Sleigh Bells

by Miller, Judith Mccoy

  “Yes, and we quickly separated company, didn’t we? You and Helen went off in search of Captain Hamilton because he told Helen that he would meet her at the party, isn’t that correct?”

  “We went to search for Captain Hamilton, but—”

  “Objection. She can’t testify as to what Captain Hamilton and Miss Hanson may have discussed. Both parties are present in court. If Mr. Albright wants that information before the board, let him ask one of them,” Captain Pauley interjected.

  “Oh, never mind. You do agree that you and Helen parted company with me,” he angrily continued before Colonel Cartwright could rule on the objection.

  “Did you see Helen Hanson and Phillip Hamilton leave the party and go outside that night?”

  “Yes.”

  “And did you see them get into Captain Hamilton’s sleigh?”

  “Yes,” she quietly replied.

  “And where were you when you observed this?”

  “His sleigh was sitting beside the shed in back of the theater. I was inside the shed,” she meekly replied.

  “But the door was open, and you could hear everything that was said?”

  “Oh, yes,” she replied, her voice now growing stronger. “Every single word.”

  “That is all. You may step down,” Herbert said.

  “Not so fast, Mr. Albright. I want to cross-examine this witness,” Captain Pauley stated while rising from his chair.

  “Go right ahead. You’ll only be helping to dig your client’s grave,” he whispered as Captain Pauley walked forward.

  Captain Pauley ignored Herbert’s remark and approached the witness stand, giving Mattie an encouraging smile. “You know that you are under oath and sworn to tell the truth, Miss Fielding?” he asked as he stood at one side of her chair.

  “Yes, sir, and I’ve spoken nothing but the truth,” Mattie avowed.

  Herbert nodded his head, a smile spreading across his face. He turned toward the crowd, obviously hoping that Mattie’s declaration had impressed them.

  “Good. Now, you said you could hear everything that was said between Captain Hamilton and Miss Hanson while they were in the sleigh, and from where you were positioned, I don’t doubt that. But could you tell me, Mattie, why you followed Helen and Captain Hamilton outdoors on that cold night?”

  Mattie shifted in the chair. “Because Helen told me to,” she replied.

  “I see. And did she tell you why she wanted you to hide outside and listen?”

  “So I could be a witness to the fact that she and Captain Hamilton actually were outside in the sleigh for a long time.”

  Captain Pauley nodded his head. “And now I’d like you to tell this board exactly what you heard that night.”

  Mattie gazed toward Helen and then toward Phillip. She took a deep breath, and in a calm, steady voice, she told the board of Helen’s plan of blackmail, slander, and seduction, as well as her subsequent lack of success. Step by step, she disclosed the plot contrived by Herbert and Helen and how she, as Helen’s friend, had been pressured into assisting with the plan.

  “Herbert wants to marry Teddi Yorke, and Helen wants to marry Captain Hamilton. They thought this plan would succeed in getting both of them what they wanted,” Mattie stated, keeping her gaze upon Captain Pauley.

  “She’s a liar!” Herbert retorted.

  “I’m not lying, sir. And had it not been for the fact that on Wednesday night I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior, I would be sitting here telling you exactly what Herbert and Helen told me to say. But I can’t do that now, Helen,” she said, turning toward her old friend. “It’s wrong, don’t you see?”

  A scarlet-faced Helen jumped from her chair and ran out of the room as Herbert stared after her in disbelief.

  “I’ll dismiss the charges,” Herbert announced as he jumped out of his chair.

