Chapter 7

When Corporal Smith arrived at the front door of her lodging at first light and said the men wouldn’t be at the chapel today, Adeline had stifled a sigh of relief. The men were tasked with other duties today, ones Corporal Smith clearly wasn’t happy about. She kept her expression neutral to hide that she was grateful for a day off after teaching for almost a month straight. Not that she minded teaching. But having the day off would give her time to do what she came to do.

Today she would take another step toward accomplishing her goal.

Several of the free blacks in the freedman’s village had spoken well of Chaplain Thomas. She had learned that he sometimes came down and held services for them in one of their small huts. They also informed her that he helped runaways who joined the Union lines at Fort Ward.

She arrived at the gate of the fort, and her heart sank when she saw the guardhouse. Would they let her in? She hadn’t actually been here since the first day she arrived. Because of the chapel’s location, there was no need to come through the front gate. She smiled sweetly at the guard. “My name is Miss Barris, and I was wondering if I could speak to the chaplain.”

The guard didn’t even acknowledge her with the courtesy of a look. “Do you have an escort?”

She considered telling him that she and the Hunters were allowed in a few weeks ago, but held her tongue. “I’m teaching some of the colored soldiers to read.”

That got the guard’s attention. “Now that’s a waste of time. Everybody knows they are too dumb to learn.”

Heat crept up her neck. “Sir, I—”

A hand touched her on the shoulder. She turned to find Corporal Smith standing behind her. “Private, she’s with me.”

The guard straightened a little, his face broadcasting that he didn’t appreciate giving deference to a colored corporal. “Yes, sir.” His answer held none of the respect she heard from Corporal Smith’s men.

Corporal Smith led her through the gate. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I wanted to speak to Chaplain Thomas.”

Corporal Smith glanced at her over his shoulder. “Come to complain about me to the chaplain?”

Even though his words were in his normal blunt tone, she heard something else in them. Fear. He couldn’t be afraid of her. “What if I was?”

He slowed down to walk next to her. “He’s already on your side.”

She laughed before she could stop herself. “My side?” Did the corporal think he was at war with her?

“He wants the men to learn to read. No need to go in and give him a tongue-lashing like you did with me.”

“I did no such thing. You are exaggerating.”

He peered down at her from under his cap, one eyebrow raised. His eyes were a warm brown. An inviting place to get lost.

She swallowed, her next words vanishing from her mind. “I—um—”

The corner of his mouth tugged up in the most glorious half smile. Even his eyes brightened. “I’m what?” His voice dipped.

Her heart did a flip in her chest. “A distraction.” That word cleared the haze that his smile had caused in her mind. She pushed past him and headed for the chaplain’s tent.

“Have a good day, Miss Barris,” he called from behind her.

She watched Corporal Smith walk across the field where his men stood in a cluster. When he reached them, his posture stiffened and the men fell into formation. Adeline sighed. Every day the same thing and he couldn’t even see the impact it was having on his troops’ morale. Why was he so hard-driving with no consideration for how his men felt? She understood that constant drilling was a part of their duties, but she didn’t see the other soldiers on the fort drilling as much as Corporal Smith’s men did.

Adeline directed her steps to Chaplain Thomas’s hut. The door was open and she could see him intently studying a book on his desk.

She cleared her throat. “Good morning, Chaplain Thomas.”

He looked up and smiled. “Miss Barris. Come in,” he said, standing. “How are the lessons going?”

“Well, and the chapel is the perfect place.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” Chaplain Thomas motioned for her to sit in one of the chairs in front of his desk.

She tried to still her nerves. “I wanted to ask you about a nearby plantation.”

He returned to his seat. “Which one?”

“Ashton Place.” Saying the name brought a flood of unpleasant memories. The coolness of the night as she followed Papa through a bank of trees, willing her feet not to make a sound. Her confusion over why he was leaving.

“Seems like I heard about it.” He reached back and picked up a weathered notebook. “I keep a record of which plantations slaves run from. I heard that some of the abolitionists in the North do the same, and I thought it was a good practice.”

Adeline leaned forward. “Do you keep the names of the slaves too?”

“Sometimes, when I can get them to share their names. Many of them won’t tell me for fear that I’ll turn them over. Also, most runaways continue running, to get as far north as they can.” He returned to the journal. “I don’t have a record of anyone from that plantation. I do know that Union solders burned several plantations near here to the ground to make them unusable for the South.”

Burned to the ground. The words hit her like a fist, knocking the wind from her. “Would the runaways have come here for help?”

“It’s possible, but if the Confederate soldiers found them first, they would have been taken as slaves or leverage in prisoner exchanges.”

She pressed her hand over her mouth. What if Mama and Michael were taken or … She let out a soft sob.

He returned his attention to her. “Miss Barris, are you all right?”

She dropped her head so he wouldn’t see the tears in her eyes before she could regain her composure. “Yes, I—I knew slaves from Ashton Place Plantation.”

“I’m very sorry I can’t give you better news.”

She managed to smile over the roiling fear in her stomach. Answers about her family might be right in the village where she was staying, or two states away. The latter was a scenario she hadn’t considered when she jumped aboard the Hunters’ wagon. She thought they would still be where she left them. Once again her impulsiveness had gotten her into trouble. “Thank you.”

“I pray God will help you.”

If she was going to do this, she would make sure God wouldn’t have to save her from the mess she made. The thought of crying out to Him, shedding tears until He directed her to her family, was so appealing, but she couldn’t. God should not have to fix what she had done wrong.

The inspection was in two days.

