“What can I do to help?”
“Nothing, yet. Please pray everyone is safe. And look after the children. They will be worried.”
“Oh, aye, I shall.”
“Thank God, there is a creek near their place.” He saddled Honey and walked her out of the barn.
Mark stood with Mary in front of the cottage. She ran to his side. “Papa, be careful.”
“I will, poppet. You mind Heather.” He headed into the dust stirred up by George’s horse.
Still stunned from George’s news, Heather and the children walked back into the cottage. Distracted, she began clearing the dishes from the table, but stopped and called the children to her.
Mark was obviously confused, while Mary looked worried.
“Your father and other neighbors are going to help put out the fire at the Taylors’ house. I think we should pray for all of them.” They all knelt.
“Almighty God, please be with Caroline, Samuel, and their son. Protect them and give them strength to persevere this day. Please grant that the fire is put out quickly and that no injuries befall them ... or those offering assistance. We ask these things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”
Mark tugged at her skirt. “When will Papa be back?”
“Do not fret. He will be back as soon as he feels he has done everything he can for the Taylors.”
Restless, she made multiple trips to the window, wondering what was happening at the Taylor farm. Smoke was visible in the sky when she wandered to the porch.
When she came back inside, Mary came and stood beside her, also staring out the window. “We shall have to wait, children.” She placed her arm around Mary. “Please, Lord, let it rain.”
The afternoon stretched on forever. Heather’s ears were always half listening for the sound of hoof beats, but none came. Instead of kneading the bread dough, she found herself pounding it. This is foolish. Everything shall be well. Believe that. With the bread set aside to rise, she took on the floors, scrubbing with a vengeance. Finally, exhausted, she went out to the front porch to sit and wait. The children followed her.
Mark went to the yard, where he appeared to be playing with a beetle.
Mary sat on the step. “I am frightened. I wish Papa would come home.”
“So do I.” Heather got up from the chair and sat on the step, putting an arm around the child. She scanned the sky. “Try not to fear. I am sure your father is just doing all he can to help. It looks like we will get rain.”
It was not long before the rain did come. It was a gentle rain, the best kind. They all moved to the porch chairs, out of the rain. Heather sat enjoying the sound it made falling on the ground and foliage. What an answer to prayer. She was just getting up to go inside, to prepare the children’s supper, when she saw two riders approaching. Walking to the edge of the porch, she squinted. Uneasiness filled her as she watched them slowly approach. Something was wrong.
“Children, take your things and go inside. I shall be there in a minute.” She glanced at Mary, who also watched the approaching horses. “Go on now, please.” Matthew was approaching on Honey—who was the other rider? It was too hard to distinguish them in the rain, but it appeared to be a woman. Her stomach tightened, and fear rose in her throat. Nay. Nay. Surely there must be a good reason. She was off the steps and taking long strides to reach the two as they approached the house. In a moment, she was searching Caroline Taylor’s pale face—a face in shock.
Matthew also appeared ashen and somber as he approached her. “There has been a terrible accident, Heather. We shall speak of this later. Caroline is going to stay with us. Please help me get her settled.”
Without a word, they helped her off the horse, and Heather guided her into the dry cottage.
Matthew followed. Inside, he poured Caroline a cup of cider while Heather put her cotton shawl around the woman’s soaked and shaking shoulders. She wrapped her arms around Caroline and held her in a long hug.
“Caroline, drink this.” Matthew handed her the pewter cup.
He whispered softly in Heather’s ear. “Please find her something dry to wear and help her into bed?” His face was nearly as gray as the wet shirt he was wearing.
She nodded and guided the distraught woman to the bedroom. There she undressed Caroline, who remained dazed and speechless. She helped her into her own clean shift and gently led her to the large bed.
The young woman’s dazed expression broke her heart. She helped her lie down, and then pulled the covers up around Caroline’s stricken face. She gently stroked her hair. “There, now you try to sleep. We can talk after you have had a chance to rest.”
Heather closed the door of the bedroom. In the kitchen, Matthew had gotten the children seated for a small meal.
Mary touched her father’s hand. “Why is Mrs. Taylor here, Papa?”
His face was sooty and somber, his clothes wet and filthy. “We will talk about it later, children.”
Heather dampened a cloth and began to reach out and wipe his face, but stopped and handed it to him. “You had best be changing into something dry too. Caroline is in bed. I hope she will be able to sleep.” She glanced at the children, who were finishing their supper. “Once we get them settled for the night, please might we have a few minutes, Matthew?”
“Yes.” His shoulders sagged as he made his way to the loft. “Bring us some tea to the porch.”
When the children were finally quiet on their pallet, she joined Matthew outside. He had cleaned himself by the water barrel and was now in dry clothes, leaning against a beam that supported the porch roof and gazing off into the distance.
She set the tea beside the lantern on the small table and settled into the chair, wrapping the shawl tightly around her. Anxiety filled her as she waited to learn the details of the fire.
