Angie of the Garden

Chapter Four-4

He gave a detailed account of their struggle.

"But it wasn't your fault," she said hopefully. "William had the gun. You just tried to defend yourself."

Tom shook his head sadly.

"It's not that simple, lass. They'll hang me for sure without even listening to my story. And your father will supply the rope when he finds out we've been together. I have to leave. I have to go somewhere so far away they'll never find me."
"Then I'll go with you," Angie said without hesitation.
Tom gently caressed her face and kissed her softly on the lips.

"You don't want that kind of life, girl. You're too fine for such a rough way of
living. I'll be running for the rest of my days."

Angie felt him slipping away from her. She threw herself in his arms. Tom held
her for a long time. Then a man came out of the house and spoke to the sailor in an urgent tone of voice.

"We'd best be going. We have to leave before they find out you're back in town." "Get the horses and bring them here."

Angie was sobbing. Still she was able to gather herself and ask one question. "Will you still think of me when you sail the ocean?"
"Oh, lass, I can't do that anymore. The good lord won't keep me safe now. Only a man who's at peace with God can ever hope to survive on the sea. I've killed one of the lord's own. I won't sail again."

After a long farewell kiss Tom was gone. Angie stumbled back to Beacon Hill beneath the flickering whale oil lanterns that lit the Boston streets. There she wept in Cassia's arms.
For several months after, Angelica was little more than a living ghost. She moved from room to room in the mansion with no discernable desire or purpose. Her father noticed this, mistakenly concluding that she was distraught over the death of William Conners. He sent other eligible bachelors to call on Angelica, but they were all rebuffed, some not in a very polite fashion.
Then another loss befell her. Cassia had become involved with a local man named Wyatt Flanders earlier that year. They soon became constant companions. One evening she hesitantly knocked on Angie's bedroom door and was invited inside.

"I'm no good at goodbyes," Cassia said. "Wyatt thinks we should go west to California. There's not much for us here, you know. I just hate to leave you, after you've been such a good friend and all."

Angelica got off her bed and embraced the house servant. Earlier that day she had learned that Tom had departed for the western frontier. A friend of his had informed her of this after a few drinks combined with some mild flirtations from Angie. Shanahan intended to settle in San Francisco. Angie was considering following the former whaler before her friend had knocked on the bedroom door. Now she looked at Cassia with her bright green eyes ablaze with anticipation.

"I'll come with you!"

Angie's friend was initially excited about her offer. Cassia would certainly appreciate having Angie with her as she ventured into the unknown lands of the west. Yet Wyatt had warned her about the dangers involved. She could not allow her dearest friend to risk her life.

"But Angie, you have everything here. You can marry any man in Boston. Wyatt and I are going on the trail for a better life. That's the only reason we'd ever go, because it's a dangerous trip to make. We wouldn't do it if there was something here for us."

In light of Tom's circumstance, Angie was reticent to explain why she wanted to travel west. Instead she gave a different reason for wanting to make the trip, though there was more than a grain of truth in it as well.

"I want some adventure in my life, Cassia. I can't just sit here on this infernal hill pretending to be alive. I want to feel the wind in my face, and see the places that few people have yet to see. Now I won't accept no for an answer. Tell me your plans."
"Well, we're leaving in a couple of months. Wyatt has a cousin in Ohio who's coming with us. We're riding to his place and then taking a riverboat to Independence. That's in Missouri. I'd love to have you with me. I'd be twice as brave with you by my side. But I'll have to ask Wyatt, of course."
"Tell him that I'm more than willing to share the expenses," Angie informed her with a smile.

Wyatt was eager to have Angie join them, especially since she would be taking her purse on the long journey. She said nothing to her father about her plans. Angelica knew the barrister would not only object to her leaving, but would also send someone after her if he knew where she was going. So Reginald's daughter silently slipped out of the house early on a Monday morning. She then took a horse and carriage from the barn.
With a brief look back at the house on Beacon Hill, Angie began her long trek to San Francisco. Suddenly a loud siren assaulted her ears.

"What is that horrid sound!" she asked the doctor.
"It's the siren on a fire engine, or an ambulance. It tells the others on the road to give way. So you left without saying goodbye to your father," Hollis noted.

Angie jerked her chin at the mention of Reginald Barton.

"I saw no reason to make him aware of my plan," she coolly responded.
"Did you ever see him again?"

Angie looked away from Hollis, giving him only silence for her reply. Then she
walked towards the back of the garden and disappeared into a blinding flash of light. This session had ended.