“He’s going home to his family.” Abigail stood. “I wish I could be a fly on the wall when they see the change in him. I suspect it will be a very touching moment.”
The next day proved to be every bit as hot and miserable as the previous ones. But when the children found out about the field trip, they cheered up and could hardly stay in their seats.
Abigail cast a few nervous glances out the window at the sky. The heaviness of the air reminded her of the day of the storm. Although the tornado had gone over them, the thought of the Taney family’s tragedy poked at her all morning. That storm had come out of nowhere. And it had been the same kind of thick, oppressive heat as today.
She glanced at Lily Ann to see if the child was nervous, but she sat smiling, playing with her blocks. Abigail stepped over to her and touched her hand. “Are you happy about the nature walk, Lily?”
“Oh yes, Miss Abigail.” She threw a radiant smile upward. “I can hardly wait. My mama and papa will be so happy when I give them their Christmas present.”
Relief shot through her. She was just being silly. After all, Lily Ann had sensed a change in the air last time. This was just a normal, hot Georgia day.
The classes went well, with the children behaving for the most part. When the signing class was over, they all lined up and went to their next class except for Lily, who stayed for her special lessons.
Finally the bell rang, and Abigail took Lily Ann to line up with the rest of the children. She followed them down to the mudroom to wash. Little Hunter jumped from one foot to the other, excited that he’d been invited to go on the nature walk.
She was glad Felicity and Howard had volunteered to go along on the walk to help keep the nine children together and out of the creek.
Sally May was waiting in the foyer with a large, cloth-covered basket, a basket with tableware, and a covered pail filled with cool milk.
The aroma wafting from the basket teased Abigail’s senses and caused her stomach to gently rumble. There was fried chicken for sure in that basket.
Charles took the handle of the covered basket from Sally May and handed the other one to Howard. Sally May passed the pail over to Abigail.
They filed out the back door and across the yard to the woods.
Abigail drew in a breath of relief when she stepped into the wooded area. It seemed cooler in the blessed shade and darkness of the woods.
Each child held another’s hand, except for Lily Ann, who clung to Abigail’s as they navigated through the trees.
“Look, children.” Charles had stooped beside a large bush-like plant covered with bright red berries.
“What do you think about these berries, children?”
Curious, Abigail drew closer. She wasn’t sure what the berries were.
Donald leaned in closer and wrinkled his nose. “These are poison. We learned about them last summer before they turned red.”
“Very good, Donald.” Charles stood and looked around at the other children. “What’s the number-one rule about berries, leaves, or stalks?”
“Never put anything in your mouth unless you know for sure it’s safe to eat.” The voices rang out together.
By the time they reached the creek on the other side of the woods, everyone was famished. Abigail, Helen, and Felicity spread white cloths on the tables that stood beneath the shade trees. Soon the delicious food was all ready, and they filled plates for the children. Howard asked God’s blessing on the food. Soon everyone was stuffed with fried chicken, baked beans, pickles, and peach cobbler.
Everyone pitched in and helped clean up.
Lily Ann, who leaned against Abigail and yawned, suddenly stiffened.
Sensitive to every move of the child, Abigail looked at her. “Is something wrong, sweetheart?”
“We need to go home.” Her voice trembled.
Abigail took a quick look around. Except for a tiny increase in the breeze, which felt wonderful, everything seemed the same. She smoothed Lily Ann’s hair. “It’s all right. Everything is fine.”
The little girl nodded, but as they started back through the woods, she stayed close to Abigail, clutching her hand, while the other children squealed with delight over new discoveries for the project.
Suddenly the woods became dark and Abigail shivered. Rain began to pelt them as they scurried the last few feet toward the clearing.
As they stepped from the woods, fear rose in Abigail as Mr. Carter came running toward them from the direction of the storm cellar. The wind howled, and she couldn’t make out what he was shouting. She saw the twister just as he reached them.
