A Promise for Tomorrow (32 page)

“Who will escort us to Cumberland?” she asked hopefully.

James grew thoughtful for a moment. “I trust but one man at this point. Would you object to Kiernan being the one to take you?”

Carolina shook her head. “No, I have no objections to him, but I’d like to know what makes you so certain of his trust?”

James dropped his hold on her and walked to the window. Staring out, he spoke. “Kiernan has proven himself to be a reasonable man. He isn’t hotheaded like his brother. He cares about the men, cares even more about Red, but he tempers it with logic and thoughtful consideration. He’d make an excellent supervisor one day, but he’s still too young, even at seventeen. He’s come to me many times with word of one dispute or another, and while his loyalties are torn between standing with his brother and maintaining the peace, he manages to betray neither one.”

“If you think this highly of him, I should be honored for him to escort us. Will you be able to spare him soon?”

“Absolutely. This is a matter which cannot be put off,” he said, turning back to face her. He leaned against the window frame and folded his arms across his chest. “This is the first week of September. We should have another month, maybe two, before any sign of snow. The sooner we get you headed for Oakbridge the better. Once you get to Cumberland, the railroad will make short order of your trip. But first we must deal with getting you there.”

Carolina knew now that he was completely serious in this venture. “Thank you, James,” she said, hoping that all the love she felt for him was conveyed in her words. The thought of being able to see her mother and father again overshadowed the nagging feeling that without him she would be only half of a whole.

The stage ride to Cumberland was less than desirable. Carolina constantly found herself battling with Jordana. If she wasn’t fighting to keep the child from hanging out the window, she was trying to reason with her as to why it was inappropriate for four-year-old girls to ride topside with the driver and baggage. Miriam, sandwiched between Carolina and Brenton, tried her best to assist Carolina with the wayward child, but it often did little good. Brenton, ever the studious soul, concentrated first on his books, then on the passing scenery, and eventually he dozed off, using Miriam as a cushion against the rough, uneven ride.

Miriam was as excited as Carolina about visiting her childhood home and all her friends and family. But she had also been nervous about returning to Oakbridge until Carolina assured her that Hampton Cabot would have to walk over Carolina to get to Miriam.

Victoria was delighted to find herself with no other recourse but to sit opposite her mother. She sat next to the window, with Kiernan appropriately separating her from another man who’d chosen to make the journey with them. Carolina watched, and sometimes managed to listen in, as they conversed about the world around them and life in general. She suddenly realized, listening to Victoria speak on matters pertaining to the hardships of Irishwomen in America versus that of their homeland-bound counterparts, that her daughter had grown up a great deal in the past year. She was not only taking on the appearance of a young woman, but her thinking and concerns were more those of an adult than a child.

It shocked Carolina, although she tried to keep from revealing her thoughts. In a few short months Victoria would be fourteen, and Carolina knew it would be impossible to deny her interest in Kiernan O’Connor. Many of the Irish in Greigsville had taken wives of fifteen and sixteen. One girl was even rumored to be no more than thirteen, and already she was well along with child. Carolina shuddered. She wasn’t ready for Victoria to be interested in marriage and a family of her own. There was still too much to teach her—still a great deal to tell her. Victoria didn’t even know about the trust she’d set up for her, using a portion of Blake St. John’s fortune. The trust was worth more money than either one of them could ever earn in a lifetime, yet here sat her daughter speaking of gold in California and the excitement of prospecting.

Carolina realized that the time would soon be upon them for her to have a very serious mother-daughter discussion with Victoria. Perhaps a time would present itself while in Baltimore, she reasoned. Perhaps she could have Mrs. Graves tend to Jordana and Brenton, while she and Victoria went to lunch or tea together. Already a plan was formulating in her mind, but her determination was further strengthened when she saw Victoria slip her gloved hand into Kiernan’s when she thought her mother’s attention was otherwise given to Jordana.

When she turned to give Victoria a reproving look, she found the child quite innocently sitting with hands folded in her lap. A calm, sweet expression met Carolina’s, and suddenly Carolina felt very foolish and naïve. Her daughter was in love with this man. It was all too clear. What she had presumed to be an innocent flirtation, or at best, infatuation, was blossoming into Victoria’s first real love.

