Why, it’s you—Miss Jolie, isn’t it?”
Jolie had come into Fredericksburg without Morgan for the first time. She was determined to buy a gift for Morgan, since he had given her Rowena and her saddle. She was peering into the window of a tailor’s shop when she heard her name called.
She turned and saw a Confederate officer coming toward her. “Why, Colonel Seaforth, it’s good to see you.”
At Bull Run, Colonel Seaforth’s two boys, Edward and Billy, had been wounded, and they were two of the men that Amon had loaded up into the wagon and brought to Rapidan Run. Colonel Seaforth had come by to thank them all for taking such good care of his sons. “It’s good to see you, too, Miss Jolie.”
Jolie saw that the colonel’s face was marked with strain, and she knew at once that something was wrong. “Is something troubling you, colonel?” she asked quietly.
“I’m afraid it is. My youngest boy, Billy. He was wounded in action three days ago.”
“Not seriously I hope.”
Seaforth dropped his eyes and stared at the ground as if he was trying to find exactly the right words, and finally when he raised his head, misery was in his eyes. “It’s very serious, Miss Jolie. He’s here, at the hospital.”
“Where is he wounded?”
“It’s a stomach wound.”
Jolie did not answer for a moment for an alarm sounded in her spirit. She had heard enough talk about wounds to know that a stomach wound was almost always fatal. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I’d like to go see him. Do you think that would be all right?”
“Oh, yes. He needs somebody to cheer him up. His mother is here, and we take turns, but my wife isn’t too well, and this has just almost killed her.”
“What about Edward?”
“Oh, he’s fine. He’s off at Chattanooga right now with his unit, so he can’t be here. Could you come now, do you think?”
“Why, of course I could, Colonel. My friend Amon is just down the street, waiting for me with the wagon. Let me go talk to him.” She went and told Amon, “I’m going to go to the hospital to visit Billy Seaforth. You remember him? He’s wounded again, and it sounds serious this time.”
Amon nodded. “I know where the hospital is, Miss Jolie. I’ll take you and wait.”
Jolie climbed up into the wagon, and Colonel Seaforth paced his horse alongside. He was silent, and Jolie knew that this was indeed likely to be a trying visit.
Colonel Seaforth pulled his horse up in front of the hospital. “If you’ll go on in, Miss Jolie, I’ll go hitch up my horse and show your man where to park the wagon.”
Jolie went inside and was shocked by the odor. The place was a beehive of activity, with doctors and nurses scurrying from one patient to the other. Colonel Seaforth joined her, and Jolie said, “Why, there are some patients out in the hall, Colonel.”
“It’s that way in every hospital in Virginia,” he said sadly. “I wish we could have gotten Billy a room, but there’s no such thing anymore.”
They made their way through the hospital until finally they arrived at a corridor divided off into wards. “Right in here, Miss Jolie,” Seaforth said. They went inside, and Colonel Seaforth led her through the maze of beds. He stopped and said to the woman sitting beside a soldier, “Amy, this is Miss Jolie DeForge. You remember, she took care of Billy and Edward when they were wounded. This is my wife, Amy.”
“I’m so sorry about Billy, Mrs. Seaforth,” Jolie said. Her eyes went to the figure of the young man on the bed. She was shocked at the pallor of his face. He had a sheet over him, but she could see that the blood had seeped out from under the bandages and stained the sheets underneath him.
Amy Seaforth looked up, her eyes filled with tears. She was a frail woman with silvery hair, and she looked thin and gaunt.
“You look absolutely exhausted, Mrs. Seaforth. Why don’t you go and get some rest, and you, too, Colonel. I’ll stay right here with Billy.”
Colonel Seaforth said with relief, “I’ve been trying to get her to do that. Come along, dear. Miss DeForge is a wonderful nurse.”
“All right. I do think I could rest a little,” she said.
“You take as long as you want,” Jolie said firmly. “I’ll be right here.”
The two left, and Jolie sat down beside Billy. His face was flushed, and she put her hand on his forehead. He’s got a fever. I need to bring that down if I can.
