The Paper Quilt

By Bedelia von Paulhus

This is an epic of three strong women told through their journals, beginning with Rebekkah in Cornwall, England, and covering three hundred years. She has left her family in the Isles of Scilly, off the coast of Southern England, in 1702 to work for the Rally Christian family as a maid. While there, she meets her would-be husband, Carlton Christian. They marry in 1704 and sail to New England, where Carlton secures a teaching position at the Deerfield Fort. They are attacked in the historical Deerfield Massacre. Carlton is killed, and Rebekkah is taken prisoner and marched to Canada. 

The second journal is from Margaret Porter in Boston, Massachussetts. She marries the son of the Merriweather Plantation owner in Georgia, where she will live. The Civil War begins, and her husband joins and is killed. She is left to survive with a family. 

Marie is the third strong woman who has kept the journal, which was given by her mother, Marigold, and she is the great-granddaughter of Rebekkah. Her family migrates from Canada and settles in Savannah, Georgia, where she marries and has two children. This family eventually migrates to Merriweather Plantation. 

After the Civil War, a great-great-great-grandson of Carlton’s shows up at Merriweather Plantation. He and his father are from an illegitimate child that Carlton sired and knew nothing about before he married Rebekkah. This has combined two families as this young Carlton will marry Rebekkah, the great-great-granddaughter of Rebekkah, thus producing a family like a paper quilt. This a book of history, biography, poetry, incest and murder, recipes, menus, and interior design covering three hundred years.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: May 18, 2024
• ISBN: 9781662477645

Book preview

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The Paper Quilt

Bedelia von Paulhus

Copyright © 2024 Bedelia von Paulhus

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2024

ISBN 978-1-6624-7763-8 (pbk)

ISBN 979-8-89157-960-6 (hc)

ISBN 978-1-6624-7764-5 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Dedicated to my daughters, Susan and Karen.

Alexandra's Lineage

Rebekkah's Lineage

Children of Margaret Porter Thornhill

Synopsis

Prologue

Chapter 1

The Death of Emily

Chapter 2

The Journey Home

Chapter 3

Alex Arrives Home

Chapter 4

The Morning of the Wake

Chapter 5

The Weather Rules

Chapter 6

Grilling Fish, Relaxing, and Remembering

Chapter 7

Dinner with Phil Geisler at the Town of Shamus Mills

Chapter 8

Who Is Jeptha?

Chapter 9

What a Web We Weave

Chapter 10

Planning the Bed-and-Breakfast Farm

Chapter 11

Selling at Rutherford House

Chapter 12

The First Letter

Chapter 13

Stonefield

Rebekkah

Chapter 14

Cornwall

The Wedding

Chapter 15

Rebekkah and Carlton

The Wedding Night at Farrington Hall

Chapter 16

The Voyage on the Mild May

Arriving in the Colonies

Chapter 17

Arrival in Fort Deerfield

Chapter 18

Last Words of Rebekkah

Chapter 19

Marriage

Leaving for the Colonies

Birth of Marie

Chapter 20

Death of Marigold

Chapter 21

Charleston

Feather and the Stone Plantation, Located on the Cooper River.

Chapter 22

Kei and Feather Marry

Chapter 23

Marie's Wedding

Chapter 24

Arriving at Long Swamp Creek

Chapter 25

Escaping Dahlonega

Marie

Chapter 26

Charleston

Chapter 27

Charleston

Martha and Coy

They Burned the Farm

Chapter 28

Charleston

A House in the Battery

Chapter 29

Just Before Christmas

Chapter 30

Millicent Fenwick

Chapter 31

A Wedding

Chapter 32

Leaving for Newnan, Georgia

Chapter 33

Marie's Journal

Lucy Thornhill Comes to Tulip Lane

Chapter 34

Merriweather

Warren Jr. Returns from Europe

Chapter 35

Boston

Margaret Porter

Mount Holyoke Female Seminary

Chapter 36

Death of James

Chapter 37

Merriweather

If God Has Ever Touched Me

Chapter 38

Cornwall

A Wedding in Cornwall

Chapter 39

Nell and Garland Arrive in Boston

Chapter 40

Margaret Emily Porter's Diary

Chapter 41

Our Vacation in Maine

Chapter 42

Warren Kelson Thornhill Jr.

