Sycamore Hill

By Janet Morris Belvin

Return to the gorgeous terrain of Northern Virginia's horse country where three families - the Hills, the O'Connells, and the Browns – find their lives intertwined with the nuns of the Convent of the Sisters of Mercy. A crime committed by two brothers serves as a catalyst to bring the families and friends together in the village of Braverton Mill. Meanwhile, new births are happening all around them, from the horses at Greyson to the inhabitants of both the Hill home and the O'Connell home. When expectant parents Charlie and Sue O'Connell decide that their small home won't hold another infant, they look around for something larger. Finding a classic brick manor, they buy the house and its acreage and begin restoring it. In the process, an astonishing secret is discovered in the basement of Sycamore Hill, a secret that will affect all the families as well as the nuns. Inspired by the extraordinary courage of actual conductors on the Underground Railroad during the Civil War, this captivating book is a reminder that no matter what era we live in, we are all connected through our shared histories. Family is not necessarily determined by whose blood you carry, but by the love you share.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Jul 28, 2023
• ISBN: 9798350907223

Book preview

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This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity and are used fictitiously. All other characters, and all incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author’s imagination, and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons. living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

SYCAMORE HILL Copyright © 2023 by Bookbaby, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

ISBN (Print Edition): 979-8-35090-721-6

ISBN (eBook Edition): 979-8-35090-722-3

Also by Janet Morris Belvin

Southern Stories from the Porch Swing

The Refuge

The Bookshop on Beach Road

Social Media for

Janet Morris Belvin

Facebook page – Janet Morris Belvin, Author

Instagram – Janet Morris Belvinzzz

Dedication

For Paul, Tom, Julie, Shon, Katherine, Ben, Caroline, Leighton, Nolan, Naomi, Mason, Will, Hudson, Henry and Emily who are all at the top of my favorites list

And, always,

In memory of the ones I miss most

Mama, Daddy and Camden

Sycamore Hill Characters List

Peyton Thurman Hill – age 33, Cameron’s wife and Ruthie’s mother, literary editor, Greyson owner

Cameron Hill – age 34, Peyton’s husband, Ruthie’s father, farmer, Greyson owner

Ruthie Hill – age 3, daughter of Cameron and his late wife Jane

Laird Duncan – Peyton’s boss at Oxford University Press

Taylor Jamison – former Braverton Mill banker, now in prison

Dr. Josiah Pine – Sue’s and Peyton’s obstetrician

Sarah Brown – owner of Little Red Schoolhouse preschool, age 65

Walter Brown – Sarah’s husband, owner of a landscaping business, age 67

Kathleen Brown – Walter and Sarah’s granddaughter, age 17

Floyd Brown – Kathleen’s father, age 42 - Sarah and Walter’s son

Estelle Brown – Kathleen’s mother, age 41 – Floyd’s wife

Naomi Woods – Ruthie’s bratty friend, age 3

Trooper Jonathan Barkley – Virginia State Trooper

Emmaline Barker – 70ish waitress at the Schoolhouse Cafe

Chub Cole –70ish owner of the Schoolhouse Cafe

Dr. Samuel Hudson - veterinarian

Pat Kelly – Greyson equine manager

Earl Webb – murderer

Homer Webb – Earl’s brother and accomplice

Horace Kruickshank – owner of bloodhound Daisy

Mother Superior Mary Grace – head of the convent

Sister Ursula – nun in charge of the kitchen

Sister Mary Bernadette – an older nun at the convent

Elroy Simmons – owner of a country general store

Barry James, Sheriff in Braverton Mill, age 59

Emily Talbott – owner of Talbott Farm, Thoroughbred breeding farm

Margaret Abrams – Charlie’s secretary

Ellis Taggart – former owner of the house the O’Connells buy

Elisha Rochester – Quaker owner of Sycamore Hill during the Civil War

Eudora Rochester – Elisha’s wife

Atlantic Brown – Walter’s ancestor, formerly a slave

Deborah Brown - Atlantic’s wife

Samuel Brown – Atlantic and Deborah’s son

Mason Sullivan – Sister Ursula’s old boyfriend

Jimmy Thurman – Peyton’s father

Dorothy Thurman – Peyton’s mother

Sue O’Connell – Cameron’s sister, mother of twins, and new Sycamore Hill owner

Charlie O’Connell - Sue’s husband, a lawyer, father of twins, and new Sycamore Hill owner

