Chapter Two
The whirring sound near his right ear persisted. He finally forced himself to open his eyes and find out what was causing it. A black cat with golden eyes stared him in the face, startling him. The cat nuzzled closer and licked his cheek with its rough tongue. David turned his head away in an effort to avoid the feline. Lavender and rose fragrances lingered in the air. Taking in his surroundings, his eyes drifted around the unfamiliar room. Sunlight beamed in through one of the two open windows, illuminating wallpaper decorated with pink flowers and green foliage. A soft, warm breeze rustled through the lace curtains. He glanced around and noticed the comfortable four poster bed he was lying in, as well as other pieces of furniture: a chair, a chest of drawers, an armoire, a rocker, and a dressing curtain. An oval mirror hung on one wall. A portrait suspended by thick, ornate cords hung on another wall. The beautiful young woman with golden curls in the painting stared down at him, comforting him, somehow. Above the white marble fireplace, a mantle clock read two-thirty. On the small table next to the bed, he saw a glass of water, so he slowly reached for it. The intense pain in his left shoulder caused him to moan. He took hold of the glass with his right hand, but lost his grip. The glass fell to the floor with a crash. The cat screeched, sprang from the bed, and ran out the door. David heard footsteps approaching. He looked up to see a blonde girl in a blue and white calico dress.
“I’m sorry, miss,” he apologized, attempting to sit up. He groaned softly. “I was only tryin’ to fetch a drink of water.”
The girl came closer, looked at the mess he’d made, and cleaned it up. “It’s all right, Mr. Summers,” she said. “I’m just happy to see you’re awake.” She stood, holding the pieces of glass in her palm, and smiled. “I’ll return in a moment.” She left the room.
Puzzled, David lay back against the pillow and thought the pretty girl looked familiar. He tried to inspect his shoulder wound, but it was wrapped in a bandage and sling, making it too difficult to get to. He stared up at the ceiling instead. The blonde girl returned with an empty glass.
“How do you know my name?” he asked.
“You told me. Don’t you remember?” She filled the glass with water.
David shook his head.
She handed the glass to him and supported his shoulders while he drank. After he gulped in half the contents, he gave the glass to her and slowly reclined back against the cotton-filled mattress.
“What else did I tell you?”
“That you’re David Summers from Morgan County, Alabama.”
“Oh,” he said. “Uh, where am I?”
“You’re here on my family’s farm,” she informed him. “Not too far from Dover.”
“Dover?” David frowned, putting his right hand to his forehead. “Where have I heard that name before?” He grimaced. “What day is this?”
“Tuesday,” she replied, seating herself in the rocker.
“But shouldn’t it be Friday? Ain’t tomorrow Independence Day?” His head swam with confusion.
“That was last week. You’ve been asleep for a few days.”
He glared at her, trying not to look panicked, but his anxiety grew with each answered question. “I’m still in Pennsylvania, ain’t I?”
The girl nodded.
“Where’s the army?”
She looked out the window. “The Confederates have retreated back into Virginia.”
His eyes grew wide with the realization his comrades had deserted him on enemy soil. And now, here he was, in the enemy’s house. Although his pain was immense, the likelihood of his capture…or even death…seemed even more agonizing.
“Mr. Summers,” she slowly said, “the Union Army won the fight in Gettysburg. And Vicksburg has surrendered to General Grant. I’m sorry to have to be the one to tell you these things.
He gawked at her and wondered what could be worse. “Is my horse dead?” he asked, dreading the answer.
“No, but he’s lame.”
Looking away from her toward a window, he tried to come to terms with what was happening.
“What’s your horse’s name?” She stood and walked over to the dresser.
“Renegade,” he replied, looking back at her.
Anna snickered. “I should have guessed it to be something of that nature.” She dipped a towel in the water bowl, wrung it, and brought it over to him.
“Y’all might need to be careful around him,” David said. “He’s a stallion, and he can git a might feisty at times.”
“You’ve no need to worry,” she replied. “Renegade has already made friends with us.” She smiled and placed the damp towel on his forehead.
