The Land Uncharted (The Uncharted Series Book 1)

by Keely Brooke Keith

  Another wagon rolled down the road. It turned toward the Colburn house. Lydia pulled her apron off and rushed outside to meet the wagon.

  “Mr. Cotter. Mrs. Cotter.” Lydia saw the couple on the front seat of the wagon and thought something was wrong. “Where is the baby?”

  “He’s home. We have a neighbor girl looking after him,” Mark Cotter said as he climbed down from the wagon. He walked around to the other side. “It’s Doris who needs to see you.” He held his hand up to his wife and she took it as she carefully stepped down to the ground. “I’ll wait out here,” he told Doris.

  Mark’s cheeks were flushed and he wore half a grin.

  Lydia looked at his wife. “Yes, Doris. Do come in.” She led the woman into the medical cottage and closed the door behind them.

  While attending her patient, it sounded like another wagon outside. She was probably just anxious for Levi and Connor to come home. Her contentment hinged on their return and it alarmed her.

  Perhaps it was her argument with Connor or Doctor Ashton’s death or simply that she missed them, but everything seemed a bit dreary lately. And the dreariness was interspersed with apprehension because of Connor’s warning about Frank. Though she truly believed Frank wouldn’t do anything to harm her physically, Connor’s caution echoed in her mind every time she stepped outside or heard a knock at her door. Levi and Connor’s return would renew her sense of security and lift her spirit.

  While her patient dressed, Lydia sat at her desk and made notes. She turned the pages in her calendar to check a date and made another note. Doris’s baby had been born on the morning of the autumn equinox in March—the same day Connor had arrived in the Land.

  Men’s voices murmured outside the cottage. It was probably her father and Mark.

  Doris buttoned her dress as she walked to the desk. “Thank you, Lydia.” Her chin began to quiver and tears came to her eyes. “I’m happy about this, really I am. I don’t know why I’m crying.”

  Lydia inclined her head as she touched her patient’s arm. “There now, Doris, your husband will be pleased when you tell him the news.”

  “It’s just that little James is not yet three months old.” Doris drew a handkerchief from her sleeve and dabbed at her tears. “Neither Mark nor I thought this could happen quite so soon.”

  “James and his new brother or sister will probably grow up to be good friends. My brother is just ten months younger than me, and we’ve always been very fond of each other.” Lydia opened the door. “You have a lot to look forward to.”

  She followed Doris outside to Mark’s wagon. Behind it was her father’s wagon. The men stood near the back door of the main house. Bethany was hugging Levi, and John was shaking Connor’s hand while Mark watched the welcome party.

  Lydia stood still at the threshold of her doorway. Everyone became quiet when Doris walked toward her husband. Doris smiled at Mark and took both of his hands in hers as she whispered something to him. His face lit up. He looked over his wife’s shoulder to Lydia for confirmation, and Lydia nodded.

  “We are going to have another baby!” Mark announced. He laughed and wrapped his arms around his wife. Then he pulled away and put his hand on her belly.

  John and Levi stepped forward to congratulate Mark. Bethany beamed and started chatting with Doris about the exciting news. Lydia looked through the happy crowd. Connor was watching her. His whiskers were longer and he looked tired, but his eyes were still warm. A faint smile curved his lips. With the crowd between them, Connor simply mouthed hi.

  Lydia returned his gesture. “Hi.” She blinked and looked away before anyone else could notice.

  Levi scooped her up with one arm and swung her in a circle. He set her back down and she smiled up at him. “I am so glad you’re home!”

  “I’m glad to be back.” Levi grinned and reached into his coat pocket. “I got you something in Southpoint.”

  Bethany overheard him and furled both arms around Levi’s chest. “What about me?” She pretended to pout. “Did you bring me something too?”

  “Yes, you too.” Levi chuckled and drew a small package from his pocket. He opened it and removed two bracelets made of delicate silver links. He handed one to Lydia and one to Bethany. Lydia wrapped the silver bracelet around her wrist and clasped it securely. Bethany did the same, giggling all the while.

