Twin Willows: A Novel (6 page)

Anna felt breathless and bewildered. “For what?”

“For a moment, I forgot myself. I would not for the world take advantage of you.”

Anna wished for more light, so that Stuart could read in her face the yearning of her heart for him. “If that is what that was, then I hope you will keep doing it.”

Stuart smiled as he bent his head to kiss her again, finally drawing back with a reluctance that matched hers. He remained silent for a moment, then sighed and spoke in a much firmer voice. “I must leave now.”

“When will you be back?”

“I don’t know. But believe me, I will come back to you as soon as I can. Good-bye, Anna Willow.”

“Good-bye to you—Stuart.” It was the first time Anna had spoken his first name, and she could only hope it would not be the last.

Then he picked up his luggage and left, admitting a blast of freezing air through the door that left Anna shivering in the cold darkness. Savoring the feelings that Stuart had aroused in her with his embrace, Anna longed for them to be repeated.

P
HILADELPHIA

As winter faded into spring, Anna tried hard to accept the fact that Stuart Martin would probably never have a part in her life. She also became more concerned that she had heard nothing from her father. Miss Martin’s Commencement tapestry was almost finished, and the other girls who would be completing their studies were discussing their future plans. Anna could no longer ignore the nagging possibility that something could have happened to Ian McKnight.

“What will you do after Commencement?” Felicia asked Anna late one March evening when they both lay sleepless in their attic room.

“I suppose I’ll have to return to the farm. Even though I don’t want to go there and they don’t want me. I won’t know what else to do until I hear from my father.”

“What if he has met with some kind of accident?”

Anna had lately asked herself the same question. “I wouldn’t stay with my kin, that’s for certain. I would return to the city, I suppose. There must be hundreds of employers here in Philadelphia eager to take in skilled young ladies like us.”

Anna’s tone brought the intended laugh from Felicia. “Ah, Anna, you can always find something to be merry about. In your place, I’m not sure that I could.”

“Well, it’s not June, and I haven’t given up yet,” Anna said.

On Father or on Stuart Martin, either
, she added to herself. Stuart had not been back since Christmas, but Miss Martin mentioned that he had become a private tutor, and his duties confined him to the Princeton area. In the meantime, Miss Martin had hired Mr. Fogelman, a half-deaf former headmaster who shouted Latin declensions and Greek stems at his pupils with an equal lack of success.

Stuart hadn’t written to Anna, but she had not expected him to. Aside from the fact that he probably didn’t have the time to write, Stuart knew that his aunt reviewed all the mail that came for her charges, and read most of it before she passed it on. However, Anna mentally composed many long letters in which she poured out her heart to him.

Finally, late one fine April Friday as they were gathered in the dining room for a cold supper, Anna heard a commotion at the back door. Shortly thereafter, Stuart Martin walked into the dining room as casually as if he had just left the room for a moment.

Unlike Anna, Miss Martin seemed almost disappointed to see him. “Stuart!” she exclaimed. “You could have let me know you were coming.”

“I wasn’t sure that I could get away until the last moment,” he said. Although Stuart’s glance did not linger long on Anna, something in his eyes made her know that she was the only reason for his impromptu visit.

“Mr. Fogelman is using your room,” Miss Martin said. “He went to sup with his sister, but he will be back in a while.”

Stuart waved a hand in dismissal. “Give me a blanket and I’ll sleep on the parlor floor. It certainly won’t be the worst place I ever passed a night.”

A night
? Anna wondered, and hoped he would be there longer.

“Only one night?” Miss Martin asked, with an opposite concern.

Stuart nodded. “I’m afraid so.”

Miss Martin looked at Anna and frowned, almost as if she had read the girl’s mind. Then she addressed her nephew. “It surprises me that you would even bother to come for such a short time.”

“I am glad to see you too, Aunt.” Stuart spoke with such good humor that Rose Smythe giggled out loud, while several of the others found it hard to suppress their laughter.

Miss Martin glared at them. “That will do, young ladies.” She turned back to Stuart. “I suppose you can join us for supper.”

Without waiting to be told, the cook entered, bearing a pewter plate, cutlery, and a linen napkin. “Here you are, Master Martin,” she said. She set the plate where Stuart had always taken his meals, between Miss Martin and Rose Smythe, and across the table from Anna.