She’d had this problem when she’d taken care of the the wounded men. She knew that the only cure for fever was to take cool, wet cloths and bathe the body. She waited until an orderly went by and said, “I need to get some clean water and some cloths to try to bring this man’s fever down.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the orderly said. He had a harried look on his face and was carrying a filthy mop and a bucket. “You’ll have to see Mrs. Franklin for that.”
“Where will I find her?”
“That’s her right over there. See? The little woman.” He added with a grimace, “With the fussy look on her face.”
Jolie did not know the woman, but she found out that Mrs. Beverly Franklin had gone straight to Jefferson Davis and gotten a letter from him that said, “Mrs. Beverly Franklin will be in charge of Unit B. Medical personnel will give her full cooperation.” The physicians in charge resented her. The orderlies hated her. But she had given good service and had collected a group of women from town who helped her.
“Mrs. Franklin?”
“Yes, what is it?”
“My name is Jolie DeForge. I would like to try to bring Billy Seaforth’s fever down if I could. All I need would be some water and some cloths.”
Mrs. Franklin stared at her. “Are you a nurse?”
“No, not really, but I took care of Billy and his brother Edward when they were wounded before.”
“At the hospital?”
“No, ma’am, we took them home.”
Beverly Franklin’s voice was strained, and she was pale with exhaustion. “If you really want to take care of him and you have a place, then I suggest that you take him there.”
“Out of the hospital?”
“Look around you. You see how little personal care each man gets. We have to go from one to the other.” She hesitated and then added, “He’s gravely wounded. The doctors don’t offer much hope.”
Instantly Jolie made up her mind. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll bring my driver in, and if you can get some help, we’ll load him in the wagon. We’ll take good care of him at our house.”
“That would be best. I wish we had a place like that for all the seriously wounded. If you like, I’ll send a messenger to Colonel Seaforth to let him know that you’ve taken Billy to your home.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
Thirty minutes later Jolie was in the wagon. She had made a bed for Billy in the back, and instead of riding in the seat next to Amon, she sat down in the wagon bed and put his head in her lap. As they left the hospital, she leaned over and whispered, “Billy, you’re going home with us.”
“Who is this?” Billy muttered.
“It’s Jolie.”
“Jolie? You’re going to take care of me?”
“Yes, I am, Billy. Now you just lie still and rest. We’ll be at Rapidan Run soon.”
The sun was low in the sky when Amon pulled up in front of the ranch house.
Morgan came out at once and took one look at Jolie in the back holding the soldier’s head in her lap. “What’s this, Jolie?”
“It’s Billy, Billy Seaforth. He’s been badly wounded, Morgan. He wasn’t getting any care in the hospital, so I brought him home.”
“You did the right thing. Amon, we’ll put him in the spare room. Bed’s all made up. Will that be all right, Jolie?”
“Yes, if you’ll bring him in, I’ll get some cool water and some cloths. I need to bring his fever down.” She moved inside and told Evetta what she had done.
“That poor young man,” Evetta said. “You say he ain’t got much chance?”
“That’s what the doctors say, but I’m going to pray that he’ll be all right.” She got the cool water out of the well and several clean cloths. When she got to the room, she found that Amon and Morgan had put the young man in bed. She said, “I’ll take care of him now.”
“You let me know if you need any help, Miss Jolie,” Amon said and left the room.
Morgan stayed and looked down at the pale face. “Well, Billy,” he said, “are you awake?”
“Yes…yes, sir.”
“I’m sorry to see you like this, but we’ll do the best we can for you. You know what a good nurse Miss Jolie is.”
“Yes, sir, I know that.”
“I sent a message to your parents, Billy. They’ll be out as soon as your mother is rested up,” Jolie said.
“You’re too good to me, Miss Jolie.”
“Not a bit of it. Now, we’re going to get that fever down.”
Jolie arched her back for she was tired. Billy had grown worse in the two days he had been there. His parents had moved in to the house. She had grown to love Mrs. Seaforth, and it hurt her to see how the parents were suffering.
