Rose's Pledge by Dianna Crawford, Sally Laity Page B

shall pray for your safety, as I allow you’ll pray for mine.”
    He opened his mouth as if to reply then rubbed his jaw. “Hmm. Well.
    Sure thing, lass. Oh, by the by, what might I call you, if you don’t mind my askin’?”
    “Miss Harwood. Rose Harwood. And if perchance you should happen to pass through the Wyoming Valley settlements, where my sister Lily has been bonded to a family by the name of Waldon—or travel by Alexandria, where my other sister Mariah is to live on the Barclay Plantation—please be kind enough to inform them you’ve seen me and that I am …safe.” So far, at least , her mind added as a leering Indian moved noiselessly past her.
    Mr. Kinyon tilted his head. “I hadn’t planned on goin’ downstream as far as Alexandria, but if it’d help you rest easier, I’ll make every effort to do so. As for the other lass, I fear goin’ off in that direction ain’t in my plans right now.”
    Shoulders sagging in disappointment, Rose knew she’d asked too much of the man, however kind he might seem to be. “That valley …‘tis farther upstream, then?”
    “Well, miss, it’s upstream, that’s the truth of it, but we’re not talkin’ this stream. She’ll be near the Susquehanna River, likely somewheres around the Wilkes-Barre settlement.”
    The news quenched Rose’s spirits. “Where is that river? I believe Mr. Waldon spoke of it being near Baltimore.”
    “If I had my map on me, I could show you that the mouth of the Susquehanna is a mite north of Baltimore, an’ the Potomac dumps into the bay a few miles south of the city. From its headwaters up in New York, the Susquehannah flows right through Pennsylvania an’ on into Maryland. What we’re standin’ in is Virginia territory.”
    “Oh my.” It was too much to take in, and her mind whirled with the realization of the immeasurable distance that likely would stretch between her and the other girls. Her throat closed up with disappointment, and tears sprang to her eyes, trembling upon the tips of her lashes. She could hardly speak. “The last thing I told our papa before we sailed for these colonies was that I wouldn’t let them out of my sight.” She cast a despondent glance in the direction of the river that had already carried her far, far from Mariah and Lily. “I promised. Made a solemn pledge that I’d remain strong in my faith and look after them. Somehow I must keep my word.”
    Kinyon raised a calloused hand and squeezed her shoulder. “Are you sayin’ you only just got here from across the water? I vow you’re a long way from home, Miss Harwood. But I hope you’ll take comfort from knowin’ you’ll never be outta my thoughts.”
    Just then Eustice Smith’s boots clomped toward them over the uneven ground. “Thought you was on your way downstream, Nate. Ain’t that what ya said?”
    Aware that Mr. Kinyon’s gaze remained on her damp eyes, Rose lowered hers.
    “Aye, that I am. That I am.” He let go of her shoulder and closed his fingers around one of her hands, and she felt a strange combination of strength and gentleness as he lifted her hand to his lips. “Till we meet again, pretty lass.” A last long look and he took his leave.
    Rose could not bear to watch him go.

    Plunked unceremoniously by her owner atop a mammoth beast with a tangled mane of hair, Rose had no idea how she was supposed to steer it. Fortunately the animal seemed to know what was expected, as it followed Mr. Smith’s horse behind the settlement and into a forest of thick trees sporting every shade of green imaginable. Only the palest semblance of sunlight, obscured and fragmented by the canopy of leafy branches overhead, lit the trail …a trail so primitive it was hardly more than a deer path.
    Rose stole a last backward glance toward the river, where the solicitous Mr. Kinyon had paddled away in one of those swift canoes less than an hour ago. Even though she’d barely met the man, she realized he was the first person who had