Chapter 43

Stonefield Farm B&B

Chapter 44

Thanksgiving at Easley House

Cecilia Bradshaw

Chapter 45

Christmas in Boston

Chapter 46

The Wedding

Mrs. Warren Kelso Thornhill II

Chapter 47

Bridal Tour5 to Newport, Rhode Island

Chapter 48

Trip to Georgia

Leaving Boston on the Admiral Star

Chapter 49

Arriving at Merriweather

Chapter 50

Learning the Plantation and Its People

Chapter 51

The First Blood Spilled in Maryland

Chapter 52

Merriweather

Nell Joins the Suffragettes

Chapter 53

The Accident

Chapter 54

A Large Box Arrived

Chapter 55

Uncle Tom's Cabin Comes to Merriweather

Also Called the Book of the Lowly

Chapter 56

Merriweather

The Birth of Claudia Nell

Chapter 57

Merriweather

Gama Nell Arrives to See Claudia Nell

Chapter 58

Christmas at Merriweather

Chapter 59

I Am Blessed

Margaret

Chapter 60

Merriweather

Margaret's Journal

Birth of Lucy Ann

Chapter 61

John Brown

Chapter 62

Stonefield

Megan at the Back Door

Chapter 63

Stonefield

The Snake

Chapter 64

Stonefield

A Horrible Surprise, or Was It?

Chapter 65

Stonefield

The Chef

Chapter 66

Stonefield

Kathleen Rose

Chapter 67

Stonefield

Réveillon to Humble Pie

Chapter 68

Stonefield

The Death of Jonas

Chapter 69

Stonefield

A Surprise for Everyone

Chapter 70

Merriweather

Remembrance and Sketches of the Civil War

Chapter 71

Merriweather

The Last Letter from Warren

Chapter 72

The Battle of Vicksburg

The Death of Warren

Chapter 73

Merriweather

Yankees Are Coming to Georgia

Chapter 74

Merriweather

Captain Daniel Worthington

Chapter 75

Beginning Reconstruction

Chapter 76

Martha Says Goodbye

Chapter 77

Merriweather

Jordan

Chapter 78

Boston

Chapter 79

Merriweather

A Brilliant Idea

Chapter 80

Merriweather

Hattie Goes Home

Chapter 81

Merriweather Fashion Designs

Chapter 82

The Scotsman Arrives at Merriweather

Chapter 83

Merriweather

Who Is Coming Down the Lane

Chapter 84

Merriweather

Easter

The Cousins

Chapter 85

Merriweather

That Evening

Chapter 86

Stonefield

The Port-Wine Stain

Chapter 87

Boston

Edwin Johnson

Chapter 88

Edwin Johnson Marries Emma Jo Thornhill

Chapter 89

Stonefield

The Story of Henry

Chapter 90

Stonefield

Asheton Lowell Biddeford

Chapter 91

Kiawah Island

How Did It Happen

Chapter 92

Jeptha

The Other Letter

Chapter 93

Stonefield

Jeptha

About the Author

Dedicated to my daughters, Susan and Karen.

Alexandra's Lineage

Rebekkah's Lineage

Children of Margaret Porter Thornhill

Synopsis

This is an epic of three strong women through their journals beginning with Rebekkah in Cornwall, England, covering three hundred years. She has left her family in the Isles of Scilly, off the coast of southern England, in 1702 to work for the Rally Christian family as a maid. While there, she meets her would-be husband, Carlton Christian. They marry in 1703 and emigrate to New England where Carlton has secured a teaching position at the Deerfield Fort. They will be attacked in the historical Deerfield Massacre. Carlton will be killed, and Rebekkah and many women are taken prisoner and marched to Canada.

