Aboard Providence Page 15

  Though she sounded confident, he watched her pupils dilate despite the plentiful sunshine. He drew her closer. “You are as scared as the rest of us.”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “We don’t know what is awaiting us. There could be serpents or savages or…”

  “Pirates?” She giggled once. “I’ll be careful.”

  Mr. Weathermon rushed by, making one last round. “Get to the portside pinnace, young lady.”

  She took a step away, but Jonah did not let go of her hand. Her brows lifted, crinkling the smooth skin of her forehead.

  One thousand thoughts flooded his mind and he wanted to tell her every one of them but there was no time. He wanted to tell her how much he loved her, that he would hold her to her promise to go back to America with him if they were able, and he wouldn’t survive the despair if something happened to her, but if her optimism was unstable, he didn’t want to give her reason to worry. He loosened his grip on her hand and let go. “I will join you on the land soon.”

  * * *

  Marian kept one arm over Duke, bracing the herding dog to discourage him from jumping out of the boat as Gabriel and Mr. McIntosh rowed through the shallows. The other of the ship’s two boats had already made it to shore. Marian’s stomach fluttered incessantly as she watched the women and children skipping across the sand.

  Her boots were tied at the laces and hanging over her shoulders like everyone else in the boat. Cecelia and Ben laughed and talked with Sarah and the other children. All of them were pointing to different aspects of the land, making excited comments.

  At last, Mr. McIntosh stuck his oar in the wet sand, stopping the boat. “Here we are!”

  Duke jumped out as Marian stepped over the edge. While the dog splashed to the beach, Marian stood in the ankle-deep water and took the baby as her mother climbed out of the boat. Between the children’s excited shouts and everyone talking at once, the noise of the elated group rose above the sound of the waves.

  After her mother took the baby, Marian lifted the hem of her skirt and walked out of the water and onto the hard packed sand of their new land. While the children ran and Gabriel and his father carried provisions from the boat to the shore, Marian stared down at her feet.

  She was standing on dry land.

  After nearly four months at sea, they had finally made it—to where exactly, they did not know and it didn’t matter at the moment. Her feet were on solid ground. Overcome with emotion, her eyes blurred with happy tears. She wiped her cheek with the back of her hand and followed the group toward the tree line where Doctor Ashton stood with Anna.

  The morning sun cast the shadow of the strange silvery trees over the grassy shore. Marian held out her hand and the shadow of a leaf fell across her skin. They had found land and not just any land, but a land with trees she had never seen and a forest begging to be explored.

  She walked past Doctor Ashton and Anna and touched the trunk of a tall pine. It was rooted and stably grounded in the earth. The sandy soil beneath her feet held her firmly. She had been moving for months and at last was still.

  From land, the ship didn’t appear to be listing. Maybe when the tide came in, it would right itself again. That only meant it would be useable again, and Jonah would want to leave. She had promised to go with him. Why had she let the words slip out? She touched her lips, remembering his kiss. Being in love was a sweet yet torturous experience.

  Her feet were on solid ground and her body unmoving, but four months of bobbing on waves made her feel as though she were still on the ship. Another voyage could kill her, if not in body, in spirit. She could not do it again, no matter what she had promised Jonah.

  She glanced up at one of the silvery-leafed trees. Its aroma was potent and alluring. Turning away from the ship, she plucked a twig from a low-hanging branch and began to inspect its leaves. That was where the strange smell came from.

  While Mr. McIntosh and Gabriel rowed the empty boat behind the other back to the Providence to get more women and children, Sarah came beside Marian and tugged on her sleeve. “What are these trees called?”

  “I don’t know.” She held out the twig to the little girl. “They’re beautiful, aren’t they?”

  Sarah nodded. “Is this our new home?”

  Ben ran past them. He kicked up sand, and Sarah flinched.