“Twister!” He grabbed Hunter up under one arm and Lily Ann under the other and ran for the cellar. Abigail turned and looked at the black funnel cloud. It was headed right for them. She grabbed Molly’s hand and ran as hard as she could toward the safety of the cellar. Children’s screams mingled with the adults’ shouting as they ran toward shelter.
Pain pierced Abigail’s head as a hailstone hit her. There was no time to try to shield anyone. The cellar suddenly loomed before her. She shoved Molly in as Charles held the door open. Abigail turned to see if anyone else needed help.
“What are you doing?” Charles yelled. “Get inside. He gave her a shove, and she tripped down the steps. Howard caught her at the bottom and pushed her aside while he helped the others in then ran back up the steps to help Charles get the door shut.
Abigail glanced around. Virgie and the rest of the house-hold staff huddled together against the wall of the dark cellar.
“Are we all here?” Mr. Carter could hardly get the words out as he glanced around, counting children and adults.
Virgie, holding on to her grandson with tears streaming down her face answered. “Yes, Mr. Carter, everyone is here, thanks to you.”
Above them, the tornado howled and screamed while the hail and winds beat against their place of shelter.
❧
Trent shoved the brim of his hat down over his eyes. The wind howled around him, and torrents of rain assailed him from all sides. The storm had seemed to come out of nowhere. “Eeyahhhh!” He whipped the reins and kicked against Warrior’s side, determined to make it to the school.
Suddenly a deafening roar came from behind him. His heart lurched when he saw the large black cloud spinning toward him. He kicked again. He had to get to the school and make sure they were all safe inside the cellar. The roar increased, and this time he knew it was almost on him. Leaping from Warrior’s back, he slapped the horse and dove into the deep ditch beside the road. He grabbed a scrawny bush that grew in the middle of the ditch and held on, hoping its roots were strong, as the ferocious winds almost tore him apart. Rain and hail pounded his back, and he shielded his head with his arms. It seemed like hours, but he knew in actuality only a few minutes passed before the twister was gone.
He crawled out of the ditch and ran down the road toward the school, dodging downed trees and branches. An ancient live oak lay on its side in the field to his left, its roots exposed.
Dear God, please let them be alive and well.
He rounded the curve by the magnolia tree and saw the old white gate ripped off its hinges and in shambles. But thank God, the house still stood. He rushed up the steps and crunched through shattered glass as he hurried into the foyer, shouting for Abigail. Then Virgie. Anyone. The house was deserted.
He spun around and rushed outside toward the storm cellar, praying he’d find them there, safe and sound. A heavy limb lay across the cellar door and someone pounded from inside. Trent dragged the limb away and wrenched the door open. Charles stood there, a smile of relief on his face.
“Is Abigail here? And Virgie? Are the children safe?” He panted as he fired the questions that screamed inside his mind.
“We here and everybody just fine, Dr. Trent. Don’t you be worryin’ now.”
At Virgie’s softly spoken words, Trent sank to the ground and buried his face in his hands for a moment. He stood as the children came throu
gh the door, one by one, eyes large with fright and relief. Then the women stepped out and smiled as they saw the house still standing.
The last one out was Mr. Carter, who had insisted everyone exit before him.
Virgie placed her hand on Trent’s arm. “This man here saved us all, Dr. Trent. He made us all get in the cellar; then he took off toward the woods to fetch the children and the teachers. If not for him, we’d of probably all been dead, it happened so fast.”
“What? They were in the woods when it hit?” Fear wrenched through him at the very thought.
“No, they were in the cellar when it hit. Because Mr. Carter ran and grabbed young’uns and warned everyone about the twister heading this way. They made it inside just as that old devil cloud came roaring through.”
Trent lifted a silent prayer of thanks upward.
“Look, Mamaw!” Little Hunter pointed toward the house.
Trent chuckled. It probably did look pretty bad to the little fellow with part of the roof hanging and several windows broken out.
“It be all right, my angel boy. Just need a little fixing up, and it be good as new.” Virgie took his hand and walked toward the house with the others.
