“So why didn’t you tell us after we’d gotten to know you?” Mr. Bradford put the question forth.
William’s shoulders sagged. “I’d thought about it many times, but the timing never seemed to be right. Especially with all the loss.”
Mr. Carver nodded, even though several negative comments were made in the crowd. He paced back and forth for several minutes.
Mary Elizabeth couldn’t handle it any longer. She walked to the center where her betrothed stood. “William hasn’t done anything wrong. It’s understandable that the Adventurers would have wanted to know what was going on here—it was their money, after all.”
David walked through the crowd and stood by William. “I caught Peter snooping in William’s things awhile back. I thought he was stealing, but he tried to convince me that he had loaned William something. Did anyone think about how he had to sneak around to find that book and the money? Isn’t that stealing and spying?”
Mr. Carver continued to pace. Mr. Brewster and Mr. Bradford went over and spoke with the governor.
Whispers went through the crowd.
But Mary Elizabeth couldn’t listen. She didn’t care what the people were saying or what they thought. William was a good and honorable man. The elders would see that, and this foolishness could be put behind them.
The men turned back toward William, but Mr. Bradford looked at Mary Elizabeth.
“We need to ask you a question, Miss Chapman.”
She straightened her shoulders. “Of course.”
“Did William—your future husband—tell you anything about his job for the company?”
The air left her lungs in a great sigh. She looked at William.
He nodded to her and put his hands on David’s shoulders.
The truth was her only answer. “No. He did not.”
CHAPTER 29
Friday, 16 March 1620/1
The past few days had been torture. Other than Mary Elizabeth and David, everyone in the settlement treated William differently. The elders and Governor Carver stated they needed to pray about their decision, and he respected that. He just wasn’t expecting for everything to change. For the men he’d come to admire to doubt him.
He worked on his house alone, hoping that soon this would all be a distant memory. He would give the money back in a heartbeat if it ensured the people’s trust.
As William shoved clay between the logs of the west wall, John Alden joined him. “Are you going to the ceremony today for Standish?”
William shook his head. “I don’t think the people want me there.” As much as he wanted his friend’s trust and missed the camaraderie, he didn’t think John could do anything to make things better.
“That’s just your pride talking.” John grabbed a clump of clay and started working it into another crack.
“No. It’s the truth.”
“William, why didn’t you tell me about the job? I noticed you scribbling in the journal often enough.” His friend’s tone wasn’t accusatory. It sounded more hurt.
“I’ve asked myself that a million times since Monday.”
John continued to work. “I’m sure you have. I trust you, William, and I don’t believe you’ve done anything untoward.”
“Thank you, John.”
“But these people—the Saints especially—have been hurt by so many people in the past. They’ve been completely betrayed and lost everything.”
William had forgotten about that. No wonder they wouldn’t take him at his word. And he couldn’t blame them.
“Give it time. They’ll come around.”
“My only thoughts were to do the right and honorable thing.”
John nodded. “I know, my friend. The others will see the truth.”
They worked in silence for a good while until John told him it was time for the ceremony. The military service was to name Mr. Standish the captain and head of their protection.
William cleaned up as best he could and decided to join the rest of the people.
Governor Carver stood and held up his hands. “Welcome, everyone. We are here today to honor—” The man blinked several times, and his jaw dropped. Several moments of silence passed.
William turned to see what the governor was looking at. Up their lone street strode an Indian.
Gasps were heard behind him, followed by complete silence.
The native man was tall with long black hair and a clean-shaven face. Most astonishing was that he was naked except for a span of leather with fringe about his waist.
Several of the women gasped and looked down at the ground. No one was accustomed to seeing that much skin, and wasn’t the man cold?
He carried a bow and arrows, and he walked right up to them. “Welcome, Englishmen.”
“Why, he speaks English!” One of the elders moved forward.
As the men moved in toward the Indian, William stepped back. The conversation was broken and stilted.
The people didn’t trust him right now, and they had been hoping to connect with the natives since arriving. It would be better for everyone if he just went to work on his house.
He walked back to his little plot and went to work with the clay. The process was time consuming, but if he worked hard, he could finish this wall today while it was still light.
“I guess you’re not fascinated with our new guest?”
William shifted his gaze from the wall to his betrothed. She stood at the corner of what was supposed to be their home. “I figured I would stay out of the way.”
Mary Elizabeth stood with her hands behind her back. “May I help?”
The sight of her—so sweet and beautiful—made him smile. “Of course.” And it made his heart ache.
“You haven’t said much lately, William. I’m worried about you.” She worked twigs and leaves in with the clay.
He shoved the thick mud in a little bit harder than necessary. “There’s nothing to worry about.” But there was. She hadn’t thought it all through like he had.
“Don’t you want to talk about it?”
“Not particularly. It’s in their hands. I will have to wait for them to decide what my true intentions were, and then they will decide my fate.”
“They will see the truth. I have faith that God will work all of this out.”