  “That’s not all.” Levi emptied the contents of the paper into his hand. “This one is for Bethany.” He placed a small silver charm in her hand.

  Bethany examined the charm closely. “It’s a little vase, like the ones I made when I was first learning to make pottery. Oh, thank you, Levi!”

  Levi took the other charm and placed it in Lydia’s palm. Her eyes widened as she studied it, and she closed her hand over the tiny charm. “It’s shaped like a gray leaf. How thoughtful!”

  Levi secured the charm to Lydia’s bracelet and did the same for Bethany. The sisters admired each other’s bracelets. The Cotters waved goodbye as they pulled away.

  Lydia glanced up from her bracelet to see Connor lift his satchel from the wagon. He smiled at her and followed John and Levi into the house.

  Elated to set six places for dinner, Lydia hummed as she carried a stack of plates to the table. The little silver charm dangled at her wrist all the while.

  * * *

  Connor awoke at first light. He didn’t need a clock to tell him what time it was. He rolled out of bed and onto the floor, where he counted off fifty push-ups. After getting dressed, he left the guest room and walked through the hallway, taking great care not to make a sound near Isabella’s door. Though the Colburn house wasn’t his home, it was good to be someplace familiar. He passed through the kitchen and walked out the back door, closing it behind him.

  He followed the dirt path from the house to the gravel road in front of the property and stopped to stretch his calf muscles before he began to run. His breath streamed out in visible puffs in the cold morning air as his stride settled into a good rhythm. Since it was no longer a secret that he was from another land, he was free to run. Though he would never be able to return to military service, he intended to stay in shape no matter the expressions his running drew from the occasional onlooker.

  His feet pounded the road comfortably in his new shoes. They might not have been designed with advanced athletic technology, but the shoemaker Lydia bartered with had crafted something far better than he’d expected. His feet had callused from the borrowed shoes, and he was pleased to see the new shoes waiting for him when he returned from his trip to the southern villages.

  He had one more day to break in the new shoes before he would have to leave Good Springs again, which meant only one more day to see Lydia. He wanted to talk to John about her, but after Levi’s display of disapproval, it was best to give it some time. He didn’t expect the same opposition from John, but he did not want any more misunderstandings before he had to leave again.

  The time between trips was going too fast. He’d spent Saturday evening giving John a report of their journey and had spent Sunday at church, where he sat on the back pew in the chapel and listened while John preached. Lydia had come into the church halfway through the sermon and sat in the seat next to him. He’d automatically slipped his arm over the pew behind her shoulders. When she didn’t seem to mind, he left it there. It had felt natural to sit there next to her. Had she thought anything of it at all?

  He instinctively turned around on the road where he calculated a mile and a half and ran back. He jogged the last few yards of the road, turned toward the Colburn house, and walked from there.

  The kitchen door was open when he returned. John was making coffee and Bethany was sitting at the table with a well-worn schoolbook open in front of her. Connor poured himself a glass of water. He drank it standing at the sink then refilled the glass and turned to the table.

  “This is dreadful, absolutely dreadful,” Bethany huffed as she slammed her pencil into her book. The pencil bounced to the floor. With e
xaggerated gestures she pretended to collapse onto her school papers and heaved a sigh. Her long lashes fluttered from the edges of her twitching eyelids while she faked a dramatic death.

  Connor rolled his eyes at the teenager’s shameless performance and bent to the floor to pick up the pencil. Bethany cracked one eye open and peeked at him. Connor used the pencil to point at the book. “What are you studying?”

  Bethany came back to life and blew out a breath. “Algebra. I’ll never understand it. Schoolwork is just dreadful and absolutely useless.” She straightened in her chair and looked at her father. “Must I go to class today? After my apprenticeship at the pottery yard, I will never need math again.”

