NINE
T he afternoon sun cast golden streaks across the valley. Maggie was taken aback at the simplistic beauty. Preoccupied yesterday with their arrival, she hadn’t taken in the farm until now.
Several acres of cleared land contained the little house, barn, and several outbuildings. A garden, overflowing with bounty, was tucked near the house. There were two sprawling fields behind the barn, a small corral area. It was a well-established farm.
The one peculiar addition was a small plot of tilled earth near the edge of the garden. It was barren, with seemingly no purpose, save for a tall cross staked in the middle. Strange, but perhaps it was a Quaker tradition.
Maggie walked to check out the barn, dodging the chickens that freely roamed. Inside was an impressive wood-working area. Half-finished projects were scattered along the workbench, but the craftsmanship of even the unfinished pieces was clear. The Howards seem to do very well for themselves.
There was a familiar nicker. Samson had spotted her from his stall.
She rubbed his nose. “Comfy, are you?”
His manger was full of fresh hay and feed. Samson munched on some, as if to show her he was pleased. After the many days of travel, no doubt he was as relieved as she was to be settled for a bit.
Maggie gave him one final pat and went to find Henry.
The rest of the outbuildings were empty, but she could hear some other animals in the distance.
Crossing the fields, she found a small footpath that continued through the woods, and she followed it until it opened to another clearing.
Miles of open field stretched before her with a decent-sized flock grazing in the rolling grassy hills.
The Howards’ valley wasn’t so small after all, and Levi wasn’t just a farmer.
Had she stepped into another universe? The entire country had been ravaged by war, and yet, here this farm stood virtually untouched. A garden, chickens, sheep… Every farm back home and that they’d passed on the journey here had been barely surviving, if at all.
The Howards were rich in supplies aplenty. None of it made any sense.
Levi, Elijah, and Henry stood underneath the shelter of a group of trees on the next hill. Elijah spotted her coming down the path and waved before coming to meet her.
“Good day, Margaret.” He greeted her with enthusiasm. “I hope thee rested well.” Like his mother, Elijah was hard to dislike, and his joy was contagious.
“Yes, thank you. It was kind of you to give up your bed.”
“Uncle Henry and I were glad to bunk in the barn. Father is showing him the flock. Would thee care to join us?”
Agreeing, Maggie and Elijah walked back to Levi and Henry. It seemed she wasn’t the only one who wore borrowed clothes. Clad in brown pants and flannel shirt, complete with boots, Henry looked much more like a farmer than Levi did. Perhaps Abigail would mend his tattered uniform.
As they drew closer, she saw Henry staring at her with his eyes shining in the sunlight. It made her blush and she forced her gaze down to her feet.
Levi greeted her and when she lifted her head to face him, she was careful not to glance in Henry’s direction. Every fiber of her being felt his presence. After all the time she’d spent wishing to never see him again, she realized how much she had grown used to him during their journey.
Elijah chatted gaily and pointed out the different breeds of sheep in the flock to her.
Levi only corrected him once. “My son loves animals as much as I, but I believe his heart lies in his craftsmanship.”
“Oh! So, you’re the wood carver,” she exclaimed to Elijah. “I saw some of your beautiful items in the barn.”
Bashfully, Elijah accepted her praise. “Would thee like to see more? I have other pieces in the lean-to.”
“I’d love to, but your mother sent me to fetch everyone. Dinner will be ready soon. After?”
“Absolutely.” A dimple showed in his cheek.
So much like Joel. Her smile faltered a little.
“We were just about done here, I think. We’ll accompany thee back to the house,” Levi announced.
Nodding, Maggie walked alongside Elijah and Levi, keeping Henry behind her. They walked through the fields, stepping between the furrows.
She had to ask. “Not to appear rude, but I couldn’t help but notice… With the flock and the garden and the house, you look virtually untouched by the war… How have you managed to keep hidden?”
Levi chuckled. “Thee doesn’t miss much, does thee?”
She felt the flush spread across her cheeks, bashful at her own bluntness.
“Our cove does provide a measure of protection… not many wander this far up into the mountains. Not all of our neighbors have been so lucky. This area was once heavily populated by Friends until the slave trade expanded in the South, and many chose to relocate to the Midwest…It’s well known that Friends oppose treating humans as a commodity.
That’s presented as a threat from our southern brothers, unfortunately. ”
Levi shook his head, appearing disgruntled.
