lead us there and across in a boat to Jamestown.
Lill was feeling weak when we set out, and Sam and I each took turns carrying her the half mile or so to the river. The farmer, a stern and silent man, rowed us across that gigantic expanse of water that seemed to us, who had never seen a sea, that there could not be anything greater. He let us off and told us not to tarry around Jamestown but to hie on and stay to the west of the big town called Williamsburg.
We were on our own from there, for he did not know another safe house across the river, but his wife had provided us with a basket of food to sustain us a day or two. We were becoming frantic for Lill. She was burning hot and too weak to walk. The days were warming little by little, but the nights were still unbearably cold. We took turns carrying Lill on our backs through the woods and fields, hoping our bodies would warm her until daybreak.
From Caleb Stone’s narrative, as remembered by Dr. Cassandra Reilly
*****
When Cassandra walked into the parlor of the hotel suite the next morning dressed for the day, she found Evie sitting there also dressed, bonnet in hand, appearing ready to bolt out the door.
“Oh! I did not know you would be ready,” Cassandra said.
“Yes,” Evie replied, rising, “I thought we could go back over to All Angels.”
“What? They do not expect us again until Thursday. There is a whole antebellum city out there to explore in the meantime.”
“Well, I just thought we could, you know, help out some more.”
“You already asked Miss Johnston about that, and she said no. Personally, I was relieved. I did not come here to polish pews and scrub floors.”
“No—”
“Well, what else would we do? We need to proceed logically, Evie. We will take our opportunities to get to know your ancestors better as they arise. After all, I am fascinated to know Ben’s family. But I also want to see more of the city. Shall we get breakfast?”
“I ordered it,” Evie said, examining her bonnet. “It is in there on the table. I have already eaten.”
“Oh. Good. Will you come sit with me?”
“Very well.”
They went into the dining room, and Evie flung her hat onto a chair and took a seat. Cassandra uncovered a plate with two fried eggs, bacon, potatoes, toast, and cheese.
“I will never be able to eat all of this!”
“Oh. I thought you would like it.”
Cassandra poured herself some tea. “I was thinking that maybe we could see the Crystal Palace today.”
“The Crystal Palace?”
Cassandra took a bite of egg and swallowed. “It is an enormous, glass exhibition hall. It is being built for the World’s Fair in July, so it must be almost done. It ought to be extremely impressive. Would you not like to see it?”
“Sure.”
Cassandra studied the young woman while she nibbled on a piece of bacon. “Evie, are you all right?”
“What? Yes, of course.”
“Let us just, you know, take it easy. There is time for everything, I promise.”
“Yes, very well.” Evie inhaled deeply and seemed to force a smile.
Cassandra finished breakfast and by quarter of eleven, they were on their way up Fifth Avenue. Cassandra suggested they walk all the way to Forty-second Street, where the Crystal Palace was located.
Below Twentieth Street, the wide avenue was impressive, with mansion after magnificent mansion. At Twenty-third Street, Broadway, also called Bloomingdale Road in that part of town, crossed Fifth Avenue where Madison Square Park was located. Beyond Twenty-third, new, middle-class apartment buildings had sprung up, mixed in with tenement buildings and private homes. Past Thirty-fourth Street, the city grew sparse and Fifth Avenue became a dirt road. They passed a dairy and stables. To the east and west of the avenue, they could see small, neatly kept farms, although the construction of homes and buildings were closing in on the open land.
Cassandra stopped by a fence and nipped off a sprig of rosemary that
Lill was feeling weak when we set out, and Sam and I each took turns carrying her the half mile or so to the river. The farmer, a stern and silent man, rowed us across that gigantic expanse of water that seemed to us, who had never seen a sea, that there could not be anything greater. He let us off and told us not to tarry around Jamestown but to hie on and stay to the west of the big town called Williamsburg.
We were on our own from there, for he did not know another safe house across the river, but his wife had provided us with a basket of food to sustain us a day or two. We were becoming frantic for Lill. She was burning hot and too weak to walk. The days were warming little by little, but the nights were still unbearably cold. We took turns carrying Lill on our backs through the woods and fields, hoping our bodies would warm her until daybreak.
From Caleb Stone’s narrative, as remembered by Dr. Cassandra Reilly
*****
When Cassandra walked into the parlor of the hotel suite the next morning dressed for the day, she found Evie sitting there also dressed, bonnet in hand, appearing ready to bolt out the door.
“Oh! I did not know you would be ready,” Cassandra said.
“Yes,” Evie replied, rising, “I thought we could go back over to All Angels.”
“What? They do not expect us again until Thursday. There is a whole antebellum city out there to explore in the meantime.”
“Well, I just thought we could, you know, help out some more.”
“You already asked Miss Johnston about that, and she said no. Personally, I was relieved. I did not come here to polish pews and scrub floors.”
“No—”
“Well, what else would we do? We need to proceed logically, Evie. We will take our opportunities to get to know your ancestors better as they arise. After all, I am fascinated to know Ben’s family. But I also want to see more of the city. Shall we get breakfast?”
“I ordered it,” Evie said, examining her bonnet. “It is in there on the table. I have already eaten.”
“Oh. Good. Will you come sit with me?”
“Very well.”
They went into the dining room, and Evie flung her hat onto a chair and took a seat. Cassandra uncovered a plate with two fried eggs, bacon, potatoes, toast, and cheese.
“I will never be able to eat all of this!”
“Oh. I thought you would like it.”
Cassandra poured herself some tea. “I was thinking that maybe we could see the Crystal Palace today.”
“The Crystal Palace?”
Cassandra took a bite of egg and swallowed. “It is an enormous, glass exhibition hall. It is being built for the World’s Fair in July, so it must be almost done. It ought to be extremely impressive. Would you not like to see it?”
“Sure.”
Cassandra studied the young woman while she nibbled on a piece of bacon. “Evie, are you all right?”
“What? Yes, of course.”
“Let us just, you know, take it easy. There is time for everything, I promise.”
“Yes, very well.” Evie inhaled deeply and seemed to force a smile.
Cassandra finished breakfast and by quarter of eleven, they were on their way up Fifth Avenue. Cassandra suggested they walk all the way to Forty-second Street, where the Crystal Palace was located.
Below Twentieth Street, the wide avenue was impressive, with mansion after magnificent mansion. At Twenty-third Street, Broadway, also called Bloomingdale Road in that part of town, crossed Fifth Avenue where Madison Square Park was located. Beyond Twenty-third, new, middle-class apartment buildings had sprung up, mixed in with tenement buildings and private homes. Past Thirty-fourth Street, the city grew sparse and Fifth Avenue became a dirt road. They passed a dairy and stables. To the east and west of the avenue, they could see small, neatly kept farms, although the construction of homes and buildings were closing in on the open land.
Cassandra stopped by a fence and nipped off a sprig of rosemary that
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