Besieged (33 page)

Read Besieged Online

Authors: Bertrice Small

“Why didn’t I know who you were?” Kieran wondered aloud.
“Was it important to you, sir?” Captain O’Flaherty asked.
Kieran laughed. “ ’Tis a strange lot, this family I’ve married into, Ualtar O’Flaherty,” he said.
“Aye, sir, and that’s a truth,” the captain agreed cheerfully.
It had been early December when they reached Barbados. They kept their Christmas there. There was no priest to celebrate the mass for them, so they sang songs and said their prayers quietly. A feast was arranged for the men on the beach where a pit was dug, and a large pig was purchased in the marketplace for roasting. A platter with bananas, muskmelon, pineapple, and watermelon was served along with roasted yams. Other than the pig, these were foods unfamiliar to the colonists. They tasted them reluctantly, and then discovering that they were good, ate with enthusiasm.
In early January the
Ark
reached Barbados, and was welcomed by the men aboard the
Cardiff Rose.
As Kieran Devers and his men before them, those aboard the
Ark
were amazed and enchanted by the exotic and brilliant flowers and trees growing on the island. The raucous and wildly colored birds were also fascinating. A mass of thanksgiving was held aboard the
Ark
which was attended by all the Catholics. The Protestant colonists went ashore to attend the governor’s church.
Over the next few weeks they loaded up the vessels with seed corn, potatoes, and as many other food supplies as they could find room for, squirreling them away in every available nook and cranny. The water barrels were all refilled. To their delight the
Dove
arrived in the harbor along with a large merchantman, the
Dragon.
When the storm had hit, they had returned to shelter in a safe English harbor until it passed before beginning their journey again. Everyone who had started out with Leonard Calvert’s expedition was now accounted for, and they were now ready to head north for Mary’s Land. The governor of Barbados was openly relieved to see them go. He, like so many others, could not rid himself of the idea that English and Irish Catholics were loyal to their Catholic brethren in Spain rather than England’s Protestant king.
They reached the Virginias in March. Although Lord Baltimore had advised against having anything to do with the Virginians, whose representatives at court were doing all in their power to stop the Mary’s Land colony, Leonard Calvert had a message for Virginia’s governor from the king, as well as some gifts for him that he wished to personally deliver. The colonists stayed nine days in Virginia, and the Virginians were extremely cordial much to Governor Calvert’s surprise. When they left they took along a local fur trader, Captain Fleet, to serve them as a translator with the Indians, and a guide, for he knew the Chesapeake country well.
As their ships traversed Chesapeake Bay, the colonists stood at the ship’s rails viewing their new home for the first time. The forests were magnificent, filled with both hard and soft woods. Kieran Devers knew he had finally come home, and was astounded by the certainty and confidence he felt in his heart. How he wished that Fortune had been able to come with them so they might see it for the first time together; but when she did come, he would have a home ready for her. He knew she was going to love it every bit as much as he already did. He hurried to his cabin to write her a letter. Once they were settled, the
Cardiff Rose
would be returning back to England, and he wanted it to carry his thoughts to Fortune. He had written them down each day so she could share all she had missed. He wondered if his son was born yet.
They made their first landfall on an uninhabited island that they called St. Clement. The Indians that had lined the shores to the east and the west the past few days were gone now. A tall cross made from newly felled tree trunks was planted. Governor Calvert’s priest, Father White, said a solemn mass. Afterward Leonard Calvert took possession of Mary’s Land in the name of God, King Charles I, and his brother, Lord Cecil Baltimore. It was the twenty-fifth day of March in the year sixteen hundred and thirty-four.
And on that very day at Queen’s Malvern Fortune went into labor shortly after midnight. Her child was, by all calculations, late by at least a week. Fortune was thankful her mother was with her for poor Rois, about to have her own child, was of no use at all.
Jasmine took one look at the young maidservant’s face as she entered her daughter’s bedchamber, and said, “Get out! Send Rohana and Toramalli to me at once.”
Rois sent the duchess a grateful look, and scurried out as best she could, given her own girth at the moment.
“Jesu, it hurts!” Fortune said. “I never realized how much it would hurt. When India went into labor, I rode off to fetch you and Papa. Owww! How long will it take, Mama?”
