Dances Naked

by Dani Haviland

  “Now what’s this about Barden Hall?” Jody asked brightly as he waltzed into the kitchen. “Oops, sorry,” he whispered as he saw the sleeping mother and child a few feet away.

  “Aw, she won’t wake up until she’s ready and neither will he,” I commented in my normal speaking voice. I shook my head and added, “It’s sure hard to believe that those two are any relation to that Captain Asshole. Did you hear anything about his trial or sentencing?” I asked.

  “Weel,” Jody said as he pulled out a chair from under the table and sat down, “It looks like he’s to be hanged by the neck until daid next, no, wait, that was,” Jody counted on his fingers, “he shoulda been hanged yesterday. The major said he didna wanna waste any more food on a man who had tried to take soldiers away from his majesty’s army and collected taxes fer his own personal gain. I told him that my son could also give testimony about the um, altercation at the mill, but he said it wasna necessary, that my word and that of his sergeant were enough. And, he wasna too happy about him tryin’ to kidnap the lass either,” Jody said as he shifted in the seat. “It seems the major has six daughters and is quite protective of them, which is how it should be. So, yer sendin’ a letter to Barden Hall so my Benji can watch out fer yer friend James and yer daughter Leah?”

  “That’s the plan. You know, when the time comes that this letter is to be read, Benji will be quite a bit older than Leah will be. It’s been a long time since you’ve seen him, hasn’t it? I’ll bet he looks just like you,” I proclaimed with parental pride, although I was bragging about someone else’s progeny.

  “How do ye ken? Did ye ever meet him? Have ye ever been to Barden Hall?” Jody asked excitedly, leaning forward and clutching his knees.

  “No, I’ve never set foot outside the USA, but I do know that he has a tall mama who looks like you and he has red hair, too, so, well, gee, I don’t know.” I sighed in frustration at getting the man all wound with no way to satisfy his excitement. “I’m sure with his heritage, he’s good looking, smart, and responsible.”

  “Weel, I’ll settle for jest bein’ responsible. Although with his parents, I’m sure he is the other two as well. Now, do ye think the lass and the bairn can travel tomorrow? They’re no bother here and I wouldna want to send her away before she’s strong enough.”

  Sarah looked at Jody, then me, then shrugged her shoulders. “I’ll see how’s she’s doing in the morning and give her my advice. She’s been a good patient and the boy’s yeast infection seems to be almost gone. It was mostly irritation from being in filthy clouts. I’ll make sure she has a change of clothes for him and a few spare clouts with explicit instructions on cleanliness, for her and for him. She, um, talked a bit during labor. It seems her mother died before she had a chance to tell her all she needed to know about babies, and, well, a lot of other things. When she gets to feeling better, I’ll fill her in on a few other important facts of life. Jody, she said they were headed to stay with family in New Bern. Do you think we can get word to Angus to keep an eye on her?”

  Jody grinned as she was asking. “It’s already been done; I sent word jest this mornin’. And, I’ll make sure Grant kens that I have friends and family from here to New Bern, and that they have all been asked to keep watch over the young lass and the bairn. He may be a nosy man, but I’ll bet he kens not to hurt either one of them.”

  Just then, I heard a crashing noise outside, like stacked wood being knocked over, then the sound of someone running away. “Weel, it looks like he heard what I wanted him to hear,” Jody said with a chuckle. “I dinna ken how long he was out there, but he kens now that those two,” he nodded to Rachel and Baby Boy, “have protectors from here to the Atlantic Ocean. I’d wager by those squinty eyes that Grant is a family name, not jest a given name. He has the way of the Grants of Leoch about him. Never trust a Grant.”

  Ж

  Wallace saw Grant stumble and fall away from the house. It almost looked, no, he definitely had been listening outside the kitchen window. Jody was in there with the women so there were no worries about them—they were safe. The discourteous traveler now was headed toward him and it looked like he was chanting.