He remembered how he recognized her. “I’ve seen you before,” he said. “In my dream.”
She looked at him quizzically. “Your dream?”
He nodded. “I had a dream about you while I was in camp. It was before my regiment got to Gettysburg. You and a little girl were standin’ by the road, and then, all of a sudden, y’all turned into white doves and flew up into the clouds.”
Anna snickered. “Oh, my, Mr. Summers. You do have a vivid imagination, don’t you?”
“I didn’t imagine it. Not all of it, anyways.”
“What do you mean?”
“A few days later, I saw you out on the road with a little girl. Y’all were pickin’ flowers, jist like in my dream.”
Anna’s eyes grew wide. “That was you?”
He gave her a grin.
“I do recall. The sun was behind you. Your hat was pulled down over your eyes, so I could’t make out your face. That was nearly a week ago.”
“Yes’m,” he said softly.
“You told Abigail and me the Confederate cavalry was approaching. Why did you do that?”
“I didn’t want y’all to git hurt,” he said. “Or have your livestock stolen.”
“Well, that was very kind of you, but why would you care?”
“I told you, miss. I saw you in my dream, and I knew I had to protect you.”
Anna frowned. “Then Union cavalrymen came riding up, and they chased after you. I assumed you’d been captured.”
“No,” he replied. “I captured them instead.” He grinned, but her scowl stole it away.
“How did you manage to find your way back here?” she asked.
“I dunno.” He continued to gaze at her. “But I do know this. You have the most beautiful eyes I ever did see. They’re like two blue-green oceans. I reckon I could drown in those eyes.” He sighed.
She threw a skeptical glance at him and sat back down in the rocker.
“I’m indebted to you, miss,” he said with a shy smile. “For savin’ me. I didn’t mean to cause you embarrassment.”
“You didn’t,” she replied. “I’ve heard of this before.”
“Heard of what?” he asked.
“Soldiers who become attracted to the nurses who care for them. That’s why only men were allowed to care for the wounded. That is, up until this war.” She gazed out the window.
“Is that your picture up there on the wall?” he inquired, attempting to change the subject.
“No,” Anna replied. “That is my mother.”
He glanced at the portrait. “You look jist like her. What’s your given name?”
“Anna.”
Staring at the ceiling again, he pondered her name for a moment and then softly uttered it, almost in a whisper. “Anna.” He looked back over to see her gawking at him. “There’s a river named after you, did you know that?”
“No, I didn’t. Where is it?” she asked.
“In Virginia, not too far from Richmond.”
She smiled. “Well, did you know there’s a town nearby named after you?”
He shook his head.
“It’s called Davidsburg.”
He chuckled, but the sudden movement sent a shot of pain through his shoulder, causing him to wince.
“I need to change your dressings,” she announced. Rising to her feet, she walked over to the dresser for more towels.
While she gently removed the old bandage around his thigh, he asked, “What’s your surname, miss?”
“It’s Brady,” she replied.
“Where’s you ma and pa?”
“They’re both deceased.”
“Oh.” He said sympathetically, “My condolences.”
“Thank you,” she responded softly. “What about you? Do you have both of your parents?”
David’s expression hardened.
“You don’t have to—”
“My ma’s alive, but Pa died last December at Fredericksburg.”
“I’m sorry,” she said compassionately.
The gash in his outer thigh that Maggie had sewn together was beginning to mend. Anna walked around the foot of the bed and gently lifted his arm from the sling. He grimaced, squeezing his eyes shut.
“Do you have any siblings?” she asked.
“Two younger sisters, Rena and Josephine. I had a little brother, Elijah, but he died of cholera four years ago. He was only four at the time.”
She sighed. “My father died in March of yellow fever,” she said.
“And your ma?”
“She died in childbirth.” Anna glanced at his face. Their eyes met for a moment. She looked back down at his injury, peeled away the bandage, and removed the poultice.
“It seems to be healing,” she noted out loud.
“That’s right good to hear.”
She glanced back up at him for a fleeting moment. “How old are your sisters?” she asked.
