded in her lap. Her serenity soothed something in Matt. He tried not to stare, but drew his gaze away with difficulty.