by Jerri Hines
“Only when I have delivered you back to your father.”
“Sir, I can assure you I’m perfectly capable of finding my way around my home, from which I am being so unmercifully dragged.”
“I would be negligent in my duties if I didn’t.”
“I will happily relinquish you of such.” She swung her head back in an attempt to regain any dignity in her circumstance.
“Miss Blankenship,” he replied coolly, “I have committed to the governor I will take care of you during your journey to England. This I will do whether you want my assistance or not. I will see you safely to your grandparents and after that you can do as your heart desires. Believe me when I say I have no desire to watch over a spoilt little debutante.”
Without warning her hand swung back. The aggravation from the day welled in her action. She slapped him, hard. He caught her arm, pulling her to him. She met his stare with the same intensity, refusing to be intimidated. His free hand went to her face, touching it in a manner which greatly disturbed her.
The moment passed. He laughed. “I quite deserved that, my lady.”
Her eyes locked upon his, challenging him. He had laid clear his intention. He grabbed her hand and almost dragged her up the path. She said nothing more to him, but raced by him as they came upon the back entrance. She ran up the steps and into the house. She didn’t stop until she reached her room.
* * * *
Cathryn sat dutifully in her father’s study. He had sent for her before sunrise and ranted at her for over an hour. She had never seen him so upset. She doubted he had even slept.
“To think a daughter of mine was throwing herself at a gentleman!” he roared. He ran his hand through his silver-white hair. He hadn’t donned his wig this morning. That in itself worried Cathryn to no end. Her father never presented himself without proper attire, especially with guests in the house and there were several of them left from the previous night’s activities.
At fifty-seven, her father had married late in life. He had doted on her without question and she idolized him. But at the moment she found herself under the scrutiny of his shrewd, piercing blue eyes.
Cathryn had the look of her father, she had been told, except for the color of her eyes. Her eyes were a hazel, giving way to green depending upon the color she wore or her temperament.
She turned her head slightly and caught her reflection in the window glaze. She frowned. Her thick unruly hair had fallen out of the bun that she had quickly pulled back when she rose. Dark brown waves framed her oval face calling attention to her large expressive eyes, while her long eye lashes flickered back her frustration.
Her father told her when she smiled, the whole of her face illuminated. She wasn’t smiling at the moment.
But it was Cathryn’s temper that worried her father. He had cautioned her more than once about it. Sumner called her Jalyn at those times. Sumner said she reminded him of the jays when they bickered with the other birds, strident, acrimonious, not relenting until they had their way. In all, she was much like her father, having inherited his stubbornness, which was evident in her determination not to leave.
“Father, I do believe you are making too much of it. There would have been no scene at all if that insolent officer hadn’t interfered as he did. William...”
“Cathryn, Lieutenant Pennington is a fine officer and a gentleman. In that I have to question William. Why he would ever allow you to contemplate such an action! His family is one of the oldest and most respected families in the county.”
“It was not his fault, Father. I asked him to for I cannot bear to be parted from you and my home!” she cried. “I tried to tell you, but you don’t listen. I don’t want to go.”
“Are you mad, Cathryn? Or are you really telling me you are in love with William? Are you prepared to marry?”
“I like William, Father,” she retorted. Her temper began to show. “I like him better than any other.”
“I...” he began. He stared at his daughter. “I gave William full warning to stay out of your path last night after the first incident. Why do I feel you are using the poor fellow? Is that what you truly want for yourself, Cathryn?”
“Honestly, Father, I know only that I can’t leave here. I can’t leave you, Sumner, or Juriah. How can you ask me to?”
“It is not my desire for you to settle, Cathryn. I want you to be happy. My concern is you. I saw easily through your ploy last night and even though I well warned William that if he wants your hand, he can do so properly when you return from England. Especially...especially not to try to run out and elope in the middle of the Hampton Square Race dance!
“I have never! Knocking Miss Longridge into the reflection pool! And on top of that climbing out your window! You could have been killed! What was in your mind?” His voice rose.