“Get up,” Jasmine said. “We’ll walk together for awhile, and see if we can speed up your travail, poppet. Alas, I’m sorry to tell you that bairns being born are neither practical or sensible. They come when they come, and that is the truth of it.”
“ ’Tis not particularly encouraging, Mama,” Fortune muttered.
The bedchamber door opened, and Jasmine’s twin servants entered the room.
“Young Bramwell would like to know, my lady, where you would like the birthing table set up,” Rohana said.
“Bring it in here and set it by the fireplace. And see the cradle is brought as well as water, cloths, and swaddlings,” Jasmine said. She was beginning to be assailed by memories. Her son, Charlie, had been born here at Queen’s Malvern. His father, Prince Henry, had been with them. At first he had stood behind her, bracing her shoulders, encouraging her with soft words, massaging her distended belly with gentle hands. He seemed to have an instinct as to what to do, although he later admitted he had never before seen a child born. And when it was obvious that Jasmine was about to deliver, he had called Adali to take his place, and gone around the table, pushed her grandmother Skye aside, and birthed Charlie with his own hands. Jasmine felt the tears coming, and turned away quickly. Henry Stuart had been such a sweet man.
“Mama!”
Fortune cried out. “I do not think I can walk another step. The pains are getting worse, and they are coming so quickly now.”
It was now almost dawn, and Fortune had been laboring to bring forth her child for several hours now.
“Let us help you onto the birthing table,” Jasmine said.
Fortune struggled onto the table with Toramalli’s aid while Rohana went behind her to brace her shoulders.
“I saw your mother born, and your brothers and sisters,” Rohana said. “Now I am to see your child born, my lady Fortune. I am so sorry you will be leaving us. I will not get to see the other children you will bear that fine young husband of yours.”
“I hate him!”
Fortune shouted. “How could he do this to me, and then go galivanting off to the New World while I am left to suffer like this? Owww! Will this child not be born? Mama, it’s been hours!”
“You sound more like India than Fortune,” Jasmine said. “I told you the child will come when it comes, and not before.”
Several hours passed, and in midafternoon the baby’s head finally appeared. Jasmine encouraged her daughter to push forth the child. Slowly. Slowly. The full head and the shoulders appeared. Then with a mighty push the child slid from its mother’s womb. Its eyes flew open to meet those of its grandmother, and then opening its mouth the child howled with outrage.
“It’s a little girl,” Jasmine said, sounding simply delighted.
“It is?” Fortune was exhausted, and relieved. “Let me see her, Mama.” She held out her arms.
Jasmine put the baby into her daughter’s arms, and Fortune shrieked.
“She’s all bloodied, Mama! Is she injured?”
“Birthing is a bloody business as my grandmother once told Prince Henry,” Jasmine replied. “We’ll clean her up in a minute. She’s fine. A healthy little lass. Just listen to her cry, bless her.”
Fortune looked down at the red-faced infant in her arms. Her small face was scrunched tightly with her anger, and her eyes were closed although her mouth was wide open as she roared, apparently affronted. “Shhhh, baby,” Fortune ventured her first words to her child. The baby suddenly ceased crying, and opening her eyes looked directly into her mother’s eyes. Fortune felt a sudden jolt, and was instantly filled with an overwhelming love for this child. “Her eyes are blue,” she said wonderingly.
“All babies’ eyes are blue,” Jasmine said dryly. “Surely you remember that, being my third eldest, poppet.”
“She’s bald,” Fortune observed.
“The girls usually are,” Jasmine replied. “There’s a bit of reddish fuzz, however, see.” She gently touched the baby’s head. “What are you going to call her?”
“Aine,” Fortune said. “I’m going to name her after Kieran’s little sister. I didn’t expect a lass, Mama. I thought I was to have a son, and I was going to name him James, after Papa, but somehow I just know this wee lass of mine should be called Aine. Aine Mary Devers is what I shall baptize her.” She kissed the baby’s small head. “And I shall baptize her a Catholic, for I know her father would want it.”
“You can’t bring a priest into your brother’s house considering his position,” Jasmine said. “She must be baptized in England’s church. When you and Aine get to Mary’s Land, Fortune, you can do whatever you please. Here in England, however, you will follow the law of the land even as the queen does. Is that understood?”
