Finding Elizabeth (16 page)

Elizabeth

January 19, 1887

Dear Diary,

This is the most painful thing I shall ever
have to write. Last night my beautiful baby Emma was taken from me.
She had been ill for a few days and finally her little body just
quit struggling as she went to sleep for the last time. I can not
convey the grief I feel. I do not think there are words for the
pain in my heart.

As father pulled my beautiful daughter from
my arms, I kicked and screamed and cried but it was no use. Father
showed no compassion and as he grabbed her I noticed a satisfied
smile on his face as he said, "I have sent her to heaven." As soon
as his words were spoken he turned and left and took my precious
Emma with him.

Annie was a witness to fathers cruel words
and has said that she now fears father had been coming to my
chamber and harming Emma. We have spoken many prayers over Emma and
sang our beautiful song.

All the dreams I had for my sweet daughter
are buried with her. The thought that I shall never again be able
to hold her as I soothe her tears, or watch her grow and learn has
left me feeling empty.

I have cried a million tears, but I fear I
will cry a million more. Annie has continued to stay with me as we
comfort each other. And now, as my sweet darling girl is cradled in
the arms of mother and Thomas, I fear my life too has come to an
end.

Elizabeth

Claire's tears fell freely as she flipped
through the journal, "That's it, there are no more entries.
Elizabeth never wrote anything else. How will we know what happened
to her?"

Wiping away his own tears Daniel said,
"Surely there has to be something else in this house that tells
about Elizabeth's life. We just need to look harder."

***

After everything she had read, Claire just
wasn't sure she wanted to hear any more. But she had come this far,
and wanted to find out the truth and in doing so, honor Elizabeth.
After a short nap, Claire and Daniel began to search the house for
any information they could find on Elizabeth.

They searched in the attic, looked in every
box that had been brought up from the basement and there was still
nothing. Aside from a couple of family bibles and old pictures of
Andrew and Rebecca, there was absolutely nothing that mentioned any
of the family members.

They continued on, searching the upper
floors. They looked behind pictures, in drawers and inside of every
trinket box, trunk or cabinet they found and still there was
nothing.

"It would be helpful if we knew what we were
looking for," Daniel said.

Feeling deflated Claire sat down and rested
her chin on her hand as she sat there thinking about where they
could find information on the family. I have done genealogy
searches and they always come up empty.
Think Claire, this is
important.

Jumping up Claire said, "I have an
idea."

Daniel followed as Claire led him downstairs
and into the library, "Good idea, Why didn't we start here?"

Daniel went to the wall of books, "Maybe
there's a book on the history of the Van Whites. They were a
prominent family."

Claire sat down at the desk and looked
through the papers that were in the drawers. There were old bills,
letters from friends, tax information and files on each of the
properties. Absolutely nothing useful. As she reached the last
drawer she pulled out a file that held old newspaper clippings. She
carefully went through each one. Most were from the 1940's but some
were older. Finally near the bottom of the stack Claire saw a
clipping that caught her eye, "I think I found something."

Quickly moving to her side Daniel peered
over her shoulder as she read aloud.

Miss Annie Cummings hanged for the murder of
local business man

Miss Annie Cummings age 36 of Eureka Springs
was hanged on January 27, 1887 for the murder of Mr. Phillip Van
White. Below is a partial account of Miss Cummings statement.

It all began when Mr. Van White poisoned
Miss Emma Campbell the infant daughter of Mr. Thomas Campbell and
Miss Elizabeth Van White. When Miss Van White learned of her
daughters death she was stricken with such grief that she drank the
bottle of laudanum, causing her own death. Miss Cummings, who was
the maid for Miss Van White was distraught over the death of her
beloved Elizabeth. She took Mr. Van White's gun out of his desk and
concealed it in her pocket. When Mr. Van White visited Miss
Cummings in her bed chamber she demanded to know the truth. Mr. Van
White became enraged and began to strike her. As she grabbed the
gun she had concealed in her pocket, Mr. Van White confessed in
hopes she would spare his life.

Miss Cummings stated that, "Mr. Phillip
shall pay for all of the evil he has committed." To her account Mr.
Van White has taken the life of at least two other people; his own
wife, Olivia Van White and Thomas Campbell, the father of Miss Emma
Campbell.

Laying the clipping down, Claire sat quietly
trying to take it all in. She now knew what had become of
Elizabeth. It wasn't what she hoped she would find, but it was the
truth.

"Are you ok?" Daniel asked.

"I guess, I'm not sure what I thought I
would find, but at least now we have answers. I had just hoped that
maybe she had gotten away from her father and was able to move on
with her life. I was hoping to find something saying she had
married and was blessed with a house full of children," Claire
said.

"Hey you two, why such long faces?" Janet
said from the open doorway.

As Claire motioned for Janet to come in,
"Come sit down, we found out what happened to Elizabeth."

"Are you serious? How did you find out,
please tell me everything," Janet said with interest.

As Claire relayed the information to Janet,
she heard Daniel talking on his phone, "I will be right there."

Claire looked up as Daniel headed toward the
door, "I need to go into town. The guys have questions about the
flooring for the loft, but I shouldn't be gone long."

Following Daniel out of the room, Claire and
Janet made a pot of coffee before going to the cozy room off of the
kitchen.

As Janet sipped her coffee, she listened
intently to every word that Claire spoke.

When Claire finished relaying the story the
two set silently for a while before Janet spoke, "So what are you
going to do now. I know this isn't over for you yet. I can see it
on your face."

