The Gentle Rebel (40 page)

“Why, it won’t be like that—!” Nathan protested.

“Besides,” Julie ran on swiftly, “you needn’t think you’re so righteous—Daniel’s already asked me to marry
him!
”

Nathan’s face went blank, and then he pivoted his head around to stare at Daniel. “Why, you can’t marry him!”

“Oh, why can’t I?” Julie challenged, looking up at Nathan. “You think nobody would marry me except to get me out of trouble? No man would love me for myself?”

Daniel said quickly, “My offer still stands, Julie. I don’t mind saying before everyone that I love thee. Marry me.”

“She’s not marrying you, Greene—she’s marrying
me!
”

Greene’s face flushed, and he moved around to face Nathan, his broad shoulders suddenly tense. Anger laced his mild voice as he said, “Thee don’t love her, Winslow! I’ll admit she’s in love with thee”—Nathan’s head went back and he shot a wild glance at Julie, but the Quaker went on relentlessly—”but she’ll get over that in time.”

Sampson raised his voice, protesting, “Sheriff, do your duty!” But the officer was caught up in the drama. Julie was suddenly aware that she was the focal point of attention. Even people passing by had stopped to stare.

The sudden flash of anger that had swept through her faded. She lowered her head, her eyes swimming with tears, and she wished that it would all be over. Then she felt a hand under her chin, and looked up to see Nathan’s face. There was a strange look in his eyes. He stared at her, and she saw him only in a blur, for the tears spilled over and rolled down her cheeks. He asked, “Is that right, Julie—what Greene said? Do you love me?”

She blinked and saw the gentleness in him that she’d learned to love. His hands were on her cheeks, and as he held her face, memories swept through her. Finally she whispered, “Yes! I guess I always will, Nathan.”

He was silent, and then he said, “I’ve been so mixed up, Julie. I told you about finding God on the riverbank—but I didn’t tell you what else I found.”

“What, Nathan?” she asked.

“After I got straight with the Lord, I found out I could think straight about other things—and all I could think about was
you. I’ve been God’s worst fool about women—but somehow I know there’ll never be anyone for me—except you, Julie!”

She knew that the spectators were leaning forward avidly, but she didn’t care. Everything around them vanished, and she saw only his face, heard only his voice. Then she whispered, “It’s just pity, Nathan—you don’t love me.”

“I had to find out that not all people find God the same way,” he said quietly. “And I’m finding out now that not all men find love the same way—but believe me or not, Julie, I know in my heart I’ll always love you. I wish we had
time!
—but we don’t, because I’ll be leaving to go with Washington. But I’ll come back, Julie—and I want to come back to you—if you’ll have me!”

Julie suddenly smiled, her face illuminated with joy, and she held her arms up, saying quietly, “I’ll have you—and you’ll have me!”

He kissed her, ignoring Sampson’s cries of rage, and when he stepped back, they heard him say, “It ain’t legal, I tell you—I’m her guardian! There ain’t no wedding—and I’m taking her with me.”

Sheriff Marks said regretfully, “I think he’s within his rights. Now if you were actually
married,
why that’d be different—but you’ll not find a minister to marry you right now, and even if there was one willing, it’d take a few days to get the papers done.” He shook his head, adding, “Have to ask you to go with this man, Miss Sampson.”

Julie moved away from Nathan, but suddenly she heard Dan say, “I don’t think it’ll be any problem—getting thee married—if that’s what thee wants, Julie.”

“Why, Friend Daniel,” Adam spoke up, “you heard what the sheriff said! It’d take a miracle to get them married.”

Greene pulled a paper out of his inner pocket and held it up. “Here’s a license from General Greene authorizing a civil marriage. Boston is technically under martial law, so all licenses must be issued or approved by military authorities.”

“Whose name is on that paper?” Sampson demanded.

“Well, it’s not filled in yet.” He came to stand before Julie and Nathan, and there was sadness in his fine eyes but a faint smile on his face. “I thought thee might change your mind and have me at the last minute, Julie, so I had my uncle give this to me—meant to write
my
name on it, but—if thee are sure of this thing, all I have to do is fill in Nathan’s.”

“Oh, Dan—” Julie almost sobbed, “I—don’t want to hurt you—but I love him so much!”

“And thee, Nathan?”

“Friend Daniel,” Nathan said quietly, “I love her now—but it’s just the beginning.”

“Well—that’s it!” Greene said.

“No, it ain’t!” Sampson said, his face contorted with rage. “You got a paper—but you ain’t got no preacher. Come on, get in that coach!” His thought, as Julie knew, was to get her away at once, and once they were in Philadelphia, he would force her to marry him.

“Oh, we’ve got a minister here.” Greene smiled as they stared at him, then waved his hand. “Chaplain Daniel Greene, at thy service—fully authorized by the commander in chief of the Continental Army to perform all prescribed duties—sermons, buryings—and marryings!”

“Daniel! Can you marry us?” Julie gasped.

“Well, it’s not what I had in my mind—or in my heart—but I see that it’s the way God is moving.”

Aaron Sampson’s face was pale as paste, and he whispered, “Sheriff—can he do that?”

Sheriff Marks had a broad smile on his face. “I can’t go against George Washington and the Continental Army, can I?”

Sampson glared at them and said, “I don’t believe it! You’ll wait till I’m gone and then back out somehow!”

Daniel saw that the man meant it, so he said briskly, “Captain Winslow, would thee and thy wife come and stand here by the bride and groom? The rest of thee can be witnesses.”

There was a dreamlike quality about it all, and the crowd
grew larger as the party arranged itself in the street beside the coach. Julie could not believe what was happening, but there was reality in the hard squeeze that Nathan gave her hand, and she took her place with him in front of Dan, with Molly standing beside her, Adam by Nathan.

The traffic on the street had stopped, and eager spectators crowded close to see what was happening, whispered excitedly, then pushed closer, forming a circle around the small group.

Greene looked around at the curious faces, then raised his voice, saying, “I don’t know all the right words, but I think I know what a marriage is. The Scripture says that one of the wonders of all this world is ‘the way of a man with a maid.’ Out of the millions of men and women on this globe, one man and one woman come together, and each of them finds something in the other that’s stronger than death! So they become
one
and are no longer two separate beings.”

He looked steadily into Nathan’s eyes and asked, “Nathan, does thee love this woman?”

“Yes!”

“Will thee forsake all others and love only her as long as thee both shall live?”

“I—I will!”

Greene’s voice trembled only slightly as he said, “Julie, does thee love this man?”

“Yes!”

“Will thee love only him as long as thee both shall live?”

Julie looked up into Nathan’s eyes, saw the love that was in him, and she nodded and said, “As long as we live!”

Then Greene said the words that tied them: “I pronounce thee husband and wife!”

And as Nathan bent down and kissed her, she clung to him fiercely for one brief moment; then she pulled away and smiled. Sampson climbed into the coach, screaming curses, and the growing crowd swarmed around to stare. But Adam put his arms around Molly and, smiling at her with shining
eyes, said, “They’ve got a war to go through, Molly, but they’ve got each other, and they’ve got God!”

Molly kissed him, and he tasted the salt of tears on her lips, but there was victory in her clear eyes. She looked at Nathan and Julie, and said quietly, “They’ll make it, Adam.”

And then they moved forward to welcome the newest member of the House of Winslow.

GILBERT MORRIS spent ten years as a pastor before becoming Professor of English at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas and earning a Ph.D. at the University of Arkansas. A prolific writer, he has had over 25 scholarly articles and 200 poems published in various periodicals, and over the past years has had more than 180 novels published. His family includes three grown children. He and his wife live in Gulf Shores, Alabama.