The Last, Long Night (#5 in the Bregdan Chronicles Historical Fiction Romance Series) (36 page)

“Your brother…,” she whispered.

“What happened to Abe?” he asked, dreading the answer that was sure to come.

“I received word a few weeks ago that he was killed in Atlanta,” she said thickly.  “He didn’t want to fight…” her voice broke.

“But they’re calling up every one of fighting age, and he didn’t have a choice,” Robert finished, a deep ache swallowing his heart and welling in his soul.  Vivid memories of his brother swirled through his mind.  He could see Abe laughing as they explored the mountains for days on end - camping around glowing fires and eating game they had killed and cooked.  His brother had never had the love for the plantation that Robert did, but he’d had big plans to be a businessman in town. 

His mother stroked his cheek again.  “I’m lucky to still have you.  So many have lost their sons and their husband, too.  I pray this war ends soon so it doesn’t take you.”

Silence gripped the room as sadness swirled through like a thick, relentless fog.  Robert shook off the sadness, knowing his brother’s spirit would ride with him all the way back to camp.  Robert could let the loss penetrate his heart then; when the memories surrounding him at every curve would help him deal with it.

“You have a new wife, too, don’t you?” his Aunt Pearl asked.

Robert grinned, letting her change the subject from death to life.  “The most beautiful, wonderful woman in the world,” he said happily.  “I still can’t believe how lucky I got! Both of you will love her.” 

A sound in the distance had him snapping to attention and springing to the window.  He held up his hand to the women to keep them quiet as he listened carefully.  He finally breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to them. “I’ve got to go,” he said reluctantly.  “Will you be okay here?”

His mother nodded quickly. “This war has toughened all of us,” she said firmly.  “I’ve learned to do things I never thought I could, and I find I enjoy taking care of myself.  We have enough food in the cellar to take us through the winter.  Thanks to Matthew, we still have a home.  We’ll be fine.”

“Then I must…”
              His mother interrupted him.  “Robert!  I almost forgot about Lily.”

Robert looked at her sharply.  “Lily Champion?”  She had been a grand friend when they were growing up.  He could hardly wait for Carrie to meet her.  “What about her?”

“Matthew told me their place was burned today.”

Robert groaned.

“Her husband, Crandall, was killed at Manassas.  She’s been raising those four children on her own ever since.  They had only two slaves.  Both of them are gone.  They stayed until a few months ago because they love her so much, but those Union soldiers convinced them they were making it harder for the North to win if they stayed.”

Robert tightened his lips and nodded.  “I’ll go get them,” he said quickly.  “It’ll take me a while because I have to stay in the woods, but I’ll bring them back.”  He turned and strode out the door.

Frost lay heavy on the ground when Robert finally broke out of the woods into the clearing around his mother’s house.  Lily carried her youngest daughter, Matilda.  Robert cradled six-year-old Luke in his arms.  The two older children were exhausted, but the excitement of riding Granite through the woods had kept them awake enough to cling to the saddle as Robert led him through the darkness. 

Robert’s mother and aunt had been watching for them. As soon as they walked onto the porch, the door swung open, and the exhausted family was ushered into the parlor.  The children stood numbly in front of the flickering flames, their faces reflecting their confusion and loss. 

“You poor babies,” Robert’s mother murmured, and then turned to Lily.  “Your rooms are ready,” she said softly.  “There are plates of cornbread and glasses of milk for all of you.  You’ll have a real breakfast in the morning.”

Tears shone in Lily’s eyes.  “Thank you.  I don’t know what…”

Mrs. Borden stopped her.  “Hush now.  That’s what neighbors are for.  You get some rest.  We’ll talk in the morning.”

Aunt Pearl led them to their rooms.  When they had disappeared, Robert turned to his mother.  “She and the kids were huddled under the big oak tree, shivering and almost in shock when I got there.  Matthew didn’t only save our plantation – he probably saved Lily and those four children.”  He shook his head and yawned.  “I have to go now.”

“You should get some sleep,” his mother protested.  “You must be exhausted.”

“I’ve got to get back,” Robert replied. 

“What’s going to happen, Robert?”

He didn’t pretend to misunderstand what she was asking.  “We will lose the war,” he said evenly.  “It’s just a matter of time.”

“How much time?” his mother asked; a small catch in her voice the only thing that revealed her deep emotion. 

“I don’t know,” he answered honestly.  “I know Lee can stretch it out longer than anyone else, but quite frankly all that means is that more people will die, and more property will be destroyed.  The South simply doesn’t have the ability to win this war.”

“I’m just so glad my boy is still alive,” his mother said fervently, her eyes glistening with tears.

Robert caught his mother in a warm embrace.  “I’m so grateful I was able to see you, and that you and Aunt Pearl still have a home.”

“It’s because of you,” his mother said quietly.

Robert shook his head.  “Matthew saved it.”

“Yes, but your kindness set all that in motion,” she said softly, touching his face again.  “Each day I learn that every single action we take has its own consequence – for either good or bad.  Your decision to help Matthew and his friend escape, and Matthew’s decision to let others escape through the tunnel, put a kindness into action that has found its way to Oak Meadows.”

His mother turned around and stared at the columned house and then swung her gaze out to the barns.  “Your friend Matthew has quite a way with words.  He said something to the captain that I’ve been thinking about all night.”

“What was that?”

“He said, ‘
Destroying the plantation of a man who saved my life, who risked everything to help a Northerner in the midst of war, makes no sense.  When this war is over, our country will be need acts of compassion to balance the acts of vengeance and destruction.  You have a chance to be responsible for one of those acts of compassion, Captain. I predict the ramifications will reverberate down through our nation’s history much longer than an act of destruction.’
  He was so right.”