The second journal is from Margaret Porter in Boston, Massachusetts. She marries the son of the Merriweather Plantation owner in Georgia. The Civil War begins, and her husband joins, is killed; and she is left with a family and will survive, building a sewing factory, now producing dresses in the original textile factory her husband owned.

Marie is the third strong woman who has kept the journal, which had belonged to Marigold, her mother. She is the great-granddaughter of Rebekkah. Her family has emigrated from Canada and settled in Savannah, Georgia, where she marries and has two children. This family eventually migrates to Merriweather Plantation.

After the Civil War, a great-great-great-great-grandson of Carlton shows up at Merriweather Plantation. He and his father are from an illegitimate child that Carlton sired and knew nothing about before he married Rebekkah. This has combined two families as his young great-great grandson, Carlton will marry Rebekkah, the great-great-granddaughter of Rebekkah and thus bringing them together like a paper quilt. This a book of history, wars, biography, poetry, incest, murder, recipes, menus, and interior design covering three hundred years.

Prologue

Oh, Heavenly Father, they are here. I can hear screaming. Rebekkah, get dressed as fast as you can.

Rebekkah grabbed the satchel and pouch. The door was kicked in, and in came three Indians. Carlton tried to defend himself, but the first Indian raised his hatchet and slaughtered Carlton. Blood was everywhere and covered Rebekkah's face and front. Carlton lay moaning on the floor, and then he was silent. He was dead. Rebekkah was hysterical and lay down with him. They told her to shut up and come with them. Then they set the little cabin on fire. She watched helplessly as Carlton and everything burned and burned. Fire was everywhere.

Rebekkah could hear all the screaming, and smoke filled the air. It seemed she could smell death. She could see it. Prudy came running away from her house. Two Indians had set her cabin on fire, and they immediately came after her but did not harm her. She wore a crucifix, which meant she was Catholic, and they pushed her over to Rebekkah. The slaughtering continued well into daybreak. They had slain women, men, and many children, as they believed the children would not make the trek of three hundred miles to Montreal. It was the Deerfield Massacre.

Chapter 1

The Death of Emily

Monday, November 16, 1998

Rutherford House

It was Monday night, and Alex's life would now change drastically. Her mother was dead, and she would find information that would be almost too much to handle. It would involve incest, rape, and suicide. The two letters Emily would leave for her would have unbelievable information, and one would have dire consequences.

The phone rang, and it was a call that would change Alex's life forever.

It was a cool November evening, misting rain and sleet as traffic slowly creeped along Connecticut Avenue. Alex poured a glass of Chardonnay and sat down in the cozy sunroom just off the kitchen to work for a few minutes. She had just returned from Palm Beach, where she had been working with one of her client companies, the Breakers Hotel. She began going through her candidate file—Alex owned a search firm placing chefs—stopping for a few minutes to look at the rain, when Amalia, the housekeeper and part-time assistant, produced a tray of cheese and chorizo. The evening lamplight and the sound of rain were very soothing. Alex bought her condo several years ago. It was located on an estate on Connecticut Avenue that had been divided into eight units.

I think it's going to snow, Amalia. That would be neat after having just returned from the sun and warmth of Florida.

Amalia smiled. She was not used to snow, having come from Caneel Bay with her new husband, Richard. I am not ready for winter just yet, she said with a grimace.

Alex had placed Richard, an executive chef, at the Mayflower Hotel in early spring. While having lunch at the hotel, she spoke with him about needing a housekeeper. He mentioned that his wife was looking for work and hadn't found anything that would fit their schedules. For Richard, being a chef meant working long hours, and Amalia wanted to be able to be home at least when Richard had some time off. She was working in the housekeeping department at Caneel Bay when they met.

Richard, have her come see me. I do need to have someone. The lady who worked for me for the last year just moved home to Pittsburgh to be with her daughter, who is having a baby. I have been interviewing but have not hired anyone.

Amalia and Richard came by the next afternoon, and she and Alex immediately liked each other. Amalia spoke English and Spanish and had a wonderful attitude. She was very creative, interesting, and was a pretty girl. She was tall, had short black curly hair, was thin, and dressed in a tan pantsuit and white silk blouse with pearls. Alex could tell, from talking with Richard, that she was also a very good cook and extremely responsible. Alex knew this would be a good fit. She began the following morning and had been with Alex almost three months now.

