by Jan Drexler
He thumped along the dusty lane down to the road.
He would have to watch them on church Sundays. Watch their family grow. Watch her face for signs that she was unhappy. But he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it, not once the wedding was over. Until then he had hope she would come to her senses.
But if she didn’t . . . If she didn’t, he would have to leave. She would be another memory he would leave behind.
Aaron stopped at the trail that led across a log bridge to the house Jonas was building for Katie. The rafters rose above the little willows that lined the creek, and he knew the siding was almost complete. Soon Jonas and Katie would be getting married and he would bring his bride home to this house he had built for her.
How would he explain his leaving to Casper? The man had taken him into his family. They had talked about his future and started drawing up plans for his house. He shook his head, still unable to believe it was true. His house.
Would Casper resent him for running away and leaving behind the family he had so recently found? Would they mourn for him as Casper’s father had mourned for Grandpop?
Being part of a family meant making the commitment to stick together through good times and bad. Aaron ground the end of his cane into the soft gravel on the roadside. A real man would face up to the bad and go through it, not run away from it.
He would stay, even though he was helpless to change the course of the disaster he saw ahead for the woman he loved.
Elizabeth didn’t sleep well that night. It seemed that every time she sank into slumber, she would hear Solomon’s voice again, telling her there was no marriage certificate.
Finally, as the approaching dawn turned the sky outside her window from black to a slightly lighter shade of gray, she gave up. As she got ready for the day, she went through finding the metal box again in her mind. Step by step, she followed her actions in her memory. The Confederate money, the deed to the farm, the letter from Reuben’s father. And the marriage certificate. She was certain she had seen it. The writing had been faint. Feathery. Had she put it back in the box instead of taking it to Solomon?
In the kitchen, she built up a small fire in the stove and started the coffee. There was a chill in the air this morning as the weather was changing. Clouds covered the sky she could see between the pine trees, low-hanging and dark. Thunder rumbled in the distance.
She needed to talk to Ruby. Once the thought passed through her mind, it took on an urgency. Her mind was foggy with trying to remember where the marriage certificate could be. Solomon’s words swirled in her consciousness, confusing her. He seemed to say one thing and mean another. Did she feel this way only because she hadn’t slept well?
Thunder rumbled again, still far away. If she hurried, she could reach Ruby’s before the rain started. Her sister wouldn’t mind company, even this early in the morning.
Elizabeth scribbled a note to Katie, apologizing for leaving her with the morning chores, and hitched up Pie. The pony sensed her hurry and trotted through the gray morning. The thunder was closer now and Pie put his ears back. He didn’t like the rain.
“Keep going,” Elizabeth said. “You’ll stay dry in Gideon’s barn.”
Pie swiveled his ears and trotted faster. In only a few minutes they had reached Ruby’s house. She drove Pie through the open barn doors where Gideon was bringing the cows in from the pasture for their milking.
He called to her from the back of the barn. “Elizabeth? What brings you here so early this morning?”
“I wanted to talk to Ruby, so I came to help with her Monday chores.”
Gideon let himself out of the cows’ pen and took Pie’s halter. “You go on in before the rain starts while I take care of Pie. Ruby will appreciate your company. Rainy days always make her a bit gloomy.”
Big drops were beginning to fall as Elizabeth ran from the barn to the house. By the time she reached the cover of the back porch, the rain was falling in sheets. Ruby had seen her and opened the door.
“Welcome, Elizabeth! I didn’t expect to see you today.”
Elizabeth gave her sister a hug, then went around the table to hug each of her nephews and nieces, avoiding their sticky oatmeal mouths. “I hoped you might like some company today. I know how you hate rainy Mondays.”
“For sure, I do.” Ruby turned back to the stove where a pan of bacon was frying. “I’ll have to hang the laundry in the loft, but I can’t complain too much about a summer rain. We know the crops need it.”
Elizabeth ate breakfast with Ruby and Gideon and their family, enjoying the lively company. Ten-year-old Roseanna took charge of little Lovinia after the meal was over, taking her into the front room to play until her nap time. Eight-year-old Sophia and the boys, Ezra and Daniel, cleared the table, piling the dishes in the dishpan. Gideon stood at the door, watching the steady rain.
“It’s eased some,” he said, reaching for his hat. “I have plenty to do in the barn, and the boys can help.” He lifted Daniel in his arms and handed Ezra’s hat to him. “We’ll be back in time for dinner.”
As they left, Sophia joined her sisters in the front room, leaving Ruby and Elizabeth alone.
“Now,” Ruby said as she poured hot water from her teakettle into the dishpan, “tell me what this is all about. You didn’t just come all this way to help me with my chores.”
Elizabeth took the bar of soap off the shelf above the sink and started paring shavings into the hot water.
“You’re right. I thought we could talk.”
“About you and Solomon?”
Elizabeth replaced the soap in its dish. “Are we that obvious?”
“You left the fellowship time after church yesterday and went off together. Then Solomon came back alone. When he said you weren’t feeling well, Mamm almost went after you, but Solomon said it was only the heat and you would be all right.”
“That’s almost true.”
