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The next morning, we purchased some foodstuffs to eat on our trek, and resumed our drive. The weather was still perfect and it was overall a comfortable trip; Gordon and Sarah had managed to patch things up, as she was clinging to him as we drove. We started off laughing about the previous night’s events, with Sarah teasing me about sleeping in the pantry, but soon fell to discussing our plans. As usual, Sarah had objections.
“I don’t see why you have to go to Baltimore,” Sarah insisted. “We can just as easily ride the train from Gaithersburg into Washington City.”
“She’s got a point,” Gordon chimed in, earning a smile from her and a scowl from me.
“As I said before, by coming in from Baltimore, we have the option of making our approach to Washington City via road or rail and concocting any story we want for our arrival- we can claim to have come overland via stage or we can claim to have come via ship through New York. If we come from Gaithersburg, that still puts us close to Harpers Ferry.” I thought my logic quite sound.
“But who’s going to know where we came from?” She was persistent.
“Anyone detailed to observe the routes into Washington. We already know we’re being tracked, and we suspect the southern routes into Washington are blocked. So that leaves west and north open to us.”
“They’re looking for two men, not a couple and a single man.”
“She’s got a point, Matt.” Gordon again.
I leaned forward, looking past Sarah. “Do you have anything of substance to contribute to the conversation? No?” He shook his head. “Then drive the damn wagon.” He ignored my outburst and grinned. Sarah pretended to be shocked. “And don’t you start with the ‘delicate sensibilities’. You’ve got quite more colorful terms to describe me, remember?” She blushed and smiled. “All right, so what’s the risk in coming in via Gaithersburg? I don’t know. You happy? Me not knowing something? Well there it is. I can’t say for sure there’s any greater risk associated with Gaithersburg than Baltimore- maybe even less risk, since we could argue that Baltimore is the logical place to look for us to be coming from. We could sit here all day and tie ourselves in knots trying to outguess our enemies’ understanding of ourselves. But we have to calculate risk based on known factors, and on factors with a high probability of being true. We know we were tracked to Harpers Ferry, we know we were warned away from the southern approach to Washington, and there’s a high probability that there are agents looking for someone to be approaching Washington from the Maryland side. “
“But your enemy knows, as you put it, that two men are coming from Richmond. They don’t know what they look like, and they won’t know about me.” She said this without a trace of condescension.
I took a deep breath. “We can’t be sure of that. They’ve missed us twice now in Harpers Ferry, and we have to assume they’re following us. They may have pieced together our identities, and will know that you’re accompanying us- well, and your father, but the fact is they’ll be alert to your presence along with us. Whether it’s a couple and two men- one young and one old, or a couple and a single young man, they’ll be alert. And there’s one more factor- Casey. If he’s still alive, or if he tipped them off through some other means before he died, they may know exactly where we’re going and by what means we hope to obtain our goal. We could be walking into a trap- and you’d be arrested right along with us.”
She turned pale. “But if Casey’s alive, he’ll tell them you were going to Baltimore. So that has to be out.”
I shrugged. “That’s one of the great questions- what he would tell them and when. Maybe he didn’t get a chance to meet them before they left Harpers Ferry. Maybe he didn’t want to get himself in any deeper. Who knows? It’s all about managing risk based on knowns and the likelihood of the unknowns coming to pass.” I looked at her for a moment. “But tell me, Mrs. Gordon, why you’re so willing to serve the Confederacy all of a sudden?”
She colored up again. “I’m not serving the Confederacy! I’m helping my husband- and his friend- so they don’t get killed.” She twisted slightly to face me. “I told you before- I don’t care one bit for Richmond, because they’ve never done anything for the mountain folk. But if war comes, it won’t matter whose side I’m on- women are never counted in war, we’re just left to deal with the destruction and to put it all back together again. Whether the United States or the Confederate States win, Harpers Ferry and most of Virginia will be destroyed.” She paused, and I reflected on her comments, which echoed my own fears. What did it matter, ultimately, if I resigned to defend Virginia, only to have it destroyed? Did it matter that I wasn’t the agent of its ruin? By fighting in its defense, wasn’t I helping to obliterate all I held dear?
Sarah continued, “So if my home is to be lost and I am to be left with nothing, then it doesn’t matter to me which side ‘wins’- if you can call it that,” she sniped, now choking back tears. “The only thing I have in the whole world is my family- my father, my brother, and now my husband. My father is dying- he doesn’t think I know, but the doctor told me what to watch for.” I was surprised, but I shouldn’t have been- nothing got by her. “My brother is starting a new life in Maryland, but won’t be in a position to support me. Fortunately, I’ve found Josh and he’s found me, and we love each other and want to be together. And I’m going to make damn sure that nothing happens to him. And if that bothers you, Major, then I suggest you make other arrangements, because I intend to hang onto the only thing in life I have left. Do you understand? I don’t care about your cause, or your mission, or your sense of duty- I care about Josh, and I’ll do anything and everything I can to help him. And inasmuch as you’re working with him, and he values your companionship, then as long as you’re working together that means I care about your well-being, even if you can’t be bothered to. So I’m going to scold, and criticize, and question you on everything to make certain that you’ve come up with the best plan you can think of.” With that, she turned to face the road and crossed her arms over her chest; clearly, the conversation was at an end. I looked over at Gordon and raised an eyebrow.
“I think she has a point.” He smiled as I said this.
We rode in silence after that, no one really feeling like conversation. I was at my wits’ end with her- no woman I’d ever met was anything like her. She had no sense of propriety, at least as far as her role in the affairs of men. I wasn’t accustomed to being lectured by anyone about my operations, certainly not a civilian- and a woman at that. It just wasn’t done. But she didn’t seem to conform to anyone’s notions about what was ‘proper’, that was for certain. A very independent woman, every bit Gordon’s equal.