No matter how hard Elim tried to sit still, he found himself fidgeting. The men were doing well with their reading, but they still needed polishing when it came to the drilling. He needed every second he could get to drill them.

He shifted again, and Adeline looked over at him from where she was helping Private Chase. Once she was done, she came to him. “Are you all right?”

“How long is this lesson going to take?” The question came out tighter than he intended.

Adeline took a shuffling step backward. “The same amount of time they’ve always taken. You know that.”

He frowned at her. “The men are doing better. I think we should shorten the time for the next couple of days.”

She sighed and lowered her voice. “I told you that this constant drilling is excessive. And now you’re trying to take away the one escape they do have.”

“And I told you that I don’t need you to tell me how to lead my men.”

She turned away from him. “I wouldn’t call what you’re doing leading.” She spoke the words like she was talking to herself, but he heard them loud and clear.

He stepped around her and glared down at her. “Excuse me?”

She placed a hand to his chest and pushed, causing him to step back. “I am not one of your soldiers. I said you are not leading the men. You’re worrying them. Have you noticed how many of them are exhausted? It’s from your constant drilling. You are constantly reminding them that they are not good enough”

Elim squirmed. He hadn’t noticed they were exhausted, but now that he thought about it, they had been sluggish the past couple of days. “That’s because they are not good enough.”

“Would it kill you to give them some praise? Some encouragement?”

“Like you? They are facing harder things than a page of writing. I need to prepare them for what’s ahead.”

She looked as though she was ready to go to battle against him. “Let’s see. You’re teaching them to drill, but they are not making progress. I’m teaching them to read with all my praise and encouragement, and they are. Whose methods are more effective?”

“This is not a game, Miss Barris,” he ground out. “If these men aren’t ready in a few days, the squad will be disbanded and they’ll be digging trenches for the rest of the war.”

His voice boomed around the chapel and he realized that all movement behind him had stopped. He turned to find the men hanging on every word.

“We’re going to be disbanded?” Private Howard asked.

All his fight evaporated. “Major MacDonald gave me a month to get you all in shape before he disbands us. He is doing an inspection in two days.”

There was a rumble around the room.

Adeline stepped around him. “Gentlemen, there is no need to despair. You have mastered something amazing. You’ve learned to read and write in under a month’s time. You’ve even read from your manuals. You can pass this drill.”

Although she was addressing the men, her words zinged straight to his heart. She believed in the men, and he didn’t. He was preparing himself for them to fail. She was right. He wasn’t doing a good job of leading.

“Put away your books and get your drilling manuals,” she said with a sweep of her skirts as she turned toward the door. “We’re going to practice both reading and drilling.”

The men moved with more speed than he’d ever seen them with the instruction to drill. She’s right. They followed her out the door with haste. When Elim passed her, she grabbed his arm. “You should have told me. Told them.” There was nothing but compassion in her eyes.

“I know.”

“Come. Let’s get your men ready for inspection.”

For the remainder of their time, Elim drilled the men. At first, Adeline stood observing. Then she joined him. When the men missed a command, she would give them the instruction in a different way. Or she would refer them to their manuals and encourage them to ask questions. She even gave Elim suggestions on how to phrase things differently. At one point, she gathered the men in a circle around him and told him to perform the commands. Things he’d never thought to do.

The sun was hot by the time they stopped. Adeline stood in front of the men. “Okay, let’s try one last time.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Private Chase said with a laugh.

Adeline stood before his troops like she was in command, a sight that sent a swell of emotion through him. She looked over her shoulder and gave him a pointed look. “Come command your men.”

He shot her a wry look. “I thought you were in charge.”

As he led the men through one last drill, the improvement was evident. He could attribute it to the fact that they now understood the urgency of what they were doing. But he knew it was due to the beautiful woman standing at his side.

When the sun got too hot, Elim ended the drill. This time, instead of hearing a sigh of relief, the men offered to keep going. Elim looked at Miss Barris. She looked wilted like a flower.

“No, that’s enough for today.”

They fell back into their normal routine and went into the chapel to collect the rest of their materials, leaving Elim alone with Adeline.

He cleared his throat as she swiped her forehead. “Adeline.” At the sound of her Christian name, she turned with a look of surprise on her face. “Yes?”

He took a step closer. “Thank you.”

She dropped her arms and laughed. “Your heart is showing again.”

He inched a little closer. “What if it is?”

Her eyes grew wide. “Then I think you should be careful.”

She was right. He was being reckless, but couldn’t he be once in his life? After all, she had hugged him. “What if I’m not?”

She opened her mouth to respond as the men filed out the chapel. She took a long step back. “See you tomorrow.” She darted from him to the chapel.

He was still watching her when the men caught up.

Holt was beaming. “We’re going to pass, sir. I just know it.”

Douglas folded his arms. “Only after we drill you a little more. Maybe Miss Adeline can give you extra help.”

The group laughed. “Let’s go,” Elim said, glancing once more at the chapel door. Adeline didn’t come out.

“Maybe getting Miss Adeline to help me might make me better,” Holt said. “She’s made everyone better.”

Including me.

“I sure hope she finds her family,” Private Douglas said.

Elim froze. “Her family?”

“Yes, sir. I heard her asking people about the plantation she ran from. I’m sure she was lookin’ for her family.”

The revelation sent a cold shiver washing over him. All this time, and she’d never said a word. She listened to all his bellyaching about drilling while she dealt with that level of heartbreak.

How did she manage to stay cheerful under such a heavy weight of pain? He would make sure to talk to her tomorrow. Maybe he could find a way to help.