“So what’s this place? Why do you come here since you don’t live here?”
“The barn I found you in belongs to my parents’ oldest and dearest friends. Lucas and Heather Reed had two sons that were somewhat close in age to Michael and me. Jamie is older than Cooper by six years, Cooper is just a year older than Michael, and three years older than me.” But there were things she couldn’t say. Didn’t want to say. Such as explaining that Jamie was her fiancé. Or that Cooper was probably dead by now. Still, there were happier times she could tell about. “I remember their dark hair and mischievous grins.”
“So are they living in Charleston now?”
Hannah’s heart leaped. “Uh. . .no. They’re on a trip to England.”
Adam scowled and looked lost in thought. What did a person with no memories think about?
“England sounds very familiar. I surely must have been there a time or two.”
“It sounds to me like you have a bit of an English accent.”
His gaze snapped up and caught hers. “Truly? Do you think so?”
“Perhaps a little, but I doubt that you’re from there or your accent would be thicker. With all the tensions between England and America now, it’s probably a good thing if you aren’t.”
He drummed his fingertips on the table and yawned. “What tensions?”
Hannah pressed her lips together, unsure just how much to say. What if he turned out to be a British spy, after all? Could she be endangering her family by talking about the struggles their young nation was still having with England?
She stared at him and somehow deep within knew he could be trusted. She couldn’t have explained it to anyone, but she just knew. “There’s talk that there may be another war between England and America.”
“Another war?” His perplexed expression tugged at her heart, but suddenly his countenance brightened. “Yes. We did fight a war—for our independence. Isn’t that correct?”
She nodded and smiled. “Yes. And there are Englishmen who still think it a travesty that the lowly colonists were able to defeat mighty Britain.” She stood and paced the small area, nearly touching him as she passed by. She’d listened to her father and his friends debate the pros and cons of another conflict with England numerous times.
“England is refusing to trade with American shippers. But the worst thing is that, because Britain lost so many young men during the years of the Revolution and then still others who abdicated to America, they are short sailors for their own ships. They are capturing our ships and forcing our sailors into service for the king. It’s atrocious.”
She paced to the stairs and turned back. Adam’s elbows rested on the table and his fingers were forked through his dark hair. He glanced up, and all the color had run from his face. She hurried to his side. “I think you need to lie down.”
“No.” He shot out of the chair then grimaced and grabbed his side. “I—I think I may have been on one of those ships.”
She opened her mouth to question him, but a scream upstairs silenced her. She spun around and hurried to the top of the stairs. Adam was right behind her. Hannah lifted her foot to step out of the room, but Adam yanked her back against him and closed the door, leaving only an inch open.
She turned in his arms, ready to scold him. Something was going on, and the servants needed her.
The light from the room illuminated one side of his face, and he held a finger to his lips. “Shh. . .”
Hannah forced herself to stand still and listen, but all she heard was the sound of her pounding heart. Adam’s hand still rested across her mouth, but gently, not hurting. His hand was warm against her lips.
A deep voice growled. Glass shattered. Hannah jumped. Adam slid his arm from her mouth, wrapped it around her shoulders, and pulled her against his chest.
She could no longer breathe. Never had she been held in such a manner by a man, other than by her father.
“Where is he? And where is that pretty lady?”
“Nowheres, suh.”
Hannah recognized Leta’s terrified voice.
Another crash of glass rent the air. “Don’t lie to me. Where is that Madison gal? I seen her come over in that buggy this morning.”
“I—I don’t know, suh. I think she done returned back to her home, I th–think.”
“Check the other rooms.”
Hannah stiffened at the sound of Boss’s voice. Heavy footsteps thudded across the floor in different directions. So, they’d actually come, and if she hadn’t moved Adam to the secret room, they would have found him. Thank You, Lord, for protecting Adam. Please keep the others safe, too.
Adam quietly closed the door the rest of the way, plunging them into darkness. His warm breath tickled her cheek.
