Virginian Lover

by Oliver, Marina

  'Is not that John Porlock, bidding Bella Sutton a fond farewell?' Mary Bolton asked her husband as they were rowed past. 'I thought Adam was to be at the ironworks today.'

  'What of it? I should have been there also if you had not refused to come home and I had to fetch you,' her husband replied gruffly.

  'Well, we can go straight there and I'll come with you. At least you need not be afraid of showing me off to the men there, for I am honourably wed to you.'

  *

  While John, unaware of Mary's presence, went in the direction of Jamestown and Bella returned to the house, Mary plotted her next moves. Her husband, pliable as wax in her hands, despite the knowledge that she would cuckold him at the slightest encouragement, agreed she should accompany him to the Falls where the ironworks and the site of the proposed university and college for conversion of the Indians were. There she made certain she gained Adam's attention.

  'Oh, Adam, I quite thought you had not come,' she exclaimed.

  'I wished to be at the discussions,' he replied, moving to pass her.

  'For the new improvements at the ironworks? How exciting! But when I saw Mr Porlock leaving Fairmile yesterday morning I made up my mind that you had remained at home, though I must admit I thought it odd that Bella was seeing him off alone. Oh dear, I should not have told you! I've no desire to make mischief, and perhaps he had just called in, although I do not see where else he could have spent the night!'

  Adam surveyed her, his face inscrutable, but he reflected for a moment on what he would do to anyone who supplanted him in Bella's bed, even if it were as good a friend as John. With an effort to appear normal he bowed to Mary, smiling, and passed on.

  Bella could bestow her favours on anyone she chose and he had no right to prevent it, he told himself fiercely. Yet he did not think she was unfaithful to him, despite her flirting. That, he was sure, was a spirited retaliation against his own attempts to make her jealous. She was always infuriatingly cool and smiling, never showing the least sign of jealousy as he had hoped she might.

  Mary fumed impotently. It was painfully clear to her that while Bella remained with Adam she had not the remotest chance of ensnaring him. She did not stop to consider why she had this desperate need to capture his affections, but in truth she had become so bored with her husband's pliant devotion she craved the excitement of other men, and Adam's aloofness was a challenge she could not resist.

  Adam, however, continued to withstand her overtures, and she fretted with rage that he spurned her. She returned home vowing to revenge herself on Bella.

  *

  At the beginning of March a ripple of unease ran through the colony. On Ash Wednesday Mr Morgan, one of the planters, had gone with a well-known Indian trader, Jack of the Feathers, to trade with some of his fellows several miles away. Two days later Jack had returned alone, wearing a cap of Mr Morgan's, and on learning that their master was dead two of Mr Morgan's servants had shot him. The Indian Chief, Opechancanough, sent threats of revenge, and these were duly reciprocated by Governor Wyatt, then all seemed to subside into its normal calm.

  'I do not like leaving you,' Adam told Bella a few days after Jack's killing, 'but I promised Sir Francis I would visit the ironworks again with George Thorpe of Berkeley Hundred.'

  'I shall be safe here, we are well protected,' Bella assured him, and Adam, having arranged to double the guard he always kept at night, departed.

  Mr Bolton, also interested in the success of the ironworks, was of the party, but this time he had left Mary with friends in Jamestown. While she was there she gossiped eagerly about everyone.

  'I hear that Edward Sutton has recovered from his wound,' said a friend who had come out on the Virginian. 'That was odd. No one seems to know how he got it. It's also said his wife has disappeared, and there are rumours she is with Mr Tarrant. Do you know the truth? 1 thought he favoured you.'

  Mary was thoughtful. On the following day, a Thursday, when a sermon was always preached in the chapel, she attended and afterwards lingered to waylay the minister.

  'I am troubled in my mind,' she told him, modestly lowering her eyes, 'for I have condoned a sin. And yet I do not know if it is my business to report it.'

  'The eradication of sin is a sacred duty laid on us all,' he replied. 'It is a greater sin to conceal what you know.'

