Storm Clouds Rolling In (43 page)

Carrie stared into Aunt Abby’s eyes, her own filling with tears.
“Thank you,” she whispered. She leaned forward impulsively and gave the older woman a hug. “I knew you were going to be a friend.”

“Aren’t you girls ready
yet?” Abby called up the stairs. “The dance is going to be over by the time we get there,” she teased.

“You don’t want us going out looking less than our best, do you Aunt Abby?” Natalie challenged as she floated down the stairs in her light
-blue gown.

“I hardly think that is going to happen,” Aunt Abby said dryly.
“I grew up in the South, remember? I know what a premium is placed on proper appearance.” Aunt Abby looked beautiful in a soft-gray gown that swept the floor and matched her eyes. She smiled. “All three of you look lovely. I believe these poor Northern gentlemen are going to be taken off guard.”

“I hope so
,” Sally exclaimed.

All of them laughed.
“Do you ever think of anything besides men, Sally Hampton?” Carrie demanded.

“Why, is there anything else to think about?” Sally asked in a bewildered voice.
Then she grinned. “I also think about food and clothes.”

Groans filled the hallway as the four women walked out onto the porch.
A well-appointed carriage waited for them at the bottom of the steps. “Are we really going to be late for the dance, Aunt Abby?” Natalie asked.

Abby shook her head.
“I remember what it was like when I was a young lady. I gave you plenty of time to get ready.”

They had traveled down the road not more than ten minutes when all traffic came to a halt.
Abby craned her neck to identify the problem. “Driver?”

The driver shrugged his broad shoulders.
“I should have gone another way, ma’am. I’m sorry. Some other drivers told me the Wide Awakes were in town for a parade. I thought we would be past their route before it began. I’m afraid we’re not going anywhere for a while.”

“Oh, bother!”
Abby exclaimed in an exasperated voice.

“What is it?” Carrie asked.
She leaned out to see the parade they were discussing but a sea of carriages blocked her view.

“It’s another one of those Republican parades.
I’m all for party enthusiasm but I’m afraid we’re going to be horribly late for the dance.” Abby turned around and looked back at the carriages stacked up behind them. “I’m afraid there’s no way to get out of this mess.”

Carrie still didn’t understand what was happening.
“Who are the Wide Awakes?”

Abby rose suddenly, without answering.
“If we’re not going to make it to the dance on time, the least we can do is see the parade,” she stated. “Driver, we’ll be back when the parade is over.”

The driver nodded complacently, settling back against his seat.
“I don’t reckon I’ll be going anywhere before then, ma’am.” He reached under his seat and pulled out a bucket. “I’ll just eat the dinner my missus fixed for me. I’ll be right here when you get back.”

Within minutes Carrie found herself pressed into the massive crowd lining the street.
She wondered uneasily if they were all going to be trampled. She stretched herself as tall as she could but could see nothing but a mass of heads blocking her vision. It didn’t matter if the parade came—she wouldn’t see it anyway.

“Let’s go up there
.” Aunt Abby pointed to the high landing of an office building.

“Do you think it’s alright?” Natalie asked with a troubled expression.
Carrie knew the crowd was frightening her. She, too, wanted nothing more than to remove herself from the milling bedlam, but she didn’t want to get in trouble.

Abby grinned.
“It should be. I own the building.” With a laugh she led the way up the stairs, pulled out the key that would let them in, and swung open the solid door. All four entered with a sigh of relief. Carrie glanced around the immaculate offices and then followed Abby up the stairs. This lady was a constant source of surprises.

Just as they stepped out onto the landing above the second floor, Carrie heard a sound in the distance.
It seemed to have a life of its own as it steadily increased and swallowed the noise of the crowd. Carrie had never heard anything like it. She leaned against the railing and peered down the street. As the sound, still undecipherable, drew closer, a strange glow lit the distance. Breathless, Carrie kept her eyes fixed on the street.

Finally, the sound took a shape and identified itself.
Moving toward them were thousands of men dressed in dark oilcloth capes, tramping in military fashion, and holding aloft smoky torches that cast their flickering light on the teeming crowds assembled to meet them. Carrie had seen military parades performed by the Virginia militias but never anything to equal this. What was going on?

Aunt Abby seemed to be reading her mind
, for she leaned forward and shouted, “The Wide Awakes are young Republican enthusiasts who march to generate political enthusiasm. They are determined to see Lincoln elected.”

Slowly, Carrie turned back to stare at the scene before her.
Never had she felt so out of place. As the tramping filled the night and seemed to take on a life of its own, she was thankful for their place high above the masses. Instinct told her a large number of the people assembled below would not be friendly toward three plantation girls from the South. The very thought frightened her. Never had she thought she would need to be afraid in her own country. Her hands trembled on the railing as the clamor of the crowd grew.
Lincoln! Lincoln! Lincoln!