“Quakers are pacifists—we don’t believe in violence.
But if one side is to be chosen, it wouldn’t be the Confederate Army.
The rumored belief that Quakers aid the Underground Railroad makes many households a target.
Confederate patrols come through a Quaker house, taking any able-bodied man that is of age, and forcibly removing thee from thine home.
Take him to a camp, try to force thee to fight.
First, those men are threatened with execution.
If that doesn’t work, sometimes they are tortured.
Left without food or water. Hung up by their arms—”
Bile rose in her stomach from the picture Levi drew. How could anyone be capable of such horror?
Levi must’ve noticed her expression because he stopped himself short. “As I say, there are those who have encountered such evils. But we have not.”
Yet. She mentally finished Levi’s sentence. No one spoke for a moment.
“How old are you, Elijah?” She didn’t want to ask the question, but it’d already formed in her mind.
“Seventeen. But, thee has no need to worry.” His voice was even. Maggie’s face was an open book. “Should the time come, we’ll figure out what to do.”
“Oh?” The word sounded weak, even to her. How? Less than a year away and you could be fodder on a field.
“We pray every day that this war will soon end,” Levi responded to the question that was likely on everyone’s mind.
“Amen.” Henry voiced from behind.
Unable to help herself, she turned. Henry met her gaze with nothing to hide. Their only answer seemed to be prayer. And that was one thing she did not count on.
They drew near the house and Levi stopped. “Elijah, thee had best wash up or Mother will scold.” The two Howard men headed towards the well, leaving Henry and Maggie alone.
Before she could hurry into the house, Henry spoke. “You look well. I think the mountain air agrees with you.”
Was she imagining the tenderness in his eyes as his gaze rested on her face?
Heat flooded her cheeks again. “You seem to be recovering well,” was all she could think in response.
“The farm always makes me feel alive.” He gestured to the vast open space. “I feel as if I’d been on the ark for forty days and nights and just stepped out into the new paradise.”
“I didn’t know Noah had to climb hills in the ark.” Her remark was dry.
A smile spread to his eyes. “Not hills of land, but I’m sure the rolling waves weren’t much fun either.”
“Fair enough. Shall we go in?” The thought of dinner awaiting them was tantalizing enough to put any debate aside.
Stuffed, Maggie pushed back her plate. She’d eaten more than her share, but she couldn’t remember the last time she’d had such delicacies.
Abigail had prepared a delicious chicken, buttered vegetables, and bread drizzled in wild honey.
The dinner conversation had been light—Abigail must have given strict instructions to make her feel welcome.
“I will take thine plate,” Elijah said. He was very attentive to her. A boyish crush, no doubt, as her father would say.
She thanked him and stood to help clear away the rest of the meal. Levi and Henry also got up to move two chairs closer to the fire and out of the way. The kitchen was much too small for all five adults to be moving about.
Between Abigail, Maggie, and Elijah, everything was soon made tidy and clean. Leaning over, Maggie took a damp cloth to wipe off some crumbs from the table. Unknowingly, the cross necklace slipped out of her bodice and swayed from her neck. The gold shone brightly in the candlelight.
Elijah’s hand shot out, coming close to her chest. “Wow, that’s beautiful—”
Maggie jerked back violently. She fell against a cupboard that was behind her and the dishes that’d just been stacked there clattered. Silence filled the kitchen as the last dish settled. Everyone looked at her.
Elijah’s face flushed brilliant red. “I-I’m sorry, Margaret. I should’ve asked thee.”
Breathing heavily and embarrassed at her reaction, tears welled in her eyes. She bolted out of the house, not thinking of what direction she was going. Her only thought was to get away from the stares.
Why had she done that?
It was purely instinctive. She knew it was only Elijah’s curiosity, but seeing his hand draw near her, she was right back in the woods with James. What would she tell them to explain?
Out of breath, she stopped and sank to the ground.
Burying her head against her knees, she imagined Henry telling them all about her ruined reputation back at the house—they’d never addressed the details.
For all he knew, James could’ve ravished her before he came upon them.
Abigail probably wouldn’t want a tarnished girl in their house. Quakers were known for their purity.
She heard someone coming but kept her face pressed to her skirt. “Go away, Henry. I want to be alone.”
“It’s not Henry.” Abigail sat down on the ground beside her. “I, too, find myself running to this spot with my troubles.”
That brought Maggie’s head up. The large cross stood twenty feet away.