Fortune nodded.
“Now let me have my granddaughter back for she must be cleaned, and you have yet to give me the afterbirth. We will plant it beneath an oak tree on the estate so that Aine Mary Devers will always be strong.” Jasmine took the child, and gave it to Toramalli. Then she encouraged her second daughter to finish the business of birthing. And when mother and newborn were properly cleaned up, Fortune tucked into her bed, Aine in her cradle by the fire with the faithful Rohana seated next to her to watch over her, Jasmine brought her daughter a strengthening drink.
Slowly Fortune sipped it down. She was suddenly so worn, and very, very sleepy. Her eyes closed, and Jasmine just caught the half-empty goblet as it was about to fall from Fortune’s hand. She smiled down at her child. How the years had flown, but she was grateful that she had been able to be with Fortune at this time. Soon her child would be gone from her. It was unlikely they would ever meet again for, Jasmine thought, I am not of a mind to cross any more oceans. She caressed Fortune’s smooth forehead lovingly, then she crossed the chamber to look at her new granddaughter. The child was fair even as her mother had been. Kieran Devers wouldn’t be disappointed, and there would be plenty of time for sons when Fortune got to Mary’s Land.
“Watch for a bit, Rohana,” she said to her serving woman. “I’ll send Joan, or Polly to relieve you in a little while.”
“Yes, my lady,” Rohana replied. “She’s a fine little lass, isn’t she? I’m sorry we won’t get to see her grow up.”
Jasmine sighed. “I am too,” she replied, “but Aine has her own fate, and only time will tell us what it is.”
Chapter
16
“M
ama! Mama! The captain of the
Cardiff Rose
is here!” Fortune called excitedly. “Oh, sir, we thought you should never come! Tell me how my husband is,
please!
When are we to leave for Mary’s Land?” She whirled about. “Rois! We must start packing!”
“Captain O’Flaherty? I am Jasmine Leslie,” the duchess of Glenkirk said as she came forward, her hand outstretched.
Ualter O’Flaherty took the elegant hand, and kissed it. “We are cousins, madame, having the glorious Skye O’Malley in common for a grandmother. As we have never met, I wanted to come personally to deliver Kieran’s messages to his wife, and to you. I hope you will forgive my unannounced arrival.” He bowed smartly, and smiled at the two women, thinking that his cousin Jasmine’s beauty had not been exaggerated. The garnet red gown she wore certainly complemented her dark hair and exotic turquoise blue eyes. And Kieran’s wife was equally beautiful with her red hair, and blue-green eyes so like his own, so like Skye O’Malley’s.
“You are more than welcome, Cousin. You must be one of my hardly-ever-seen Uncle Ewan’s sons, are you not?” Jasmine asked.
“His youngest son, and next to last child,” the captain said.
“Tell us of Mary’s Land,” Fortune said.
“I think we should offer our cousin some refreshment first, and ask him to sit by the fire,” the duchess told her daughter. “June is such a fussy month. Warm one minute, and cold the next. It has been raining for three days now. It must have been a chilly ride.”
“Being at sea teaches one to get used to all weather, especially the inclement, madame,” he replied with a smile, taking a goblet of wine as it was offered to him.
They sat down by the blazing fire in the hall, and the captain handed Fortune a large packet.
“What is it?” she wondered aloud, taking it from him.
“Your husband kept a daily record of his experiences, and he has sent it to you along with a letter, my lady Fortune,” Ualter O’Flaherty said. He sipped the wine appreciatively.
“Is he well?” Fortune asked softly.
“He was in the best of health and spirits when I left him, my lady. The crossing was the best, I am told by the other captains more familiar with an Atlantic crossing, that any of them had ever had. The Virginians welcomed us, and the land that has become Mary’s Land is beautiful beyond measure, but your husband’s diary will tell you everything you need to know, my dear lady. We have brought back a cargo of salt fish from the Plymouth colony, which we called in on during our return journey, as well as beaver and fox furs. It will make the round trip a profitable one for you, my lady.”
“You will remain with us for a few days, Cousin,” Jasmine extended the invitation.
“I would be honored, madame,” he answered her.