Maybe even mine.
The thought came from nowhere, unbidden. It startled me with its intrusion...but I realized at last that I was enjoying her company, mostly due to the hidden fire within. She was unpredictable, sensitive and caring one moment but changing to a demon the next when provoked. It was a marked contrast from the women I’d been introduced to by friends and fellow officers over the past few years- bland, pleasant creatures with frills and lace and elegant poise, but lacking in any...energy. Sarah had a sense of raw, untamed energy about her, like the air before a Virginia thunderstorm where you can feel the wind starting to whip up and the atmosphere is charged with electricity. That was what I needed, I realized. Someone to challenge me and make me work, to constantly force me to prove I knew best. Well, she had set herself the goal of finding someone for me- I wished her luck.
At last, we reached Gaithersburg, and made a beeline for the station. Gordon went to make arrangements for the train, while Sarah bid farewell to her father. I found myself standing by Levi as we untied the horses and retrieved Sarah’s trunks, as well as a couple of crates she had indicated were coming with us. We had only spoken a few words of introduction back in Frederick, and this was the first chance we’d had to talk since then. He seemed hesitant at first, as though unsure of whether he should speak his mind, so I broached the silence. “What do you think about your sister marrying a Confederate soldier- one she’s just met?”
His eyebrows flew up at my candor, and he stiffened, as if expecting an attack. When none came, he relaxed his guard. “Well, it’s a shock,” he offered. “I’m not in favor of secession, Richmond’s done little enough for the mountains while she was in the Union, I don’t reckon she’ll do much more now she’s out.” I nodded, this tallied up with Sarah and her father’s attitudes- no love for the Confederacy, but no burning love for the Union, either. “But I’ve nothing agin’ Gordon, he seems like a right nice feller and Sarah loves him, no doubt. He looks like he’ll take care of her, no doubt there either.”
“He will.” I stated this as a fact.
“Well, anyhow it’s Sarah’s life and she’s got to make her own bed. So long as she’s away from that bloodsucking Casey...”
This was new. “What about Casey?”
He looked surprised. “Didn’t you know? I thought Pa might’ve told you- Casey was after Sarah, wanted her for his own. She turned him down. That’s when he fired me. Later, once he took over the militia, he started hinting that if she didn’t come around to his way of thinking, he’d clap me in irons as a Unionist.”
I swore, softly. “Does Sarah know all this? She thinks he fired you for not joining the militia...”
He shook his head emphatically. “No, I made sure of that. She’d have hauled off and hit him, at least told him off to his face- a man like Casey wouldn’t let a woman insult him like that. I didn’t want to leave her, but I figured if I ran, he’d have no call to come to the house, and if he did, Pa would get the sheriff on him.”
I put my hands on my hips and glared at him. “Well, he has been coming around, he threatened your father because he couldn’t find you- Casey figured your father was hiding you. He even tried to get us involved by bringing us to your house.”
Levi was red with anger. “I’ll kill that no-account...”
I cut him off. “No need. Gordon’s already seen to that. We think- we’re not sure, but Casey fell into the river and Gordon couldn’t find him. He tried to sabotage us after we told him we were going to report his conduct to Richmond for investigation.” I paused while I debated telling him the rest. “We think he tipped off a pair of enemy scouts who are trailing us- if he told them about your sister, she could be in danger. But she insists on coming along with Gordon. It’s her right, he’s her husband- but I figured you should at least know, as her kin.”
He swallowed hard. “Thank you for telling me. I’ll talk to her, don’t reckon it’ll do much good. As you say, I’ve got no claim on her anymore. But your Mr. Gordon, he’ll look after her, won’t he? And you will too, I reckon?”
“I promise you. We’ll do everything in our power to take care of her. You take care of your pa.” He looked at me solemnly, and we shook hands on the deal. Gordon returned with our tickets, so I handed him off to Levi and went in search of Sarah.
They were sitting on a bench, she and her father, and both had been crying. My heart sank at the sorry spectacle, the old man saying what may very well be his final farewell to his daughter. I couldn’t even give them the consolation of an address to write us. I pulled out my billfold from my coat pocket and opened it up; inside was a receipt from the hotel where Gordon and I had stayed. “Here,” I said, handing the receipt to Davis, “you can write to us at this address and give us your address. Then we’ll be able to tell you where we’re staying.”
Davis stood up, and I extended my hand in farewell. He surprised me by drawing me in for an embrace, briefly squeezing my shoulders and then releasing me. “Godspeed, Matt. You’re a good man, I wish you all the best. Take care of Josh and Sarah for me, and don’t forget to take care of yourself.”
“You too, Sir. I truly hope that we can avoid a war, and we’ll be able to continue our lives as before. I hope we see you again soon.” Behind me, Gordon and Levi had made their way over to us, and it was now his turn to say goodbye. Sarah hugged and kissed her brother, crying, and embraced her father one last time, and then we were off along the tracks toward the freight car which would carry the carriage and our horses. Although it was expensive, we had decided that the carriage would lend credibility to Gordon and Sarah’s guise; we could always surrender it to Richmond upon our return.
Loading took about half an hour, and then we were on board in the day coach and ready to depart. Sarah kept her head and shoulders out the window, looking for one last glimpse of her family. As we left the station, she saw them on the wagon, waving madly. She waved back with such vigor that she would have fallen out if not for Gordon’s grasp around her waist. As it was, he resembled very much a fisherman trying to land a large catfish. Soon, they were behind us and she sat down, buried her face in Gordon’s chest, and wept uncontrollably. I felt for her, as for the first time in her life she had left behind everything she had ever known, casting in her lot with a pair of strangers she had known for only a couple of days. I wondered if I would have had the nerve to do such a thing; truly, she was remarkable.