  “Leah, Moses Cone, August 4, 2013, Leah, Moses Cone, oh yeah, Greensboro, August…crap, I have to find a way to write this down. I’ll never remember so many things that don’t make sense,” Grant mumbled. He looked up and saw the tall, young father staring at him. “Hmph,” he snorted and turned to head in the opposite direction. “Leah, Moses, Greensboro, August 4, 2013. Leah, Moses…”

  Ж

  Later that day

  We got an unexpected guest this afternoon. Young Hannah Althouse came by for a visit. She had been with the Donaldson family since March and was on her way home to her ‘first’ family.

  “I don’t know if I can be away from my babies for very long,” she admitted to Sarah. “I wanted to learn the healin’ from you, but do you think that maybe we can wait until winter? I mean, there’s so much to do with the garden, and the girls are a handful for just Mrs. Donaldson, and I already miss my boys, and,” she sighed deeply, “I haven’t even been gone one day. Did you know that they crawl now? Well, not really crawl, but they can roll over and over to get whatever they want. We had to put the chairs down sideways in front of the hearth. The fire has been out, but they like the coolness—there’s a draft that comes down the chimney. We don’t want them going in there later when there’s a fire going!”

  Young Hannah was all aglow talking about her ‘boys.’ The twins weren’t related to her, but she had been their au pair since they were born. “Oh, and look at this,” she said as she held out a little purse. “Miranda made it for me for my birthday. She didn’t know what date it was so said I could have it now. It was late if my day had passed, but otherwise it would be an early birthday present. Wasn’t that sweet? And get this,” she said with unbridled enthusiasm, “it was my birthday! And I hadn’t told anyone!” Tears were starting to build up on her bottom eyelids. “I think I’d better go home and see my Ma and Pa for a few days. But, I’m going to ask them if it’s okay if I go back again. The Donaldson’s need me and,” she sniffed and wiped her nose and eyes with the back of her hand, “I need them. We’re all born into a family, but sometimes God gives you a different one later. Do you know what I mean?”

  “Boy, howdy,” I replied with emphasis. “I mean, yes, I do know because it happened to me, too. I do believe we’re both doubly blessed.”

  “And there’s no hurry on the schooling. We’re going to be busy here building another house for Wallace and Evie and their children so I wouldn’t have too much time for you until this winter anyhow.”

  “See, God’s got it all under control,” I bragged. “Hey, I’ll bet you’d like to see the babies. They’re right over there. I have to go see what Wallace and Jenny are up to. They’ve been quiet too long.”

  Just then, a crash came from the barn. “I’m okay,” hollered Jody from inside of it.

  “Well, I’ll go see what happened anyway,” Sarah said with exasperation. “That man has nine lives to be sure, but I don’t want him using up one of them with an infection. I’m going to go look for broken skin.”

  Sarah and I left for the barn, chuckling like the two sisters we had become, laughing at the skill and adroitness of Jody the swordsman who could still be clumsy just turning around in tight quarters, his broad shoulders knocking pictures off a wall or pitchers off a table.

  Ж

  Grant had been watching the get-together of the Pomeroy women and the young girl. The lass was alone now. Maybe she knew how to write. He walked over to her, wearing the smile that he saved for important occasions. “Good day, miss,” he said pleasantly. “Are you here for long?”

  “No,” Hannah said cautiously. There was something amiss about a man who came up to a stranger, especially a young woman, and started talking to her without a proper introduction.

  “Can you write?” he demanded.

  “Yes, sir,” she said sof
tly. She looked around but didn’t see anyone. This man scared her and being alone with him was even more frightening. Her whole body was frozen: she was too terrified to yell. What if he killed her before anyone could find her?

  “Good! Then you’re comin’ with me,” he said, grabbing her arm as she pulled away from him. He had a tight grip, though, and dragged her by her elbow up the steps into the kitchen. “Sit there,” he growled hoarsely, trying not to be too loud. Rachel and the baby were still asleep and he didn’t want to wake them. Rachel would be no problem—he could handle her, but that nosy, curly haired healer and that other woman would come in to check on them if they knew that she or the baby were awake.

  Earlier, he had noticed the fancy quill pen and paper in the cupboard. This family didn’t have much and he wasn’t going to steal these—he was just borrowing them. He opened the cabinet, took them out, and then thrust them at the girl. “You write what I tell you. And if you don’t,” he said menacingly, “I’ll get you.” He drew his finger across his throat like it was a knife. “And don’t tell anyone about this, you hear?”