“Only staying here, Father!” She leaped from her chair and hugged her father. “I can’t bear to leave you, Father.”
He held her tight in his arms, only reluctantly breaking from her. “Cathryn, do this for me. I ask only a year.”
* * * *
The dew clung to leaves and grass in the early morning hours. Cathryn’s slippers were soaked as she walked down the worn path. She had eased out the back door through the kitchen.
The house was abuzz with all the company that had stayed over. Juriah, helping with the cooking, caught her eye as Cathryn placed her hand upon the back door. She nodded slightly. Cathryn realized Juriah knew where she was heading.
Juriah had given comfort to her when she returned from her dreadful night’s adventure. In the middle of the night, Juriah silently eased into her room. She had said nothing, but understood what Cathryn was feeling.
Taking Cathryn into her arms, she rocked her until she cried herself to sleep. Juriah had long stood in for the mother she had lost many years previous and was the heart of this strange household.
Juriah had been part of Cathryn’s life since her mother had died. Less than a year after her mother and younger brother, John Steven, came to the South Carolina plantation, they died of the fever.
After a time, her father had brought Juriah to Elm Bluff. Sumner had already lived among them. Cathryn had never questioned the make-up of her family. It wasn’t until Tacy had arrived as an indentured servant that Cathryn learned her home wasn’t made up as most households.
“I have heard it is why your father settled in Charles Town and didn’t return to England,” Tacy gossiped to Cathryn. “He doesn’t want to leave Miss Juriah.”
Comprehension of Tacy’s words settled upon her young naïve ears. Juriah Meador was the most handsome woman Cathryn had ever known. Juriah, a half-breed of Cherokee descent fitting into neither world, was a gentle, kind soul rumored by the Cherokees to have a healing hand.
Cathryn gave no credence to the fact that her father had taken Juriah as his lover before he married her mother. Wasn’t Sumner thirteen when she first met him? A good eight years older than she.
“That is not unusual, Miss Cathryn. The British readily set up their mistresses. They have found it acceptable to marry for position and take their pleasure from other means. But to have one in their own home! The governor couldn’t do so in England.”
“Mistresses...lovers? If it is as you say, why wouldn’t Father marry Juriah? Why would he do so? Isn’t it a sin?” Cathryn asked in her innocence.
Tacy laughed and said in her soft Irish brogue, “Oh, the rich, Miss Cathryn, have a different set of rules of which I’m certain they have negotiated with God Almighty himself.”
Cathryn pushed back all her thoughts as she walked up a gentle slope and through the rose garden. A huge oak sat alone, shading the area outside a wrought iron fence. She walked without a thought and opened the ornate gate. The flowers she had cut only yesterday had wilted in the vase. The water had run out of the tilted container! She hadn’t secured it well enough, having been in too much of a hurry. She reprimanded herself; she should have known better. Tears welled up. Stup
id flowers!
She bent down and picked up the drooping flowers and threw them over the fence into the woods which edged the small cemetery. She would need to pick fresh ones.
“Cathryn,” a familiar voice said from behind her.
Glancing up, she caught sight of her brother. Tall, six feet two inches, long of bone and hard of muscle with a sunburned face and deep chestnut hair, Sumner was a mirror of her father, except he was a good half a foot taller and with darker coloring. His shirt was disheveled a tad, hanging over his pants. His hair, unkempt, waved in the breeze.
“You don’t look as if you slept last night,” Cathryn stated plainly upon the sight in front of her.
“I don’t think many slept last night, Jalyn,” he said, giving Cathryn full warning he was in no mood for bantering. “I wanted to talk with you so no one could hear our words.”
Cathryn studied her brother for a moment. His expression solemn, looking past her to the graves.
“You come out here often, I know. Mother has told me. You must find comfort here.”
Cathryn nodded ever so slightly. The wind picked up, carrying with it the fragrance of all around freshness of the new day, giving way to calm and peace.