  'It concerns one who is well regarded, and important.'

  'All are nought before the Lord. Even though it be the Governor, you must speak.'

  Thus enjoined to reveal what she knew, as she had fully expected to be, Mary falteringly explained that the wife of a planter, Edward Sutton, was openly living as mistress of another man.

  'Adultery is a grave sin. I will see them,' the minister promised.

  'Mr Sutton may not wish to take her back.'

  'It is his duty to chastise and then forgive her. I will see him first.'

  'What if Mr Tarrant defies you? He might hide the woman.'

  'He would not dare.'

  'He thinks he can defy the laws. But he is absent for a few days.'

  He looked at her sharply. 'I will attend to it. Be satisfied that you have done your duty.'

  Concealing her triumph Mary retreated and gleefully awaited events.

  *

  Bella was walking in the forest with Sam on the following Monday morning, inspecting the beds where the young tobacco plants were sown until they grew large enough for transplanting, when one of the young workmen came running towards them.

  'Ma'am, Miss Bella!' he gasped, and panted for breath as he halted before them.

  'Adam? Is it Adam, Mr Tarrant?' Bella demanded fearfully, but the lad shook his head.

  'Your husband!' he gasped eventually. 'I was in Jamestown, I'd gone for the stores, and I heard some men talking. The Governor has authorized Mr Sutton to bring some men and take you back home! They were just setting out. I managed to keep ahead of them, but they cannot be far behind!'

  'Get the men!' Sam began to say, but Bella stopped him with a shake of her head.

  'No. We are in the wrong, and to defy them would make it worse for Mr Tarrant.'

  'You can't mean to go with him?' Sam asked incredulously, for like the rest of Adam's servants he had heard from Alice of how Edward had ill-treated her.

  'Oh, no, I shall go to Mr Porlock until I can reach Adam. Sam, get a couple of the strongest men to row us there, I will find Alice and Toby.'

  'You'll have to hurry, Miss, they're almost upon us!'

  Unable to stop for anything, Bella ran o the cottage where Alice and Toby were to be found at that time.

  'Come, Edward is here!' she gasped. Wordlessly Alice picked up the child and followed Bella.

  The path to the landing stage twisted past a clump of evergreen bushes, low on the ground, and before they came into view Bella heard men talking there. She stopped, aghast. Sam was speaking loudly, demanding to know what was happening. Edward replied curtly. 'I am here on behalf of the Governor. Where is Mr Tarrant?'

  'Quickly, we must hide!' Bella whispered, and took Toby from Alice, running as silently as she could back towards the cottages.

  The lad who had brought the warning was still there.

  'They've arrived, it's too late,' Bella said swiftly. 'We must hide in the forest, they will search every building.'

  'Come with me,' he said. 'I know a safe place.'

  He led the way swiftly across the cleared ground, and they had just reached the shelter of the trees when Edward and Sam, the latter protesting vehemently, came round the corner of Adam's house.'Drop down!' the boy ordered, Bella and Alice followed his example and crouched behind some low bracken. When Edward had gone into the house they moved deeper into the shelter of the trees, and the boy led them swiftly in a half circle back towards the river. At last he stopped and took them towards an old tree, which leaned drunkenly on the bank of a small creek a few yards away from the main river.

  'There's no hiding place there,' Bella said in dismay, and looked over her
shoulder. They were quite near the large barn, and voices could be heard approaching.

  'You'd never guess, but the space is quite large,' he answered, and took them round to the side, then parted some of the tangled, overhanging roots to reveal a small dark cave.

  'Wait there, and when it's safe I'll get the canoe round to take you up the river.'

  Hastily Bella nodded, and she and Alice crawled into the dim, musty smelling cavity. Toby, bewildered, began to ask questions, but Bella quickly began to whisper a story to him, and he listened, enthralled, as she invented reasons for their strange behaviour.

