The Scotsman Who Swept Me Away

by Hannah Howell

  “I don’t like cutting into living flesh, or the smells, or the cries of pain one too often hears.”

  “That is a problem. Pretty much covers the whole business.”

  “I don’t know how you can abide doctoring people.”

  “Mustn’t say doctoring, Will. Upsets the ones who have their papers from some school. Nursing is a better word. Doesn’t sting their overweening pride so badly.” Once the last stitch was out, she wiped the area down and studied the wound. “This has healed well and sealed nice and tight. We’ll take you down to the water again today. It is time to get some strength back into that scrawny limb.”

  “Hey! That is a manly leg,” Will protested as she pulled him up until he could put his feet on the floor. “Now what?”

  “Now you carefully put weight on your feet and see how that leg feels.”

  He did as she asked so slowly and carefully she nearly snapped at him to hurry up. He gave only a soft hiss of discomfort. “Not bad, but it is weak. I am not sure that swimming we did before helped it much.”

  “As I believe I told you, I think the bullet stole a bit of the muscle in there and that will be helped by swimming. The swimming builds up the strength of the muscle, limbers up any stiffness caused by resting it so long during the healing. Could you help them ready themselves for a short paddle in the water, Geordie?” She smiled her thanks when he nodded.

  She gathered up the swimming costumes for the men and hurried off to her bedchamber to put her own on. As she changed, she mentally tried to allocate the hours of the day to all the chores she had to get done. It was going to be a full and busy day.

  * * *

  James yawned and walked out onto the front porch. As he sipped his coffee he thought about what he was going to do. Stay or wander some more. Then a carriage pulled up and he stood up straight. His family did not expect anybody to arrive, and he started to get a bad feeling.

  The driver of the carriage got down, looked over the house, checked the numbers James’s mother had put up very prominently over the door, and then started toward him. James stared into the carriage and thought he saw movement, but then looked back at the man coming toward him. As the man stepped up on the porch, James heard a sound behind him, which let him know his mother was there and she had set the shotgun right next to the door. The man was slightly overweight and his tidily combed hair didn’t hide the fact that his hair was getting thin.

  “Are you James Deacon?”

  “I am. What are you wanting?”

  “I am Mister Harold Hobbs, a lawyer. Just one more question—did you come to know a Jane Benson Haggert on the train to Boston? Her and her daughter?”

  “I did. My friend Geordie MacEnroy, his brother Robbie, and I sat near them and had a chance to offer a helping hand.” James stepped to the side as his mother came out to stand beside him. “Geordie had a chat with them both. Has something happened to Mrs. Haggert?”

  “I’m afraid so. She is dead, as is her mother. Some men broke into the elder lady’s home, and after they killed the old woman they tried to beat the truth out of poor Mrs. Haggert.”

  “Morgan?” he asked.

  “The child lives. The elder lady hid her under the stairs before she was caught and killed. For a while, Mrs. Haggert lived, but the beating was too harsh and she died of her wounds. She knew it was coming, for it took several days, and she called me in to handle the estate and told me what to do with her child. I was to bring her here to a certain Geordie MacEnroy. Your letter gave me the direction I needed. Is he here?”

  “No.” For just a second, James felt a pinch of anger that the woman had not chosen him, but it passed quickly. “I know where he is though. I can see that the child gets to him.”

  “Is he far away, as I should have a few words with him as well?”

  “Not quite a day’s ride.”

  “Well, I suspect we can arrange something.” He turned and walked back to the carriage to open the door. “Miss Haggert, could you step out, please?”

  James heard his mother make a soft sound of sympathy when little Morgan stepped out, dressed in full mourning and clutching her wooden doll. The child took the man’s hand and allowed him to lead her over to the porch. She looked all round until her eyes fixed on him and he sighed at the sadness he could read there.

  “Geordie?” she asked in a small voice.

  “He isn’t here, Morgan, but I know just where he is staying, and it is not too far away.”

