Under the Tulip Poplar

by Diane Ashley

  Mrs. Tanner’s strident voice cut across the polite applause after Alexandra finished her piece. “Why don’t you play something for us, Miss Taylor?”

  Rebekah’s attention jerked back to the older lady. “Oh, no.” She could not believe the suggestion. She looked around to see that she was the center of attention. Her heart pounded so hard she thought she might pass out. There was no way she could push any more words past her frozen throat.

  “Perhaps Miss Taylor is shy.” Alexandra’s sultry voice quieted the hubbub of speculation from her relatives. “But we are all friends here.” She stood up and took a vacant seat on the sofa next to her grandmother. “Perhaps she needs some of you to encourage her to perform for us.”

  Aunt Dolly raised her hand to get their attention. “Rebekah is not shy.” Her voice remained calm and assured. “She does not play the piano.”

  Someone gasped. Rebekah heard one of the women talking. “How can any young lady’s parents so neglect her education?”

  Rebekah desperately wished she were somewhere—anywhere—else. She wished she’d never heard of Tanner Plantation, much less met any of Alexandra’s relatives. This is what came of trying to pass herself off as a society miss when she did not possess the right accomplishments. She shook her head, wishing the nightmare would end. She wanted to crawl under her chair and never come out again. Perhaps she should lose herself in the mansion.

  Aunt Dolly came to her rescue again. “I know it’s different here, but in Nashville, we don’t spend as much time worrying about teaching our young ladies how to sing or play the piano. We think it’s more important that they know how to survive and how to help others in need. Rebekah Taylor has nursed me back to health with her loving care and medicinal potions. Furthermore, she has spent the last year keeping an entire household running smoothly. And if you could taste one of the apple pies she bakes, you would understand the meaning of real talent.”

  Gasps and titters followed Aunt Dolly’s words, and the elder Mrs. Tanner harrumphed her obvious disapproval of such plebeian accomplishments.

  “Come along, dear.” Dolly’s hand felt warm around her fingers. “I think I need a bit of fresh air.”

  As they left the parlor, Rebekah thought she heard Mrs. Tanner saying something about manners and hospitality, but she was too distraught to make sense of it. She followed her aunt onto the wide porch.

  “Breathe, Rebekah,” Dolly said.

  Rebekah nodded and concentrated on filling her lungs. After a few moments, her heartbeat returned to a more normal rhythm. “Thank you, Dolly.”

  “Silly girl, you can’t let people like that affect you so.”

  The words were said with so much love that Rebekah felt some of her shame easing. She was not happy she’d had to rely on her aunt for defense, but at least Aunt Dolly had come to her rescue. Asher, on the other hand, had remained silent. Didn’t he love her enough to protect her reputation?

  As if her thoughts had summoned him, Asher stepped onto the porch. “Are you okay, Rebekah?”

  “I believe I hear someone calling me.” Dolly squeezed her hand and placed it on the rail. “I’ll be right inside if either of you needs me.”

  Silence filled the night as Rebekah concentrated again on her breathing. She gripped the railing so tightly that she wondered if it would break under the pressure. “I want to go home.”

  He was standing right behind her, so close she could smell his pomade. She wanted to turn and bury herself in his arms, but she could not. Not until they talked about the matter of his attraction to Alexandra.

  “I know you do, sweetheart. And I want to get you home. Get back to where we were before this war started. You have only been away from Nashville for a few months. It has been nearly two years for me.”

  His words sparked another point of contention. “Yet you passed up the chance to come home earlier.”

  “It wasn’t like that, Rebekah. General Jackson gave me a special assignment. I was proud to serve him and our country. But because of that assignment, I had no real choice.”

  His words melted away one of the resentments she had held against Asher. She turned and looked up at him. “What kind of assignment?”

  He put a finger on her nose. “The secret kind, my curious girl.”

  Rebekah pushed away his hand. She supposed she would have to accept his answer. She knew there were things men could not talk about in regard to their military service. The same had been true of her pa. Her ma had told her years ago that there were some things it was better to leave alone.