  “In that case I’ll release this board from further duty. . . . Not so fast, Captain Albright,” Colonel Cartwright called out as Herbert began to turn and leave the courtroom. “Until such time as a board can be convened to investigate your conduct in this matter, you are immediately confined to officers’ quarters on this military post. Your commanding officer at Fort Brown will be notified of these proceedings and the probability that you will not be returning to his command. On a personal note, Captain Albright, I might suggest that you and Miss Hanson would make a lovely couple. In all likelihood, you’ll soon be relieved of your military obligations, and I, for one, certainly think you deserve each other,” Colonel Cartwright remarked dryly as members of the community slowly filed out of the room, nodding their heads in agreement.

  seventeen

  General Yorke smiled as he walked to the parlor windows and pulled back the curtain. “Looks like we’re going to get us a good snow. It’s flurrying already, and those are some mighty big snow clouds looming overhead.”

  “Clayton! You’ve been saying that for days now. Every time we get a few flurries, you predict a major snowstorm. It’s wishful thinking on your part. You can come help me with these boxes. Staring out the window isn’t going to make it snow,” Isabelle said with authority.

  “I thought Jonathan was going to help you sort through these decorations weeks ago,” Clayton replied as he carried the boxes into the parlor.

  “He seemed to lose interest once he met Margaret,” his wife said with a smile. “I still wish they would wait so that there would be time to plan for a formal wedding. A Christmas wedding would be such fun compared to the small ceremony they’ve planned,” Isabelle stated.

  “Now, Isabelle, I think you can find more than enough to keep you busy during the holiday season without planning a wedding,” Clayton replied. “Of course, you may be able to convince Teddi to have a Christmas wedding.”

  “What’s this about convincing me of something?” Teddi asked as she and Phillip walked into the house.

  “Your mother is lamenting the fact that there wasn’t enough time to plan a large wedding for Jonathan and Margaret. She thinks making arrangements for a big Christmas wedding would give her great enjoyment, so I told her she might take it up with you. Perhaps the two of you would like to plan on a large Christmas wedding next year?” Clayton asked.

  “Father! You weren’t supposed to tell. We wanted our wedding announcement to be a surprise,” Teddi scolded.

  “Phillip has asked you to marry him?” Isabelle asked with a look of amazement on her face. “Why didn’t you tell me? How long have you known, Clayton?”

  “You see, Teddi? I didn’t betray your confidence. Seems I remember something like this happening not so long ago. Remember when your mother thought I had betrayed your confidence by telling Phillip about your broken engagement? You both seem to think I can’t keep a secret, when really it’s the two of you who jump to conclusions and tell everything you know,” he replied as his boisterous laughter filled the room.

  Phillip put his arm around Teddi’s shoulder. “We can still make the announcement after we’ve finished decorating the tree this evening. George, Jonathan, and Margaret don’t yet know of our plans. It will still be a celebration,” he promised.

  “Well, I suppose you know that I couldn’t be more delighted that you’re going to become a member of our family, Phillip. Just think—your wedding will be a grand opportunity for us to see your parents again. They will be coming for the wedding, won’t they? Have you already agreed on a date? A Christmas wedding is always so beautiful, Teddi, but if you think you’d prefer to marry in the spring or summer, I can certainly have everything ready in time,” Isabelle rattled on.

  “We haven’t actually settled on a date, Isabelle, but if you’re going to hold out for a Christmas wedding, it will have to be this year. I’m not about to wait a year before making your daughter my wife,” Phillip staunchly replied as he squeezed Teddi’s hand.

  “You could have a double wedding with Margaret and Jonathan. . . .”

  “No, mother, we are not getting married next week. That’s much too
soon. I understand why Jonathan and Margaret are hurrying their plans. They have good reason, but I think Phillip and I would prefer to take a little time to enjoy preparing for our wedding.”

  “Hrmmph! Let me interpret that for you, Phillip,” Clayton offered. “Taking time to enjoy preparing for the wedding means your fiancОe wants time enough to plan the perfect wedding, one that she believes will provide her with enough memories to last a lifetime. You, my boy, will have very little to say about the matter, and I will have even less. In fact, my input will consist of providing adequate funds to cover the costs of what will likely turn into an extravaganza.”