  John eyed his fifteen-year-old daughter as he brought the coffee pot to the table. He exuded the unsympathetic calm of a man who had raised five children, four of them girls. “You must finish your schooling, Bethany. You know that.”

  “Oh, but it’s utterly useless. I never use what I learn in class when I’m at the potter’s wheel,” she grumbled.

  Connor sat at the table beside her and turned the book where he could see it. He scanned the page and turned the book back to Bethany. Pointing to the section where her frustration had resulted in a deep pencil groove through the page, he got her attention. “Okay, see the parenthesis here? They mean you should treat these terms as a group. So you first add these two numbers, then you multiply the sum by this factor here.” He glanced up at her and she appeared to follow what he was saying.

  He offered her the pencil. She took it and worked the equation on a piece of gray leaf paper. The kitchen was silent except for the sound of the pencil scratching on the paper. When she was finished, Connor took the pencil and wrote a similar equation with different numbers. “Now try this one.”

  He checked her work. She had the correct answer. He took the pencil and scribbled out another equation then handed the pencil back to her again.

  John drummed his fingers on the table in light, rapid thumps. “The teacher of our secondary students hopes to return to his family home in Riverside soon, but we have been unable to find another teacher to fill the position.”

  He glanced at John then looked back at the page. “That’s too bad.”

  “Connor, have you ever thought of teaching?”

  The idea took Connor by surprise. He leaned back in the chair and looked at John. “Teach what—high school? No, sir.”

  “It might be something to consider.”

  “Oh, I don’t think I could teach.”

  Bethany lifted her page and showed them another correct answer.

  John gave half a smile then he looked at Connor. “It looks like you just did.”

  * * *

  Lydia tidied her office and was ready to leave when she remembered her gloves. She climbed the stairs to her bedroom and retrieved a pair of leather gloves from the top of her dresser. Then she hurried back down the stairs and to the door. She opened it and startled. Connor stood on the other side with his knuckles raised.

  He smiled. “Oh, hi. I was about to knock.”

  Lydia stepped out of her cottage and closed the door behind her. “I was just leaving. Do you need something?”

  He held up a book. “No, I came to return this.”

  “Thank you.” She took the book and set it on her desk. She turned to go back outside, but Connor had stepped in behind her. “I planned to be at Mark and Doris’s farm by noon, so I really must be going.”

  He pressed his lips together and raised a palm. “I’m sorry.”

  “Please, don’t apologize. Actually, if you have the time, maybe you could walk with me.”

  He rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. “I have the time. I’m just not sure that we should… I mean that I should…”

  She waved a hand, dismissing the idea and her disappointment from his rejection. “That’s fine. I just thought an extra pair of hands might be helpful, but I can manage the horses by myself.”

  “Horses?”

  “Mark Cotter is a horse breeder. He originally offered me a four-year-old gelding for my service to Doris during the delivery of their firstborn. But after the news that another baby is on the way, Mark said he would go ahead and make it a pair of horses.” She lowered her volume. “I thought maybe the new horses would be a pleasant surprise for Levi and he could use them on the trip north tomorrow.”

  Connor looked relieved, though Lydia wasn’t sure why. “So you want me to walk with you to the Cotters’ farm and help you bring the horses back here?”

  “That probably sounds boring to you.” She shook her head. “Never mind. Your time is best used on less tedious tasks.”

  “No, it sounds great. I’d love to walk with you.” He smiled and backed out the door, holding up a finger. “Wait just a second, though. I want to tell your dad where we’re going. I’ll be right back. Wait for me, okay?”

  His sudden enthusiasm puzzled her. She followed him out of the cottage and closed her door. “Okay,” she repeated as she waited on the path in front of her cottage. While he was in the house speaking with her father, she considered the strange words he used. She liked the things he said.

  Connor came out of the main house a moment later. He smiled and briskly rubbed his hands together. As they walked to the road she used her hand to shield her eyes from the sun and looked up at Connor. “Have you always been interested in horses?”