The evening was now dark, and the rain had turned to snow. Alex was standing in front of the fireplace when suddenly, the phone rang. It was 7:00 p.m., and Alex, going through her files, paid no attention. Amalia answered the house phone in the hall and slowly came into the main room.

It's for you. I don't know who it is. Someone, he say his name is Jep. He wants to speak to Anna. It's very important. Who is Anna?

Alex looked shocked. Jep is on the phone. Oh God, this must be serious. Alex went into the hall and picked up the phone. She hesitated for a moment. She sensed something foreboding. This is Alex. There was silence, and then she quietly said, Oh no, oh no. This cannot be. Okay, I know. She sank into the wingback chair and began crying. She looked at Amalia. How did it happen? All right. I know. I will…yes… I will leave early in the morning. Jep, stay with Reba in the house tonight please. Yes…yes. Is Reba all right? I can't believe this. I just can't believe… There was a pause. Thank you for calling me. She sat there, tears rolling down her face.

Amalia was standing there, frozen. What is it? What has happened?

My mother just died. The tears again began to come. She went for a walk along the lake. Something she loved to do. She and the housekeeper always had tea at four o'clock—mother's ritual. And when she didn't come back, Reba called Jep, and he began looking for her. He went out along the far end of the lake where the canoes were tied up, and there she was. Thank goodness she wasn't out on the lake. No telling what could have happened. She could have tipped the canoe over and… Amalia, I have to pack. Will you stay and help me?

Of course. You don't have to ask, she said. Who is Anna?

That is my first name. I never liked it.

Alex walked slowly into her office, with leather-stuffed chairs from Pottery Barn, artwork, files, computer and printer, the Indian rug, a wall of bookshelves, and paperwhites on the windowsill. It was a room that was not just her office but a warm place with light and space and a beautiful view of the formal gardens along the south side of the estate. She sat down and took a few deep breaths and began to make calls to Annie and Megan, and then she called Dorcus at Dove Run. Dorcus offered to go immediately to Stonefield and be with Reba.

That would be good, if you don't mind. She must be very upset, and I will leave here early in the morning. She then called Annie and Megan.

She made another call. A voice answered, The Brooks residence. Good evening. It was Reginald, the butler who had worked for the Brooks family for more years than Alex could remember.

Good evening, Reginald. May I speak with my father? Thank you.

After what seemed like five minutes, a low voice came on the line. Anna, is it you?

She finished the conversation quickly and hung up.

Amalia came in with a tea tray, teapot, sugar, cup and saucer, and a bottle of brandy.

Good idea. She poured a cup of tea and poured in a small amount of brandy. I will warm some of the lasagna and French bread for you. You not going to drive tonight in this weather?

I want to, but with the weather, they are calling for more snow. I will leave at first light. She went upstairs to pack, and it all seemed unreal. She had just seen Emily last month, and they had planned a great Thanksgiving. She wasn't that old, she thought. Seventy-four.

She finished dinner and really didn't eat much at all.

Amalia, maybe you and Richard can come up at some point. We will talk about it, but I…I don't know how long I will be gone. Can you send the mail twice a week? She handed Amalia a note with the address and phone number for Stonefield.

Then she brought her address book from her desk and found Lilly's number. This was Emily's sister-in-law. The phone rang and rang, but there was no answer. Then she called Cassandra's number, Aunt Lilly's daughter. Lilly had always been her favorite aunt. She and Emily were or had been very close. Cassandra lived in Point Clear, Alabama, with her husband. She dialed the number which, as it rang, sounded like a tin phone in the middle of cave.

Cassandra, it's Alex.

