Vivid by Beverly Jenkins

  The arguing appeared to have ceased. Abigail now stood beside the stallion. Adam dismounted slowly. They were speaking too quietly to be overheard, however, a blink later they were at it again, and in full vocal force.

  "No!" Abigail shouted. She emphasized her position by turning her back on him and walking stiffly up the gravel walk leading to the house.

  Mr. Crowley vowed aloud, "Gail, you're going to marry me."

  "No, I'm not, Adam Crowley. I don't need you playing with my affections."

  "It's not your affections I want to play with, woman!"

  Abigail came to an abrupt halt. She turned back and stared with a wondrous, yet wary, look.

  The eavesdroppers inside anxiously awaited her reply.

  Adam Crowley walked up to the woman he loved and Abigail looked up into the lumberjack's eyes. "You are serious, aren't you, Adam?"

  "Yes, Gail, I am. Wish I had been this serious thirty years ago."

  Then he did something that forever changed Abigail Grayson's life and forever earned him a treasured spot in Vivid's heart. He got down on one knee, took Abigail's hand, and asked, "Abigail Grayson, will you do me the honor of being my wife?''

  Before Abigail could reply, Magic came strolling up the walk with Hector perched on her shoulder and a rabbit she'd snared in her hand. "Aunt Gail, can we have this rabbit tonight?"

  She stopped then, just as she spied Adam Crowley and said cheerfully, "Oh, I'm sorry, hello, Mr. Crowley. Why are you on your knees, did you lose something? What is it? Hector and I can help."

  When Magic began looking around the grass, Nate hurried out to the porch and in fatherly tones hissed, "Majestic, get in here."

  "What did I do, Pa?"

  "Nothing, sweet," he said to her. He gave the stunned lovers an apologetic grin, then ushered his daughter inside.

  When Nate and Vivid explained to Magic that Mr. Crowley was in the process of proposing marriage, she ran back to the door yelling, "Say yes, Aunt Gail!"

  And to the delight of everyone involved, Aunt Gail took her great niece's advice.

  The wedding was held a few days later at the church. Proud and beaming, Eli gave his mother away. Once the newlyweds returned from a honeymoon in Detroit, they planned on moving into Nate's home until Adam could build them a new house in the spring.

  By August's end, folks were bemoaning the onset of autumn and the inevitable winter to follow, but there were still a few solid weeks of summer left, so everyone made the best of it. There were county fairs to visit, wood to chop, and outbuildings to shore up; corn was harvested, fruits were picked and put up, and Vivid continued making her rounds. She and Michigan tooled up and down the back roads of Cass County dispensing medicines, tending to babies and old folks, and inviting her neighbors to the wedding. Vivid had wanted to keep the ceremony small, but the Grove was having none of that. Abigail, Miss Edna, and Maddie, the coordinators of the grand event, had received nearly one hundred replies from people in the area. Nate had friends all over the state; no one knew how many of them might be planning to attend.

  The month of September brought cooler temperatures and brilliant blue skies. The trees had not yet begun to turn but everyone assured Vivid that the magnificent Michigan autumn would be unveiling its colors soon.

  The list of the people clamoring for invites to the wedding now numbered close to two hundred. Nate had heard from friends from as far away as Saginaw Bay. Vivid heard from both of her sisters. They'd been told of the wedding in correspondence with their parents. Each sent messages of love and good wishes to their favorite La Brat Trabrasera.

  One night Vivid returned home very tired from a four-day trip to a lumber camp near Battle Creek. Three men had gotten into a fight and had tried to hack one another to pieces. She'd sewn one man's ear, and another's leg; for the third, Vivid had stitched his arm the best she could but the axe blade had sliced through so much bone and sinew, only time would tell if he'd be able to keep it or have to undergo amputation.

  She wearily led Michigan around to the barn, saw to the mule's care, and then trudged back over to her place. Inside, she found Nate seated at her desk reading a newspaper. He put the paper down at her entrance and said softly, "You look tired, princess."

