The Last, Long Night (#5 in the Bregdan Chronicles Historical Fiction Romance Series) (72 page)

Matthew gasped and groaned softly as he stared down at his friend.  Carrie exchanged a long look with him before she followed the stretcher up the stairs, trying to push away the memories of her mother’s face after her fever.  She had saved Moses; surely she could save Robert.  She pushed away the thought that Robert had been sick for months, letting the pneumonia sap all his energy and strength until he had nothing left to fight with.

“Miles, please bring up lots of water and rags,” she ordered from the stairs.  “And, May, will you please make a broth of onion, garlic, carrots and celery?  Add in some radishes and some of the parsley.  When you bring that up, please bring me some garlic cloves, onions and honey.  It will help fight the infection.”

“Yes’sum, Miss Carrie,” May responded immediately.  “It won’t take me long to make it.”  She spun around to where Matthew was standing, looking helpless.  “Go on out to that garden and get me everything for the broth,” she barked.

Matthew nodded, obviously relieved to have something to do and disappeared out the back door.

Rose, Aunt Abby, and Janie closed rank around Carrie as she moved up the stairs.

“You don’t have to…”

Aunt Abby held up a hand.  “You’ve done enough alone,” she said firmly.  “It stops here.”

Carrie swallowed back sudden tears as her throat tightened with gratitude.  She gazed at the three women gazing at her with so much love and compassion.  “Thank you,” she whispered, and then turned to run up the stairs to do battle.

It was almost midnight before Robert’s fever was completely gone; the result of hundreds of wet rags wrapped around his body, removed when they were hot, and then replaced by cool rags.  Even though he was still unconscious, Aunt Abby had managed to get him to swallow several spoons of broth, holding his emaciated body up as tenderly as a baby’s to allow him to get it down. 

As they worked through the night in tandem, love flowed like a bubbling stream through the room.  It chased out despair and replaced it with a relentless hope that pulsated in the air.  Carrie could feel it; she knew the others could too.  She almost couldn’t believe she could look at Robert and feel such complete peace, but she couldn’t deny the reality flooding her heart.

“He’s going to be alright,” Rose whispered.

Carrie looked up and drew even more hope from the strong light she saw burning in Rose’s eyes.  “I believe you’re right,” she said softly, laying her hand on Robert’s forehead, happy his breathing was not so shallow, and his skin not so gray.

She had turned back to rinse out some more rags when she heard the bed creak from Robert’s movement.  She spun around, gasping when she saw his eyes were open.  Blurred with confusion, they swept the room until they landed on Carrie. 

“Carrie…” he whispered hoarsely.

Carrie gave a glad cry and sprang to the side of the bed.  “Robert!”  She felt his confusion and weakness.  Laying her hand on his cheek, she stroked it gently.  “You’re home, sweetheart.  You’re
home
.”

Robert’s eyes cleared a little more.  “Home?”  Then his eyes lit with a weak hope. “Oak Meadows?”

Carrie’s heart sank.  “No,” she replied softly.  “You’re here in Richmond.”

She bit back her groan when he turned confused eyes on her.  He had no idea where he was.  “It doesn’t matter,” she said, stroking his cheek. “The only thing that’s important right now is that you get well.  You’ve been very sick.”

Robert continued to stare at her.  “The war is over,” he mumbled.  “We lost.”

Carrie controlled the unreasonable desire to laugh hysterically.  She was wise enough to know the stress was exacting a toll.  She felt Aunt Abby’s hand settle on her shoulder and drew the strength she needed to say calmly,  “Yes, it’s over, Robert.  You don’t have to fight again.”

Robert’s eyes burned into her own, and then he sighed.  “Good.” 

Moments later he was sound asleep. 

Carrie straightened and pulled the covers over his body.  “He needs sleep now,” she said.  “He’ll sleep through the night.  Rest will help him more than anything.”  She looked at the exhausted faces surrounding her.  “Let’s go tell everyone the news.”