“There was nothing to do except make sure the fire did not spread any further. It happened so fast.” He shook his head and rubbed his bloodshot eyes. “Apparently, Samuel was in the new barn when Caroline ... I think she was setting out the wash ... anyway, she noticed smoke and flames coming from the house. She started screaming, and Sam ran into the house to get the baby. A beam must have fallen on him. Aaron Turner was on his way over to the Whitcombs’ by way of the Taylors’. He spotted the smoke, and it is a good thing he did. I think Caroline might have tried going into the house after Sam and the baby.”
“Samuel and Seth ... both gone?” She gasped.
He nodded.
Her chest tightened, and a bad taste rose to her mouth. How? Had it only been a fortnight since they were all enjoying each other’s company at the Taylors’?
“How awful. That poor woman. Oh, Matthew, I am so glad you brought her back here. Losing her husband and wee bairn that way—I cannot imagine.” She shook in anguish, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Has she any people of her own around here?”
He finished his tea and set the tankard down. “It occurs to me that Samuel once said her family lives in Maryland, near Baltimore, I believe. We can ask her. She has the farm, and the barn and the animals are left, but she may not want to go back.” He put his hands to his face before running his fingers through his hair, obviously weary from the calamitous day. “Samuel was a fine man and a good friend. He will be missed by all of us, and now we must take care of Caroline for him.”
She studied him, touched by his distress over the death of a friend and his concern for Caroline. What could she say to help Caroline or Matthew? After a few silent minutes, his gaze rested on her.
“The men are going to gather at George’s tomorrow morning. We will plan on what to do to assist Caroline. Sam and Seth are with the doctor and Betsy Edwards to be prepared for their burial service. The plan is to bury them tomorrow afternoon.”
Slowly Heather rose from the chair and walked back toward the door to go inside. Stopping, she tentatively reached out, gently touching his arm. “I am so sorry about Samuel and the bairn. Will you tell the children?”
His eye
s, filled with sadness and regret, raised to hers. “Yes, tomorrow.”
“I shall go in and check on Caroline now. Good night.” With a heavy heart, she went inside.
The service and burial for Samuel and Seth took place as planned at the Taylors’ farm. A dinner followed, with all the neighbors bringing food to share. But how different an atmosphere it was than the one at the barn raising, just a couple of weeks before. What had been joy and merriment was now sadness and loss.
In the days following the tragedy, friends dropped by the Stewarts’ farm to offer Caroline their condolences. Matthew and Heather made every effort to comfort her. When Caroline finally started talking about what happened, her acceptance of the situation and the healing process had begun.
Two mornings after the fire, Heather spotted Amelia Turner approaching the cottage. She brought some clothing and other items shared from neighbors to meet Caroline’s needs.
No one was surprised when Caroline said she wanted to go to her family in Maryland. Matthew saw that her letter to them was posted. Meanwhile, she was made very much at home with the Stewarts.
“You have all been so good to me, Heather. I so wish that you would let me sleep in the loft, though. I regret putting Matthew out of your room. Though I must admit, having you there beside me when the nightmares come has been such a comfort. How generous Matthew has been.”
“Do not fret about it, Caroline. We would not want it any other way.” Nothing dishonest about that.
“I do miss them so, Heather.” Once again the tears came. “Why is it you must lose someone before realizing how vital and precious they are—how much you love them?” The anguish on Caroline’s face nearly brought her to tears. “I shall never get over the loss of Seth. That baby was part of me. Even though I did not have him very long, he had such a grip on my heart. But Heather, I never realized that Samuel also was so much a part of me—how much I loved him. He was always there, as long as I can remember. I was but a girl when we became acquainted. Every year, Samuel would visit his cousins in Baltimore. That is how I met him. What is worse, I never told him how much I loved him. Not really.”
She put her arms around Caroline and hugged her. “I cannot believe that Samuel was unaware. While you may not have shared the depth of your affection for him, I am sure you demonstrated your love in many different ways. Aye, and you gave him the wee bairn.”
Their hands were clasped together. The desperate look in Caroline’s eyes was heart wrenching. “I hope you are right.”
With Caroline’s decision to return to Maryland, the neighbors rallied to help her dispose of her farm. Three of the neighbors that bordered on the Taylor farm offered a fair price for those parcels that abutted their properties. The fourth parcel, several acres that remained, was purchased for the site of the community’s new church. The men decided it was a far more desirable location, with the creek nearby and the barn already standing. With modifications to the barn and some finishing touches, it would be reconfigured for a church. It would make a more than adequate schoolhouse when a more permanent sanctuary was built. Samuel and Seth, both buried on a grassy slope nearby, would be the first in the new cemetery. Everyone benefited from the transaction, and Caroline would return to her parents’ home with some funds in hand, where, hopefully, she would make a new start.
“The wagon is here, and I think we had better go.” Matthew stood on the cottage porch. “Caroline, are you sure you are up to this? Everyone will understand if you choose not to come.”
“Thank you, Matthew, but this is important to me. I need to see the place this one last time, and I need to thank everyone for all they have done. When my father comes for me, I shall be better able to walk away from it all. And I would like to share in the first Sabbath in our ... in your new church.”
“Caroline, it shall always be ‘our’ church. The Taylors shall always be a part of it.” Matthew put his arm around the small, delicate woman as he led her from the cottage. “Come. Heather and the children are waiting in the wagon.”