“Be careful when you step up on the porch,” Trent called after them. “There’s glass everywhere.”
He glanced at Mr. Carter, who stood beside him. “Thank you, sir. You’ve done a good work today.”
“No more than any man would have done, Dr. Quincy. Now I suppose we’d better see what damage is done. Hopefully all the records are still intact.”
The major damage to the house was the windows and sections of the roof. But cleanup would take some time. Pictures lay on the floor, some of them ruined. The chandelier in the dining room hung from two chains and would need to be repaired before the room could be used. Trent locked the door so no child could wander in and perhaps get hurt.
Selma and her helpers went to work cleaning up the kitchen so they could prepare the supper meal.
Virgie came into the foyer with a broom and basket and started to sweep up glass fragments and leaves from the floor.
“Virgie, please let someone else do that. I’ll need you to do a walk-through of the house with me.”
“Here, Virgie, let me do this.” Abigail gently removed the broom from her hand. “You should probably rest awhile before you do anything.”
“Lands, Miss Abigail. I can’t rest with the house in this kind of shape.” Virgie smiled and patted Abigail’s shoulder. “But you can do this while I go with Dr. Trent.”
Trent looked at Abigail in surprise. “Miss James, I didn’t mean you. The maids can take care of the cleanup. This isn’t your responsibility.”
“Nonsense! A little work never hurt anyone. Certainly not me. And my family didn’t have maids, Dr. Trent. Only one part-time girl who helped out on laundry days.” Her smile softened the words. “Although, I’ll admit there were times I wished we did.”
“Then, thank you. I appreciate your willingness to help.” He followed Virgie toward the infirmary where they’d start their inventory. Suddenly he stopped, a cold feeling in his heart. “Virgie, where’s Albert? I haven’t seen him.”
“Don’t you worry yourself. He went home early today, complaining with stomach sickness.”
thirteen
Trent charged around the house to the barn. He’d have to take one of the carriage horses. He hoped they were both all right. He stepped inside and stopped. He chuckled. Warrior stood in front of his usual stall, saddle and medical bag intact and his bridle hanging loose. His nose poked through the bars on the gate, and he nibbled loose hay.
Trent patted his flank. “Good boy. You knew your home away from home, and no storm was going to keep you from it.”
Warrior raised his head and whinnied, perking up his ears.
Trent checked the horse over for cuts from flying debris, but he seemed fine, so he gathered up the reins and mounted. “I know you’re tired boy, but we have to make sure Albert’s all right.”
Albert’s cabin was on the east side of the property, about two miles from the school. Trent rode into the yard. The cabin stood intact, but debris cluttered the yard and a peach tree lay across the steps as though it had been yanked up and thrown there.
“Albert!” Trent walked around the cabin. The back door hung open. He stepped inside and checked the three rooms. Nothing seemed disturbed, but Albert wasn’t in sight. He went back outside. An empty farm wagon lay upside down near the barn, and something seemed to be sticking out from beneath.
Trent ran to the wagon. An overalled leg protruded from under the wagon.
“Albert!” Trent lifted the side of the wagon and shoved it aside.
Albert moaned, and his eyes fluttered. “Trent, that you?”
Trent dropped to his knees beside the longtime servant. Albert hadn’t called him by his first name since he was thirteen. “It’s me, Albert. Lie still while I check you over, all right?”
“All right, boy. I be real still. Maybe you best get your pa over here though.”
A pang of fear shot through Trent, but he knew he had to focus on what he was doing. Albert was obviously confused. And that could mean a concussion or worse.
He ran his hands gently over Albert’s head. His fingers found a gash, sticky and wet. “I’m going to have to turn you over. You seem to have a cut on your head.”
Albert didn’t answer, but his breathing was even. Trent assumed he was unconscious again. When he turned him over, his left arm hung crookedly. Trent laid him down as gently as he could. But the gash had to be examined first. Especially as disoriented as Albert had seemed.
