Chapter 12

The map in front of her kept blurring. How she had gotten to her lodgings from the fort after she’d left Elim, she didn’t know.

Elim who loved her and who said he would marry her today.

She sniffed and focused on the map she’d borrowed from Millie. She needed to find out how far Milton Farm was from the fort. Then she would have to figure out how she was going to get there. The map showed both roads and train tracks. It looked like Milton Farm was a day’s walk from here.

A new problem presented itself. It had been a long time since she’d traveled under the cover of night and on foot, but she could relearn it. That would be the easy part. Free or no, there was no way she could travel alone to Milton Farm. She’d heard enough stories about slave catchers prowling about in the woods capturing any colored person they came across.

She folded the map and tucked it into a book sitting on her desk before she went down to breakfast. The Hunters were already seated at the table. Mrs. Hunter looked up from her tea. “Are you going up to the fort today?”

Her heart lurched. “No, and I don’t think I will be going back. All of the men know how to read now.” At least she could be proud of that accomplishment.

“Just as well. I don’t think the men are going to be there much longer. I heard through some of the people in The Bottom that the fort is mobilizing to North Bend. Some of the coloreds are going with them to work as cooks, laundresses, and teamsters.”

Adeline’s head snapped up, the answer to her problem presented right over breakfast. According to the map, North Bend was less than a mile from Milton Farm. She looked back down at her plate to hide her excitement. She would take work as a cook and go with the soldiers. She would go up to the fort…. Her thought screeched to a halt. Elim would be going to North Bend too. She would have to be extra careful not to be seen until she got to Milton Farm. That wasn’t impossible if he and his men had duties to keep them busy.

She rose from her chair. “I think I will go up to the fort today, but not for long.”

She slipped out the front door as fast as she could without running.

She came to the front gate and crossed the field, pausing only to check to see if Elim and his men were drilling there. When she saw the coast was clear, she rushed to Chaplain Thomas’s hut. He was coming out and closing the door behind him. “Miss Barris.”

“Chaplain, I heard that the fort was hiring cooks to travel with some battalions here.”

He nodded. “They are.” He eyed her.

“I was thinking about inquiring about a position.”

“I thought you were teaching the men.”

Another stab of pain. “They are well on their way and don’t need me anymore. This is an opportunity to make a little money.” That was mostly true. Once she found Mama and Michael, she’d need more money than she had to get them passage to Philadelphia.

“If you’re serious, you can talk to Miss Eve. She’s in charge of the cooks.”

Adeline caught herself smiling harder than she should at being a cook, especially with all the hard work it entailed. She tempered her smile. “Thank you.”

Miss Eve turned out to be a stout, no-nonsense woman who, after questioning Adeline’s small frame, hired her on as a cook. “We leavin’ in the morning. Be here tomorrow morning before the sun. We got to feed these men before they leave.”

Adeline nodded, fighting a grin. This was the most movement she’d had in her search. In a day’s time, she would be on her way to North Bend and to Milton Farm. To find her family. And she had done all this without being spotted by Elim.

She was so lost in thought that she bumped into someone as she turned to go.

She looked up to find August, Elim’s brother, staring down at her. “Good morning, Miss Adeline.”

She stood taller. “Good morning.”

“Are you here to see Elim?”

Adeline’s mouth went dry and no amount of swallowing could moisten it. “No, I had other business.”

August looked over her shoulder and then back at her. “Should I give him a message for you?”

Elim had said that August was his brother, and it was never more evident than now, with the way August was reading her like a primer. “Ah, no. I’m sure he’s busy.”

“We’re mobilizing soon.”

She squirmed. “I heard. Please be safe.”

He gave her a knowing look. “You too. Have a good day.”

She nodded, afraid to move. Nothing got past these brothers. Now she’d have to hope he didn’t mention what he saw to Elim.

Although he hadn’t enjoyed the hard drilling he’d given his men the past month, it had come in handy. His men were conditioned for the long, grueling march and were faring better than some of the other sections. Also, the hard conditions and the effort of taking step after step held another benefit. The pain in his feet was a good distraction from thinking about the fact that he’d left Adeline behind without saying a proper goodbye. He never should have dreamed of a relationship with her in the first place.

At some points in the march, Adeline was first in his mind. At others, August. Elim hadn’t said goodbye to him either. If that was even the right thing to say. The miles separating them provided a clearer perspective. August had defied his father and followed Elim into the army. He had given Elim his manumission paper. Elim was free now, and if the war went the wrong way, Elim was still free. The fact that August even found him was amazing. He should have said goodbye, at least.

As the major announced that they would be camping for the night, Elim let out a long breath. The area surrounding them was green and covered with a dense forest. There was a field in the middle of the trees that Elim couldn’t see until they cleared the trees. His men went to work setting up tents. They moved with a speed that he didn’t think their tired bodies could.

Elim went to work pitching his tent.

“I would offer to help, but I think you have it under control.”

Elim knew the voice and didn’t need to look up to know it was August. Something twisted in his chest. As much pain as his childhood had caused, learning that August was here hurt. He was going into battle. August could be injured and maybe even killed. Could he bear that? Knowing August died following him into the Union Army to fight for his freedom? He wanted to hold on to his anger with August, but it slipped from his grasp. “You shouldn’t be here.” Elim meant in the section of the camp with the colored soldiers, but that statement also applied to the mission they were on.

“There is someone else who shouldn’t be here. Your sweetheart.”

Elim’s stomach churned and his chest tightened. “Adeline?”

“I saw her today and asked her how she got here. She said she is working as a cook for another company. I told her that it was a strange career change, but she didn’t say any more.”

Elim rubbed his forehead as a memory flashed in his mind. One day after drilling, Douglas had mentioned he had found some information about Adeline’s family. Elim had waited for Adeline to say something, and when she didn’t, he assumed the information must not have been helpful. “She came to Virginia here looking for her mother and brother.” There was no doubt in Elim’s mind that she would do anything to get to them.

August frowned. “But the Confederate lines are nearby too.”

Dread snaked around his heart and squeezed. “Do you remember which company?”

“No, but I think she’s hiding from you. She tried to find out if I was going to tell you that I saw her.”

“I need to find her,” Elim growled, dropping the tent pole he held in his hand. He started off, but then his steps slowed. And do what after he found her? Send her back to Alexandria all alone?

August grinned. “She’s quite a woman. You might want to keep up with her and marry her after the war.”

After the war. What a foolish thing to think about as they headed to battle. “I don’t know if I can.”

He left August to find Adeline. Thankfully there were only a few platoons in the group. He made his way to where the cooks had stations set up. It only took a second to spot her. She wore a big, floppy hat—a poor disguise for a woman he’d watched nearly every day for the past month.

He stood in front of the pot she was stirring. “Adeline, what are you doing here?”

She didn’t even respond with surprise, as if she suspected he would find her. “Before you start fussing—”

He stepped around the pot, grasped her arm, and led her out of earshot. “Have you gone insane? This regiment is going into battle.”

“I know that, Elim. But they are marching right past where my family could be.”

“You could have asked me to look for your family.”

Surprise lit her face. “You would do that for me?”

He stepped closer. “I love you, Adeline. I’d do anything for you.”

Tears shimmered in her eyes. “You have to understand why I had to do this.”

“I don’t understand why you feel like you have to do this by yourself. Finding your family is tricky business.”

She dropped her head, tears on her cheeks. “I have to find them.”

He grasped her shoulders. “We will. Please don’t put yourself in any more danger.”

She sighed but didn’t look up at him. Which meant she was going to do whatever she thought she needed to do to find her family. Including putting herself in more danger. There was nothing Elim could do but pray.