  Marian glanced out at the ship where Jonah and the others were working to unload the cargo then she looked back into the forest. Morning shadows covered its undergrowth, tempting her to explore. She certainly hoped this could be her new home, but could not say that to an already uncertain little girl. “We don’t quite know where we are, but it’s better than being on the ship, don’t you think?”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because you were going to be my pretend sister until the voyage was over. Can we pretend you are my sister for a little while longer… at least until we know if this will be our home?”

  “Of course.” Marian snapped another twig from the extraordinary silver tree. “We can be sisters for as long as you like.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Marian gripped the wooden handles of two water pails and carried them back to the camp from the stream. No matter how well they had filtered the rainwater while on the ship, it had always quickly stagnated in the old cisterns and tasted as putrid as it smelled. The flowing stream near the camp provided cool, clean water. A stomach full of the crisp fresh water kept her humming happily despite the return of her hay fever. The muscles in her legs warmed as she walked the inclined path through the forest to the shelters. The settlers had stomped the undergrowth flat in a week’s time.

  Once outside her family’s tent, she placed the pails near her mother’s wash pan. The edges of the canvas sails, now used as roofing for the shelters, flapped in the breeze. She picked up one pail at a time and poured the water into a pot that was mounted over the fire.

  Catherine came through the line of silvery trees with the baby in one arm and her apron bundled in the other. “You won’t believe what they found this morning!”

  “They who?”

  “Cecelia and some of the girls.”

  Marian set the empty pails on the ground as she looked behind her mother into the forest. “Where is Cecelia? It’s laundry day.”

  “She’s still in the grove with the other girls.”

  “What grove?”

  “Beyond the gray leaf trees in the sandy soil. Guess what we found?” Catherine passed her the baby and opened the apron. “Figs! This has been the most wonderful week of my life!”

  Marian chuckled at her mother’s ebullience and kissed the baby’s cheeks. She too found the new land enchanting, but tried to quell her enthusiasm. She had promised Jonah she would return to America with him and if he found a way back, he would expect her to keep that promise. The new places and plants beckoned her to the exploration she had dreamed of, but she loved him enough to leave, though she did not know how since the ship had listed and taken on water. “Were the men able to salvage any more wood from the ship?”

  Catherine shook her head and raised her full apron. “But we have plenty to eat. And the Vestals found the spring that feeds the stream. They want to call our settlement Good Springs.”

  “What does Reverend Colburn think of that?” Marian leaned in to get a closer look at the figs. On the outside, they were an unappealing purplish-brown, but her mouth watered, anticipating the sweet inside. As she examined the fruit in her mother’s apron, a bee flew out and she jolted.

  Catherine calmly shooed the bee away. “Don’t overreact or you’ll teach Asher to be scared of bees also.”

  “I’m not scared of them. I’ve never been stung and I’d rather keep it that—” Marian sneezed three times in a row then leaned her head back and closed her eyes, wishing the hay fever away. It didn’t work. She let out a frustrated sigh. “Young hyson tea cured hay fever for me once. Why didn’t I bring more of it when we left America?”

 
“Because you didn’t know we’d be at sea for nearly four months.” Catherine pointed at one of Marian’s potted saplings. “Your tea bushes have perked up since we’ve been here. Why don’t you take them out of their pots? Your father says the soil here is the richest dirt he’s ever handled. The men are clearing land as quickly as they can and the animals are fattening up. Maybe the tea bushes will thrive here too.”

  “I want to keep them potted until spring. We don’t know what the winter will be like here… or where here is for that matter.”

  “What does it matter where we are? We’ve found a beautiful land, and it seems no one else lives here. The men have surveyed the land from the beach to the stream and have already started building the first cabin. Everyone is enjoying this place except you. I must admit I’m a little surprised after how much you looked forward to this. Might your discontent have something to do with Jonah?”

  Marian didn’t answer.

  Catherine nodded and turned away with a sigh. She pulled a tin bowl out of their kitchen box and piled the figs inside it. Then she pointed at the quartered logs beneath the fire. “It’s still burning, yet the logs are barely consumed. Your father lit that fire four days ago. There’s something special about the wood from the gray leaf tree.”