She stepped back, but her spine connected with the wall.
“Let’s stay right here. We don’t want to chance the stairs squeaking and giving us away.” His soft whispers teased her ear, sending her stomach into spasms.
“I—”
“Shhh. . .no talking.” Adam’s hand found her mouth again, but instead of covering it, he ran his finger across her lower lip, effectively stealing away her breath, her thoughts, and any words she might utter. Her heart thrummed in a way it never had when Jamie was near. He was always gentle and considerate, but he’d never touched her in such a provocative manner, as if she were someone special. He’d never even kissed her. Yes, he was a good friend, but was friendship enough to build a marriage on?
Seven
Buster’s low-pitched growl yanked Hannah back to the events at hand. Footsteps came in their direction, and a man cried out. Buster’s fierce snarls nearly drowned out the man’s frantic howls. She wanted to jerk open the door and help her dog, but she didn’t dare. Surely the men would leave if they didn’t find what they wanted.
A gun exploded on the other side of the wall, and Hannah jumped. Buster yelped; then things grew eerily quiet. Adam tightened his grip around her, as if cradling her from the danger. Tears stung her eyes. Had they shot her dog?
Scuffling sounded just outside the hidden door. She wanted to run out and check on Chesny and the other workers. She wanted to see if Buster was hurt and needed tending. She wanted to stay just where she was, nestled in Adam’s arms.
Thumps and thuds echoed from the other side of the wall. Someone muttered a curse. For long minutes all she heard was the sound of Adam’s breath, his heartbeat, and a ringing in her ears from straining to hear what was happening outside their cocoon.
She prayed for each of the workers and for Buster. Don’t let those men harm them.
Adam’s grip on her lessened, and he backed down the first step, putting a gap between them. She touched her warm cheeks, suddenly embarrassed by her behavior. What was she doing clinging to Adam like that?
She crossed her arms. Yes, she’d been afraid. All her life she’d lived a quiet, fairly sheltered life and had never encountered bad men bent on hurting someone before. Both her parents were loving, kindhearted people. She wished her father or Michael had been present to chase those men away, but she would have to be the strong one today if things had gone bad on the other side of the wall. One day soon she’d be mistress of this plantation, and she had to have gumption and grit to keep it running. Things wouldn’t always go smoothly.
She stiffened at the sound of hurried footsteps. The door rattled, and Adam reached out and squeezed her hand, then stepped up in front of her. She peered around his arm. Either they were caught or someone had come to inform them of the situation.
Chesny appeared as the door fell back. “Is you two all right in here?”
“Us?” Hannah shoved Adam back against the wall and squeezed past him. “Is everyone safe? Is Buster hurt bad?”
“We’s all fine. Israel took that beast of yo’s out to the barn. He was winged, but not too bad. Them men’s gone, so you can come out if’n you wants.”
Hannah slipped past Chesny. Spots of blood still pooled on the wooden floor. She glanced
at her maid.
“Some of that belongs to that dog and some of it to the scoundrel he bit.” She looked up at Adam. “They’s looking fo’ you, from the sound of it. What’d you do?”
Adam glanced past her to Hannah and leaned against the doorjamb. He looked exhausted. “I wish I knew.”
“Where’s Maisy and Leta?” Hannah asked.
“Maisy’s upstairs straightening what them men messed up when they’s searching fo’ him. Leta’s out helpin’ Israel.”
“I need to check on Buster. Could you clean this up?” Hannah motioned to the blood.
Chesny nodded. “That’s just what I was fixin’ to do.” She bustled to the back of the house and disappeared around the corner.
Hannah stepped closer to Adam. “You should go lie down and rest.”
“I should do something to help.”
She shook her head. “It’s too soon. You took a fierce clobbering, and you need to regain your strength. Besides, those men might still be keeping watch on the house. If they see you outside or through one of the windows, they’ll come back, and next time they might not let you live.” She didn’t want to mention that the men might also not be too happy that Chesny and the others had lied to them.
