The Vow (42 page)
Hannah smiled. “Why should he, now that he has…more interesting things to do at home?”
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Georgia giggled. “It’s nine o’clock, so he should be dressed by now. Shall I get him for you?”
“No need, my love,” came James’s voice from the doorway. He greeted Hannah, brushed his hair out of his eyes, and crossed the parlor to kiss his blushing wife on the cheek.
Hannah said, “Before you go to the mill, I’d like to speak to you about a project.”
James poured himself a cup of tea and raised his brows. “What kind of project?”
“I want you to make something very special for me, something I suspect will be very difficult to construct.”
“James can build anything,” Georgia said.
James sat down and turned to Hannah. “Tell me what you want me to make, and I’ll tell you if I can.”
Hannah leaned forward and described what she wanted. When she finished, she sat back and waited for their reactions.
“Oh, Hannah,” Georgia said, “that would be wonderful.”
Hannah looked at James, still sitting there silently. “Can it be done?”
His brow furrowed in concentration, and Hannah could almost hear his mental wheels turning as he considered all possibilities. Finally he smiled. “I think so. At least I’ll try my best to see what I can fashion.”
“I can’t ask for more than that.” Hannah rose. “Don’t either of you tell anyone about this, especially Reiver. I want it to be a secret in case it doesn’t work.”
“We won’t tell a living soul,” Georgia said, rising.
James rose also. “I’ll find a way to work on it without anyone else knowing.”
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Hannah stared over James’s shoulder. “Will it work?”
He shrugged. “The only way we’ll know that is to try it.”
She shivered, more from her own nervousness than from the draft of cold November air swirling around her skirts. Now that the project was completed, second thoughts plagued Hannah. What if it didn’t work? What if it caused irreparable damage?
Hannah knotted her long fingers together and stared at the creation of wood and straps on James’s workbench. “I don’t think this was such a good idea.
Perhaps we ought to throw it away and forget about it.”
“Don’t worry,” James said. “Even if it doesn’t work, he’ll be touched by the sentiment behind it.” He grinned. “Besides, this is my masterpiece! I’ve put too much blood and sweat into it to discard it now.”
Hannah took several gulps of refreshing air. “You’re right. I’m being silly.”
She took another breath. “Well, it’s Judgment Day. Shall we go?”
James nodded, and together they left the Bickford barn, where they had been conspiring in secret for almost two months. The overcast sky with its threat of snow mirrored Hannah’s feeling of foreboding.
When they arrived at the homestead, James said, “Hannah, you look as though you’re going to a hanging.”
“I am…my own!” She couldn’t stop shaking. “He’s going to hate me for this.”
“If anything, he’ll be moved by your concern for his feelings.”
They went inside without knocking. “Samuel?” Hannah called.
He appeared a minute later, a book tucked under his arm. His gaze went to the package James held. “What’s this? An early Christmas present?”
Hannah nodded. “In a way.”
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He smiled. “Come, don’t keep me in suspense.”
James offered his brother the package, but Hannah stayed his hand.
“Samuel, before you open it, I have to say that I hope you won’t be offended when you see what it is.”
“Now I am intrigued. Give it over, baby brother.”
When he saw the contents, he turned so ashen, Hannah thought he would faint.
“It’s an artificial hand,” she said, her voice shaking. “James made it out of wood and leather so you could strap it on your arm and fit it with a glove. It—
it’s not as good as a real one, of course, but I thought…” She stared at him helplessly.
He looked at the wooden hand with its fingers flexed in a natural resting position and a hollowed-out cup to anchor the stump. Then he took his time examining the straps. His eyes revealed not a thought. A mask held more expression than his features. He didn’t smile or register any enthusiasm or gratitude for what they had done.
He loathes it
, Hannah thought,
and he loathes me even more for thinking he would
accept this.
Samuel looked from Hannah to James and back to Hannah. “I—I don’t know what to say.”
James said, “Why don’t you let me show you how it works?”
