A Simple Shaker Murder (16 page)

Over the years, Rose had come to know and accept her human flaws, even as she strove for perfection, as did all Believers. But the one trait that still conquered her will was her temper. Agatha had taught her dozens of prayers pleading for patience, and she knew them all by heart. The litany raced through her mind, as it had on other trying occasions. She felt herself calming down. Then Earl allowed his cigarette ash to drop on the pine floor. Rose gave up her prayers.

“Is this how you care for your own belongings, or do you reserve such behavior for when you are guests in another's home?” Rose tried to keep her voice low and steady, but the fury was unmistakable. Celia and Earl were surprised into silence, while Gilbert jumped to his feet and stubbed out his cigarette.

“So very sorry,” he said. “We forgot you folks don't smoke. Earl, put that thing out. Vile habit, of course, but I'm afraid we're just more lax about such things. We become so engrossed in our struggle to bring education and happiness to mankind that I suppose we do tend to forget the niceties.”

Perhaps he meant for his smile to be engaging, but it sent Rose's temper into the danger zone. Her hand jerked, as if to express her impulse to slap his self-satisfied face. Her own surge of anger alarmed her, and this time she prayed harder. She threw herself on the mercy of Holy Mother Wisdom and
felt, finally, a blessed calm quench her rage. She breathed in deeply.

“We no longer smoke or drink alcohol,” she said, “out of concern for our health, but we certainly do not tell others that they must do the same. However, we must insist that you not smoke inside our buildings. Most of them are old and susceptible to fire. We don't want you to be hurt.”

“Of course, of course,” Gilbert said. “We will do our smoking out of doors from now on, I can assure you of that.”

Rose was not assured, but she merely nodded.

Gilbert cocked his narrow head like a thin bird. “May I ask to what we owe the pleasure of this unexpected visit?”

Rose blinked rapidly. Did this man ever speak from his heart? She trusted Wilhelm more—at least she knew his true dreams. But Gilbert—was he a zealot, or just an irritating but clever con artist? She regretted the need to warn these people of Wilhelm's plan, but it had to be done. There was no chance at all that they might be tempted to become Believers, and heaven forbid that they should!

Gilbert swept some papers off the woven seat of a ladder-back chair and offered it to Rose, who shook her head.

“Nay, I'll only be a minute. I'm here to bring you a warning of sorts. As you may or may not already know, Wilhelm hopes you will all choose to become Believers.”

Gilbert's eyebrows rose slightly, but otherwise none of the New-Owenites showed much reaction. Earl seemed to be suppressing a smile.

“You've heard that Wilhelm has called a Union Meeting for tonight, after the evening meal, and he is urging you to attend. I urge you not to.”

“And yet we've never actually seen one of your Union Meetings,” Gilbert said, “though we've heard about them, of course.”

Earl broke into a smile. “Yes, I imagine they are quite a relief, given how little contact is allowed between your men and women.”

In fact, the meetings did provide sisters and brethren a way
to chat in a safe and chaste setting, but Rose was not about to feed Earl's worldly amusement at the Shakers' expense.

“Normally, it would not be worth your while to attend, but believe me, this evening's meeting is likely to be unpleasant for you. I'll leave it at that.” Rose retied her bonnet and turned to leave.

Gilbert rushed forward to hold the door for her. Rose paused to gather her cloak more tightly around her skirt, so she wouldn't brush against him on the way out.

“Thank you for the warning,” he said. “We will certainly keep your words in mind.” An undertone in Gilbert's matter-of-fact voice brought Rose's gaze to his face. His smile was pleasant, his gray eyes absent of malice. But Rose was glad to leave.

B
Y SOME MIRACLE,
M
AIRIN AND
N
ORA HAD WORN OUT BEFORE
Agatha. When Rose checked on them, just before the Union Meeting, both girls were wrapped in blankets and snoozing on Agatha's bed. Mairin's Shaker sister doll lay against her cheek. Gertrude had returned to lend a hand, which kept her from revealing Mairin's whereabouts, while allowing her a chance to gossip to Agatha. Rose excused Gertrude from the meeting and asked her to stay in Agatha's retiring room until Josie arrived to put the girls to bed.

As soon as she entered the Center Family meeting room, Rose was thankful she'd tucked Mairin away out of sight. The New-Owenites, all of them, had arrived and were clustered together at one end of the room.

Rows of ladder-back chairs faced each other across a space large enough to prevent contact, but small enough for voices to carry to aging ears. The windows were shuttered against the damp chill of the November evening. To save electricity, as few lamps as possible were lit, and shapeless shadows of Shaker clothing flowed across the walls.

In the old days, the elders and eldresses would have assigned Believers to specific seats, to prevent romances, but in North Homage such strictness hadn't been necessary for years. Conversation with the dwindling number of brethren was shared without jealousy or favoritism by the sisters. Tonight, however, the New-Owenites added a new wrinkle. Many of
the sisters, especially the older ones, were shy about talking with men of the world, so they quickly seated themselves across from brethren. Two or three sisters would lean together nervously, clearly planning to share one brother.

The New-Owenites seemed to be biding their time. At first Rose feared they would refuse to sit down. Perhaps they would actually try to take over the meeting. Then they began, one at a time, to find seats, always after it had become clear which Shaker would be in the opposite seat.

Andrew sat at the end of the brethren's row, and at once Celia glided across the room to sit facing him. A sister heading his direction changed her mind, leaving the seat next to Celia unoccupied. Celia wore an evening-length gray silk dress that clung to her body and formed a soft drape outlining her thigh as she crossed her legs. Andrew looked startled but not alarmed. He was, after all, used to conversing with women from the world. Rose felt a twinge of emotion that she did not care to identify. She thought it best not to sit next to Celia and appear to be vying for Andrew's attention.

