Besieged

by Bertrice Small

  Aaron Kira came to join them. " 'Tis a wild place, m'lady. I wonder if there is any business to be had here. Time will tell."

  Over the water came the sound of a cannon booming.

  "They've sighted us," the captain continued, "and have signaled all their citizens that we'll be docking soon." He turned to Fortune. "Well, Cousin, yer almost home. Kieran will be eagerly awaiting you, I know. It's a very different place yer coming to, Fortune, and you must be prepared. He'll have a house built by now, I know, but it will not be the kind of house you're used to at all. Later, you will have a better one, but this first home will not be at all what you may have envisioned. The conditions are still very primitive."

  "You frighten me, Ualter," she answered him.

  "I don't mean to," he answered her. " 'Tis just that your new home will be nothing like Queen's Malvern, or your stepfather's castle, or even Erne Rock. 'Twill appear more like a large, rustic cottage."

  "As long as I don't have to live in a wigwam as the settlers did last year," she told him. Then she smiled. "This is not the old world, Ualter. I know. 'Twill all be very new, but one thing will not be new. The love Kieran and I have for each other."

  "Yer a brave lass," he said.

  The Cardiff Rose sailed gracefully into St. Mary's crescent-shaped harbor, and docked shortly thereafter. Fortune and Rois stood holding their children in their arms, their eyes scanning the crowd on the wharf below. About them the other women and children crowded, some of them already weeping with the sight of their men. The gangway was lowered, and Captain O'Flaherty escorted his cousin and her party ashore, but there was no sign of Kieran. Then Kevin appeared, enfolding Rois and Brendan into his arms, his eyes wet with his tears of joy. Fortune waited while they greeted one another with kisses and caresses, Kevin admiring the son he had never seen. Brendan was not certain if he should cry or not at the sight of this big man who was hugging him so hard. Finally Kevin realized that his mistress was waiting silently. He broke away from Rois, and bowed to Fortune.

  "Welcome to Mary's Land, m'lady. You'll be pleased to learn that the Highlander docked over a week ago. The horses are already settled in their meadow, and yer goods are safely at Fortune's Fancy."

  "Fortune's Fancy?" She looked puzzled.

  Kevin grinned. " 'Tis what the master calls the estate, m'lady," he told her. " 'Tis a fine house we've built for you, and the wee lass."

  "Where is my husband?" Fortune asked. "Is he all right? Why isn't he here to meet us, Kevin?" Her lovely face was concerned.

  " 'Tis that troublesome indentured wench, m'lady. She's been told a hundred times not to wander into the forest, but she did this morning, and managed to get herself lost. Many Moons, the old Wicocomoco medicine man, brought her back, sobbing and howling that she was going to be scalped by the Indians. The master didn't want to leave her alone under the circumstances. He knew you would understand, m'lady."

  "Poor girl," Fortune said, but she was not feeling any sympathy at all for this nameless indentured servant who had disobeyed Kieran. Perhaps when the mistress of Fortune's Fancy came home at last the girl could be guided, and learn to behave herself.

  "I've brought the wagon, m'lady," Kevin said, interrupting her thoughts. "The ship's crew have loaded the goods you brought on it, and we had best get going. We're about five miles from the town."

  "What of the other colonists?" Fortune asked him. "And Master Kira?"

  "Their men know where to take them, m'lady," was the reply. "Master Kira, opposite the docks, that small house there"-he pointed-" 'tis been purchased for you, along with an indentured man." Aaron Kira thanked Kevin, kissed Fortune's hand, and bid her farewell before turning to go to his own establishment.

  Kevin helped his mistress and his wife up onto the hard wooden seat of the wagon. Each woman held her child. Then climbing up, he signaled the horses to be on their way. Within minutes he and Rois were chattering away. Fortune listened briefly with half an ear, and then her thoughts turned to a husband who would remain with a hysterical servant rather than go to greet the wife he hadn't seen in almost two years. She wondered why she had bothered to dress in her finest gown for him. It seemed to her that Kieran had more care for a servant than his own wife. Had she made a mistake in marrying him? Had she made a mistake in coming across an ocean, and away from her loving family? She would soon find out. If he had changed she would return with Captain O'Flaherty to England in a few weeks. She wouldn't stay where she wasn't wanted or loved. Her fingers brushed the rich blue silk of her gown. The warm breeze blew the feathery white plumes in her hat, and brushed her cheek.