  He chuckled. “Not until recently. Tell me, did the founders bring all the animals here?”

  “Yes. They brought horses, cattle, sheep, goats, chickens, dogs, and cats. They also had a team of oxen, but the oxen died at sea. They brought the seed for grain, vegetables, fruit trees, and cotton.”

  “All on one ship?”

  “All on one ship.” She loved the history of the founders. “Fifty-seven persons and all those animals.”

  “Where did they get the ship?”

  “Charles Weathermon, a retired shipping tycoon. He was widowed and had no children, and he offered the use of his ship if the founders agreed to take him with them.” She had slowed her pace as they walked. “They planned everything in complete secrecy. Then before they departed America they quarantined themselves for several weeks to ensure no contagious illness was carried to their new settlement.”

  “So no one in the Land has encountered a communicable disease for seven generations?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Good thing I didn’t have a cold when I arrived. It could have wiped out the entire population.”

  Lydia considered the possibility. “I suppose so. The founders were more concerned with having to endure illness during the voyage.”

  “Where did they plan to settle?”

  “We don’t know for sure. My primary school teacher always said he thought they were probably going to South America. All we know is that after nearly four months at sea, the schooner made landfall here. They found no signs of human life ever having been here, so they settled and simply called this place the Land.”

  “Do you know why they left America?”

  “Not for certain. The founders’ journals don’t mention much about life in America before they sailed. They were a highly adventurous group. I believe they simply wanted the challenge of finding a new land and establishing a settlement.”

  “Your dad told me the founders arrived here in March of eighteen sixty-one and they were at sea for four months. That means they left America just before the start of the Civil War.”

  “The Civil War? Is that when America changed its name?”

  “What do you mean?” He reached up and snagged a leaf from the low-hanging branch of a gray leaf tree as they passed it.

  She watched out of the corner of her eye to see what he was going to do with the leaf. He examined it closely then peeled its flesh from its stem piece by piece and dropped it to the ground.

  “Well, the founders referred to your country as the United States of America but you call it the Unified States of America. Did t
he war cause that change?”

  His demeanor changed when she mentioned the Unified States. He forcefully blew out a breath and looked away. Why did he find the history of the Land fascinating, yet seem uncomfortable when she asked about his country?

  He slid his hands into his pockets. “I heard Doctor Ashton passed away. I’m sorry. I know you were close to him.”

  Lydia allowed his change of subject. “Thank you. I suppose I feel a bit orphaned professionally.”

  “That’s understandable.” He looked at her as they walked. “I hope you realize you’re a completely competent physician.”

  Lydia appreciated hearing that, especially from Connor. She tucked a wave of hair behind her ear. “Thank you.”

  “Who will take care of Mrs. Ashton?”

  “Her granddaughter came from Woodland just before Doctor Ashton died. She and her husband have moved into the Ashtons’ home. They will care for Mrs. Ashton and inherit the house one day.” She found his thoughtfulness refreshing. In the midst of all he was going through, he cared what would happen to an elderly woman he had never met. “It’s very considerate of you to ask.”

  He shrugged. “I admire the way you all take care of each other. I feel like I’ve gone back in time since I arrived here. People in my country take care of each other, too. It’s just… simpler here. It’s nice.”

  As they approached the gate to the Cotters’ farm, Lydia pointed at several horses grazing in the distance. “Here we are.”

  “Yeah, I noticed this place Saturday when Levi and I passed it on our way back to the village. It’s a beautiful property.”

  “It’s been in Mark’s family for generations. Over the years they cleared more than a hundred acres for pasture.” She lifted the latch on the wooden gate and it squeaked as Connor pushed it open. “Mark is my mother’s third cousin.”

  He closed the gate behind them and followed her into the pasture. Mark waved from the barn. She waved back and then watched the ground as she walked beside Connor through the pasture.