The Last, Long Night (#5 in the Bregdan Chronicles Historical Fiction Romance Series) (54 page)

Carrie sighed with relief.  “Thank you, May.”

“No,” May shook her head firmly, reaching out to grab her hand.  “Thank
you
, Miss Carrie.  Ain’t many white people care about us black people the way you do.  I’m real grateful.”

Carrie smiled, squeezed her hand tightly, and then headed back to the dining room before she had to explain what was taking her so long.  Her father was talking as she entered the room and slid into her place. She reached gratefully for the hot cornbread sending up little puffs of steam.

“According to my source, Lee told congressional questioners back in January that leaving Richmond would not necessarily end the struggle.”

Carrie stiffened, almost dropping the cornbread she had picked up.  “What do you mean?” she asked sharply. 

Thomas shrugged.  “All I know is General Lee told a senator that evacuating Richmond would make him stronger than before.  Lee did concede that losing Richmond would be a serious calamity from a moral and political viewpoint, but he also believed, at least then, that he could prolong the war two or more years on Virginia soil.  He said that since the war began he’s been forced to let the enemy make strategic plans for him because he had to protect the capital.  If Richmond falls, Lee will be able to make them for himself. ”

Carrie gasped and dropped the cornbread.  “No!”  She stared at her father, a wild pounding starting in her head.  “The war has to end,” she murmured.   Anger surged through her, making her voice rise.  “The war has to end,” she said firmly.   She met her father’s eyes squarely.  “How many more, Father?  How many more have to die?  How many more men have to sacrifice their lives?  Their futures?  How many more families have to lose the ones they love?”

“And how much more of Virginia has to be ransacked and burned before it’s over?”  Jeremy added, his own eyes burning with anger.

Carrie looked at him, grateful he shared her outrage, and then turned back to stare at her father.

Thomas looked back at her steadily.  “I just report the news,” he said gently, his eyes and voice strained.  “There’s no need to kill the messenger.  Besides, you’ll be very surprised to discover I agree with you.”

Carrie gaped at him.  “You do?”

Thomas nodded.  “If I thought there was any hope of a victory, I would be the first to applaud his commitment to fight on.  There is none.  I can’t imagine what my life will be like if Richmond falls, but I do know we can no longer demand the sacrifice of any more lives.”

Carrie stared at him for a long moment and then stood to wrap her arms around him.  “I love you,” she whispered.  “Somehow we will find a way to move forward and create a new life.”

Thomas nodded and then picked up where Carrie had interrupted him with her outburst.  “I hear Davis asked Lee earlier this month why, if withdrawal is inevitable, he wasn’t leaving.  Lee told him the horses were too weak to pull the wagons and cannons through the March mud, but that soon the roads would be passable.”

“Soon, as in now?” Janie asked.

Thomas nodded his head heavily.  “Yes.”

Carrie recognized the look on his face.  “What are you really wanting to say, Father?”

Thomas smiled.  “You know me well,” he admitted with a soft smile, and then reached to take her hand.  “As soon as we receive word of Lee’s withdrawal, the entire Virginia legislature will evacuate, along with the Confederate administration.”

Carrie sat back heavily, a sick dread in her stomach adding to the pounding in her head.  “Where will you go?” she asked quietly, knowing this had been coming, but still not prepared for it.

“I understand we’re going to Lynchburg.  The Federal administration will go to Danville.”

“And if the Federals follow you to Lynchburg?”

Thomas shrugged.  “I don’t know.  I do know I have no desire to spend time in prison, and I suspect that would be my reward for what I’ve done for Virginia.”  He paused and then shook his head.  “That’s not important now.  Are all of you still determined to stay?”

Carrie nodded.  Janie and Jeremy exchanged looks with her as they gave their own affirming nods.

Thomas sighed and ran his hand through his white hair.  “I know better than to try to talk any of you out of it.  All I can do is try to prepare you.”

“Prepare us for what?” Carrie asked unsteadily, dreading the thought of her beloved father on the run.

“We have to make plans now while we have the time to do it,” he said firmly.

Only the strain on his face and in his voice told Carrie how much this was costing him.  She knew how devastating it would be to him to leave her behind, but he also respected her enough to understand why she couldn’t -
wouldn’t
leave.  The only thing she had left to give him was to make this time as easy as possible.  “Then let’s do it,” she said equally as firmly, smiling when his eyes met hers with relief.

“You must keep Granite in the stable,” he said quickly.  “Ever since Sheridan destroyed a huge chunk of the James River Canal, it has been almost impossible to get food into the city.   It was horrific before.  Now it will get worse.  Butter is up to twenty dollars a pound.”

Carrie opened her mouth to ask what the cost of butter had to do with Granite…

“Listen to your father,” Jeremy warned.  “The government is so desperate for horses they are snatching them off the streets.  Farmers are refusing to bring food into the city because they’re afraid they will lose the horses pulling their wagons.”

“How horrible!” Janie cried.