Gretchen settled herself toward the middle of the sisters' row, separating two clusters of sisters with their backs turned to her chair. She blushed slightly as Earl claimed the chair across from her. This time Rose was sure of her emotion—she was growing anxious. The other four New-Owenites made equally deliberate seat choices, while Gilbert hung back. Was he hoping somehow to sit next to Wilhelm? Nay, Gilbert still didn't move when Wilhelm, with a triumphant stride, chose a seat for himself.

Several sisters, out of courtesy, were waiting for Rose to take her place, so she settled beside Theresa, for comfort. She nodded to the sisters, sat down, and looked across to the brethren to find Gilbert smiling at her. He continued to smile, unconcerned, as Wilhelm stood, holding several bright drawings.

“We are greatly honored this evening in two ways. We are privileged to share our Union Meeting with our guests. And we have been favored by Holy Mother Wisdom with a rare treasure—three new gift drawings.” He held up the drawings,
one by one, and panned the room so everyone could see them. There were gasps of awe from the Shakers, but Gilbert and his followers showed no reaction.

“Normally our meetings are reserved for social discourse,” Wilhelm said. “But as always, we Believers are open to any opportunities to discuss our faith, and this is an important time to do so. These drawings were made by a little girl, sent by Mother Ann to show us all the way. The drawings provide proof. The girl may seem to be of the world, but she is, in fact, a messenger; otherwise, she would not so clearly have re-created Mother Ann's Work, here and now. So, Believers and friends, I urge thee to put aside thy mundane, petty chats for this one evening and to explore the meaning of these gifts, for all of us in this room. God is with us.” He laid out the drawings on the long, narrow rug that covered the space between the men and the women.

For a few moments, curious participants leaned toward the drawings, studying them in silence. Rose watched the faces of the New-Owenites. They showed interest, but no surprise, no shock or alarm or anger.

Conversations began, halting at first, then with growing intensity. Rose wanted to be everywhere at once, especially with Gretchen and with Andrew, but she realized Gilbert had spoken to her.

“I said, I imagine this is what you tried to warn us about,” Gilbert repeated.

“And I imagine there was no need for me to do so.”

Gilbert shrugged. “We do appreciate your concern, but we are well aware of Wilhelm's hopes for us. Moreover, this is not the first time Mairin has made her night drawings. Celia tried to cure her of it by taking away her pencils and paper, but she always found more. Some of her drawings have been quite alarming.”

“Did it occur to you to try to find out what was causing her to make these ‘alarming' drawings?” Theresa, sitting next to Rose, shot her a sideways glance, and she realized her tone had become sarcastic. But Gilbert seemed not to notice.

“I understand them quite well,” he said. “Celia never has, unfortunately, but Hugh and I were in complete agreement.” Gilbert tilted his head, turning his smile crooked. “Robert Owen was not without his spiritual instincts, you know.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Of course, he was not religious, in the strictest sense. Quite opposed to organized religion, in fact. But later in his life he came to believe in spiritualism, as Hugh and I have come to as well.”

Rose cast her mind back many years to conversations with Agatha about spiritualism. Communication with the dead was important to Believers—it was how they received guidance and comfort—but during the period just following Mother Ann's Work, such communications had become almost overwhelming. Agatha had been a young child at the time. She'd been frightened yet fascinated by the mysterious rappings that answered questions Believers posed to the spirit world. Mediums from the world often visited and conducted seances, which Agatha had now and then sneaked away to watch. Even though some of the mediums were less than honest, to the Society these manifestations proved the existence of the after-life and reassured them that death was not final.

“So then, you agree with Wilhelm?” Rose asked, astonished. “You believe Mother Ann is speaking through Mairin for the purpose of uniting our two groups?”

“After a fashion,” Gilbert said. He pursed his thin lips. “Hugh and I always believed Mairin is a natural medium. She may or may not be communicating with your Mother Ann—personally, I doubt it. I do, however, firmly believe that Mairin's drawings are messages, perhaps warnings, from the spirit world.”

“Warnings?”

“Indeed,” Gilbert said. “We New-Owenites are being warned of danger, imminent danger.”

“From us?”

Gilbert shrugged. “Possibly.”

“Yet Mairin's pictures are so similar to our own gift drawings
from the time of Mother Ann's Work. Why would Mother Ann warn you of danger from us?”

“Ah, I wasn't aware of the similarity in style. Intriguing. That would explain the violent colors and the frightening nature of the images.”

“How?”

“Well, of course, now it is clearer than ever. We are
all
being warned, Shaker and New-Owenite alike, of the dire consequences for all of us if our people join with you in the Shaker faith. You look skeptical, but just examine those drawings. Look at that tree with its funereal coloring. If that is an image of the Shaker community, then I'd worry it has become diseased from the inside. And that unfortunate snake, once so powerful, and now its head has been ripped off. Well, the message is certainly clear to me.”

Rose quelled a series of impulses, from walking away to laughing. Surely Gilbert was playing a game with her. He couldn't be serious, could he?

“You see,” Gilbert continued, “Mairin is serving as a medium from concerned spirits, who want to tell us that in fact Shaker ways are contrary to the laws of nature. We New-Owenites must not be absorbed into what is—forgive me—a rotting way of life, rapidly losing its strength. I know this is painful for you to hear, Rose, but believe me, I am concerned for your future. The best and most immediate way for you to save yourselves from inevitable destruction—” Gilbert leaned toward Rose and gazed in her eyes with an intensity that sent a shiver through her body. “—Is for you to join
us
, to drop these religious superstitions of yours. Give up this foolish denial of natural human urges and become New-Owenites.”