  But Alexandra Lewis was another matter entirely.

  “Do you still love me?” She was glad that her eyes had adjusted to the darkness around them. She could see every expression on his face, the face she loved more than any other.

  “What?”

  The first thing she saw was confusion, followed swiftly by disbelief and then humor. What she did not see was shame or deceit. So maybe he was still in love with her. . .and not Alexandra. But that still did not appease her. “You know she is trying to entrap you.”

  “Who? Alexandra?” He laughed. “She’s like a little sister. Always getting into trouble and needing someone to guide her. She does not feel anything toward me except the love a sister feels toward a big brother.”

  Rebekah pointed a finger at his chest. “That’s where you’re wrong. You mark my words, Asher Landon. Alexandra Lewis does not think of you as a brother. She thinks of you as a suitor. And if you’re not careful, she’ll get you into a compromising position and rely on your chivalry to trap you.”

  “I cannot believe you, Rebekah. I thought you knew me better than that. You are the only girl who interests me at all. Ten Alexandras could not hold a candle to you. You’re the only girl I’ve ever asked to marry me.”

  “And yet we are not married.”

  “As soon as we get back to Nashville, that will change. I’ll go to your parents the very first day and procure their blessing. Then as soon as I can buy or build us a home, you will become Mrs. Asher Landon.”

  Rebekah longed to embrace his words and cling to their promise, but even though she forced a smile to her face, her heart hid a cloud of concern for the future.

  Nine

  Rain drenched the canvas sides of their wagon, bringing a steady, cold breeze that chilled the travelers and made Rebekah wish for an early summer. Mrs. Lewis and Alexandra were sleeping on the bench opposite where she cuddled close to Aunt Dolly.

  Rebekah stretched her right hand to push back the heavy cloth covering the wagon’s back gate and peered out at the tall pines standing like silent pickets on both sides of the muddy track. The separate wagon holding their clothes and provisions trundled into view around a bend.

  A flash in the underbrush drew her attention. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw another swift movement. She jerked her head around but spotted nothing. Was someone hiding behind one of the large tree trunks, or was she imagining things? “Wake up, Dolly.”

  “What, dear?” Aunt Dolly’s voice was slow and thick. She stretched her arms forward and yawned.

  “I’m sorry to disturb you, but I thought I saw something in the woods.”

  Neither of the Lewis ladies roused, but the soldier who was driving the wagon turned around and placed a silencing finger over his lips.

  Rebekah’s heart began to thump heavily. Only a few days of travel separated them from Nashville, and the trip thus far had been uneventful. The dreary weather had been their greatest trial. It had rained on them nearly every day since leaving Tanner Plantation, turning the road into a muddy path and placing an extra burden on the men and horses.

  Rebekah held her breath and prayed for safety. A bird whistled in the distance, answered by another that sounded closer to their wagon. A bush alongside the road trembled as though caught in a strong wind. She looked upward, but the branches of the tall pines were still.

  She was nearly thrown to the floor when their horses were brought to an unexpected halt. B
oth Alexandra and Mrs. Lewis woke abruptly, their voices sharp inside the wagon.

  A small scream escaped Aunt Dolly, but Rebekah refused to give way to the panic building inside her. Instead she looked around for some type of weapon to use. Her sewing basket and Aunt Dolly’s jewelry box were the only items she saw.

  Mrs. Lewis put one hand over her heart and grasped Alexandra’s arm with the other. “What’s happening? Is it bandits?”

  “Could be.” Their driver reached back for the musket leaning against the seat and laid it across his knees. “All I know for sure is someone wants us to stop.”

  Rebekah looked from one lady to the other, her mind grappling with the implications. Was the situation that desperate? She hoped not. Yet who had not heard of travelers meeting their demise along the road to Nashville?

