Chapter 21
Delaney quickly learned to love the mild summer weather in Indiana. The days were sunny and bright but quite comfortable, and the nights were cool. Often the rain that came in the night was gone by morning, and the world was refreshed and vegetation grew lustily.
Today was Sunday. Before the sun rose, she heard excitement and commotion in the main room. She eagerly hopped out of her bed and washed quickly, knowing the Brownings anticipated a fun day ahead and that they could use her help in preparation.
Dressed in her church dress, Delaney entered the kitchen to find the family already busily brushing and braiding hair, making breakfast, setting the table, packing baskets with food and generally bustling in every direction. She took over the setting of the table so Betsy could help her younger sister fasten her dress and tie her shoes. She could hear Ned and the older boys as they tied the horses and wagon outside the front door, getting them ready to load.
“I’m glad we made our food for taking yesterday.” Mrs. Norman was tying on an apron as she entered the room and prepared to help.
“Good mornin’, Mama. Yes, with all these young-uns I’ve learned I have to plan ahead. But I’m thankful for all the help I have in the kitchen, too. Betsy’s getting to be a better cook than I am, I do believe.” Edna was pouring steaming mugs of coffee while she spoke. Betsy looked up at her mother and blushed with pleasure.
Ned, Thomas, Edward, and Nicholas came in through the back door looking freshly scrubbed from the basin on the back stoop. They quickly reached for the towel that hung behind the door. Nicholas swiped the towel across his face and started toward the smaller children, but Ned grabbed his collar. “Whoa, there. There will be no breakfast until that head of hair is combed.”
Nicholas grinned mischievously, turning to the small mirror and reaching his hand toward his dad for the comb.
As they all finally sat around the large table to eat breakfast before heading for the Evanstons’ for the day, Delaney couldn’t help thanking God silently, not only for the meal but for the fellowship and love of brothers and sisters in the faith. Even though she was many miles from all that was familiar to her, she felt as though she was part of all that was going on today and the others who would worship together shortly. She was thankful for the peace and joy within her heart.
The ride through the woods was joyful. Ned’s singing voice was as lovely as any trained voice Delaney had heard, and he had taught his children well. They sang many hymns in four-part harmony as they rode through the forest. Even though some of the songs had words unfamiliar to Delaney, she could soon hum the tune along with the rest.
Delaney smiled as she watched her dear teacher, the formerly somewhat reserved Mrs. Norman. As she sang and cuddled and teased with the children, she seemed to be twenty years younger than she was before this trip. Delaney had also seen a tremendous change in Edna Browning as well. Yes, the proverb was certainly proven true that said, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.”
The singing and laughter and chatter along the way made the trip seem much shorter than Delaney had anticipated. Before she knew it, they were being introduced to the Evanstons and to Deidre and Jedediah.
The families visited and played for a short time while the women warmed the foods and prepared the combined feast. Soon they joined one another around the enlarged table. When there was room for not one more bite, the women cleared the tables, while the men set up chairs and benches for their worship time.
And what a time of worship it was. With Ned leading, they sang many hymns of the church. They prayed together and read scripture together. Even the children shared insights and stories of what God was teaching them in their lives.
After more singing, the children were excused to play together for a while before starting the trip back to the Brownings’. The women enjoyed playing with the Evanston twins and watching all the new things they could do as they were now crawling and pulling themselves up on chairs. It was fun watching how dependent they were on one another. It was difficult at first to tell the two girls apart; they were so identical. However, in time Delaney could tell by their personalities. Callie dominated and Christy followed. They were adorable babies.
“Do you mind if I go look at all your lovely flower gardens?” Delaney asked Mandy when there was a pause in the conversation.
“Not at all. I hope you enjoy them like I do. Deidre has actually done as much of the transplanting and dividing as I have, so they are certainly not my gardens.”
“Want some company? I’d love to take a little walk, too.” Deidre looked at Delaney questioningly.
“Oh, yes. Please join me, Deidre. I’d love to have you tell me about the gardens and flowers. Would anyone else care to join us?”
Betsy picked up one of the twins. “Not me. I want to play with this baby doll while I can.” The other Browning girls nodded their agreement with Betsy, so Delaney and Deidre went out alone.
