Riverbreeze: Part 2 (60 page)

For the first time in a week, they were all sitting down to supper together and Elizabeth was greatly relieved. Robert and Robin finally felt well enough to take their meals at the table. And after three days of tension between Robert and Jamie, Jamie had simmered down enough to forgive Robert for mistakenly attacking Evelyn.Evelyn, on the other hand, had never blamed Robert. She blamed herself for allowing him to get as far as he did. She told Elizabeth she could have protested in a louder voice; she could have fought more; she could have smacked Robert to get his attention sooner. She also blamed Elizabeth to some degree because Elizabeth had stopped wearing the pink ribbons. Elizabeth agreed with her and apologized profusely. They made up, learning another lesson and vowing to be much more careful in future.

To atone for Elizabeth’s neglect and her wishful thinking that she and Evelyn could finally be told apart, she had planned and prepared, with Abigail’s and Evelyn’s help, this celebratory supper. After hearing Robert rave over and over again about the meal he had eaten at the Paulette’s home, she wanted to try to prepare a similar meal. She asked Jamie if he would go hunting for turkey and ducks and with some extra pleading on Evelyn’s part, he had gone. He may have seemed reluctant to go hunting at first, instead wanting to work on clearing the site for their new house, but both sisters believed that secretly he had enjoyed the hunting trip on his own. And he had gotten extremely lucky that morning, shooting one large tom turkey and three mallard ducks.

It hadn’t been fun plucking and cleaning those birds, (the feathers had gotten everywhere!), but Elizabeth had been determined not to complain. And Robert had helped, doing the very nasty job of eviscerating the birds. After spending nearly an entire week in bed he had been eager to do anything that would get him out of that lonely, claustrophobic bedchamber.

Ironically he was back there now, napping with Robin, before the big meal while Elizabeth picked the last of the late season peas from the patch that was designated for eating. There was another row of vines that Robert had told her to leave alone. These plants would be left to dry for their seeds. She had never even considered this. When you could go to the market every day for vegetables, you didn’t think about how the vegetables were grown or how seeds were harvested. But of course there were no markets here for vegetables or for seeds therefore Robert had to make sure he planted extra plants to go to seed and then to collect them. It all seemed a little too much for her to think about now, the planning and keeping of a garden, so she concentrated on picking her peas.

On her knees, feeling fatigued from the morning’s activities—but it was a satisfying fatigue—she searched through the vines, all of a sudden disturbing a moth which flew out at her, startling her. She let out a little shriek, then feeling foolish, laughed at herself. It was only a little moth. Good thing about November though—there were fewer insects to deal with.

Returning to her task, she plucked every last pod while humming a popular anthem written by William Byrd named
Sing Joyfully unto God
. It was one of her favorite songs and while it was meant to be sung by a choir, she joyfully hummed and sang her part. After worrying about Robin’s and Robert’s health and feeling responsible for the friction between the brothers, she now felt like the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders.

Her basket was only half filled with peapods, but she estimated there would be enough peas for everyone to have a spoonful and she was looking forward to preparing her favorite dish, peas in cream and butter, (the cream and butter courtesy of Robin’s inherited cow which was much appreciated).

She took one last look through the vines to make sure she hadn’t missed any pods and when she was satisfied that she had gotten every single one, she stood up slowly and stretched her back.
This really is a lovely, well-organized garden
, she thought. She realized she enjoyed being here among all these growing things and smelling the fresh scents of the herbs and other vegetables. When she lived in London, her family had gotten their produce from the fruit and vegetable market at the west end of Cheapside, not too far from their home. Sometimes the families on their street would complain about the mess the merchants would leave on the streets, rotting and moldy produce that would attract all kinds of pests, stray dogs, pigs, and flies aplenty! And the smell! Whew! Even though she missed the hustle and bustle of London at times, she didn’t miss the smell!

Now the delicious aromas of roasting turkey and duck were making her mouth water and lured her back to the kitchen. She gathered up her little basket, shook out her skirt and with a cheerful smile, hurried to the house to rejoin Abigail and Evelyn.

Abigail was at the fireplace monitoring the cooking of all the food. She had already set a pot of water over the hottest spot of the fire for the peas. She had gone along with Elizabeth’s plan for the celebratory meal and was wearing her best olive green dress, covered with her apron, of course. She had also contributed to the festive occasion by volunteering the use of her finest linen tablecloth, a cloth that had once belonged to her mother and had been embroidered along the edges by her mother’s hand. It was very pretty and very precious to her.

The ivory-colored cloth covered the scarred and stained boards of the table, brightening the room. Evelyn had already set the table with five pewter plates, (Robert and Jamie actually had a set of eight but Evelyn didn’t believe the servants should eat off of pewter), one pewter porringer for Robin and two earthenware plates for the servants. An assortment of pewter and wooden spoons, pewter tankards and horn cups were also at each place setting along with linen napkins. There were only four bone-handled knives and since Abigail had her own little knife and the servants also had their own knives, the bone-handled knives were set at Robert’s, Jamie’s, Elizabeth’s and Evelyn’s places. Robin had his own silver spoon, a baptismal gift from his grandfather, and two brass candleholders with precious beeswax candles were placed in the center of the table. The two silver trays from the twins’ father were placed at the end of the table ready for the turkey and ducks.

Elizabeth was so proud seeing the silver trays and the beautifully set table she wanted to cry. She ran to Evelyn first, hugging her and then to Abigail to embrace her. “Thank you, both of you, for all your help today. Everything looks so lovely.”