Fortune tore open the packet as they talked. It was a great temptation to read Kieran’s letter first, but instead she began to read the journal of his travels, knowing he had written it in order to make her a part of the voyage she could not take, but soon would. She read the afternoon through, and the servants were setting the high board for the evening meal when she finally opened her husband’s letter. She read it through, swearing softly under her breath as she did. Then she turned to Captain O’Flaherty.
“Do you know what is in this letter, Cousin?” she asked him.
“I do,” he said.
“And you agree with my husband’s assessment of the situation? Has he not made the situation a bit worse than it actually is? I expect Kieran wants everything perfect for me when I arrive, but it doesn’t have to be perfect, sir,” Fortune said.
“Nay, my lady Fortune. He has not equivocated in the least. Mary’s Land is a wilderness, and the western shore where its first settlement is, is a forested region. There is much work to be done to make it habitable for civilized folk. The few women who came aboard the
Ark
and the
Dove
are putting up with a great deal of hardship.”
Fortune pressed her lips together, irritated. This was not what she wanted to hear.
“What is it?” Jasmine asked her daughter.
“Kieran doesn’t want us to come until
next
summer,” she said. “The land has not yet been divided, and he claims they are living in an Indian village with the savages. I knew I should have gone!”
Jasmine looked to Captain O’Flaherty.
“We only arrived in late March,” he began. “The main expedition was delayed on the Isle of Wight for over a month. Governor Calvert sent word to the
Cardiff Rose,
which was waiting off Cape Clear, to go ahead and meet them in Barbados. We took the southern, and rather roundabout route because of the unreliability of late autumn weather.”
“A wise precaution,” Jasmine agreed.
“The
Ark
did not arrive until January. Then the
Dove
straggled in ten days later. By the time we had taken on fresh water and supplies, and sailed through the Caribbean, and up the coast past the Spanish colonies, it was already spring. We stopped in at the Virginias, remained for several days, and then went on to Mary’s Land. It was on the twenty-fifth day of March the colony was founded.”
“Aine’s birthday!” Fortune said.
“Aine?”
He looked puzzled.
“Aine Mary Devers, my daughter,” was the reply. “The child I remained to bear,” she explained. “I bore a lass on March twenty-fifth, and Rois, my serving woman, Kevin’s wife, bore a son, Brendan, two days later on March twenty-seventh.”
“Your husband will be delighted,” Ualter O’Flaherty said. “He fretted a great deal about you, and the bairn. I can’t wait to see the look on his face when I tell him.”
“I shall tell him myself,” Fortune said.
“Wait, poppet,” her mother said. “I want to know more about the living conditions in Mary’s Land right now. Cousin?”
“The colonists found a village of Wicocomoco Indians on a small river north of the Potomac. The governor liked the region, and asked permission of the local chief to settle there. The area is well-watered and has a suitable deep water anchorage for seagoing vessels. The Indians have been having difficulties with a larger tribe, the more war-like Susque-hanocks. They had been planning to move their village to another location. They agreed to share the village with us in return for our protection until they could relocate. The settlers are living in Indian wigwams, which are made of grasses, mud, sticks, and animal skins. It’s primitive, and it’s rough. When the Indians have finally gone, the colonists must build a fortification first with a guardhouse, a palisade, and a storeroom for the food. Such work requires all the men working together. No one can begin to build themselves a house until the fort is raised.
“Even now the
Cardiff Rose
is onloading more supplies for the colony. The governor has given orders that no more women, and certainly no children, be brought over until next year when the colony is on a more stable footing. Your husband was going down to Virginia to purchase livestock and poultry for everyone when I left. His men are working hard. Mistress Jones and Taffy have been a godsend to the colony. That is the truth of what is happening, Cousin.”
“If the governor has given orders that you cannot go, Fortune,” Jasmine said, “then you cannot. It is just that simple. You can either come home with me to Glenkirk, or remain at Queen’s Malvern. I know Charlie will not mind if we stay. I will remain with you, of course, until it is time for you to go, poppet.”
“How can you bear to be so far for so long from Papa?” Fortune said. “Nay, Mama, you must return to Glenkirk.”