The parlor was full of anxious faces when they arrived.  Carrie had a brief thought that Matthew was going to lose his job if he continued to spend every moment at the house, but she was too grateful for his support to encourage him to do anything else. 

“Robert will get better,” she said firmly, catching the look Rose and Janie exchanged.  “He’s a little confused right now, but that is the result of the fever.  I’ve seen it in patient after patient.  Now that the fever is gone, he’ll have a chance to regain his strength.  There were things that swirled through his mind during the fever that seem more real right now than reality does.  That will go away fairly quickly.”

“What does he need?” Matthew asked.

“Quiet,” she said firmly.  “The only things that will help him are rest and good food.”

Matthew opened his mouth to ask another question, but closed it again.  Carrie knew what was on his mind.  “I don’t know if he’ll come back to his full strength,” she admitted reluctantly.  “He’s been sick for a long time.  The body can only take so much.”  Then she shook her head.  “There is also a good chance he will be the Robert we knew, Matthew.  I’m going to believe in that outcome,” she finished firmly.

May was standing to the side quietly.  “The garden be coming on real good now,” she said. “He’ll get lots of good food.”

“Yes, it is,” Carrie agreed, but continued speaking, not even realizing she had made a decision sometime during the long night.  “I’m going to take Robert out to the plantation as soon as he can travel.  It will be the best place for him to get well.”  She despised herself for even thinking that she was about to repeat the same experience she had with her mother; walking away from the chance to pursue medical school to care for someone else who was sick.  What kind of doctor would she ever be if she didn’t put her patients first – especially the husband she loved with all her heart?  She hoped no one in the room could look inside her and see the selfishness lurking there.

“Besides,” she added, forcing a light note to her voice, “I promised Father I would be there when he got back – that I would take care of things until he could return.”

“Moses and I are going with you,” Rose said firmly.

Carrie spun around to look at her. “What? You can’t…”

“You’re going to need help,” Rose said firmly.  “None of us will be on the plantation for a long time, but it’s where we’re going to be until your father returns and until Robert is well. The country will need time to settle down before any more decisions are made.”

Carrie wanted to protest further, was sure she probably should, but she couldn’t.  The idea of having Rose and Moses with her on the plantation was too wonderful to refuse.  She simply reached out and grasped Rose’s hand.

“Is now a good time to tell you I’m coming too?”

Carrie gasped.  “Aunt Abby…  What… How…?”

Aunt Abby laughed.  “Clearly you need me; you’re suddenly unable to complete a sentence.”  She stepped forward and took Carrie’s hand. 

Carrie’s head was spinning, but one thought suddenly broke through the confusion.  “I don’t even know if the plantation is still there!” she gasped, the realization striking her full force.  “There may be nowhere to go.”

“It’s still there, Carrie.”

Carrie’s head snapped up as Moses walked down the staircase.  “You’re supposed to be in bed for two more days,” she said sternly, happy beyond words to see him standing on his two feet again.  He looked weak, but he seemed fine.

“If I stay in that bed one more day I will go mad,” he replied.  “You said this morning the infection is clear and the wound is healing nicely.  I know I can’t do much for a while, but it doesn’t mean I can’t walk down a flight of stairs.”

The room broke into cheers as Moses walked easily into the room and sat down in her father’s wingback chair. 

Carrie smiled in defeat, and then remembered what he had said.  “You said the plantation is still there.  How could you possibly know that?”

“Captain Jones was by this morning.  He sent some of his men out there to check on it.”

“He did?”  Carrie was having as much trouble imagining a unit of soldiers being sent out to check on the plantation as she was believing it was still really there.  “He must really feel he owes you,” she murmured, trying to let the news settle in.

“Actually,” Moses responded, “he did this one for you.  He’s never forgotten the way you escaped the plantation on Granite.  He saved it from burning that time because of what you had done, and he wanted to know for himself if it was still standing.  He said to tell you he was glad.” 

