His Spoilt Lady (20 page)

John slipped
his arm around her shoulder and tried to draw her to him, but
Linnett drew herself away and said coldly, “I do agree that for a
woman to try and ride all that way at this time of year would be
foolish. However, a man alone could get to Boston before winter
sets in, surely? You could have gone already and been back with
help before any snow fell.”

John sighed and
said, “I suppose I could have risked the ride, but I too was unwell
for a while, and I was afraid to leave you, you were so ill,
Linnett. I will ask Hans tomorrow if it would be possible to leave
soon and borrow a horse and supplies. You do understand though,
Linnett, that if I cannot get back, you would be stuck here until
the spring anyway.” Or forever, he thought grimly, if I don’t make
it.

Linnett
refrained from telling John that it would be a relief for her not
to have to see him each day, a constant reminder of what she had
been through aboard the ship. She merely nodded and said, “I
understand.” She stood up, saying, “Well, I shall bid you
goodnight, John.” She turned with a gentle swish of skirts and
walked back to the house.

John watched
her go but remained seated on the log dejectedly. Hans appeared
beside him and sat next to his friend, quietly smoking his pipe.
John sat silent for a while before turning and speaking to Hans.
“Linnett wants me to try and reach Boston before the winter sets
in. She thinks if I travel alone I can get there and back to
collect her before the spring.” Hans nodded thoughtfully and said,
“I see.”

John looked at
him and asked, “Hans, what do you think? Should I attempt it?”

Hans cleared
his throat. “Niet, you do not know the trail, and once the snows
come the landmarks disappear and the trail will be covered. I would
not attempt such a journey at this time of year, and I know the
trail. Why do we not go early tomorrow and see the cabin and then
you can decide what is best for you both, ja?”

John nodded
thoughtfully and said, “Linnett seems to want me gone. I think she
blames me for putting her in danger, I should never have bought her
to America!”

Hans put his
hand on his friend’s shoulder.

“But you did
bring her, my friend, and you are not to blame for the actions of
others. Linnett is very young, and I think she behaves as a child
does when things go wrong and they blame their parents or God
perhaps. She is your wife, John, and she does not know how to
behave as your wife so that you must guide her. You both need to
look forward and not back. Come now, it is late, and we shall leave
early tomorrow. We go to our beds now.”

Both men stood
and John stretched and yawned. “Thank you, Hans. You are right. I
will see what this cabin of yours is like and then decide what is
best to do.”

When Linnett came down to breakfast the next day, she
found that only Peter sat at the large table. He was eating freshly
baked bread and honey. “Good morning, Peter. My word that looks
good! Where is every one this morning?” Linnett asked while helping
herself to a cup of milk. Peter gave her a friendly grin and told
her what his mother had said. “Pa and John got up early and went
riding off. Mother is gathering blueberries for a pie and I have to
feed the chickens. Will you help me Linnett?” Linnett suddenly
became still, a dreadful thought occurring to her; had John left
already without saying goodbye to her?

“Peter, has
John gone on a journey?” she asked.

Peter frowned
and said, “Well, I think so. Mother said they wouldn’t be here for
lunch and that Father will be back tonight.”

Peter looked
pleased with himself for remembering exactly what his mother had
told him. Linnett bit her lip; she had urged John to go, so why did
she feel such a dreadful sense of loss now that he had? She sat
down, feeling wretched.

Peter looked
concerned and asked, “Is there anything wrong?”

Linnett looked
at him skeptically. “Peter, are you sure your mother didn’t say
that John would be back tonight with your father?”

Peter thought
hard. He had asked his mother if Pa would be back for lunch and she
had definitely said, “No, not until supper time.” She hadn’t
mentioned John at all. “No, she only said Pa. Will you help me with
the chickens now?”

“What? I will
be along in a little while, Peter. You go and get started,” Linnett
said distractedly.

“Alright, don’t
be long, though!” Peter shouted as he rushed off, banging the door
behind him.