When Samuel started to remove his coat, James raised his brows. “You intend to undress in front of Hannah?”
She looked away. How was James to know that she had seen Samuel in far less?
Samuel said, “Of course not. Let’s go into another room.”
And he walked out with James following.
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Hannah waited. And waited.
After what seemed like hours they returned. Hannah’s gaze went straight to Samuel’s face, searching for any sign of resentment or reproach.
“What do you think?” he asked.
He held his right arm close to his body as before, but instead of his coat sleeve being sewn shut, it came down naturally to the end of his wrist. With the wooden hand covered by a black leather glove, no casual observer could tell that Samuel’s hand was missing.
Hannah managed a tentative smile. “Now it doesn’t call attention to your—
your—”
“Infirmity,” he finished for her.
An awkward silence ensued. Finally James slapped his brother on the back.
“I’ve got to get back to the mill or Reiver will think I’ve left town.” After accepting Samuel’s thanks, he left Hannah alone with him.
Hannah crossed her arms to hide her nervousness. “I—I know it’s a poor substitute, but I—oh, Samuel, I didn’t mean to embarrass or insult you.” She shrugged helplessly. “Say something, please!”
“I’m speechless.” Now he radiated such warmth that Hannah felt as though she were standing before a roaring fire on a cold winter’s day. “Just when I think I’ve seen the pinnacle of human kindness, you do something like this.”
He took her hand and pressed his warm lips into her palm, causing her to tremble. When he released her, his eyes sparkled with gratitude. “I don’t have enough words to thank you properly.”
“I just want you to be whole again.”
Samuel watched her walk back up Mulberry Hill, her skirts billowing in the brisk November wind. Her gesture had touched him more than he could show.
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When he thought of Hannah planning this and enlisting James’s help, and the two of them working all these weeks in secret…
He wished he had Hannah’s courage and her boundless optimism. He wished he could be whole again for her, but he couldn’t. He didn’t know if he even had the energy to try.
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Chapter Nineteen
In late March of 1858, Reiver came to a decision that he dreaded telling Hannah.
That afternoon he found her in the study, seated at the desk with her pen in hand, answering a pile of business correspondence. When she didn’t acknowledge his presence, he said, “Would you stop writing for a moment? I have to talk to you.”
Hannah set aside her pen and folded her hands on her desk. “You have my undivided attention.”
Reiver sat down across from her. “I’m going to Yokohama. And I’m taking Benjamin with me.”
After eighteen years of marriage, he knew how to read her. By the way her eyes darkened and narrowed, he could tell she was not pleased. The slight tightening of her lips indicated resistance and a possible battle. Reiver was prepared.
Hannah sat back in her chair. His decision didn’t come as a complete surprise. She had overheard him discussing the matter with several of his cronies at James’s wedding reception last year. Since he hadn’t mentioned it afterward, she thought he had discounted the idea.
“Do you really think such a voyage will benefit Shaw Silks?” she asked.
“Immeasurably. You know how I’ve been displeased with the inferior quality of Chinese silks for years. Japanese silk has the potential of being the
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highest quality, and now that they’re receptive to trade with the United States, this is the perfect time to establish a business relationship with them.”
“Why do you have to be the one to go?”
Reiver raised his brows in surprise. “I should think you’d welcome the opportunity to be rid of me for a while.”
Hannah looked chagrined. “I merely meant that you are forty-six years old and this is a long, arduous voyage better undertaken by a younger man.”
Reiver slapped his flat stomach. “I’ll have you know I’m still capable of doing the work of a man half my age. Besides, who else would I send? James is to be a father soon, and Samuel doesn’t know enough about the business. My new overseer is still too green.” He shook his head. “No, Hannah, the only two people qualified enough to go are me and you.”
She gave him a level look. “I have no intention of going to Japan. Not with Elisabeth to look after.”
“Somehow I don’t think the Japanese would deal with a woman, anyway, so you’re spared.”
