Beyond the Quiet Hills (26 page)

“Did he hit you after that?”

“Yes, he did. Every once in a while, and he finally stopped even apologizing.”

The windows were open, and just outside the sounds of the cow lowing out in the pasture floated in. The small bedroom was growing hotter now, and a buzzing fly flew in and lit on Iris's face. Quickly Elizabeth brushed it away and asked, “What happened today?”

“He came in drunk and he hit me, and then Amanda told him to stop. He turned around and hit her with his fist. It was the first time he ever hit her since Hawk told him to stop, and he was going to whip her with his belt. I pulled him away and told him to leave. That was when he beat me up. I don't remember him leavin', Elizabeth.” Tears filled her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. As Elizabeth wiped them away, Iris said, “I don't know what to do . . . I just don't know what to do. I've got to get away from him. I could stand it myself, but I ain't gonna let him hurt Amanda.”

“You can stay with us,” Elizabeth said firmly.

“Oh, we couldn't—”

“Don't argue with me, Iris. It's all settled.”

****

As soon as Hawk entered the cabin with Sequatchie at his heels, he saw that Elizabeth's face was drawn. “I have to talk to you.”

“I couldn't find Zeke,” Hawk said. As soon as he had heard what had happened, he had set out to find Taylor. He and Sequatchie had gone to the Taylor homestead, but there was nobody there. The cow had not been milked, and there was no sign of Taylor. They had made a swing around the settlement, but nobody had seen the man. Now he asked, “How is Iris?”

“She'll be all right, but that man—he ought to be whipped!”

Sequatchie lifted his eyebrows. It was the first time he had ever seen Elizabeth so angry. “I think he will be,” Sequatchie remarked in a mild tone.

Elizabeth looked over at the passive face of the Cherokee and knew that something was going on inside his mind. She shifted her eyes to Hawk and saw the same sort of expression. “You won't hang him, will you?”

“That will be up to the court, but what about Iris and Amanda? They can't stay with that skunk.”

“I told her she could stay with us for a while. Is that all right?”

“Sure. We'll make plenty of room,” Hawk said.

Elizabeth had it all figured out. “Yes. They can take the boys' room, and the boys can sleep in the living area downstairs until we can figure out something.”

“No,” Sequatchie said quickly. “They can have my cabin.”

“We couldn't put you out like that!” Hawk exclaimed.

“Do you think I'm a white man that I have to have a roof over my head?” Sequatchie said sharply. “I'll make a hut close by where I can watch out for them.” He smiled suddenly, but it was a grim smile. “I wish Taylor would come to visit them. I'd like to have a talk with him.”

“That might be better at that,” Hawk said. “They'll have a place all their own and won't feel they're an imposition.”

“Come along. We'll tell her.” She led the two men into the bedroom and saw their faces harden at the sight of her battered face. Quickly she said, “It's all settled, Iris. You're going to live in Sequatchie's cabin. He's going to build another hut to stay in where he can look out for you.”

“Oh, I couldn't do it!”

“Yes, you can,” Sequatchie said. He went over and said, “Anywhere is my home as long as God is there, and He's everywhere, isn't He?”

Iris reached her hand out and Sequatchie took it, saying quietly, “It will be all right. God has not forgotten you.”

Chapter Nineteen

Dancing Lessons

A delicious aroma of food arose from the pots and kettles in the fireplace of the Spencer cabin. Elizabeth and Iris were doing the cooking, and it seemed to Elizabeth that Iris had cheered up considerably.
It's helped her
, she thought,
to have her own place, but I don't know how long it will last
.

At that moment Sarah came in and asked, “Where's Amanda?”

“I'm not sure,” Iris said. “Probably in the cabin.”

“Sarah, you need to watch the bread. I don't want it to get burned.”

“All right, Ma,” Sarah agreed, and at that moment Jacob and Andrew stepped inside. Andrew said at once, “Could I have something to eat, Ma? I'm starving!”

“No, you'll have to wait for a while. Now, don't bother us. We're too busy with the cooking.”

Sarah grinned at Andrew and Jacob. A mischievous light danced in her eyes, and she moved over to stand between the two. “Which one of you two is going to dance with Abigail when the dancing starts?”