“Rena’s sixteen, and Josie’s thirteen.” he said, looking out the window.
“How old are you?”
“Eighteen. And you?”
“The same. I’ll be nineteen in September.”
“Oh,” he replied. “Well, my birthday ain’t until April.”
An awkward silence ensued. She stood abruptly, causing him to look over at her. Walking to the window, she stared out. “It’s very hot and dusty today,” she remarked. “Tiny little cyclones are blowing around in the yard.” She turned back to face him. “I wonder how those poor souls in Gettysburg are suffering through this heat. The wounded soldiers, I mean.”
He wasn’t sure how to take her remark, so he remained silent.
“I’ll return in a few minutes.” She quickly walked out of the room.
David wondered if she’d return with a gun to do him in. He closed his eyes, trying to get beyond the pain. Shortly, she returned with two poultices, along with a bowl of applesauce and a piece of cornbread. She set it on the bedside table.
“I was hoping you might have an appetite. But first, I need to replace your poultices.” She took one of the poultices from the tray and adjusted it over his shoulder wound.
He winced slightly. Relieved she hadn’t brought a gun with her, he asked, “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“Yessir. I have two younger sisters, whom you will meet shortly, since I don’t expect you remember seeing them before. Maggie is fifteen, and Abigail is eight.”
“So it’s jist the three of y’all then,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “Three girls, alone in this house?”
Anna’s eyes grew large.
He realized his question must have shocked her, although his true intention was to summate his situation so he could escape.
“My aunt and Mrs. Burrows are expected to return very soon,” she proclaimed. “So you won’t have any opportunity for indecencies.”
He scowled at her remark. “Returnin’ from where?” he asked.
“Gettysburg. They’re assisting with the wounded soldiers. Our poor boys who were so brutally assaulted by the Confederates.”
David frowned. He felt as though a dark shadow had fallen across his heart. Now, he knew for certain where her loyalties lay. He stared down at the foot of the bed.
Anna finished wrapping his shoulder and placed it in the sling.
He groaned slightly. “Are you fixin’ to turn me in?”
She glared at him and walked around to the other side of the bed. “I’m not sure what to do with you yet, Mr. Summers. Perhaps I’ll make a potion out of you.”
David’s heart jumped. The words she had chosen dredged up his worst fear. He couldn’t help but express his horror by giving her a frightened, questioning look.
Anna snickered. “Oh, my goodness, sir. I’m not a witch, and I don’t know why you would think such a thing.”
He wondered how she could have read his thoughts. “Ain’t Salem, Massachusetts, nearby?”
Anna giggled. “That happened over a hundred and fifty years ago.”
Her comment made him realize how ignorant he probably seemed to her. She finished wrapping his thigh, walked back to the bedside table, and took up the tray. “Do you need help with this?” she asked.
He shook his head, still embarrassed by his ridiculous assumption. Slowly pulling himself up, he grasped the spoon in his right hand and dipped from the bowl of applesauce. Immediately, he discovered his coordination was lacking, for he spilled it on the sheet.
Anna wiped the spill while he apologized. Positioning the pillow behind his shoulders, she sat down on the bed beside him, scooped up a spoonful, and carefully placed it into his mouth.
David closed his eyes, relishing the deliciousness of it. Food tasted amazingly good. He consumed the entire bowlful. Anna offered the cornbread, but he declined.
“I thought all Southerners liked cornbread,” she remarked.
Smiling, he said, “Meanin’ no disrespect, Miss Brady, but I’ve had cornbread to eat for every meal of every day since the beginnin’ of April when I first jined up. I reckon I won’t eat cornbread again for the rest of my days.”
“Oh,” she replied. “Well, I’ll bake you a nice loaf of something other than cornbread, then. And please, call me Anna.” She helped him lie back on the pillow.
“Only if you refer to me as David,” he said with a grunt and a grin.
She gave him a slight smile. “I was just wondering. Where did you get that ring on your finger?”
He half-smiled, pulled the ring from his little finger, and handed it to her. “It was my ma’s,” he said. “She gave it to me for good luck.”
