Riverbreeze: Part 2 (48 page)

Elizabeth wasn’t as enthusiastic, but she was curious to know what was so extraordinary about this pie. She took a nibble and much to her chagrin, found it quite delicious. As she eagerly finished her slice, she looked around the place, feeling a renewed sympathy for Mrs. Billings.

The house was ever so plain and poor. There were no curtains on the windows, only shutters, nor were there any rugs on the plank floor, but everything was neat and clean. In the back corner, there was a double bed with a trundle underneath for the boy and in the middle of the room was a board table and benches. Several shelves lined the room which held all the family’s bowls, platters, pitchers, utensils and a few worn books. One chest was at the foot of the bed and another linen coffer was set against the opposite wall.

Elizabeth looked at this linen coffer with a closer eye. The rectangular piece of furniture was constructed of oak and was larger than an ordinary linen coffer and taller too. It was set on a four-legged frame and Elizabeth had never seen a linen coffer like that before. There was something about it that really piqued her interest, mostly its height and size.

She silently moved away from her sister who was now occupied with her husband and inched closer to the coffer.
What is that
? She thought.

“Do the dogs need anything to eat or drink?” Mr. Billings was asking Jamie.

“A bowl of water will be sufficient. Abigail already provided us with some dried meat.” He answered, licking up the last of the crumbs from his plate. Evelyn elbowed him, mortified by his bad manners.

“I’ll get that straightaway.” Isaac said, not noticing. “I want them to be happy.”

Elizabeth was now only a foot from the coffer. She was about to reach out and run her hand along the top when Elsa suddenly appeared behind her. “Would you like to see it open?” She asked.

Startled, Elizabeth spun around. She flushed red, embarrassed at being caught eyeing someone else’s things. “I’m sorry.” She stammered.

“No, no. I show you.” Elsa said, generosity and pride in her voice. “My finest possession. From my home in Antwerpen.”

Elizabeth glanced at Elsa’s face and indeed a softness had come over her. There was something special about this coffer!

Elsa carefully opened the lid and Elizabeth gasped. Her heart leapt. As the lid was opened fully and the fallboard was let down, she couldn’t believe her eyes. A virginal! A gorgeous, strikingly beautiful virginal.

“Oh
madame
.” She whispered. “’Tis magnificent! Evie! Come look at this!” She quickly called her sister over.

Elsa beamed while the sisters admired the virginal, for the musical instrument was indeed magnificent. The keyboard, which was placed to the right of the center of the case, was surrounded by gilded, embossed papers. The same papers also covered the front of the case and lined the inside of the fallboard as well as the soundboard. A pastoral scene had been painted on the inside of the lid and Elizabeth guessed that this scene represented Elsa’s homeland.

“May I play it?” Elizabeth asked, her fingers itching to touch the painted, wooden keys.

“Do you play?” Elsa asked.

“I do.” Elizabeth answered, her eyes bright. She hadn’t played in over six months but she was sure she hadn’t forgotten how.

“You may play for one minute, but then we must go.”

“Oh Mrs. Billings! I do apologize.” She said, feeling awful. Seeing this beautiful instrument had made her forget all about the boy. “You’re right; we must go straightaway. I can play later,
oui
?”

“Ja
.”

* * *

Leaving the house and leaving that instrument behind without playing at least a single note was one of the most difficult things that Elizabeth had ever done. Even though she had grown up playing the larger harpsichord, she had heard other people play the virginal and had enjoyed its light, clear tinkling tone. She couldn’t wait to return, and when Jamie had led them all in a prayer right before they had left the house, she had selfishly added her own prayer, asking God to help them find the boy so that they could all return to this house and she could play this fine instrument in celebration.

The weather was much worse. It was pouring down rain and everyone huddled under their cloaks and hats. Mrs. Billings had gotten a shirt of her son’s and had allowed the dogs to smell it for a long time. Now they strained on their leashes, ready to go, despite the rain. Elizabeth was doubtful that they could follow a scent in this inclement weather, but she didn’t say anything. She had already raised the Billings’ hopes; now she didn’t want to crush them.