Cassandra had owned a bed-and-breakfast for many years, long before it was fashionable, and it was a beautiful old historic inn that they had purchased from an elderly woman who ran it as a boarding house. After renovating the place, planting gardens, and spending most of her inheritance from her father, it was quite beautiful. Alex and Cassandra were not particularly close. In fact, Alex had not seen her for many years. She and Emily had gone down one summer with Annie, the children, and Megan after she and Henry had divorced, so that was a long time ago. Cassandra had two sons. One had died in Vietnam War, and the other taught English at UT. They're families who were not totally bound. Alex wondered why, with such a precious few relatives, they weren't close.

In the end, they were unable to come for the funeral. Her husband, who was much older, had a heart condition, and Cassandra, who was only two years older than Alex, didn't want to travel without him. It was all very understandable.

Cassandra would call Aunt Lilly.

Amalia, you go home now and fix dinner for Richard.

Like he can't cook, Alex.

I know, but I will be fine, and you need to be with your husband. I need to be alone, and you know he likes you to fix dinner, chef or not. I don't think many of them feel this way, so you should appreciate it.

She smiled and came over and hugged Alex.

I will call you tomorrow, said Alex.

Amalia went to her car and out into the rain and snow-driven night in her little navy Beamer.

Alex was tall and thin with white blondish hair and classic bearing. Emily had taught her all the secrets of nobility, without nobility. Once, Alex had met James Dickey at a reading at Duke University, and he spoke of his mother raising him as if they had great money with all the right appropriations. This reminded her of Emily and how she was raised. The money might have been gone, but the effect was still there—a sort of Gay Talese theory or Scott Fitzgerald…the old Southern Gothic inference.

Alex took a shower, put on her plaid pajamas, and looked at the book of poetry lying on her desk as she started to turn out the light. Suddenly, she opened it to What be thy death that comes and covers me and shrouds me in all that I fear.

She opened the leather-bound book of poetry. It had been three years ago that Ashe had died on their boating trip back from Kiawah Island. Sitting on the beach that afternoon, she had written one poem for him on that very day, before it all unraveled.

Evensong on Kiawah Island

I feel the sunlight warm and melting me

The swirling movement of wind upon the river

And sea

And the beauty of dawn light descending as it clutches

The hillside, turning into light

These things I count a blessing

As I have counted stars and angles

Upon the slow ebb of morning tide

The sound of rain playing softly

Against my windowpane

Rushing waters

Flowing as the river meets the sea

Winding onward to places

I do not know and where I cannot be

The enchantment of the forest

Of wind rushing through my hair

Crystal sounds of winter's music

Touching the dust from the silver moon

On each breeze

I count this a blessing

As I have counted stars and angles

The beauty of the beach wood silhouetted

Against the whitened sun

The aging cypress in the water's deep dark run

There is beauty in evensong as the golden light

Touches the purple haze

And the music of the night

Fills the empty room till

Sunlight filtered through the day

There is a blueness in morning's song

And a whiteness of early day

And in the quiet of night

I have the fire

And I bask in the beauty of all things

It was almost 9:30 p.m. The rain and snow splashed down over the windowpanes as Alex turned off the light. Ashe and now her mother. She held the book, Notes to Myself. She looked at the entries of a ten-year period. It was October when he died.

They had shopped at the market as they came to the island and bought food and wine for their picnic. She had written one beautiful poem for him that afternoon after their lunch on the beach. They watched the sunbathers and swimmers.

But I must sleep now. I still miss him, and it's been three years.

She began to sleep a dream-filled sleep but waking many times and dreaming of Emily, the lake, then the recurring nightmare of Ashe dying on the boat and Alex bringing him back to the marina. Suddenly, she woke up. It was 3:00 a.m. She tossed and turned, and soon it was morning. The gray light was creeping through the plantation shutters. She looked at the clock. It was almost 7:00 a.m. She felt a comfort knowing that Annie, the kids, Fritz, and Megan, would be coming. She needed to see them. She needed coffee. It was time to rise and take on this day of sadness, but thank God, too, for Orpha, Jep, Dorcus, and Reba…but especially Dorcus. She routinely said a prayer of thanks each morning.