  Mrs. Deacon stepped closer to the girl. “Would you like to come in for something to drink and a little food?”

  Morgan glanced at the man with her and he nodded slightly, so she said, “Yes, please.”

  James walked with the man as his mother took Morgan’s little hand and led the way into the kitchen. Once they were all seated around the table, James talked with Hobbs but kept an ear open to how Morgan was doing as she talked to his mother. He paused in his conversation to help his mother remove the mourning coat that completely enveloped the child.

  “This is very fancy, Morgan. A lot for a little girl to wear,” he said.

  “It was my mother’s when she was small. She wore it when her papa died.”

  “Ah, a sad tradition to carry on.”

  “I don’t mind. Do you know if Geordie found someone to help Robbie get better?”

  James shrugged. “I fear I don’t know. I was soon going to see them, as I seem to have decided to stay here for now. It would be good if he did find someone. Robbie’s family has worried about him.”

  “Because he hurts.”

  “Exactly.”

  “I hope he found someone who could end that, at least.”

  “Yes, that would be good. You should try one of my mother’s wild blueberry muffins. Very tasty.”

  Morgan nodded, and he placed a muffin on her plate. He cut it in half and pushed a small plate of butter near to her. Morgan carefully ate, and took the occasional sip of her apple juice, as she sat listening quietly to James and Mr. Hobbs talk. She really did not understand what was to happen to her, but she knew she had to be brave.

  “Well, Morgan,” said James, “I think you are going to have to be patient a little longer. We will leave to get Geordie first thing in the morning. It is a bit too late to head out today, and considering how far the carriage team has come, they could do with a bit of a rest first. Is that all right?”

  “Yes, thank you. So, we will stay here for the night?” She looked at Mr. Hobbs and then at James.

  “Yes, dear,” said Mrs. Deacon. “I have room, and I suspect you could do with a bit of rest yourself.”

  “Thank you, ma’am.”

  “Well, when you are done with your muffin I will show you the room you will have, as well as some books you might want to read or toys you might want to play with.”

  “Why do you have things for little kids?”

  “Because some of my children have done as they should and found a mate and given me grandchildren.”

  Seeing the way James ignored his mother, even though the woman was frowning at him, Morgan said, “James hasn’t done that, has he?”

  “No, but he keeps telling me there is time, that he isn’t in his dotage yet.”

  “No, he isn’t,” Morgan said quite seriously, then smiled faintly. “But, I think he might want to hurry up.”

  Ignoring his mother’s laughter, James got up and grasped Morgan by the hand. “Come along, Miss Sassy, I will show you where the toys are.”

  As soon as the pair disappeared into the room that served as a library, a den, and a play room, Mrs. Deacon looked at Mr. Hobbs. “Why has a lawyer come with the child?”

  “Well, someone had to come with her, and she does have a bit of an inheritance to be dealt with. Since her mother chose Mr. MacEnroy as her guardian, I need to sort that all out with him.”

  “An inheritance? Not a really big one, I hope.”

  “Not sure what you would consider big, but it is not tiny. There is her grandmother
’s house in Boston and some savings. The property is the big thing, and it needs to be sorted out fairly quickly. Sold, or rented so the taxes on it are paid up.”

  “There is no one else in the family?”

  “No. It was just the woman and the child. There are a few distant cousins, which is probably another good reason to get it sorted out.”

  “Get what sorted out?” asked James as he returned to the table.

  “Her inheritance,” answered his mother.

  “Oh, hell, it’s not a big one, is it?” James asked Mr. Hobbs.

  Mr. Hobbs laughed. “I have never met people so dismayed about a possible large inheritance but, no, it is not large. It does, however, need guardianship and attention paid to it. There is a bit of property, you see. Nothing to worry about.”

  “Isn’t me I am worrying about, it is the MacEnroys,” James said.

  “I am only interested in Geordie MacEnroy.”