Linnett wasn’t
even aware the boy had left, she was so deep in thought. Amazing,
but now that she knew John had gone to Boston for goodness knows
how long a time, it was as clear as day to her that she did love
him. Supposing the snow lasted all winter; he might not be back
until the spring. A dreadful thought crossed her mind: suppose he
didn’t come back at all. What would she do, perhaps never knowing
what had happened to him? Oh, she should never have spoken to him
the way she had last night, urging him to go alone to Boston.

She had to go
after him. She was his wife, and she should be by his side. She had
to tell him she loved him, that she was sorry. It would be alright;
they would travel on together. She would need food, a blanket, and
some clothes -- and a horse perhaps. Peter would saddle one of
Hans’s for her. Linnett ran to the door, calling frantically for
Peter. She must be gone before Sarah returned for she knew Sarah
would try and stop her from riding out alone.

Fifteen minutes
later, Linnett was mounted on a pretty brown mare called Penny.
Linnett had rolled everything she thought she might need into a
blanket from her bed and tied it onto her saddle. Peter was not at
all happy with what Linnett had planned. He had been faintly
shocked when she had come out wearing a pair of men’s britches and
had mounted the horse astride. He thought he ought to be going with
her, but Linnett was adamant that he should remain at home to help
his mother and to explain to his parents where she had gone. As
Linnett galloped away from the homestead, she felt a wonderful
sense of freedom and exhilaration. She loved riding, and it had
been so long since she had been in the saddle riding Pango around
the Lavenstock estate.

Although not in
the same league as her Thoroughbred, the little mare Penny was
sweet-natured and willing, and she and Linnett soon left the
homestead far behind. As she rode, Linnett studied the countryside,
finding it quite beautiful, much more open than England, rugged and
wild with tall trees and rocky outcrops. Land just as God intended
it to be, unspoilt by mankind. The trees were magnificent. They
seemed so much higher than the trees back home, but perhaps that
was because she had been at sea for so long, she had forgotten.
They cantered along, Linnett enjoying the feel of the warm sun on
her face. Peter had given her directions. It was simple; all she
had to do was follow the Ogunquit River inland, then follow the
river fork to the right until she met up with John, which she
guessed would be at nightfall when he made camp.

It was so good
to be out again alone on a horse, her hair flying behind her. All
the horrors and fears seemed to be a thing of the past, and she
laughed aloud with the joy of it and urged Penny into a gallop. The
horse obligingly raced along, seeming to enjoy the freedom as much
as her rider. Linnett slowed her horse when up ahead she saw the
wide sparkling expanse of the river, its flowing water glinting in
the sunlight. The river was much wider than any rivers she knew at
home, and it was flowing much faster than she had expected, too.
Linnett walked Penny to the river’s edge and dismounted. The
thirsty horse lowered her head and drank greedily. Linnett found a
boulder to sit on and view the river, it was so delightfully
peaceful.

On the opposite
bank, the trees grew almost to the water’s edge. A long ridge of
pine trees rose high above the river covering the side of the steep
hill. Linnett held up her face to the warmth of the sun and
breathed in the sharp, astringent scent of the pines. A flock of
birds flew up into the air, startled by the gentle wicker Penny
gave after she had drunk her fill. Linnett watched them fly high
and circle, disappearing into the distant blue sky; she wondered
what sort of birds they were. After a while, Linnett rose, brushed
her clothes down and called to Penny to her. She mounted, and
swinging right, they set off, picking their way along the river’s
path.

John and Hans,
meanwhile, had arrived at the cabin around mid-morning, going
steadily uphill for the last half hour of the hourlong trip. The
cabin was set in a wide clearing surrounded by tall, broadleaf
trees. A fenced corral stood to one side, and a small barn stood
beyond that. In the far distance on the other side of the hill,
John could see snow-capped mountains. The view from the front of
the cabin through the clearing entrance was breath-taking.

“Let’s put the
horses in the coral,” Hans instructed as he dismounted.

They unsaddled
the horses, shooed them in and then barred the entrance to the
paddock. John checked that there was water in the trough before
walking over to the cabin. Hans proudly pointed out to John the
well dug above an underground spring he had followed from farther
up the hill. The cabin was low and solid with an apex roof, which
hung wide over the cabin walls, giving maximum protection from the
weather. It had one sturdy wooden door and two front facing windows
that were shuttered.