Will and Noah O’Connell – Charlie and Sue’s twin sons, age 6

Sycamore Hill Animals

Buddy – Ruthie’s pinto pony

Lucky Lucy – Cameron’s mare

Lucy’s Dandy – Lucky Lucy’s colt

Maudie – Peyton’s old horse

Skipper – Maudie’s filly

Thurman’s Hammer – Jimmy Thurman’s stallion

Thurman’s Chairman – Jimmy Thurman’s Black Angus bull

Skipper’s filly – unnamed

Daisy – Horace Kruickshank’s bloodhound

Pickles – Walter’s pony

Daisy – Noah’s pony

Scooter – Will’s pony

Sycamore Hill Locations

Braverton Mill – Loudoun County, Virginia town

Greyson Manor – home of Cameron, Peyton and Ruthie Hill

Sycamore Hill – home of Charlie and Sue O’Connell and their twin sons Noah and Will

The Schoolhouse Café – the local town diner, located in a former one-room schoolhouse

The Convent of the Sisters of Mercy – Catholic convent and school, near Braverton Mill

The Little Red Schoolhouse – preschool run by Sarah Brown

Table of Contents

Chapter One

The Webb Brothers

Chapter Two

Prison Escape

Chapter Three

Back to Greyson

Chapter Four

Kitchen Talk

Chapter Five

Supper at the Schoolhouse Cafe

Chapter Six

Bad Dream

Chapter Seven

Christmas at Greyson

Chapter Eight

Lucky Lucy

Chapter Nine

Another Doctor’s Visit

Chapter Ten

Vegetables for the Sisters

Chapter Eleven

Trouble at the Convent

Chapter Twelve

Big News

Chapter Thirteen

At Charlie’s office

Chapter Fourteen

The Annual Physical

Chapter Fifteen

Big News

Chapter Sixteen

House Hunting

Chapter Seventeen

The House

Chapter Eighteen

Snowstorm

Chapter Nineteen

Rescuing Charlie’s Family

Chapter Twenty

Renovation

Chapter Twenty-One

A Busy Week

Chapter Twenty-Two

Easter Services at Church

Chapter Twenty-Three

House Restoration and Homework

Chapter Twenty-Four

The Babies make their Presence known

Chapter Twenty-Five

Atlantic Brown

Chapter Twenty-Six

Move-In Day

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Dinner at Sycamore Hill

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Names on a Wall

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Finding a Trunk

Chapter Thirty

The Trunk in the Basement

Chapter Thirty – One

The Past Comes to Life

Chapter Thirty – Two

The Twins are Born

Chapter Thirty-Three

A Tunnel Discovered

Chapter Thirty – Four

Early Christmas Shopping

Chapter Thirty-Five

A New Arrival

Chapter Thirty- Six

Baby Dedication

Chapter Thirty – Seven

The Raffle

Chapter Thirty – Eight

Broken Ornaments

Chapter Thirty – Nine

Christmas Day

Chapter Forty

Skipper’s Foal

Chapter One

The Webb Brothers

September – October

Earl Webb was a bantam rooster of a man, thin and wiry with an oily hank of hair that he combed over a bald spot. His younger brother Homer was slightly taller than Earl but had a permanent expression of confusion on his pasty face. He was a follower and Earl was the one giving directions on any given day. On a warm September night when stars were hidden by clouds overhead, Earl robbed a small jewelry store in Leesburg, Virginia and made off with several hundred dollars in cash. The jewelry store was armed with an alarm system which alerted the local police, but Earl was able to leave the building without incident. However, as the thief was escaping, a deputy sheriff who had been patrolling the stores in the town heard the dispatch and headed toward the store. Calling to Earl to halt, the deputy drew a bead on the robber, but Earl had his handgun ready. A gunfight ensued and the deputy sheriff was shot dead. Earl’s brother Homer had been waiting in a truck outside the store and picked up Earl for the getaway. The brothers’ luck ran out when they were captured the next day in the tiny town of Braverton Mill and taken to the sheriff’s office to be put into the system.