  “You’re exaggerating, Clayton,” Isabelle chastised. “It may turn into a gala event, but I doubt Teddi would go so far as to create an extravaganza.”

  “Just wait!” Clayton warned as Jonathan and Margaret walked in the front door, covered with snow.

  “It’s no longer flurries falling out there,” Jonathan an-nounced, stomping his feet while brushing snowflakes from Margaret’s coat.

  “Where’s George?” Clayton asked. “I haven’t seen him since the noon meal.”

  “He said he was going down to the river with some of the soldiers. They were going to cut ice for the icehouse,” Teddi replied. “I told him to check with you, that I didn’t think the ice would be thick enough yet.”

  “He knows better. That river won’t be frozen thick enough to cut ice blocks until the end of January. My guess is he’s down there ice-skating,” Clayton replied.

  It was only minutes later when George returned, his ice skates tied together and thrown over his shoulder. “Look who I brought along,” he announced, pulling Mattie forward. “The ice wasn’t thick enough to cut, so I went into town for a couple of Christmas presents. There was Mattie at one of the stores, and I asked her to join us,” George announced.

  “We’re delighted to have you, Mattie. Your parents don’t mind if you spend Christmas Eve with us?” Isabelle kindly inquired.

  “No. Since my pa died, my mother isn’t interested in much of anything, especially celebrating holidays. She doesn’t care that I’m here,” Mattie answered docilely.

  “Well, we’re pleased to have you here to help us celebrate Christ’s birth, Mattie,” Clayton said with a welcoming smile. “You just dig in there and help with those ornaments. I’m sure that George will be glad to let you do his share of the work.”

  “Yep, sure will. Is supper about ready?” George asked, rubbing his stomach as though he were starving.

  “Dinner will be ready by the time you’ve finished sorting through the ornaments. It’s got to be done before we decorate the tree. By the time you finish, we’ll be ready to eat,” Isabelle replied, shooing him toward the boxes while the rest of them laughed at her antics. “There may be some of Jonathan’s old homemade ornaments you’d like to take for your tree next Christmas, Margaret,” Isabelle offered as she hurried off toward the kitchen.

  “I doubt that,” Jonathan replied, pulling out a box that had been carefully labeled with his name. There were ornaments made of pinecones, milk pods, and other sundry reflections of nature, most of them now falling apart. Teddi held up one of her prized creations, which had been reduced to shriveled berries inside half a walnut shell. They laughed and reminisced while digging through the boxes, each of them quick to tell the others the history of a particular ornament before it was carefully tucked back into the box.

  “I think we’re ready for dinner,” Isabelle announced. “You should be finished by now, I would think. Give me the trash, and I’ll ask Florence to toss it in the fireplace.”

  Each of them looked at the other and began to laugh. “There is no trash, Mother. After spending the last hour telling the wonderful stories that go with these ornaments, we couldn’t throw any of them away.”

  “You see, Clayton, it isn’t such an easy thing to do. Your father’s after me all the time to get rid of things. He says that if you’re in the military, you need to travel light, but I say that a family needs its memories!”

  “And after listening to our children this afternoon, I’d have to agree. I think it would make for a special tree if you used those old ornaments one last time this year,” Clayton suggested.

  Teddi laughed at the suggestion. “I don’t think Mother would want her majestic tree covered with these dilapidated decorations.”

  “You’re wrong about that, dear. I think it would make for a beautiful tree,” Isabelle replied.

  Once they had finished dinner, the group of young people decorated the tree while Isabelle and Clayton directed the proceedings. There was just enough time to light the candles for one glimpse of the tree before leaving for church services.

  Sleighs were gathering around the chapel by the time they arrived, and Christmas greetings were being exchanged as people entered the church and were seated. The pews were almost full when the worshipers began to sing Christmas carols and to celebrate Christ’s birth. Then, as midnight edged closer, each person walked down the aisle carrying a small, lighted candle, received communion, and left the church, with the trail of flickering light providing a festive illumination for the congregation as they bid each other Merry Christmas before heading home.

