On to Richmond (50 page)

             
Sam frowned.  “Your heart be too heavy for Christmas time.  It prob’ly do you good to get out in the woods with the children.”

             
Carrie nodded and sighed.  “I’m sure you’re right.  It will be good to be with them.”

             
She had been with the children from the quarters only a few minutes when she could feel her spirits rising.  Their excitement and enthusiasm were contagious.  At first she had regretted saying she would take over Sarah’s job of leading the hunt.  Now, with the slave children swarming around her, she was glad.  She smiled down at them then cried out.  “It’s time!”  She turned and led the giggling bunch down the path. 

             
Carrie kept a sharp eye on the woods as they walked.  Suddenly she pointed up at a bunch of glistening yellow persimmons.  It was too late in the year to find many of them, but the few they took back would be like golden treasures.  As the children gathered around her, she knelt down on one knee and repeated the words she had heard Sarah say so many years. 

             
“Chillun, we be finding gifts for Jesus like the Wise Men did.  They brung the baby Jesus three gifts - gold, sweet smelling spices, and bitter herbs.  Some of the very herbs and fruits we be findin’ now.”

             
The children giggled as she imitated Old Sarah.  Carrie picked Jubal to climb for the golden treasure.  His eyes shone bright with excitement and pleasure when she pointed at him.  Quick as a wink, he shimmied up the tree and stretched out on the limb holding the fruit.  All the children held their breath as they watched him wide-eyed.  The limb bent under his weight as he reached for the late fruit.  Instinctively, Carrie moved to stand under the limb.  At least she could break the fall if the limb broke. With one final reach, Jubal nabbed the fruit and quickly retreated back toward the tree trunk with a wide grin on his face. 

             
“He got it, Miss Carrie.  My brother done got the ‘simmons!”

             
Carrie leaned down to give the excited little girl a hug.  “You’re right, Hannah.  Jubal got it!  He’s a very brave tree climber, isn’t he?”  Hannah returned her hug with an even tighter one of her own and then danced away to meet her brother who was sliding back down the tree. 

             
Carrie felt her loneliness lift from her like a cloud on a rainy day when the sun finally breaks through.  Out here in Sarah’s world, where her old friend had taught her so much, she could hear Sarah’s voice clearly. 
“The only cure for loneliness be givin’.  When you be givin’ you ain’t got time to think ‘bout what you don’t got.  But you got to give with your heart - you got to give from your heart.  That’s the only sure way to beat back that old demon o’ loneliness.” 

             
“Thank you, Sarah,” Carrie murmured quietly as the children sprinted ahead of her.  She walked along slowly, watching for the treasures they had come to seek but letting the woods work their magic on her.  The peace she had been missing for so long began to creep back into her heart.  Yes, her life was changing.  But life was always like that. 

             
“
Girl, the only thing you can depend on is change.  Things always gonna be changin’.  But changing ain’t neither good nor bad.  It’s what you do with it.  You can fight it and let it get the best of you.  You can feel sorry for yourself cause thin’s ain’t stayin’ just like they was.  Or you can look for the good in what’s new.  You can search for ways to make thin’s better.  It’s all how you look at it - and what you figur’ to do with it.”

             
Once again Sarah’s words rang in her head.  Solemnly, Carrie made a vow to spend more time in the woods.  It was so easy to lose perspective when she was engulfed by the daily operations of the plantation.  It was so easy to become overwhelmed.  She knew she needed time alone to make sense of all that was happening in her life.

             
“Miss Carrie!  Miss Carrie!  We done found some of them berries Old Sarah said was magic!”

             
Carrie smiled down at Hannah’s glowing face as the little girl skipped up to her.  She took her hand and began to run down the trail to where she could hear the other children.  Her voice rang out in the clear air.  “Let’s go get them, Hannah!”

Carrie gazed around her as Sam drove the carriage along Broad Street.  She could already sense the difference in the city.  Gone was the dour gloom that had prevailed in the city when she had left after the Battle of Bull Run.  Gone was the stunned reality of the consequences of war.  The dead had been mourned.  The wounded had been nursed and sent back to the front.  The reality of victory had replaced the reality of death.  And it was Christmas! 

              People thronged Broad Street.  The population had exploded even more since she was last there.   Men in gray were everywhere.  The buildup of the army continued.  With no battle front, they joined the crowds already causing Richmond to bulge at the seams.   Faces were happy and laughing. 

             
Carrie watched as one handsome young man in uniform approached a tightly knit group of ladies on the corner.  They watched him come and glanced coquettishly over their fans.  Their brightly colored dresses, peeking from beneath their heavy coats, were a vivid splash against the dullness of the road. 

             
“Good afternoon, ladies,” the young soldier said, his deep voice carrying to where Carrie sat in the carriage. 

