Riverbreeze: Part 1 (11 page)

The weather remained clear and fresh. They
traveled slowly so as not to overtire the horses and they took this
rare opportunity of unhurried togetherness to talk and reminisce,
to reveal new dreams and plans for the future, and to breathe in
the cool, clean, late October air, savoring the scent of an
occasional stand of pitch pine trees mingled with the odors of the
horses and old leather. And every once in a while, when the wind
died down and it was very quiet, they heard the calls of wild
turkeys and rustling of squirrels and chipmunks among the
undergrowth.

They stopped a time or two to relieve
themselves, to rub some circulation back into their backsides, to
stretch their sore legs and to allow Robin to run and jump and
release some of the pent-up energy of an active two-year-old. They
also stopped to drink cold fresh water from a small, swiftly
running creek and to eat the leftover corn cakes from breakfast and
fresh apples that Mrs. Chilcott had so thoughtfully packed for
them.

Jamie had worried somewhat that Robin might
be a problem on the trip, but actually he added an element of fun
and freshness to the journey. Watching him watching everything
around him brought a new appreciation of this land to Jamie and
Robert. Robin’s initial fear of being so high off the ground had
abated quickly with the feel of his father’s strong arm around him
and his father’s solid, warm body at his back. Robert’s fear of
Robin falling off the horse had been abated by the tough rope that
had been tied snugly around the two of them, lashing them together
so tightly, Robin couldn’t have moved if he wanted to.

All the questions that Robin had asked about
the horses when they had first arrived were asked again and again:
“
Horseys’ names
?” “Pisador and Penny.”
“
Horseys’ boys like
me and
Daddee and Unkie Jamie
?” “One of each, Uncle Jamie was
riding the boy; he and Daddy were riding the girl.” “
Horseys eat grass
?” “Yes, they also eat oats, straw,
carrots and apples.” And then there was the excited finger pointing
and constant questions about birds and flying bugs and trees and
plants and small animals as if he had never seen any of them before
in his own back garden. But of course he had never seen any of them
before from the back of a horse and this made them appear new all
over again.

But towards the end of the journey, around
mid-afternoon, Robin became drowsy and his head started to nod
sleepily from the excitement of the ride and from being with his
father and uncle on this grand adventure. Jamie and Robert
exchanged contented grins, grins that grew wider when they finally
emerged from the last copse of woods to the sight of Tyler’s
fields, the brilliant sun shining full and warm on their upturned
faces.

“We made it.” Jamie said, raising up in his
saddle in satisfaction and patting the neck of his fine stallion.
Yes, they had made it on these two fine animals without any mishaps
and Jamie breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t know what he would
have done if something tragic had happened.

“Yes, we did.” Robert responded. “I’m proud
of you, Jamie, for getting us here safe and sound. I admit I had a
few concerns.”

Jamie threw his brother a surprised look.
“You never said a word, except about Robin falling off the
horse.”

“I didn’t want to ruin your fun, but this was
a nice change of pace. I think I’m going to like having horses
again.”

“I already do!” Jamie laughed.

Robert laughed with him, then looking out
towards the fields, said unnecessarily, a tinge of melancholy in
his tone, “It looks the same.”

“Well, I should think that it wouldn’t change
that much in a month.” Jamie said dryly.

The land was flat enough here that they could
see nearly all the fields spread out on either side of them to the
north and south, some fields that had been harvested already of
corn and tobacco and other smaller fields of wheat and barley.

When Tyler and his family had first been
granted this land, there had only been a few acres that had
previously been cleared and cultivated by the natives. Since then,
over the years, about three dozen more acres had been cleared with
the help of neighbors getting together for chopping bees. It was
laborious, grueling work, but the wood was not wasted and more
cleared fields meant more tobacco, and tobacco was the money crop.
Most of the land was dedicated to it, although some farmers were
now realizing that it was also smart to grow grains and other
crops.