Once again, she felt the same strange sensation she had experienced in Richmond standing beneath Washington’s Monument.
Even though dusk had claimed the city, she felt dark clouds lowering to engulf them. She stared down, somehow aware of the blind emotion swirling through the masses—their allegiance seemingly given to whoever made the most noise. It both frightened and fascinated her.

Carrie stood alone at the balcony with Abby.
Natalie and Sally, alarmed by the spectacle, had retreated inside. Finally, she turned to the older woman. “They believe in him, don’t they?”

Abby shrugged.
“They believe in him tonight while the bands are playing and the night is full of the tramping of feet pounding out their message. Will they believe in him tomorrow?” She smiled ruefully. “People believe easily when it doesn’t cause them any discomfort. It’s when it hurts to believe that believing means something.”

Carrie stared at her.
Never had she heart a woman talk this way.

Abby interpreted her look.
“Natalie was right, Carrie. We are alike in one major way. We question everything that goes on around us. I happen to think it’s one of my better traits.” She grinned. “If more people had asked questions, I don’t think our country would be in the mess it’s in right now.” She grew more serious. “I think our country is in desperate need of more balance, Carrie. Men need women to help keep the perspective straight and to see an issue from all sides. Women need to be able to vote.”

Carrie could think of nothing to say.
She had never even considered women having the vote. She opened her mouth but nothing came out.

Abby laughed at her bemused expression.
“I’m sorry, dear,” she chuckled. “I get carried away sometimes.” Her expression changed suddenly. “Not that I don’t mean it with all my heart, but I sense you have plenty to deal with already. I don’t need to add anything to your load. Do me a favor,” she added with a sudden smile. “Don’t tell Natalie of my wild ideas. She’ll feel compelled to share them back home and my dear family will be convinced they need to come lock me away. There will be a time to let them know how I feel, but it’s not now.”

Carrie nodded.
“Of course,” she replied instantly, honored Aunt Abby had entrusted her with a secret. She would never betray her new friend.

Just then the bands stopped playing and the tramping of feet abruptly came to a halt.
Carrie returned her attention to the street just in time to see a man climb onto a platform that had been hurriedly put in place.

“Seward,” Abby said in response to the question in her eyes.
“It took him a while to adjust to the fact he was not going to be the next president, but now he’s campaigning like crazy for Lincoln. Whatever else people might say, he is a man committed to his party.”

The crowd quieted down enough for Seward’s voice to be heard clearly.
Carrie listened intently as he went on at great length about Lincoln and why he should be the next president.

When he seemed to be winding down, a question was shouted from the crowd.
“What is going to happen if the Southern states secede as they are threatening?”

Seward’s smile never dimmed.
He waved his hands for renewed attention and delivered his statement with great confidence. “For ten, aye twenty years, these threats have been renewed in the same language and in the same form, about the first day of November every four years, when it happened to come before the day of the presidential election. I do not doubt but that these Southern statesmen and politicians think they are going to dissolve the Union, but I think they are going to do no such thing!”

The crowd roared its approval and once again started its chant.
“Lincoln! Lincoln! Lincoln!”

“Carrie?”

Carrie turned to see Aunt Abby’s staring at her. Only then did she become aware of the tears streaming down her face. “He’s wrong you know,” Carrie said softly, wiping away her tears, and turning to stare at the crowd below. “The South isn’t just threatening this time. If Lincoln is elected, they will secede.”

Abby opened her mouth as if to argue and then merely nodded, her eyes suddenly very fatigued.

“My father says the passions of men have destroyed any possibility of reason. He says there is no chance Lincoln will not win, and that when he wins, the South will secede.” Carrie’s voice trembled. “And then there will be war.”

Both Carrie and Aunt Abby turned back to stare as the band broke out into victorious music and the hordes of Wide
Awakes resumed their relentless tramping. Abby reached out and took the younger girl’s hand. “I wish I could refute what you are saying. I would like to insist reason will save us.” She sighed instead. “I’m afraid your father might be right. Passion is now ruling our country.”

Natalie and Sally eased out the door and joined them on the balcony.
Both girls were frightened but determined to ignore the obvious. “Aunt Abby? The crowd is breaking up. Do you think we can make it to the dance now?” Sally asked.

Aunt Abby turned slowly to look at them, seeming almost surprised to see them there.
“The dance?” she asked vaguely. “Oh, yes, the dance!” She shook her head and focused on Natalie and Sally’s faces. “Goodness me, we don’t want to lose our carriage.” Glancing over the balcony, she exclaimed, “Let’s go, girls. We must hurry.”

The dance, held in the ballroom of a huge mansion set high on a hill overlooking the city skyline, seemed a different world from the smoky torches and the endless tramping of feet.
Carrie breathed a sigh of relief when she entered the glowing beauty of the home. Music swirled around her, drowning out the tramping that seemed etched into her mind and heart. It was not long before the three beautiful girls were surrounding by admiring men.