The Bride Price (26 page)

The private shook his head. “No, ma’am, the
lieutenant left at dawn.

“Where did he go?”

He grabbed a halter from one of the hooks
near the entrance and shrugged. “Trouble at the border.”

Sophie nodded and turned back to pet Samson,
lost in her thoughts. She knew that the last Confederate stronghold
on the Mississippi River surrendered to General Grant at Vicksburg
on July 4, which was yesterday. The anti-draft riots would happen
in New York, but not until July 13.

Sophie kissed Samson’s muzzle. “He could have
at least left a note, don’t you think?” Samson nodded his head and
Sophie smiled. “I can always count on you to agree with me.”

She gave Samson one last pat, and then made
her way back to the house to get ready to leave for the hospital.
She decided to walk, and by the time she arrived, she had worked
herself into such a mood, she was looking for a fight. Topper
greeted her with a wide smile. He’d found himself a purpose,
helping the soldiers, and his duties brought him to the hospital
almost daily.

“Hi, Topper.”

“Good morning.” He handed her a note. “The lieutenant
left this with me for you.”

Her frustration was replaced with guilt as she opened
the envelope.

Baby, I’ll be back in a couple of days. Sorry this
is in a note. I love you - Jamie.

Sophie sighed.
I guess it’s something.

She found one of the other nurses who filled her in
on the events of the morning and was relieved that for the most
part, the day was slow. The men were all resting comfortably and no
new wounded had arrived.

Sophie made her way to the cots and spent a few
minutes with each soldier that was awake and lucid. She’d been in
the tent for about thirty minutes when she arrived at Richard’s
cot. He was awake and appeared to be watching her intently. “Good
morning, Richard. How are you feeling? Is there much pain in your
leg?” He just stared at her. “Richard? Are you in pain?”

“No,” he said bitterly and turned his head away from
her.

“Is there anything I can get you?”

No response.

“Richard, are you having difficulty hearing me, or
are you just being a jerk?” Sophie leaned closer to him. “Because
if you didn’t hear me, I’d be
happy
to repeat the question.
However, if you’re just being a jerk, then I’ll move on and help
someone who will appreciate it.”

Another soldier overheard her comment and said
loudly, “I appreciate you, Miss Sophie. You can come over here and
help me.”

A few of the other men laughed and Sophie couldn’t
help but smile. She started to move away, but Richard reached out
and grabbed her hand. She turned around and sat down in the chair
next to his cot. “Richard, I know a lot has happened, but I’d like
to help you if you’ll let me.”

“I’d appreciate some water, Sophie.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back.” She brought it and helped
him sit up to drink. “Do you think you could try to walk around a
bit today? I’m sure your leg is killing you, but it would be good
to get some circulation going.”

He nodded.

“Good. I’ll finish making the rounds and then come
back and help you, okay?”

Sophie finished checking on the men and then made her
way back to Richard. She helped him stand and handed him a pair of
crutches. “Okay, bud, let’s get you moving. I’d like you to make
one entire circle around the room, do you think you can do
that?”

Richard hobbled up and down the main aisle of the
hospital. He refused to let her walk with him, so she stayed by his
bed and watched. Despite a nasty break, Richard was better off than
some. Dr. Paxton had fashioned an impressive cast that would have
rivaled modern day medicine in her opinion, and she figured Richard
would regain mobility in a few weeks.

She had to give Richard credit, he didn’t complain,
despite the fact that he must have been in a great deal of pain. He
stopped a few times but seemed to be doing all right.

When he turned around to make his way back to his
cot, Sophie noticed sweat pouring from his body and his face tight
with pain. She quickly went to assist. “Richard, you did great.
Let’s get you back to the cot. Are you in terrible pain?” He didn’t
say a word but the grimace spoke volumes. “You’re incredibly brave,
Mr. Madden. Let’s try and get you comfortable and then I’ll see if
we can find you something for the pain.”

