Dead of Winter: An Alexa Williams Novel by Sherry Knowlton

Author:Sherry Knowlton [Knowlton, Sherry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Milford House Press
Published: 2019-02-18T16:00:00+00:00

Elijah wiped away sweat on his brow as he crossed the street to the square. Mrs. McClure had sent him out to the pharmacy for some medicine for Coleman. He was recovering, and this would be the last bottle of tonic that the blacksmith would need for his lungs. In these three weeks in Chambersburg, Elijah had experienced a freedom he’d never known. Deacon McClure said that such a light-skinned boy wouldn’t get a second glance on the street if he did nothing to attract attention. With his forged papers in his pocket, Elijah walked around cautious but free. And Mrs. McClure allowed him to read her books after he finished his chores.

Elijah felt bad sometimes because he was so happy while Coleman was feeling poorly. But now that Coleman was on the mend, he spent hours chattering to the older man about all the wonders out in the streets of the town. Wabee and the others had moved on north. Several other waves of fugitives had come and gone as well. But Deacon McClure wanted Coleman to rest up a few more weeks before he and Elijah left for Massachusetts.

Stopping by the barn when he returned, Elijah told Coleman, “Mrs. McClure said I should bring you inside the house when I got back.”

“I don’t need no more medicine. I’m feeling better. No more cough. No more sweats. We been a burden long enough on this family,” Coleman muttered. Still, he rose to follow the boy into the big limestone house.

“Thank you, Elijah.” Mrs. McClure took the tonic and poured some into a spoon for Coleman.

“I know the worst has passed, but you had quite a congestion in your lungs. I want to make sure you’re fully recovered before we send you north. We’ll wait until you finish this bottle of tonic. Then, the deacon will see to your travel.” Mrs. McClure wiped her hands on her white apron and went back to filling a piecrust with sliced peaches. “I don’t often get a chance to get to know our travelers; I daresay I’ll miss you both.

“It’s fortunate that you’re still here in Chambersburg. We are having important company tonight, and the deacon wanted me to invite you both to dinner.”

Coleman looked thunderstruck. “Dinner, ma’am?”

“Yes, a well-known abolitionist is staying in town for a few months. He’s using the name Dr. Isaac Smith while he’s here. The deacon and I attended his sermon at our church, Falling Spring Presbyterian. My husband also went to hear him preach at Emmanuel Chapel. Dr. Smith is a powerful speaker with a passion for the cause. He’s widely known for some bold action that he and his sons took against slaveholders out west in Kansas.” She blushed and wiped her hands on her apron. “We are honored to have him in our home.”

“We’d be pleased to meet Dr. Smith, ma’am. But we can eat in the barn like usual. We don’t want to be causing no trouble,” Coleman said.

Elijah nodded, stunned into shyness by the very idea of dining with the McClure family and their guest.

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