Dinner at the St. James Read online

  ❧

  Two days after Daniel left, Tave strolled down the main street of Willow Bend. She wondered where he was at that moment and if he was thinking of her. Tears flooded her eyes at the memory of their last conversation. She couldn’t erase it from her mind.

  She wiped at her cheeks and glanced around to see if anyone had seen her momentary lapse. No one appeared to be paying her any attention. Straightening her shoulders, she opened the door to Mr. Perkins’s store and stepped inside.

  At the sound of the bell over the door, Mr. Perkins hurried from the back room. His face lit up when he saw her. “Tave, come in. How can I help you today?”

  She handed him the list she’d written before leaving home. “These are the items I need.”

  He scanned the list and nodded. “I have all this in stock. I’ll get it right away for you.” He turned to walk to the other side of the store but stopped. “Oh, I almost forgot. The Liberty Queen docked today, and there was a letter for you.”

  A letter? Could it be from Daniel? Tave’s heart pounded as Mr. Perkins strode to the counter at the back of the store that served as the post office for Willow Bend. An open cupboard with mailbox slots sat behind it. He pulled a letter from one of them, hurried back, and handed it to her.

  “Here it is. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go to the storeroom to get some of the items that are on your list.”

  “Thank you.”

  She held her breath and didn’t move until he’d left the room. Her fingers shook as she raised the letter to get a better view of it. Tears sprang to her eyes, and her heart plummeted to her stomach. The letter wasn’t from Daniel. It was from Matthew.

  She grabbed the edge of one of the display tables to steady herself and bit her lip. After a moment, she took a deep breath and opened the letter. Her eyes widened with each word that she read. By the time she finished, her mouth hung open and her face burned.

  Unable to believe what it said, she reread the words:

  Dear Tave,

  I feel the need to offer you an apology for my behavior the last time we talked. At that time, I mentioned the possibility of speaking to you of marriage when I returned. I realize now how presumptuous that was, because your father would never consent to our union. I also shouldn’t have assumed that you would even consider such a proposal. Having reached this conclusion, I hope you will soon find some young man who will be worthy of your affection.

  As for me, I have met such a woman in the person of Miss Portia Davenport of Dauphin Island. We will be married by the time this letter reaches you. I look forward to introducing you to my new wife when we arrive home.

  Regards,

  Matthew Chandler

  Tave crumpled the letter in her hand. “Of all the nerve,” she muttered. “Dismissing me like that. I’ve got a good mind to—”

  She stopped midsentence and arched her eyebrows. What was the matter with her? She didn’t love Matthew. She hadn’t wanted to marry him and would have turned him down if he’d asked. If she was honest, she’d have to admit the only thing that was hurt was her pride. As her true feelings regarding Matthew surfaced, a sense of relief flowed through her body. She wouldn’t have to worry about Matthew showing up to relive the war and play checkers with her father anymore.

  Glancing down at the wrinkled letter, she began to laugh. She needed to go tell her father right away. “Mr. Perkins,” she called out, “I have to go to my father’s office. I’ll be back for my purchases.”

  Without waiting for an answer, she ran out of the store and up the sidewalk. She stopped outside her father’s office as another thought struck her. A few weeks ago, there had been two men in her life, but she loved only one of them. All she could do now was pray that somehow God would bring Daniel back.

  ❧

  Three days later, Tave sat in the parlor of Savannah’s house at Cottonwood Plantation. She studied the fragile china cup and saucer with pink flowers painted on the sides before she took a sip of tea and set it back on the serving tray.

  “Thanks for inviting me this afternoon, Savannah. I don’t mind telling you this has been a hard week for me.”

  Savannah set her cup down and grasped Tave’s hand. “I couldn’t believe it when I heard Daniel had left. The two of you seemed so happy the day of the picnic.”

  Tave scooted back onto the sofa and propped a brocade-covered pillow behind her back. “It was such a wonderful day until I fell playing hopscotch.”