Following the established rule, no one conversed during the meal, and as soon as it ended, Miss Martin dismissed the girls to their rooms, making it clear that they were not to linger in her nephew’s presence.

Anna started to leave with the others, until Stuart called to her. “Miss McKnight, I would have a word with you.”

Miss Martin watched closely, looking from one to the other as Anna returned to stand before Stuart.

“Yes, Mr. Martin?” She tried to look past his ear, afraid of what her face might reveal if she looked him in the eye.

“I wondered if you might have heard anything from your father.” When Anna shook her head, Stuart continued. “I recently spoke to a former soldier in our company who saw Colonel McKnight not long ago. When your father learned the man was coming to Pennsylvania, he told him he should look me up at Princeton.”

“Did my father say anything about me?” Anna asked.

“Only that you would soon finish school and return to Bedford.”

“Oh.” Anna didn’t try to hide her disappointment that her father hadn’t said more.

“Our friend assured me that Colonel McKnight looked fit. I thought you would want to know.”

“I am sure Miss McKnight welcomes that news, but it could well have been put into a letter,” Miss Martin said.

“Thank you for telling me, Mr. Martin,” Anna said aloud. Silently her eyes asked,
How are we going to see one another alone
?

“Not at all. I think often of your father and the dangers we faced together.”

“You may go now, Miss McKnight,” Miss Martin said pointedly.

With her eyes modestly lowered, Anna curtsied. “Good evening, Mr. Martin, Miss Martin,” she murmured before she left the room.

“Her father will be glad to see what a fine young woman Anna has turned out to be,” Stuart said, loudly enough for Anna to hear.

She also heard Miss Martin’s reply. “Nonetheless, she’ll always be a half-breed.”

Stuart doesn’t think of me that way
, Anna told herself, but her face still burned when she reached her attic room.

Felicia immediately peppered her with questions. “What did Mr. Martin want? Did you notice the way he looked at you? Did you see Rose Smythe? She was positively green with envy.”

Anna shrugged as if the encounter was of no consequence. “Someone Mr. Martin knows saw my father not long ago and said he looked fit. He just passed on that news.”

“Well, don’t tell Rose that. Let her think the worst—it would serve her right.”

That night Anna made her usual preparations for bed, although it would be next to impossible to sleep, knowing Stuart shared the same roof.
He is in the parlor
, she thought.
If I can just get past the creaking floorboards in front of Miss Martin’s room, I can see him, at least for a little while
.

Anna made herself stay in bed long after Felicia’s even breathing told her that her friend was asleep. Finally she got out of bed and put a robe on over her long nightdress. Hardly the proper attire to pay a visit to a gentleman, but she didn’t want to risk making any noise that would awaken Felicia. Anyway, Anna told herself, except for her feet, her body was more completely covered than if she had on her daytime attire.

Carefully she crept down the stairs, stepping around the spots likely to squeak. When she reached the second floor, the loud snores coming from their respective rooms told her that Miss Martin and Mr. Fogelman did not hear her. Anna’s heart hammered as she groped her way down the dark staircase to the first floor.

Following the faint light that shone from the parlor, she found Stuart, still fully dressed and sitting at a small table, writing by the light of a lone candle. His eyes widened when he looked up and saw her.

“Don’t worry, I’m not a ghost,” Anna whispered.

Hastily Stuart stood and came to her, holding out a piece of paper. “I was just going to ask Cook Nancy to give you this.”

Anna read the words aloud. “‘Join me in the parlor. S. M.’ Now you won’t have to bother her.”

“I’m glad. I feared Cook’s heavy step might awaken my aunt. I presume you did not?”

“No. She was snoring.” Anna drew her robe about her, suddenly embarrassed that, while Stuart was fully clothed, she was not.

“Are you cold?” he asked. “I have a blanket.”

Anna shook her head. “I’m fine. I can’t believe Miss Martin would make you sleep on the floor.”

“I don’t mind.” Stuart took another step forward, and Anna raised her face and waited, instinctively knowing he would kiss her.

“Oh, Anna,” he exclaimed, placing his hands on her shoulders. “I’ve missed you so much these past months.”