Chapter 2

The Journey Home

November 17

It was 8:00 a.m. when Alex began the journey home to Stonefield. She thought of how and when and where all this began. With soft classical music on the radio and a large tumbler of coffee, she continued her focus through the snow that had fallen during the night and began remembering. She slowly drove up Connecticut Avenue and eventually on to 270 north to Breezewood.

The Farm

Dove Run

Where It Began

It was 1944 when Anna came to live with them at Dove Run, a large country farm which had been built in the late 1700s. It had a large white wooden farmhouse, part stone and part wood, barns, chicken coops, a silo, and the beautiful stream. It had two hundred acres of lush farmland. Dorcus and Cyrus, her father, brought Anna down the lane to their farm one spring afternoon, and she would live there for four years. Their parents, Cyrus and Dori, owned the farm and would take to Anna immediately.

It was a time during the war when many children were farmed out. Mothers who had come from their parents' home to their husband's bed were now alone. With the men gone and having no working skills and trying to maintain the homes themselves, it was a financially difficult time for everyone. Anna's father, Will, had been stationed at the great hotel, Lindenhall, from Georgia and then the Pacific. Emily's father wanted her to come home to live with them at Merriweather, but she would not hear of it. She liked her new life in Pennsylvania.

The mammy had gone back to her home in Jonesboro, and Emily had now taken a room at a guest house in Englishville. She did not want to leave Anna with these northerners who were practically strangers, but she would do what she had to do to keep them both alive. She had met Dorcus and Orpha at the hotel coffee shop where Emily was working, and they had become friends. Emily could have lived at Dove Run, too, but she had found a job working at the hotel as a receptionist, and she enjoyed it. At one point, Anna would remember that she did spend some months with them.

At Dove Run, Alex would have a pony named Butterscotch, a collie, a pet goat named Goatikins, and lamb named Lambikins. Her life would be filled with sunshine, fresh air, and good country cooking, and she would have run of the place. She lived at Dove Run until Emily married Jacob in 1948 when she was six.

Last year over the holidays, Anna spent some time with Dorcus, who now owned Dove Run. Her parents passed away several years ago, and then Blaine died of a heart attack at the age of fifty. She sold several acres and put Blaine Jr. through Penn State. He then took over Dove Run for her and taught at Grover High School, and he would eventually become the Principal.

She remembered her last trip to Dove Run two years ago. It was cold and gloomy, but Alex loved this type of weather. It was late morning when she slowly came on the long lane through the apple trees to see the large white wood and stone house in the distance and the outbuildings, the flower gardens, corncrib, pole barn, the milk house, and the old red silo. This had been a good place for a little girl from Georgia to find a safe haven.

It was a good time in Alex's life. Dorcus and Orpha were grown and soon married. They were only seventeen and eighteen when Alex came to the farm. Soon they married, and their men had gone to war. They married boys from up the Cove, and during the war, the sisters lived at Dove Run Farm. This farm was located about three miles from Gables Farm, which belonged to Buddy's family. Buddy sold the farm before he went to war. His mother had recently passed away, and his father died when he was in high school.

Dorcus said once, Well, we only changed the dirt. We are still where we were.

The war ended, and the boys came home. Buddy was hired at the post office and bought a small house with a gristmill that had been used to mill flour, but the family closed the mill in the late thirties. It sat on an offshoot of the Monongahela River. The house was made of wood, the wheel was attached. Anna loved the house and would spend time there during the summers. The house was base lined with whitewashed limestone. There were two bedrooms, a small kitchen, a dining room with a loft, and a small stone porch, and it came with two acres. Orpha was glad to give up farming. She once said she intended to plant flowers on the entire lot. They ultimately turned most of it into a vegetable and herb garden.

In 1970, Buddy was killed in a car accident. They were married twenty-three years. Orpha sold the house and property, which was more valuable than she had imagined, and then she moved to Philadelphia and bought a small bookstore on Mainline. She had always been an avid reader and had worked as a librarian in the Englishville Library for many years. They had no children. She had been intrigued with Philadelphia and its history. The bookstore she purchased had been for sale for two months. She lowballed them, and it worked. Dorcus, Blaine, and Carey, Blaine's wife, helped her move and settle in. Luckily, it was during the summer, and Blaine had plenty of time.