“I’m just as happy as you are, Bess, that Jamie finally forgave Robert.” Evelyn said, taking the basket from her sister. Then in a low voice as if revealing a secret, she added, “’Twasn’t very pleasant living with him while he was in such a snit.”

“I still feel guilty for causing the whole mess…” Elizabeth said.

“We’ve been over this before.” Evelyn said, touching Elizabeth’s shoulder. “I’ve forgiven you…and Robert.”

“I know, but…”

“Girls…” Abigail interrupted, her voice impatient but tempered by affection. “Enough. You can argue all you want after supper. For now, let’s get these peas shelled and boiled. It won’t take long for them to cook and I have the cream warmed and the butter melted. And everything else is ready. Evelyn, go find Jamie and the servants and tell them to clean up before coming to the table.”

She did, handing the basket of peas back to Elizabeth and removing her apron. Like Abigail she was also dressed in her best gown, the spring green one that she had worn for the party at the Tyler’s and the first day she had met Jamie.

Abigail took the basket from Elizabeth, saying, “You too, Elizabeth, go upstairs and change…and wake Robert, if he’s not already awake. I’ll take care of the peas and when you return, you can serve. I know how much this means to you.”

“Oh Abby,” Elizabeth cried, real tears in her eyes. “You’ve been so kind and helpful. Thank you again.”

Abigail smiled gently at her. “Go. I can’t wait to eat this gorgeous turkey!” She ended on an excited note.

* * *

Elizabeth stopped at the doorway to her bedchamber. She peeked in, but it was nearly as dark as night—the fire had completely gone out and the shutters covered the windows—and she didn’t see any movement. She listened for a moment and didn’t hear any movement either. Both of them must still be fast asleep.

She tiptoed into the bedchamber and headed for one of the windows. Even though she could navigate through this room in pitch blackness, she still wanted a little light to dress by and to check the floor for obstacles. She never knew if Robin had thrown a toy on the floor or if Robert had left a boot in the middle of the room for her to trip over.

Thankfully, she made it to the closest window without incident. She opened the shutter a crack, letting in a narrow shaft of sunlight. She quickly looked back at the bed. It appeared that Robert and Robin were still sleeping peacefully.
Good
.

She smiled to herself then, seeing them together. She never grew tired of seeing them together; they were so alike, father and son. So handsome, so cute. She thanked God again for bringing her to this place and for sparing their lives.

After she had moved in, Robert had added additional pegs on the wall for her clothes, and now she went to them and quietly kicked her shoes off and slipped out of her bodice and skirt. They were the clothes she had allowed Evelyn to borrow and if she had been a wealthy woman, she would have thrown them out, but as her wardrobe was severely limited, she couldn’t afford to do that. With a sigh, she hung them up on two of the empty pegs…

“I love to watch you undress.”

Elizabeth jumped nearly two feet. She whirled around, her heart pounding. “Oh!” Seeing Robert grinning at her shamelessly, she couldn’t be angry with him. She smiled in return. “You rascal. You scared me half to death.” She said, in a whisper, hoping that she wouldn’t wake Robin.

“Come here.” He said, extending his hand towards her.

She obeyed, supposing she had a minute to indulge him. Besides, he looked so tempting, she wanted to go to him and give him a kiss.

She padded quietly to the side of the bed in nothing but her chemise, drawers and stockings. She took his hand and bent to kiss him. Without warning, he tugged her off balance and she fell across his body with a cry. She immediately worried that she had landed on his wound, but Robert didn’t seem to mind and Robin interrupted that thought by waking up. He raised his sleepy head. “Daddy? Mama? What you doin’?” He said in his small voice.

Elizabeth tried to get back up, but Robert held her good and tight. “Look, Robin,” He said playfully. “Mama has decided to join us in bed.” And he neatly rolled her off of him to lie between himself and Robin.

“I go pee!” Robin announced quite unexpectedly.

“No, Robin!” Robert shouted.

“Oh no!” Elizabeth cried out. Then both of them moved so fast you would have thought someone had shot a firecracker under the bed.

“He hasn’t gone yet.” Robert said, studying the front of his son’s smock and feeling under his bottom.

Elizabeth had already jumped off the bed and fetched the chamber pot from under it. She thrust it in front of the boy who looked about to let go.

“Sit.” Rob commanded, lifting Robin and placing him on the pot, his legs spread and straddling it. And just in time, Robert put his finger in the right strategic place so the boy didn’t squirt all over the bed.

“Good boy, Robin.” Elizabeth said, smiling. She exchanged a look with Robert and nearly dissolved in giggles. That was a close call! She hated to think about having to wash all their sheets and the counterpane and trying to dry out their mattress before bedtime. What an ordeal that would be.

When Robin was finished, he plopped back onto the bed and bouncing on his bottom, crowed excitedly. “I go pee in pot! I go pee pee in pot! I go pee pee pot! I pee pot!” He clapped his hands as he chanted.

Robert grabbed the pot before it got knocked over. He tried to hold on to it while he scooted to the side of the bed, but he wasn’t doing a very good job of it. Elizabeth rescued him, taking the pot and placing it on the floor and putting the lid on it.

Robert just shook his head at his son. “I’ll dump it later.” He said, shifting his body slowly and grimacing. The slash across his ribs still pained him. And he knew the stitches would have to be pulled out soon before his skin healed over them. He couldn’t wait for that day!

“Supper is ready. I was just changing.” Elizabeth said.