Adam blew out a heavy sigh. “All right, but when I’m better, I want to do something around here to help out. I’m used to pulling my own weight—not taking charity.”
Hannah lifted her chin. “It’s not charity to save a man’s life.”
“I just don’t like hiding behind a bunch of women’s skirts or being in that cave.” He motioned toward the secret room.
“Well, those skirts and that cave may have just saved your life for a second time.”
He held her gaze for a long moment, then turned and ambled back down the stairs. She watched for a moment and shut the door. She supposed she wouldn’t like being stuck in the hole alone either, but he could at least show a little gratitude.
She spun away, determined to check on her dog and put the mysterious stranger from her mind, but with each step she took, his scent traveled with her. The feel of his arms around her warmed her from the inside out. Would hugging Jamie feel as. . .wonderful?
As much as she wished it were so, she didn’t think it would.
❧
Adam trod down the stairs, back into his dark pit. The dank, dreary hole reminded him of another place—not a good place—but he couldn’t latch on to where that place was. Weary beyond belief, he stopped at the table and downed the last of the chilled coffee. He set the mug down and started to turn away when Hannah’s stitching caught his eye.
He swiped his hands on his pants, then picked up the ecru fabric and held it up to the light. The sampler had an intricate, scrolling, ivy and floral border on three sides. At the bottom was a house resembling the three-story, redbrick home he was staying in, surrounded by trees and more flowers. Could the houses be one and the same?
Above the house, Hannah had expertly stitched a Bible verse: “If a Man Say, I Love God, and Hateth His Brother, He Is a Liar: For He That Loveth Not His Brother Whom He Hath Seen, How Can He Love God Whom He Hath Not Seen?” 1 John 4:20.
Below the verse in larger cursive letters was the saying, Next to God, Family Is. . .
He blew out a breath and set the unfinished stitchwork on the table. Whom was she making the sampler for? Her parents? A friend who was getting married?
Holding his side, he slowly lowered himself to the cot and lay down. With his arm behind his head, he closed his eyes. He ought to be helping set things in order upstairs, but the truth of the matter was he felt like an eighty-year-old man. His head pounded in a steady rhythm. He pressed his fingertips into the indentation just above his neck and massaged it, receiving some relief. He yawned.
Next to God, family is. . .
What?
Next to God, family is. . .
Most important.
Adam’s eyes shot open. Next to God, family is most important.
How could he possibly know what Hannah’s sampler would say? Was his mind just searching for words that fit? If so, why had those particular ones come to mind?
He had heard them before. He knew them in the core of his being. Adam thumped his chest. He didn’t know his real name or where he was from. He didn’t know who his parents were or if he was married, but in his heart, he knew those words.
“Next to God, family is most important.”
❧
Hannah walked toward the barn, struggling to get her wayward thoughts under control, and concentrated on thinking positive things about Jamie. The Reed boys had been good friends as children. She’d played more with Cooper because he was closer to Michael and her in age, but she would soon be marrying Jamie.
She hadn’t seen him since he was home for Christmas. He’d gone back to Charleston, to his work at the Reed shipping yard, with the promise to return a few weeks before the wedding, but when word came that Cooper was missing, they hopped one of his father’s clipper ships and went to England. Would Jamie return in time or would the wedding have to be postponed?
She couldn’t help wondering how England’s embargo against American products had hurt his business. She supposed he could still build ships, but fewer people would want to purchase them if they were unable to sail them without fear of them being confiscated by His Majesty’s navy.
A high-pitched whine drew her back to the task at hand. She slipped through the open barn door and searched for Israel. Maisy stood leaning against one of the stalls, and she found Israel on his knees, stitching up Buster’s hip. The dog gazed up with pain-filled eyes and whined. Hannah hurried to his side.
“Don’t you be movin’ none, dog. I know it hurts,” Israel said.