“I will,” Jacob grinned at her. “But,” he added quickly, “I'll have to dance with all the other girls so they won't be disappointed.”

“You are the most conceited thing!” Sarah exclaimed, but she was amused by Jacob's foolishness.

Andrew had drawn himself into a stiff upright posture. “I think it's silly to have all this nonsense at a party!” he said. Whirling, he marched back outside.

“What's wrong with him?” Sarah asked with surprise. “You're supposed to be foolish at a party, aren't you?”

Jacob reached over and ruffled Sarah's hair, which always irritated her. She slapped his hand away and he laughed. “Andy knows all the girls will be falling over me instead of him.” Suddenly he reached out and put his arm around Sarah, took her hand, and waltzed her around the room. Elizabeth and Iris watched them with a smile, and Sarah laughed aloud. “You're crazy, Jacob!”

“No, I'm just charming and good-looking.”

Elizabeth was happy that Jacob seemed to be feeling so much more at home over the last several months. She watched as he teased Sarah and thought how good it was for her to have another brother. Then she said, “You two get out of the kitchen. We've got work to do here.” As the two left, Elizabeth looked outside and a thought came to her about Andrew.
I wonder what's bothering him. He doesn't seem himself lately
.

As soon as he had left the cabin, Andrew walked slowly toward the nearby creek. The big woolly dog that had taken up with them came to bark at him and suddenly reared up. He was a large dog of a reddish brown color, and his paws were muddy.

“Get off of me!” Andrew exclaimed, shoving the dog away. The dog barked happily, not at all offended, and ran out in short, sweeping runs as Andrew continued on the way.

Finally he came to the creek and stood for a while, silently staring down at the water. Bending over, he picked up some flat rocks and began skimming them.

“What are you thinking about, Andrew?”

“What?” Andrew whirled quickly to see Amanda, who was sitting in the shade of a big hemlock tree. He took a step toward her, scowling. “You shouldn't scare a fellow like that!” His feet hit a slick spot of mud, and he called out, “What—!” but he lost his balance and fell back as the other foot slid out from under him. He sat down in the mud with a splatting sound and Amanda laughed.

“You're so graceful, Andrew.”

“Well, you're not all that graceful, either!” Andrew had not intended to speak so roughly, but he was embarrassed by being taken off guard and by his rather awkward fall. When he got to his feet, he began wiping the mud off of his trousers, then realized that Amanda had not answered. Looking over, he saw that her face was pale, and she half turned away from him.

“Hey, I'm sorry, Amanda. I didn't mean that.”

“I'm sorry, too. I didn't mean to make fun of you.”

“Well, it's not you. I'm just upset.”

Amanda looked over and studied Andrew's face. The sun had tanned him now, although he still had freckles. He looked strong and healthy and fit, but there was a misery in his eyes that she could not mistake. “What's the matter, Andrew?”

“Aw, it's just that, well—everyone's talking about Jacob and this party, and I think it's all silly.”

“I don't know why you'd think that. I think it's nice.” She hesitated, then said, “You really like Abigail, don't you, Andrew?”

“Never mind that!” Andrew snapped sharply.

Rising from her place under the tree, Amanda came over and stood beside him. “What's wrong? You can tell me. I know something is the matter.”

Andrew hesitated and shook his head. “Nothing that you could fix.”

“Well, tell me what it is.”

Andrew shoved his hands in his pockets, kicked at a stone, then muttered, “I can't dance. That's what's wrong.”

At once Amanda understood clearly. She knew he liked Abigail more than any other girl, and she also knew that Andrew had become jealous of Jacob. Jacob was a fine dancer, and Andrew would have to sit on the sidelines.

“You could learn to dance.”

“I'm too clumsy!”

“If I can learn, then you can.”

Andrew turned to face her, a thoughtful look on his face and a faint eagerness in his eyes. “Do you think so, Amanda?”

“Yes. It's easy. Look. Put your arm here.” She put his arm on her waist. “And hold this hand right here. Now we'll take one step back, and then one step to the right.”