He let out a heavy sigh. “But what if they don’t? That’s the part you refuse to acknowledge. Do you still want to marry a man who’s been accused of spying? On your own people?”
“William, it’s not going to come to that.”
“Mary Elizabeth, you’ve got to face facts. This could very well go in a direction that neither of us wants. Everything I’ve worked for could be lost. But what’s worse is I could lose you.”
She stomped her foot. “You are not going to lose me, Mr. Lytton.”
“You can’t know that.” Shaking his head, he knew what he had to do. “Where would we go if they find me guilty? How would we survive? It’s not possible.”
“With God all things are possible.”
Her optimism made him want to believe her. But the nature of people had proven she was carrying around false hope. He knew the people had been hurt a lot. But he’d also seen his share of misery. People let him down every time.
“William? What’s wrong? Please talk to me.” She laid a hand on his arm.
“I’m sorry, Mary Elizabeth. Truly, I am. But I think our betrothal needs to come to an end.”
After shedding a bucket’s worth of tears and walking along the beach for hours, Mary Elizabeth asked to be taken back to the Mayflower. Only a few sick were left on the ship, and they were hoping to finish moving everyone by the end of next week. The least she could do was to help pack up their belongings. It would give her something to do with all her frustrated energy since she knew that sleep would be long in coming.
How could William hurt her like that? It didn’t make sense, and it wasn’t like him at all. Besides, she didn’t believe it. She knew that he loved her.
&n
bsp; Climbing aboard the ship that had been one of her seafaring homes for eight long months, she realized that it was on this ship that she’d fallen in love with handsome William Lytton. On this ship, she’d grown to be strong and brave.
On this ship, she’d lost her Father and her best friend.
The good had come with the bad. Just like this awful situation for William. He’d wanted to do the right thing. She knew that.
But she also knew her future was with him. No matter what happened. How could she convince him?
Taking the steps down to the gun deck, Mary thought of their first meeting. It had been on a set of steps just like this. And William had reached down a hand for her. His touch had ignited a flame of new life for her—and she never wanted to go back.
“Mary Elizabeth.” Mr. Bradford stepped aside at the bottom of the companionway.
His voice startled her and brought her back to the present moment. This time, the steps held her broken heart. “I’m sorry, Mr. Bradford. I guess my mind was on other things.”
“Would you like to talk about it?”
“I’m sure you’re quite busy. I wouldn’t want to delay you.”
He sat on one of the steps. “Actually, at the moment I’m not.” He looked around the dim and dirty area. “This will be my last night to stay here. My house is finished thanks to help from your William, and I was just gathering up the remainder of my things.”
William had helped with Mr. Bradford’s house? Her mind fought the urge to cry and scream all at the same time.
“Now tell me, what’s on your mind?” He folded his hands on his knee. “Is it the Indian visitor today?”
“Oh my, I completely forgot about that!” She covered her mouth for a moment and then let her hand fall. “No, it’s not that, although I’m sure David will want to tell me all about it. I’m actually worried for William.”
“Ah yes, I see.”
“He tried to end our betrothal today because he says that I haven’t thought through what will happen if the town finds him guilty of spying.”
“And have you?”
“Well, no. I hadn’t until he brought it up, but it really doesn’t change anything. I love William, no matter what. I don’t believe that he’s done a thing wrong, and I will stand by that.”
Mr. Bradford nodded.
“But it’s hard for me to understand why he would want to push me away in all this. And it exasperates me.”
“Have you thought of the fact that William may be doing this because he thinks it will protect you in some way?”
She frowned. “Well, no. Not really.”
“That’s what strong, Godly men do. They protect the people they love. By sacrificing themselves and ultimately their own happiness.”
“So he’d rather be miserable and just let me go?”
“If he thinks it’s best for you.”
“But how does he know what’s best for me if he won’t listen to me?”
He sighed. “That’s the tricky part. Men are good at convincing themselves that they know what’s best. We are the protectors and providers. But my wife, Dorothy—God rest her soul—reminded me that God gave the woman to be a helpmeet, and that meant that I had to learn how to listen to her wise counsel rather than always try to fix it all. It took years for her to teach me, but she was a very patient woman.”
Mary Elizabeth stared down at her hands. Maybe he was correct. Her relationship with William was so new, she didn’t understand a lot or truly understand how it should work. But how could she get William to see? “What do you suggest I do?”
“Pray.”
She nodded. That should have been her first response.
He laid a hand on her shoulder and stood. “He loves you, Miss Chapman. Of that you can be assured.”
While her heart knew the words were true, it still hurt. Would William turn his back on her forever?
CHAPTER 30
Wednesday, 21 March 1620/1
The air was finally getting warmer. Maybe Mary Elizabeth wouldn’t make him wear his heavy cloak everywhere now.
But she probably would. She didn’t want him to get sick. That was what big sisters did.
