Spirit of the Revolution (26 page)

As they cheered her on, she rapidly opened each present, held it up for their inspection, and called out the name of the person who gave it. She paused only once to say, “This goes against the grain, you know. Carolyn would be proud—astounded, but proud.” Exactly fourteen minutes and forty-three seconds later, she finished the task and raised her arm triumphantly upward.

“I told you, I could do it.” She beamed as she took in each of their faces. “And you were all so worried.”

Mathias fixed his gaze to the clock, paused for several seconds, and then shook his head. “Nope, the way I see it, your fifteen minutes have come and gone. You haven’t finished, so you lose the contest and therefore, must pay the price.”

“What are you talking about?” Jo’s mouth dropped as she stared at her companions “You can plainly see I have them all opened.”

“Looks to me as if you have one more present under the tree,” Sam said as he pointed it out.

Jo turned her gaze in the direction he indicated. Another gift lay hidden beneath the branches. She inched forward, took hold of the corded handle, and placed the dark green bag atop her lap. “I don’t remember seeing this one before.”

“I hope you don’t mind, but we helped ourselves to one of your gift bags,” Mathias said. “We needed a place to put our gifts to you and the bag seemed most convenient, since we haven’t quite figured out how to wrap with boxes and those silly ribbons and bows like you do.”

Jo drew in a sharp breath as she gazed at each of them in turn. Pleased expressions looked back. She had no idea they would think to give her a gift or even that they could. The gesture overwhelmed her and made it very difficult to stifle her tears.

“Now without looking, you have to extract one item at a time,” Mathias said. “When you have the gift in your hand, we’ll tell you who it’s from.”

The small lump in her throat swelled and Jo’s hand shook just a bit as she grasped something made of wood, about the size of her hand. She drew it out of the bag and gazed at the detailed carving of a hawk in flight.

“Merry Christmas, Jolena,” Alex said as he took a step forward. “I used to whittle a bit in my time, taking my inspiration with what surrounded me. If I remember correctly, I made that one there a bit before the war. I know it’s not much, but—”

“How can you say that?” Her eyes filled with unshed tears as she covered her mouth. “This is a beautiful work of art, Alex. The carving would rival anything I’ve seen in any art gallery, and it will look so perfect next to Johann’s clock on the mantel. Thank you, so very much. You have no idea what this means to me.”

“Well, go on,” he replied, looking a bit embarrassed over her praise. “You’ve got more.”

Once again, she dropped her hand into the bag and this time she could feel something soft. She closed her hand around it and withdrew the object from the sack. A small leather pouch with an intricate shell and feather work design lay in her open hand. After gently stroking the glassy shells, she peeked inside and found more shells, each unique in color and shape. She found braided hair from the mane or tail of a horse, intertwined with colorful strips of leather and some beautiful feathers. Dried berries and a mixture of crushed herbs, which smelled as sweet as any perfume, supplied a colorful nest for the braids and shells.

“Merry Christmas, Jolena,” said Jedediah. “That there’s called a spirit pouch. One of the finest maidens of the Lenni-Lenape I ever had the pleasure of knowing made it for me. She gave it to me as a parting gift and told me it carried great magic. I’d like you to have that magic now.”

“Oh, Jedediah—I feel honored you would give this gift to me.” Jo shook her head as she sniffed and dabbed at the first tear that meandered down her cheek. “Thank you.”

Then as she looked into the anxious faces of the other boys, she dipped into the bag again. This time her fingers wrapped around a small piece of round metal. As she tugged the object upward, she could feel another like piece, attached to it. Once she cleared the bag, she opened her hand. She held two identical buttons, in pristine condition, about an inch in diameter, with the words Continental Army engraved around the outside edge. Inside the etching appeared the number one followed by a period, followed by the letter B. Centered beneath those, a perfectly engraved letter P.

“Merry Christmas.” William gave her a nod and winked in affection. “A long time ago, those buttons were taken off my military coat. They signify the Pennsylvania First Battalion. They’re still in good shape because we didn’t stay with them very long and trust me, my mother kept everything. Anyway, I wanted you to have something that once belonged to me, and I know how much you like things from the period.”