  "I am." She flopped down into the closest chair. "Lord, I don't want to see another lumber beast for at least a year. Talk about being raised in a barn. Between them they had maybe two men who'd even heard of the word 'manners.' "

  Nate smiled. He wondered if she would still be doctoring when they were old and gray. He supposed yes, and with each homecoming he would love her even more. "You want me to bring you some water for a bath?"

  "Bless you, yes."

  "Adam and Abigail won't be back from Indianapolis until tomorrow. Eli's looking at some new presses up in Kalamazoo, and Magic's spending the night over at Maddie's, so..." he said, waggling his eyebrows playfully.

  "So?" Vivid asked, grinning.

  "So I'm spending my night with you."

  Standing behind her chair, Nate, using gentle hands, slowly massaged the muscles in her neck and shoulders. After a few silent minutes of his tender care, her fatigue slowly melted away, taking with it the strain in her shoulders and the ache in her spine. She'd missed him in the days she'd been away. She thought how much of a joy it would be, once they married, to come home every evening to him in just this way.

  But she'd been living in a lumber camp for the past few days and she dearly needed a bath. "Nate..." she whispered, relaxing under the backrub. "You really should let me get that bath..."

  "I heartily agree. When was the last time you were near some water?"

  Vivid's eyes widened and she turned to look up at him. He was grinning, she saw, and in spite of herself, she grinned back. She asked him in regal tones, "Are you implying that I'm not fresh?"

  "I'm not implying, Your Majesty, I'm stating fact. You smell like Magic after she's been out playing all day."

  Vivid looked up and said huskily, "Then after you bring in the water, you'll have to make sure I get good and clean."

  And he did.

  He washed her thoroughly and sensually, using both the soapy rag and his hands. She was pulsing from all the attention once he declared her ready to step out of the water. Then he wrapped her in a large flannel drying sheet and laid her on the big bed. He dried her slowly, taking time to trail the flannel over her nipples and the dampness between her thighs, then her back, kissing the line of her spine and running a slow hand over the lush-ness of her hips while she melted into the softness of the mattress. Vivid had shared many an erotic interlude with Nate and this night would be added to that count. He made love to her until very late, then they both fell asleep.

  As the sun rose in the dawn sky Vivid was awakened by his kiss and his farewell.

  She sleepily nodded her understanding and saw him grin at her as he got dressed. "Back to sleep for you, princess. See you later today."

  Vivid pulled a sheet around her nudity and slid from the bed to accompany him to the front room. He gave her a parting kiss, then she stared amazed as he kicked aside the rug rag in the center of the floor, and opened a door built into the plank floor.

  “My grandfather was a member of the Loyal League and a conductor on the Underground Railroad," he explained.

  "So that's how you've been getting in and out without my knowing?"

  "Yep, there's a tunnel down here that leads to the barn and a vein that runs to the house."

  Vivid walked over and peered down into the dark hole at the base of the ladder. "Does Magic know about this?"

  "Yep, has she been popping in and out too?"

  Vivid told him about Magic disappearing the day her crates arrived. One moment she'd been there, the next moment she'd disappeared. Finally, an explanation.

  "No real reason why I didn't tell you about it before. Guess I just liked the look of surprise on your face when I seemed to appear out of nowhere."

  "If I weren't so sleepy, I'd fuss, but I a
m sleepy, so I'm going back to bed. 'Night, Nate."

  She kissed him.

  "Night, princess."

  After his descent into his grandfather's tunnel, Vivid repositioned the rug and padded back into the bedroom for a few more hours of sleep.

  The next morning Vivid came out into the yard to find Nate, Magic, and Abigail all shading their eyes against the sun and peering up into the sky.

  Vivid did the same, but having no idea what she was supposed to be looking for, she gave up and walked over to investigate.

  At her approach, Magic said happily, “Look, Viveca, your idea worked. Hector is flying!"

  Vivid put her hand up to shield her eyes, and sure enough she spied Hector soaring above the trees. Magic had been at her wit's end trying to coax Hector into trying out his angle-shaped wings. She'd tried tossing him gently off the front porch steps, she'd tried showing him by flapping her own brown arms, all to no avail. Vivid had watched Magic on a couple of occasions flapping her way around the yard while Hector stood silently on the ground, slowly cocking his head this way and that, looking for all the world as if he were trying to determine if his surrogate mama had gone insane.