She looked out the window and saw that the moon was high in the sky, a silver ball that casts its beam down on the earth. She went over to look out the window and tried to pray, but it seemed she had prayed herself out. The whole household seemed to be quiet in a strange sort of way, as if the wound of the young man had infected them all.
It was half an hour later when she heard Billy crying out in a feeble tone. Quickly she went to him and said, “What is it, Billy?”
“I don’t know. I feel…” He could not say any more.
Jolie felt his pulse. It was rapid and irregular, and this frightened her. Several times she called his name softly, but he did not respond. Quickly she left the room and went to knock on the door where his parents were. “Colonel Seaforth, Miss Amy, you’d better come.”
The colonel opened the door, pulling on a dressing gown. Behind him, Amy said fearfully, “Is it Billy? Is he worse?”
“I think so. I didn’t know what to do, but I think you should be there.”
They hurried down the hall to Billy’s room.
Morgan stepped out of his bedroom and asked, “Is Billy worse?”
“I think he’s dying.”
Morgan bit his lower lip. “Poor boy. I wish we could do more for him, but you’ve done all you could, Jolie. If he passes on, you won’t have a thing to reproach yourself for.”
Jolie said, “Maybe so, but I still feel so helpless.”
“So do I. This is the worst of war. So many young boys rode out with high hopes and excited about being in a war, being soldiers, and so many of them have died.”
Finally they crept inside Billy’s room and hovered just inside the door.
Amy was weeping already, and Colonel Seaforth was standing straight, as if he were before a firing squad.
The minutes passed slowly, and then Billy opened his eyes. He cried out, “Mother, is it you?”
“It’s me, Billy.”
“I’m glad you got here.” He turned to face his father and said, “Sir, I hope I’ve been a good son.”
“The best son in the world, Billy. The very best.” Colonel Seaforth’s voice was husky, and it broke at the last.
“Thank you, Father. Tell Edward I love him and…tell him…good-bye….” His voice faded. He took a deep breath, but he did not seem to expel it.
Colonel Seaforth moved around the bed, leaned forward, and kissed his son’s forehead. “Good-bye, Billy,” he whispered.
Amy Seaforth fell on her son and held him as best she could.
Morgan turned to leave the room, and Jolie followed, knowing she couldn’t possibly help the Seaforths in the depths of their grief. When she and Morgan were in the hall, Jolie said, “I can’t help crying.”
Morgan said, “I could cry myself. Maybe I will.” But he didn’t.
Jolie knew he was trying to be strong for her.
The rest of the saga was simple. The Seaforths arranged to take the body of their son away, and as they were leaving, they told Jolie and Morgan when the service would be.
Jolie watched the family leave, and sadness gripped her heart.
Morgan did not speak except to say, “We’d better get some rest.”
Jolie nodded and retired to her room. She had learned to love Billy Seaforth, as if he were her brother. It was a completely new feeling, and it overwhelmed her.
Jolie finally went to bed and cried herself to sleep.
It had been a week since Billy’s funeral, and Jolie had been very aware that Morgan was brooding. His morning rides were getting longer and longer, and when he returned he was unusually silent.
He came back from one of those rides and found her in the stables, currying Rowena. He dismounted and walked over to her.
She saw that there was determination on his face. “What is it, Morgan? You’ve been so troubled, I know it.”
“Jolie, I can’t let other men fight for me and for my land. It’s time. I have to join the army.”
Fear came to Jolie then. “I was so hoping that this day would never come,” she said miserably. “I wish you never had to leave me.”
“You’re a sweet girl, Jolie.” He put his arms around her and held her. She knew that it was the action of a man not with romantic overtones but simply with the desire to comfort her.
Desperately she clung to him and thought, I love him so much, and he doesn’t know it and probably never will.
He released her.
She reluctantly stepped back and asked, “When will you go?”
“Going to leave tomorrow. I’ve got to get this thing done.”
“We’ll wait for you to come back, and we’ll believe that you will.”
Morgan smiled at her. “You’re strong, Jolie. I’m proud of you. I always will be.”