“Oh, William, I’m going to display these and my spirit pouch, on the shelf next to the painting of George Washington. They’ll look so perfect there. Thank you so very much,” Jo said as she used the back of her hand to wipe away another wayward tear.

“Only two left to go, Jolena,” Mathias said, urging her on.

This time as she searched the bag, her hand closed around the final item. She lifted the small porcelain box out of the bag with great care. The elegant trinket box featured gold painted arches that intersected each other. At the bottom of each intersection, a dainty blue forget-me-not added decoration to the underglaze.

“Merry Christmas, dear friend,” Sam said. “Just a little something to express my gratitude for all the joy you’ve given us.”

Though difficult, she swallowed past the lump in her throat. “This is so lovely, Sam and so delicate.” She shook her head as she nibbled a bit on her lip. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure,” Sam replied and then pointed to the box. “You still have one final gift inside the box, lass.”

Jo fixed her gaze to Mathias’s as she opened the lid. She withdrew a small teardrop opal-and-sapphire pendant attached to a delicate silver chain. With trembling fingers, she put the antique necklace on, vowing to make it part of her wardrobe each day, from this moment onward.

“Merry Christmas, Jolena,” Mathias said.

“This is the most exquisite necklace I’ve ever seen. Thank you, Mathias,” she whispered, as she picked up the pendant for a closer look. Then after placing the rest of her gifts back inside the bag, she clutched the handle, rose to her feet, and tenderly kissed him on his cheek. All the while, she made every effort not to go through his form. Then turning to her other boys, she kissed them in like manner.

She stood back then, and took them all in at once. “To say I’m overwhelmed is a huge understatement of what I feel right now. Thank you all, so very, very much for your gifts. I’ll treasure each one all the days of my life. And just so you all know, you have made this the best Christmas I’ve ever had, and I’ve had some pretty good ones.”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Mathias shrugged and shot the boys a quick glance. “It’s still a little early for you to make such a statement. You did lose the bet and therefore, you still have to pay the price.”

Jo stood open-mouthed, with one hand at her brow while clutching her gift bag with the other. “But I don’t recall even making it a bet, much less one with consequences. I merely said I could have my gifts open in under fifteen minutes.”

“But you guaranteed it, which is one in the same,” Mathias glibly stated. “Are you going to renege?”

“I can’t believe you’re making this such a big deal.” She huffed out a breath. “Okay, let’s get this done right now. What is the consequence for my tardiness?”

“Hmm, it needs to be something out of the ordinary—” Mathias looked over at Sam. “Got any ideas?”

“Well, let’s see.” He turned and gazed out the window. “It is Christmas, after all. We needn’t be brutish. So, something simple, I’d say.”

“And we don’t want it to take a whole lot of time, either,” Alex muttered. “I want to get back upstairs and take a second look at our painting and I’d like to see those photographs again.”

“How about she fetches Dakota without calling him?” Jedediah suggested. “We really shouldn’t leave him out there in the snow. His coat will get all wet and natty.”

“Perfect.” Mathias gazed at her and winked.

“Fine.” She turned around, placed her gift bag atop the table, walked out of the family room, and into the kitchen.

“You might want to get your jacket,” William called after her.

“I won’t need one,” she tossed back.

Although she couldn’t see them, the boys followed close behind. She opened the door and peeked all around looking for her dog. Oh, that’s right. Jed gave him the ham bone. She stepped through the snow, and made her way to his doghouse. No Dakota. She turned around and almost ran into Mathias.

“Not fair, when you gave him that bone to devour,” she chided.

Mathias merely shrugged. She sighed, but just then, she could hear Dakota barking. She shifted her gaze in the direction of the sound and spied the barn just up ahead. Perhaps he wanted to warm up a bit. She made all haste to the open doors, and all the while, wished she had taken the time to get her jacket.

She found all her ghostly companions waiting for her inside, grinning from ear to ear. She narrowed her eyes as she turned her head to the side. “What’s going on? None of this makes any sense whatsoever. What are you all up to?”

Without saying a word, they stepped aside so she could see the stall behind them.