He took in a deep breath. He rubbed his forehead. “We need to talk.”
“I’m listening, Sumner. I have always listened to you,” she answered. She brushed over the dirt upon her skirt.
“The governor...” Sumner paused. He looked over at her and shook his head. “What was in your head last night with your behavior?”
“My behavior?” Cathryn countered. “If I was you, I wouldn’t worry about mine. Sumner! Randa?”
Sumner stared at his sister with his red-streaked eyes. “So it was you I heard outside the Garden house. Cathryn, so help me!”
“Oh, pooh! Do not start with me, Sumner,” she retorted with a smile. “You are fortunate it was me and not her father! And you ask me what I was thinking!”
His eyebrow cocked to the side. “I believe I can’t argue that point. Except, my dearest sister, this discussion has nothing to do with me. It is you the governor is concerned with. You have to realize that the governor has his reasons for wanting to send you across the ocean. You need to trust him and it is only for a year.”
“Would you want to go, Sumner? I know no other life but here. I love my home and I don’t want to be paraded about, Sumner. I won’t fit in. William said...”
“Look, Jalyn. It would be different for you. I know the talk against the crown. I have listened and if it wasn’t for the governor I might say I couldn’t disagree with some of their points of view. But Jalyn, you are a part of their society by your blood. I can imagine you would be well sought after with all you have.”
“Would they accept you?” Cathryn countered.
“Don’t look at me in that manner. They don’t accept me fully here, either, Jalyn. I have been well looked after. Don’t I oversee all the plantations? Am I not included in all events? I owe all to the governor. I have no issues. It is you that I have come to talk about, not me. The governor has several reasons for his desire for you to visit England at this time. There is turmoil within the Colonies. Have you ever thought he wants you safe?”
“I would feel safer here than in a place where I know no one. Do you not think my family will not try to marry me off?”
“I don’t know your family, but I do know you, Cathryn. I have faith you will be able to handle what is before you. You’re looking upon it all wrong. It is your life, your destiny. A path you need to follow. We all have a path to choose. Why are you so afraid to follow such? You are no coward.”
She stared upon her mother’s grave. She wiped her eyes, forcing back tears. “I know no one across the ocean, Sumner. What if they don’t like me? You tell me I’m no coward, but I am. I’m so scared about leaving all of you behind...Father, you, Juriah...my home. I’m afraid everything will change upon my return. I know how quickly all can change!” Her voice trailed off into the wind.
Sumner expelled a sigh. He took her by her shoulders, forcing her to look straight into his eyes. “I understand. I do; but what you are asking for is a fantasy. The only thing that stays constant is the fact that the sun will rise in the morning. Everything else will change. It is life. You have now a choice. To live your life or hide from it. Live your life, Jalyn, and have faith it will lead you to happiness.”
Chapter 2
The sun rose across the eastern skyline giving way to a new day. The tide was going out and her father had given warning that was when the ship would sail. Cathryn stood alongside Tacy on the deck of the Victoria. Her heart ripped apart as she gripped tight to the railing.
She pleased her father greatly with her resignation to accept his decision, having done what her brother had suggested. Her father reminded her it was only a year over and over again, but saying goodbye had been the hardest of things.
“I have made clear my intentions to your grandparents in the letters you are to give them. I have stated plainly I have given you a year. You will find them good, kindly people. George Cavanaugh is a highly respected man. Remember, it was your mother’s wish. I want you to enjoy yourself,” he said and cleared his throat. His eyes betrayed his own reluctance of her departure. He squeezed her hand tightly. “Time will go by quickly. You will see.”
She nodded for she couldn’t find her words. Then without reservation, she threw herself into her father’s arms and clung to him closely. She wanted to plead for him to let her stay. There would be no need for her to leave, but after one look into his eyes, she had no alternative but to depart. He felt this the best course of action. Sumner’s words echoed that she needed to trust her father.