He retrieved his bag and removed the needed supplies. When he’d cleaned the wound, he was pleased to see that although it had bled a lot, as head wounds often did, it wasn’t very deep. After applying disinfectant, he bandaged the cut then turned Albert over once more and set his arm. Albert woke up and yelled as he splinted and bandaged the arm.
“Albert, it’s okay. You have a broken arm. I’m attending to it.”
“Dr. Trent, how Virgie and all the little young’uns and everbody at the school?”
“They’re fine, Albert. No one has a scratch. And the buildings are all standing.” Thank the good Lord Albert was lucid.
“Glory be. I saw that old twister comin’ from that direction, and I was scared somethin’ fierce.”
“So was I. But they’re all fine. What happened here?”
“I was heading for the storm cellar when that old wagon come flying out of nowhere. That’s the last thing I remember.” He shook his head. “I don’t see how it still laying there all in one piece. Wonder where the other three wheels be.”
“That’s a puzzle, but these things happen quite often with tornadoes. Or so I hear. Well, I’d better get you over to the porch, and you can rest until I get your horse saddled up. I don’t want you staying here alone until I’m sure there are no side effects from that head injury.”
“I’m sure I’m all right, but if you say so, I’ll go.”
Trent kept a steadying hand on Albert until the older man was seated on the porch then turned and started toward the barn.
“Where you going? Old Betsy tied up out front.”
Maybe Albert wasn’t as clearheaded as he thought. “Are you sure you left her there? I didn’t see her when I rode up.”
“Aww. She must have broke loose and run off.”
“Well, there’s no telling how far she ran. She’ll more than likely come back. We can keep an eye out for her.”
But how was he going to get Albert back to the school. He wasn’t about to leave him here alone. “We’ll have to ride double, Albert. Do you need me to get anything from the cabin for you?”
“No, I always keep a change of clothes in the barn at the school, just in case I need them.”
“All right then, let’s go.” Trent helped him up and walked slowly around to the front. He helped Albert up then climbed up behind him.
&nbs
p; He kept Warrior at a slow trot so Albert’s arm or head wouldn’t be jostled.
The sun had set when they rode up to the school. Trent slid off the horse as Virgie slammed out the front door and down the steps.
“Is Albert hurt? Oh sweet Jesus.” She stood wringing her apron as Trent helped her old friend from the horse.
“I’m all right, Virgie. Don’t you worry about me none.”
“He has a broken arm,” Trent said, “and a cut on his head. We’ll need to watch that.” Trent helped him up the steps. “Can you have someone make up a room for him?”
“I sure can. You just set him down on the settee in the parlor for now, Dr. Trent.”
Trent grinned. Virgie could be bossy, especially when she was worried. “Yes, ma’am, Miz Virgie, ma’am.” He walked Albert into the parlor and made sure he was comfortable. “Maybe Selma could send a tray in for him, too.”
“They just sounded the gong. I’ll get him a tray myself and send Sally May to make a bed for him.”
“Good, what would I do without you?” Trent said.
“You do fine in some ways, and not so fine in others, I expect.” Her eyes crinkled as she smiled.
He laughed. “I need to go home and make sure Solomon and Carrie are all right. I know you must be worried.”
“They fine, Dr. Trent. I should have told you right away. Solomon came a little while ago because they were worried about their baby. He grabbed Hunter up in his arms and just about squeezed the breath plumb out of him.” A soft smile touched her lips. “He took him home to his mama, and that little angel was ready to go.”
Trent nodded. “I’m sure he was. Did Solomon say if the house or outbuildings were damaged?”
“No damage at all. He said tell you that twister must have been high in the sky when it passed them. They got lots of rain and wind though.”
“In that case, I’ll stay here and clean up the infirmary. It looks like you’ve already got the foyer in perfect shape.” Even the floor was polished to a shine.
“Abigail in the infirmary sweeping up now. Wasn’t too bad in there. Would you tell her supper is ready and both of you come eat? We’ve set the table up in the library. I’ll get that tray now.” She headed for the kitchen.
Whispers of the Wind Page 10