They split into two groups; Elizabeth, Nathan and Mrs. Billings headed out towards the back of the property while Jamie, Evelyn and Mr. Billings searched along the river. A sudden fear took a hold of Elizabeth. There was only Nathan to protect both her and Mrs. Billings while Evelyn had both Jamie and Mr. Billings. What if they got lost? What if they fell into a swamp? What if they came upon a bear or a wolf or a bobcat? Nathan had been entrusted with a gun, but what if he ran off, leaving the two women alone? What had she gotten herself into?

Somehow Nathan must have read her mind or perhaps he was good at reading her facial expressions because he said, “I will protect you, Mistress, as I promised your husband I would. And you as well, Mistress Billings.” He bowed to both women.

Then they took off towards the woods at the back of the property. Fleurette was released and she ran straight into the forest howling and yelping. Nathan followed easily, keeping sight of her wagging, white-tipped tail but Elizabeth and especially Mrs. Billings, still in skirts, had a bit more trouble.

They couldn’t even take time to catch their breaths, but at least the rain wasn’t coming down in sheets in the forest. The pine, oak and sycamore trees grew so thickly here that their branches formed a natural canopy.

Nathan kept up an impossible pace, shouting encouragement to the two women as they fell behind, but it was extremely difficult for them to keep up. Twigs and branches reached out to snag their cloaks and Mrs. Billings’ skirts; fallen tree trunks and protruding roots threatened to trip them and there was absolutely no path to follow. After an eternity, it seemed, Mrs. Billings had to stop. She bent over at the waist, gasping for breath and holding her stomach. She was crying, realizing she couldn’t keep up any longer.

“I cannot go on.” She gasped, taking in great gulps of air.

Elizabeth anxiously looked ahead for Nathan, hoping she wouldn’t completely lose sight of him. She could still hear Fleurette’s vague barks in the distance and Nathan’s shouts, but they were quickly fading.

“Nathan!” She shouted as loud as she could. “Nathan, wait!” She turned back to Mrs. Billings. “You must go on!” She cried. “We must catch up to Nathan.”

“I cannot!” Tears were streaming down Elsa’s face, mingling with the few raindrops that had managed to find their way through the pine boughs. “I am…” She waved her hand while she desperately tried to think of the English word. “I am…over tired.” She finally said. “You go on wit’out me.”

“NAA-THAAAN!” Elizabeth screamed in the direction she thought he had taken. Quickly she turned back to Elsa. “I can’t leave you here alone!” She yelled, starting to cry also. This was disastrous.

“You go. I find my way back home.” Elsa said, sobbing uncontrollably. “You find my boy.”

Elizabeth didn’t respond immediately, but looked into the depths of the woods, seeing nothing but trees and more trees, her heart pounding and her stomach in knots. Nathan was out of sight now and she didn’t know if the noises she was hearing were his shouts or the howling of the wind. Should she go back with Elsa or should she go on without her? She had to decide quickly, but when she didn’t, Elsa continued, revealing a surprising bit of news.

“I am wit’ child.” Elsa whispered, tears streaking her flushed face. “I go home.”

Elizabeth nearly groaned. If she had known that Elsa was pregnant, she would have never agreed to allow the woman to join her and Nathan in the search. Did her husband know? She asked Elsa.

“No, he does not know. I tell him later.”

Elizabeth made her decision. She grabbed Elsa’s hands and looked into her eyes. “Are you sure you can find your way back home?” Elsa nodded. “All right. You go home and I’ll catch up with Nathan and Fleurette. We’ll find your boy.”

“Thank you. God be wit’ you.”

They exchanged a last quick embrace and then Elizabeth started to run in the direction she thought she had seen Nathan take.

