Finding Elizabeth (6 page)

Mother said the home, that father calls
Orchard House, will be completed soon. Father has gone ahead of us
to finish up the details. Mother, William and I will follow by
train in a couple of weeks.

Andrew is staying in Boston so he can attend
the university. I will miss him so but mother assured me he would
come to Arkansas as often as he can.

I am so excited father has gone and that I
was freed from my prison. But I am saddened by the fact that I am
leaving Boston. I wonder if Thomas will ever know what has become
of me.

I was of course thrilled to see my brothers
and mother as I had not been permitted to see or speak to anyone
other than Annie or father. I noticed the sadness in mothers eyes
and she had a faint yellow bruise around her right eye and a small
crusted cut on her lip. Her eyes had become swollen from hours of
crying. Under the lace collar of mothers dress I could make out
small purple bruises on her neck. I do fear that one day father
will kill her.

I would never admit this to anyone, but I
often wish father would die. He is so harsh and my entire family
lives in fear. I often dream about how different our lives would be
if he was gone.... forever!

Elizabeth

February 24, 1886

Dear Diary,

It seems I have taken ill. I have been
feeling poorly for a few weeks, but thought perhaps it was just
nerves from being locked away from Thomas and my family. I had
hoped once father left and I was permitted to leave my room that my
illness would subside, but sadly it has not. Perhaps it is just
because I miss Thomas so. I have heard of people being love sick, I
wonder if this is what they mean. Annie seems so concerned for my
well being. She often sits beside my bed and soothes my head and
throat with a cool damp cloth.

I am thrilled that Annie will be coming with
me to Arkansas. I would miss her so. She has been my constant
companion my entire life. Sometimes I feel as though we are as
close as sisters.

Annie was eighteen when she came to care for
me as an infant and has been here ever since. She has never married
and said she could not bear to ever leave me. She is a beautiful
and strong Negro woman whose mother and father made their way north
on the underground railroad. Although Annie was born a free woman
she has always been treated as a slave in this house.

When Thomas and I marry I will bring Annie
with me and she will finally be permitted to live the life that she
deserves. She has taken such care of me, that I want to care for
her in the same way.

I can not count the hours we have sat and
talked. She knows my heart and it is with her that I can truly be
myself and dream of my life as Mrs. Thomas Campbell.

Elizabeth

February 27, 1886

Dear Diary,

The most exciting thing has happened. Annie
came to my room last night and pulled a letter from Thomas out of
her pocket. I bet I have read the letter a thousand times already,
and I cherish every word.

Thomas still loves me and is making plans
for us to be married. He knows of our trip to Arkansas and he is
planning to come for me as soon as he can. He has found another
position and has used the money at the gambling parlor. Not that I
condone gambling, but it seems he is quite good at cards. Thomas is
trying to save all the money he can in hopes to impress father with
a sizable dowry. If he can prove he can provide well for me, maybe
father will allow us to marry.

Mother, William and I, along with a few of
our servants will leave in the morning for Arkansas. I am so
nervous to begin the travel and leave behind my life here in
Boston. But at the same time I am excited for a new chance. Perhaps
living in Arkansas will have improved fathers disposition.

I must go, I need to re-read Thomas'
letter.

Elizabeth

Wiping away her tears, Claire set the
journal to the side. Needing to know what happened to Elizabeth,
she decided she would contact James tomorrow. Maybe he would share
the genealogy he had on the Van Whites. Hearing the doorbell,
Claire smoothed her hair with her hands before rising to answer the
door.

With a crooked smile Daniel said, "Good
morning, are you ready to take a tour of the property?"

Claire grabbed her coat and gloves, "Yes, I
have been looking forward to exploring the grounds."

Leading Claire to the carriage house Daniel
stepped to the side, allowing her to enter first. She was struck
with the musty smell of old hay and leather. Looking around she
noticed the cast iron hooks on the wall that housed a myriad of
tack.

Although she had never been around horses,
she knew these items were a harness, reins and a saddle. The
leather was dry and cracked and looked like they would crumble in
her hands if she touched them.

"I wonder if I could find someone who could
restore the leather on these items? They are a part of this homes
history and I hate to see them destroyed," Claire said.

Just then, Daniel stepped up beside her, " I
am sure we can find someone and I agree, they should be
restored."

Pulling the tarp off of an ATV, Daniel
grabbed the key from the hook on the wall. After opening the large
door to the carriage house, he returned and started the John Deere
gator and patted the seat next to him. Claire smiled as she happily
hopped onto the seat, knowing they were off on an adventure.

Claire could only imagine what this place
would look like in the spring and summer. Maybe they should have
waited a few weeks before exploring. As it was, she couldn't see
any of the beautiful gardens she knew would be here.

They drove around while Daniel pointed out
the different buildings, "To the left is the guest house for the
property. That is where I have lived most of my life, and where my
parents still live."

"It is beautiful," Claire said. "I had
envisioned a tiny house, but it is lovely and much larger than I
expected. I can imagine the light pouring into the home with all of
those great windows. And sitting in that beautiful wicker rocking
chair on the front porch sipping tea in the summer."

"It was wonderful growing up here, and I
have nothing but happy memories of my parents and my childhood.
Even though my parents don't own it, I still think of this as my
home," pausing as he smiled at the memories. Daniel continued, "The
small building to the right was originally the smoke house, but now
it's used for storage for some of dad's gardening tools."

They continued on as Daniel pointed out
other small buildings as they worked their way to the rear of the
property. In the distance Claire could see they were heading to the
area with a short black iron fence, which she knew must be the
family cemetery. With renewed excitement and hoping to learn what
had become of Elizabeth, she sat anxiously waiting for the gator to
stop.