The men had worked diligently to refashion the barn into a chapel. More windows were cut, and an altar and benches built.
Despite their joy in sharing their first Sabbath morning in their new church, the community did not forget Samuel and little Seth Taylor. When the morning’s readings were over, and the chapel had been dedicated, Matthew asked for a moment of silence to remember Samuel and Seth. He offered a prayer for Caroline.
“Almighty God, we ask your blessings on Caroline as she leaves us. Watch over her, and through the power of Your Spirit, help her to find peace, comfort, and joy. May she discover friends in her new home who will support and encourage her. And grant that she never forgets the friends she has here. We ask this in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.”
Everyone brought food for the social that followed the service. Several of the men carried benches from the church outside to provide seating.
Matthew tugged at Heather’s elbow and nodded in the direction of Hannah Whitcomb, who was approaching them. “I think Betsy Edwards and Amelia Turner might like to join Caroline and us here for dinner. Hopefully, we might avoid any of Hannah’s unanticipated and possibly inappropriate remarks,” he said in her ear.
Heather glanced from him to Hannah. “Aye, you are right. I shall ask them.” He watched as Heather walked briskly to where Amelia and Betsy were standing speaking with Caroline. She had been remarkable these past few weeks, welcoming Caroline into their home and caring for her with such love. Heather was stunning, standing there in one of Elizabeth’s frocks. He took a deep breath. Their marriage made it possible to have the children home. But it was more than that. She had brought joy back into his life. He looked forward to seeing her at midday and every evening. If only things had worked out differently between the two of them. Lord, I believed this marriage was an answer for all of us. If it is Your plan that Heather stay, please show me what to do, and speak to her heart.
While the festivities were somewhat subdued, it was a chance for people to reaffirm their need for a place for worship and acknowledge that they did, in fact, depend greatly on God and each other in times of need.
Three days later, Caroline Taylor’s father arrived by carriage. They said their good-byes early the following morning, amidst tears.
“I cannot thank you enough for all the love and support you have both given me these last few weeks. Heather, I am sorry for all the restless nights. Now you shall be able to get some sleep. Thank you, Matthew, for all the encouragement and for putting up with a weepy woman.”
Caroline’s father placed his daughter’s bags in the carriage. “Matthew, our home is always open to you and yours.” He handed Matthew a piece of paper. “I have written down where we are in Baltimore. We have a big house so you will not put us out. And again, thank you for all the care you have given my daughter. I am sorry that I was unable to arrive here any sooner.”
“Our pleasure, sir. It was time well spent, and we were happy to open our home to Caroline. We will miss her.” The men shook hands, and Caroline’s father joined his daughter in the carriage.
The Stewarts all waved at the departing carriage, and the children walked back into the house. Matthew turned to Heather. Looking into her clear blue eyes distracted him from what he wanted to say. It would be so easy to take her in his arms. No. This was not the right time or place. “Thank you, Heather, for all you did for Caroline. When you lose your mate and child, it tears you ... well, thank you for being so good to her.”
“I shall miss her. She was good company. I pray that she will recover, and one day find another to fill her heart.” Heather turned to go inside.
Matthew followed her. “That is a good prayer. Caroline would make someone a fine wife.” Heather stopped and wheeled around to face him, and he came to an abrupt stop to avoid ramming into her. She had the oddest expression on her face—as if he had told her the answer to a riddle. Women—would he ever understand them?
CHAPTER 19
Later that same week, the Duncans made their long-awaited visit, bringing joy and laughter back into the Stewart household. It was late morning when the sound of a wagon coming up the path caught Heather’s attention. She came around the side of the cottage where she had been spreading laundry. The children were watching the tadpoles they had found at the pond and now had in a bucket.
“Mary, please go tell your father the Duncans are here. He is over in the south field.” Brushing a few wild strands of hair off her face, Heather made her way to the front of the cottage. It would be so good to see Maggie again.
As the Duncans and their children poured out of the wagon, she took off her apron, smiled, and waved. “What a wonderful surprise. It is so good to see you all. May I get you something cool to drink? We have water, cider, or some tea. You must be thirsty after the trip.”
“Some water or cider would be wonderful.” Maggie carried William and followed Heather to the porch. “Jean, please place the packages inside on the table.” She turned to Heather. “I brought a few things for dinner and the family. You must try the sweet bread. The trip out here was so pleasant, but the leaves are turning so early this year. I suppose because it has been dry.”
Adam joined them on the porch. “How has the harvest been, Heather? Everyone has been hard hit by this drought.”
“Mr. Stewart had been most concerned about it. He says the crop was somewhat smaller this year, but we should have plenty to eat, and we are putting up a lot for the winter months.”
Maggie had a puzzled frown on her face when Adam whispered, “Mr. Stewart?”
Heather shuddered. They did not realize she heard his remark.
Adam returned to the wagon and began unhitching the horse. “It has been hard on everyone. There has not been as much produce coming into town. You appear to be adjusting well to living out here on the farm.” He tied the horse to a rail near the water trough, and they walked into the cottage.
A Heart Set Free Page 17