“No laudanum,” Richard whispered

Sophie went to find one of the doctors. Lucky for
her, Dr. Palmer wasn’t on duty today. She found Dr. Mickel, who
came to check on Richard before deciding what to give him. While
the doctor was examining Richard, Sophie went to check on a few of
the other patients who were awake. After successfully changing
several dressings and soothing a few frayed nerves, Sophie made her
way back to Richard for one more quick check. “What did the doctor
say?”

“He wanted to give me laudanum. I told him I’d rather
live with the pain.”

“I don’t know if that makes you smart, crazy, or
stupid.” Sophie sat in the chair. “But if you can live with the
pain, then you’re a bigger man than most. Would you like me to read
to you?”

He stared at her for several seconds before rasping,
“What I’d really like, Sophie is for you to sing for me.”

“I don’t know if that would be a good idea.” She
glanced around the room. “Several of the men are resting and I
don’t want to wake them.”

“Please, Sophie, it would distract me from the pain,”
Richard implored.

“You’re very good at the guilt trip, aren’t you?” She
smiled down at him. “All right. Let me think.”

Sophie didn’t remember many songs of the era, or at
least ones that would have been considered historic in the
twenty-first century. She wracked her brain for something to sing;
in the end, she decided to sing one of Jamie’s originals. The song
was suited for either electric or acoustic, so she thought she
might be able to pull it off a cappella.

It was a challenge for her not to do things to change
history. It’s not like she could pull out a Trisha Yearwood tune.
She’d end up feeling guilty of any impact it might have in the
future. She finished singing and realized there was complete
silence. With a grimace, she glanced around the room. “Sorry,
gentleman, did I disturb you?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Sophie. That was incredible.”
Richard grabbed her hand.

“Yes, Miss Sophie. I’ve never heard anything like
it,” one of the other patients called out.

Then, after a moment of silence, the room erupted in
applause. Sophie blushed and then stood and took a curtsy. “You’re
all very kind.”

“Will you sing for us tomorrow, Miss Sophie?”

“Yes, Miss Sophie, please sing for us again.”

“All right, gentleman. I’ll sing for you
tomorrow.”

Christine arrived about an hour later and pulled her
aside for a moment alone. “How is your day so far?”

Sophie sighed. “Jamie left.”

Christine ushered her away from the men. “What do you
mean?”

Sophie made a point of studying the table of surgical
instruments in front of her. “He took off early this morning,
trouble somewhere. One of the borders, maybe?”

“Are you all right?”

Sophie nodded. “Yes, I’m just not good at the
inability to find him on a second’s notice.”

“Stay busy. Did he say when he’d be back?”

“Couple of days…I hope.”

Christine dropped the subject and the girls got to
work on changing dressings and soothing soldiers. Waylaid by one of
the men who had a nasty infection and had developed a fever, they
tried everything to bring his fever down but weren’t having much
luck. Sophie sang quietly to him as Christine laid ice-soaked
cloths over his body.

The day moved quickly and Sophie ended up staying
later than expected. Christine offered to drop her at home so she
didn’t have to walk. Sophie was relieved to have a ride, her
exhaustion both physically and mentally overwhelming. That night,
Sophie let out a sigh as she snuggled under the covers of her bed
and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

* * *

Sophie spent the next two days simply trying
to function, unable to stop worrying about Jamie’s safety. Without
cell phones and the ability to find him quickly, she had to
distract herself in mundane ways. She decided to check on Samson
after her shift at the hospital one particularly hot afternoon, and
Christine offered to join her.

They made the quick trip from the center of
town and Christine pulled her buggy in front of the Wades home and
secured the horse. Once the girls made their way out to the
stables, Christine stopped at the arena to observe the
training.

“Ahhh.”

Christine’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
“Is something amiss?”

Sophie giggled as she peered over the
railing. “I wondered why you were so eager to join me today.”

Dr. Stephen Paxton knelt beside a young
soldier who appeared to have been thrown from one of the larger
horses.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Christine retorted. “I
don’t even know that soldier.”

“Good one.” Sophie laughed at her
deflection.

“If you happen to notice, my brother is also
inside,” Christine said indignantly.

Sophie rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes he is. And
Andrew is the reason you came out to the stables with me.”

Christine huffed, so Sophie had mercy and
left her friend to fawn over the handsome doctor.