  The sharp report of gunfire punctuated her thoughts. The horses whinnied and fought to get away from the noise, making the wagon rock back and forth violently as the driver tried to calm them. Something thudded against the side of the canvas wall. Another thud. Rebekah realized it was the sound of arrows striking the sides of the wagon. Indians!

  Aunt Dolly slid to the floor and gestured for the rest of the women to join her. “Lord, protect us.” Her voice was calm, as if she were sitting in a church pew at home rather than on a dusty wooden floor in the middle of a forest full of dangerous Indians.

  Were they about to be scalped? Burned to death? Rebekah squeezed her eyes shut and tried to pray along with Aunt Dolly and the others, but her mind was in a dither. The noise was horrendous—she could hear screaming from the servants in the other wagon, wild cries from the Indians, and the men shouting back and forth to each other. Lord, save us.

  Rebekah opened her eyes. She had to see what was going on outside. She thought about the empty cart she and her pa had seen when he first took her to stay with Aunt Dolly. Would some other traveler come across their empty wagon in a few days and wonder what had happened to them? She could not hear any more thuds against the sides, but that was because the rushing noise of her pulse was blocking out all other sounds.

  She watched as Aunt Dolly lifted her head slightly to gaze over the wooden back of the driver’s seat.

  “What’s happening?” Rebekah wished her words sounded as calm as Aunt Dolly’s had. She took a deep, calming breath and released it slowly. The noise outside had definitely abated.

  “They’re talking to the Indians. Something about a storm. I can see Asher shaking his head, but I can’t hear what he’s saying.”

  A heartfelt praise lifted the worst of the fear from Rebekah’s mind. At least he’d not been harmed. And she had no doubt he could calm the situation. She rubbed her aunt’s cold hand. “Everything’s going to be all right.”

  Their horses began to quiet as if they also sensed that the greatest danger had passed.

  The minutes seemed to stretch out as the four women waited for the confrontation to end. Aunt Dolly pushed herself up onto the seat. “I’m going to see exactly what’s going on. The rest of you stay here.”

  “Do you think that’s wise?” Mrs. Lewis’s question echoed Rebekah’s thoughts.

  “It may not be wise, but I cannot cower in here any longer.” Aunt Dolly clambered onto the driver’s seat before climbing down and disappearing from Rebekah’s view.

  Rebekah and Alexandra helped Mrs. Lewis back up onto the seat now that the most immediate danger had passed. The men’s voices moved around to the back of the wagon, and Rebekah scooted down the bench to the gate. She separated the heavy, wet material protecting them to watch the confrontation.

  Asher had dismounted and was standing next to his horse, his rifle held loosely in one hand. His stance seemed odd, but maybe it was only her imagination.

  A slight sound behind the wagon to her right made her wonder if they were completely surrounded by Indians. Rebekah leaned against the wooden gate, trying to understand what was being said.

  When an unseen hand pulled the bolt free on the gate, it fell open and she fell with it, tumbling out and landing on the muddy road with a jaw-cracking thump. Rebekah was so surprised she didn’t even cry out. Someone grabbed her arm and jerked her back onto her feet. She twisted her head and looked into the darkest brown eyes she’d ever seen—eyes that mirrored her own fear.

  He was an Indian brave, but he couldn’t have been more than twelve years old. Her shocked gaze took in his buckskin attire and straight black hair. Somehow, when she thought of the danger of Indians, they were full-grown adults, not boys who were young enough to be in short pants.

  Rebekah’s fear melted away. This was not some faceless danger. This was a person, someone who had hopes and dreams and fears, just like she did. Her thoughts were cut off, however, when he jerked his head to indicate that she should join the others who were still having a somewhat heated debate.

  “. . .no food.” Asher’s words were clipped, and his voice sounded harsh to Rebekah. He turned and saw the Indian brave guiding her forward. “Don’t you put your filthy hands on her.”

  “It’s okay, Asher. He’s not hurting—”

  Aunt Dolly’s voice cut off her protest. “I thought you were going to stay inside.”

