Kindred (8 page)

“What? Your mother! When?” Kindred bolted upright, crossing an arm over her bosom and another over her groin.

“Just now. I glanced out your window and she looked up from the camp fire. She is happy for us and looks upon this as natural.”

“Goodness!” Kindred grappled for the coverlet. “I feel as if she is watching.”

“Kindred, she understands. As Rozina does.” He drew the fabric from her hands. “No false modesty allowed! I have already seen, touched and tasted every inch of you. And if I recall accurately, you have done the same to me.” She returned her arms to their prior positions in spite of his lover’s outlook. “Kinny, please.” He crawled into bed, coaxing her. “I find all of you beautiful.”

“We don’t have much time left, Lelaheo. Hours really.” Kindred felt her throat tighten, suddenly overwhelmed by his impending departure. She relaxed and opened to him.

“So, let us not waste one moment.” He fathomed her anguish and sought to assuage it. He laced her arms around his neck as he bent his head to inhale the lavender scent between her breasts and to lightly tug with his teeth, the jutting nipples.

“I love you,” Kindred sighed, reaching out to stroke his hair.

“
Kunolukhwa
,” Lelaheo murmured softly against her quivering abdomen as his searing mouth trailed slow, wet kisses down her body.

****

“Kindred?” Lelaheo shook her gently. “Kindred?”

She groaned and opened her eyes.

“Be downstairs in an hour.” He stroked her bare shoulder.

“Not yet.” She pouted and reached for him.

Truly, he wanted to shed his garments and crawl back in beside her, but the day would not wait. He had to be up and about. “I must go get ready. An hour. Downstairs. We’ll break the fast then you can go with us as far as the river.” He gathered her in his arms, savoring her scent. “Kinny, I love you,” he said, leaving the bed.

Kindred rubbed her eyes. Her, she knew for sure, red, swollen eyes. She had cried in Lelaheo’s arms half the night. To soothe her, they had made love until daybreak. Sleep took them as the sun came up. She got up and washed off in the basin on the stand. She

picked out a dress. She held the blue cambric outfit in front of her as she peered in the mirror. She wanted to look her best for Lelaheo and give him a vision to remember. She noted her knotted hair, touched it and smiled faintly. Observing the time, she reached for her comb and searched through her head wraps.

Lelaheo pulled his trunks out onto the hall landing. Once inside his room, he rummaged through his wardrobe and found the bundle for which he had been searching and set it on the bed. After cleaning himself up, he undid the blanket’s leather ties and unfurled it. Before him lay a white lawn shirt, a deerskin breechclout, leggings and

moccasins, a collection of rattles, bracelets and necklaces of dried deers’ hooves and a skull cap adorned with feathers. The last item was a mostly dark purple and white wampum belt. These miniscule seashells strung on thread depicted the history of his people. The whole parcel, a going away gift from his mother, was a subtle reminder of his heritage if the fact should ever escape him. He donned the outfit, except for the cap, then combed his hair. He then sat down at the small desk in his room, took out a sheet of parchment and wrapped his most treasured possession in it. Noting the time, he tossed some last minute items into his valise, glanced around the room, then exited.

****

Breakfast was a morose affair. Though served in the dining room on the best dishes, featuring Rozina’s most delicious recipes, the crowded room, the food and the flare with which it had been prepared and presented failed to lighten anyone’s mood.

“Excellent as always, ’Zina,” said Dr. Twain, his voice floating above the clanging of forks and spoons.

“It is,” said Aliquipiso, pushing her empty plate away.

Lelaheo’s cousins, along with Joshua, slurped and burped their approval. In two heart beats, the room settled back into silence and sad looks.

“Oh, this is ridiculous.” Lelaheo said. Dour faces stared at him. Kindred’s reminded him of a deer he had surprised in the woods once. “I will write. I will return. In the meantime, if you need another mouth to feed, surely Mother can send more children from our village. Right, Mother? Right, ’Zina?”

“Of course, my son.”

“Any child is welcome here, Aliquipiso,” Dr. Twain assured.

“Yaas, enny chil’,” Rozina reinforced.

Dr. Twain hugged Lelaheo and slapped him on the back.

“We can never replace him, nor would we, but in the meantime, we can fill the void and do some good simultaneously. Lelaheo, even though you are not the son of my body, you’re the son of my heart. And I am very proud of you.” Doctor Twain pushed his chair back and stood up. “It is time.”