“Remember you are my beloved daughter,” the governor whispered for her ears only, breaking from the embrace.
“And you, my beloved father,” she echoed.
Cathryn watched him depart the ship. Tears welled in her eyes. She hadn’t left port and already she felt desolate!
Tacy leaned into her ear. “Miss Cathryn, everyone else has gone below. Do you think we need to also?”
Deep in thought, she hadn’t noticed that most had disappeared from the deck. She shook her head.
“You can go below if you wish, Tacy. I want to stay above.”
She turned back to the railing and watched the land fade into the distance. Above, gulls glided in the cool breeze with waves crashing against the ship. A smile emerged as she saw a small group of dolphins riding the wave of the ship’s bow. She savored the sight.
She felt a touch to her arm. Glancing back, she saw Tacy standing by her side, grimacing. “Are you well, Tacy?”
“I don’t think so...” Tacy answered, pausing for a moment. Her face changed colors to a multitude of shades of green. The next moment Tacy clung to the side of the ship.
“Oh, Miss...I had hoped it wouldn’t be like last time,” Tacy uttered, her hand clutching her stomach. “We aren’t even out of the harbor.”
“It may not seem such, but it may be best if she stayed on deck,” a voice said from behind Cathryn. She didn’t turn for she knew who it was. She had caught sight of him while boarding. Her father had acknowledged him; she ignored him. “Of course it will pass after a few days, I’m certain.”
Cathryn breathed deep before she turned to Lieutenant Pennington. “I can well look after my maid. Thank you.”
“I have no doubt, Miss Blankenship. Just offering my services if you need them,” he answered, seemingly amused by her situation. “Do you want me to call for someone to help you?”
“Why would I do that? Do you not think I’m capable? Am I a helpless female?”
“You helpless? No,” he answered. He tilted his head with a mocking smile. “I will see you tonight at dinner then.”
Cathryn drew in a breath to hold her temper. Her arms wrapped around Tacy. He annoyed her beyond reason. Tacy turned back to the railing. She wouldn’t leave her maid. Tacy had been a part of her family since she had c
ome to Charles Town.
She came over from England as an indentured servant. In search of a better life, Tacy said. Sumner had a differing opinion. “Paying off a debt of some sort is what I suspect.”
Cathryn had paid Sumner no mind. She didn’t care about the past of her maid. Governor Blankenship had released Tacy of her indentured service long ago and Tacy had decided to stay in his service as Cathryn’s personal maid.
Tacy had an Irish face, round, with an upturned nose, and slanting blue eyes. At times, Cathryn found her to be belligerent with an acquired look of pride close to haughtiness for a servant. Tacy never held back her opinion. She could get away with it with the responsive warmth in her smile and a touch of humor in her face.
At the moment, Tacy was in no mood for humor. Cathryn helped Tacy walk around until she collected herself. When they descended below, she caught a glimpse of Lieutenant Pennington again. She didn’t know why he bothered her so.
Cathryn had traveled by sea before with her family and well knew that most travel by sea was arduous, uncomfortable, and uncertain. It was fortunate that her father was in the position he was for she had her own cabin, larger than most, with two boxlike bunks and a sitting area below the portal. In the corner there was a single washstand with a lavatory and chamber pot.
She helped Tacy to her bunk. After a while, Tacy’s discomfort eased and she fell asleep. Cathryn sat down on the hard-back chair.
Her father had promised the trip would be quick, a little more than a month. Then why, she wondered, did it already feel like an eternity!
* * * *
Cathryn didn’t look at Lieutenant Pennington when she entered the stateroom alongside the Montgomerys, but he stood and pulled out a chair in-between him and Captain Sanborn. She had no option but to comply.
“I hope your maid is feeling better this evening, Miss Blankenship,” Captain Joel Sanborn said, greeting her with a large smile. Captain Sanborn had been the embodiment of a gentleman in his efforts to make Cathryn feel exceedingly welcome on board his ship.