Rhode Island Bride Page 2

  The men panted and wheezed, choking on salt water and trembling violently from the cold. She planted her backside on the seat and rowed for all she was worth to the island. Her body felt numb but as long as she could maintain her grip on the oars, she would continue to move her boat to the safety of land. Momma waited at the dock with blankets and a helping hand.

  The men mumbled, “Thank you,” and some other words, but she had no strength to listen. She grunted as she pulled hard on the paddles until they reached the short dock. Momma helped the men out, as she wrapped each in a blanket around their shoulders. She wrapped Louise, too. Momma and Louise guided the soldiers toward the house. They were cold and weak, stumbling often. Louise’s knees gave way a few times, but she gritted her teeth and managed to get the one on her shoulder inside.

  Still mumbling thank you, the soldiers collapsed into the dining chairs as Louise took the forth chair. Momma prepared tea, enhanced with whiskey, in mugs and distributed four on the table. They drew in the welcomed warmth and laid their heads on their arms on top of the dining table.

  Louise panted with fatigue. The warmth of her breath filling the space between her face and the table. She let her momma see to the soldiers’ needs. Her job was accomplished.

  Momma offered more tea and the soldiers accepted. Louise was too drained to reply. She maintained her head-down position and kept her eyes closed.

  “Are you that girl?” One of the men spoke with a roughened voice.

  Louise lifted her head slightly and peeked across her arms. All three men stared at her. “What?”

  “You’re her, aren’t you?” The young soldier smiled. She recognized that smile. Was this the boy who kissed her? Her heart slammed against her ribs and pounded like a timpani drum as her eyes darted over the other two men. Her brow shot up on her forehead. Could it possibly be the sea brought the boy who kissed her back so soon?

  “I can’t believe it.” He continued. “Captain Russell, this is that girl I told you about. The one I asked to marry me before we shipped out. This is Louise Wiley. The girl who can out-row most men I know and saves people from drowning in the ‘arbor.”

  Momma gasped. “Wha—? Louise, what are they talking about?”

  Louise swallowed hard.

  The captain stood and extended his hand to Louise. “I’m Captain Buck Russell, ma’am.” He smiled as he sat and took another swig of tea. “Lucky for us, you saw us capsize.”

  “Momma saw ya.” Louise uttered, avoiding her mother’s glaring question.

  “Yes, but” —the captain set his cup down— “it was you who rowed out there in this storm and pulled us in. I am forever in your debt, Miss Wiley.” The captain dipped his head, confirming he meant what he said.

  Momma refilled the mugs with hot tea as if nothing extraordinary had just been said. “You boys relax and get warmth in your bones. We got extra bedding. You can stay the night and go on to Fort Adams in the morning.” She turned to Louise. “You!” She paused for emphasis. “We’ll discuss this proposal that I knew nothing about another time.” She turned a pleasant smile back to the soldiers. “I ‘magine the storm’ll be passed over by then.”

  Did Momma mean the storm outside or the one behind her eyes?

  “Yes ma’am.” The captain agreed. “We are obliged to your whole family. Is there a Mister Wiley?”

  “Yes!” Momma responded too quickly, but then hesitated. “He’s not well. He’s here, upstairs, and able to come down… with a shotgun if the need arises.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry, ma’am.” The captain stiffened. “We don’t mean you any harm. I was just asking because when I get back to the fort I want to talk to my commanding officer about compensating your family for saving our lives.”

  Momma blushed. “I see. Well, thank you very much, but it’s not necessary.”

  Louise smiled. She’d never seen her momma embarrassed before. Or lie. Poppa couldn’t come downstairs, let alone wield a shotgun, if his life depended on it, should these men get out of hand. She supposed she could point a shotgun at them if it were needed. But somehow she didn’t think it would be necessary. This was her soldier. The one who had asked her to marry him when he came back from the war. Her family was not in any danger.

  Momma turned from the table. “I-I’ll just get you some bedding. You can sleep in the sitting room. We’ll have breakfast at daybreak and then Louise can take you to Newport to get yourselves another boat.” She glanced at Louise who nodded agreement.