“Sophie, wait!”

She turned to find Andrew jogging toward her.
“Hi, Andrew.”

He smiled as he stopped beside her. “How are
you?”

Sophie raised an eyebrow. “Fine. Why?”

Andrew shrugged. “I haven’t seen the
lieutenant around in a few days.”

She crossed her arms and droned, “You
haven’t, have you?”

“Is anything amiss?”

She felt the prick of tears and scowled up at
him. “You’re supposed to pretend you know nothing, Andrew. You
aren’t supposed to ask questions like that.”

He pulled her into the darkness of the barn.
“Questions like what, Sophie?”

“Questions that make me—” She wiped her
cheeks in frustration.

Andrew pulled her into his arms. “Sophie, I’m
sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry. I simply wanted to ensure you
were well.”

She nodded against his shoulder. “Well, you
need to stop being so nice.”

Andrew chuckled. “Forgive me.”

She pushed away and took his proffered
handkerchief. Wiping her eyes and blowing her nose, she took a deep
breath and forced a smile. “I hate not knowing if he’s safe.”

“He’s probably fine.” Andrew crossed his
arms. “Is there anything I can do?”

Sophie sighed. “No. But if he’s not back in a
few days, I might feel differently.”

“Whatever you need, you let me know.”

She grinned up at him. “You’re good at being
an overprotective brother.”

“I’ve had lots of practice.”

Sophie let out a quiet snort. “Yes, you have.
I’m fine. I’m going to hug my horse now.”

“Your horse, huh?”

Sophie shrugged. “A girl can dream.”

Andrew left her, and Sophie made her way to
Samson’s stall. Thinking a little exercise would do him some good,
and wanting to have a closer look at his leg, Sophie grabbed a
halter and let herself into his stall. Singing quietly to him as
she slipped the leather over his head, she patted his neck before
leading him out of the barn and into the open.

She didn’t want to tie him down, so she
loosened the lead and moved to his rump. Running her hand down his
leg, she felt light heat, but the swelling appeared to be
dissipating. She slid her hand along his side as she made his way
back to his head. “What a clever boy you are,” she crooned as she
stroked his nose.

Despite her quiet voice, he was still a bit
skittish. His eyes widened, wilder than she would have liked.
Without warning, she heard a whistle and then a loud crack. Sophie
spun around to find what had hit the side of the building. But
before she could react with any kind of urgency, Samson’s ears went
straight back and he pulled away from Sophie. She tried to calm
him, and a soldier rushed over to try help. However, he only
managed to spook Samson even more and Sophie got caught up in his
lead.

Samson went into the air, and as he came
down, his hoof caught Sophie in the head. She went down hard and
fast, letting go of the rope and setting Samson free. He bolted
before anyone could stop him.

* * *

Christine watched the scene unfold in front
of her too fast to react.

“Andrew!” Christine screamed and then made a
run for her fallen friend, kneeling beside her and cradling her
head gently in her hands. “Sophie? Sophie, wake up.”

Sophie’s skin, now a grayish pallor, alarmed
Christine, not to mention the nasty bruise forming on her temple.
Tenderly moving Sophie’s hair aside, not an easy task with the
blood from the wound caking it to her temple, Christine let out a
sigh of relief when Andrew and Stephen rushed toward her.

“What happened?” Stephen knelt as he removed
his jacket and folded it for a makeshift pillow.

Christine glanced up at the doctor. “I heard
a loud crack and then Samson spooked. His hoof grazed her
temple.”

Stephen nodded. “All right, we need to get
her out of this dirt.”

Andrew made his way to a group of soldiers
who stood vigil over Sophie. “Was it a rock? Did someone throw it?”
His voice was low and lethal.

No one knew—or admitted that they knew.

“We need to get her away from here,” the
doctor called.

Without further discussion, one of the men
grabbed a small wagon and hitched a horse to it. Dr. Paxton bent
down and picked Sophie up, laying her gently in the back. “I’m
going to take her over to Michael’s house.”

“Would someone please try and find her horse?
I’ll return as soon as I know she’s all right,” Andrew added.