“I’m not ready for this,”
she muttered under her breath. But it was clearly out of her hands.

29
Reunion

Riding the rails of her own Potomac and Great Falls Railroad, Carolina couldn’t resist straining her eyes to catch a glimpse of her childhood home.
Oakbridge
. The very word meant family and pleasant memories. It was odd, Carolina thought, how time away had caused her to set aside all of the bad memories and choose only the good ones.

“There it is!” Brenton declared. “I see the white pillars.”

He was right. Through the trees in the distance, Carolina could just make out the glittering white marble. How happy she was for the late and lengthy summer weather. The trees had not even begun to lose their leaves, and the ground was still richly carpeted in green. The plantation looked gloriously clothed, like an aristocratic lady in all of her elegant finery. Carolina felt her breath catch in her throat. Soon. Very soon she would be back in the embrace of her childhood home. Soon she would know the contentment of her little-girl imagery and memories that had fueled her through the lengthy trip from Greigsville.

“It won’t be long now,” she told Miriam and the children. “Papa will have the carriage waiting for us just ahead.”

And so he did. In fact, he had come himself to greet them. When Carolina saw her father, she couldn’t contain an exclamation of girlish joy. She was instantly transported back in time. “Papa!” she shouted and jumped from the railcar without even awaiting assistance. She threw herself into his arms, trying not to notice how much older he looked, trying not to remember that she was no longer his little girl, but a grown woman, married, with children of her own. “Papa.” This time the word was more a sigh of contentment. “How good of you to be here for us.”

“I’ve scarcely thought of anything else this day,” he admitted. “Now, stand back and let me look you over.”

“Look at me, too!” demanded Jordana, who had somehow managed to exit the car closely behind her mother.

“Of course I will look at you,” he replied, laughing. “Now, spin around for me and let me see how you’ve grown.”

Jordana did this while the carriage driver assisted Victoria and Miriam from the railcar. “I’m big now, Grandpa. I’m four,” she told him as she stopped twirling. “When you sawed me last time I was just three. Four is big. But they won’t let me go to school.”

Her jabbering made Joseph grin. He shared a quick glance with Carolina, then looked back to the dancing child. “Shame on them,” he told Jordana, and for this he received a winning smile.

“Hello, Grandpa,” Victoria said, coming to give him a kiss and a hug. “I’ve missed you so much. It seems forever since you visited us in Baltimore.”

“Not much more than a year, but my, how you’ve grown into a handsome young woman.”

“I’m almost fourteen, and—” She stopped midsentence as something else caught her eye. “Oh, look at the horse,” Victoria murmured, and all eyes followed her gaze to the fine Arabian gelding that stood tied to the back of the carriage.

“I’ve had him since June,” Joseph explained. “He is my birthday gift from Georgia.”

“He’s wonderful,” Victoria said, stepping toward the beast. “May I pet him?”

“Be careful,” Carolina called out. “He’s no doubt a very spirited animal.”

“That he is,” admitted her father. “Stay away from his backside and approach him from side or front so that he’s well aware of your presence.”

“Grandpa?” Brenton spoke softly, and when he had Joseph’s attention, he bowed low.

Joseph returned the bow and bent down to question his grandson. “Are we just to shake hands, or are you inclined to indulge me with a hug?” Brenton grinned and threw himself into his grandfather’s arms. “I suppose that settles the matter,” Joseph replied.

That only left Miriam, whom Joseph warmly welcomed back. “You will find your friends and family quite well,” he told her. She nodded and thanked him before he turned to usher them all into the carriage. “The family is quite anxious for your arrival. Your mother hasn’t stopped fussing all day.”

“How is Mother?” Carolina asked, arranging herself and Jordana in the carriage.

“She is quite well,” Joseph told her. “She is in many ways changed. She is quieter and more subdued, but she is also more attentive and loving. Her concern over social events and appearances is no longer a consideration, and this has freed her to focus on other things.”