The Braverton Mill branch of the county sheriff’s office was a one-story brick building. On a tall flagpole in front, an American flag billowed in the wind. The parking lot surrounding the building contained three cruisers, and two motorcycles. As the two convicts entered the building, they looked around for any avenues of escape.

Approaching the front desk, the deputy sheriff accompanying the two prisoners requested permission to speak to the sheriff, but was told that he wasn’t in. The deputy looked back at the handcuffed men and told them to sit in the chairs next to the desk. At just about that same time, Sheriff Barry James walked through the front door and motioned to the three men to accompany him into his office, the handcuffs on the Webb brothers jingling as they walked.

The sheriff’s office was a rectangular room on the back of the building. A long table surrounded by a dozen chairs filled one end while the other end of the room contained the sheriff’s desk and two visitors’ chairs. County maps dotted with highlighting and pins lined the wall behind his desk. Another wall was covered with a bulletin board papered with wanted posters.

Sheriff, these are the Webb boys. We picked ‘em up this morning over behind the bank. We think they were looking to make a score there, the deputy reported.

The sheriff took a pencil and began making notes on a tablet on his desk. Homer Webb hung his head while Earl demanded to have an attorney.

Sure, the sheriff replied. Just as soon as we get you processed. Earl, we’re going to charge you with murder second degree. Homer, you’ll be charged as an accessory.

Sheriff James was instantly on the phone calling the public defender, and the deputy led the Webb brothers to his patrol car to take them to their cell in the Leesburg jail, there being no prisoner housing in the Braverton Mill sheriff’s office.

The County Jail in Leesburg was an old, brick facility, built just after World War II and not improved in any way since then. The cells were small with walls of concrete blocks. Each cell contained a set of bunk beds with one blanket, a sink and a toilet. Inmates were allowed one hour daily in the central yard for exercise. They were served meals on metal trays in their cells. In the hallway of the cellblock, one could hear the yells of inmates who were, in their opinion, wrongfully arrested. Drunks and addicts coming off a high moaned and begged for relief.

The morning after they were jailed, in cell number 4, Inmate # 3376 and Inmate #3377, the Webb brothers, sat on the side of the lower bunk, their heads in their hands. They’d been incarcerated for less than 24 hours, but Earl was already looking for a way to escape.

Suddenly they heard the clop-clop of boots approaching on the linoleum floor of the hallway. A deputy appeared, keys on a ring jingling in his hand.

OK, boys. Your public defender’s here. Make up a good story ‘cause you ain’t got a prayer in my opinion, the deputy said.

Earl and Homer got up from the cot and stood, silently facing the deputy and the lawyer behind him. The public defender was a young man who, in his appearance, looked to be right out of junior high school. Remembering his plan to escape, Earl decided to say as little as possible. But tears came to Homer’s eyes as he saw the lawyer spread his books on a small table that had been brought into the cell. Earl, defiant as ever, refused to talk to the lawyer, but Homer answered every question the attorney posed to him. It was immediately clear to the attorney that Homer had been coerced into driving the getaway vehicle.

Finally, the lawyer closed his briefcase and shook his head. He recognized that Earl was probably going to be tough to defend since he refused to cooperate. Leaving the cell, he told the inmates that he’d be back later with a plan for their defense.

Weeks later, The Webb brothers’ trial was set to begin in Leesburg. Reporters from as far away as the District of Columbia swarmed the lawn of the Loudoun County Courthouse, looking for a story from the upcoming trial. The courthouse stood at the southeast corner of Market and King Streets in Leesburg. It had been built in 1895, and was actually the third courthouse to stand on that lot. The courthouse itself was of red brick with four tall Ionic columns across a large front porch. Double doors and an impressive belfry containing a clock and bell completed its appearance. Judge Sean Fields was slated to preside over the Webb brothers’ trials. His office was on the second floor near the grand staircase in the central hall. The Leesburg sheriff’s office was on the first floor just beneath the judge’s quarters. The grand mahogany-paneled courtroom was next to the office of Judge Fields.