  Vivid's musings were broken as Hector whizzed by just above his audience's heads and everyone ducked.

  Magic scolded her pampered pet.

  Hector resumed his bullet-fast flight back to the sun. Adam walked up. He sounded astounded as he asked, "Was that Hector?"

  "Yes," Magic replied, continuing to view the sky with irritation.

  Abigail, viewing the sky with a warning in her eyes, said angrily, "He could hurt someone doing that."

  Magic agreed, saying, "Just wait until he gets back here."

  “Magic—'' Adam began, but the bird whizzed by at eyebrow level again, making everyone crouch defensively as he screamed past.

  "Stop it, Hector!" Magic hollered.

  "I'm going back inside," Abigail declared. "That bird should be in a cage."

  Vivid had to agree and sought safety among the trees lining the drive. She'd been terrorized enough for one day. Nate and Adam joined her and they all turned their eyes to the sky.

  Hector dove and rose, dove and rose. Adam exclaimed, "That's no ordinary hawk she's been raising, folks. Hector's a nighthawk. See that white band on his wings?"

  "Are you sure?" Nate asked.

  "Sure as I can be until he slows down long enough to get a good look at him."

  "Aren't they supposed to hunt at night?"

  Adam shook his head. "When they're raised in the nest, yes. Hector doesn't know any better probably."

  They could see him circling against the sun.

  Vivid asked, "Do they make good pets?"

  "Doesn't look like it." Nate chuckled, seeing his daughter duck under Hector's latest pass. Nate had never seen a bird fly so swiftly.

  Vivid laughed, watching Magic angrily shaking her small brown fist at the sky, then remarked, "I really pity that bird should she ever get her hands on him."

  After a shared laugh, Nate asked Vivid, "How did you get him to fly?"

  "I told Magic to drop him off the barn roof. Hector would either fly or break his neck. It was all I could think of."

  The focus in the yard shifted to the wagon driving up. Vivid recognized Vernon, but not the older White woman or the small golden-skinned girl seated by her side.

  "Who do you think that could be?" Adam asked.

  Nate shrugged. He stepped out from the shelter of the trees, took a quick look up at the sky, then walked across the yard to the wagon, Vivid and Adam following.

  Vernon was helping the large woman from the wagon.

  "Are you Nathaniel Grayson?" she asked in an Irish brogue.

  Nate didn't answer for a moment. The little girl sitting so quietly on the seat held his complete attention. She and Majestic favored each other so keenly they could be twins.

  The woman's voice brought him back. "My name is Holly Rand, Mr. Grayson. Did you receive my letter?"

  "What letter—" he began, then paused. He stared into the woman's black eyes. Holly Rand. "You sent the message about my daughter being in danger?''

  She nodded grimly. "I apologize for being so cryptic, but I thought it would be better to explain the situation in person."

  Nate looked at the child once more, then at Magic, now walking over to join them with Hector perched atop the leather pad on her shoulder. He thought if not twins they could be sisters.

  Holly Rand, seeing Majestic, said, "I didn't know they would favor each other so much."

  Nate's head snapped around.

  "They're sisters, Mr. Grayson."

  "Sisters?"

  "Yes. This is Miss Satin. I brought her to you because I didn't know where else to go."

  Stunned, Nate scanned the girl's small face. Sisters? He saw that Viveca and Adam appeared just as shocked. Nate realized he didn't want Magic to hear this conversation, at least not until he found out what this visit meant, so when she walked up, he said, "Majestic, go tell Aunt Gail we have guests."

  Satin reared back from the sight of Hector, frightened.

  "Don't worry," Magic told her, "he only eats rabbits and field mice. Do you want to put him on your shoulder?"

  The girl shook her head violently.

  Magic looked up at her father and said sagely, "I think she's scared, Pa."

  "I think so, too," he said gently. "Now run along and tell Aunt Gail about our guests."

  As Magic and Hector departed, Holly Rand said, "She's a lovely child, Mr. Grayson. Somewhere up in heaven her mum is surely smiling."