“I’ve missed you, as well.” She stepped into his embrace, and wordlessly they dung together for a long moment before he put his lips on hers. His kiss was even more wonderful than she remembered, and she responded with all her pent-up longing. She felt herself leaning toward him, almost melting into his body, until he unwound her arms from around his neck and helped her down beside him on the blanket. Loosely embracing, they lay facing one another, attempting to regain their breath.

“I have never known anyone like you, Anna Willow.” Tenderly Stuart’s hand traced her straight forehead and outlined her straight nose and full lips before he once more bent his face to hers.

Her head fell back as his tongue gently parted her lips. The hand that had outlined her face now stroked her neck and shoulders and paused to probe the pulse in her throat before moving down to the curve of her breasts.

No one had ever touched her there before, and she started in surprise.

He pulled back and looked at her with concern. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Anna took his hand in both of hers and returned it to her breast. “You’re not. But I—I’m not used to this sort of thing.”

“I know. And as a matter of fact, neither am I.”

“Really?”

He smiled ruefully at the challenge in Anna’s voice. “I have never felt about anyone the way I feel about you.” He looked deeply into her eyes. “I know now that I never really loved anyone before.”

Stuart Martin loves me
. Tears welled in her eyes, and her voice, which would have affirmed her own love, failed her. She leaned closer, intending to kiss him, but Stuart suddenly pulled away and reached for the candle, which he quickly extinguished.

“What?—”

“Shh!” Stuart warned.

At almost the same moment, Anna heard the approaching footsteps that had alerted him. She hurried toward the carved screen in one corner, reaching its cover just as Miss Martin entered the parlor, carrying a candlestick.

“I thought I heard someone talking down here,” she said accusingly.

Stuart yawned noisily. “Sometimes I talk in my sleep. I’m sorry if I did so loudly enough to wake you.”

“Never mind. Bring your blanket and come upstairs. You can pass the rest of the night on the floor of your old room. Mr. Fogelman won’t mind.”

“There’s no need to disturb him, Aunt. I’m fine here.”

“Don’t argue with me. Come along, now.”

Anna waited for a long time before she dared to return to her room. Her pulse returned slowly to normal, but her heart raced when she thought of Stuart’s declaration of love.

What else would have happened if Miss Martin hadn’t interrupted
?

Anna sighed. As she crept up the stairs and went back to her own bed, she wondered how long it might be before she could find out.

The next day, Miss Martin made doubly sure that Stuart never had an opportunity to be alone with any of her pupils, especially Anna. She sent Anna and Felicia to the market with the cook, and by the time they returned, Stuart had left.

Again he did not write, but Anna was almost certain that he would come back for her at Commencement. He had said he loved her. Surely, he could not let her go away without even saying good-bye.

In mid-May Miss Martin took Anna aside and handed her a letter. For a brief moment, she dared to hope that Stuart had written her after all; then she recognized the scrawling handwriting.

“It’s from your father, I believe,” Miss Martin said. “It seems to contain some kind of parcel.”

Eagerly Anna took the packet. Although the wrapping was creased and dirty, the crude wax seal still remained intact. Resisting the urge to tear it open on the spot, Anna managed to get as far as the third floor landing before she broke the seal. After putting the small parcel that had been enclosed with it in her apron pocket, Anna read the single sheet of parchment.

“My dear daughter,” Ian McKnight had written,

I had hoped to fetch ye from Miss Martin’s when ye are done there, which I reckon to be early in June. I am near Lexington, in Kentucky County, where I have made a land claim. Should I leave it overlong, others will get it, so I cannot come there. It’s best that ye go to Bedford if ye don’t already have plans to stay in the city. I herein send ye something fine I got from a Spanish trader. May it remind ye of the love of your father.

Anna gasped as she unwrapped a square of linen to reveal a finely wrought slender chain of gold links. Anna, who had never owned any jewelry, had seen nothing to compare with this gold necklace, and she knew it must be worth a great deal. But more important than its monetary value was what it represented.

My father still loves me and he hasn’t forgotten me, even if he can’t come for me now
. Anna’s eyes filled with tears as she slipped the chain over her head. Apparently, Ian McKnight did not know that his sister had died—and she had not been able to write him, not knowing where he was. Now that she had an address, Anna could write him the sad news.

I’ll keep this necklace always
, she silently vowed, and wished she could show it to Stuart.

He has to come back before I must leave—he just has to
, she thought.