“A problem?”
“Your friend, there, Mr. Skenandoah, has been talkin’ to me now.”
“Skenan is here in the fort?”
“He be recently returned here from a duty, I believe, miss.”
“Oh?What duty?”
“I be not rightly knowin, miss.”
“Where is he?” she asked. “I have not seen him since we arrived here.”
“Yes, well, miss, I don’t rightly know where the young man be at this moment. I be here ’cause…well, I be tryin’ to apologize to thee, miss.”
“Apologize?”
Mr. Wilson said not a word. Instead, he looked away from her. But, at last he gazed back at her, and he said, “Miss Abagail, I rightly figure I owe you your freedom. If not fer you and the young scout, Skenan, deliverin’ the message in the locket to Gansevoort, this fort might have fallen into enemy hands. And so, Miss Abagail, I have come here ta have thee see what I have here.” He held some parchment in his hand.“In me hand here I have the contract that binds thee to a service of five years, now. Though Miss Stockenridge said she paid for thy own contract, ‘twas my money she spent, not her own. And so, I be the one ‘hat can set thee free. Now, I wish thee to see what I hold here is yer own contract, and I wish thee to witness yer mark upon it so ye know it is yer own contract with the king I be destroying.”
“Destroy? You…you wish to destroy it?”
“Aye, that I do, miss. That fella, Skenan, he be right about indentured servitude bein’ a light form of slavery, now. Fer what I put thee through and fer what ye accomplished in aidin’ the fort, ye should be free. So, come here now and look at this contract. I want thee to see it be yer own mark upon it.”
Abagail stepped away from the window ledge where she had been keeping her vigil. She asked, even though her lips trembled, “Be it true? Are you really freeing me?” Slowly, she crossed the room toward Mr. Wilson, pausing only to look down at the paper.
“I be determined to do this,” he said. “It be the least I can be doin’ for my country. It is I who is now indebted to thee, Miss Abagail. Indeed, perhaps one day the entire country will know and honor yer bravery. Now, gal, I be askin’ thee to watch as I put this terrible contract into the fire.”
And, so saying, Mr. Wilson thrust the document into the fireplace, and as Abagail watched the flames destroy the parchment, a feeling of wonder shivered within her. She was free now? Truly free? But, there was still a matter she needed to know in more detail, and she asked, “You say Skenan talked to you about this?”
“That he did, ma’am. That he did, makin’ sure I knew what it cost thee to be makin’ the journey through enemy territory.”
Tears filled her eyes, but they were tears of joy. Skenan had done this for her. Skenan had taken the time to sway this man into setting her free. She said, “I hardly know what to say, Mr. Wilson, and I hope my saying ‘thank you’ will convey my gratitude. I will remember you forever.”
“And, I, you,” said Mr. Wilson.
“Mr. Wilson, I have a question for you, though I already asked it of you. But, I need to ask it again. Have you seen Skenan? I mean, I should thank him, too.”
“I be not seein’ the lad here today, mind ye. Not here at the fort. But, he came to the inn a day or two ago, and we had a good little talk, him doin’ most of the talkin’ now. Now, if thee do not object, I must be leavin’ ye fer a time. I’ll be needin’ a new manager and waitress, and there be many a gal here at the fort who might like the position. It be the other reason I be at the fort this day. I thank thee, Miss Abagail, fer what thee did fer me and fer this new country.”
And then, placing his tricorne hat back upon his head, he turned and, opening the bastion’s door, walked out.
Abagail stood frozen for a moment, hardly knowing what to think. She was free…free at last. She pinched her arm, if only to ensure she wasn’t dreaming.
Then another thought crossed her mind. Indeed, if she were free, was she now free to accept Skenan’s invitation to become a part of his family, taking the place of his sister? Was it possible? She, who had been alone for so long, could be a part of his family?
Where was Skenan? Seriously, where was this man?
She had to find him, and when she did, she would muster up the nerve to ask him if he might consider again making her a part of his family.
Hadn’t Mr. Wilson said Skenan was back in the fort, but he simply hadn’t yet seen him? Well, she was going to ask others about him, and if he were here, she was going to tell him the good news. Perhaps some of the other Indians in the fort might know where he was.
Filled with sudden energy, she threw open the door and stepped quickly through it, only to run into someone or something. Recognizing a familiar and clean masculine scent,she gazed up into the countenance of the man who might—were he still willing—become her new brother.
She asked, “Oh Skenan, where have you been? I have missed you very much, and I have so much good news to tell you.”
He grinned at her before he said, “My good friend, Colonel Gansevoort, sent me on a very secret scouting mission among the Mohawk and Seneca. I fear I could tell no one, not even you, where I was going or even that I was leaving. I had to collect information, you see, and then rendezvous with Lieutenant Colonel Willett and General Benedict Arnold. But, I am back now. I have come here now seeking you. Did you know there is to be a dance held here in three days to celebrate the victory of keeping Fort Stanwix out of the hands of the enemy?”
“A dance?” she asked.
