Read Online Lake in the Clouds by Sara Donati - Free Book Online Page B

dead more than five years. When exactly did all this happen?”
    “July of ninety-four.” Perched on the edge of her chair, Curiosity spoke up. “While we was on our way home from Scotland.”
    The surprise of this statement made Elizabeth put down her knitting. “That was eight years ago.”
    “It was indeed,” said Galileo. “Eight years and twenty-one slaves run away to freedom. Coffee the only one we ever lost.”
    “Twenty-one,” echoed Elizabeth. “But how?”
    Hawkeye made a soft rumbling sound deep in his throat.
    “Don’t hush her, Dan’l,” said Galileo. “It’s a reasonable question. The truth of it is, that first time we didn’t have no plans, and no idea of where to put Elijah to keep him safe except that he had to be got out of Paradise. Liam Kirby ain’t the first bounty hunter ever to show up here, you realize. So I took him into the bush. All these years now I been wondering if you had any idea, and I see we kept things pretty quiet. So I won’t say no more about the where and how unless you ask me.”
    “I don’t think we’re asking, are we?” Nathaniel turned to look at Elizabeth and then his father. When he came to Hannah he said, “I have the feeling you know more about this than we do.”
    “Not very much more,” said Hannah quietly. “The place where Miss Voyager is going, you call it Red Rock.”
    Curiosity blinked at her in surprise. “Sometime you’ll have to tell me how you came to hear that name, child.”
    “Sometime,” said Hannah, steadfastly refusing to meet her father’s gaze. “But Galileo needs to finish his story.”
    The old man lifted a shoulder. “Don’t know as I can finish a story that ain’t over yet, but let me see if I can move it along some.
    “After Coffee and Elijah, why I thought we was done with the business of hiding slaves. But our young folk, they had other ideas, Almanzo most especially. Now you got to recall that he was sick with the lung fever that summer. I suppose it was laying in bed for so long that did the job. The idea got a chance to put down roots and by the time he was better, that son of ours was ready to free the world. So when Curiosity got home that last week of August, we all set down and talked it through.
    “Now the truth is, I’m as proud as the next man of my children, but I cain’t deny that they are all three stubborn as mules—”
    “They come by it honest,” said Curiosity, but Galileo only smiled.
    “—and it didn’t much matter what we had to say about the trouble they were making for themselves, or for us old folks. They worked it out. Almanzo went off to New-York City and Polly and her husband to Albany. Took almost a year till they had things organized—summer of ninety-five it was that the next voyager came to us. We’ve been careful, you understand. Almanzo takes his time and he don’t set nobody on the path who cain’t make the journey.”
    Elizabeth said, “I don’t doubt that he is careful, Galileo. But a young woman in Miss Voyager’s condition …?”
    Curiosity smoothed her skirt thoughtfully. “This is a special case,” she said. “Didn’t have much choice.” When she looked up at them, her expression was as drawn and strained as Elizabeth had ever seen. Curiosity was a woman who kept her troubles to herself, but something about Selah Voyager had touched her in a way that made that impossible.
    Nathaniel was thinking in a different direction. “How is it you knew she was coming?”
    “Three months ago we got word from Almanzo,” said Galileo. “Come by way of Albany, with our Polly. Said he was planning to set the next voyager on the road as soon as the worst of the thaw was over, and that’s what he did. But things got complicated, as they often will.” He paused to draw on his pipe.
    “Kitty’s travails came upon her on the first night of the full moon, and on that same evening Zeke cut hisself right bad atthe mill, so Daisy had to go sew him up. Neither of them could be