Carrie tightened her lips and stared in the direction of the stables.  “They will not get Granite for any more of this war.”  Then she thought of the Union army taking Richmond and was quite sure how they would feel about her beautiful Thoroughbred.  He was thin, but it was easy to tell what a remarkable animal he was.  “Father, how will you get out of the city?”

Thomas shrugged.  “I’m not sure yet.  Trains will take some of us.  Others will go in wagons.  I’m sure some will ride on horseback because it won’t be possible for the train to carry everyone.”

“Take Granite,” she said firmly.

“Carrie, I…”

“Take him,” she repeated, blinking back her tears.  “I’ll know you have a horse that can help you get away, and I’ll also be sure the Union army won’t get their hands on him.”

Thomas nodded slowly.  “Thank you,” he said softly, his eyes saying he knew how much this meant to her.  “I’ll bring him back to you.”

Carrie forced a smile.  “I’m counting on it,” she managed to say lightly, swallowing back her fear and pain.  “What’s next?”

Matthew stared around the massive Union encampment.  Men, artillery, and cannons poured in from what seemed every direction.  The feel of battle hung heavy in the air.  He had arrived the day before.  He’d seen a lot of battle camps but never one that had quite this feeling of
finality
.

“It won’t be long,” Peter said grimly.  “Sherman’s sixty thousand soldiers just arrived.  Sheridan is already here.  His cavalry did massive damage outside of Richmond and then crossed the James River to join Grant.”

“There are close to two hundred and fifty thousand troops here,” Matthew said, shaking his head as he looked in the direction of Richmond.

“To take on an army of less than fifty thousand men who are starving to death,” Peter acknowledged.  “It will be hard to call it a battle.”

“Lee has pulled off miracles before,” Matthew said, though he knew this time nothing would stop the inevitable. 

“Not this time,” Peter predicted flatly.  “Richmond will fall within the next few days.  Lee may stretch it out.  If he’s as smart as I think he is, he’ll run.  He knows he can’t win, but I do think he might believe he can continue fighting if he gets out of those trenches.  He was trying to get away when they attacked Fort Stedman.  My guess is he was trying to join up with General Johnston so he would have more of an army.”

Peter stopped talking, to confer with a messenger that ran up, and then turned back to Matthew.  “Why are you here?”

Matthew looked at Peter for a long moment, respecting their friendship too much to give him the line that
he had a job to do and he was here to do it
.  “I’m worried about Carrie,” he admitted quietly.  “If I can be one of the first into the city, I can possibly help her.”

“You still love her,” Peter said, a note of sympathy in his voice.

“I reckon I always will,” Matthew replied.  “It runs in my family.  Once a Justin man falls in love, it seems to stick for life.  I just happened to fall in love with a woman who is now married to one of my closest friends,” he said ruefully.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to stay away?”

“Maybe, but it wouldn’t change how I feel, and Robert knows I would never do anything to betray our friendship.  And, besides, I couldn’t live with myself if I had a chance to help her and didn’t take it.”  He looked hard at Peter.  “Without Carrie, you and I would probably still be rotting in Libby Prison - hauled back with others that tried to escape, but were recaptured.”

“You’re right.  That’s why one of the first things I planned to do when I reached Richmond was to make sure she was okay,” Peter admitted with a smile.

Matthew smiled in return, grateful to have such a good friend.  “We’ll find her,” he said firmly.  “When the Union takes Richmond, we’ll go in and find her.”

“It won’t be long,” Peter stated.  “My source just told me the battle will start in the morning.”

Carrie and the rest had stood up from the dinner table after a long session of planning when Hobbs entered wearily, his face caked with sweat-streaked dust, fatigue making his limp more pronounced.  “What happened, Hobbs?” she exclaimed.  “You didn’t get all that dirt on you from the hospital.”

“No, Miss Carrie, I reckon I didn’t,” Hobbs agreed as he gave her a tired smile.  “General Ewell figures there should be some men to protect Richmond even if Lee has all the regular soldiers out on the lines.”

“They’re calling you to fight again?” Carrie asked sharply.

“I volunteered, Miss Carrie.  I reckon Richmond is pretty ripe for cavalry attacks from the likes of Sheridan.  Them boys been out wreaking some mighty bad havoc.  A bunch of the hospital attendants and patients who can still shoot a gun have been assigned to battalions.  There’s a pile of rifles and ammo stacked up between the wards now.”  He pulled himself up proudly.  “While we were marching, a bunch of clerks and stewards came out to join us.  We ain’t going to just lie down and let them Bluecoats run over us.  We intend to protect what is ours.”

Too sick at heart to know what to say, Carrie stared at him.  “Stay safe,” she finally managed as she turned to go upstairs.

Her father stopped her with a hand on her arm.  “I know you’re tired but can you come up to my room for a few minutes?”

Carrie, exhausted to the bone, started to shake her head and ask whether they could talk in the morning, but then caught the look in her father’s eyes.  Swallowing her refusal, she nodded and hooked her arm through his.  As they walked up the stairs together, she wondered whether there would be many more times they could do something so simple.  Suddenly it became very important to savor every moment with this man she loved so much.