LITMIR.BIZ

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She faltered. Staggered. Was about to fall and disgrace her guardian in front of all these important emissaries.

      A strong hand grasped her billowy sleeve at the elbow. Stopped her fall. Righted and steadied her.

      Preparing to thank her rescuer, she looked up straight into the eyes of the Cherokee gentleman she had admired mere moments ago.

      There was steadiness to his gaze, yes, but she imagined empathy, as well. He seemed to sense that she was held in little regard here.

      It was hard to be certain of his age but she guessed him to be only a few years older than she. He was wiry yet muscular, strong yet gentle. There was a control within him that she admired and also envied.

      A cautious smile lifted the corners of her mouth as she whispered, “Thank you, sir.”

      His answer was a brief nod, but in Annabelle’s eyes he had just bestowed a most pleasing grin.

      One meant only for her.

      When he leaned closer to say, “Pleased to be of service, Miss Annabelle. My name is Charles,” she was afraid the floor was going to fall away beneath her feet.

      * * *

      Charles McDonald couldn’t get his mind off the afternoon’s events. Leaving the boy behind in the Eaton house was the most difficult thing his chiefs had ever asked him to do. He and the child were kin through their mothers from the Wolf Clan, and as an uncle it was his job to help raise and teach the male children.

      If it had not been for the presence of a clearly sympathetic soul in the person of the fair-haired young woman called Annabelle, he might have rebelled.

      “No, I wouldn’t have,” Charles told himself. “I am not like some of the others. I obey my chiefs.”

      Even if they’re wrong? Charles wondered. Cherokee history proved why leaders of opposing sects within the tribe didn’t trust others to negotiate for them. Hence, the trip to Washington with Major Ridge, his son John Ridge, Elias Boudinot and a half-dozen others to try to gain an audience with President Jackson and plead their case against forced relocation.

      Placing the boy in the Eaton household was the strongest symbol of trust anyone could bestow. He hoped Eaton realized that, treated the child as the son he was meant to be and saw to it that he received a good education. A white man’s education. The kind that would prepare him to one day speak for the Cherokee with the authority and intelligence that Charles’s current companions exemplified.

      Leaning on a lamppost across from the imposing Eaton residence on New York Avenue, Charles sighed. In a few more days he and his party would return to Georgia. How would the boy cope when he was left behind to fend for himself?

      The grounds of the brick mansion he was observing were encircled by a wrought-iron fence. At the rear lay a vegetable and herb garden. As Charles watched, a familiar flaxen-haired figure, wearing a lacy cap that complemented the white collar of her darker dress, appeared in the kitchen garden. The handle of a shallow basket was looped over one arm. Her other hand held that of the Cherokee child.

      Straightening, Charles shaded his eyes beneath the brim of his hat. The boy seemed to be instructing the young woman by pointing to various plants. Perhaps this new life was not going to be the ordeal for him that Charles had expected.

      He adjusted his cravat and tugged on the points of his vest while dodging wagon traffic to cross the broad street. The young woman had seemed a bit timid when he’d originally encountered her but at the moment she was acting quite forthright. Another good sign. One he wanted to encourage.

      She didn’t seem to notice his approach but the child did. Not only did he begin to grin, he called to Charles, “Siyo!”

      “In English,” Charles replied firmly. He tipped his hat to Annabelle as he said, “Hello again, miss.”

      To his surprise, Little John ducked behind her skirt. Her hand rested against the child’s cheek as if sheltering him while she smiled a greeting of her own. “Good afternoon, sir.”

      “You may call me Mr. McDonald or simply Charles, if you wish,” he said pleasantly. “And you are Miss Annabelle...?”

      “Annabelle Lang,” she replied, blushing demurely.

      “Have you worked for the Eatons long?”

      “You are mistaken, sir. I was brought into the family long ago, the same way John just was, except I was less a gift than a charity case taken on by the first Mrs. Eaton.”

      “Please forgive me. Had I known you were not a servant I would not have spoken so boldly.”

      “You have not given offense. My grandmother raised me until a fever took her. Mrs. Myra Eaton took on the burden of my care when I was three years old.”

      “I cannot imagine you could ever be a burden,” Charles said, growing more empathetic by the second. “Are you from Washington City, then?”

      “No. Tennessee. I became a ward of the Eatons, stayed on there after Myra died and came to Washington when my foster father was elected to the senate.” She cast a brief glance at the rear of the house. “The new Mrs. Eaton didn’t take to me when she and the senator were wed last year, but she has promised to send me to a special school in Connecticut. The Cornwall Mission School.”

      “Cornwall?”

      “Yes. You know of it?”

      Charles wondered if he should be the one to deliver the bad news. It hardly seemed fair to let her continue to hope in vain.

      “My condolences, Miss Annabelle. I must inform you that that school has closed.”

      “Surely not for good.”

      “I’m afraid so.”

      “But, why? It’s said to be a wonderful school.”

      “Yes, it was. There was an unfortunate incident that caused its financial support to be withdrawn.”

      “What could have happened that was so bad? Was someone killed?”

      Charles had to chuckle at her naïveté. “No, no. Let me simply say it was because of an affair of the heart.”

      “Oh, my. Was it very sad?”

      “No, dear lady. Actually, Cherokee Elias Boudinot and a missionary’s daughter Miss Harriet Gold not only married, they already have the beginnings of a lovely family. You saw him with me today in your parlor. He’s the editor and publisher of The Cherokee Phoenix.”

      “I’ve heard of that amazing newspaper! So, something good did come out of the tragedy.”

      “That depends upon one’s point of view,” Charles said. He gestured at the child who remained hidden behind her full skirts. “Some things which are deemed best at the time may not prove to be prudent in the future. Like my nephew, Usdi Tsani.”

      “Is that his real name?”

      “No. That simply means Little John.”

      “Tell me again. Let me learn it.”

      “Why would you want to do that?” Charles asked, genuinely puzzled.

      “So I can speak to him in his own language and make him feel settled here. I know how hard it is to be thrust into a strange home the way he has been.”

      “Which is why you and he have already become friends,” Charles observed. “That is a good thing.”

      “What about you and your companions? Will you be leaving Washington soon?”

      “Yes.” His gaze rested on the child as he answered and he saw John look away as if in pain. Although he would rather have died than show tender emotion, Charles yearned to embrace the child one last time, to bless him and wish him well.

      Instead, he merely squared his hat on his head and nodded to Annabelle. “It has been a pleasure meeting you, miss.

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