  “Yes, sir,” she squeaked softly. Her throat was so tight from fear that she probably wouldn’t have been able to yell even if she had seen someone nearby.

  “Get Leah at the Moses Hospital in Greensboro, that’s North Carolina, on August 4 two thousand thirteen. Okay? Now read it back.”

  Hannah took a minute to finish writing what he had said. “Get Leah at the Moses Hospital in Greensboro that’s North Carolina on August for two thousand thirteen,” Hannah said in a whisper, then cautiously looked up at him to see if she had the words right.

  The mean-looking man shifted his eyes back and forth, as if he was thinking about something, and then rubbed his chin. “Now write this down, too. ‘Go get Benji at Barden Hall, Scotland in 1990. He has the treasure.’ Now read it back!” he growled this time, as if he was mad.

  Hannah finished the words then read them back to him. “Go get Benny at Barden Hall Scotland end nineteen ninety. He has the treasure.”

  “That’s Benji, you idiot, not Benny!” he yelled.

  Rachel started moving with the sudden loud noise and the baby began to cry. “Give me that,” he snorted as he grabbed the still wet paper. He stuffed the cork into the inkwell and grabbed the quill, stuffing both of them haphazardly back into the cabinet. “Now, get out of here and don’t you tell anyone that you did the writing for me, you hear?” He glared at her and moved his finger across his neck with that ominous throat-slashing gesture, then rushed out the door, around to the patch of scrub wood at the back of the house.

  Grant kept the house in sight as he sat down to look at the parchment. This was going to be so sweet: revenge on the Pomeroys for killing his brother. They may not have been the ones who actually put the noose around Atholl’s neck, but he wouldn’t have been caught if it hadn’t been for them. And, there was still that major soldier man who believed everything that Jody and his son Wallace told him—he’d get him, too. Grant turned the paper over in his hands to make sure he didn’t smudge it any more than it already was. He’d have to figure a way to get this letter to his son, if he ever had one. He’d heard about fairies, how they could travel to the past and to the future. The Big Red One’s grandson must be a fairy if he was alive in 1990. And, the other woman, Evie, the young tall man’s wife: she had said that her daughter was her nurse in the hospital in 2013. How could a daughter nurse the mother? Grant shook his head. These fairies were queer ones. But, he didn’t care if he had to wait over 200 years for revenge. He was going to make sure that this Benji was killed for what his grandfather and uncle did to his brother.

  And, now he knew what the grandson looked like, sort of. A tall, red-haired man in that small town of Barden Hall shouldn’t be too hard to find. But first, this Benji would have to suffer like Atholl did. Surely, there was someone in the year 1990 who would like to carve little bits of body parts off the man. If he thought that he could get close enough to this Big Red One, he’d do it to him, too. He shook his head again. Nah, he’d let his son’s sons do it. He looked down at his crotch and frowned. Okay, he’d let his brother’s son’s sons do it. He’d take little Atholl, Jr. as his own, just to make sure that his revenge was satisfied. Yes, if he started early, he could make sure the boy got the message. He patted the folded paper. He would make sure that it was passed on to his children’s children’s children until Benji was done in and the ‘treasure’ was found. Who knows? Maybe by that time Benji and his family really would have all the gold and gems that he’d let his heirs believe they had.

  Ж

  Rachel woke up to a new person in the room. “Hi,” she said sweetly to the girl who looked to be her own age.

  “Hi,” Hannah squeaked then sniffed repeatedly, trying to keep the tears of fear from falling.

  “Are you okay?” Rachel asked.

  Hannah didn’t say anything, but stood there, mute, and terrified. Rachel recognized the signs of intimidation. There was only one person on this property who would do that to a young woman. “Was there a man in here that scared you?” she asked although she already knew it had to be what had happened.

  Hannah nodded her head and her tears stopped. It looked like she had a friend who understood what she couldn’t say.

  “Did he hit you?” Rachel asked as she sat up.

  Baby Atholl Junior was making little mewing noises as he awoke. Instinctively, Hannah went to him, picked him up, and rubbed his back. She looked at the girl in the bed and asked, “Is he yours?”

