Jared swallowed hard at the thought. Now he came here alone, without his aunt or his uncle. The realization convinced him that he had made the right decision to warn the rich folk about avoiding Mammoth Cave. He would do it again if he must. Perhaps he might even put up announcements around Brownsville and at Bell’s Tavern, warning travelers not to go there. Maybe that would force the doctor to close. Even if it made Susanna and others angry, he believed it was the right thing to do.
He took off his hat and climbed the set of stairs to the store, stopping short at the window. A young woman stood at the counter, chatting away with the clerk. He wiped his eyes. She had many fine objects spread out before her. He came to the window for a closer look. A new hat lay on the counter. A brush and comb. Some hairpins. A book. All very expensive items.
Just then, the woman turned and pointed at the cracker barrel. When he saw her face, Jared sucked in his breath. Susanna Barnett! He looked once more at the fineries. It was not the sight of the pretty woman that stirred his heart. He only saw frivolous objects—fineries purchased in exchange for the lives of his aunt and others inside a cave. He whirled away, sickened by the sight. How could she do such a thing? Exactly what was she trying to make him understand in that letter of hers? That she needed the cave’s money to buy her fancy things? That she cared nothing about where the money came from? That she cared nothing for the misery of others?
“Yes, and thank you, Mr. Hensley,” Susanna called back as a young boy helped her carry the items she had purchased to an awaiting wagon.
Jared wanted to turn away and never look back, but he couldn’t. He could not let this pass. He stood his ground on the porch, his hat low on his head, as the errand boy walked past carrying the goods. Susanna came out of the store next, her face relaxed, a small smile sitting on her lips, her dress sweeping the wooden flooring of the porch.
He took a step forward. “Susanna.”
She stepped back in response. “Oh!”
“It’s me. Jared Edwards.”
“Mr. Edwards! You startled me. Isn’t this a surprise? Are you here to visit the general store?”
“In a matter of speaking.”
“A fine spring day to shop, isn’t it?”
“I suppose fine for a few things.” He tipped his hat back. “Like buying heaps of fine goods.”
She drew her tiny brocade handbag farther up her arm. “I don’t understand what you mean.”
“A fine day for spending cave money on a new bonnet. Combs. Ribbons. All the necessities of life.”
Her face contorted into a mixture of dismay. “I see. Well, pardon me. I must be going. Good day.” She brushed by him.
“And, in that letter you sent to me, you talk of understanding?” he pressed, following her. “Is this what I’m supposed to understand? That you have need for all these fripperies? That I might take these niceties away from you if the cave is closed?”
She whirled. “Really, Mr. Edwards. I don’t think it’s any of your affair what I do with the money God has given me.”
“The money God has given you! You talk about God giving you this? God is a God of mercy, not of wanton pleasure.”
“A merciful God understands my plight more than you will ever know. And that’s because you don’t have any of His mercy in you.” She headed for the wagon where the driver stood waiting.
“What plight could you have possibly endured in your life?” he went on.
“You don’t understand, Mr. Edwards. And you never will, because you are blinded by the very things you want to do away with.”
“You’re right, I don’t. I don’t understand how you can take cave money like this and use it for your own selfishness.”
Her face reddened. “Nor do I understand how you can judge me without knowing me. And that is what you are doing. Judge not, lest ye be judged.” She mounted the wagon with the help of the driver.
“Now you jes go on outta here,” the driver told him. “Go on and leave Miss Barnett alone.”
Jared bristled. He couldn’t let this go, not while he still had breath. “So please tell me, Miss Barnett. What is this plight of yours that I’m supposed to understand?”
“I would tell you if I thought you would pay me any mind at all. But all you see is your own anger. You’re no different from your uncle except you’re unarmed.”
He thought about it, calming himself enough to take a step back and relax his stance. He did want to know everything about her. She intrigued him, much as he hated to admit it. He had nursed her letter as if it was the dearest thing he had ever received. And she really was a beautiful sight to see. “I’ll listen. Come with me to the tavern down the road and tell me everything. I will even buy you a cup of tea.”
“No, thank you. To the tea, that is.” She paused. “But since you asked, I will tell you. You need to know just who and what you are judging.” Slowly she eased herself to the ground, sweeping her dress around the wheel. “Wait for me, Solomon. I won’t be long.”
“Miss Barnett. . . ,” Solomon began in protest.
Jared could hardly believe she had agreed to talk to him. Whatever she wanted to say must burn fierce within her, some knowledge he needed to know. Despite his dismay at her fineries, he couldn’t help but be taken in by her dress and bonnet. He would take in all of her, her beauty, her dreams, everything about her, if other things weren’t clouding his vision at the moment. Maybe it would all be put to rest this day if he but listened.
❧
They walked for a time, away from the bustle of the town and curious onlookers. Soon they were heading into a field, enjoying the feel of the sun on their faces and the breezes that carried the scents of springtime. Jared was amazed at the confidence Susanna had to go with him. She showed no fear but determination. Maybe a matter of trust had already begun to form between them, even if it seemed unbelievable. Were they not opposing forces, ready to do battle to keep their own purposes alive? Or were they trying to come to an understanding, as she said, and this was the beginning of something new in their lives?
