At least he’s wearing more than a loincloth now, Drew thought.
Eliot’s presence raised a disturbing question.
What did he know about Drew’s situation? Had he been in contact with the bishop since the trial?
With Eliot it was hard to tell. He could have been on assignment or in the woods the entire time. On the other hand, his assignment might be to locate Drew.
It had been three months since Christopher Matthews’ death, since the night on the scaffold when Drew gave his life to God. For the last three months he had traveled the back roads of England from London to Edenford. Not a direct route, but more like a meandering across England’s countryside.
As Drew walked he prayed. He’d stop and read his Bible, primarily the Gospels. He’d meditate on what he read, then get up and walk and pray some more. For those three months Drew attended the school of the disciples. Jesus was his teacher. Everything Jesus said to the twelve disciples, Drew took to heart. Their lessons became his lessons; their assignments, his assignments. When he read the words describing Jesus’ death on a cross, he wept and thought of another of the Lord’s faithful disciples, Christopher Matthews. And when he read the commission of the resurrected Lord, he remembered Matthews’ commission to him, Edenford must fly to the wilderness. Keep my girls safe.
Drew Morgan had returned to Edenford to fulfill his commission.
He hid beside the house at the end of High Street, the end that faced the bare cornfield that had once been Christopher Matthews’ place of prayer. He poked his head around the corner.
Jenny labored under the load of two buckets of water. For the last four nights she had performed the same chore at precisely the same time. Setting the buckets down, she swung open the house door, picked up the buckets, and went inside.
Drew slipped around the corner, followed her in, and closed the door behind him.
“Oh!”
Jenny dropped the buckets, splashing water on her dress and the floor.
“You startled—”
She swung around.
“Drew!”
Nell appeared from upstairs. She stopped halfway down the steps, her hand on the railing. Her face was without expression, her eyes cold.
Jenny backed away from him, tripped on one of the buckets, and fell.
Just then, James Cooper appeared. He came from upstairs too. He was bigger and redder than Drew had remembered.
“You!” he shouted, pointing a big beefy finger.
Nell held onto the railing with both hands as he pushed past her down the stairs.
Drew held up both hands.
“Please, I didn’t come here to cause trouble. I only want to talk to you.”
“You got nothin’ to say I want to hear,” the red giant said, closing fast.
“Give me one minute, that’s all I—”
Drew’s request was denied by a ferocious punch to his jaw. It sent him sailing against the door, where he hit his head. James dragged Drew outside and into the dirt field where he soundly thrashed him.
Drew remembered hearing a female voice; James’ punches made it hard for him to distinguish whether it was Jenny or Nell yelling at the giant, telling him to stop before he killed Drew. Then everything went black.
When he opened his eyes, he saw a slow spinning motion that, together with the spinning in his head, made him sick to his stomach. He was on the far side of the south bridge. The spinning was the waterwheel of the fulling mill beside the river. Drew crawled to the edge of the river and vomited.
He sat under the bridge until it was night, then made his way back to the stone castle ruins.
Drew made camp on the far side of the castle’s interior, the portion that had been reclaimed by the forest, offering enough cover to hide him from the village. There was only one other person he knew of who ever came to the castle—Nell. He wished she were with him now. If only he could talk with her, he could make her understand.
In his mind he saw her standing on the staircase, James behind her, coming from the bedroom. No, he didn’t know that for sure. But he came from upstairs. What was he doing upstairs? Why was he even in the house? No matter how hard Drew fought it, his heart filled with jealousy; anger caused it to spill over into a curse. The thought of James being close to Nell was too much for him. It hurt him far worse than the beating James had given him.
“Lord, I need patience and I need it now,” he prayed.
What if Nell never forgives me?
That possibility hadn’t occurred to him before. He always assumed she would forgive him if he had a chance to explain to her. What if she never forgives me?
“I’ll still love her,” he said aloud. “I’ll always love her.”
Even if she marries James? Or is already married to him?
The thought pierced him. The dagger was invisible, the pain was real.
“I may not be able to have her, but nothing can stop me from loving her,” he said.
There was healing in his words. It didn’t take the pain away, but it lessened it. Drew Morgan took comfort in the fact that no matter what James Cooper did, he could not strip Drew of his love for Nell. No one could. Not even Nell herself.
It was an exciting revelation for him. Nothing Nell can say or do can stop my love for her. She can hurt me. She can leave me. But she can’t stop me from loving her.
Drew retired that night, basking in the warmth of his love for Nell Matthews.
“I need a Barnabas,” Drew murmured.
He was propped against the side of a stone wall. His Bible in his lap was opened to the Acts of the Apostles chapter 9.
He read the verses again, “And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles.”
“I need a Barnabas,” Drew said again.
“Jenny!”
It was a half-whisper, half-shout.
