Page 13 of The Condemned (Echoes from the Past #6)
Mary could barely concentrate on the words of the service.
She hadn’t permitted herself to dream of her wedding often, but when she had, nine other couples had never figured into her fantasy.
She’d imagined walking down the nave toward her beloved, feeling nervous and shy, but also happy and excited.
She likely wouldn’t have a new gown to wear, but she’d have a bunch of posies in her hands, and maybe some wildflowers in her hair.
She couldn’t fill her imaginary congregation with faces of family and friends, but in her dream, she felt their benevolence and knew they were full of good wishes for the happy couple.
Except for the other couples, the governor, and Master Harrington, who looked as if he couldn’t escape quickly enough, there was no one present.
The couples looked nervous and somber as they made their vows to each other, and there wasn’t a flower in sight.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” Reverend Edison said to each couple in turn. “May God bless your union.”
Mary stared at the tips of her shoes, suddenly terrified.
She’d anticipated the wedding, but what was to come after was completely unknown.
What would happen now? What would her new husband say to her?
What was she to say to him? Mary glanced at Master Forrester to find him looking down at her.
He looked as confused and uncertain as she felt, and his obvious lack of courage endeared him to her.
He was nervous too, and possibly a little scared.
“Shall we?” he asked, giving her his arm. His voice was softer than she’d expected, and his turn of phrase educated. “The plantation is four miles south of the settlement. It will take us no more than an hour to get home. I expect you’re tired from your journey.”
“I am,” Mary replied.
“As soon as I heard you’d be coming ashore today, I bid Travesty to prepare a fine meal in your honor. I’m very happy you’re here, Mary.” He looked into her eyes as he handed her onto the bench of his wagon.
“I’m glad to be here, Master Forrester.”
“John. Call me John.”
“John.” The name felt strange on her tongue, but she’d get used to it.
I’m to share my life with this man from this day forward , Mary thought, still bemused.
Nothing seemed quite real, not the tiny settlement that was the heart of the colony nor the man who took his seat on the bench next to her.
“Who’s Travesty?” she asked. Sometimes focusing on practicalities helped settle the mind.
“Travesty is my indentured servant. She looks after the house and animals, while Simon and I work the plantation. We have a field of maize and a field of tobacco.”
“And who is Simon?”
“Simon is also an indenture.”
John fell silent. He held the reins loosely in his hands as the horse trotted down a narrow, dusty lane.
Mary gazed dispassionately at the fields and dense woods that lined the road.
She peered into the distance, hoping to catch a glimpse of anything manmade, but saw nothing on the horizon save a sea of green.
Where were all the houses? And the people?
Surely there were homesteads at the edge of those fields, and colonists who inhabited them.
Master Harrington had mentioned that to date there were nearly one thousand settlers residing in Virginia. Where were they?
“How long have you been here?” Mary asked, desperate to engage John in conversation to distract her mind from her unhappy thoughts.
“Jacob and I came out eight years ago. Jacob was my older brother. He died three years ago of a snake bite,” John explained. He looked unbearably sad at the mention of his brother.
“I’m sorry,” Mary said. “That must have been very difficult for you.”
“It was. After Jacob died, I tried to manage on my own for about a year but soon realized I’d have to get help. It took nearly all my resources to purchase Simon’s indenture contract, but Travesty came cheap. I acquired her a year later,” he added.
“Have you ever seen any savages?” Mary asked, her voice catching. The women had spent much of their voyage discussing the natives. They had little information to go on, but what they thought they knew had left them trembling with fear.
“I have.”
“Are they as fierce and merciless as people claim?”
“They are like nothing and no one I’ve ever encountered. I’ve never conversed with one, but they come into Jamestown on occasion, so I’ve seen them up close.”
“They’re allowed to just walk in?” Mary gasped, alarmed.
“The colonists wouldn’t have survived without trading with the Indians. The natives offered some helpful practical knowledge as well. They might be primitive, but they understand this land in a way we never will. They’ve lived on it for centuries.”
“And Governor Yeardley trusts them? ”
John shrugged. “Yeardley is a shrewd fellow. He trusts them as long as they are useful to him, but he’ll turn the muskets on them the second they pose a threat.”
Mary sighed with relief but then recalled that she would be living on a plantation in the middle of nowhere, vulnerable to attack. “Have they ever come near your plantation?”
“I haven’t come face-to-face with any, but I’m sure they have. They consider this their land, and they go where they please,” John replied matter-of-factly. He didn’t seem particularly worried, or maybe he was feigning indifference for her benefit, so as not to frighten her.
“Do you have a musket?” Mary asked, her voice trembling.
“Of course. Simon has one too. Don’t worry, Mary. They’ve no interest in us. You’ll be safe, I promise.” John laid a hand over Mary’s and patted it awkwardly. “It will be all right. We will be all right.”
Mary nodded. She’d have liked to thank John for reassuring her, but the lump in her throat made it difficult to speak.
She was frightened, not only by the prospect of living in such close proximity to Indians, but by the utter lack of civilization that came as a shock despite her best efforts to prepare herself for the primitive conditions of the colony.