Hunter agreed, knowing that the kind of men who hunted in gangs were usually not long on bravery, nor intelligence.
By the time the balloon was ready for flight, the minister reappeared like polecat stink after a rain. He hurried toward Hunter, obviously a man with a mission.
'Mr. Kirkland!' he shouted. 'I would like to speak to you before you leave.'
Hunter nodded, having already decided to donate the land close to the church for the new building to stand on. His dislike for the reverend had been the only thing that had kept him from making the announcement.
As Reverend Cleland skirted the balloon Hunter looked toward the barn. He was unprepared for the beauty that stepped into the sunlight. Her hair tumbled around her like sunlit ebony, and her cape flowed around her like royal robes.
She walked toward him, and he suddenly knew that in fifty years shed still look the same to him. She was all that was perfect in the world, all that was beauty.
Perry smiled. 'Is something wrong, Mr. Kirkland?'
'Yes,' Hunter whispered. 'Marry me.'
'Now?'
'At this moment.' Suddenly Hunter could wait no longer to share his name or his life. He pulled her toward the balloon.
'Reverend Cleland, I must leave, but I want you to know that I left the acres beside the church to the building fund.'
Cleland clapped his hands. 'Oh, that is wonderful. Just wonderful.'
Hunter interrupted his celebration. 'I ask only one favor. This lovely lady and I wish to be married.'
Cleland's face dropped suddenly. 'That's impossible. I was led to understand she was your, well, your'-he didn't dare say what he thought-'your houseguest.' The thin man began to sweat. 'That was bad enough, but marrying her… well, that just can't be done.'
'I don't care what you thought, but you best take care with your speech.' Hunter's eyes turned a cold gray. 'The lady will be my wife. You
'Certainly.' The reverend moved a few feet away. 'Only if you wed this woman, you'll be arrested.'
'What!' Hunter exploded. He grabbed the man by the lapels and almost shook religion from him with one mighty jolt. 'You'd better explain, for I assure you, sir, I do plan to marry this lady.'
'I wasn't planning on mentioning this.' The minister pulled a paper from his pocket. 'But your cousin came by to see me a few days ago. He feared something like this might be attempted, and he wanted to protect you. He gave me this document, which states that Allison McLain, Perry's mother, was the daughter of a slave from Three Oaks. There's even a letter here from Allison's father testifying to the fact.'
Cleland looked up, as if the papers were somehow a shield. 'As you know, Mr. Kirkland, in North Carolina it is illegal for a white man to marry a woman of color.''
Hunter's anger reached a point of deadly calm. He moved toward the preacher slowly, deliberately.
'Hunter!' Abram shouted. 'Riders coming.'
They all glanced far to the north and saw a cloud of dust moving fast. Hunter grabbed Perry and lifted her into the balloon. 'Hold this,' he whispered as he shoved his Colt into her hand, then turned and shoved the minister into the basket.
'Take aim on our guest!' Hunter shouted loud enough for Cleland to hear. 'If he moves, shoot him!' He turned toward the frightened preacher. 'Don't worry about her being a good shot. If she fires, we'll all go up in flames.'
Abram threw the grounding rope over and hopped into the wicker gondola. Within moments the basket broke loose from the ground and they moved upward, as if someone in the sky were pulling them into the clouds.
'You can't do this!' Cleland whined. His eyes were darting about him like a man who'd just been thrown in a snake pit.
'Just taking you nearer to heaven,' Abram said solemnly. ' 'Course, if you don't want to come, you're welcome to climb out.'
Cleland glanced over the edge for help, but the men below were too far away to hear him. His hands gripped the basket tightly as he watched his world grow smaller below him. 'What kind of insanity is this?'
'My plan is unchanged. I wish to marry Perry, and nothing you can say will change my mind.' Hunter faced him with cold directness. 'What better church than the heavens? You may perform the wedding service now, or you can start flapping your arms and pray you learn to fly before you hit the ground.'
The reverend hesitated. He might have called Hunter's bluff, but he felt Abram's massive hand on his shoulder. 'I have no Bible and you have no rings.'
Abram's grip tightened, lifting him off the floor of the basket.
'All right!' The reverend reconsidered. 'I'll marry you!'
'Thanks, Abram.' Hunter winked. 'The minister seems to have received some divine guidance. Set him down.'
Hunter pulled Perry close. 'Abram found your bag at the farmhouse, my love. If you'd like to dress and comb your hair, the wedding can wait a moment.' Then, to the others he added, 'Gentlemen, if you'll turn around and allow my future wife a few moments of privacy…'
Abram and the minister turned their backs as Hunter helped Perry open her bag. Abram began telling the minister of the workings of the balloon, as if he were a willing guest and not a prisoner in the small craft.
As Perry removed her cape she looked up shyly into Hunter's love-filled eyes and whispered, 'Aren't you going to turn your back while I dress?''
'Not on your life,' Hunter answered. 'You might as well understand something from the first, Perry Kirkland. I plan to spend the rest of my life watching you.'
Perry shrugged her slender shoulders and smiled at him honestly. She pulled her dress from the bag as her mother's pouch fell to the basket floor.
Hunter picked it up. 'Did you say there were old papers in this?'
'Yes, and a few rings. Perhaps we could use them.'
Hunter opened the pouch. 'We can buy rings in Washington. I want you always to wear that medallion I gave you.' He smiled as the gold disk reflected the morning sun. 'Many a night I've thought of my name carved into the gold of that small disk. My name nestling lovingly in a place I long to lay my head.'
Perry blushed scarlet, and not even the breeze could cool her cheeks. 'Hunter,' she scolded, 'we're not alone.'
'That fact has never evaded me. Were we alone, I would tell you far more.' He laughed as she turned her lovely back to him.
'The crest on the front of that necklace is about all that remains of the Kirkland family. Several generations ago the clan left England for America. As far as I know, I'm the only one left. But we'll change that very soon. I'm looking forward to many dark-eyed, black-haired Kirkland children.'
Perry refused to look at him as she combed her hair. He thumbed through the papers in her bag. As the contents of the letters registered on his mind, Hunter gave them his full attention.
Perry finished, then turned to find him reading the papers. A smile spread across his face as he read.
'Reverend Cleland!' he shouted. 'Would it relieve your mind if I could show proof that your document from Wade is a forgery?'
'How?' Cleland glanced over his shoulder without letting go of the basket edge.
'I have here birth documents of Perry's mother and of both Perry and Andrew McLain. Hunter held the papers tightly in the wind. 'Perry's mother must have feared that old forgery might turn up.'
All aboard the tiny craft gathered around as Reverend Cleland examined the documents. After several minutes he huffed. ' 'Pears to be in order. I fear I may have been tricked by Wade.' He hated admitting his error but saw no point in insisting he was right when the evidence was so obviously on Hunter's side.
A few minutes later he married Hunter Kirkland and Perry McLain among the clouds somewhere over North Carolina. Then they gently lowered the balloon and set him aground several miles from his church. Though he walked many hours to reach home, the reverend never stopped thanking God his feet were on solid ground.