Was she crazy? She thought she might be. She had lost sight of Nathan; she couldn’t hear him or the dog anymore. She had left an exhausted, pregnant woman alone in the woods and she herself was exhausted. Her legs ached and her feet hurt, but at least her woolen cloak had kept the rain off of her and the boy’s clothes had kept her warm enough.

How had this happened? Nathan should not have allowed them to become separated. But Fleurette had run ahead so quickly and Nathan had not wanted to lose her.

Elizabeth couldn’t blame him. She had agreed to the plan of releasing the dog and letting her lead the way. But now she was having second thoughts, although it was a bit too late for second thoughts.

Sobs choking her throat, she forged ahead. She yelled out to Nathan until her throat was too sore and no more sound came out. She tried to see differences in the hundreds of trees, but everything appeared the same to her. This environment was so foreign to her. It wasn’t like the city of London at all where she could navigate the streets with ease. She turned around in circles, looking, looking, searching. She didn’t want to admit it, but she feared she was lost.

A rustling amongst the undergrowth to her left scared her; she let out a scream and looked in the direction of the noise, hoping it was not some sort of dangerous animal, and even though she didn’t see anything, she took off in a blind run in the opposite direction. She ran until she thought she would drop and finally did stop when the wind picked up and a flash of lightening lit up the sky, filtering through the tree tops.

She jumped and cried out, then jumped again at the tremendous boom of thunder. The sound of the ensuing downpour was deafening and she stopped to squat down and huddle next to the thick trunk of a pitch pine tree with its branches protecting her.

“Where are you, Nathan?” She cried to herself, shivering in fear and hugging herself. “Please, please find me.”

Another flash of lightening, another boom of thunder. She didn’t know what to do. If she went back, she would probably get lost going in that direction too.

To distract herself from horrible thoughts, she imagined herself finding the boy and then presenting him to the Billings. How happy they would be! They would hug and kiss their son, they would hug and kiss each other; they would hug and kiss her and Nathan and Jamie and Evelyn and the dogs. They would all be heroes; they would all be praised and lauded. She would be safe again, warm again and she would play Bonny Sweet Robin, her favorite song, on the virginal. She started to sing a little of the song out loud, but her voice was faint and wobbly with fear.

Her voice trailed off. Alone and frightened, her singing didn’t bring her the joy it normally did. Oh God, she had never been more miserable in her life or more scared, not even after hearing about her father’s death or while traveling to Virginia. Was this the end? Was this how her life was going to end? She thought of never seeing Robert again. She thought of never seeing her sister again, or Jamie or Robin or Abigail. How could she have been so stupid as to offer to search for the Billings’ lost boy?

She would never do it again. She vowed that if she were found or if she found her own way out of these woods and eventually arrived safely back home, she would never offer to do such a reckless thing again. She remembered saying to Robert what a wonderful team they would make, offering help to endangered people, and she still believed that. That was not physically dangerous, making suggestions, guiding people to do something different than what they might have already planned to do. But this was dangerous, offering the actual assistance.

Presently the rain let up and Elizabeth slowly stood up and stretched her stiff limbs, looking up at the sky through a break in the branches. The clouds were still thick in the sky; the woods were still as dark as night.

The memory of her dream came back to her then, comforting her and reassuring her. No, she wasn’t going to die in this scary forest. She was going to live a long life, have several children with Robert and grow old and happy with her husband. Taking a deep breath and fishing out a handkerchief from her sleeve, she blew her nose and dried her tears. Straightening her spine, she decided to move ahead and not go back. She still believed there was a chance to find Nathan and Fleurette.

Stepping carefully over puddles and scattered sticks and patches of spongy pine needles and sycamore leaves, she once again moved forward, hoping she was going in the right direction. She called out again, but her voice was so hoarse, she didn’t think a person standing ten feet from her could hear her.

Eventually she must come to the end of this forest or bump into a house or something! She thought. These woods could not go on forever!

And then she heard the trickle of water, just a faint tinkling at first. She picked up her speed, listening and following the sound. The trickle grew louder, water gurgling through a creek and over small rocks.