Spring Will Come (36 page)

             
Rose groaned and hid her hands in her face.  Images of Annie’s bright face and ready laugh filled her mind.  She could still see Harriet proudly carrying bowls of vegetables to the table and singing loudly, her round face creased with smiles.  “No,” she cried softly.

             
“How is Amos?” Marianne asked, her cracked voice revealing her own pain. 

             
There was another long silence. 

             
“The soldiers beat him up pretty badly,” Mr. Crosby finally admitted.  “He tried to stop them.  There were just too many.  By the time we got there, the soldiers were riding off into the darkness, laughing.”

             
Fury blazed through Rose.  “We have to catch them!” she cried.  “They can’t get away with this!” 

             
“We’re going to do everything we can,” the superintendent promised with a heavy voice.

             
“But there’s not anything we
can
do, is there?” Rose yelled angrily.  “My God!  Is this what freedom is going to be like?  If this is the way the refugees are going to be treated, they might as well be in slavery!”  Rose knew her emotions were getting the best of her, but right now she didn’t care.  The anguish of Annie and her family were driving her mad. 

             
Mr. Crosby walked over to put a hand on her shoulder.  “I know you’re upset, Rose.  We’ll do everything we can,” he repeated.  “That’s all I can do.”  He paused.  “Annie and her family are going to need you.  They trust you.”

             
Rose stared up at him for a long minute then dissolved into tears. 

             
Marianne was at her side in an instant, gathering Rose up in her strong arms. 

             
Moses and June crept out of her tiny cabin while it was still pitch dark.  The storm had blown by, leaving the air cool and fresh, heavy with the sweet smells of summer.  Honeysuckle assaulted their senses, mixing with the aroma of newly cut grass from nearby hay fields.

             
Moses knew the fresh mud would reveal their tracks to anyone looking, but a late night conference with Bart had convinced him Saunders’ overseer wouldn’t come looking.  There was no one else to keep an eye on the rest of the slaves if he took off, and besides there were so many slaves running away, the area overseers had become rather indifferent about it.  They would do the best they could with what they had left.  No one could expect more of overseers than that. 

             
Moses moved steadily but at a much slower pace than normal.  June was too pregnant to match his regular speed.  After much thought, he had decided to do the only thing that seemed reasonable.  They would go as far as they could in the boat.  When he deemed it unsafe, they would return to land.  He knew he was taking a chance.  The closer he got to Hampton, the more boats and people he would find.  On the other hand, the closer he got, the greater the chance the Union would accept them as contraband.  Once they arrived, he would figure out a way to convince them he was a Union spy, needing to join McClellan. 

             
Neither Moses nor his sister spoke as they eased through the tangled underbrush.  Moses prayed quietly to himself.  He was not at all sure he could find the boat he had left behind, but his whole plan hinged on his doing just that.  He had been afraid to take the road; sure he would never recognize where he had broken out of the woods and met Bart.  If he was going to find the boat, he would have to stick to the shoreline.  Finally the sun began to make their moving easier.  At the pace they were going, it would probably take another two hours to reach the boat. 

             
“Are we almost there?” June asked quietly, fatigue radiating from her voice.

             
“We have a little farther to go,” Moses admitted.  “We’re making good time,” he lied.  “Why don’t we stop and have something to eat?”

             
“That would be nice,” June agreed.  Seconds later she had sagged against a log, her hands resting on her swollen stomach.  “I won’t always be this tired,” she said with a weak smile.  “Not getting any sleep last night - along with all the excitement...”

             
“I know,” Moses replied soothingly.  “We’re doing just fine.  Once we find the boat, you can have a nice long rest.  We won’t be moving again until dark.” 

             
He allowed her to rest for almost an hour; then they pressed on.    When he was sure they were close, he searched until he found a shaded, sheltered clearing in the woods.  Moving quickly, he gathered huge armfuls of fresh grass and mounded them on the dirt and pine needles.  “You can rest here until we’re ready to leave.”

             
“But where is the boat?” June asked, looking around bewildered.

             
Moses looked at her tenderly, seeing his mother in her face.  He knew she was exhausted.  “I’m going to find the boat now.  I’m sure it’s not too much farther.  I’m going to leave the food and water,” he said, hoisting a big bag off his shoulder.  “I’ll be back soon.”

             
“You sure nothing will get me out here?”  June asked anxiously.

             
“Nothing more than some mosquitoes,” Moses replied with a grin. 

             
June smiled then laughed out loud.  “I’m sorry.  Of course, I’ll be fine.  Good luck with the boat.”

             
Moses heaved a sigh of relief, waved, and plunged into the woods.  Now that he was alone, he would make much better time.  And he wouldn’t have to work so hard to hide the anxiety he felt at the fear of not finding the boat.  That morning had convinced him June could never walk to Hampton in her condition.  If he didn’t find the boat - if someone had taken it, he didn’t know what they would do.