  They heard the crashing of footsteps through the undergrowth, and several men emerged onto the bank. Peering through a small gap in the roots Alice could see them as they looked along the creek. The boy who had guided them here was sitting some distance away, apparently intent on fishing.

  'Have you seen any boats, or any women?' the searchers demanded, but he looked at them blankly.

  'Why – who are you looking for? What women?' he asked slowly.

  'Two women with a child.'

  'There's no boats here. The creek doesn't lead anywhere. And I've seen no women except at the plantation. Who are you?'

  They ignored his question, and walked a little way up the bank. Almost on top of them one slipped, and clutched at the roots of the tree to save himself. Bella's heart lurched, she was sure that they would be discovered, and she quickly put her hand over Toby's mouth to prevent him from crying out. But the men noticed nothing unusual, and when they retreated to look in other places, the boy went with them.

  Bella and Alice waited, cramped with cold, for another hour before he returned, saying that as the search was now all on the far side of the plantation, the canoe had set off, and was waiting for them at the junction of the creek and the main river.

  He led them there swiftly, and they thanked him as they scrambled into one of Adam's fastest boats, and the rowers sent it speeding up the river.

  Bella realized that Edward had only dared come once he was confident Adam was away. Why had the Governor supported him? Was it that he could do little else when Edward appealed to him? Adam's confidence had been misplaced. They were obviously answerable under the laws of the colony, however great Adam's importance.

  They reached John's house late that night, and he promised to shield them.

  Bella was anxious to contact Adam and would not accept John's assurances that he would be bound to call on his way home and so find them.

  'I must go to him!' she insisted. 'If I leave Alice and Toby here can you spare a man to accompany me? I can manage a canoe, but I dare not go alone.'

  'I'll come with you, Miss Bella,' one of Adam's own men volunteered. 'Joe can row back alone, it's easier down-stream, and if we can borrow one of Mr Porlock's canoes we'll reach Mr Tarrant tomorrow.'

  *

  This was agreed, and early on the following morning Bella and Ned set out.

  The river was peaceful, and there was less traffic on it here than closer to Jamestown. It wound through wooded banks, where lay the occasional plantation with its cleared acres, huddle of buildings, and fields, some of which were enclosed with zig-zag split rail fences. They glimpsed the occasional Indian village, usually in a clearing of the woods further from the river, and they met several Indian canoes from which men were fishing with both spears and nets.

  Bella had leisure to think. She had flown instinctively to Adam's protection, but she began to wonder what he could do. Until now he had reassured her that the Governor would prefer to ignore them, but something had emboldened Edward to risk Adam's anger and obtain the Governor's assistance in recovering his wife. Would she and Adam be able to defy the authority of the Governor? Would he listen to her accusations of Edward's ill-treatment? Somehow she doubted it. To the men who ruled Virginia their version of the Ten Commandments was inviolable, and a wife was totally subject to her husband.

  For a moment she thought of claiming the marriage did not exist, but she knew Edward had papers to prove it, and the fact that she had had no option but to marry would count as nothing.

  The only solution she could see was for Adam to send her back to England before Edward could find her. It was a prospect that filled her with gloom. Not, she hastened to assure herself, because she would miss Adam, but because she would lose the security he provided. Yet the very idea of giving herself to another man in a similar way in order to provide for them all was somehow repugnant to her.

  She was lost in these dismal thoughts when there was a sudden shout from the bank and she looked up in alarm. They were in an isolated part of the river, a sharp bend with no habitations or other boats in sight apart from a couple of Indian canoes, and to her horror she saw a group of savages, their bodies painted black and red in great circles and lines, standing on the river bank.

  Ned began to row as fast as he could, begging her to lie in the bottom of the boat, but it was useless from the start. Hastily stowing their nets the men in the two canoes converged on them. Although Ned ceased rowing and threatened them with the gun he carried, there were too many of them and he was soon overpowered. Both he and Bella were carried to the shore.

