Shifted By The Winds (69 page)

Abby shivered, not from the cold buffeting her as a brisk wind assaulted the carriage, but from sheer excitement. After being on her own for so long, she could hardly believe she was part of such a big, vibrant family.

“Are you cold?” Thomas asked solicitously, reaching for another blanket to tuck around her. “It’s brutal out here,” he muttered.

“It’s wonderful!” Abby cried. “I’m not cold at all. I can hardly believe Jeremy and Marietta are getting married next week. And it’s almost Christmas. And we’re going to the plantation.”

Thomas grinned. “You sound like you are about four years old.”

Abby stuck her tongue out at him.

Thomas laughed harder. “Now you are acting
exactly
like your daughter!”

Abby bounced on the seat, grinning up at Spencer as he turned back to look at her, his broad face spread in a wide grin.

“Sure does a heart good to see you so happy,” Spencer drawled.

“I could say the same thing for you,” Abby answered. “Carrie was insistent in her letter a couple weeks ago that you would stay on the plantation for Christmas. I have a feeling, though, that she’ll understand your desire to get back to your new bride.”

Spencer ducked his head with embarrassment, but his smile still beamed. “I can’t believe May agreed to marry me,” he said, his voice thick with wonder. “She’s something, that woman is.”

“Both of you are,” Abby replied warmly. “I could not be happier for both of you.”

“You’re certainly going to eat better,” Thomas joked.

Spencer threw his head back with a loud laugh. “Yes, sir. That be right for certain!” He patted his stomach. “I think I’m already gaining weight.”

Abby settled back against the carriage cushion as she laid her head on Thomas’ shoulder. She suspected it was just a lull before the storm, but she was determined to simply relish the last four weeks of peace that had covered Richmond. Perhaps it was just because the cold had snuffed out any fires of passion, but she didn’t care—she was simply going to enjoy it. They had experienced such a successful year in the factory that they had decided to simply pay everyone their full wages and shut it down for the two weeks they would be gone. Their employees had gaped at them with disbelief when they had made the announcement the night before, and then had erupted into excited talk before they disappeared into the night toward their homes to create their own celebrations.

“I know we promised no business talk once we got to the plantation, but we’re not there yet,” Thomas observed. “May I ask you a question?”

Abby nodded. “Ask away, my dear.”

“I saw you reading a letter after we got home last night, but we were too busy with last minute packing for me to ask you about it.”

Abby nodded. If it was possible to be any happier, the letter she had received had made her that way. “It was from our plant manager in Philadelphia.” In spite of the brutal cold, they had decided to move forward with preparing the Moyamensing building for production. “Things are going smoothly. There have been some delays because of weather, but the people of Moyamensing have kept the streets amazingly clear of snow around the building, and they keep the workers provided with hot food.  Biddy is providing the money for the food, but the residents are cooking it.”

Thomas nodded his approval. “So you still believe it will open in April?”

“Definitely,” Abby said with a grin. It thrilled her heart to have so much to grin about. “We may even have it ready in March. We’ll start small, but we should be up to full production by the end of April, expanding the workforce during the summer.” She shook her head. “I knew Biddy was a powerful woman, but I didn’t realize she has so many connections. Things that should have taken weeks to accomplish are happening in mere days. Our decision to put the factory in Moyamensing has already garnered interest from other factory owners.”

“Of course it has,” Thomas replied. “When the most successful businesswoman in Philadelphia does something so radical, it was sure to make them take notice. They also don’t want to miss out on a good thing,” he said dryly.

Abby supposed she should respond modestly, but she was too thrilled with what was happening. “That’s true,” she agreed tartly.

Thomas laughed and pulled her closer. “I have had a lot of wonderful Christmases on the plantation, but I am quite sure none of them will hold a candle to the one we are about to experience.”

Carrie beamed with delight as Moses and Robert wrestled the towering cedar tree across the porch and into the house. It had taken ten of them, all on horseback, to find the right tree. Their laughter had echoed through the woods for hours as they discussed, and eliminated, all the trees they examined. It wasn’t until Amber came cantering up with news of the perfect tree tucked into the woods beside a hidden pond that the search had ended.

Amber jumped up and down and clapped her hands as the cedar entered the foyer. “My tree is perfect!” she cried.

“If we raise the ceiling,” Robert muttered as he and Moses finished pushing it into the parlor.

“It will fit, Robert,” Felicia said. “I measured it.”

Robert eyed her. “You measured it from a shadow.”

Rose laughed. “You haven’t yet learned not to question our resident genius?” she asked.

Robert smiled, but still looked unconvinced as he gazed up at the twelve-foot ceiling. “I only want to put this thing up once.”

Felicia looked at with something like disdain, but her eyes sparkled with fun. “It’s really quite simple,” she said, her tone indicating she was speaking slowly because she doubted his ability to understand her. “The secret is in the sun’s rays. They fall on both me and the tree from the same direction. That means the rays are parallel. Both me and the tree are straight, so that means we are parallel too. Since the ground was flat around the tree that made both of our shadows parallel.” Excited now, she pulled out a sheet of paper and drew a quick picture. “See, the shadows the tree and I cast look like a triangle. The top of the tree is joined to the shadow of the top of the tree by a line that points back up to the sun.” She drew a straight line connecting the two to demonstrate. “My shadow can be drawn the same way.”