They guided the horses along the edge of one
tobacco field, their hooves clomping slowly and softly through the
red clay soil of Virginia. The stubs of the tobacco plants were
brown, dried out and withered, the stems having been cut in late
August and the plants hung to dry until the middle of October.

Both Jamie and Robert knew firsthand the
grueling, demanding labor involved in the cultivating of tobacco;
the sowing of tiny seeds in late February in seedbeds, then the
transplanting of the seedlings in early April, then the continual
cleaning of worms and other pests, the weeding, the pruning all
throughout the hot summer months. And then the final cutting in
August, hanging the plants to dry until October and then the
stripping of the dried leaves to pack them in hogsheads. They had
both learned the process in this very field and Jamie remembered
what an excellent student Robert had been. Robert had loved the
experience, working right alongside the other servants for hours
and hours, sweating in the heat and humidity, even when he didn’t
have to.

Jamie also remembered visiting Robert the
first year Robert was married and living on his new plantation. He
had been amazed when he had seen what Robert had accomplished,
planting and tending ten thousand plants on three acres of land all
by himself! (Well, he did have occasional help from two of Tyler’s
servants that were lent to him three days a week.) This had
produced approximately fifteen hundred pounds of tobacco. If he had
sold his tobacco to the English, he would have only been paid 3
pence a pound, but selling to the Dutch, he was paid eighteen pence
a pound. When Jamie had gone to live with Robert after Robert’s
wife’s death, they had planted six acres of land, doubling their
profits.

As the brothers and Robin moved deeper onto
the property, the house, yard and outbuildings came into view. Over
the past fifteen years Tyler’s holdings had increased considerably
from the three hundred acres he had originally been granted. His
contacts in London had allowed him to quickly establish himself as
a merchant/planter and he had become rather prosperous. And over
the years his associations with several prominent members of the
Council had also allowed him to increase his holdings and
profits.

His plantation was one of the largest in the
colony with significant tobacco, corn, wheat and barley fields, a
small orchard, a middling kitchen garden and surprisingly, a small
silk-producing operation. He was one of the few planters that could
afford a modest stables, separate quarters for his indentured
servants, several smoke sheds and other outbuildings including his
merchant store and large silkworm house. The main house was still
quite small with only six rooms, three downstairs and three up.
Originally it had been built as a typical one and a half story
structure, with two rooms downstairs and two up, divided by a
center hall staircase. It was only when Jamie and Robert had joined
the family that a two story addition had been constructed at the
back of the house to be used as the kitchen and the room above as a
bedchamber.

The scene ahead was as lively as a May Day
festival. The brothers could see many of the guests, clustered in
small groups, talking, laughing, and gossiping. Perhaps a dozen
children could be seen running and playing and if one looked in
just the right places, pairs of teenagers could be seen flirting
and cuddling. Two columns of smoke rose high in the sky, one from
the kitchen chimney, another from a pit that had been dug into the
ground and was being used to roast a whole boar and a haunch of
venison. One of the indentured servants, nicknamed Jack, stood
tending the fire and the meat. He was a tall, naturally muscular
man with tanned skin, sweat-soaked black hair pulled back in a tail
and dark brown eyes that missed nothing. He was wearing buff
breaches that were a little too snug and a grubby linen shirt that
had seen better days. His calves and feet were bare and very
dirty.

They also recognized John Pawley, the
chirurgeon
from James City County, a
meticulous man of average height with a surprising amount of
strength in his arms and hands, which came in handy when the need
to amputate arose. Both Robert and Jamie were personally acquainted
with the man; three days after Robert had injured his leg and when
it had appeared that there was no hope of saving it, he had been
sent for by Robert’s wife, but Jamie had kicked him out and against
Kathleen’s will, had gone himself to fetch Mistress Warren, the
woman who dealt in herbs and lay healing, and brought her back to
Robert. At the time, Pawley had been highly insulted and predicted
that Robert would suffer a horrible, drawn-out death, but after
Robert had recovered, he had actually admitted he was glad he
hadn’t had to perform the crippling operation.