“Are these little diamonds in it?” she asked, closely inspecting it.
“Yes’m. It was Ma’s weddin’ ring. But when Pa died, she said she didn’t have a need for it any more. She said I should have it since it’s been passed down in our family for four generations, me bein’ the fourth.”
“Really?” Anna asked, intrigued. She started slipping the ring on her finger, but stopped herself, and returned the golden band to him. Collecting the tray, she said, “I’ll let you rest now.” She turned to carry it downstairs and added, “My sisters should be back shortly.”
“Where are they?”
“They’re…close.” She started toward the doorway.
Detecting her apprehension, he said, “Miss Anna, I would never allow harm to come to y’all, or cause any harm to y’all. I jist want you to know that.”
“Why should I believe you, David?”
“Because I’m a man of my word. All I can give you is that.”
She turned toward the doorway.
“Miss Anna?” he called out.
She turned back to face him.
“I jist want to thank you for savin’ my life. And my kinfolk thank you.”
Anna slowly nodded and flashed him a weak smile.
“But why are you helpin’ me?”
Glaring at him for a moment, she said, “I suppose it’s because you protected us.”
“Are you tryin’ to protect me?”
“It’s as I said, Mr. Summers. I don’t know what to do with you yet.” She quickly walked out of the room.
He stared at the closed door and wondered what was in store for him. His situation was precarious, he knew, and he was helpless—at least for the time being.
A few hours passed. David managed to doze between bouts of pain. Outside the open windows, he heard the younger girls return from the fields. Moments later, he heard the tramp of feet come up the stairs. The bedroom door flew open. Abigail and Claudia bounded in, followed by Maggie and Anna, who carried in a tray for him.
“You’re awake,” said Abigail.
“You’re awake,” echoed Claudia.
The two girls clapped their hands and jumped up and down with delight.
“How are you feeling, Mr. Summers?” Anna asked, setting the tray on the small bedside table. The smell of freshly-baked bread infiltrated the air.
“Much better, thank you.” Attempting to pull himself up, he fell back on the pillow with a soft moan, for the pain was too great. He looked over at Maggie, who glared at him, so he turned his gaze back to Anna. “That smells mighty good,” he said. His mouth started to water from the aroma.
“It’s Sally Lunn bread,” she replied. She took a cup of tea from the tray and helped him sip from it.
Maggie continued to stare. “I thought all you Southerns liked cornbread,” she snidely remarked.
“Not this one,” Anna said, flashing him a smile.
He smiled back at her, but she quickly looked away.
David glanced at Maggie. She wrinkled her nose at him.
“Now what do we do with him?” she snarled.
“Maggie, don’t be rude,” said Anna. “He is a guest in our house.” She set the teacup on the tray.
Maggie scoffed. “Yes, an uninvited guest.” She snorted in disgust and went downstairs.
Her remark invoked another unanswered question. “How did I git here?” he asked.
“Your horsey brought you,” Abigail said. “Remember?”
David pondered for a moment. “No,” he admitted. “Is my horsey, er, my horse, all right?”
“He’s fine. And he eats a lot,” said Abigail.
“He ain’t been ornery to y’all, has he?” David inquired.
The little girls shook their heads.
“His name is Renegade,” Anna informed them.
Abigail grinned. “How old is he?”
“Three,” said David.
Anna made introductions. “David, this is Abigail, and this is Claudia.”
“Miss Abigail, Miss Claudia,” he acknowledged each child as they exchanged smiles. Looking at Abigail, he remarked, “You’re the little one I saw on the road.” He turned his gaze to Claudia. “Is this a sister too?”
Abigail giggled, causing Claudia to giggle.
“No, she’s my friend,” Abigail said.
The two little girls hugged.
“Claudia is in our care while her mother’s away with my aunt in Gettysburg,” explained Anna.
“Oh, yeah. Tendin’ to the ‘poor boys’,” he reiterated somberly.
“And that was my sister, Maggie,” Anna went on, glancing at the bedroom door.