  Kieran saw her seated up on the wagon's bench as it came up the dirt drive of the house. The blue of her gown was neither dark nor light. The deep snow-white linen collar edged in lace stood out against it. She wore leather gauntlets trimmed with fine gold lace. He had never seen her in a hat. She was so very elegant. Why on earth had she married him? Why had she traveled all this way to live in this primitive place? Did she still love him? Then he saw the small child, not even a baby, seated in her lap, and garbed identically to her mother. Kieran Devers felt his heart contract, and then seemingly crack. He could scarce find his voice when the wagon finally stopped before him.

  "Kieran!" He had forgotten how sweet the sound of her voice was. She smiled, and then said, "I feared for your safety when you did not come to the ship to meet us. Will you not welcome us home, sir?"

  "God's blood, I have missed you!" he burst out. The look in his dark blue eyes was burning, and she instantly forgot all her previous doubts, as did he at the sight of her face.

  Rois plunked her son in his father's lap, and snatched Aine from her mother, singing a favorite ditty to the startled baby so she would not cry, and her parents could greet each other properly. Rois could well imagine her mistress's hurt that Kieran had not come to the ship.

  The master of Fortune's Fancy lifted his wife down, drawing her into his arms, and kissing her passionately. His lips burned against hers. He felt his desire boiling up, and he wished they might slip away to make love for the next week, or two. Her arms about his neck, she pressed herself as tightly against him as she could, sighing with undisguised pleasure as he kissed her mouth, her face, her eyelids over and over again until her knees grew weak, and she cried, "Stop, my love!"

  "I have missed you," he said in his deep voice. "I thought I knew how much until this moment. Now I realize I knew nothing, and my longing for you was inconsolable. Welcome home, my darling! Welcome home to Fortune's Fancy!" Then he was kissing her again, and she was reveling in his passion for her. It was going to be all right.

  "Ma-ma!" Aine's small voice piped out, and there was a distinct sound of annoyance to it. Who was this man who was taking her mama from her?

  Kieran and Fortune broke apart, laughing happily, and turning Fortune took her daughter from Rois, and handed her to Kieran.

  "This is your papa, darling," she told her daughter.

  Aine's eyes surveyed the big man holding her. She put her hands over her face, and then slyly surveyed him through her splayed fingers. "Pa-pa?" she said, tasting the word carefully. Then she began to squirm, demanding, "Down! Down!"

  Kieran put the child down.

  "No want Pa-pa," Aine said in firm tones, and turning, clung to her mother.

  His face was surprised, and then heartbroken. "She doesn't like me," he said, stunned.

  Fortune laughed, and turned her daughter over to Rois. "She isn't used to men in her life, that's all. Mama and I lived by ourselves at Queen's Malvern most of the time. When Papa was there he was more interested in courting Autumn, for he adores her, than in fussing over Aine. Our daughter will grow used to you in time, Kieran. Ignore her, and she will come to you, my darling. Now, I want to see my house!"

  She stepped back from him, and looked at her new home. It was a story and a half high, constructed from lumber, with three brick chimneys, and a wooden roof. She was pleased to see the windows were of glass with heavy shutte
rs flanking them. Captain O'Flaherty had been correct when he had said it would be different than anything she had ever known, or lived in. It certainly was.

  "There's a cellar beneath the house," Kieran said in an effort to elicit some sort of opinion from her on the dwelling. "We'll replace the house eventually with one built of brick, but for now we can just make enough brick for chimneys."

  Fortune nodded. Finally she said, "How big is it inside?"

  "It has four rooms on the main floor, plus a buttery and small pantry," he told her. "The servants sleep on the upper floor which is not particularly big. Kevin and Rois have their own cottage nearby."

  "Servants?" She was surprised, and then she remembered the indentured woman who had kept her husband from her. "How many?"

  "In the house three bondwomen, and in the barn four bondmen," he replied. "I purchased them in Virginia last year."

