CHAPTER 3
Belle Robb was someone that the people of Galena euphemistically referred to as “a painted woman.” She advertised her services by the very method that gave her the sobriquet by which she was called. Her red hair came from a bottle, her lips and cheeks from a paint pot. She wore fine, but revealing dresses and traveled around town in an elegant carriage driven by a free black man. She was the wealthiest person—man or woman—in the entire county.
Strange as it might seem, Belle and Lettie had developed a friendship when Belle began paying Lettie a great deal of money for private tutoring. For the last two years, Belle had been coming to the school on Saturday and Sunday afternoons for the lessons.
On this particular Saturday afternoon, Lettie was waiting most anxiously for her.
“Say, that Pride and Prejudice is one fine book,” Belle said, returning the book to Lettie. “Thank you very much for lending it to me.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Lettie said, though her words were without animation.
“Lettie, what is it? What’s wrong?”
“Oh, Belle, I’m so frightened. I . . . I have done something awful, and you are the only one I can talk to.”
Belle reached out to put her hand on the teacher’s shoulder. “Lettie, I know you, and I know that you can’t do anything awful. Now, tell me what is bothering you.”
“My womanly time . . . is late. I didn’t worry too much about it, but . . . now I have missed it a second time. I’m two months behind, and it could only mean one thing.”
“You’re pregnant,” Belle said matter-of-factly.
The way Belle spoke the words gave Lettie a sinking feeling. She had hoped someone like Belle might be able to come up with another reason. To hear her fears confirmed was devastating. “That’s what I was afraid of.”
“Does the baby’s father know about it?”
“No, and I’ve no intention of telling him, nor anyone else.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I . . . I’ve heard that there are ways of terminating a pregnancy,” Lettie said. “I was wondering if you know anything about it. I mean, how would one go about obtaining such a thing?”
Belle shook her head. “I have known girls who did this, and I would advise against it.”
“Why?”
“Because two of the girls I knew died undergoing the process. I wouldn’t want to see anything like that happen to you.”
“If . . . if the father was here, I would go to him and tell him. I’m sure he would marry me. But he isn’t here, and I don’t know when he will return, or if he ever will return.”
“He has gone to war?”
“Yes. If I have the child, and he doesn’t come back for a few years, how could I ever convince him that the baby is his?”
“That could be a problem,” Belle agreed.
“Oh, Belle, what will I do? What is left for me besides disgrace? I’ll no longer be able to hold my head up among people who had once been my friends . . . among people who respected me.”
“You can leave,” Belle suggested.
“Leave and go where?”
“I have a friend, a gambler, who lives in Denver. I’ll write a letter for you to give him. I’ll tell him that your husband was killed, and you want to get away from sad memories. He’ll do right by you.”
“Oh, Belle,” Lettie said, her eyes filling with tears. “Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”
* * *
It was only a matter of a few weeks after Emmett and Luke joined the First Missouri State Guard Infantry, a Confederate company, that they were involved in their first battle. Union troops, under command of Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon’s Army of the West, were camped at Springfield. The Confederate troops, under the command of Brigadier General Ben McCulloch, formulated attack plans.
At 5:00 AM on the morning of August 10, the two forces met at Wilson’s Creek about twelve miles southwest of the city. Rebel cavalry received the first blow and fell back, away from Bloody Hill. Confederate forces soon rushed up and stabilized their positions, attacking the Union forces. Three times they attacked that day but failed to break through the Union line.
The Union troops received a heavy blow when General Lyon was killed during the battle. Major Samuel D. Sturgis replaced him.
Meanwhile, Confederates routed Colonel Franz Sigel’s column south of Skegg’s Branch. Following the third Confederate attack, which ended at 11:00 AM, Sturgis ordered a retreat to Springfield. The Confederate victory buoyed Southern sympathizers in Missouri, giving the Confederates control of southwestern Missouri.
It was shortly after that battle that Emmett and Luke were split up. Emmett protested at first, but a colonel pointed something out to him that seemed to make good sense. “Suppose you and your son were in the same company. And suppose that company was engaged by such superior forces that virtually the entire company was killed. Your wife would lose a husband and a son, and your children, still at home, would lose a father and a brother. Wouldn’t it be best for you to be separated, to lessen the chances of both of you being killed at the same time?”
Emmett nodded. “I reckon you’re right, Colonel.”