David considered commenting about Maggie’s insolent behavior, but decided it was better left unsaid. He knew he posed a genuine threat to them, so he decided to say something to ease their distrust. “M’ ladies, this broken, wounded soul is forever in your debt.”
The little girls giggled again.
He looked at Anna. She had one eyebrow raised in skepticism.
“I have something baking in the oven. Come along, girls,” she prompted and walked to the doorway. The two girls ran past her. “Drink your tea and get some rest,” she told him before going downstairs.
Unsure if she’d taken his words with the sincerity with which they were intended, he sighed. This time, he managed to pull himself up. He ate a large slice of bread, swigged the tea, and lay back against the pillow. The tea had a soporific effect. Yawning, he closed his eyes, and within moments, fell into a deep sleep.
Anna found her younger sister in the kitchen.
“I know how you are, Anna,” Maggie said. “And I know you have a big heart, but I’m very concerned about all of this.” Her voice, strained with seriousness, reflected the alarm caused by the insidious presence upstairs. “He isn’t like one of our pets,” she continued. “He could get up in the middle of the night and slit all our throats!”
“Oh, Maggie, don’t be so melodramatic.” She forced a laugh, but perceived her sister was dead serious. They both put their hands to their throats in unison.
Maggie frowned. “I’m being realistic,” she stated and left the room.
Anna sat down at the kitchen table and contemplated her sister’s words, her hand still at her throat. Stifling a sob, she planted her elbows on the table and covered her face with her hands. What menace had she allowed into their house? What danger were her sisters in because of her decision? Collecting herself, she arose and began preparing the evening meal.
After the girls had eaten, Anna arranged a tray containing a piece of white bread with strawberry preserves slathered over it, cut up pieces of roasted chicken, boiled carrots and potatoes, and a cup of coffee. She brought it up to the wounded soldier. Setting the tray down, she softly called out his name. Slowly, he opened his eyes and smiled. She couldn’t help but smile back.
“I brought you some supper.” She helped him sit up, lifted the tray from the bedside table, and set it on his lap.
“Why, this all looks mighty fine, Miss Anna,” he said groggily. Grabbing hold of the fork with his right hand, he began shoveling food into his mouth, this time without spilling.
“Slow down,” she said. “You don’t want to choke.”
David looked up at her, his mouth stuffed full. He quickly chewed and swallowed. “Beggin’ your pardon, miss. Where are my manners?” He took a deep breath and eyed the cup on the tray. “Is that real coffee?”
He eagerly grabbed the handle and guzzled down the entire cupful before Anna could reply. A flash of relief swept over her that she had let the coffee cool a bit before bringing it up to him.
“Real coffee,” he said dreamily. He set the cup down before he resumed devouring his food.
“I’m happy to see your appetite is steadily improving,” she remarked, watching him eat.
She had never seen anyone eat so fast, but knew he had been starving from all of the reports she’d heard about the Confederate army, and by the looks of his skinny torso. After he’d finished, she helped him brush his teeth. He humbly thanked her, lay back, and soon fell asleep. She carried the tray down to the kitchen and cleaned up the dishes while her sisters went about their evening chores.
As nightfall approached, she and Maggie went back up to check on the Rebel. To their astonishment, he was sitting up, propped on the edge of the bed.
“I need to see my horse,” he said, his face sullen and expressionless.
“You’re much too weak,” Anna remarked, drawing closer to him. “You need to rest.”
“No,” he insisted. “I need to see my horse.” His stare bore into her. “Please.”
She frowned. “All right. Maggie, help me get him up.”
The sisters assisted him. He straightened with a moan. They helped him pull on his boots, wrapped a sheet around him, and started toward the doorway.
“He’s very tall,” Maggie commented. “I don’t know why I didn’t notice before.”
Anna glanced at him and thought he looked like a Greek god by the way he was wrapped in his sheet. They slowly descended the stairs, walked through the kitchen, and continued out back to the barn. The two dogs ran up.
David asked, “What are your dogs’ names?”