Both of her hands flew upward and cupping them around her nose and mouth, she stifled a cry of surprise. Lacy, wearing a big red bow on her royal-blue halter, nickered to her. Stunned, she looked over at Mathias.

“One final gift, Jolena.” He winked as he extended a hand in invitation.

“But how? You—I can’t believe you did this for me.” Once again, she found herself wiping away tears she couldn’t control as she made her way to his side. He placed a hand about her waist and turned her toward the stall.

Sam chuckled as he shifted his gaze from her to Mathias. “Believe me, my dear, when Mathias has a will to do something, he finds a way to accomplish it.”

Mathias escorted her to the stall that housed her horse.
Her
horse. As she stood in front of the gate, her arms encircled the mare’s neck. Lacy responded by curving her head around Jo’s shoulders.

Mathias smiled his pleasure as they renewed their acquaintance. They bonded the moment Jolena spied her in Parker’s pasture the day they visited the cemetery. Jolena had to have her, that’s all there was to it. The task didn’t prove all that difficult to achieve. He noted Parker’s collection of antique farm equipment and offered to trade him his nephew’s old cast-iron plow for the horse.

They made the deal from across the fence while he sat atop Beadurinc, thereby escaping the obligatory handshake. In accordance with their agreement, he placed the plow on Parker’s doorstep two nights earlier, citing a logical need to drop it off while they slept. In turn, Parker arranged to have the mare delivered late last night so that it would remain a surprise.

“Oh, Mathias!” Jolena sniffed as she raked her fingers through the luxurious mane. “She’s so beautiful. I still can’t believe you did this for me.”

“And,” Mathias said, “If you look around, you’ll see she isn’t alone. She has Beadurinc for company as well as a few others you’ve yet to meet.”

Jolena’s eyes widened as she caught sight of his black stallion in the stall next to Lacy. Four other horses joined them in stalls of their own.

“You needn’t worry, Jolena,” Jedediah said. “We all look after them. She’ll be taken good care of whenever you’re gone or don’t have the time or inclination to do it yourself.”

Mathias placed a hand on her shoulder. “Did I cover all of your concerns?”

“All of them,” she whispered. “Thank you, you couldn’t have given me anything more perfect than the gifts you have all given.”

They spent the remainder of the day going between the barn and the library. All the while, he and the boys entertained her with personal stories and experiences from Christmases past. Then, when at last they all grew quiet, she retrieved her violin.

“I know you’ve all waited so patiently,” she said as she adjusted the strings. “But it took a while to find some of this music and then I wanted to memorize each piece and play it perfectly for you.” She nestled her violin against her shoulder, and smiled first at Jedediah. “This one is for you, dear Jedediah.”

Jedediah grinned, as she launched into “Sally in Our Alley,” the song he requested, the first day they met. By the time she arrived at the chorus, he opened his mouth wide and chimed in with arms swinging to the tempo. He sang the song with such enthusiasm, the rest of them joined in the singing as well.

Next, she played “Bonny Farday” for William, “Early One Morning” for Alex and then “The Little Turtle Dove” for Sam. Finally, she ended the music fest with “A Soldier and a Sailor,” played especially for him. She laughed aloud as they shouted out the final words to the song.

****

She shook her head, wiped at a tear and sniffed. “Forgive me, I need a moment to gather each wondrous moment of these past two days and tuck them safely away in my heart. You have all made it so special. Thank you all so much. I just wished it didn’t have to end—” The statement pleased him far more than she realized.

Much later that night, Mathias stood in front of the remarkable painting. He would forever cherish this exceptional gift. How interesting that they wanted to make this Christmas holiday season special for her, when it fact, she made it so for them.

Jolena would probably have laughed if she caught sight of them going through their personal boxes of collected treasures to select the perfect gift for her. Boxes they stashed behind an original false wall built into the attic and which had remained hidden for centuries. They hoped for that look of astonished delight, and she didn’t disappoint them in any way.

And now at the end of this unforgettable Christmas day, perhaps he might give them both one more gift to share. At least he hoped so. He made his way into her bedroom and sat in the rocking chair next to her bed. Then, after taking hold of her hand while she deeply slumbered, he quietly entered her dreams.