As they walked, they soon began to share about their lives. Deidre was very interested in the sort of situation Delaney experienced in the South. Delaney was glad to tell her of the unique plantation on which she worked and participated willingly. All the white folks whom Deidre had known in the South were adamant about keeping the Negroes as ignorant as possible. It was hard for her to imagine a home where the Negros not only were allowed an education but were even encouraged to learn and improve themselves.
Deidre also told Delaney how Mandy had taught her to read and encouraged her to learn and speak as an educated person instead of using the slave slang. The two young women were actually close in age and quickly became friends, looking forward to more visits in the upcoming weeks.
Mandy and Deidre stood on the front porch, each with a baby girl on one hip and their free arms around each other’s waist, after the rattle of the departing wagon could no longer be heard.
Mandy sighed. “How good it is to have such good friends and such sweet times together.”
“Yes, it is…” Deidre’s voice was quiet.
Mandy turned to look at her friend. “Is anything wrong?”
“No, just thinking. As they were pulling away, I wished I had asked Delaney if she had ever heard of my Jeremiah. She seems to get out more than most Negroes in the South. It is highly unlikely, I know. The South is a huge place. But I just wondered. Perhaps next time we’re together I will have the opportunity to ask her.”
“It certainly couldn’t hurt to ask. Yes, I think you should definitely ask her. Why did we not think of that today? In fact, you could ride over in the next few days and ask her if you want. Why don’t you?”
“Hmmm…I’ll think on it.” Deidre straightened her back. “Meanwhile, we have two sleepy boys and two completely worn-out little girls needing our attention.” The girls were rubbing their eyes and chewing on their fists.
“Yes, we’d better take care of them before they begin howling.” With that, Mandy placed a kiss on Christy’s head and turned toward the house.
Monday evening the Browning family was sitting at the supper table passing the bowls of food when Edna said to Delaney, “I am so glad you could spend time with Deidre, Delaney. She misses her husband so. I have a feeling that just talking with you, being from the South yourself, helped her feel connected to Jeremiah once more in a small way.”
Delaney’s eyes opened wide, and her hands froze as she turned her head toward Edna. “To whom?”
Edna looked at her, a bit puzzled. “To Jeremiah. Her husband. He is still in the South somewhere. She doesn’t know who bought him when he was sold from Devil’s Bend.”
“Jeremiah?” Everyone became very still, looking at Delaney. Then she shrugged. “No, it couldn’t be…”
“What is it, dear?” Mrs. Norman questioned Delaney.
Delaney took a scoop of fried potatoes onto her plate and passed the bowl before saying, “The overseer at Rose Hill Plantation. His name is Jeremiah. He has a wife and baby somewhere and he misses them terribly, but Deidre�
��s child is not a baby, so it couldn’t be.”
“How old is his baby?”
“I don’t really know. It was born sometime after he came to Rose Hill. He doesn’t even know if it is a boy or girl. He doesn’t talk about them much, but he obviously misses them terribly and is devoted to them. He had mentioned once that when he earned his freedom he planned to stay at Rose Hill until he earned enough to buy his wife’s and baby’s freedom and bring them to Rose Hill to live with him.”
Everyone began to eat again, all but Edna. She became very quiet. In a little while she said, “Delaney, how long has Jeremiah been at Rose Hill?”
“Well, it’s been a few years now. I don’t recall for sure, but probably…” She stopped to think briefly. “Nearly five years now. Maybe six.”
“And his child was born after he came to Rose Hill?”
“Yes.”
“Then the child would be five or six years old, not a baby. Jedediah just turned six years old not long ago.”
Everyone at the table became very still. The wonderful meal was forgotten momentarily as their minds worked on the possibilities.
“Oh, my. That would be utterly amazing!” Ned acted as though he could hardly sit still. “Delaney, tomorrow we must go back to the Evanstons’ and talk more with Deidre. We have to know. We have prayed for her to find him for many years now, and we must do our part to find out if this is God’s way of answering.”
Clint, who was seven years old and adored his friend Jeddy said, “Daddy, did we find Jeddy’s daddy?”