****

Lelaheo’s cousins toted his trunks outside to Dr. Twain’s rig.

“Dun’ you fuhgit us, chil’.” In the middle of the center hall, Rozina embraced Lelaheo so tightly it took his breath away.

“Not in the slightest, dear, dear ’Zina. I will return for your cooking alone.”

Rozina chose to say her goodbyes at Twainhaven after Dr. Twain insisted she not tax her health by making the trip down to the river. Joshua decided to say farewell at home also, he was staying behind to keep an eye on Rozina. He strode up to Leloheo. “I shall miss you, brother. You are loved here.” He and Lelaheo shook hands and embraced heartily.

“Take care of them, Joshua. Keep them safe.” Lelaheo snatched up his valise and went outside to the rig which held the rest of the house’s inhabitants and the baggage. After tossing his case in the back, he went around to the front. “Douglas, let me have the

reins one last time.” The doctor climbed down and took a seat in the back of the rig.

Lelaheo leapt up and took his seat next to Kindred.

“Kinny, remember. Only as far as the river.”

“I want to go to New York with you and Father.”

“We must say goodbye at the river. It will be easier.”

“Nothing will be easier.” She sighed and folded his hand in hers. “With you gone.”

The plan was to ride down to the river where the canoes had been left upon his family’s arrival. The Oneida Carry or De-O-Wain-Sta as the Haudenosaunee called it, allowed travelers to journey all the way from Canada to New York and vice versa, if they wanted. There was a short portage across nearly flat ground between the Mohawk River east of Fort Stanwix and Wood Creek to the west, but the fort had been guarding it since the early years of the French-Indian unrest. So this navigable route would be taken by his mother, his cousins and Dr. Twain to take Lelaheo and his belongings, by canoe, down river to Albany. There, Lelaheo would part company with his mother and cousins and continue on by coach with Dr. Twain to New York. This second leg of the trip would be a little easier on the doctor. Once there he would then board a ship for Europe alone. But for now, the little traveling party somehow reversed its somber mood. Laughter alternated with bilingual chatter. Kindred laughed out loud at a comment made by Aliquipiso.

Lelaheo’s head snapped in her direction. “There, that is the Kindred I know and want to store in my memory.”

“I see them,” shouted one of his cousins. The young man was standing in the back of the rig, pointing. “Our canoes.”

“Kindred, we are here,” Lelaheo pulled back on the reins and the horses halted jerkily, waking Dr. Twain.

“Oh my, don’t tell me I slept all the way!” He ran a hand though his silver shot hair.

“Only half ,” Aliquipiso noted.

“I am not going to cry. I am not going to cry,” Kindred chanted, wringing her hands. Tears flowed slowly down her cheeks. “Oh, damn! I am crying!”

Lelaheo jumped down and came around to assist Kindred. Dr Twain helped Aliquipiso out of the rig, while Lelaheo’s cousins unloaded the baggage and carried it down to the river.

“Lelaheo, your mother and I will go board the canoes. We will wait until you are ready to depart. Kindred, I shall see you in three weeks. Take care going home. Keep the pistol near and most importantly take care of Rozina.”

“I will, Father.”

“I shall see you soon, my daughter,” said Aliquipiso. “Expect me.”

Both Dr. Twain and Aliquipiso leaned in and hugged Kindred, then walked away.

Lelaheo pivoted to face Kindred. “This is goodbye for now.”

Tears blurred her vision. Kindred reached for Lelaheo as he did for her.

“I could stand here, holding you like this forever.” He held her face in his hands, brushing his lips over the lovely aspects of her visage, memorizing them. He whispered in Oneida, the things about her that he’d miss everyday. “All the delicious, distracting things I love about you—your eyes, your nose, your cheeks, your mouth.” He lifted his head, an impish grin lighting his face. “I have already kissed other parts goodbye.”

His remark made her chuckle and lifted her mood. “Lelaheo, here is a little something to help you think of me.” She placed in his hand one of her cotton head wraps. It was neatly folded into a tight square, stuffed with lavender and sewn shut. Just past his shoulder, she saw his cousins finish loading the canoes. “I love you,” she choked out, squeezing his hand. “Be careful.”

“I love you too,” he breathed against her temple. He pressed a packet into her hand, turned and walked swiftly toward the canoes. Kindred waved and watched until the crafts disappeared from sight. Standing on the river bank alone, she remembered the small package he’d given her and immediately opened it. Inside was Lelaheo’s bone, bead and leather Tree of Peace necklace.