Claire reached the gate, with Daniel right
behind her. She could see the cemetery had not been forgotten, but
she would make this her special project. She could envision the
flowers she would plant, and perhaps the fence could use a new coat
of paint. Opening the gate she stepped inside looking over the
stones. Walking toward the closest one she noticed that it was a
newer stone.

Rebecca Clark Van White
1869-1968.

Next to it was a larger stone, lovingly
engraved with

"Beloved husband, Protector and
Friend,"
Andrew M Van White 1868-1946

Beside Andrew's stone were three small flat
stones that simply read infant Van White, and each had a date of
1892, 1893 and 1897.

Stepping away to regain her composure,
Claire quickly looked at the older, larger stones for Phillip and
Olivia. "I wonder where William and Elizabeth are buried?"

Leading her out of the gate near a grove of
tall pine trees, Daniel said, "I'm not sure who is buried here,
there aren't any names on them. My father found these stones not
long after moving here. They were overgrown with weeds when he
found them, and he nearly ran them over with his tractor. Since
they are outside of the fenced area, we always presumed they were
the graves of a servant and her child."

Looking closer, Claire could see the hastily
laid stones that had cracked with age. The first one read 1869-1887
and the second read 1886-1887. Wiping away the tears that were now
falling freely down her face, Claire turned to Daniel, "Please take
me home."

After they returned the gator to the
carriage house, Claire spoke for the first time, "I am starving,
would you like to come in for a late lunch?"

"I thought you would never ask, " Daniel
said with a mischievous grin.

While Claire warmed the soup and made
sandwiches, Daniel built a fire in the room just off of the
kitchen. It was a small but comfortable room, and would warm them
easily. Talking as they ate, Claire noticed how easy it was to talk
to Daniel. She felt like she had known him forever. And when he
looked at her with those eyes, she thought he could see into her
soul.

"So do you want to tell me what all the
tears were about back there?" Daniel asked.

Looking away, so Daniel could not see that
she was lying, Claire responded, "I found a journal for Elizabeth
Van White. I have been reading it and I just wonder what became of
her. I have just began reading the journal, but it appears that she
had a hard life, that all the Van Whites had a hard life," she
corrected.

"How so?" Daniel asked with interest.

"By Elizabeth's account, her father Phillip
was a harsh man. He was violent with the entire family and treated
the staff as though they were slaves," Claire said as she sipped
her cocoa.

"Claire, it was a different time. Women and
children were not treated the way they are now, but I'm sure it
wasn't as bad as Elizabeth made it sound," Daniel said.

"I hope you are right, maybe Elizabeth was
just melodramatic," Claire said with a smile. "Besides, I am
probably just emotional because I didn't get much sleep last night.
I was woken up early to the sound of a baby crying. I'm sure it was
just a nightmare, but it was still eerie."

With a smile of recognition, Daniel said,
"Maybe what you heard was a fox. I haven't seen any near the house,
but they live in the woods behind the house. They have a very eerie
cry that sounds a lot like a baby crying."

Blushing at her ignorance, Claire said,
"What a relief. I was scared when it woke me up this morning. I
wasn't sure if it was a nightmare, or if the house was haunted,"
she said with a laugh.

Claire and Daniel talked late into the
night. They made plans to meet on Tuesday and go to the store so he
could take measurements and try to figure out placement for the
loft.

Claire could tell Daniel wanted to kiss her, but after their
earlier conversation about Adam, she knew he wouldn't try. Thanking
him again for the tour, she watched him get into his truck before
she closed and locked the front door.

She was exhausted and hopefully tonight she
would sleep peacefully. But for the second night in a row Claire
was woken by the sound of the crying baby. This time she knew it
was no dream. She had heard it again while she was wide awake.
Feeling reassured that it was just a fox, she snuggled under the
covers and fell back into a dreamless sleep.

***

Claire was usually an early riser, but slept
much later than usual today.
Come on Claire get up, you can't
sleep all day.
Dragging herself from the comfort of her warm
bed, she looked out the window and noticed the snow had started to
fall again. After a quick breakfast she decided she would look
around the house. She had found the portraits of all members of the
Van White family, except for the one of Elizabeth. She had even
double checked every room downstairs, just to make sure she hadn't
missed it.

Claire reached into her pocket for her phone
and dialed the number for James Allen. His secretary answered, and
after a short pause she was connected with James.

"Good morning James, I was hoping that you
could help me with something. I am curious about the Van White
genealogy that you worked on. I was hoping you would be willing to
share it with me." Grabbing a pen and paper, Claire jotted down the
information that he gave her. Thanking him again she disconnected
the call.

After retrieving her laptop from her bedroom
she set it up at the desk in the library. After a few clicks of her
keyboard she found an open wi-fi network, which she presumed
belonged to Janet and Steve.

She pulled up ancestry and typed in the user
name and password James had given her. The information was limited
at best. Phillip and Olivia were on the family chart, along with
Andrew and Rebecca, Elizabeth, William and Williams wife Alma.
Other than the learning William had married Alma McKinney. She
learned they had a son named Samuel which must have been Adams
great grandfather. Otherwise there was no new information.

There was nothing on when Elizabeth died, or
if she ever married Thomas. Checking the census Claire located
William in 1930, but a search for Elizabeth after 1880 found
nothing. Deciding that maybe Elizabeth had married Thomas, she
searched for Thomas or Elizabeth Campbell. Nothing that matched the
time frame or the states where she knew they had lived. Feeling
frustrated Claire closed the laptop.