Carrie could only stare at him, letting the knowledge the plantation had survived the war, when so many had been destroyed, sink into her mind.

“So, you see,” Aunt Abby teased, “I really do have a place to stay.”

“But your business,” Carrie protested.

“Pooh!  What is the point of employees if I can’t take some time off when I need to?  Rose is right that the country will need some time to settle down, and for the war to end on all fronts before I can do much to help down here.”

“I hate to miss the party,” Matthew said sadly, “but Peter and I have been called out of the city.  We’re leaving on the sixteenth.”
              “Just two more days?”  Aunt Abby walked over to take his hand.  “This time has been so wonderful; like an oasis in the middle of a barren four year desert.  I don’t want it to end.”

“Clifford and I are leaving for Raleigh in a few days,” Janie added, her voice thick with emotion.

Carrie stiffened and turned to her friend, tears filling her eyes.  She had known this time was coming, but knowing it didn’t make it any easier.  “Janie…” she whispered, walking over and wrapping her in her arms.

“Don’t you start crying,” Janie whispered fiercely.  “I’m not gone yet.”

Carrie just stared at her, knowing she had no clue how to say good-bye to the friend who had saved her and become her sister during the last four years. 

Aunt Abby moved between them and wrapped an arm around each waist.  “You girls have forged a bond nothing will ever break,” she said softly.  “You may be separated by distance, but nothing will ever break the connection.”

Carrie knew that was true.  Wasn’t she experiencing that truth with Rose and Aunt Abby right now?  She took a deep breath and nodded.

“As long as everyone is revealing their plans, I suppose I should ask if there is room for me at the plantation, too,” Jeremy said casually.

“The plantation? You’re coming, too?”  The swing of emotions from loss to excitement was almost more than Carrie could bear.

“I figure it’s time to discover the place I was born,” Jeremy said easily.  “Besides, I haven’t spent enough time with my twin yet.  If she and Moses are going, I guess I am, too.”

Rose gave a glad cry and sprang into Jeremy’s arms. 
              Carrie laughed.  “You didn’t know?”

Rose shook her head.  “It’s as much a surprise to me as it is to you.”

Carrie looked over at Hobbs.  “Are you going home to West Virginia?”

Hobbs nodded solemnly.  “I got a letter from my folks yesterday.  My dog is waiting to go hunting.”

Laughter lightened the atmosphere in the room.

Carrie wasn’t done, however.  She looked at Miles and May standing to the side.  “What about you two?”

Miles shrugged.  “We like working for your daddy.  If he got enough money to hire us when he gets back, both of us would like that.  We done talked about it.”

“I don’t know my father’s plans,” Carrie said hesitantly, thinking of his lost fortune and not knowing how far the gold hidden upstairs would take him.  “I know he plans on going back to the plantation.”

“Yes’sum, I know everything be real mixed up right now,” Miles agreed calmly.  “But as long as he owns this house somebody gonna need to care for it.  We got a good garden and a place to sleep.  That’s more than most have.  It’s enough for right now.  We’ll see what happens when things settle down.”

A sudden knock on the door startled them all.  Who was visiting at two in the morning?  Miles moved quickly to open it, obviously ready to scold whoever was disturbing them.  When he opened it no one was there.

“Who be out there?” he demanded.

“I need to see Carrie Borden,” came a hushed voice from the shadows. 

Jeremy and Matthew stepped forward.  “Who are you?  Why are you here at this time of night?” Jeremy snapped.

Carrie stepped forward.  “It’s alright,” she insisted.  “Who could hurt me with all of you here?  Who would even think of trying?”  She eased out onto the porch.  “I’m Mrs. Borden.  What can I do for you?”

“I’ve got a letter for you from your father,” the shadow replied as he pressed an envelope in her hand, jumped from the porch and disappeared into the darkness.