             
The sun continued to climb, once again laying its sultry grip on the countryside.  Moses was soon glistening with sweat and breathing hard.  He searched the woods with his eyes.  He had not pulled the boat up too far before he had hidden it.  But where was it?  Every stand of brush and undergrowth was beginning to look like the hiding place he had hastily constructed. 

             
Suddenly his face cleared, and he bounded forward with a glad shout.  “It’s here!” he cried then looked around fearfully, knowing he could be heard by someone passing by.  Now was not the time to become careless.  He waited long minutes to make sure no one had been close enough to hear him. He had made it this far by exercising great caution.  Now that he had June to be responsible for he would have to be even more careful.  Peering into the pile of brush, he satisfied himself the boat was really there, scoped out the area for landmarks then turned back to rejoin his sister.  He would leave the boat hidden until dusk.  

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

              Carrie looked into the mirror and tucked a few loose strands of hair into her bun.  Not that it would matter.  She knew the intense humidity would tease them back into rebellion the moment she stepped outside.  A quick critical gaze in the mirror told her she looked as well as she could, considering the pasty pallor of her skin from long hours working inside the hospital.  Quite suddenly, she longed for the mirror in her bedroom at home on Cromwell.  She had watched herself grow up in that mirror.  She had told secrets to, as well as had secrets revealed to her, by that mirror.  It had stood as a symbol of courage and fortitude all her life.  Was it still intact?  Had the Union soldiers discovered the ultimate secret it held? 

             
“Are you coming, Carrie?”

             
Carrie shook her head, bringing herself back to the present.  There was so little time for idle thought now. She missed it - yearned for it.  “Grow up!” she hissed to the mirror.  Then she raised her voice.  “Coming, Janie!”

             
Carrie gazed around her as the carriage rolled through the streets.  She had not been downtown for almost a month.  Not since the night Robert had proposed to her.  Her skin tingled now as she thought of it. 

             
Janie seemed to be reading her mind.  “Any word when Robert will be home?”

             
Carrie shook her head.  She knew her friend was just giving her an opportunity to talk about him.  “The fighting at Cedar Mountain seems to be over.  Father told me Lee was moving his army north to join with Jackson.  He thinks there is to be another big battle at Manassas.”  She shuddered as she thought about it.  Robert had been wrong.  He had not returned quickly from what he hoped would be a short mission.  He had been gone a month with a return nowhere in sight.

             
“Well, you’ll be ready for him when he comes,” Janie said firmly.

             
Carrie tried to draw hope from her friend’s words.  Surely now that she and Robert were on the verge of marriage, he would come home to her.  Surely God would not take him from her now.  It was so hard to have hope, though.  So hard to see soldier after soldier die from wounds inflicted during what they were now calling the Seven Days Battle.  Could Robert possibly continue to live in the midst of such carnage?  Most of the time she was able to silence the fears with busy activity.  But the times when her fears haunted her were still too frequent, causing the shadow in her eyes her father had commented on the night before. 

             
“Your daddy was right,” Janie observed.  “You need to spend some time away from the hospital.  I think going shopping is just the remedy for you.”

             
“I thought you said goods were scarce,” Carrie protested.

             
“Let’s just say you won’t have the choice you had before the war,” Janie admitted with a grin.  “And be glad your daddy still has some money left.”

             
Janie’s statement caused another frown to crease Carrie’s face.  She knew her father was sinking most of his fortune into support of the Confederacy.  She had seen the ledger book he left on his desk one night.  He had mortgaged Cromwell Plantation before the war started, confident it would be a short, successful struggle.  What was reality doing to his hopes now?  Carrie shook her head firmly.  It would do no good to wonder.  She was supposed to be having a good time.  “Where are we going?” she asked, forcing a cheerful note into her voice.  Janie’s quick glance said her friend knew what she was doing, but she played along anyway.

             
“I thought we would see what Thalheimer’s has.”

             
“I won’t buy anything fancy,” Carrie warned.  “Not when so many people are in need.”

             
Janie shrugged.  “Quite frankly, I think you could show up in rags and Robert would be thrilled.”

             
Those words caused a genuine smile to warm Carrie’s face.  “And I love him,” she said softly.  She still could not believe she was to be married soon- just as soon as Robert returned.  Basking in the glow of his love, she allowed herself to believe it would really happen. 

             
The carriage was just pulling up in front of Thalheimer’s when Carrie heard her name being called.  She turned quickly, a wide grin springing to her face.  “Pastor Anthony!” she cried, jumping from the carriage and moving quickly to join him.  “It’s wonderful to see you.”

             
“And you, too, Miss Cromwell.  I suspected you were in the city.”