  “Sorry, you have something that involves one, you get all seven of them.”

  “Good heavens, seven?”

  “If you don’t count the wives or their shepherds or their housekeeper.” James grinned, then sighed. “And I should try to remember them as well.”

  “Do you think they will have a problem taking in a child that is not theirs?”

  “No, not at all. They already have three orphans. They seem to have a soft spot for strays as well. Housekeeper and shepherds are some. No, they’ll be just fine with another addition, not that they will have much to do with her, as I am not so sure Geordie will be returning home, at least not for good.”

  “You think he is serious about that Ampleford girl?” asked his mother.

  “Yup. I think he is very serious about her, though doubt he has had the sense to face it yet. I wasn’t there long enough to get a good sense of their relationship, yet they looked right, if you know what I mean.”

  “I do. Like your sister and her man.”

  “Exactly, which is why I didn’t just knock him out when he sat too close to her.” He grinned at Mr. Hobbs when the man laughed.

  “So you think he will be willing to take on the care of the girl, and that this woman he is with would be willing as well?”

  “I can’t speak for them, but my gut says they would be willing. We can get an answer tomorrow. If we get as early a start as possible in the morning, we should reach him in the early to middle afternoon.”

  “I will show you to the room you can use, Mr. Hobbs,” James’s mother said as she stood up and moved to his side.

  “Are you sure this will be no trouble?”

  “No trouble at all. We have a couple of rooms we always rent out in the summer.”

  James watched his mother lead the man away, then got up to go and see how Morgan was doing. He cautiously entered the playroom, not wanting to startle the child. He frowned when he did not see her immediately, as he had expected. Finally, he saw her seated on the floor by the bookshelves that held the books for new readers. She held one open on her lap, but was not reading and did not seem to notice that she was no longer alone. Morgan was quietly grieving. Hurting for the child, James went over and sat down next to her. He put his arm around her small shoulders, tugged her close, and kissed her on the top of her head.

  “It is hard, Morgan. Best not to hold it in.”

  “I’m not. They beat Mama, you know. They beat her bad. And they killed my nana. That was very wrong of them to do such mean things just for a chest with some coins in it. Mama would have given it to them, I bet, but they didn’t even really ask. Just killed Nana and demanded Mama give it to them even as they beat her. I could have helped, you know, except Nana fell on top of the door to the hidey hole she had put me in.”

  “Don’t think like that, honey. There was nothing you could have done. You are only a little girl.”

  “My nana died on top of the door of the place she put me in.”

  “And it kept them away from you, didn’t it?” She nodded and he hugged her. “That’s how you want to remember her, saving you. She would like that.” He looked at the books she had pulled out. “What were you reading?”

  She wiped the tears from her cheeks and carefully showed him the books. James did his best to keep her talking and smiling a little as she told him about each book. He hid his sorrow from her, not wanting to stir up her own.

  His mother soon came in and took over the job of keeping the child company and James went back to the table. Mr, Hobbs had returned and was sipping a cup of coffee as he looked through some papers. James got himself some coffee and joined the man.

  “These are the papers concerning her inheritance,” Mr. Hobbs said.

  “Why so many for what you said is a small inheritance?”

  “There are requests about what might be done with things and what choices there might be for the child if Mr. MacEnroy cannot take her.”

  “I really do not think you will have any trouble with that. Hope the instructions about what she gets are not too complicated though. I don’t know for certain, but Geordie may want to return to his home and family in the Ozarks.”

  “That would make things much trickier. Unless, does he have a lawyer out there?”

  “I believe his family has one. Some fellow from Harvard.”

  “Then something could be arranged. I have done such things before, communicated with a distant lawyer over an estate.”

  “Calling it an estate makes it sound like a big inheritance,” James muttered.

  “It really isn’t. There is enough money in the accounts to help in supporting Morgan, but not much more than that. A few stocks and bonds from the grandmother. As I said, the biggest part of it is the house in Boston. She is too young to make a decision about that.”

