Free In the Lord's Embrace by Killian McRae Page A

begets the beginnings of another. Now, best be off with you two. Sun is getting high. T hey’ll be people about the roads soon.”
     
    Maeve came from the wagon after settling Augusta into her place and fashioning a palette for herself from what they had been able to collect from the house in the rush to leave Boston.
     
    “Thank you, for everything,” she told Caroline and Jefferson.
     
    N o more time could be wasted. Dawn dissolved into day, and they had to put much more land behind by sunset. With tearful embraces, all said their goodbye s , leaving Jefferson, Caroline and little Charles behind, perhaps never to be seen again.
     
    Crowded roads and muddled thoughts turned to lonely paths and empty silence. So long had August hungered for his beloved, and now that he had her, he was at a loss. The fire of their reunion was dimming as they pressed westward, though there was much between them that still needed to be said. Maeve, when not tending to Augusta , passed the days in languid reserve, her head leaned against his shoulder mocking the relative ease of the connection they once had shared . N ights were passed in clutching each other , but only to keep warm while und er the stack of blankets purchased en route, huddled i n the back of the cart. Though August held her closely, and thou gh she professed her love for him with words , Maeve’s embrace and countenance had grown sullen .
     
    He wanted nothing more than to cheer her. Still, August reminde d himself that she mourned Owen . Owen Murphy , who had la id down his life to allow her a chance at hap piness. August c ould not dismiss the depth of her kinship and extent of her sadness over the unfortunate fate that brave Irishman met.
     
    Finally, two weeks into their aimless sojourn west, August spoke .
     
    “Maeve -dear , we have to decide where we’re going,” he said off-handedly as he slapped the reins gently, coa xing the horses . “We’ re almost to Illinois now. The way I see it, we have three options: west, south or north. Given the current state of the south, I’m reluctant to hea d that way, but if you want …”
     
    “We go west,” she declared without delay. Her certainty in th e decision was so fervent that he cocked his eyebrow at her in surprise. “From what Patty wrote me, it sounds like a different country, August. The life sounds tough, but the benefits are great. Every man is a master of his own fate, she says.”
     
    It w as good a plan as any. “All right, then, west it is. But we’ll need to wait until the winter passes. Heading out west in this rickety contraption with already exhausted horses and limited funds for provisions would be suicidal. We should find a place to settle, at least until spring.”
     
    “Are you sure we’ll be safe?” she anxiously asked. He reminded her that the newspapers had confirmed their hopes; both were assumed de ad. It would be unlikely they would be recognized this far from Boston. “All right, then. Let’s find a place to stay. ”
     
     
    Four months passed in the blink of eye.  August and Maeve had come to a small town some twenty miles south of Chicago a few days after the decision to wait out the winter had been made. For a modest fee, they had rented out a furnished flat . Maeve had written to Patty , asking i f they might take a temporary stay with them. The horses and cart were sold, as they chose to keep a hold of what funds were available for later .
     
    With a secure, though be it temporary home, August to ok advantage of the comforts the transient settling afforded by sending Augusta to school, and tutoring on further subjects privately .
     
    “How an education in these so-called schools here in America wi ll ever suffice is beyond me,” he grumbled to Maeve one night after the poppet had fallen asleep.
     
    “With you as a father, she’ll be worthy of a Harva rd degree before she’s ten,” Maeve assured as she dried the dinner dishes. “ Do you know she was able