“Almost?” Ruby tested the temperature of the dishwater, then pumped some cool water in. “Were you feeling ill?”
Elizabeth opened the cupboard to get a clean dish towel. “I wasn’t ill. I just wanted to think over what Solomon and I had discussed.”
Ruby began washing the plates. She rinsed each one in the pan of clean hot water and handed them to Elizabeth.
“Are you going to tell me what the two of you talked about, or do I need to pry for the details?” Ruby made a face and Elizabeth laughed.
“I’ll tell you because I need your advice.”
“All right. I’ll try.” Ruby finished the plates and reached for the bowls.
“Solomon asked me to marry him.”
Her sister grinned and gave her a hug, wet hands and all. “I thought he might get around to that sooner or later.” Then Ruby grasped her shoulders and held her at arm’s length. “You don’t seem as happy about this as I thought you would.”
“I’m just not sure why he wants to marry me.”
“Who wouldn’t want to marry you?”
“I mean, he is such a . . . well . . . handsome and desirable man. He could have his choice of any woman around. Why would he choose me?”
“Because he loves you?”
Elizabeth dried the rest of the plates while she thought about Ruby’s words. He had never spoken of love, only about their future together. “He says he wants a family. You have seen his house. He wants to fill it with children.”
Ruby took her hands from the dishwater. “Isn’t that what you want, too?”
“Did Mamm tell you?”
“About your baby? She did. I’m so sorry, Elizabeth. I wish I had known.”
“I wish you had too. But I didn’t tell Mamm what I found out yesterday.” She pointed to the bowls still soaking in the water and Ruby started scrubbing them again. “It appears that Reuben and I were never legally married.”
Ruby didn’t say anything, and Elizabeth waited. She dried the first bowl, and then the second.
“I always thought you were. You said you
and Reuben were married in Millersburg.”
“I always thought I was too. I’m sure I saw the marriage certificate, but Solomon says it doesn’t exist. He said if he and I get married quickly, then no one will worry about whether Reuben and I were really married or not.”
“So, you think you might marry him because of that?”
“That’s why I wanted to talk to you. Is that enough of a reason to get married?”
Ruby finished washing the dishes and swirled her dishcloth through the rinse water. “Do you love him?”
“Aaron asked me that same question.”
“Aaron?” Ruby’s brows went up. “You talked to Aaron about Solomon?”
Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders, not sure what to say. “He asked, and I told him about Solomon’s proposal.”
“What did he say?”
“He doesn’t like Solomon and doesn’t think I should even talk to him.”
“That is interesting.” Ruby wrung out her dishcloth and hung it on a bar under the shelf that held the soap. “But what did you tell Aaron? Do you love Solomon?”
“I didn’t tell him anything.” Elizabeth hung her dish towel on the same bar. “How can you tell if you love someone? I was married to Reuben for thirteen years, and I still don’t know if I ever loved him.”
“That man killed whatever love you might have had for him.”
“If I married for love when I married Reuben, then why should I take that chance again? Don’t you think I should marry for a good reason and let love happen later if it will?”
“It depends on the reason. Why would you marry Solomon?”
Elizabeth pulled her lower lip between her teeth. Ruby would understand. She had a good home now, with a loving husband and children, but a few years ago all she had were dreams, just like Elizabeth.
“He could be my last chance for happiness. With him, I could have everything I’ve dreamed of—a home with a loving husband, and children.” Tears filled her eyes. “I can see the fulfillment of that dream in front of me, waiting for me to reach out and take it. All I have to do is tell Solomon I will marry him, and it would be mine.”
“But what good is that dream if you don’t have love?”
From the front room, baby Lovinia started crying.
“It’s time for her nap.” Ruby turned to go to her daughter, then hesitated. “Think carefully, Elizabeth. You know what it’s like to be married to a man who doesn’t love you. Don’t make that same mistake again.”
As Ruby left, Elizabeth turned to the pile of laundry in the corner of the kitchen and started sorting it. Was Ruby right? Or could she make Solomon love her?
Elizabeth held up a small dress, one of the baby’s. She held the little scrap of fabric to her chest. If she could give Solomon a baby—a son—then he would have to love her.
On Thursday, Solomon hitched his black horse to the buggy for his weekly trip into Millersburg. Dulcey had brushed the horse and washed the buggy early in the morning, but Solomon still inspected his rig from all sides, rubbing off bits of dust with a rag before he was satisfied. Then he went into the house to dress for the trip.
Dulcey had laid out his town clothes while he was in the barn. Solomon dressed himself in the linen shirt and wool suit. It was a warm day for such attire, but he hadn’t been able to purchase a linen suit yet. Patterson had divulged the location of his money, but it wasn’t as much as Solomon had hoped, and he was close to the end of it. Soon, though, if his business dealings in the South panned out, he wouldn’t have to worry about cash again. That, added to his landholdings here in Ohio, would provide well for him for the rest of his days.
He put the finishing touches on his attire and combed his hair back. He picked up his bowler hat and gloves and went downstairs. Using the mirror in the hall, he adjusted his cravat and settled the hat on his head.
“Dulcey!”
The young woman came from the kitchen and stood next to him, her head bowed as he had taught her.