  “Yes ma’am.” The captain nodded again, reaching to tug at the cap that was no longer on his head but in the sea.

  The boy who had kissed her leaned into his captain. “Sir. May I speak to you?”

  The other solider wrinkled his brow but said nothing. The captain turned to her soldier. “Of course.”

  They rose from the table and walked into the sitting room. Louise strained to hear what they said, but could not. She smiled awkwardly at the one left at the table. He leapt to his feet and walked quickly into to other room. She sighed.

  Her mother padded down the stairs with a stack of blankets and walked past Louise without a word. “Here you go.” She handed the bedding to the soldiers and returned to the stairs. “You coming, Louise?”

  “Oh. Yes, Momma. I’m coming.”

  “Uh. Louise?” Her soldier called out to her. “May I have a word?”

  Her momma stopped on the third step and waited.

  It was Louise’s turn to flush beet red. She glanced at her mother and then turned to the soldiers in the sitting room. “Um. Of course.” She walked toward him. Momma followed.

  He glanced at his captain and then went down on one knee. “Louise Wiley, I meant it when I told you I would come back and marry you. Fate has brought me back to you sooner than I imagined, and I am not one to tempt fate any more than necessary. Today, we nearly drowned, but you, being who you are, saved us. I owe you my life. And I owe you my promise. So, before I leave tomorrow, will you marry me and make me the happiest man alive?”

  His grin filled his face with teeth and lips.

  Louise stared at him, astounded. Her mind reeled in confusion. “I-I don’t even know your name,” she stammered.

  He laughed. “Oh. I’m William McLaughlin. I knew who you were even before the newspaper article. I’ve watched you come to town every weekday since your family moved out to Lime Rock. Until I was marching off to join this war, I didn’t have the courage to say anything to you. But something happened to me as I passed you standing outside the general store. I thought to myself, ‘it’s now or never.’ So, I just stepped over to you and said it.”

  She nodded. Dumbfounded. She turned to glance at her momma who just stared at her without any indication of what she was thinking.

  “I’m sorry!” William rushed on. “I haven’t spoken to your poppa or nothing. It’s just, everything seems to be moving so quickly. We are shipping out tomorrow.” He glanced at his comrade. “We were on detail to bring the captain to Fort Adams to lead our regiment to Virginia. Our boat was big enough, it took two rowers, but you see how well that worked out against this storm.”

  Her mother would never agree to let these men upstairs to see the condition that her poppa was in, but she appreciated William’s awareness of proper protocol. “My poppa is not well. But my momma is right here. She can give you her blessing.”

  Louise sucked her bottom lip into her mouth. Please, Momma say it is alright. Glancing over her shoulder she watched her mother’s face transform with indecision.

  “I don’t know.” Momma uttered.

  The captain stepped over. “Missus Wiley, I haven’t know Private McLaughlin long but he seems like an outstanding gentleman to me. If Mister Wiley is unable to give his blessing, may I offer mine. We are indebted to you for saving our lives today, and I personally will hold this man accountable to your daughter as if he were my own son. We can go straight to the judge in Newport, or the chapel, whichever you prefer, and see to it that these two are wed
before we arrange our transport to Fort Adams tomorrow morning.

  Momma stammered, “Well, I… suppose…” She turned to Louise. “Is this what you want, dear?”

  Louise considered her question. It was all she had thought about ever since he kissed her three months ago. Yes. It was what she wanted. “I- yes, Momma. It’s what I want.”

  Her mouther paled. “Well, then I guess my answer is: you have our blessing.”

  “Oh thank you, Momma.” Louise hugged her mother and turned to William. He was still on his knee. She walked up to him, her hands clasped in front of her skirt. “Yes, William McLaughlin. I will marry you.”

  “Yahoo!” He sprang to his feet and took her shoulders, kissing her cheek. “Thank you.”

  She staggered back, her cheeks blazing, and giggled. “So, I’ll see you in the morning.”

  He slapped his thigh and chuckled. “You sure will. First thing in the morning.” He turned around to his comrade and laughed. “I’m getting married to Louise Wiley!”

  His friend nodded and slapped him on the back. “Yep.”