  "Are not bondservants transported criminals?" she asked him.

  "Some are," he answered her, "but many have been convicted of ridiculous offenses. Then there are those who have assigned themselves into bondage because after seven years of servitude they are freed, and given their own lands. Mrs. Hawkins, who is our cook, could not pay the physician who attended her dying husband. He had her transported. Dolly, who I bought to look after Aine, is a Catholic. Comfort Rogers, the maidservant, was caught stealing bread to feed her siblings. The four men I purchased to help in the fields and with the livestock are all Puritans. Those are their crimes, but they're welcome in Mary's Land. They are all good workers. I would not bring dangerous criminals into the house, my darling. God! You are so beautiful even in that silly hat with its white feathers." He kissed her again, this time hard, and quick.

  Fortune laughed up at him. "This hat is all the fashion in London now. I shall be the envy of every lady in the colony."

  "Come into the house, my love," he entreated her, taking her by the hand.

  They entered the dwelling so Fortune might inspect it. She was somewhat taken aback to find that inside the walls were rough wood with mud set between the boards to help keep out the wind and rain. However, there was a center hallway that ran the length of the building. The floors were unfinished wooden boards. Thank heaven she had brought India carpets with her, Fortune thought. On the left side of the hallway was their bedchamber. On the right side was a salon. Behind their bedchamber was a tiny second bedchamber, access to which could only be gained through their room. Then running across the entire back of the house and at the end of the hallway was a large keeping room off of which, and almost as an afterthought, were the buttery and pantry.

  "The walls have to be plastered at once," Fortune said firmly. "It will be much too cold in winter for Aine, and for me. The floors must be sanded and polished. Where is the furniture I brought with me?"

  " 'Tis in the salon but for the bed which I have already set up," he told her, a meaningful look in his eye.

  Fortune blushed, but it was a blush of pleasure, and of anticipation. If her husband was eager for her, she was equally eager for him. "The furniture will remain where it is until we plaster the walls. It will not look suitable against the rough boards."

  "We will begin tomorrow before the summer damp sets in," he promised. "Come, and meet the house servants," he said, and they walked back to the room where three women were waiting for them.

  One was plump and smiling with twinkling brown eyes. This was Dolly, who would watch over Aine. Fortune liked her at once. She curtsied to Fortune very politely.

  "Do you know how old you are, Dolly?" Fortune asked her.

  "I was born in the year they tried to blow up the Parliament," Dolly answered. "I don't hold with such things, m'lady."

  Dolly would be thirty then. "Good," Fortune said, and her own voice was filled with laughter. "I don't hold with such things either. Will you mind having more than one bairn to look after? I plan on having more, and for now you will also have to watch over my Rois's lad. He is two days younger than my daughter. They can both walk and are inclined to get into mischief."

  "I can manage," Dolly replied. "Had two of my own before the sickness took them, and my man in the prison."

  Fortune felt tears spring into her eyes, and she reached out and comfortingly touched Dolly's hand. Their eyes met in a moment of understanding, and Fortune smiled at the woman.

  "Here is Mrs. Hawkins, my darling. Without her we would not eat half as well as we do," Kieran said.

  Fortune turned her attention to a tall, big-boned woman, who curtsied to her. "I can see how well fed my husband is, Mrs. Hawkins. I am grateful for your obvious talents."

  Mrs. Hawkins smiled, and her teeth were every bit as big as the rest of her. "Thank ye, m'lady. I've a nice big turkey roasting on the spit for yer dinner, and I'm happy to serve ye."

  "And this is Comfort Rogers, who keeps our house for us," Kieran said. "She had a bad fright this morning."

  "So I have been told," Fortune replied dryly, looking over the bondwoman with a critical eye. Where the other two women were older, Comfort Rogers was barely out of her childhood, and she was very pretty with sandy-colored hair, and blue eyes. "Do you know your age, Comfort?" Fortune was frankly quite curious. The wench had a sly look about her.

  "I be born in the year the old queen died, or so I was told," Comfort Rogers said. "Me mam died with the eighth baby, and me dad run off soon after. I be the oldest, and was transported for stealing bread to feed me brothers and sisters."