When they were all seated and the driver had finished loading their baggage, Joseph mounted his Arabian and motioned the driver to take them home. Keeping a steady pace beside the carriage, Joseph asked Carolina about James and the railroad.

“James is terribly sorry not to have been able to join us. The tunnel is at a critical point in its construction, and he simply could not get away.”

“I completely understand,” Joseph said, nodding. “I’m most joyous that he could spare all of you.”

“He feared if we didn’t come now, we might not come at all. The first snows will be upon us before long, and often the freighters— and even more so the stagecoaches—find it impossible to maneuver through the mountains in winter.”

“We’ve been blessed with wonderful weather,” Joseph said, glancing upward. “The rains have come just when we needed them most, and the sun has kept the weather otherwise warm and dry. We’ve had a good harvest of corn and wheat, and the orchards are overflowing. Naomi says we will hardly suffer for preserves and jellies and all manner of fruit desserts. I suppose you’ve had it just as good in Greigsville?”

Carolina smiled. “Yes. I planted a garden with Miriam’s help, and the abundance was enough to give us a good hold on the winter months to come. Work at the tunnel has also benefited from the weather. They are ahead of schedule, and in spite of a few problems here and there with labor disputes and equipment failures, James is quite happy with the way things have gone.”

“That’s good news. Any idea what you will do once the tunnel is in place?”

Carolina shook her head. “None whatsoever. James says it will be at least two years before we can even think of completion.”

“You’ll be surprised just how quickly that time will pass.”

Brenton and Jordana busily gawked at the scenery around them while Victoria and Miriam whispered comments conspiratorially. Carolina knew her father was indeed correct in saying that two years would pass quickly. Wasn’t she only too well aware of how speedily her children had grown? Especially Victoria.

Their arrival at the house was heralded by Virginia’s children. Nathaniel, or Nate as most everyone called him, was busy racing up and down the drive with a stick and hoop until he spied the carriage. “They’re here! They’re here!” he shouted out, to which Levinia and Thora instantly left their quiet play to run out and greet the travelers.

All of the children eyed one another cautiously, with the exception of Jordana, who could not care less about the proprieties of deciding where one fit into a new situation. She was hanging over the side of the carriage, struggling to figure a way down, when the horses finally were drawn to a stop.

“Jordana, wait until the driver has put down the step,” her mother chided.

Joseph reached over in his saddle and hoisted Jordana over the side. Sliding her to the ground, he laughed. “There, that should settle that.” He quickly dismounted, just as a slave boy appeared and took the reins of his horse. Handing the beast over, Joseph made his way to the carriage to assist his daughter. “Welcome home, my dear,” he told Carolina.

She smiled, gazing up at the fluted columns that lined the portico. She was just about to turn away and speak to Victoria when her eyes caught sight of someone stepping out of the massive front doors.

“Mama!” she called and, forgetting all decorum, ran up the steps, tears streaming down her face. Margaret Adams simply opened her arms and received Carolina like a long-lost child. Breaking into sobs, Carolina gripped her mother tightly. It was almost impossible to believe she was truly here. How long she had waited for this moment. How she had pleaded with God for the living proof of His goodness that now stood before her—embracing her—assuring her that all was well.

“Oh, my dear. My dear,” Margaret whispered and soothed.

“I thought this day would never come,” Carolina said, pulling away. She met her mother’s dark eyes, now wet with her own tears of joy.

“I know.”

“But here you are, and here we are,” Carolina said, motioning to her children. “You have to meet your grandchildren.” Victoria came up the steps first, with Jordana and Brenton bringing up the rear. “This is Victoria. She’ll be fourteen in February.”

Victoria curtsied and smiled. “I’m pleased to meet you, Grandmother.”

Margaret wiped at her eyes and laughed. “We stand on no formalities here, child. Come give your grandmother a kiss.” Victoria did as she was bid, and the older woman nodded approvingly as Brenton was introduced next. “He’s the spitting image of his father.”

“Yes, he is,” Carolina admitted as her son bowed low, then went into Margaret’s open arms.

“Are you feeling well now, Grandmother?” he asked innocently. “Mama says you were very sick, but now God has healed you.”