  The captain shook his hand. “Congratulations, Private. Let’s get bedded down and you try to get some rest. I’ll wire the fort tomorrow from Newport to let them know what happened and what is happening. We’ve got a big day tomorrow.” He turned to Louise’s mother. “Ma’am. Could we have some more of that whiskey, to help us settle down for the night?”

  Momma nodded. “Of course.” She handed him the bottle and led Louise upstairs. She hugged her before they parted for their separate bedrooms. “What are you going to wear?”

  “I have no idea.” Louise floated into her room. As exhausted as she was from the rescue, she doubted she’d sleep a wink all night. What to wear was only one of the many, many things prowling through her mind tonight. Besides, in four hours she had to refill the oil in the lighthouse lamp and six hours after that, she’d rise to prepare breakfast for her family plus three men.

  One being her soon-to-be husband.

  3

  Louise stood at her parent’s bedroom door. Her best periwinkle-blue dress was two years old but seldom worn. It had to be good enough for today’s special occasion. She knocked on the wood frame before entering. “Poppa?”

  Her momma rose from being seated on Poppa’s side of the bed as Louise slowly walked in.

  “Oh, you look lovely, dear” Momma cooed. Poppa was sitting up against pillows and turned his head toward Louise’s voice. A lopsided smile donned his face.

  “Ahhhh.” His utterance most commonly made these days. “Peddy,” he mumbled.

  “Thank you, Poppa.” Louise turned to her momma. “Do you think he understands?”

  “On some level, I think he does.” Momma smiled reassuringly.

  Louise sat beside him. “I’m getting married today, Poppa. His name is Private William McLaughlin.”

  Poppa moved his good hand to place it on hers. He patted her roughly and mumbled something. Drool trickled down the corner of his mouth. Louise wiped it with the handkerchief Momma kept beside his bed.

  “You know…” Momma looked at her feet. “Why neither of us can come with you today, don’t you?”

  “Of course,” Louise whispered. She moved Poppa’s hair from his brow. “I understand.” Standing, she sighed. “I’ll tell you all about it when I get back. If L.J. or the twins don’t beat me to it.” She laughed.

  Her mother chortled too. “Yes, they are very excited that they get to attend your wedding rather than school.”

  “Well.” Louise took her mother’s hand. “It’s only one day. They won’t fall behind for missing one day.”

  “I’m sure you’re right.” Mother gripped Louise’s hand and gave it a tight shake. “So, off with you now. Marry that boy before he changes his mind.” She chuckled.

  “Momma!” Louise chastised.

  “Oh, I’m only fooling ya. That boy is smitten for you. That’s obvious. Now, go marry him and get back home before another storm blows another soldier onto our banks and we have to marry one of the twins off, too.”

  “Momma!” Louise wrinkled her brow. What was Momma going on about. She spoke nonsense. Was this just her way of coping with Louise’s sudden nuptials and her inability to attend? “I’ll be back after we give him a proper goodbye.”

  “Not too proper of a goodbye, I should hope.” Momma smiled awkwardly.

  “Momma!” Louise tilted her head, eyeing her mother’s strange behavior. “I’m afraid there’ll be no time for such things.” She could feel the heat of embarrassment fill her cheeks. “I’ll see you soon.”

  “Yes. God bless you, dear, and the young man you are about to marry. May you always be as happy as your poppa and me.”

  Louise smiled and hugged her mother one last time, then hurried to her bedroom and lifted the bundle tied with a ribbon and rushed down the stairs.

  Lena and Lisa waited in the sitting room. They were wearing their best matching dresses with bows in their hair. L.J. had put on his only suit. Louise had just let the hem in his britches down last month and yet his socks showed. Her brother was at that age where boys grow so fast, it was hard to keep their pantlegs covering their ankles.

  He was animatedly sharing some story about a toad with William. It seemed L.J. was excited at the possibility of another able-bodied man in the family. The twins simply stared dreamy-eyed at the soldiers, in love with the idea of being in love and attending a wedding. Silly girls. Louise cleared her throat to get the soldiers’ attention. “Are we ready?”