Hans unlocked
the door and shoved it open with his shoulder. Once inside, he
flung the shutters wide open so that the sunlight poured through
the square openings. I wonder what you would call them, because
really they were not windows, thought John, not without glass.

He looked
around at the rectangular room with a large stone fire place. A
large wooden bed without a mattress stood in one corner and a table
and two chairs in another. Two brass candle sticks stood
incongruously on the stone mantel above the fireplace. Otherwise it
was bare. It was, however, dry and reasonably clean. A bit of dust
and a few dead leaves were strewn about the floor, and, John
noticed, a few spiders lurked in thick webs hanging from the
corners of the cabin, but otherwise the home was sound.

“We took
everything useful with us when the farm house was finished. It will
be easy to bring the wagon filled with the things you need. What do
you think of it my friend?” Hans stroked his hand down the window
edge. “I built this with my own two hands, no help I had with this
cabin. It is very cosy in snow. Like the houses in The Netherlands,
I built the roof so the build-up of the snow is not so dangerous.
We were very snug here for three years, Sarah and I.”

John was
impressed. “It is quite an achievement, Hans. There is no damp that
I can see, and the floor is quite dry. I think it would be ideal
for us; the only problem that I can see,” he stopped, and Hans
looked worried. “You don’t think Linnett will like?” Hans
queried.

“Oh well, that
is a possibility, but no, my friend, it is not that.” John
reassured him. “No, it is the fact that she cannot cook.”

Hans chuckled,
“Sarah will have to try and teach her the basic cooking before you
leave us.”

John frowned
and said, “That would be kind of her, but will Linnett want to
learn? She is a very spoiled young lady. In fact, I am only just
realising how difficult that fact is going to make living our lives
together.”

Hans went over
to the table and sat down, gesturing towards the empty chair. John
pulled out the chair and sat down. Hans looked at him thoughtfully
while filling his trusty old pipe. “John, Linnett is your wife, and
it is up to you to set some rules for her. She is young, and as you
said yourself, she has been spoilt, but that can change. I have
always found a woman’s bottom to be her weak point, and the best
lovemaking is always after she has had a spanked bottom. Perhaps
time up here alone will bring you closer together. You will have
more time to get to know one another, and if you feel the need of
company, you can ride down to visit us, weather permitting of
course. It is all down to you, my friend. I will make beautiful map
to guide you to Boston. It will be ready for you to use come the
thaw, and it will be a pleasant way for me to spend the dark winter
evenings. I enjoy drawing and writing.”

John said,
“That would be most kind, thank you, Hans. You have been a good
friend to us. I think you may be right about the time spent up here
together, and who knows, perhaps I underestimate Linnett. She is
very brave but much too impulsive. She just needs a little
guidance. How I wish she had some of your Sarah’s good sense.”

Hans threw back
his head and roared with laughter. “John, when we first lived here,
Sarah was a sore trial to me. I cannot tell you the number of times
she got herself into mischief. Make no mistake, I had to warm her
backside for her plenty, plenty times! She would wander too far and
get herself lost while she was sketching and forget she had a stew
cooking, until I would find the pan burned over the fire and no
sign of my Sarah. She was bitten by a snake during our first year
and we had no idea whether the snake was poisonous or not. We
waited for a reaction, not knowing if she would live or die; it was
the worst day of my life I think. Fear not, Linnett will do her
growing up in good time with her good husband to guide her. Now my
friend, let us go and inspect the barn and then we will see what
delights Sarah has packed for our lunch.”

Linnett had
been travelling for about three hours when she saw ahead a plume of
smoke rising into the air from trees slightly to her left.
Excitedly, she turned Penny in that direction and picked her way
forward slowly. She wanted to surprise John and so went as quietly
as possible. As she entered the trees she dismounted so that she
could walk under the low branches of the fir trees. She crept
towards the camp. As she came to a clearing in the trees she saw a
fire burning merrily and nearby a horse tethered.