Around the River's Bend (20 page)

“Why, how nice!” Elizabeth said as she crossed the porch.

Sabrina was not surprised to find Josh and Hannah's mother an attractive woman. She was in her midfifties, Sabrina guessed, with blond hair and green eyes. “Your son and daughter have been such a help to us. I don't think I could have made it here at all if it hadn't been for them.”

“Well, now, I'm glad to learn that those young'uns of mine have learned a little manners.”

“Welcome to the territory, Miss Fairfax.”

Mr. Spencer's hand was hard and strong, and she could see where Josh got his good looks. Hawk Spencer was tall and broad-shouldered with black hair showing streaks of gray, and he looked about the same age as his wife. He had the darkest blue eyes she had ever seen—so dark they were almost black.

“Come into the house,” he invited. “We want to hear all about this.”

Hannah and Sion, by that time, had approached and waited until the introductions were over. “This is Sion Kenyon. These are my parents, Sion.”

“It's happy I am to meet you,” Sion said. He bowed slightly toward Elizabeth, then took the hand that Hawk extended.

“Come inside.” Elizabeth said. “You must be worn out, Miss Fairfax.”

Sabrina entered the house and noted that the floor was made of a beautiful wood. She had learned that many cabins in the area had dirt floors, but the home of the Spencers was much more ornate. It was built of logs, but the room she entered was wide, and overhead peeled logs made girders that held up the attic. A ladder went up at one end of the room, and two doors led to other rooms.

“Here, won't you sit down, Miss Fairfax?” Elizabeth said.

“Oh, I think it would be nice if you called me Sabrina—and I believe I'd rather stand. Sitting in a wagon isn't the most comfortable thing in the world.”

“That's a nice name—Sabrina. I don't believe I've heard it before,” Hawk said. “How is it that an Englishwoman such as yourself comes to settle in the Colonies?”

Hannah explained how she had found the deed after her father died and described their journey on the ship.

“You know the tract, Pa,” Josh cut in. “It's over the side of Cain Ridge, where the big bluff is on the river.”

“Yes, I know it well. I'm afraid I shot quite a few deer over on your land, Miss Fairfax.”

“There's some sort of question about the title,” Josh said, “but I've got Andy Jackson looking into it. He'll get it straight in no time.”

Elizabeth and Hannah were bringing water to a boil as Hawk talked with the visitors. The two started to serve the tea, and Sabrina was impressed at the Spencer family. They were all fine looking, and Elizabeth Spencer had something of an aristocrat in her. She moved and spoke with such assurance and yet such grace that Sabrina took to her at once.

“As soon as you get rested up,” Josh said, “we'll take you over to see the land.”

“Oh, could we go today?” Sabrina asked quickly.

“I think it would be a little much for you. It's not too far from here, but I know you're tired,” Josh said. “Why don't we go first thing in the morning.”

Sabrina agreed, for she was tired. “All right. First thing in the morning, then.”

****

The next morning Josh and Hannah waited only long enough for breakfast to be served before they offered to take Sabrina to see the land. She was happy to go, and they left as soon as the meal was over. Once again Sion and Hannah rode the horses while Josh and Sabrina rode in the wagon.

As Hannah rode beside Sion, she found herself asking him all sorts of questions about his native land. She found he was better spoken than most of the young men she knew. There was a quickness about him and a sense of humor, she discovered. After a time she asked him, “What has impressed you most about America, Sion?”

Sion's eyes danced with mischief. “I expect,” he said without hesitation, “it's the spitting.”

“The spitting!” Hannah stared at him. “Whatever do you mean?”

“I mean Americans spit a lot. Almost everyone chews tobacco. I noticed that on the ship coming over with some Americans we met. And ever since we've been here it's been something I've paid attention to.” He glanced slyly at her and smiled. “It's a good thing spit evaporates or America would be flooded.”

Hannah laughed aloud and moved her horse closer to his. “You're teasing me. Tell me, what really has impressed you?”