  "What happened to them?" Fortune asked the girl.

  Comfort shrugged. "Don't know," the girl said, seemingly unconcerned.

  "And don't care," Fortune heard Mrs. Hawkins mutter under her breath.

  "You will not wander into the woods again, Comfort?" Fortune fixed a stern gaze on the girl.

  Comfort didn't answer. She just stared at Fortune.

  "You have not answered me, Comfort," her mistress said.

  "Didn't mean to get lost," Comfort replied. "I was looking for berries for Master Kieran's breakfast."

  "Do not go into the woods again unless you have someone with you who can find their way back to the house," Fortune said firmly.

  "You can't tell me what to do," Comfort said boldly. "Only the master can give me orders."

  Before Kieran might remonstrate with the girl Mrs. Hawkins whacked her hard on her bottom with a large wooden spoon. "Mind yer manners, ye little London trull. This be the mistress of the house, and the house belongs to her, and all in it. It is she who will tell ye what to do, and ye will do it, Comfort Rogers, else she sell yer bond elsewhere, which I'm thinking would be a good idea." She turned to Fortune. "She can clean, I'll give her that, but she has no respect for her betters, m'lady. Didn't learn it in her own home, if indeed she ever had a home, and a mam she remembers."

  "Master! Ohhh, master," Comfort howled, and flung herself at Kieran, clinging to him. "Don't let her send me away! Please don't!" She turned her head to look at Fortune.

  "Now, now, lass, just do your work, and mind my good lady wife," Kieran said, "and we'll have no problems. Mrs. Hawkins knows the lay of the land. The house is indeed my lady's. Your loyalty should be first with your mistress." Kieran patted the girl on the shoulder, and untangled her from his person.

  Fortune slipped her arm through her husband's. "You will call us when dinner is ready," she said to Mrs. Hawkins, ignoring Comfort.

  "Yes, m'lady," came the prompt reply.

  "Dolly, follow along, and come meet the children," Fortune said.

  "Cow!" Comfort said when her master and mistress had gone.

  "Ye'd best behave, wench. Her ladyship will be patient to a point, but then ye'll find yerself in a kettle of hot water. The master ain't for you, and he ain't never going to be," Mrs. Hawkins said.

  "If she really loved him she would have come with him when he arrived in Mary's Land," Comfort said. "It's been almost two years since they've been together. Why didn't she come sooner if she loved him? Do you see how he looks at me? He want
s me. I knows men."

  Mrs. Hawkins sniffed scornfully. "Yer a fool, Comfort Rogers. The master don't look at you in any special way, if indeed he has looked at you at all. Her ladyship didn't come at first because she was with child. Then Governor Calvert ordered that no more women and children come until there was decent shelter for them. We had no choice in the matter being bondservants, but the master wanted her ladyship and his babe safe." She smiled slyly. "There'll be another babe born in this house within a year, I can tell you. Tonight, and for many nights to come, master will be plowing a good furrow with his lady."

  Comfort glared at the older woman. "I hate you," she said.

  Mrs. Hawkins cackled, pleased to have tweaked the uppity wench's temper. The girl was trouble, and had been from the start. Sadly the poor master couldn't see it, but then men were never very clever where women were concerned. But the mistress had seen it right away. Comfort Rogers would not get her own way with the master now.

  ***

  Dolly and the children took to one another almost at once, leaving Rois free to help her mistress unpack a few things.

  "I'll live out of the trunks until we get the plaster done, and the furniture properly placed," Fortune told her serving woman. "Let's go and see the cottage Kevin has built for you."

  Rois's new home was located within sight of Fortune's Fancy. It had two rooms, and a loft. The floor was packed dirt. There were two fireplaces and three windows covered with oilpaper, each with its own shutter. A small dormer window had been installed in the loft. The heavy wooden door was hung with stout iron hinges. Rois walked about her new home, well-pleased, nodding at the small brick oven built into the side of the main fireplace, and the iron pot arm that could be swung about above the iron grate. The cottage, however, was empty for Kevin had not dared to place his wife's furniture which stood out in the yard.

  "Let's bring it inside," Fortune suggested. "You can't leave it out in the night air." She picked up a small wooden chair.