  The men turned when she spoke. William’s mouth dropped open. He rushed up to her. “You look beautiful.”

  Louise pursed her lips. It was her best dress after all. The bright blue cotton blend with cream lace trim complimented Louise’s dark brown eyes and hair. At least that was what the seamstress in Newport had said when they picked out the fabric. She only hoped it looked good enough for her wedding. By the look on William’s face, it did. She smiled. “Thank you.”

  The captain approached them. “There’s a supply store in Newport. We will replace the parts of our uniform we lost to the storm yesterday, send word to the fort, and be on our way to your ceremony. I’d hate for Private McLaughlin to marry you in an incomplete uniform.”

  Louise smiled at him. She didn’t care that his uniform was incomplete, but understood why it was important. She handed William the bundle. “These are for you.”

  He looked at the envelopes with curiosity. “What are they?”

  “It seems silly now.” She blushed. “I didn’t know your name, so I wrote you letters and kept them.”

  “No. That’s not silly.” His eyes met hers. “Thank you. I’ll read one a day, as if I received them at mail call.” He tucked them inside his shirt.

  Lena handed Louise a bouquet of evergreen tied with one of her hair ribbons. What few wildflowers grew on their island had withered with the cold autumn weather.

  “Oh, Lena. It’s lovely. Thank you.” A tear filled Louise’s eye.

  Lisa rushed up to her. “We both wanted you to have something pretty to carry.”

  Louise smiled at her sisters. “Well, that was very thoughtful of both of you.”

  She lifted her eyes to William. “My rowboat can carry all of us, but it’ll be a tight fit.”

  “I’m sure we can manage.” William spoke as if he were in a trance. “But let’s let my buddy row so I can hold my bride-to-be.”

  Again Louise’s cheeks filled with heat. The twins giggled.

  The morning sky was crystal blue. There was no trace of the storm that had nearly taken the soldiers’ lives last night, other than some windblown debris. Louise reached out to release her rowboat, but William and his buddy cut in. “No. Let us do that.”

  William smiled at her. She stepped back to let them untie the boat and lower it into the water. Soon, all seven were in the boat. The other private handled the oars well, and before long they were docking at Newport. The men exited first and turned to assist L.J. an
d the twins. Louise remained to help push her siblings onto the dock.

  William put out his hand toward Louise. She smiled and reached up to let him help her out, even though she had climbed out of this boat nearly everyday for the past three years on her own. As their palms touched, a bolt of excitement ran through her arm, alighting her heart and causing her pulse to pound against her ears. Was that love? Their eyes held each other’s gaze as he pulled her from the boat. She could get used to having him around.

  But alas, before the day’s end, he’d be headed to a battle and she’d be headed home, again, with only her thoughts about him to occupy her time. At least now she knew to whom to address her letters.

  She walked with her hand cupped in William’s elbow as they followed the captain through town. He purchased the things they needed to complete their uniforms, sent the wire to Fort Adams and received confirmation back that their time in Newport was approved. Now it was time to go talk to the reverend.

  Suddenly, moths fluttered in Louise’s belly. She drew in a calming breath and focused on walking to the chapel without tripping. This was her wedding day!

  

  “I say, no!” Reverend Chesnut walked away from the small party.

  “But, Reverend…” William trailed after him. “This woman saved my life. And I promised her that I’d marry her. Please! Before I get sent out, I want to make her my wife.”

  Chesnut turned abruptly on the private. “Is she with child?”

  “No!” Louise and William said at the same time.

  The reverend cocked his head back. “Well, then… I see no reason not to wait.”

  “Except that my captain, here.” William gestured toward his commander. “Is taking me and Private Paul to Fort Adams today, soon as we get this done, and we are shipping out this evening.”

  “Get this done?” The reverend scoffed. “You act like this is a simple matter of cleaning out a closet. A chore to complete before moving on. Marriage is a serious business, my dear boy. One not to be entered into lightly. I don’t even know this girl.” He hesitated. “Well, I know who she is because of her newspaper fame, but I don’t know her. She and her family never attend church. I have no idea what her station with the Lord is. I cannot in good faith marry the two of you, unless it’s for the sake of a bastard child.”