“This looks like a fine place to talk,” she said when they came upon a small stream. She found a rock to sit upon, where she spread her dress in a perfect fan across the stony surface. “I love to sit and look at a stream. There’s something about water that is so soothing. The Green River flows by Mammoth Cave, too. Some of the visitors come by boat to see the cave.”
His anger began to rise. She must know how talking about the cave would infuriate him. Yet she spoke about it as if it were a pleasant conversation to be had on a warm, sunny day.
She continued. “When I was little I would sit on a rock and wonder what my life would be like in the future. What plans God might have for me. And I would look down at my dirty calico dress and wonder if that future might mean I could have a pretty dress to wear one day. And food to eat.”
He said nothing, though he had to admit his curiosity had been piqued by her choice of words.
“I thought about it a lot when we lived in the little cabin I shared with Papa, Mother, and my two brothers. My room in that cabin was the loft. Drafty in winter, hot in summer. I’m sure you know what I mean, Mr. Edwards.”
The truth be known, he had never slept in a loft. He had his own room inside his uncle’s large cabin. And, of course, once he built his own place, he slept in a small room adjacent to the main cabin. Now he pondered her words. She had slept in a cabin? When? Wasn’t that fancy hotel her home?
“Sometimes I would get so cold in winter, I would shiver and come down to warm myself by the fire. Other times I felt like I would die in the heat. Kentucky summers can be hot, as you know. Once I even took off in the middle of the night to take a dunking in the stream. Mother was angry when she found out. But I didn’t care. And it felt wonderful, that cool water on a hot summer’s night.”
Jared plucked a reed and began to chew on it. Where did she get these stories? From some visitor? Maybe one of the servants working at the cave? Surely it couldn’t
be a tale of her life.
“And when it would come time for the meals, I would go out to the garden and dig up a potato or two. Papa tried to get a plow through the ground. He had bought the land with all the money he had. But he didn’t know until later that he was sold a land full of rocks. It grew nothing for him. What potatoes and other vegetables we grew became our food. Potato soup. Some corn for cornbread. Hardly any money to buy chickens or any of the salt pork at the store. Just potato soup and cornbread. Day after day. Mother made it last as long as she could.”
He stopped gnawing on the reed to let the description sink in. He wanted to say something but found his mind blank.
“And then came the accident on the road. I was talking to God by a stream like this one. Luke had just upset my soup over the only dress I had, a ripped calico. I came to the stream to pray when I heard a terrible noise.” She glanced up then, her blue eyes luminescent as they reflected the sunlight. “A wagon had overturned, and a man was pinned underneath. It was Dr. Croghan. I ran for Papa and my brothers. We helped him to our cabin, and he stayed for few days. Afterwards, as a thank you, he asked us to come work for him at his hotel. We left the cabin and never looked back.” She paused to throw a small stone into the stream. “From then on, I cast all my cares away. I never want to look back. No matter what.” She turned to eye him. “I know you think I’m selfish and that I don’t care. But I do care. I know what it’s like to have nothing at all. And since God has blessed me with a few things of worth, then I will take His blessing and be thankful.”
Jared could offer no words in reply. Either she had just told him the most emotional lie to convince him of her opinions, or she had witnessed the trials of life that nearly drove her family to the brink of despair, if not for the intervention of Dr. Croghan.
“You aren’t saying anything,” she noted, taking off her bonnet. The breezes blew the curly, brown-sugar ringlets that framed her face. “You don’t believe me, do you? You think I made this up. You think I’m a spoiled, pampered, rich girl who knows nothing of hardship. But it isn’t true. None of it. I’ve lived it all.”
“I believe you.”
His reply must have caught her by surprise. She had opened her mouth, poised to offer a further rebuke, but instead smiled. “Then I would say we are definitely on the road to some manner of understanding, Mr. Edwards.”
“Jared,” he corrected, staring intently at her upturned lips. “Call me Jared. Mr. Edwards is my father.”
“And where is your father? Your family? I haven’t seen them, have I?”
“I don’t know where they are.”
Her forehead crinkled in puzzlement “What do you mean? What happened to them?”
He relished the concern in her voice that proved comforting. A genuine concern. Not made up. Not pretend. Just like the day his aunt died. She was a woman who cared. He was convinced of it now, more than ever. “I don’t really know. They wanted to go out West. They left here when they heard of wagon trains soon to make their way to Oregon Territory. They left last year, headed for St. Louis. I haven’t heard from them since. For all I know, they may have already left.”
“But why didn’t you leave with them? Why did you stay here in Kentucky?”
“I stayed because I was born here. And I met the Lord here through a traveling preacher who came to Kentucky. Besides, I couldn’t leave my aunt and uncle alone. Aunt Mattie got sick. Uncle Dwight needed help with the fields. And now look at what’s happened.” He heard Susanna inhale a swift breath as he broached the topic that separated them from the beginning.