Brown hair swirled as Jenny’s head snapped Drew’s direction. She was standing in front of her door, water buckets at her feet, reaching for the door latch when he called. Her face registered shock and she grabbed the latch.
“Jenny, please! I won’t hurt you!”
She paused, her hand still on the latch.
“Meet me down by the river, next to the mill.”
She shook her head no.
“Jenny, please trust me.”
She didn’t agree, but she was no longer shaking her head. Hand still on the latch, she stared at the base of the door while she considered his request.
“Please!” he pleaded. “As soon as you can. I’ll be waiting for you there.”
He didn’t wait for an answer. As he left, she stood motionless in front of the door. He went to the river and waited. While he waited, he prayed.
The sun descended behind the western mountain, leaving the stream and grassy hillside in the twilight of evening. Drew didn’t dare look over the ridge because someone might spot him. He had to be content to scan the ridge every few seconds to see if Jenny would come. The twilight began to fade, giving way to night.
Like a fawn stepping into a clearing, Jenny Matthews appeared over the ridge. She stopped at the crest.
Drew smiled and stepped toward her.
She backed away from him.
“Thank you for coming,” Drew said.
“Everyone knows you’re here,” Jenny said.
The smile on Drew’s face vanished. He looked around him.
“I mean in Edenford,” Jenny said. “At least they know you were here yesterday. James told them.”
“I guess I can’t blame him,” Drew said.
“Why?” Jenny asked. “Why did you come back?”
Her voice quivered. Tears filled her eyes.
It hurt Drew to think he had caused her such pain. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever known; her innocence only added to her charm.
“Your father sent me back.”
“Father?” Her voice rose in expectation.
“I talked with him in London. He told me to tell you that he loves you.”
Jenny’s hands rose to her cheeks, wiping away a steady stream of tears.
“You saw father in prison?”
“I was trying to help him to escape.”
“Escape?”
He nodded.
“I don’t understand. What happened?”
“Your father refused to come with me. Said it would endanger you, Nell, and the townspeople. He asked me to look after you.”
“That sounds like Poppa,” Jenny sniffed.
“How did you get away?”
“I didn’t. I was caught.”
A puzzled look appeared on her face. It was almost dark.
“That doesn’t matter right now,” Drew said. “I need you to help me. To be my Barnabas.”
The transition was too quick for her. She didn’t catch the reference.
“You know, Barnabas, the one who trusted the apostle Paul after his conversion when nobody else would. Jenny, I need you to trust me.”
“You sound like Poppa.” She smiled. “He always explained things in biblical terms.”
It was so good to see her smile.
“Will you trust me?” Drew said.
Her smile faded. She looked down.
“What do you want me to do?”
“To arrange a meeting between me and some of the people in the village.”
“Whom do you want to talk to? Master Cooper?”
“And Nell.”
“Nell won’t talk to you.”
Drew tried not to show how much the comment hurt him.
“Will you at least ask her?”
“I have to go now.”
Jenny turned and stepped away from the ridge.
“I’ll think about it,” she said.
“Pray about it!” Drew called after her.
She stopped and looked at him with appraising eyes.
“I’ll pray about it.”
Drew was reclining on one arm reading about Paul and Barnabas on Cyprus, the time when Paul struck the sorcerer Elymas blind, when he heard a twig snap.
He rolled over on his belly and crawled behind a wall.
He glanced behind him and to both sides.
No movement.
Nothing but forest.
Cautiously, he raised up and looked over the wall.
Nell Matthews stood in the open doorway of the castle ruins, the dappled sunlight shining around her. Her casual stroll indicated deep thought as she wandered slowly into the castle’s large entryway. It was evident she thought she was alone.
Her dark brown hair rested gently on her white muslin blouse; a pair of scissors dangled from a ribbon around her waist against her dark skirt. Drew remembered fondly the times he’d watched her making lace. Those scissors were almost an extension of her right hand. She could grab them, snip a thread, and continue working the lace in one smooth motion.
Drew was surprised at how hungry his eyes were to see her. He was afraid to speak, afraid he would frighten her away. For several minutes he was content just to look at her, to satisfy his visual craving.
Nell walked to the center of the ruins and sat on the wall, the same place where she usually sat when she and Drew came to the ruins. Drew could see her face now. It was a somber face and her eyes were dull. She no longer had the confident set of her jaw, the look of smugness, that had intimidated and irritated Drew when they first met.
Quietly, he stood and climbed over the low stone wall. He was halfway to her before his movement caught the corner of her eye.
She jumped from the wall with a start. When she recognized him, she ran toward the door opening. Drew had to vault a low wall and sprint to catch her. He caught her by the arm just as she reached the doorway. Swinging her around, he grabbed her by the shoulders.
“I’ll scream!” she warned him.
Instinctively Drew looked behind her, expecting to see a red giant lumbering up the hill.