  ❧

  “It was a beautiful way to celebrate Christmas Eve,” Teddi said as she and Phillip arrived back at the Yorkes’ quarters. “Mother said I was to invite you in for coffee and cookies.”

  “It’s not too late?”

  “Not on Christmas Eve. Everyone else is already inside!”

  The snow had ceased falling, and a full moon surrounded by a myriad of stars shone down on the fresh blanket of glistening snow. Phillip tugged on the reins, and the horses snorted and shook their heads as they came to a halt.

  As they reached the porch and Phillip opened the door, a grin spread across his face. “I have a special gift I want to give you—a surprise. Could we go into the parlor by ourselves for just a few moments?” he asked while reaching into his pocket and retrieving a small box wrapped in brown paper and adorned with a sprig of holly.

  “My ring?” she asked, leading the way into the parlor.

  The rest of the family was gathered around the dining-room table, seemingly unaware of the newly arrived couple now standing by the Christmas tree.

  “No. That wouldn’t be a surprise—you already know about your ring,” he replied.

  Teddi carefully removed the sprig of holly, untied the thin red ribbon, and lifted off the lid. Tucked into a small piece of red satin was a tiny ice-skate charm. “Oh, Phillip!” was all that she could manage as she lifted the charm from its snug resting place.

  “It’s wonderful! How did you ever—?” She could say nothing else, a lump rising in her throat.

  “Margaret’s father found a jeweler in Kansas City who said he could craft the charm and have it delivered by Christmas. I briefly considered a sleigh bell, but Jonathan has given me his word that yours will be returned. I decided upon an ice-skate because the day of the ice-skating party is the day I knew that I truly loved you.”

  “It is? I didn’t know that.”

  “That’s the day I knew that you were a woman of virtue, the woman with whom I wanted to share my life,” he said, his eyes filled with adoration.

  “Thank you, Phillip. You couldn’t have given me a more perfect gift. And I have something for you. Wait here,” she said, leaving the room and returning a few moments later. She carried a large, wooden box without a lid. Inside the box was a lumpy, folded sleigh blanket, tied with a thin cord.

  He gave the odd-looking package a questioning look, and then glanced back at Teddi.

  “Go ahead—open it,” she instructed merrily.

  Phillip tentatively unknotted the twine and pulled back the gray, wool blanket. “Sleigh bells!” he shouted joyfully. Each of the two leather straps sported at least thirty bells, all jingling noisily as Phillip pulled them out of the blanket. “You got me sleigh bells! Come on—let’s go outside and put them on the ho
rses,” he said, pulling her to her feet.

  “We’ll be right back,” Teddi called over her shoulder toward the dining room as the two of them rushed out the door, oblivious to the cold night air.

  “They’re wonderful, just like you,” Phillip delightedly stated as he finished attaching the jingling leather straps to the team of horses.

  Pulling her close, he stood back and gave the sleigh one final look of appraisal before nodding his head in satisfaction. Wrapping his arms around her, he leaned forward and gently kissed her lips. “Merry Christmas, my love. The sleigh bells are grand, but you are truly God’s splendid gift to me,” he whispered.

  About the Author

  Judith McCoy Miller was chosen favorite new author in the Heartsong series, and her historical novels have ranked high among readers. She makes her home in Kansas with her family and is a certified legal assistant.

  Dedication

  To Sondra Boyer—friend, confidante, and genuine seeker. Isn’t He wonderful!

  Special Thanks to Raymond Dunn for his time, energy, and assistance in curing my computers of their many ills; and to Gaylynn Childs, Geary County historian, for her valuable assistance, knowledge, and information regarding Junction City, Fort Riley, and Geary County.

  A note from the author:

  I love to hear from my readers! You may correspond with me by writing:

  Judith McCoy Miller

  Author Relations

  PO Box 719

  Uhrichsville, OH 44683