Whispers from the Shadows (40 page)

Twenty-Nine

S
moke drifted thick through the air, black and roiling, burning Arthur's nose as he looked around at the collection of buildings that had once been whole but were now little more than rubble. Though from the looks of it, Washington City had not been much to begin with.
This
was the capital, the heart of a nation? He shook his head and nudged his mount to the right. “You are certain Baltimore is safe?”

His friend and former superior smiled and pulled his horse to a halt. “As safe as any town could be to you when burgeoning with panicked Americans. You really think Fairchild's daughter may be there?”

Arthur shot a glance to Gates. Though he trusted General Ross
with his very life and had fought directly under him in the past, it had not been his decision to share their reason for seeking information on Baltimore, and he was still unsure as to why Gates had done so. But the man looked as unflappable as ever, so Arthur shrugged. “If she is in this country, it is the most likely place to find her.”

Ross nodded and scanned a row of smoldering buildings. “Cochrane and Cockburn and I have yet to discuss our next point of attack, but Baltimore is the likely target. We have received word that the Potomac is grossly unprotected, and their own newspapers are reporting the sad state of their defenses. But you will have several days to get in and out before we would march in that direction. We—”

An enormous
boom
cut him off, and Ross muttered a curse as he spurred his horse in its direction. Arthur signaled Gates and Scrubs to keep up as he followed the general outside city limits, heading toward the fort at what they had recently learned was Greenleaf Point. All along the way they heard exhausted soldiers asking in a panic if the fighting had resumed, but Ross made them no reply.

“General!” A colonel galloped their way, his face smudged with soot and one cuff singed.

Ross pulled up. “What is it, Calcott?”

“The gunpowder you instructed us to destroy…the well must not have had enough water to cover the barrels we tossed down it…someone threw in a cigar stub…” He paused to take a breath. “A score are dead or wounded, sir.”

As if howling in protest of the tragedy, the wind screamed over them. Thunder roared and a crack of light split the air, momentarily blinding Arthur. The lightning hit a tree nearby that creaked and groaned and crashed its way to the ground across the road.

Their horses reared, whinnied, and tried to turn and flee. Arthur glanced at Scrubs, who surveyed the coming fury with what looked like a satisfied smile, and Gates, who eyed the churning clouds with far more sobriety.

“I think,” Gates said, loudly to be heard over the wind, “that we are not going anywhere today. We had better find shelter.”

With huge drops of rain pelting his shoulders, Arthur had no recourse but to agree.

Music nearly drowned out the din from the storm, but
occasionally a deluge of rain would overpower the fiddle and whistle, or a rumble of thunder would shake the whole house. In those moments Thad had glanced out the window at the tree limbs littering the street and the debris gusting by and whispered a prayer for safety and protection for their homes. Then he had spun Gwyneth into his arms again for another dance.

His wife. He had been smiling so much this afternoon that he would likely strain a cheek muscle, but it couldn't be helped. The woman who owned his heart had agreed to marry him and pledged herself to him before as much of Baltimore as could squeeze into his house, and she was even now watching him from across the room with joyful eyes.

When he had married Peggy, it had been a quiet, somber affair. Just his family and one of her friends, a private ceremony, a small supper. This was more like her wedding to Arnaud had been. What a wedding
ought
to be. Pure, unbridled hope with no ghosts haunting it.

Arnaud stepped up beside him now, slapping a hand to his back. “Did General Smith grant you time off for a honeymoon?”

From his other side, Smith snorted. “If only we could afford such leisure. He may stay at home with his beautiful bride as long as this storm rages, but once it is gone, we have much work to do.”

“I know.” Still Thad grinned. His next days and weeks might be filled with drilling, digging, and fortifying, but he would come home each evening to Gwyneth. Able to take her in his arms whenever he pleased. To hold her and be held.

“I have special work for you two.” Smith turned to face them, his countenance empty of anything but casual well wishing. “You must drill with everyone else, of course, but rather than dig, I need you to organize support from the local businessmen. We need, above all, capital. The state has little to give us, so go to the bankers, the merchants, and anyone else with sterling to spare. With Washington in ruins, I expect an outcry that will bring volunteers here in droves. We need farmers and bakers willing to feed them. Townsfolk to house them. Our every effort, our every focus must be on readying this city for the British arrival.”

Thad felt a soft touch on his back, and Gwyneth slipped under his arm, resting against his side. “We can all help with that, sir. Encouraging the people to share what they have with those who will be flooding the city. Thad's mother was saying how we would do our
part while the men are drilling by organizing food and shelter. And, of course, Rosie intends to have our kitchen working at its capacity.”

“How fortunate she taught you to cook.” Thad grinned at his bride and gave her a squeeze. She looked beautiful in her best dress, with her hair so carefully arranged, but he had to be honest. 'Twas that light of beneficence in her eyes, the determination to help others, that made her radiant.

And the way she looked up at him with that expectant warmth didn't hurt either.

“Your assistance will be much appreciated, Mrs. Lane. If all greet our efforts with such enthusiasm, then Baltimore will soon be a bastion of safety.” The general smiled as he bowed slightly at the waist. “Allow me to say that Thaddeus has found himself a jewel of a wife, with a spirit as lovely as her countenance.”