The fact that she’d allowed him to stay with Mr. Alden in the new town the past few days was pretty impressive. She’d helped move the rest of the people from the ship and would come on the last shallop today.
David couldn’t wait to tell her all the exciting news.
As he stood on the shore and watched the smaller boat make its way in, he thought about William. His sister’s future husband hadn’t been too happy lately. The governor had yet to decide what to do about the accusations Peter had made, but there wasn’t any foundation for them to find him guilty. William was a good man. And he loved Mary Elizabeth.
The shallop reached the harbor, and they began to unload. It was pretty interesting to think about. They were finally all ashore. No longer living on the Mayflower.
More than fifty of the passengers had died, and Master Jones had lost half of his crew. It was a sobering thought.
“David!” Mary Elizabeth ran toward him. She hugged him tight. “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too.”
She kissed his cheek. “So I hear you know all about our visitor?”
“His name is Samoset.” He puffed out his chest. “I talked to him, and he let me look at his bow.”
“Did you now?”
“Aye. And he knew some English words.”
“I heard that.”
“Well, did you know that he stayed the night?”
Mary Elizabeth’s eyes widened. “No. I didn’t know that.”
“Yes, with the Hopkins family. Then he went back to the Wampanoag people—they’re the ones that live a little ways away—and they came back to trade the next few days.”
“That’s exciting news for the colony, isn’t it?” She lifted a few blankets from the pile at her feet. “So where are we staying?”
“William is giving us his house right now. He’s going to stay with John Alden in the common house. A lot of people are sharing since there’s only seven or eight houses built.”
“That’s fine. I’m sure we will do just fine. And once William and I are married, we should probably offer a place to stay for John, don’t you think?”
“Sure.” David shrugged. He didn’t care too much, as long as he didn’t have to live on the smelly ship anymore. “Hey, you know what else Samoset told us?”
“What?”
“That this place used to be called Patuxet. But a few years ago all the people died. There was a really bad plague.”
“A plague? What kind of a plague?” Mary Elizabeth had that worried tone again.
“I don’t know. One of the ships brought it over. It killed a lot of people, Samoset said. All the way up north to his tribe.”
Mary Elizabeth slowed her steps. “So there’s a lot of Indians around here?”
“Aye. He said the Wampanoag wish to be good neighbors, and it must have been the Nauset that attacked the men on shore that night.”
“Oh.” Her brow was all wrinkled.
“Don’t worry. Samoset said they don’t want to kill us anymore.”
The plan hadn’t gone as Peter had hoped.
And maybe he hadn’t thought about what would happen if they all agreed that William was a spy.
What would they think of a new company employee then? Or would he be able to convince them that he was trustworthy since he’d discovered the man who wanted them to fail? He would be up front about it from the beginning instead of hiding the secret away. The people had to respect that.
He’d have to send word back with the Mayflower to his cousin. Maybe his family could pull some strings and get things expedited.
The worst part was that he would just have to wait and see.
And he hated waiting.
But he still had the money. No one had even thought to ask him for it after he’d confronted William with the journa
l.
Maybe he would just keep it. He’d earned it, after all.
Thursday, 22 March 1620/1
Mary Elizabeth woke to the sound of birds chirping and singing. For the first time in eight months, she’d slept on dry land—not on a ship. And it was wonderful.
Stretching on her bed, she looked up at the roof. William had done a good job with the thatch. It was so thick she couldn’t see any holes, which would be good for when it rained.
Another thought sent a thrill through her. She stood up. All the way. Stretching her arms above her head, she still didn’t touch the ceiling. No more crouching and bending to fit into the short space of the cramped deck they’d lived on. Laughing out loud, she covered her mouth so she wouldn’t wake David. She’d never been so thankful to stand up straight. And inside.
Amazing what a few months of hardship could teach. To find joy in even the smallest matters.
She wanted to accomplish so many things today. Work in the garden. Unpacking all the possessions that had been stored in the hold for all these months. And goodness, she’d love to make some bread if she could scrounge up the ingredients. They had foodstuffs stored in some of the barrels that were now in the common house, but she couldn’t remember how much flour they’d rationed.
Before any of that, Mary Elizabeth wanted to speak to William. This had gone on long enough, and now that Mr. Bradford had explained the “why” behind William’s behavior, she was ready to talk to him about it and convince him that she would love him no matter what.
Tightening the strings of her shift, she prayed for guidance. Certainly the Lord would bless her efforts to honor her future husband by sticking by his side.
She put on her green shirtwaist and adjusted the laces at the shoulders. She’d lost a good deal of weight between the hardship of the voyage and sickness. Holding out her hands in front of her, she noticed her wrists appeared exceedingly bony. It wasn’t the greatest appearance for a bride-to-be, but she’d just have to eat more in the coming weeks.
Slipping on the matching green skirt over her shift, she hoped the extra effort would impress William. He hadn’t seen this dress on her before. Would he appreciate it?
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