  Savannah reached for her cup and took another sip. “What happened?”

  For the next few minutes Tave told her friend about the argument she and Daniel had after he almost kissed her. When she finished, she brushed a tear from her eye and tried to smile. “I didn’t see him again until the day he left. I wouldn’t have known he was leaving if Martha hadn’t come by to tell me.”

  “Bound for Martha to bring the latest news.”

  Tave reached for one of the napkins on the tray and wiped at her eyes. She thought by this time all her tears would be gone, but they still popped out at unexpected moments. “In this case, I was glad she did. At least I got to tell him good-bye and give him my Bible to take with him. Poppa talked to him, too, before he left. Poppa hasn’t told me what all was said, but he did say he told Daniel that he didn’t think we could be happy together until he turned his life over to God.”

  Savannah nodded. “He’s right, you know. Marriage is difficult even when you love each other. If two people aren’t in agreement about God’s place in their lives, it’ll just bring unhappiness to both of them.”

  “I know. I’ve prayed about this, and I know everything is going to turn out all right for me. God’s got something else in mind.”

  Savannah stood up. “Good for you. You don’t need to waste your time thinking about what might have been with Daniel Luckett. You need to occupy yourself with other interests.” A coy grin pulled at her mouth. “Like Matthew.”

  Tave’s eyes grew large. “Oh, that’s right. You haven’t heard, have you?”

  “Heard what?”

  “Last Tuesday when the Liberty Queen docked at Willow Bend, it brought a letter to me from Matthew.”

  Savannah reached to pick up the tray. “When’s he coming home?”

  Tave sighed. “I don’t know. He wrote to apologize to me for speaking of marriage before he left for Dauphin Island. It seems he’s met a young woman down there whom he’s quite smitten by. He’s going to bring her back as his wife.”

  The cups and saucers rattled as the tray slipped from Savannah’s hands and thudded back to the table. She dropped back to the sofa, her eyes wide with surprise. “His wife?”

  Tave laughed. “Yes.” She tilted her head to the side and tapped her chin with her finger. “I wonder if I’m the only woman in Willow Bend who’s ever lost two men within two days.”

  Red spots, a sign of her anger ever since Tave had known her, appeared on Savannah’s cheeks. “Of all the nerve. He writes to tell you he’s taking back his proposal. I can’t believe he’d be such a coward.”

  “I have to admit it was quite a shock.”

  “Well, all I can say is good riddance to Matthew Chandler.” Savannah grabbed Tave’s hands. Her eyes brimmed with tears. “But I’m sure that makes the loss of Daniel only worse. I’m so sorry.”

  Tave squeezed Savannah’s hands and shook her head. “Don’t be. Neither one of them were meant to be. I wouldn’t have married Matthew anyway, but. . .” She couldn’t suppress the tears anymore, and she covered her face with her hands. Her body shook with sobs.

  Savannah placed her arm around Tave’s shoulders and drew her closer. Tave collapsed against Savannah’s shoulder and cried out the hurt she’d tried to keep inside all week. Savannah patted her shoulder. “Go on and let it all out, Tave. It’ll make you feel better.”

  She pulled back and wiped at the tears on her cheeks. “But I love Daniel so much. How can I get him out of my heart?”

  Savannah shook her head. “I don’t know
. I shudder sometimes when I think how close I came to leaving Willow Bend and losing Dante. I believe God knew what was happening in our lives, and He made everything work out in the end.”

  A hiccup shook Tave’s body, and she placed her hand over her mouth. When the urge had passed, she closed her eyes and sighed. It didn’t seem possible that only a few months ago she’d been so happy. Now she wondered if she would ever smile again. “I’ve always said I believed God would lead me where He wanted me to go, but I never thought putting Him in control could be this hard. It sounds so easy to say you’ll do it, but it sure does put your faith to the test.”