“Floyd and Colby,” said Anna.
“I also have two dogs,” he said. “Caleb and Si. They’re hounds.”
Anna looked over at Maggie, who shook her head remorsefully. They reached the doorway to the barn.
“Hey, Renie,” David greeted his horse. “It’s me.”
The colt nickered and limped over to him. Anna and Maggie looked at each other. They could see the soldier and his mount were bound in some way, which amazed them both.
David reached out with his right hand and cradled the horse’s head. Renegade nuzzled his chest. The stallion sniffed David’s shoulder wound, turned his head away, and softly nickered.
“Looks like we’ve both been whipped,” said David.
He bent down to get a look at the horse’s injured hoof, but the pain in his thigh caused him to cry out. Renegade whinnied.
“We have his foot wrapped in burlap,” Anna assured. “It’s healing just fine.”
She and Maggie stood back, observing as David gently rubbed his hand along the animal’s neck.
“You need to go back in and rest now,” said Anna.
He didn’t respond. “Goodbye, ole pard,” he muttered, stroking his colt’s neck.
Slowly turning away, he allowed the girls to assist him back into the house. They climbed up the staircase, attracting the attention of Claudia and Abigail, who followed behind while relentlessly asking questions about David’s condition. Anna eased him onto the bed. He moaned. She saw his movements had caused his stitches to bleed.
“Maggie, please bring up more supplies,” she requested of her sister.
Curling her upper lip, Maggie reluctantly departed. She returned shortly and handed Anna fresh bandages.
“Miss Anna,” David said, “in case somethin’ happens, would you take care of Renegade for me?”
She glared at him. “Of course. But nothing is going to happen to you, except for the fact that you’re going to rest and recuperate.”
He squeezed his eyes shut while she changed his dressings. “Please stay with me. I don’t want to—die alone.”
Abigail gasped.
Maggie shook her head. “He isn’t out of the woods yet,” she remarked.
“Somehow, we have to save him, Maggie. It means the world to me.”
“Why, Anna? You still haven’t told me why you want him to survive so badly.”
Anna gave her sister a sad smile. “I couldn’t save Father.”
“That wasn’t you’re fault. Father was ill. And he wasn’t a traitor.”
“Maybe there’s more to him than meets the eye,” Anna said. She looked down at the young soldier. “You’re not going to die, David,” she assured, then added with conviction, “You cannot die.”
He opened his eyes at the tone of her voice.
She finished attending to him and asked, “Would you like me to read to you?”
“Yes’m,” he said softly, and closed his eyes again.
Their walk out to the barn had obviously taken its toll, causing him renewed pain and exhaustion. Anna sat in the rocker, lit the lamp, and picked up a Bible that had been resting on the bedside table. She opened the gold-leafed pages to Scripture she thought was appropriate.
“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort. Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer, or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope of you is steadfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.”
“I ain’t consoled,” David said solemnly, his eyes still closed. “And I reckon I ain’t been saved, neither. The good Lord has decided He don’t have a place for me in Heaven.”
“How can you say that?” she asked.
Her words nearly made him cry. He choked back a sob. “Because of all I’ve seen and done,” he responded, half whispering.
“Did you kill anybody?” Abigail asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.
David frowned. “Because of what I’ve taken and what’s been taken from me.”
Anna looked at her younger sister and Claudia. “You two go downstairs.”
Reluctantly, they did as they were told. Maggie scowled and followed them out. Anna took hold of David’s hand. He opened his eyes and looked at her. Lifting her hand to his lips, he gently kissed the back of it. Hypnotized, her stomach fluttered as she allowed him to kiss her fingers and fingertips before coming to her senses. She abruptly pulled her hand away.
“I apologize,” he whispered, closing his eyes. “I dunno what came over me.”
Anna glowered. She didn’t know what to think of this Rebel, but she certainly couldn’t trust him. He fell asleep again. After waiting nearly an hour, she retreated to the bedroom she shared with Maggie, but kept the secret to herself.