The impending October trial had been the talk of Leesburg and all of Loudoun County for weeks. The trial itself lasted two days at the end of which the jury easily convicted the men. When the verdict was announced, the town of Leesburg breathed a sigh of relief. The Webb brothers were sent to the Virginia Penitentiary in Williamstown immediately following their sentencing.

The Virginia Penitentiary sits behemoth-like on the banks of the Southland River, thirty-five miles east of the town of Leesburg. The prison is outside Williamstown, a village hard by the river. During the Civil War, escaped slaves made their way north through the assistance of a few Quaker households just outside of town. Known as the Last Stop on the Southland, the Virginia Penitentiary was a prison with the capacity for hundreds of inmates. With its crenelated tower and roofline, the building gave the appearance of a medieval fortress. There were three cell houses on one side of the administration building and two on the other side as well as one large building which housed the dining hall, barber shop, infirmary and inmate store. Williamstown was the perfect place for a penitentiary to be built as the area had plenty of clay, limestone, and other supplies with which to build the prison. Constructed in the 1890s of limestone by prison labor, the prison was one of the first penitentiaries built in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It received its first convicts in 1895 and actually brought jobs and a measure of prosperity to Williamstown.

When Earl and Homer were ushered into the prison’s administration building, Earl immediately began to look for how he and his brother could make a getaway. Neither Earl nor Homer had any idea just how brutal life could be behind bars, but they would soon find out.

Once in the administration office Earl and Homer were registered, photographed and given prison identification numbers. Then, dressed in orange prison jumpsuits and wearing shower slides, they were taken to separate cells on the same cellblock. Each man’s cell was about seven feet by six feet and contained the barest necessities for survival – a cot with a single rough blanket, a toilet and a sink. The prisoners were allowed showers and shaves twice a week and given one hour of exercise daily in the yard outside their cellblock. There was a library, a barber shop, and a craft shop. Along the wall near the ceiling of the large dining hall, there was a catwalk on which guards with high powered rifles patrolled during all meals. Prisoners lined up two by two before every meal and marched to the dining hall. Meals were eaten in silence and were generally composed of some sort of hash.

After meals, the inmates were marched in silence back to their cells. There, they had plenty of time to either pray, brood or plot their escape. The Webb brothers didn’t plan to pray or brood.

Chapter Two

Prison Escape

November

On the night of November 10, all seemed as usual at the penitentiary. Earl Webb was being held temporarily at the Virginia Penitentiary until cell space at the maximum security prison in Richmond became available. He had been given a sentence of twenty years to life for the murder of the deputy sheriff and his younger brother Homer was serving eight months for aiding and abetting his brother’s crime. But for several weeks, Earl had been quietly trying unsuccessfully to saw through the bars of his cell window during recreation time when noise in the prison was at its loudest. He had easily slipped a small metal file into his pants pocket during his sculpture class one afternoon and began planning his getaway. To hide his work and escape detection, he rubbed the saw cuts with bars of soap. The soap filled the cuts until Earl was ready to work on them again.

One month after beginning their sentences and before he was transferred to the maximum security prison in the state capital, Earl decided he’d had enough. Just one hour after lights out at the Virginia Penitentiary, when a guard was walking by Earl’s cell, the prisoner called for medical attention, claiming he was having an appendicitis attack. The young guard, new on the job and the only guard on the cellblock that night, rushed to the cell door and, fumbling with his keys, opened the door. Earl overpowered the guard, knocked him out with one punch and grabbed his keys. Then he ran to the cell of his brother nearby, unlocked the cell door and pulled him off the bunk where Homer had been sleeping.

What’s goin’ on, Earl? I was sleepin’! Homer whispered.

Shut up! his brother responded. I’m blowin’ this joint and you’re comin’ with me.

Earl pulled his brother back to his cell and pushed out the window bars he’d been filing. Using one of the steel bars, he knocked a hole in the cell window. Waiting to make sure they were undetected, Earl pushed Homer ahead of him. They squeezed through the broken window, dropping to the