"I know what I want to do to honor
Elizabeth, and hopefully set her free, but I want to think it over
for a bit. I need to discuss it with Daniel," Claire said with a
thoughtful smile.

Changing the subject Claire said, "So I
haven't seen you and Steve around here for days. What have you two
been up to? If you don't mind me asking."

"Oh, not much, a little of this and a little
of that," Janet said with a guilty grin.

Claire threw Janet a knowing glance, "I know
exactly what you were up to. You were giving Daniel and I space, so
we could get to know each other better."

Janet put her hand over her chest, "Do you
honestly think I would try to force you two together?" but Janet
couldn't help herself, "Did it work?"

Claire smiled as she thought of Daniel, "I
have to admit it has been great having him around here. He is such
a wonderful, caring person. I can't believe I am saying this, but I
think I might be falling in love with him."

"That is wonderful news, I'm so happy for
you two," Janet said.

"Well I still don't know how he feels about
me, or if we have the same goals for the future. I haven't known
him for long but somehow I can't imagine my life without him. Just
a few months ago I thought I would never re-marry or have children.
But now I can't imagine a life without them," Claire said.

Janet looked lovingly at Claire, "I would
love for you to marry my son and give me grandchildren, but just
take it slow, your wounds are still fresh. You and Daniel are both
young and have plenty of time, so just enjoy this time getting to
know each other."

Hearing Daniel come into the room Janet
quickly stood and looked at her watch before hugging her son, "Will
you look at the time? I have got to get back home, I have so much
to do," and with that she was gone.

"I'm starving. Do you want to go out to eat
and maybe catch a movie?" Daniel asked.

Claire smiled, "I would love to."

As they drove to the restaurant Claire said,
"Oh, I forgot to tell you but I got a call the other day from the
attorney in Bentonville. He has finished going over the documents
and everything looks legit. He spent some time trying to research
the Van Whites just to rule out the possibility of an heir coming
forward some day. Like James and myself, he couldn't find anything.
So as soon as I sign the forms Van White estates will legally be
mine."

"That is wonderful news! But I knew the
moment I met you, this is where you belonged. You have shown so
much love and care, not only for the home but for the people who
once lived there. This is your family, as much as it would be
anyone else's," Daniel said thoughtfully.

As they reached the restaurant and were
ushered inside to their booth Claire said, "I was wanting to talk
to you about a way I want to honor Elizabeth."

Daniel listened intently as Claire
continued, "I know from Elizabeth's journal that she had wanted to
take the room to the left of the balcony on the second floor. It is
a beautiful room, and I thought it would be perfect to move all of
Elizabeth and Emma's thing in there. I also wanted to see about
having their remains moved into the family cemetery, but I'm not
sure what the law requires."

As Daniel looked into Claire's eyes, he was
overcome with emotion for the beautiful, caring woman, "I'm not
sure either. It is on private land, and the graves are only being
moved from one area of the property to another. But I think we
should still get a permit. Just so there isn't a problem in the
future."

Nodding her head in agreement Claire said,
"So will you help me pick out monuments and be there with me when
they are moved to their final resting place?"

"I would be honored," Daniel said.

Thinking about Elizabeth, Claire was
saddened by the thought that this woman who she had gotten to know
through her journals was gone. Not that she expected her to be
alive after more than a hundred years, but that she died at such a
young age, without ever experiencing life. It was strange that
Claire felt such a sense of grief for a woman she never knew, yet
considered a friend. But at the same time Claire was excited about
the thought of how she would honor Elizabeth's memory.

As soon as they returned home Claire headed
up the stairs, ready to begin honoring her friend. Looking into the
room she intended to use, she was struck by the beauty of it. It
was a large room, especially for the time. It was beautifully
decorated with an elegant bed, whose cream colored headboard was
more than six feet tall and ornately carved with gracious curves.
The walls were the prettiest shade of sky blue that Claire had ever
seen. As she looked around the room she already knew where
everything would go.

Hearing Daniel's footsteps behind her, she
turned to see him standing there holding Elizabeth's portrait, "Can
you help me get some things from the attic?" Claire asked.

"Sure let me sit this down somewhere safe,"
Daniel said as he laid the portrait on the bed.

As Claire returned to the attic, she knew
exactly what she wanted to put in the room. She would need the
beautiful little cradle, the carved mahogany rocking chair and the
domed top trunk. As Daniel carried the first two items down to
Elizabeth's room Claire turned her attention to the trunk. The
realization that she still had a compartment she hadn't checked
made Claire's heart flutter. Maybe there is still more to learn. As
she carefully opened the box, she gasped, there were Thomas'
letters.

As Daniel returned Claire looked at him and
said, "I found the letters that Thomas wrote to Elizabeth."

Daniel set down next to her as she opened
them and began to read.

February 25, 1886

My Dearest Elizabeth,

I am distressed at the thought of not
setting eyes upon your beauty every day. It gives me urgency to
earn enough money that your father would consider me worthy of
having you as my wife.

I know I should not say this, as I do not
wish to cause alarm to you. But I have accepted another position as
a hand at a neighbors home. I can not hope to raise the money I
need on my meager wages. So I have taken to the gambling house in
hopes I will be able to. As it turns out I have been quite
successful at playing cards and I hope to have enough money saved
very soon.

I have learned of your trip to Arkansas. I
wish you did not have to go, but I will follow as soon as I can, so
we can start our life together as man and wife.