“While I’m in town today, I don’t want you to let anyone come into the house.”
“Yessir.”
“Not even Elizabeth. If she comes, tell her you’re too busy to visit. I don’t want you talking to her unless I’m in the house.”
“Yessir.”
“What am I having for supper tonight?”
“Cold roast, sliced fine, with pickled beets and cottage cheese.”
He turned to glare at her. “Do I look like one of these Amish farmers?”
“No, Masta.”
“Then will you come up with an appropriate menu for me?”
“I can roast a ham, but it will make the kitchen awful hot.”
The stroke with the back of his hand was swift and hard, knocking Dulcey off her feet.
“I don’t care if the kitchen is hot. That isn’t my problem. I want the ham, with mashed potatoes and green beans. Cook them with bacon. And I want fresh bread. The toast you gave me this morning was stale.”
Dulcey cowered on the floor.
“I’ll be back at my usual time, and I expect my supper to be on the table, hot and waiting for me.” He nudged her with his foot. “Do you understand?”
She nodded. “Yessir.”
As he drove toward Millersburg, he considered the state of his household. He needed another servant. Perhaps a man to be a likely husband for Dulcey. The two could work for him as cheaply as one, and then the farm work would get done without having to soil his own hands. Then as Dulcey’s children grew, they could also work in his growing household. The vision pleased him. He would make inquiries in town.
The livery stable he normally used was full, so he drove to the new establishment down the street and made arrangements with the boy for his horse, requesting that the animal be fed, rested, and ready to go by two o’clock. The next stop was the post office. The rest of the Weaver’s Creek community used the post office in Farmerstown, but he didn’t want his business passing through the hands of the shopkeepers there. He called for his mail and took it to his favorite bench in the shade of the bank on the south side of Main Street. The limestone walls were cool, even in the middle of the afternoon, and it made a pleasant place to observe the business of the town as he read his letters.
Sifting through the envelopes, he saw one from that lawyer who had contacted Elizabeth. His last missive should have been enough to dissuade them from trying to contact her again.
Solomon slit open the envelope and scanned the letter, then shoved it back into its cover. Keeping a pleasant look on his face as he nodded to the businessmen who passed by on the sidewalk, he went over the letter in his mind.
The woman in Mississippi was desperate, the letter had said. She had been cast out of her family when she married Reuben Kaufman and could not return to them with her son. The only resource she had was the property Reuben had mentioned that he owned in Ohio. She needed possession of that property to support herself and her son, and it was owed to her son as his only legacy from his father.
Solomon slit open the next envelope in the pile. Stupid woman. She should have known better than to marry a reprobate like Kaufman. He dismissed her from his mind as he read through the letter in his hands and fingered the check that had been included. The sale of the property he had invested in had gone through, and he and the rest of the syndicate had realized a tidy sum. The next three letters yielded similar results, and Solomon rose from his seat. He would deposit the checks in the bank before he left town. With results like this, he would consider expanding his business ventures in the South. The postwar years might be even more profitable than the last four years had been.
When he returned to the livery stable, the large black man that had been there before was hitching his horse to the buggy. He turned to greet Solomon when he came in.
“The horse is all ready for you, just as promised.”
“Very good.” Solomon tossed a dollar coin to the man, then looked at him a second time. Young, strong, and polite. “Are you looking fo
r a job, boy?”
The man’s eyes narrowed. “No sir, I’m not.”
“Well, if you’re ever unhappy with your employment here, I can offer you a job on my farm. I’m looking for a strong young man like yourself. You’d be overseeing the whole place, if you’re fit for that kind of work.”
The man threaded the reins through the guides on the buggy. “No, thank you. I’m not interested.”
“I have a girl working for me. She doesn’t have a husband, and I’d like to find a man who would . . .” The man’s expression had grown hard. Solomon frowned at him. “I can see you wouldn’t suit me at all.”
He climbed into the buggy seat and picked up the reins, but the man laid his arm over the horse’s back.
“Mister, my name is Elijah Wilson, and I own this livery stable.”
He pointed to the sign above the door, inviting customers to come back to Wilson’s Livery as they drove out onto the street.
The man continued. “You are welcome to use the services of my establishment as long as you remember that I am a free man. I don’t have to listen to any customer of mine talk the way you have to me this afternoon. If you can’t respect me and my property, sir, you are not welcome back here.”
“You don’t need to worry about that.” Solomon sat straight in his seat, looking down on Elijah Wilson. “You will not see my buggy in any establishment owned by a—”
Before Solomon could finish his sentence, Wilson stepped aside and slapped the horse on the rump. Solomon lost the reins and clung to the dashboard of the buggy as the horse jumped, then galloped out of the livery stable and down the road. By the time Solomon regained his grip on the reins and was sitting in his seat again, he had decided that Elijah Wilson was definitely not the man he wanted to hire to work on his farm.
14
Elizabeth woke on Sunday morning feeling stiff and sore. Her head throbbed. Every time she had tried to sleep during the night, the same dream pursued her—the dream of Reuben chasing her, catching her, overpowering her, smothering her. And every time she had woken with a start, sitting up in bed, breathing hard.