In the morning, she went outside to gather eggs from the henhouse. Walking back across the barnyard with the filled basket, she heard the dogs bark and looked in their direction to see two riders coming down the lane. At first she thought it might be Patrick and Mr. Meyers, but as they drew closer, she saw that they were Union soldiers. Tempted to scream an alarm to her sisters, she quickly hurried around to the front of the house instead and stepped up onto the porch to confront them. The two soldiers dismounted.
“Miss,” one of them greeted, tipping his kepi. “We’re here on special orders to search the premises for any Confederates that might be hiding out.”
Anna’s heart leaped. “Confederates?” she asked.
“We’re searching every farm within a thirty-mile radius of the battle site,” the other soldier explained.
“Oh,” she replied. “Well, do come in.”
“I’ll check the house. You look around back there,” the first soldier said to the second one. He followed her into the house while the other soldier walked off toward the outbuildings.
Anna led him to the kitchen, where Maggie was preparing breakfast. “Sister, this fine gentleman is here on orders to search our home for escaped Confederates.” Raising her eyebrows, she gave her a quick, subtle nod. Maggie knew it to be the signal to relax and go along.
“Miss,” the soldier acknowledged.
Maggie smiled and took his arm. “I’ll show you around the main floor,” she said, leading him back toward the parlor.
Anna bolted up the steps. She ran into Abigail’s room and instructed the girls to gather the cows around Renegade inside the barn.
“Keep it as dark as you possibly can,” she told them. “And if the soldier asks why the cows are in the barn, tell him they’re sick.”
They ran downstairs while she quickly went into her room and snatched a bowl of talcum powder from her dressing table. Entering her father’s bedroom, she closed the door behind her. The Rebel was still sleeping.
“David,” she said, quietly insistent, trying to restrain her urgency. “David?”
He stirred.
She knelt down beside him. “Don’t panic, but there are two Union soldiers here looking for Confederates.”
His eyes flew open.
“Don’t fret,” she said. “Everything is under control. Just play along.”
She covered his under-grown beard and the hair around his face with white powder. “This will make you look pale enough,” she said. “They might catch on if my ailing father is tan.”
He sneezed.
“Shh!” she insisted.
Without hesitation, she pulled a flannel shirt from a drawer, slipped it over his right arm, placed a nightcap on his head, and threw a quilt over him. She heard Maggie and the Federal conversing as they ascended the stairs. The door opened. Anna saw David’s belt with the CSA buckle on the dresser, so she quickly threw it into a drawer.
“Father’s very ill,” she said to the soldier. She shot a pleading glance at her sister, who stood in the doorway to block the Federal’s path. If Maggie were to turn against her and turn the Confederate in, all would be lost.
“I’m sorry to hear that, miss,” he replied, trying to look past Maggie.
David coughed and moaned. He sneezed. The girls jumped. A small puff of powder billowed up from the bed. Maggie quickly put her hand over her mouth to stifle a snicker.
“He’s highly infectious,” Anna said seriously.
Stunned, the Federal said, “Perhaps we’d best leave him be, then.”
“Yes, that’s a very good idea,” Anna agreed.
The Union soldier turned toward the hallway. Maggie followed, throwing a nervous glance over her shoulder at her sister. Anna closed the door behind them. She hurried to remove David’s quilt and extra clothing. Seeing he was sweating profusely, she placed a cool, damp cloth on his forehead.
“I’m very sorry, but I can’t let you be discovered. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
She left the room, locked the door with her skeleton key, and went downstairs. Maggie had escorted the Union soldier out the front door, so she joined them on the porch. The two sisters anxiously watched the Federals mount up.
“Sorry to have troubled you ladies,” the second soldier said.
“Thank you for your time,” acknowledged the first.
“Good day, sirs,” Maggie said.
They waved to the men, who rode off down the lane. Once they had reached the road, the girls drew a heavy sigh.
“That was close,” Maggie said and growled, “Why are we keeping that Rebel? He’s only going to get us into a lot of trouble.”
Anna had no reply. Her sister was right, but something in her heart told her she should wait. She couldn’t let him go. Not yet.