  Rachel nodded and dropped her arm out of the sleeve of the hospital gown and reached for her son. She bared her breast and started suckling him. “He scared you though, didn’t he?” she asked.

  Hannah nodded then put her index finger up to her throat and imitated the neck slashing motion that Grant had threatened her with.

  Rachel closed her eyes with the painful bliss that was her son nursing for the first time in nearly a day. Her milk was starting to come in; she could feel it. She reached her hand out to the frightened girl next to her. “I won’t let him hurt you,” she said strongly as she clasped her hand, “I’ll kill him first.”

  Hannah was shocked at the words, but even more so at the fire in the very young mother’s eyes. She looked to be her own age but had the iron jaw set of a warrior. She believed that this woman really would kill that mean man if he tried to hurt her. “Uh, okay, thank you,” she said and nodded. “I don’t really like sayin’ it, but that makes me feel better.”

  Rachel’s glare of hatred for her brother melted to compassion for the new friend she had just made by threatening to kill her own kin. Well, he was worth getting rid of. But first, she had to figure out how to do it.

  6 Marty’s Dilemma

  August 18, 1781

  Lost in North Carolina

  M

  arty Melbourne was on his own now. He had left the four others back at the impromptu camp he had helped set up. Ian Kincaid had been seriously wounded: a hatchet gash to the neck and a botched castration. His young son, Wee Ian, had been beaten, but was alive, willing, and capable of taking care of his wounded father’s needs. Marty’s son, James, and his wife, Leah, were there also. The newlywed couple had traveled ‘back’ in time from 2013 to help him here in 1781. Soon they would be on their way to live with her mother, Evie. Evie was another time traveler and married to Ian’s cousin Wallace, the son of Jody Pomeroy, Scottish-born soldier, farmer, and American patriot. Evie had undergone a mysterious age reversal so now appeared younger than her adult daughter, Leah.

  Only last week Marty had sent the cryptic letter requesting James’s assistance in this time era, hoping that the sealed epistle would make it to London. He had given instructions with the letter that it be held in trust at the House of Lords until 2013. At that time, it was to be delivered to James’s post office box. Evidently, all had gone according to plan. James and Leah had arrived yesterday and had given Ian Kincaid the blood transfusion needed to
save his life. The act gave substance to the Cherokee Indian legend of the Nûñnë’hĩ, the ‘fairy,’ who had come and put his spirit into Star Walker, Ian Kincaid, in order to heal his broken body. Now, Ian would live to sire the child, Scout Kincaid, who would become his son James’s ancestor.

  So, now that his son’s heritage had been assured, he could go back to the 21st century to be with the lad’s mother, Bibb, the woman he should have married decades ago. He could also meet the son he never knew he had, Billy Burke. Bibb had secretly birthed then given up for adoption their love child, her first-born son. Bibb now had liver cancer and needed to undergo a liver transplant. Yes, Marty desperately wanted to go back ‘home’ to the 21st century. But first, he had to find his way back to the time portal, The Trees that marked the magnetic anomaly that facilitated time travel. He already had the other two factors needed to complete the journey: the rare Greek coin and a focus person in the targeted time period, his beloved Bibb.

  “Well, I thought this was the right direction,” Marty said to his horse. “At least I remember the creek was on my right and the morning sun was in my eyes on my way in. Crap! You’re turned around, Melbourne! You’re supposed to be going the opposite direction of how you got here! Stop daydreaming about your homecoming and find those trees!”

  Marty got off the horse and led her to the creek, allowing her to drink and graze while he pulled out the map and rechecked his location. After ten minutes of looking at the map, turning it 90 degrees, looking at the course of the creek, turning the map again and looking at the creek still again, he decided to take a short nap. “Stay,” he said to the horse and grabbed a short length of soft rope out of his saddlebag to hobble her. “We still have a ways to go, but I can’t think straight. I didn’t sleep a wink last night and it’s creeping up on me. Hopefully, a nap will clear my head because if I don’t get us lined out and started in the right direction, we’ll wind up at the Pomeroy’s before Leah and James. And, I’m not even heading that way! Hmph!”