  The unusual tree they had named the gray leaf tree continually piqued Marian’s interest. Its sharp, minty scent had a pungent quality to it that made her wonder about its medicinal potential. She wanted to study it and experiment and see what other mysterious plants grew in this land. If Jonah didn’t discover a way to return home soon, she would not be able to hold back her passion for exploration much longer. Her parents still didn’t know her plan and her discomfort with the secret compounded daily. She shifted the baby to the other arm as she stared at the logs. “Mr. McIntosh said the gray leaf’s lumber is so easily hewn each family will have a one-room cabin by winter.”

  “Except the Ashtons. They’ll have a second room for Doctor Ashton to treat anyone who becomes ill or gets hurt.” Catherine pointed at the logs and crinkled her nose. “I don’t know if I want a house that smells as potent as that wood. I’d rather they use pine. Still, it’s so lovely to be on land, and a house would be nice.”

  Marian agreed. The new land was lovely, and it only pained her that she would have to leave it. Despite the difficulty, she smiled the instant she saw Jonah approaching the camp.

  He grinned, slightly, and walked straight to her. His clothes were neatly pressed and his face freshly shaven, which made him look his age again. He passed a hand over the baby’s head. “Asher is looking well.”

  Catherine shook out her apron. “He started rolling over yesterday.”

  “That’s wonderful news.” He smiled at the baby.

  Marian wished she could hear Jonah’s thoughts. Maybe he wanted children and a home soon, too, and maybe that desire would change his mind about leaving.

  He took his hand off of Asher and turned to Catherine. “Mrs. Foster, if you can spare Marian for a while, I’d like to walk with her along the shore, if I may?”

  “You may.” Catherine winked at Marian as she took the baby and disappeared into the tent.

  Marian felt awkward. Did this mean they were officially courting? He had not spoken to her father, not to her knowledge. When Jonah offered his arm, she took it and hoped the ocean breeze at the shore would clear her hay fever long enough for her to enjoy their time together.

  As they walked the path toward the shore, she glanced behind them to see if anyone noticed them. Half of her wanted someone to notice—especially Peggy Cotter—and the other half wanted to remain unseen. She never had a suitor before and always felt a little embarrassed for young couples.

  “Are you afraid we might be spotted?” Jonah whispered.

  “No, I…”

  He smiled down at her. “I’m only kidding… unless you don’t want to be seen with me. Then, of course, I will only come to you by night.”

  It wasn’t embarrassment of being seen with him at all; he was the kind of man any young woman would be proud to be seen with no matter where they were on Earth. Her unease stemmed from his desire to leave the group. She shook her head. “I thought you wanted secrecy.”

  “Not about us.”

  Her heart gave a few quick thuds and she forgot all about her hay fever. “Us,” she repeated on a breath, as they stepped out of the forest and onto the sandy beach.

  The tide was out and the remains of the foundered Providence jutted from the dark water beyond the shoals. Each day the ship sank deeper into the shifting sand and a little farther out to sea. The currents around the shore ripped with such force the men could not wade out to the ship’s hull at low tide and strip any more of its planks and beams. It seemed like a waste. “Providence is useless.”

  Jonah’s arm stiffened beneath her hand. “The ship might be ruined, but my hope has been renewed.”

  His hope was her dismay. She let go of his arm and faced him. “Your hope of leaving?”

  “Yes. Mr. Weathermon and I have been staying up at night, charting the sky and scouring the maps.” He kept his voice quiet as if someone would hear, but there was no one around. “The stars’ placement is nothing like his astronomical map indicates the sky should look. Something is strange about the sky here.”

  She had to stay close to hear him with the ocean’s noise on one side and a flock of jubilant seabirds on the other side. “The moon appears oval-shaped from here. It is the oddest thing, isn’t it? Ben has been telling the little girls that this land has its own moon.”