Chapter 3

Alex Arrives Home

November 17

It was late morning now, and another twenty minutes had passed. Hershey was close, and Englishville was another thirty minutes.

Finally, she passed through Englishville in a slow drizzle. Coming down Main Street, she turned on Chestnut and followed out along the river, under the covered bridge, and soon the road would curve with the beginning of the rhododendron bushes. Soon the white horse fencing lining both sides of the road along the front acreage of the farm came into view, and then the house.

She turned down the lane following the drive, passing birch trees, pear trees, and the mimosa which Emily brought up from Georgia forty years ago. Then coming into view were the small brook and four swans crouched under the leaning willow tree. Her mother just had to have those swans. Just had to have them. One attacked her last year as she got too close to her nest. She only hissed and then flew at her with her wings fluffing all over the place. They could actually hurt you, but they defend their nest. Beautiful and mean and a great metaphor.

Silas was an Amish man who had worked for Jacob's father since he was twelve years old, and now with his son, Elias, they were cutting back branches. He waved when he saw Alex. They were beginning to groom the grounds for Emily with the large white pergola and grape arbors standing clearly in view. They were beautifully trimmed. The house seemed to have been freshly painted, and the stonework was clearly outlined with fresh whitewash. She was home now. Home was home, and it felt bittersweet. Alex, with tears, remembered that her mother died yesterday. She was trained to show poise with emotions, and this would be difficult.

She looked up at the large house as she came down the drive in the dark gray morning. The friendship lights were glowing in the windows. The old wood and fieldstone house looked sad. It was a house that grew and grew and had great bones. She could smell burning leaves and branches—the great smell of fall—as she put down the window on the driver's side as she drove under the porte cochere. She was home—it was Stonefield.

It was 11:30 a.m., and the rain was worsening. She was surprised to see Jep standing there dressed in a yellow rain slicker and hat and water dripping down over his face. Jep was tall, had wavy brown medium long hair and brown eyes, and muscular and basically handsome. He held out his hand and pulled her up from the car and held her. She began to cry, and then abruptly, she stopped.

He held her hand as they stopped for a brief minute and looked at each other. An entire lifetime had passed between them—the known and the unknown and that which never could be. The silence was broken with the sound of the screened door. This was always the sound of home.

The door opened, and there stood Reba Carlson. She immediately rushed over to Alex. Reba was a sort of housekeeper and dear friend of Emily. Dorcus Fletcher came over and threw her arms around Alex. She was crying softly and pulled out a hankie to wipe her eyes. Dorcus is very tall with silver grey hair pulled back in a Bun, wearing woolen slacks and a red plaid shirt and silver hoop earrings and tortoiseshell glasses. Dorcus always looks very stylish. Reba is very short with brown hair cut in a pixie style with wirerimmed glasses and wearing khakis and a white cotton long sleeve blouse.

Are you okay? she said.

I am not okay, said Alex. But I will get through this somehow.

With our help, said Dorcus.

I am so sad for us all, said Reba, and they looked at each other.

Alex looked down at Reba and gave her a hug and kiss on the cheek.

Jep came forward. Sorry to interrupt, Anna. Can I take your things upstairs for you?

Oh, thank you, Jep. Just put everything, except the tire jack, in the blue and yellow room at the top of the stairs. Oh, my computer can go in the Snuggery. Thank you. I am glad both of you are here, said Alex.

Dorcus mentioned that Blaine would be coming tomorrow.

He was just a few years younger than Alex and now Principal of Grover School, where she had gone to grade school and high school.

When is Orpha coming? asked Alex.

She will be here tomorrow, and her little bookstore in Ardmore isn't doing that well. Don't tell her I said that. Let her tell you.

Alex zipped her mouth.

They crossed the flagstone floor of the back hall and entered the Tavern Room. Reba patted the sofa and suggested that Anna sit and enjoy the fire for a little while. Alex hung up her London fog and scarf up on the side hooks in the mudroom.