“I suppose two things. Everything is so big. You have to remember, Miss Spencer, that in England and in Wales everything is much smaller.” He gestured toward the west and said, “That seems to go on forever. I've never seen such huge tracts of land and forest. It numbs the eye, almost, and the spirit to think of it. The other thing is how free people are.”

“Free? What do you mean, free?”

“I mean the English are a fairly reserved nation. They take a long time to get acquainted with each other, but Americans seem to be born to be close together.”

Hannah thought about Sion's words, then said, “I suppose that's true. Here people have to learn to serve one another.” She was thoughtful and did not speak for a time as her mind toyed with this idea. “Out here we live on credit, balances of little favors that we have to give and ask to have returned. In a country with as few people as we have, ‘Love thy neighbor' is less a pious injunction than a rule for survival. If you meet someone in trouble, you stop, because another time you may need him to stop for you.”

She continued to press him, wanting to know more about what he was really like. Finally she said, “Does it trouble you to leave your old home and come to a new place where everything is different?”

“Not at all. I'm very excited about being in America. Life is like a tree. It gets new branches, and some of the old dead branches have to go. Old things pass away and new things come.”

“I think Sabrina's worried about the title of the land.”

“Aye, she is.”

“But you're not?”

“No, I think God will take care of her and of me, of course. Sometimes my heart counts all the moments that come like a bank teller. It's more than the rustling of paper and the ringing of gold. Life is more than that, I think.”

Hannah liked his poetic way of speaking, and she drew him out as they made their way around the twisting road.

———

Josh drew up the wagon beside a bluff, and the two on horseback moved close to the wagon and stopped.

“Well, you're right in the middle of your own land, Sabrina.”

Sabrina looked around. Below the bluff she could see clear water running in a creek, and overhead the sky was blue. She took a deep breath of the glorious April air. “You know what I notice most about this country, Josh?”

“What's that?”

“It smells so clean. You can't imagine how bad London smells. Nearly a million people burning coal fires, and then the fog comes in, and you're breathing air that's loaded down with evil-smelling things. But here it's so clear and pure and beautiful.”

“I think so too. I'd hate to live anywhere else.”

“Isn't there a house anywhere on this place? Didn't the former owner build something?”

“He did build a small cabin, but it burned down. Some say the Indians set it on fire.”

Sabrina felt a touch of apprehension. “Are there still Indians around?”

“Oh yes, they come and go. They don't view land like we do.”

“How's that, Josh?”

“They see land as belonging to the whole tribe, not to an individual. It's hard to get into their heads that once they sell a place they can't come back. It's a sad situation, Sabrina. I feel sorry for the Indians.”

“Let's go show them the big meadow,” Hannah said. “Come on, Sion, I'll race you.” She kicked her heels into the mare and went flying off. Sion bounced along after her, for he was not an expert rider.

“That sister of mine will wear Sion to death. She's got more energy than any ten women I ever saw.”

“She's quite a woman.”

“Well, I think so too. Come along. I'll show you where the wild raspberries grow.”

****

The first week Sabrina spent with the Spencers had flown by. Every day had been busy, and she had gone back twice to view the land, once with Hannah and once with Josh. She had discovered some cleared ground, and Sion was anxious to break it and get a crop in. She herself knew nothing of planting crops, but she was grateful for Sion's interest. He had begun the work under the direction of Hawk, while she had spent a great deal of time with Elizabeth and Hannah finding out what women did in America. She was shocked at the amount of hard work that was necessary to keep a household going. Things she had always taken for granted had to be done the hard way. The only time she'd ever had to do any household work was when she'd lived with her aunt.

On Sunday there was no spoken invitation to attend church services, but the Spencers just assumed she would go. She made no protest, for she was anxious to meet more of her neighbors.

She dressed carefully for the occasion, wearing what she considered one of her simpler dresses. It was a linen dress of royal blue with a square neck and long sleeves and a snug bodice decorated with a single green ribbon bow.