  Later, after Nate and Holly put the girls to bed in Majestic's room, the adults gathered around the kitchen table to hear Holly Rand's story.

  "I brought Satin to you because I believe she will be safe here."

  "From whom?" Nate asked.

  "The girls' distant cousin, Evan Cole. They are standing between him and his late aunt's money."

  Nate went still. "How much money are we speaking of?"

  "More than I'll ever see in a lifetime, that's for sure," she said. "He's an evil man, Evan Cole. Evil."

  Nate looked around the table at the others.

  Mrs. Rand said, "Let me start at the beginning. "The girls' mum was a woman named Delia Cole. She was a poor lass with no family when I first met her in Philadelphia. I owned a seamstress shop then and she came to me for a job. She worked for me for over a year. She was a fine seamstress and a fine woman."

  She paused a moment as if she was recalling those early memories, then continued. "A man came into the shop one day and you could tell by the cut of his clothes he was wealthy. Delia helped him pick out a shawl as a present for his mother. His name was Garth Cole and he returned every day for the next week to buy gloves, shawls, whatever I had, just so he could see her. Delia was a beautiful woman, and a good girl. She wasn't like some of the shop girls who went with any man who promised them something pretty. To make a long story short, he courted my Delia and eventually married her. His rich mum carried on something awful when she heard the news. She swore never to speak to him again for marrying so low. Garth and Delia moved away and I lost track of her after that."

  According to Mrs. Rand, in September 1867, Garth was murdered and robbed while coming home from his job as a store clerk. Delia, mother now to a nearly year-old Majestic, stretched their meager savings for as long as she could, but six weeks after her husband's ignoble death, she and her baby were forced out onto the streets. To add to her woes, she learned she was carrying the baby who would be Satin. Out of desperation she went to her husband's family, only to be turned away from the door by Garth's cousin Evan.

  Delia went back to the streets. Finding work became increasingly difficult; she had a small child and another on the way, few employers found that combination appealing. Delia tried to find Mrs. Rand, who had since closed her shop and moved away, but in a city as large as Philadelphia, she might as well have been looking for gold in the streets. With winter closing i
n, she had few options. The charity houses were full. She added her name to the lists with all the others waiting, but she held little hope. She begged on the corners for a while, but the older and more seasoned panhandlers ran her off. She came to a decision. Majestic needed food and warmth or she would surely die. Delia refused to let that happen; Majestic would have a future even if Delia and the unborn child did not. So Delia placed the sleeping baby on the steps of the hospital. Crying silently, she kissed the cold little brow farewell and faded back into the night.

  Mrs. Rand paused and looked into Nate's eyes and quietly asked, "Can you imagine the desperation she must have felt, the anguish of knowing she'd left her dear child with strangers so she wouldn't starve to death? My Lord, I wish I had been there to help her."

  Mrs. Rand then told how Garth Cole's mother went into decline after learning of her son's death. While Garth and Delia were married, Garth's mother had never once contacted them. She'd never seen Delia, hadn't cared whether there were grandchildren. The prospect of impending death must have changed her mind because she hired a Pinkerton to find Delia, and when he did, Mrs. Cole moved her son's widow into her home.

  Vivid asked, "Did she know Delia had come to the house before?"

  "No, because Evan didn't tell her."

  "Sounds like a real nice fellow," Adam remarked in a voice thick with sarcasm.

  Delia was afraid she would be turned back out onto the street should her mother-in-law ever learn Delia had abandoned her elder child, so she never told her of Majestic's birth.

  Nate interrupted the narrative to ask, "How long after Majestic's abandonment was Delia found by the Pinkerton?"

  "Three weeks later."

  Nate shook his head sadly.

  Mrs. Cole died a few months before Satin's birth. Her will settled a small pension on Delia and left the bulk of her wealth to the unborn child. Evan Cole was furious. His aunt had bequeathed him a reasonable sum, but he felt entitled to it all.

  "After her death the terror began," Mrs. Rand said quietly. "Every day, during Delia's last month of confinement, Evan would come into her room and tell her how easy it would be to dispose of her infant. He talked of strangling and arsenic-laced milk and suffocation."