“We don’t really know, Son. But we must do whatever we can to find out if we can find him. Let’s all agree to pray for God’s guidance, and tomorrow Delaney and I will go to find out what we can.”
“I’ll pray, Daddy,” Clint was quick to volunteer.
“I will, too.” Benjamin added his support as well.
Chapter 22
Edna carefully covered the gooseberry pies with a dish towel before she placed them in the basket. There was an unusual hush over the household as they all prepared for the trip to the Evanstons’. Even the young ones seemed to feel the awe of the possibility of finding Jeddy’s daddy.
“Now you children take good care of your grandmother today.” Edna leaned down to wipe some breakfast from Benjamin’s face. “That means you, too, young man.” Her voice was gentle as she smiled at her youngest child. She gently caressed his cheek before standing.
“We’ll be good, Mama. We’ll help real good, too.”
“Yes, I know you will, Son.”
Delaney was still wiping dishes at the sideboard when Ned pulled the wagon up to the front of the house.
“Come, Delaney. The girls will finish that. Let’s be on our way.”
Ellie quickly took Delaney’s dish towel, and Essie handed her the bonnet she had laid on the table. Both girls hugged Delaney quickly. Mrs. Norman walked over and laid her hand on Delaney’s shoulder. “God be with you, Delaney. I hope this could be Deidre’s answer to prayer.”
Edna tugged at Delaney’s arm. “We do, too, Mama. And now we must be on our way.”
The family stood at the front door waving as the wagon carrying Ned, Edna, and Delaney disappeared through the woods. Mrs. Norman was quiet and thoughtful when Betsy said quietly, “Mama hasn’t been this excited since she took sick last fall.”
“What?” Mrs. Norman looked at Betsy thoughtfully. “You know, that could be it. It may be exactly what your mother needs to heal her wounds—to see another family healed.” She put her arm around Betsy’s shoulders as they turned back into the house. “Yes, that could just be it.”
Ethan was chopping at the stumps left from the trees he had felled for Deidre’s wing to the house last summer. They had rotted some, and he dug and chopped at them more as he tried to clear the area for growing hay for the cattle.
Mandy and Deidre worked in the garden, planting late green beans and picking the last of the peas. They had dried what they planned to dry for winter, and these late ones would taste good fresh for their lunch. The little girls were crawling all over the blanket spread for them in the shade, and Jeddy and Daniel played quietly nearby while they kept an eye on the babies also.
Deidre stood and stretched her back, shading her eyes as she looked into the blue sky. “I think it is only goin’ to keep gettin’ hotter and hotter now.” She took off her straw bonnet and fanned herself with it. “I don’t know which is hotter: wearin’ the bonnet and feelin’ no breeze, or takin’ it off to feel the breeze and gettin’ the hot sun along with it.”
Mandy didn’t respond, so Deidre turned her head to look at her. She had set down on the blanket to nurse the babies while she hulled some peas, but was leaning her face into her hand.
“Mandy, are you all right?” It wasn’t like Mandy to ignore her comment.
Mandy looked up slowly. “I’m so warm I feel as though there is not enough air to breathe. I must rest and cool off a bit.” She wiped her forehead slowly with the corner of her apron.
Jeddy looked up quickly, and Deidre said quietly, “Jeddy, you and Daniel go fetch a bucket of cool water from the well and bring it to us with a dipper.”
“All right, Momma.” He stood and reached for Daniel’s hand.
Daniel grinned mischievously. “All right, Momma; me, too.”
Deidre grinned back at the boys while she took her bonnet over to fan Mandy’s face. Mandy motioned for her to sit beside her. “I think I stayed in the sun a bit too long. It seems unseasonably warm to me, don’t you think?”
Deidre didn’t mention that she had just said something similar. But as she sat beside Mandy, she said, “Yes, it’s very warm. Some cool water will taste right good.”
They were still while they waited for the boys to bring the water. The ringing of Ethan’s ax as he chopped at the stumps was rhythmic in the distance. Between blows of the ax, they could hear the chatter of the boys as they obeyed. And then they heard other voices talking with the boys.
Deidre looked around. Visitors? In the middle of the week? Soon Mandy took notice, too.