“Nell! I have to talk to you!”
“What are you doing here?” she cried, as she struggled to pull herself free.
“Your father sent me.”
“You expect me to believe that?” There was fire in her eyes, an angry, blazing fire. With a quick sweeping motion she grabbed her scissors and pointed them at Drew’s chest. “Let me go!”
Drew released his grip on her.
She stumbled a few steps backward, then turned to run down the mountain.
“Why else would I come back?” he shouted after her.
He watched her run down the path, then lost sight of her as she passed behind the building that housed the looms.
Sighing, he walked back into the ruins and sat on a large stone block. He didn’t blame her. She was scared; who wouldn’t be, given her situation? But how was he going to fulfill his promise to God and the curate if no one would talk to him?
“Why did you come back?”
The voice startled Drew. Nell was standing in the doorway. He moved toward her.
“Stay right there!” Nell said, scissors in hand. “Just answer my question.”
“I told you.”
“What you said doesn’t make sense. There’s nothing for you here—nothing more you can take from us. So it doesn’t make sense that you would come back.”
“You’re right, especially considering the reception James gave me yesterday,” Drew said.
“James was wrong to hurt you like he did,” she said.
“I was wrong to hurt you the way I did.”
Nell fought a losing battle against her tears.
“You still haven’t answered my question,” she said.
“Yes, I have. Your father sent me.”
“I suppose he told you that during the Star Chamber trial? Or was it during his murder trial? You and Dudley certainly staged an impressive little drama.”
Drew waited as she struggled to regain her composure.
“How could you?” she yelled at him. “He loved you!”
Now it was Drew’s turn to fight back rising emotion.
“I know,” he said meekly.
They were silent for a long time.
“Well?” Nell demanded.
“I never intended things to turn out the way they did.”
The look of disgust on Nell’s face told him she was obviously not convinced.
“Your father asked me to convey his love to you. He also asked me to take care of you.”
Drew lost her with that one.
“I can take care of myself, thank you,” she hugged. “Well, Master Morgan, it seems that since you have fulfilled your obligation to my father, you can be on your way now.”
“Nell, I know you’re not going to believe me, but I’ve changed.”
“We’ve heard that before, haven’t we?”
“What can I do to convince you?”
“There’s nothing you can do to convince me, Master Morgan. You lied to us. You intentionally set out to deceive us. You killed my father and destroyed my village. I don’t believe you even talked to my father after his arrest. I don’t think you’d have the gall to face him. And I think you came back here just to soothe your aching conscience. Well, it’s not that easy. You’re just going to have to live with yourself. I may be a Christian, but I’m not a fool.”
“Your father wasn’t Justin. You are.”
He just blurted it out.
What did he have to lose?
Once before he’d seen the look of horror that was now on her face, the time he frightened her in her father’s study after he returned from his river meeting with Eliot. And he remembered the scream in the dark and the sounds of Jenny consoling her. Nell knew the price of being Justin, and it scared her to death.
“There were only three people who knew the true secret,” he said. “Your father, Jenny, and you. Your father told me the truth. He died to protect you.”
Nell bolted
down the hill, sobbing uncontrollably. Drew watched her and wondered if he’d done the right thing.
“Psssst!”
Jenny stood at her door again, water buckets at her feet. Brown hair swirled around her as she swung toward the now familiar sound.
“Go away!” she hissed.
“Jenny! Please!”
Hands on hips, she turned to him.
“What have you done to my sister?”
“I can explain, but not here. Meet me by the river.”
Jenny shot him an angry glance and turned away.
“I can explain,” he pleaded.
Beside the river, Jenny Matthews stood toe to toe with Drew Morgan. She was not tentative like she was at their previous meeting.
“What did Nell tell you?” he asked.
“Nothing,” Jenny said. “She just ran upstairs and shut the bedroom door. She won’t talk to me.”
“Then how did you know I was the one to upset her?”
Jenny looked at him like he was the dumbest person on earth.
“You’re the only person who has ever had that kind of effect on her.”
“I told her I knew she was Justin.”
Jenny’s face recorded shock and fear.
“It was the only way I could convince her that I’d spoken to your father.”
“You really are telling the truth, aren’t you?”
Drew nodded.
“About everything?”
“Jenny, I never meant to hurt your father. I’d gladly give my life if it would bring him back.”
For a long moment, she wavered, staring into his eyes, trying to read him. Then—
“Oh Drew!”
She flung her arms around him and cried.
“Then you believe me?”
She answered him with a wet, muffled affirmative against his chest.
Closing his eyes, he raised his face to the sky.
“Thank You!” he said.
Despite Jenny’s passionate pleas, David Cooper refused to meet with Drew. He warned Jenny to stay away from him, to run if ever he came near her again.
The Puritans (American Family Portrait #1) Page 34