  Jonah put up a hand. “Marian, listen. I’m certain this is Saint Helena. Even though the sky is inexplicable, I’ve calculated by Captain Frakes’ chart, and I believe we are on an unpopulated part of the island or we are on a nearby island. Either way, we must be close to Saint Helena, which means there is a very busy port nearby.”

  “Reverend Colburn said this land doesn’t fit the description of any of the charted islands in the South Atlantic. He says it’s the land God has provided us and to avoid vanity the elders are calling it, simply, the Land. But it would seem they are claiming it in haste if it belongs to someone else. Does Mr. Weathermon agree with you?”

  “No, but he doesn’t agree with Reverend Colburn either, so he’s willing to go with me around the island to see if we can find a port.”

  “A port?”

  Jonah nodded. “Hundreds of trade ships stop at Saint Helena each year on their routes from Europe to Asia. It’s a crown colony; there is a British naval station nearby and I plan to find it.”

  The thought of leaving so soon made Marian’s heart sink. “Everyone else is building and exploring and enjoying this new land and it seems unfair that you and I cannot… or rather, that we will not. Aren’t you the least bit intrigued by this place and the opportunity to build a settlement from nothing?”

  She didn’t give him a chance to answer. “Because I am. Honestly, this is all I’ve ever wanted and I love you and I see the way you look at the baby and I know you want a family of your own and it could be us. It could be you and me… here. The settlement will need a doctor when your father can’t work any longer. Probably before then or the two of you could work together, and you could finish your training and then be the man to train the next doctor, maybe even your own son. It could all be so perfect, but you won’t even stop and consider it.” She ignored the tear of frustration that slipped down her cheek. “I want a chance to study the gray leaf tree and to experiment with the unusual plants here and to explore this enchanting land before I have to leave it. Can’t we stay a little longer?”

  Jonah did not respond. He cast his gaze out to sea. When he finally looked back at her, he shook his head. “I have considered it. Every day we are here, I want to stay here a little more, but that would be wrong of me considering what happened before I left Penn. Mr. Weathermon understands my need to return home. I thought you did too.”

  “I do.” A brief panic fluttered inside her lungs. Sh
e gripped his sleeve. “I do understand. I know you want to clear your name and you’ll feel you have failed in life if you don’t earn your medical degree. I want to support you. I was just being honest. Surely you can’t fault me for telling you how I truly feel about this place, can you?”

  He glanced down at her hand and peeled it away from his shirt, but held her fingers delicately. “No, I don’t fault you. I know you want to stay here and part of me does too. But even if it weren’t for my situation, I don’t believe any of us would be able to stay here long. This is someone’s land and they will not be pleased to find an unauthorized settlement on it. If you went home with me, I could keep you safe. Mr. Weathermon and I are going to search for a way off this island. I wanted you to know first, so you could be prepared to leave with me if we find a port. I’ll speak with my father about it tonight… or tomorrow. Soon anyway.”

  No matter how emphatic his explanations, she sensed the part of him that wanted to stay was bigger than he would admit. “If you’re certain you should leave and soon, why wait to tell your father?”

  He drew his head back. “I’ve done everything I can to keep my family pleased. I know I’ll have to tell them eventually, but my father’s disapproval will torment me. I’m in no hurry to upset my family.”

  “If it would be too hard to even tell them your desire to leave, why don’t you stay? It would be devastating to my family too. I’m not sure I’ll be able to do it.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “Haven’t you been listening to me? I don’t want to leave. I like it here.” She motioned toward the forest. “This is the adventure I dreamed of my whole life, a new place to explore. I love these people and I want to build a new society with them. I want to enjoy this.”

  “And if I’m right and this land belongs to someone else, we will have to leave anyway.” His nostrils flared. “But before we ever set foot on this land you promised you would go home with me if I found a way. My conscience will not let me rest until I search for a way home. This is difficult for me too. I want you to go with me; I want your sweetness and your optimism, especially with what I might have to face upon my return. I thought we had an understanding, Marian. Don’t you want to spend your life with me?”