Now he stood around the fire with Thomas
Harrison, the minister, a spare man with sunken eyes and cheeks,
who would rather pray than eat. His somber gray doublet and
breeches hung from his skin and bones body. Harrison had come to
the colony with righteous intentions of saving the natives and
rearing their children in proper English fashion, and several times
a year he would go deep into the territories attempting to spread
the word of God, but few listened, much to his dismay. Together the
two of them were standing with Jack and engaging him in
conversation.

And then as Jamie and Robert got closer to
the main house, they saw Walter Newberry, one of the servants who
helped in Tyler’s stables, appear from the privy. He was a
funny-looking young man with dirty blond hair kept tied back with a
leather thong, small, squinty hazel eyes, a bulbous nose and small,
round ears that stuck out like little bear cub ears, but he was one
of the best stable boys that Jamie had ever known. Walter was also
wearing buff breeches and a course linen shirt, but his looked
newer and cleaner. And he was wearing an old pair of boots,
considerably worn and scuffed, but at least they afforded him some
kind of protection around the horses. Now he stood apart from
everyone else, trying not to show his excitement, waiting eagerly
for them to near.

The brothers also noticed Roger Wentworth,
their good friend, who was the county court clerk of Charles City
County. He had just emerged from the back door of the house,
staggering and removing his linen collar and waving it in front of
his face. His skin was flushed, and he looked like he was about to
expire from the heat, but then he spotted the brothers and stood in
silent awe for a moment, taking in the sight of them on the horses,
before smiling and waving enthusiastically.

Jamie laughed, but Robert said grimly, “We’re
not going to get in unnoticed, are we?”

“Did you think we would?” Jamie asked,
returning the enthusiastic wave. The rest of the crowd all turned
to watch them ride in, impressed and excited by the magnificent
horses.

“I was hoping.” Rob responded, but he was
also smiling at Roger, whom he hadn’t seen in several weeks.

The crowd stayed back as the boys rode to the
back of the house. They needed to be as close as possible to the
back door because of Robert’s bad leg and the sleeping little boy.
Robert said he wanted to take Robin directly upstairs without
having to maneuver through the guests in the front rooms.

Once at the back porch, Walter moved in to
hold the horses’ bridles as Jamie dismounted first. The young
servant was successful in being as inconspicuous as possible,
keeping his gaze directed at the horses, not at the gathering
guests. He was also successful at keeping the horses calm which
both Jamie and Robert noticed with satisfaction.

Everyone was smiling and oohing and aahing,
and Robert watched with pride as Jamie was immediately
congratulated with hearty pats on the back and quick hugs and
kisses. They had all known how hard Jamie had worked to obtain
these horses and all were genuinely happy for him.

“Jamie, my boy, these are magnificent
animals!”

“They are just beautiful, Master
Bassett.”

“James, my lad, congratulations, you must be
very pleased. They are quite wonderful.”

“When do we get to see them race?”

“Will you race them against Francis’
horses?”

Jamie just smiled politely and thanked them
for the compliments but inside he felt like he was ten feet
tall.

All the attention was not for Jamie and the
horses however. The crowd hadn’t overlooked Robert and Robin. Jamie
chuckled silently to himself knowing how Robert hated all that
attention.

No one had seen Robert or Robin in over a
month and all were so pleased to see them. The women especially
commented on how big Robin had grown and showed satisfaction at his
obvious sound health.

“He is quite the big boy, isn’t he?” Cathy
Bennett commented. She was a mother herself, a demure woman wearing
a sedate gown of cobalt blue.

“Such a sturdy looking lad.” Cornelius
Clements added.

“And almost as handsome as his father.” Eliza
Williams commented suggestively. She was a widow at thirty but
still quite attractive with platinum blond hair and an unmarked
face. She wore a revealing, low cut gown of ruby red embroidered
with gold thread, obviously meant to attract the opposite sex. She
had already buried two husbands, increasing her wealth with each
marriage, making her a highly desirable choice for an ambitious
man, and while she suspected Robert would not be interested in her,
it never hurt to try. A young man might live long enough to take
care of her in her old age.