Deidre was the first to speak. “It sounds like Ned. Why would Ned be here? And who else?” She paused for a few seconds while they listened; then she said as she laid a hand on Mandy’s shoulder, “Stay here with the girls, and I’ll go check.”
She hadn’t gone far up the path to the house when she saw a merry group coming toward her on the path. Ned was walking with Jeddy on his shoulders, Ned now carrying the bucket of water. Edna and Delaney were following him, holding Daniel’s hands.
“We couldn’t find anyone in the house so we came hunting,” Ned said. “My wife has made some great gooseberry pies this week and we thought if you have time to come to the house we could all have a piece of pie.”
Deidre and Mandy were both dumbfounded. Ethan had heard voices and was wiping his face and neck as he joined them. “You drove clear over here for a piece of pie?”
“Well, we thought we could visit a bit, too.”
Mandy spoke up. “Is everything all right? Is there news of some kind?”
“Nope. Just wanted to visit with our neighbors a bit. ’Course, if you’re too busy…” Ned’s eyes twinkled.
Edna spoke up. “Ned, stop teasing. We actually do have something we want to talk to Deidre about. Well, Delaney wants to talk to her. Won’t you come to the house and have a piece of pie while we chat?”
Everyone helped gather the tools and vegetable buckets. Edna and Delaney each picked up a little girl. While the group headed toward the house, Edna said, “I hope you don’t mind; I put a pot of coffee on to boil before we came down to find you. It should be ready soon.”
The women stopped at the outside basin to wash the dirt from their hands and faces. Ethan did the same. The boys were chattering with Ned as though they hadn’t seen him for a month.
When they entered the house, there was much commotion cutting the pies and pouring the coffee, putting milk on the pie for the boys and getting the girls s
ettled down. Finally sitting at the table, they all looked at Delaney.
“Well, this may be nothing at all. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it on Sunday when we were together, but, well…”
Everyone was silent while they waited for her to say what was on her mind. Finally, she laid down her fork and looked at Deidre. “I hardly know where to begin. The foreman at Rose Hill Plantation is named Jeremiah. He is a large Negro with wide-set eyes. He is very kind and gentle, in spite of being large. He has said that he has a wife and child at the plantation he worked previously. I’ve never asked where he was before he came to Rose Hill. I don’t know if his child is a boy or a girl—it was born after he was taken from there. He doesn’t talk about himself much. I just didn’t think about the possibility when we were here on Sunday. Should we write to him and inquire?”
Deidre’s eyes were huge, but she sat very still. Suddenly tears slid down her cheeks unheeded. Quietly she asked, “Does he have a space between his two front teeth? and a dimple on the side of his chin when he laughs?”
Delaney gasped. “Yes! He most certainly does! A noticeable space. And an unusual dimple.”
Jedediah quietly slid off of the bench and walked around until he leaned on his mother while he listened carefully and looked at her questioningly. Deidre wrapped her arms around him and held him. There was a hush in the room except for the gurgles of the twins.
Then everyone seemed to talk at once.
“What should we do?”
“It can’t be a coincidence.”
“It must be him!”
“What can be done?”
Deidre sat with her face in her hands.
Finally Ned got their attention above all the commotion. “All right, let us devise a plan. Shall we have Delaney write to him and ask his wife’s name?”
Mandy quickly responded, “I think we should be careful about telling too much about Deidre since she ran away. You never know into whose hands a letter might fall.”
“It will be safe at Rose Hill,” Delaney said confidently. “Mr. Wally and Miss Sue Ellen are very concerned for all the Negroes who work there. They refuse to call us slaves, even though they bought us. They give us a wage each year from the profits of the plantation, and after four years we can have our papers and be freed. Most of us have nowhere else to go, so we remain and work for a wage. We have built our own little village on their land. We have a good life there. They are unlike anyone else I know. We all know that if we work hard and help them earn as much as possible, they will use the money to free more Negroes. Miss Sue Ellen told me once that Mr. Wally would like to see all Negroes freed and independent some day. They educate us so we can live on our own and do well if we choose to do so.
The Long Road Home Romance Collection Page 36