  Savannah leaned back on the sofa and drew Tave’s head to her shoulder. “I know it’s hard. God told us we’d have problems, but He promised He would be with us when we were passing through those times. Don’t lose your faith, Tave. My aunt Jane once told me that God wasn’t through with me, that He still had plans for me. I know He has the same for you.”

  “I’ll try to hang on to that thought, Savannah. When things get bad, I’ll think of what you said. I don’t know what I’d do without you as a friend.”

  “Don’t worry. You’re going to be all right.”

  Tave’s thoughts turned to Daniel. Surely he’d made it to Montgomery by now since it was only about three days away by horse. He was probably already working on the docks and making new friends. Some of them were probably women. Maybe he’d already forgotten about her. She wondered if she would ever forget him. She breathed a silent prayer for him.

  ❧

  Daniel walked into the second-floor room he’d rented in a house close to the docks and tumbled onto the unmade bed. The late-afternoon September sun cast a shadow across the floor. He opened the small window in an effort to get some air into the hot room. He needed to rest. He hadn’t slept well in the two months since he’d arrived in Montgomery, and the oppressive heat would probably keep him awake all night. His only consolation was that fall would soon arrive with cooler weather.

  Before he’d climbed the steps to his room, Mrs. Whittaker, who owned the boardinghouse, had called out that supper would be ready in an hour. He didn’t know if he could eat or not.

  A soft knock at the door caused him to sit up. Even though he was sure he knew who stood there, he called out anyway. “Who is it?”

  “It’s Jacob Whittaker, Daniel. I thought I’d check on you.”

  There was something about Jacob that reminded Daniel of his grandfather who had died when he was young. Like his grandfather, Jacob never missed an opportunity to share his love for God and His Word.

  Daniel opened the door and smiled at the white-haired, elderly man facing him. Pain pinched his face, and he leaned heavily on a cane. Daniel opened the door wider. “Come in, Mr. Whittaker. I didn’t think you saw me come in.”

  Jacob hobbled into the room and sank into the chair next to a small table by the open window. “I was in the kitchen, but I heard my daughter-in-law speaking to you. I thought I’d come up here and see if you did what I asked.”

  Daniel glanced at the table beside Jacob. Tave’s Bible sat on it. Picking it up, he opened it to the passage Jacob had told him about and read aloud. “ ‘Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.’ ”

  Jacob planted his cane in front of him, rested his hands on top of it, and closed his eyes. “Beautiful words.”

  “Love your enemies?” Daniel asked. “How is that possible?”

  “It’s only possible if God has control of your life. The day you walked in our front door, I told my daughter-in-law you were a man with deep scars. Over the last two months, you’ve shared your past with me. I know you’ve suffered, but you can overcome it. You’re never going to be happy until you let go of the hate in your heart.”

  “Someone else told me that, but she made it sound so easy.”

  Jacob’s eyebrows arched. “Ah, a young woman told you the same thing I’ve been telling you ever since you’ve been in Montgomery. She’s right. All you have to do is pray and ask Jesus to take control of your life. He’ll take away the hate and replace it with peace.” Jacob closed his eyes again and breathed deeply. “I can feel His presence every time I come into your room, Daniel. He’s here, waiting for you to open your heart to Him.”

  Daniel looked back at the words he’d just read. Love, bless, do good to your enemies? Why should he? The veil that had covered his mind for years parted, and the answer hit him like a kick in the stomach. So he could be a child of God.

  Suddenly, everything Tave and her father had said and all of Jacob’s words made sense to him. They had been trying to make him see how his life would be changed if he opened his heart to God.

  He gasped aloud at the great wave of emotion that poured through his body. He closed his eyes and let his senses soar with the recognition of an emotion he’d never felt before. Was it really as easy as Jacob said? If it was, why did he hesitate? He dropped the Bible, fell on his knees, and buried his face in his hands. “God, help me. I can’t carry this hatred anymore. Help me to let it go. I want some peace in my life. Show me what to do.”

  The Bible lay on the floor where he’d dropped it. He picked it up and stared at the page where it had fallen open. The words of a verse almost stood out from the page, and his skin prickled as he read it: “And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.”