Robert stared at her, the truth of Matthew’s words sinking into his heart. “Thank you,” he whispered as he hugged her again and then strode out into the cold night. 

Granite looked up from the bucket of oats Robert’s mother had left out for him and snorted as if to say he was ready for what came next.  Robert laughed, swung up into the saddle, and headed back into the woods.

Chapter Twenty

Carrie had already heard the news when her father stomped up the front steps, strode into the foyer, and scowled at her.  “Lincoln was re-elected,” she said softly, knowing the news had crushed any hopes her father still had left.

Thomas nodded morosely, looked around at all the sober faces in the parlor, and sank down in his chair next to the roaring fire. “Yes.  Lincoln was re-elected.”

“What does it really mean?”  Georgia asked, dressed completely as a man since all the boarders were there.

“It means we’re done,” Thomas growled.  “Any hope of a government led by McClellan that would have just let the South go in peace is now over.”

“And Davis will not concede defeat,” Jeremy said thoughtfully.

Carrie saw her father’s eyes brighten when Jeremy stepped into the room.  The bond between the two had deepened since Jeremy had moved in several weeks earlier.  They would sit long into the night talking, debating, and laughing.  Biologically they were half-brothers, but she knew her father saw Jeremy as the son he’d never had, and Jeremy looked to Thomas as a father figure now that Pastor Anthony was gone.  She was happy for both of them.

“Are you sure Davis won’t surrender?” another boarder asked.

In response, Jeremy picked up a paper.  “This is what Davis had to say yesterday to the Congress,” he replied somberly.

“‘There are no vital points on the preservation of which the continued existence of the Confederacy depends.  There is no military success of the enemy which can accomplish its destruction.  Not the fall of Richmond nor Wilmington nor Savannah nor Mobile nor all combined can save the enemy from the constant and exhaustive drain of blood and treasure which must continue until he shall discover that no peace is attainable unless based on the recognition of our indefeasible rights.’”

Jeremy finished reading and set down the paper.

“Those are some mighty fancy words,” Georgia said slowly.

“Yes, they are,” Thomas agreed.  “They’re also very dangerous.”

“Dangerous?” Georgia echoed, her face saying she still wasn’t sure what had been said in the first place.

Carrie had talked with her father at length the night before.  “What President Davis is really saying is that the Confederacy will continue even if we have to abandon every one of our cities and not rely on any fixed bases.”

Georgia stared at her and then slowly said, “So the war would just become like guerilla warfare, with everything hidden away?”

Jeremy nodded.  “Yes.  Davis is holding on to a desperate hope that if the North wins they will eventually be poisoned by hatred and terror and will want to leave us alone.”

“That doesn’t sound like the Confederacy that was created in the beginning of all this,” Georgia said quietly.  “Why would he do that?”

“He’s under tremendous stress and tension,” Thomas explained quickly.  “It’s not what Davis wants, but he doesn’t see any other way.”

“He reckons we’re going to lose?” Georgia asked.

“It does not look good,” Thomas admitted.  “Optimism was running pretty high in Richmond until word came through about Lincoln’s re-election.  There is no longer any hope for a peace administration in Washington, and Lee is getting weaker.”

“The Federals haven’t been able to bust through our lines,” Georgia protested.

“No, but there have been tremendous losses, and Grant is still there.  He has all the advantage in this game,” Thomas added solemnly.

“Why?”

“Because,” Jeremy said, “Lee doesn’t have enough resources.  He’s told Davis we have no troops disposable to meet movements of the enemy or to strike when opportunity presents itself because to do so would take men from the trenches and expose some important point that would leave Richmond vulnerable.”

“So we just have to sit here and wait?” Georgia asked with a frown. “Do nothing?”

Jeremy shrugged.  “The general has more and more ground to hold and fewer and fewer soldiers to hold it with.  Lee has suggested all the soldiers serving as cooks, mechanics, teamsters, and laborers should return to fight and let slaves do those jobs.”

“That’s not all he’s suggesting!” one of the boarders said with a scowl.  “He thinks we ought to arm the slaves and turn them into soldiers.  That’s the craziest thing I ever heard.”

“There is talk about that,” Thomas said, “but no one is seriously considering it.  Lee is simply looking for answers.  More and more soldiers are deserting, or just not showing up to fight in the first place.  State governors are granting pardons and exemptions to many who could fight.”

“But why?” Georgia asked.

Carrie listened carefully, seeing something in Georgia’s eyes that hadn’t been there the day before.

“The states are adamant about states’ rights,” Thomas replied.  “Especially in Georgia.  There is great fear that actions from the Confederate government could destroy any state government at any time.  The governors believe that would make the cherished principles of states’ rights a nullity.”

Georgia absorbed that for a few minutes as silence filled the room and then said, “As far as I can figure, the most immediate threat to Georgia’s state’s rights ain’t coming from the government; it’s coming from General Sherman.”

Jeremy chuckled.  “I wish everyone could see it as clearly as you do.”  Then he sobered.  “People will always respond from fear first.  It doesn’t have to make sense; it’s just what they do.”

Georgia nodded slowly.  “So what happens now?”

A long silence filled the room. 

Thomas was the first to break it.  “That is the question of the day, Georgia.  Right now we have a major army trying to break through our lines in Richmond.  The Shenandoah has been lost.  Sherman is sitting in Atlanta right now, but we don’t know how long that will last.” 

He stopped and stared at the flames for a long moment.  “I think everyone had been waiting for this election.  Now that it’s over, I believe the North will move to gain total victory.  This winter is not going to be fun,” he said tensely.