  They were bound securely, their arms behind their back, and with just sufficient rope left between their legs to permit them to walk. Bella could understand none of the savages' spoken commands, but the gestures made it clear enough what they wanted, and closely guarded on all sides, Bella and Ned were made to walk deep into the forest.

  Chapter 9

  They walked for two hours or so, through country that was at first marshy beside a wide creek, the deep forest never far distant. As the ground rose slightly they left the marshland behind and passed under the dense trees, mainly pine and cypress, which shut out the faint spring sunshine. Later they moved into an area of oaks and maple and hickory, showing a faint gloss of green where the first buds were opening, with tangled undergrowth making their way more difficult. Occasionally they passed by clearings where the Indians tended their corn and beans, and once Bella caught a glimpse of an Indian village, the longhouse of the chief prominent amongst the smaller, neatly set out rows of lodges.

  But it was a mile or so further before they rested a short while, and then resumed the march. Eventually they were met by another group of Indians who also had several captives, all young men, and after a short consultation the two groups went on together.

  'Where are you from?' one of the other captives asked Bella. 'We were coming from Henrico when they pounced on us.'

  'We were on our way there, from Mr Tarrant's plantation near Jamestown,' she replied. 'Do you know him?'

  'Yes, we have met. You must be – ' he paused, embarrassed.

  'Bella Sutton,' she answered quickly. 'Was Mr Tarrant at Henrico when you left, do you know?'

  'Yes, he still had to solve some problems with the new furnaces, and was detained for another day. Was he expecting you?'

  'No. Why?'

  'They won't know what has happened until someone realizes we are missing, and that could be several days.'

  'What will they do to us?'

  'That rather depends on who they are. Let us hope they are not great friends of Jack of the Feathers. You heard what happened?'

  'Yes, but I thought it had all quietened.'

  'So did we. They might want us for ransom. Let us hope so, and that Mr Tarrant can organize a troop to come after us before – ' he hesitated and came to an embarrassed stop.

  'Before what?' Bella asked quietly.

  'Before they take us too far away,' he finished, avoiding her gaze, and she wondered what he had been about to say.

  On her new friend's advice, Bella tried to note landmarks on their route which might help them if they could find a way of escaping, but the forest was all so similar that she knew she would never be able to find her way back to the river except by chance. But there were many small streams which they had to wade through, and surely, if they could only escape, they could follow o
ne of them and must eventually get back to James River where there were habitations. The greatest difficulty would be to escape.

  No plan had presented itself by the time they came to another, larger village, with several longhouses and a stockade surrounding the lodges, and fields of corn and pumpkins round about.

  They were led in through the only opening in the stockade, and naked children stopped playing to stare curiously at them.

  An elderly man wearing a cloak made of skins and decorated with beads emerged from one of the longhouses and harangued them incomprehensibly for ten minutes, then they were taken to a small lodge and thrown inside. Two guards remained by the door, armed with hatchets and clubs.

  'Did anyone understand what the old fellow was saying?' someone asked.

  They all shook their heads.

  'He repeated Opechancanough's name several times, I think,' one suggested.

  'And Nenemettanan,' another said gloomily.

  'What is that?'

  'Jack of the Feathers, his native name.'

  'Oh, God's death, that means revenge!'

  'Not necessarily,' the man who had first spoken to Bella replied stoutly. 'This is Mistress Sutton, I am Nicholas Wilkes.'

  Thus reminded of a woman's presence amongst them they refrained from speculating on their possible fate, and began to plan an escape. They managed to release each other from the bonds, and when they were brought dishes of meal and fish their captors raised no objection.

  In the afternoon they heard shouts and singing outside, and soon they were ordered out of their lodge with their hands again tied loosely behind their backs. A large fire had been lit in the open centre of the village and the Indian men were seated about it on woven mats. They could smell the tempting aromas of fish and turkey being roasted on hurdles and spits.

  *

  The captives were herded to a position before the main longhouse, outside which the old man, dressed in an even more elaborately embroidered cloak than the one he had previously worn, reclined against a raised hurdle covered in mats.