  He clutched the Bible to his chest. From his seated position, Jacob stared down at him. “How do you feel, Daniel?”

  The greatest peace he’d ever known washed over him, cleansing every bit of hate from his body. With tears on his cheeks, he smiled. “Like a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I feel so light, I think I might be able to fly.”

  Jacob laughed. “I remember that’s how I felt when I accepted Christ. What are you going to do now?”

  Daniel stuck out his hand, and Jacob grasped it. “There’s still a lot I don’t understand, Mr. Whittaker. Will you teach me more about the Bible and God’s ways?”

  Tears stood in the old man’s eyes. “There’s nothing that would make me happier.”

  Eleven

  Daniel buttoned his coat in an effort to ward off the chill from the brisk wind that swept across the docks. With Christmas Eve only two days away, there wasn’t much activity on the river, and most of the workers had already gone home.

  He thought of his warm room at Mrs. Whittaker’s boardinghouse and shivered. If he wasn’t on a mission right now, he would be sitting in the dining room, having a hot cup of coffee and a piece of apple pie with Jacob. His stomach growled, and he pushed the thought away. Eating would just have to wait until he talked with Mr. Smith, the owner of a riverfront warehouse.

  As long as Daniel had been in Montgomery, Mr. Smith had been a regular Saturday visitor to his business. Regular until today, that is. Daniel had stood in the cold for hours, hoping the man would appear, but so far he hadn’t.

  He was just about to give up and go back to his room when he spied Mr. Smith’s carriage coming down the street. A black man in a long coat and a top hat guided the horses along the cobblestone street toward the riverfront. Mr. Smith huddled in the backseat underneath a heavy buggy rug.

  The carriage pulled to a stop in front of the warehouse. With slow movements, Mr. Smith pushed the lap covering to the seat beside him and heaved his portly body up. He grunted as he stepped to the ground. Leaning on a cane, he spoke to the driver, who nodded, and then he hobbled into the building. The man in the front seat of the carriage didn’t move or look around as Daniel stepped from the docks and headed toward the building.

  Daniel stopped at the door and said a quick prayer before he pushed the sliding door to the side and stepped into
the musky darkness of the warehouse. The interior of the building with its huge floor space reminded Daniel of a cave. Very little cargo sat inside the building, but that didn’t surprise Daniel. In the months since he’d been in Montgomery, he’d seen a drastic reduction in goods shipped by river. The railroads could deliver faster, and those who made their living on the river were beginning to worry how much longer their businesses could survive.

  Daniel glanced around and spotted the warehouse office to his left. The soft glow of an oil lamp cast a shadow underneath the office door and sent flickering patterns rippling across the floor. Overhead, more light filtered in through the small windows lining the top of the walls.

  Daniel stepped to the closed office door and knocked. Footsteps shuffled inside before the door opened. The warehouse owner gripped the handle of his cane and propped himself erect. His eyebrows arched. “Yes? Can I help you?”

  Daniel pulled off the hat he wore and held it in his hands. “Good afternoon, Mr. Smith. My name is Daniel Luckett. I wonder if I might have a word with you.”

  The man’s gaze raked over Daniel, but he finally moved aside and motioned him to come into the office. He closed the door behind him and turned to Daniel. “Haven’t I seen you working on the docks?”

  Daniel nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  The man moved to a chair behind his desk and lowered himself into it. He motioned for Daniel to have a seat in a chair facing him. “What is it you want to talk to me about?”

  Daniel sat down and scooted to the edge of the chair. He took a deep breath. “Mr. Jacob Whittaker told me that you are a good Christian man. I’ve come hoping you might help me with a problem I have.”

  Mr. Smith nodded and opened his desk drawer. “Oh, I see. You’ve heard that I’m the person a dockworker needs to come to when he has a problem.” He pulled out a roll of money. “Do you need to buy food for your family for Christmas?”