“It must be hard,” she said softly. “I can’t imagine losing someone so close to me and then not having family around for comfort. Sometimes I wish I didn’t have my brothers, as they tend to be quite bothersome. But never would I want to be separated from any of them for very long.”
He began to stir with an understanding that gave way to hope—hope that maybe God had begun to open Susanna’s eyes. Hope that she was ready to come to Jared’s side, even closer than before.
“But I know, too, that God has blessed us and many others with this cave,” she went on. “I don’t believe the cave is a curse. I believe it’s a blessing.”
“It can’t be both. To you a blessing, to me a curse. We can’t both be right, and we can’t both be wrong.”
They sat in silence together, listening to the water play a melody over the rocks. “Then we must come to a truce,” Susanna declared, offering him her hand.
“A truce?” He took her hand in his.
“That while we may disagree, we can still respect and understand each other with God’s help.”
And maybe even more, he thought silently. He gazed at her hand, tiny and velvety white against his rough skin. He never felt anything so soft. He held onto it, savoring the feel of it. He caressed the top of her hand with his thumb.
Her cheeks pinked. Her hand shifted in his. “Jared?” she asked softly.
The feel of her hand. The look of her face. Eyes blue like the feathers of a bluebird. Parted lips so inviting. Dare he even think of kissing her? Dare he consider her in such a fashion, as one he could come to know, to love, and even to marry? He dropped her hand and stared off into the distance. At least he did have some understanding now—an understanding that birthed something new in him. He prayed she might consider him in a new light, as well, even beneath the image of a Kentucky farmer in dusty boots.
“Maybe we can meet again?” he wondered, somewhat shyly.
“I’d like that very much.”
He sighed. Hope was alive and well. He left Brownsville with an excitement in his heart, ready to face whatever came next.
Eight
She whispered his name in the night shadows when the moon rose full in the sky and bathed the Kentucky landscape in a veil of white. She looked often at her hand, the one he held in his, and remembered the way his gaze never left hers. It was as if he searched her heart to see what lay inside, much like those who searched the cave for priceless treasure. Something had drawn them together, even if they were still far apart. They lived in two separate worlds, each with its own manner of thinking. She would not relinquish the cave of prosperity, and he would never let go of his claim that the cave meant death. They seemed at an impasse, yet they had come to some manner of agreement.
When had the sun risen in the sky, along with the moon?
“Hello! Is your mind far across the ocean again?” Luke had come up, carrying caving costumes for the visitors. “We are here to conduct business, Susanna, or have you forgotten?”
She took the clothing with a halfhearted gesture. “Do you ever think there is more to life than making money?”
Luke glanced up from his work of examining the lanterns to see if they required lard oil. His eyes narrowed to tiny slits. “What kind of a question is that? Have you been talking to that man Jared again?”
She put the costumes on a chair and smoothed out her dress. “I don’t think that is any of your affair.”
“Man alive, you have been talking to him! Susanna, how could you? Are you still willing to betray your own family?”
“I am doing nothing of the sort. If anything, you should be happy that I’ve been talking to him.” She lifted her head high in the air.
“How would you expect me to come to that conclusion?”
“Because Jared knows the men who came here. If I can convince him of the cave’s value, I believe he will protect us from them.”
Luke snorted. “If you think that, then you are quite naïve. The man has been trying to win you over by his words. He’s using you as a spy for his plans. How can you fall for such deception?”
Susanna stared, unable to believe such an insinuation. “He isn’t a spy. . . ,” she began, even as doubt crept forth. He couldn’t be. He never asked me questions. He never gave such an appearance.
Luke picked up the lanterns. “A man is wise in his own opinions until corrected by another. You’ve seen the wisdom in wh
at we are doing here. You wear it proudly every day. Now you could destroy everything we have earned by talking to that man. I’ll have to go to Papa about it.”
She felt the heat enter her face. “I’ve done nothing wrong.”
He said no more. She watched him leave, the trepidation building. She could envision the look of anger on Papa’s face when he heard the news that she had been conspiring with some so-named enemy, planting seeds of destruction in their work. Causing the good doctor and her family to go to ruin. She might be cast away, perhaps to live with poor relatives in Ohio. Papa would order her to leave everything behind, clothed only in sackcloth as penance.
“I’ve done nothing wrong,” she said again, gathering up the cloaks. If anything, I’m trying to keep terrible things from happening. Jared and I have already begun to come to an understanding. He knows how I feel. And I’m beginning to learn more about him, too, though I wish I knew more.
She tried to smile at the visitors while handing out the cloaks to protect their fine garments during the tour, but the expression felt forced. There was no joy in this work. There were only questions, wondering what would become of them all. And now, with Luke looking to expose everything that lay hidden in her heart, she became even more distraught.
For now, she tried to cast it all aside. Jared had asked to meet her again for a short walk by the Green River that afternoon. When the tour left, Susanna primped and went in haste to find him waiting in the reeds. The smile he gave warmed her heart. No, Jared may not be a gentleman clad in fine frocks, but he was a gentleman, nevertheless. They strolled along the riverbank, watching bugs skitter across the river’s surface. He picked up her hand as he did once before. She liked his touch. He asked about her dreams for the future.
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