“Thank you, General.” Her cheeks flushed a perfect pink at the compliment.

Arnaud caught Thad's gaze and winked, nodding at the window. “It looks as though we are in a lull. I had best get Jack home before the next round hits.”

Thad made no argument, especially when the majority of his friends and neighbors followed suit. Within fifteen minutes the house was empty of all but those who had offered to help clean up. He knew Mother and Philly would be stealing Gwyneth away any moment to help her take the pins from her hair and change out of her dress, and his pulse thudded. But he would steal her himself for a moment first. While the others were saying their farewells to the mayor and his wife, Thad tugged her into his study and shut the door behind them.

She laughed as he swept her into his arms. “Why, Mr. Lane. There are still neighbors who needed a goodbye.”

“They will understand, Mrs. Lane.” He kissed her soundly, as he had been wanting to do all afternoon, until a gust of wind tore by with such force that it sounded as though the window might be pushed from its frame.

Gwyneth held tight to him, her face toward the shuddering glass. “Are your summers always so stormy?”

“Some years are worse than others. It seems that the higher the heat, the more we see. And, of course, hurricanes strike us occasionally, though not as often as in the southern states. Perhaps this is the edge of one.” He stroked a hand down her back and then up
again to where her hair so often tumbled down, though today none had dared escape Mother and Philly's careful arrangement. “Not exactly the sunshine you likely envisioned for your wedding day, hmm?”

“Stop it.” She pulled his head down to place the caress of a kiss upon his lips. “I would have it no other way. I married
you
, which is all that matters. In God's time, according to His plan. And if He feels we need a storm to sweep us into our life together, then so be it.”

That was his Miranda, straight from
The Tempest
. Though when a bolt of lightning hit somewhere nearby, the crack deafening, she jumped and all but melted into him. Apparently even Miranda had a limit to what she appreciated in a storm. “You were saying?”

Chuckling, she tilted her head back to look at him. “So it is a bit fiercer than to what I am accustomed. I still cannot regret it, especially since with all the havoc it is wreaking on the trees, it will slow the army's progress if they intend to march this direction.”

“How very true.”

“And if I am a trifle unsettled by it, I have no doubt I will still sleep better tonight than I have in years. In your arms.” A blush stained her cheeks, but she held his gaze, absolute trust and love and expectation in her Caribbean eyes.

He could hardly resist trying to tease out an even brighter blush. “You think I intend to let you sleep, do you?”

Indeed the pink deepened, but she grinned. “I daresay you shall have to at some point, my love. You were out all night and have a full day of work ahead of you tomorrow.”

Was it only this morning he had ridden home with Arnaud after verifying the defeat at Bladensburg, the destruction of Washington? Only this morning he had asked her to be his for all time? He touched the pearls resting just beneath her collarbone. “I cannot know what the future holds, sweet, but know this. Whether we have five days or fifty years as man and wife, I promise you will never, for even a moment, regret marrying me. You are the most amazing blessing the Lord has ever sent me, and I will cherish you always.”

She caught his hand and gripped it. And though moisture gleamed in her eyes, the turn of her lips was brave. “And I you. May it be fifty years and beyond, Thad. Only a lifetime would be enough.”

He could promise her devotion for the rest of his life, but he could only pray that would outlast the war.

Gwyneth stretched, blinked open her eyes to the soft light of early morning, and decided that if there were a more pleasant way to awake than to a kiss from one's beloved, she had certainly never discovered it. She smiled at Thad, who sat beside her, already dressed.

And beautifully so. She reached out to smooth a hand over the braid of his blue jacket. “My, look at you. I had no idea I so appreciated a man in uniform.” Yesterday they had been out from dawn to dusk, clearing away storm damage. This morning, though, he must drill with all the other men of Baltimore, and apparently they all insisted on looking the part.

Chuckling, he took her hand and kissed it. “Loath as I was to wake you, I did not want to leave without telling you goodbye. Do you still want to meet me after my drills to canvas businesses for donations?”

“Of course. Ten o'clock?”

“At the bank on Lexington Street, yes.” He brushed away a curl that had escaped her braid, leaned down, and kissed her again.

Yes, this was the way a day ought to begin. She wrapped her arms around him and held fast, even though she knew he must be away in a matter of minutes. They might as well make those minutes count.

When he pulled away, it was with a groan. “Blast this war for taking me from you for even a few hours. When it is all over, sweet, we are taking a trip. One where we can laze the day away in each other's arms if we so please, and go out only when we feel the desire.”

A happy thought, but not their reality yet. She smiled and kissed him once more. “I shall hold you to that. And now I will shoo you out the door before you are late for reveille.”

He stroked his thumb over her cheek and then stood. “Can I get you anything before I leave? A cup of tea?”

“You haven't the time for that.” She smiled and scooted up to a sitting position, fluffing her pillow behind her. “Though if you would hand me my Bible, I would appreciate it.”

He looked around his—their—chamber, which had yet to be put to rights after they transferred all her belongings into it. “And that would be…?”