             
“Well, hello, soldier boy.”  Carrie frowned at the sound of the woman’s voice.  Surely its tone went beyond politeness.   As she watched, the young lady standing closest to her took the soldier’s arm and smiled up at him.  “Going my way, honey?”  Then they began to walk down the street together, talking quietly.

             
Carrie watched and then shook her head.  Things certainly were changing.  She looked up to see Sam watching her. 

             
He had a grin on his face.  “I take it you never seen one of them new Richmond
ladies
before.”

             
Carrie was confused.  “I’m not sure what you’re talking about, but she was a little brazen, I think.”

             
Sam nodded.  “That be how they make their money.”

             
Carrie stared at him.  “How they make their money...?”  Suddenly she understood.  “That young lady was a prostitute?” she gasped. 

             
Sam nodded, turning his attention back to the road.

             
“But what are they doing on Broad Street?  Oh, I’m not so naïve not to know they exist, but they’ve always stayed away from the nicer parts of town.  Men who wanted that kind of entertainment had to go to it.”

             
“Looks like it be comin’ to them, now,” Sam said with a grin.  “You put this many people in one place and things ain’t gonna be the same no more.” 

             
Carrie gazed around her.  “I guess you’re right,” she murmured. 

Carrie kissed her father on the cheek and ran lightly out to the carriage waiting for her.  “Good morning, Spencer.  It’s good to see you again.”

              “Thank you, Miss Cromwell.  It be good to see you, too.”  Spencer picked up the reins and clucked lightly to the team of horses.  “You be back in Richmond for a while?”

             
“Just until after Christmas.  Then I will return to the plantation.  My father wanted me here for the holidays.” 

             
“Christmas is made for families,” Spencer agreed.  Then he looked back.  “Mr. Cromwell told me you wanted to go to one of the prisons?”

             
“That’s right.    The Officers’ Prison in the old Harwood Factory.”

             
Spencer merely nodded his head. 

             
Carrie looked around her as the carriage rolled along.  Not too far from her father’s house, people were hard at work transforming military barracks into the Chimborazo Hospital.  From all Carrie had heard, it was going to be quite an impressive operation.  Maybe...  Impatiently she pushed down the longing in her heart.  Her place was still on the plantation. 

             
The day was bitterly cold with gray overcast skies and a stiff northern breeze.  Her father had told her this morning he wouldn’t be surprised if they got snow.  Carrie stared hopefully at the sky.  Now that she was back in Richmond the Christmas season had gained some of its excitement for her.  She had worked hard the last four days to transform her father’s house into a festive home.  He had been thrilled to see the tree she had decided at the last minute to have Sam cut and bring along with them.  They were going to decorate it together tonight.  It was nowhere as big and impressive as the ones they usually had, but it would bring the spirit of Christmas into his home.

             
Now she was on her way to visit Matthew.  His present was carefully wrapped beside her.

             
“We be here, Miss Cromwell.”

             
Carrie started and looked up.  She had been so immersed in her thoughts she hadn’t even been aware of where they were.  The prison district looked even more depressing on a day like today.  As the cold wind whipped around the buildings, she glanced up at the open windows and shuddered.  Those men must be freezing.

             
She looked at Spencer as she stepped from the carriage.  “I expect I will be at least forty-five minutes.  It is much too cold for you to wait here for me.”  She paused and almost smiled at Spencer’s look of surprise.  Then she continued.  “You may go find somewhere warm if you would like.  I will meet you back here at eleven-thirty.”

             
“Thank you, Miss Cromwell,” Spencer said warmly, his eyes speaking his gratitude. 

             
The guard who answered the door in response to Carrie’s knock was a new one.  She wondered whether she would have the same trouble as the first time but need not have worried.  He carefully read the letter she handed him and stepped aside to let her enter.  “I will notify Lieutenant Todd.”

             
Carrie waited in the hallway and shivered from the damp chill of the building.  She gripped her gift to Matthew tightly. 

             
“Hello, again, Miss Cromwell.”

             
“Good morning, Lieutenant Todd,” Carrie replied pleasantly.  The man standing before her looked as if his months in charge of the prisoners had done nothing to improve his state of mind.  While he had kept his voice pleasant, his eyes spoke his disdain.  He didn’t attempt to hide it with his next statement.

             
“I understand you are here to molly coddle one of our prisoners again.”

             
“Those are not the words I would choose, Lieutenant,” Carrie replied evenly.               

Todd smirked and then merely nodded as if he had no stomach for a parley of words today.  “I will have Justin called for you.  Good day,” he said abruptly and turned to reenter his office. 

              The guard led Carrie to the same room she had visited Matthew in before.  She had no idea what to expect.  When the door opened again, she quickly rose to her feet.  She almost groaned aloud when she saw Matthew, but she managed to force a smile to her lips instead.