I'm sorry. Perhaps you would like to go change first. Golly day, you have to be tired. What time did you leave this morning? And I'll bet you didn't sleep last night. Oh, I am sorry. I am asking too many questions.

Dorcus came and spent the night with me too, said Reba.

Alex put her arms around Reba's shoulders. Okay, I am ready. What happened? Tell me, was she feeling okay?

Reba told her what she knew. She seemed to be feeling just fine. I didn't see anything wrong with her. She began relating the story to Alex.

What Happened

"Apparently, and out of habit, Emily decided to take a walk and thought she might take one of the canoes out for a while. The weather was fine, and this was not unusual. She loved to canoe out along the cliffs but close to the shore. Actually, it was fairly warm and sunny for November. She had her Dr. Pepper, a book, and a blanket, and she would be back for tea at 4:00 p.m. She left around 2:30 p.m.

"When it was five and it was getting dark and she wasn't back, I called Jep. He didn't answer, and I looked out. He was coming from the barn, and I called him to see about Emily. I told him she planned to take a walk along the lake or maybe go out in one of the canoes.

"He ran down to the sand, and at first, he didn't see her. The canoes were all tied up, but there…she lay at the edge of the water. He checked her carotid, and there was no pulse. He tried CPR, and it seemed useless. He ran back to the house and called 911. He said he was sure she was gone. He ran back down to the beach to stay with her till they came.

I could hear the ambulance coming. Then I heard the police siren, and I started running down to the gate. I stopped. Jep had already opened it so they could drive along the sand, and it was awful. They started questioning Jep, and I kept telling them that he had nothing to do with this. They said it was just routine. Then two detectives arrived, and eventually they took Jep to the police station. They let him call you first. I couldn't call you, said Reba.

It was so upsetting, and I saw them put Emily, covered with a blanket, on a stretcher, and they put her in the ambulance. They asked me a few questions, and I thought they were going to take me, too, and she smiled. Then Silas and Hannah came immediately. They had been at home and saw the ambulance coming here. They came up to the house and waited. When Jep called, he drove in and brought him home. Hannah stayed with me until Jep came back.

The two talked for several minutes. Alex asked, But did they say what they thought happened?

Yes, Reba said. The coroner called and said he's almost certain that it was a heart attack, but he would let us know for sure when they were finished with the autopsy.

I am glad she wasn't in one of the canoes. She could have tipped over and made it all worse.

Dorcus entered the Tavern. I have made some sandwiches for us, and here is a throw, Alex. Curl up by the fire and relax a bit.

Alex smiled. That's what women do.

Reba said, What do you mean?

The food. They make food, Alex said, and they both smiled.

Silas had parked Alex's Discovery in the garage and brought the keys in, placing them on the hand-painted key hook by the fireplace in the Tavern Room. He came over to offer his condolences to Alex, and she thanked him.

Reba, can you imagine how long Silas has worked for the family? What is it, Silas? About fifty?

I think it's more like seventy years, said Silas. My son is fifty now, and he has been working here, too, for a long time. It's hard to believe that she is gone. Your mom was special. We liked to work for her, and back when Mr. Jake and Ms. Mae were here, that's when I started. I was only twelve when I started here.

You were here when I came. They both smiled. It's been a long time, she said. She gave him a hug and said, Mom and Dad loved you and your wife, too, and Elias. How is Hannah doing?

Phone calls came and went, and suddenly, it was 2:00 p.m., and the room seemed darker as snow had begun swiftly falling and sticking. Dorcus sat down and put an arm around Alex.

Alex wiped Dorcus's cheek. You have always been like a sister to me, said Alex.

You have always been like a daughter to me. You know, I am just about your mom's age, and we felt we almost raised you. You were with us for almost five years.

I loved the farm, and you and your mom and dad were so good to me, said Alex. "Oh, Reba, I forgot to tell you. I called Lilly's daughter, and I think Lilly will come. Do you remember her, Dorcus? She's mother's sister-in-law and the only living sibling. She was married to Uncle Porter,