  “I thought so, too.” Rebekah glanced down at her muddy dress. “But I sort of fell out.”

  Asher strode to her and pulled her from the Indian’s grasp. “Are you hurt?”

  “Only my dignity.”

  He smiled his crooked half smile, and the others faded to nothingness. She forgot the cold and the danger. Asher was the only thing that mattered. But then he turned his attention back to the discussion at hand, and reality returned in the form of cold raindrops sliding down her back.

  She listened to the debate between the men, her sympathy roused as the Indians’ desperation became apparent. It had been a difficult winter made harder by the influx of white settlers who competed for the wild game in the area. At first, this tribe had tried to trade with the newcomers, but they had been met with distrust and hatred. Unable to overcome the settlers’ fears, they had turned to other means to provide for their families.

  “Maybe the hatred was earned.” Colonel Lewis pointed at the Indian. “Maybe you took a few scalps along the way.”

  The man who seemed to be the spokesperson for the band of Indians shook his head. “We want peace with you.” He was tall and straight, with shoulders as wide as her pa’s and with the bearing she associated with military men such as Asher and General Jackson.

  Aunt Dolly let out an unladylike snort. “I might find that easier to believe if you had not attacked us today.”

  “Do you see dead white men?” The Indian raised his chin. “If we really attack, all the men die, and we take you back to our village.”

  Rebekah could not help the shudder that passed through her. The Indian’s words painted an awful picture in her mind—Asher lying on the ground with an arrow piercing his heart, his lifeblood staining the ground as she was dragged away to face unimaginable hardship. She grasped Asher’s hand.

  “If you want peace, return to your village.” Asher squeezed her hand before releasing it. “Don’t you see that stopping people and stealing from them will bring nothing but more death and hatred?”

  “And what do we tell our starving women and children? Do we tell them to suffer so the white man will be our friend?”

  Rebekah could hear the pain in his voice. There must be something they could do to help his people. “Don’t we have some extra provisions we can give them?”

  “Have you lost your mind, girl?” Colonel Lewis frowned at her. “Do you want to take the chance of starving yourself by giving away our food?”

  “Rebekah is right, Colonel.” Aunt Dolly’s voice was as calm as it had been in the wagon. “We have more than enough to last for the final week of our journey. There is a full wagon of canned vegetables and flour sacks traveling with us. I think we can share our bounty. It is our Christian duty to do so.”

  “Christian duty? Where doe
s the Good Book say we should feed the heathens who attack our farms and kill innocent women and children?”

  “I believe it’s in the book of Matthew. Jesus said, ‘But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.’ ”

  The colonel’s face turned as red as an autumn sunset. “The next thing you’ll say is that we should give them all of our food and let God provide manna like He did for the Hebrews in the wilderness. This is men’s business. You should both get back to the wagon.”

  Rebekah wished she could remain as calm as Aunt Dolly, who managed to keep a smile on her face as she answered the colonel. “I am not accustomed to bowing to the ‘wisdom’ of belligerence and intimidation.”

  Asher cleared his throat and stepped in front of Colonel Lewis. The Indians raised their bows in response, but he ignored them. “Why don’t we see if we can share our provisions? It’s obvious we are outnumbered, and it would be wiser to share rather than provoke these men into taking everything.” His voice dropped so low that Rebekah could barely make out the quiet words he directed to the colonel. “There will be a better time than today to show our strength.”

  A tense moment passed while the colonel and Asher stared at each other. Then the colonel nodded. “Do what you must.” He turned on his heel and pushed his way past the braves, who still held their weapons ready.

  The Indian who had spoken to them turned back to the rest of the raiding party and addressed his men in staccato words. They lowered their weapons and stepped back, but Rebekah had the feeling they were still poised to attack if anything went wrong.

  Asher and the Indian leader went back to the wagon that held their provisions.

  Aunt Dolly turned to Rebekah. “You’re shivering, Rebekah. And no wonder. Standing out here in the rain is beyond foolish.”

  “You must be cold, too.”