The brilliant sunlight filtered down through the leaves of the hemlock, creating patterns of alternating light and shade on Amanda's face. Andrew moved awkwardly enough, stepping on her toes more than once, but she only laughed and her brown eyes glowed with pleasure. She was a tall girl, slim, and her straight dark brown hair was tied back with a blue ribbon. She was usually quiet, but now as they moved around under the shade of the tree on the dry grass, she laughed more than once.

“You're not going to have any feet left,” Andrew said after stepping on her foot.

“Oh, that's all right. It doesn't hurt. You're doing so well. You'll do fine when you dance with Abigail.”

Andrew stopped and dropped his hands. He looked off into the distance, chewing on his lower lip, then finally muttered, “I can't dance like Jacob.”

“Jacob is Jacob, and you are you,” Amanda smiled. “Abigail will like you for yourself. So you should be yourself and not Jacob.”

But still her words had not comforted Andrew. He turned to face her, saying, “But Jacob's so good-looking . . . and . . . well, he's good with girls. I guess he's what you'd call gallant.”

“Yes, I think he is all those things.”

Andrew glanced at her quickly. It was hard to know what was going on inside this girl's head, for she had learned to cover up her true feelings.

Finally Amanda added, “Have you ever thought that Jacob might be jealous of you?”

“Are you crazy? Why would he be jealous of me?”

“Why, you're good at so many things.”

“What kind of things are you talking about?”

“Well, at hunting and finding your way in the woods. You know how to live in the wilderness. You can make things on the forge. You can do all kinds of things.”

“Jacob doesn't care about those things.” Andrew shook his head.

“I think you'd be surprised at what Jacob cares about way down deep inside.”

Surprised, Andrew gave her a sharp look. “You know a lot about people, Amanda.” He smiled then and said, “Thanks for helping me learn to dance.”

“We'll practice some more. You'll be as good as anybody at the party. All right, now one step back, then one to the right. . . .”

Chapter Twenty

An Uninvited Guest

Hawk and Elizabeth dressed carefully for Abigail Stevens' sixteenth birthday party. It was to be held in the center of the Watauga community. A platform had been laid out for dancing, and musicians were coming for the special occasion. It had actually turned out to be more of a community gathering than a girl's birthday party, but things were hard on the frontier, and any occasion for a get-together was always welcome.

“I don't see why I have to dress up like a Philadelphia lawyer,” Hawk complained.

“We've already been over that. Now, you be still and let me fix your tie.”

Elizabeth arranged his tie and then looked down at her dress. “Do you like this dress?”

“I like the woman that's in it,” Hawk grinned.

Elizabeth pushed his hands away and shook her head, but she could not keep back a smile. “I'll have to go get Hannah ready.”

Hawk watched as she dressed the baby. She said, “I'm worried about Iris, and nobody has seen Zeke since he took off after beating her. I hope she'll go to the party. It'll do her good to get out. She was ashamed of her bruises, but we told her that everyone would understand and that she had nothing to be ashamed of. I don't think she'll go, though.”

“I talked to Sequatchie about this,” Hawk said. “He's taken a real interest in Iris and Amanda. He had a pretty determined look in his eye.” He laughed shortly and said, “Whatever that Indian sets out to do pretty well gets done.”

At that moment Sequatchie was knocking on the door of the cabin that he had given up for Iris and her daughter. When the door opened, he said at once, “I've come to take you to the party.”

“Why, thank you, Sequatchie, but I'm not going.”

“I think you should go for Amanda's sake,” Sequatchie said. “You've done nothing wrong. Your husband did all the wrong that was done. If you hide, people might think differently.”

“Do you really think so?” Iris asked anxiously.

“Yes. When people are not ashamed, then they hold their heads up high. You get ready. We will go.”

“All right,” Iris said. “It'll take a while.”

“I will wait, and I'll promise not to step on your feet if you'll dance with me.”

Iris suddenly smiled, and it made her look much younger.

“Give us a few minutes to get ready,” she said.

****

The party had brought out more people than usual for a community gathering, and the village was packed with both adults and young people. Elizabeth and Iris were helping Deborah set out the food. Sarah and Amanda had gone to find Abigail, who was primping in the cabin used for community events.