“Your father will not mind an English summer as long as he is back in Scotland for the grouse hunting season,” Jasmine chuckled. She had no intention of leaving Fortune. While this second daughter had never been as willful as her first, she would not put it past Fortune to dash to Liverpool and stow herself, Rois, and the babies aboard the
Cardiff Rose. It was not going to happen.
Her daughter would wait until Governor Calvert said it was time for the other women and children to come to Mary’s Land. “You had best write to Rory Maguire so he may tell the women what is happening. Explain the primitive living conditions, and that they are to prepare to leave next summer,” the duchess suggested.
“I still think Governor Calvert is being too damned cautious,” Fortune complained.
Jasmine smiled blandly. “ ’Twill be better for the bairns this way,” she reasoned.
“But not for Rois and me,” her daughter grumbled beneath her breath. “I miss my husband in my bed, and Rois misses Kevin, too.”
Both Jasmine and Ualter O’Flaherty laughed at this frank comment.
“I’m happy to see the women in this family remain hot-blooded,” the captain remarked, and then chuckled richly as Fortune blushed.
James Leslie came down from Glenkirk to join his wife and daughters. Holding his new granddaughter in his arms he approved of her fully, and said so. His youngest daughter hid her face behind her small hands each time she saw her sire in the first two weeks he was at Queen’s Malvern. Then suddenly one day Autumn bestowed a sweet smile upon her father, and they were friends. He was very relieved for he had developed a very soft spot in his heart for this wee lass of his own blood. He had not known either India or Fortune when they were this small.
“I want you to come home with me in September,” he said to his wife one evening as they sat together in the hall.
“I’m afraid to leave Fortune alone,” Jasmine said. “I fear she will seek out the first ship sailing for the New World, and try to join Kieran. She misses him terribly.”
“She is a grown woman,” the duke said. “I will gain her word of honor that she will wait for the
Cardiff Rose
to take her next year, darling Jasmine. I want you back at Glenkirk. If you and Autumn remain here, my wee lass will forget me again. I cannot stay, and leave Patrick alone so much. He needs our guidance if he is to one day take my place. You must come home.”
“Nay, my Jemmie, I must stay. Once Fortune is gone from me, when shall I see her ever again? Autumn is just going to be two. Go back to Glenkirk in September, and come back to us before Christmastide. Patrick is a man now, and can manage alone without you. Can you go back to Scotland at summer’s end knowing you will never again see Fortune? We need you with us, my love. ’Tis only a few months.”
He acquiesced as she had known he would. The summer came, and in late August the duke of Glenkirk returned to Scotland, promising to come back in December. Charlie had joined them over the summer. Now he returned to court to support the king in his never-ending battle with the Puritans. They were growing stronger every year, and openly disapproved of everything about the king, and his French Catholic queen, despite the fact she had already borne her husband and the kingdom four children, of which three were living, two being boys, and was again expecting a child. Even the baptism of each prince and princess in England’s church did not satisfy them. Parliament had been dissolved several years prior, but the Puritans still grew more difficult and condemning of the king.
In October a gentleman came riding up to the front entry of Queen’s Malvern. He introduced himself as Sir Christian Denby, and told them he had just inherited a small estate nearby.
“I did not know that Sir Morton Denby had a son,” the duchess remarked, taking in the measure of the young man before her. He was dressed quite simply and severely in black with a starched white collar.
“He did not, madame. I am his brother’s younger son. Uncle was generous enough to leave Oakley to me, as my elder brother will inherit our father’s holdings one day. Having come to inspect my estate, I thought I would call upon my neighbors.”
“I am sorry my son, the duke of Lundy, is not here to meet you, Sir Christian,” Jasmine said. “His uncle, the king, requires him at court much of the year. I am the duchess of Glenkirk, and this is my daughter, Lady Lindley.”
Sir Christian bowed, then accepted a small goble t of wine offered him by Adali. “You live here, madame?” The query was bold, but Jasmine chose to be amused rather than offended. Obviously this young man was attempting to get the lay of the land. He could only do so directly as he was not familiar with the surrounding area.

Other books

Mad Worlds Collide by Tony Teora
The Twelfth Child by Bette Lee Crosby
Edith’s Diary by Patricia Highsmith
Cape Storm by Rachel Caine
Southern Comfort by Allison Vines-Rushing
The Extra by Kenneth Rosenberg