“What if there is a war? What happens if you’re cut off and can’t return to Connecticut?”
“I plan to be back before that happens.”
Hannah rose in an agitated rustle of taffeta. “Why must Benjamin go with you? He’s—”
“Too young? Hannah, we’ve been through this before. Shaw Silks will belong to Ben and Davey someday. Davey is still too young to learn about the company, but Ben isn’t. By going to Japan, he’ll meet the people he’ll be dealing with in the future. He’ll be an invaluable asset.”
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She went over to the window, parted the curtains, and looked out.
“Intellectually I know you’re right, but in my mother’s heart, I don’t want him to go.”
Reiver crossed the room and placed his hands on her shoulders. “I know, Hannah,” he said gently. “You worry needlessly. He’s my son, too, and I promise to take good care of him.”
She turned. “But to not see my son for such a long time…”
“You’ll have Davey and Elisabeth. And Georgia’s new baby. And you can run the mill without my interference.”
Hannah smiled dryly. “That is certainly the best inducement. Are you sure you can trust me with your precious mill?”
“Yes, I can. You haven’t let me down yet.”
It was the highest compliment he could give her, and she knew it.
Hannah looked away. “Are you sure you can trust me with Samuel?”
“I trust the both of you,” he replied without hesitation. Samuel posed no threat to him. He had returned to Coldwater in little pieces, and even with Hannah’s clever gift of an artificial hand to keep people from noticing quite so readily and staring, Samuel still wasn’t the man he once was. As much as he claimed to want to earn his keep, the most he accomplished was to spend his days in the homestead, hiding from the world. He wouldn’t betray Reiver again.
Yet even if Samuel and Hannah did become lovers again, Reiver considered it a risk well worth taking. He wanted to go to Japan more than he wanted to police Hannah and Samuel.
“How long will you be gone?” Hannah asked.
“One or two years. Maybe more.”
“That is such a long time. So much can happen while you’re away. Mrs.
Hardy isn’t in the best of health.”
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“That tough old bird will outlive us all.”
“What if something happens to you or Benjamin? Storms at sea, shipwrecks, unfriendly natives could befall you.”
Reiver smiled gently. “All of life is a risk, Hannah. You know that.”
“And what of Davey? He’ll see this trip as another example of you favoring Benjamin over him.”
Reiver scowled in annoyance. “Damn it, Hannah! I can’t stop doing things with Benjamin just because Davey gets jealous. Ben’s the eldest, and his age confers certain privileges. Davey will just have to understand that.”
“I wonder if he ever will.” Then she said, “How does Benjamin feel about making this trip with you?”
“He wants to go as badly as I do.”
Father and favorite son conquering the world together, Hannah thought.
Having exhausted all her objections, she sighed. “If you feel this trip is necessary for the future of Shaw Silks, you and Benjamin may go with my blessing.”
Reiver’s eyes sparkled with an enthusiasm that Hannah hadn’t seen since he first started raising silkworms. “We’re embarking on a new age, Hannah, and Shaw Silks is going to be in the forefront.”
But her main concern was for the son she wouldn’t see for two or more years.
Every member of the Shaw family crowded the Hartford train station platform to see Reiver and Benjamin off one month later, even a stooped, cantankerous Mrs. Hardy and a glowing Georgia trying to hide her condition beneath a loose-waisted gown.
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After the public farewells to their workers and private farewells to each other, there wasn’t much to do at the train station except shake hands, wave handkerchiefs, and call a tearful, “Goodbye! Godspeed!” as the train pulled out of the depot.
Hannah watched the train through her tears and prayed that Reiver and Benjamin would return safely to her. By the time she and the others boarded a train to take them back to Coldwater, she was forming plans of her own.
She felt as though she had been handed the keys to the kingdom, and she intended to open the doors wide.
She started with Davey.
Once they arrived home, she gave him several hours to sulk about his brother’s good fortune and wallow in self-pity, then she went up to his room, where she found him stuffing himself with molasses cookies.