“Oh, you poor thing.” Hannah dropped down into the straw, heedless of her dress.
Maisy straightened. “Oh Miz Hannah, let me fetch you a blanket to sit on.”
She waved her hand. “Thank you, but I’m fine. Buster may have well saved some of our lives today. The least I can do is comfort him.”
“You’s a good woman. Dat Jamie lad is lucky to be marryin’ you.”
Hannah forced a smile. “Thank you.”
Ever since she was little, her mother had planned for her to marry Jamie. Arranged marriages were a tradition among her mother’s ancestors, so her mother had said. Why had Hannah never questioned her upcoming marriage before Adam came along?
She heaved a sigh, and Buster licked her hand. She smiled, petting the dog’s head. Wistful thinking wouldn’t change anything. Jamie was coming back soon, and they’d be getting married. He was a good man who would provide for her well, and he had a strong belief in God.
Israel snipped the silk thread and sat back. He patted Buster’s side, then reached for a bottle of whiskey and poured some over the wound. Buster yelped and snapped at the man, but then the dog licked Israel’s hand.
The caretaker chuckled. “Dat dog, he knows I’ma just tryin’ to help him.”
Israel stood and pressed his hand to his back. “He be fine in a few days, Miz Hannah.”
“Thank you so much for tending to him.”
Israel nodded, then shuffled to the stall gate. He glanced at Maisy. “Could you give me and Miz Hannah a minute alone?”
Maisy’s gaze shot to Hannah, but she nodded and hurried from the barn. Hannah patted Buster’s head again and stood. “Is something wrong?”
Israel rubbed his chin and rocked from foot to foot. The man had worked on the Reeds’ estate for as long as she could remember. That the Reeds left him in charge when they were gone spoke a lot about the quiet man’s character.
“Meb’be it’s just an ol’ black man’s foolishness, but they’s somethin’ familiar about dat patient of yours. I keep gettin’ a feeling in my gut dat I’s seen him ’afore.”
Hannah rushed forward. “Me, too! But I can’t for the life of me figure out who he is. Do you think he did something bad since those men are after him?”
Israel looke
d deep in thought for a moment, then shook his head. “No, Miz Hannah. I don’t. Dem men’s what came after him is bad men, so that says to me our stranger, he must be a good man.”
Hannah leaned her arms on the stall gate. “But what if he was part of their gang and stole from them? That could be why they’re after him. Or perhaps he was a witness to a crime.”
Her thoughts ran rampant again. She didn’t want to think badly of Adam, but she had to keep her mind open to all possibilities.
Instantly, shame surged through her. How could she think badly of a man who was so gentle and polite? A man who stirred her and made her dream things an engaged woman had no business dreaming?
Israel shrugged. “I’ll keep a’thinkin’ on it, and meb’be it’ll come to me.”
Hannah peeked back at Buster. The dog was asleep with his head across his paws. “Please, Lord, heal Buster.”
She closed the gate, hoping to keep the dog corralled long enough that he’d heal well; then she strode out of the barn.
She peered up at the beautiful blue sky. Soft clouds floated like tufts of cotton in the air at harvesttime. How could things be so peaceful after the morning’s events?
Her feet headed for the house, but at the last minute, she turned and walked out to the garden. Spring flowers in a multitude of colors surrounded her and teased her nose with their sweet scents as she strolled the stone path. Her eyes gravitated to her favorites—the azaleas in pink, red, and white blossoms that covered their shrubs at the far end of the garden; an arched trellis blanketed with wisteria, the vivid purple clusters of flowers hanging from the arch reminding her of grapes. She sat on the bench under the arch and breathed in a deep breath.
She arranged her skirts to cover her ankles and peered up at the sky again through the canopy of flowers. Yellow butterflies flittered around the spectacular blooms. “What do I do, Lord? Why am I suddenly questioning my marriage to Jamie when I’ve never done so before?”
Secrets of the Heart Page 5