Both Hannah and her mother wore even plainer dresses, and when they got into the wagon she was not surprised to see Sion wearing what he always wore, a pair of lightweight gray trousers and a white shirt. He had acquired a hat from either Hawk or Josh, and now it was pulled forward on his head. Sabrina smiled at him, and he nodded in return.

They made the trip into the town and found the church surrounded by wagons, carriages, and horses. People were talking and shaking hands as they made their way into the church. The building was made of logs, as was every other building in the village.

As Sion got out of the saddle, Hannah said, “Come along. I'll introduce you to the pastor, Sion.”

Sion followed her into the building, noticing that everyone's eyes were upon him and Sabrina. “Everyone's looking at us,” he whispered.

“We don't get too many strangers here. Come along. There's Rev. Anderson.”

The two went up to a man of middle size whose brown hair was turning gray, but his eyes were young. “Rev. Anderson, this is Sion Kenyon. He's Miss Fairfax's servant. He's been anxious to come and hear you preach. He's from Wales.”

“From Wales, is it?” Paul Anderson smiled. “Well, I understand they have great preachers there. I doubt you'll hear anything that eloquent from me.”

“Glad I am to know you, Reverend.”

They had no time for talk, for it was time for the service. Sion found himself guided to one of the pews near the front by Hannah, and they were joined by her parents.

Sabrina took in the interior of the church, which was rough indeed. The seats were all split logs with the flat side turned upward and supported by legs made of saplings. The log walls were unpainted, and there were only four windows in the entire structure. They were, as a matter of fact, the first real glass windows she had seen in any building, save the Spencers' house. She had discovered that glass windows were a mark of extreme prosperity. Even now before the service, the room was filled with talk, and many of the men were smoking. She even saw one old woman puffing away at a corncob pipe.

“We're fortunate to have a regular pastor,” Elizabeth said to Sabrina. “Some settlements have to wait for weeks or even months for an itinerant preacher to come by.”

Even as she was speaking, a tall, thin man got up and said, “We're ready for the service to begin. We'll start by singing ‘Old Hundredth.'”

Sabrina did not know the hymn, and she was surprised to see that there was no musical accompaniment whatsoever. Everyone sang loudly, and as the service progressed, she was surprised at how hymns were sung. The song leader would sing the first line, and then the congregation would join him in singing it together. Then he would sing the second line, which would then be sung.

“That's called ‘lining out' the hymns,” Elizabeth whispered to her. “I'd never seen it done before I came here.”

The song service went on for a considerable length of time. An offering was taken, and numerous announcements were made. Finally Rev. Anderson got up and began to speak. From time to time during the sermon Sabrina would glance at Sion, who appeared to be drinking in the man's words. As for Sabrina herself, she had not paid attention to a sermon in years. She had sat through the high church services out of habit, but something about Anderson's preaching held her. He was talking about the woman taken in adultery, and when he spoke of the compassion of Jesus, his voice almost broke.

Why, he's almost ready to weep!
Sabrina saw with astonishment. She had never been so affected by the Scriptures, but as she sat there, she became aware that there was a reality to the religion of this man of God that she was not accustomed to. Glancing around, she saw that the worshipers were drinking in his words. Many times there were shouts of “Amen” or “Hallelujah” or “Praise God,” which startled her at first, but gradually she became accustomed to it. Finally the pastor invited those who were not saved to come forward, and she was surprised to see six people stand and leave their seats. They were greeted by the pastor and then several of the men—leaders of the church evidently—began to pray with them. This went on for some time, and finally one woman who had gone forward began to shout.

“What's wrong with her, Elizabeth?” Sabrina whispered.

“Nothing is wrong. She's just come through. That's Hetty Sanders. She's been seeking now for nearly six months.”

“Seeking what?”

Elizabeth turned with surprise in her eyes. “Why, seeking God, of course. Haven't you ever seen that before?”

Sabrina did not answer, for this was far outside of her experience. After the service was over she went outside and met a great many people, most of them whose names she could not remember. The majority of them were rather poorly dressed farmers, but she met one young man who was different.