Enlightenment

Chapter Nine

Lelaheo peered out the carriage window as the conveyance rattled down the bumpy, Köln thoroughfare. He was accustomed to the swaying motion. Now. His ocean passage, nearly a month’s duration, had been hellish to say the least. In his close, dim cabin, seasickness had settled over him. He had spent the first week, on rubbery legs, heaving his guts out overboard. At first, he thought it was only the wretched fare he’d been consuming, but the more often he became sick he concluded it was a combination of both foul food and the foul waves. He could not sleep in his cabin, the stifling and often putrid air made it impossible. He needed to breathe, see the stars and the sky. Topside at night was where he had made his bed for the remainder of the voyage.

The sights bombarding him as the coach rumbled along were the same as those found back home, but were magnified by the masses of people from distinct social classes. There were farmers and merchants hawking wares of all kinds, burgers strutting about in their city attire and the aristocratic element lounging in their parked carriages, directing servants to fetch this and that.

He shared his coach with another man and two women. The graying, middle-aged man, a native of Köln and an ardent traveler, had been kind enough to converse with Lelaheo in German. Lelaheo spoke of the books he had read and the man spoke of the places in those books that he had visited. The man complimented Lelaheo on his flawless German. Lelaheo felt that he had done Dr. Twain proud. It was no small thing to have a native speaker praise a foreigner’s grasp of their language. Lelaheo immediately thought of Kindred and how excellent her Oneida was. He and the man exchanged addresses. The

coach stopped. The man disembarked. Lelaheo tucked away the man’s card in his vest pocket.

“Excuse me, Sir.” A distinct English accent flowed from the younger of the two women. “I did not mean to eavesdrop, but I heard you speak of New York. Do you come from there? Do you think England will let the settlers be now?” She asked earnestly and

offered an extremely wide smile with her question.

“I do and I don’t.” Lelaheo noted that the young woman was very attractive. Her features announced her bloodline. All straight angles. Aquiline nose. Thin lips. Her eyes were the brightest blue, her hair resembled the silk inside an ear of corn and her complexion mimicked porcelain. The scent of roses wafted from her.

“I ask because you do not look like a … colonist.”

“You are correct in that assumption. I am not a colonist. I was born and raised there. And so were my ancestors. I am of the Haudenausonee Confederacy. Oneida Nation, Bear Clan.”

“Pardon me?”

“He is a man of the red variety, dear. Look at him.” The elder woman commented without looking up from her paper. “You know, the ones we saw in that show in London last month. Buckskin, feathers, beads.” The elder inspected him over her spectacles. “Where are yours? And what are you doing here in Germany? Get separated from the traveling show?”

“Aunt Felicity!” The young woman cried, turning even paler.

Lelaheo shook his head. He entertained the notion that he should confirm the woman’s sentiments about him by leaping upon her and taking her scalp or at the very least hobbling her.

“I am to attend medical school here. And did you ever stop to think that as your fellow countrymen spill over onto our shores, that one day we might return the favor?”

The woman’s squinty eyes grew as large as saucers. “Cheeky!” she harrumphed, as she directed her gaze out the window.

“What chance! Paul, my brother, is to attend medical school also. Excuse my bad manners. I am Miss Adeline Penvenen and this is my maiden aunt, Miss Felicity Penvenen. And you?”

He did not know how to answer than decided. “I am Cassian Harkness.
Maiden
aunt, you say?” He cut a glance at the woman again. “I can not imagine why.”

“Red
and
,” the elder Miss Penvenen grumbled.

****

“And bring my black shawl. The black shawl! How many times must I repeat myself. Are you deaf? I’d do better to hire a lady’s maid. At least she would come properly trained.” It was time for the mid-afternoon snack, and Aunt Felicity chided Adeline between bites of pastry and sips of coffee.

“Why can’t you be kind to me, Aunt Felicity?” Adeline stood on the threshold of the salon of the rooms she and her aunt shared while in Köln. She was twisting the piece of clothing in question.

“Because you look like your mother and I detest her. Do as I say. And quickly. My charity toward you and your brother is already strained. Stop staring at me with your mouth open. All innocence and helplessness. Correction. Helpless? Never. Innocent?” She perused her niece. “We know the truth, do we not, Adeline?”