“So?” Robert asked, his face saying he was already confused as he stared down at the drawing.

“So even though the triangles are different sizes, they are the exact same proportion,” Felicia said earnestly.

Carrie hid her smile. Robert, exhausted from his struggle with the tree was clearly not understanding Felicia’s explanation, but he was at least trying to listen. She loved him for it.

“It was easy to figure out
my
shadow,” Felicia continued. “I’m five feet tall. My shadow is two and a half feet long, or half as long as my height. The ceiling is twelve feet tall. That meant our tree had to have a shadow no longer than six feet. When Amber found this tree I was able to calculate its height.”

Moses chuckled when he looked at Robert’s face. “It’s best not to question her,” he advised as he finished hammering the stand onto the bottom of the luxuriant tree. “When it comes to things like this, she is always right.”

John, standing close to his daddy, nodded wisely.  “Fe-Fe is real smart,” he said solemnly.

Dwane nodded too.  “Fe-Fe be real smart,” he echoed, his eyes shining as he stared at the tree with complete wonder.

Robert chuckled, stared at Felicia with admiration, and then helped Moses hoist the tree. He knew this was the first time Dwane had ever seen a Christmas tree.  The resilient little boy seemed to have completely forgotten the beaten that had taken his little sister, and almost killed him.  Morah and Dwane had moved into the room Perry and Louisa had occupied as soon as they had left for Cromwell Plantation.  Dwane had erased John’s sadness at seeing Jasper ride away in the carriage.  Morah was helping Annie in the kitchen, and devouring every book she could get her hands on.  Felicia spent time helping her every night.
As Felicia had predicted, the tree fit perfectly, its top within two inches of the ceiling.

“Well done,” Carrie exclaimed as she applauded. “All of you!” She inhaled deeply as the aroma of the cedar filled the room, her skin tingling with the wonder of another Christmas on the plantation.

Annie appeared with a platter heaped tall with cookies. Polly and Morah were right behind her, their hands  full of trays of coffee and hot chocolate. Just as they set them down on the table, the door opened and allowed in a rush of cold air. Clint and Gabe stomped in, their arms full of cedar boughs to decorate the mantels and doorways.

Clint sniffed appreciatively. “I can smell my mama’s gingerbread cookies from a mile away.” He eyed the platter. “Is it time?”

Carrie laughed. “It’s time.” She showed him where she wanted them to deposit the cedar boughs and then pointed them toward the table. Moments later the laughter and talk had been replaced with complete silence as the cookies and hot drinks disappeared into a memory.

Robert wiped his mouth with a napkin and gazed up at the tree. “It seems strange not to have it decorated before your father and Abby get here.”

“I know,” Carrie agreed, “but Abby insisted she didn’t want to miss out this year, and Marietta said she wasn’t going to have her first real southern Christmas messed up by not being able to help decorate.” She glanced at the four children. “How are the decorations coming?”

“Real good,” Amber assured her. “Mama and Annie pulled all the boxes out of the attic for us, and we’ve been making new ones all week.  Morah has been helping us!”

Carrie smiled, her mind spinning back to all the Christmases she had enjoyed on the plantation. She had always led the group of children from the quarters when they went into the woods scavenging for pinecones, mistletoe and wispy moss to make hordes of decorations. There were less children now, but the excitement was just as strong.

The quarters stood empty, waiting for the next round of seasonal workers to arrive in the spring. The other families, snug in their own homes, were busy creating their own Christmas celebrations.

Felicia stared up at the tree with huge round eyes.  Carrie exchanged a meaningful look with Rose. Felicia might be a child prodigy, but she was still just a little girl who had never seen such a huge Christmas tree in her life.

“This is the first Christmas tree I’ve ever seen,” Felicia said quietly, reaching out to touch the fragrant boughs.

Moses stepped closer. “The first one, honey? What about the plantation you lived on?”

Felicia shrugged, her eyes never leaving the tree. “I heard the house slaves talking about one a couple times, but I’ve never seen one. It’s beautiful,” she murmured in a reverent voice.

“As beautiful as the Leonid Meteor Shower?” Carrie teased. She could hardly wait to see Felicia’s face when the little girl experienced the tree decorated with ornaments and glimmering candlelight.

Felicia shook her head quickly. “Nothing will ever be as beautiful as that!” she exclaimed.

“I agree with you completely,” Carrie replied.

“What time are Uncle Thomas and Aunt Abby getting here?” Felicia asked as she stepped away from the tree to stare out the window.

“This afternoon,” Carrie answered, glancing at the tall grandfather clock in the corner. “They should actually be here any minute,” she said with surprise. “Where did the morning go?”

“What about Jeremy and Marietta?” Amber asked.

“They will be here tomorrow,” Rose said. “Matthew and Janie will be with them.”

“Marietta told me I could help her get ready for the wedding,” Amber announced proudly. She danced a quick jig. “I can hardly wait. I ain’t never seen a real wedding,” she proclaimed.

Rose cleared her throat.

Amber clapped a hand over her mouth. “I meant to say that I have never seen a real wedding,” she said hastily, giggling when Rose nodded her approval. She went back to dancing around the room.