  “Well, Geordie can decide for her if that is allowed.”

  “Oh, it is. He was listed as one of several approved guardians. If he accepts he will have full control over the estate, and complete say in what is to be done with it. Morgan’s mother lived long enough to write that down and sign it plus get it cosigned. She also made sure to tell the child and try to make her understand what it all meant. I am just not sure how much of it Morgan understood since she was very upset and frightened at the time.”

  James nodded. “Then we will definitely head out as soon as possible in the morning. I can show you the horse you can ride if you want to inspect it now.”

  “Actually, I was hoping we could travel there in the carriage. I am not that skilled at riding.”

  “Fine. Probably be a much more comfortable trip.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Geordie frowned as he slowly woke up. He immediately wondered what had pulled him out of his comfortable sleep. He looked at Belle, who was burrowed under the covers so only the top of her head was visible. Two days of searching through papers and worrying about her aunt had left her exhausted.

  He moved closer to her, wrapped his arm around her waist and was just closing his eyes when he suddenly realized what had woken him up. Geordie took a deep breath and cursed. The smell of smoke had ended his gentle slide back into sleep and he sat up. As he got up and moved to the window, Belle sat up and pushed her hair out of her face.

  “What is it? What’s wrong?” she asked. “Something is wrong, isn’t it?”

  “I think someone has set your barn on fire.” He started yanking on his clothes. “We need to get your animals out fast.”

  He yanked his boots on and hurried down the stairs. Just as he pulled open the front door he heard her following him. They both raced for the barn and Geordie tried to find exactly where the fire was, finally spotting it at the back corner of the roof.

  Belle was fighting to open the doors when he ran to help her. The moment they started to open it, the two of them were driven back by a wave of heavy, choking, thick smoke. When it cleared enough for them to see, they both ran inside, and Belle went straight to her animals, Abel raced in to help her, but he followed a little more slowly, staring up at the place wher
e he had caught a glimpse of flame.

  Opening the rear door of the barn, Bella got a bucket of water from the well just outside the barn and handed it up to Geordie, who had found a ladder, then ran to get another one. As he tossed the water on what flame he could see, he realized what would allow her to save her barn with only a good patch on the roof. The roof leaked, so the hay stored in the loft had not actually caught fire.

  He turned to tell her and saw that he had an odd bucket brigade. Robbie and Will both helped to pass water to him and yet stay off their injured legs. “Ye have wet hay up here, Belle, and it isnae catching fire well at all. The fire either dies out or sputters as it tries to catch hold.”

  “Then we best smother it well, as a sputtering fire still has the potential to become a dangerous one.” She turned to look at their ragged bucket brigade and gasped as six young men came running up to them from Bennet’s land.

  “Did someone ring the fire bell?” she asked.

  “I pulled it a few times, Belle, when Rafe brought us here,” Abel said. “I’ll take the goats out.”

  “Thank you. Put them in the outdoor pen. I will get the donkey and a couple of horses.”

  Belle hurried up the ladder to help Geordie as the helpers brought by the bell made a stronger, more efficient bucket brigade. It did not take long to soak down all hint of fire. She looked at the soaked hay and sighed. That was going to cost her. So was the rebuilding of that corner of the barn roof. A moment later Geordie was by her side.

  “That willnae take long to fix,” he assured her, and several of the men gathered around murmured their agreement.

  “Hell, MacEnroy, that should be an easy fix for a man who helped build a stockade.”

  Geordie spun around to stare at the man standing behind him. “James! Did ye just get here? Oh, do ye need our help now?”

  “Just arrived, and am actually going back soon. My mind has turned to staying in Maine.” He took Geordie by the arm and turned him toward his horse. “There has been a bit of a complication. Remember the lady on the train?”

  “Aye.” Geordie had a bad feeling about what was coming.