September 12, 1865
As the hazy days of summer stretched toward fall, the city of Baltimore slipped slowly back into a slumberous pace. Henry returned to City Hall. The civil unrest expected by many following the execution of Mary Surratt and her fellow conspirators did not arise. Union and rebel soldiers alike made their way back home, some to public celebrations, others to private, but no less joyful, reunions with loved ones. Business shifted from wartime concerns to peacetime prosperity. The people of Maryland began to put the horrors of war behind them.
Theodore Van der Geld mounted his campaign for governor, but without the assistance of his son-in-law. Seeking him out one afternoon following Rebekah’s recovery, Henry promised he would pray for the man but told him he would not lend any political support. Henry did not specifically bring his treatment of Rebekah into the conversation, but he was confident he had made his point when he told the man, politely but firmly, “My wife and I wish to maintain contact with you, but please do not visit our home again unless I am present.”
Unfortunately, Van der Geld said he did not wish to have any contact with him or his daughter. Susan Van der Geld, however, was a different matter. Following her mother’s letter, Rebekah had corresponded with one of her own. Their relationship was growing. The two women had met on several occasions, in the public gardens or in Rebekah’s home. Mrs. Van der Geld often brought along her youngest son, Joseph, to play with Kathleen.
When Rebekah was not engaged in family matters, she and the girls could usually be found at the Freedmen’s Bureau. Kathleen practiced her letters and numbers alongside a group of former slaves while Rebekah taught them to read and write. Grace bounced and wiggled in her baby carriage as she watched the proceedings.
Every afternoon, Henry hurried home from City Hall to be with his family. Kathleen always met him at the door with a hug and a recounting of the lessons she had learned that day. Today, though, she told a different story. “Dr. Stanton came to visit.”
Henry blinked. Dr. Stanton? “Are you feeling all right?”
“I’m not sick,” she said, and as proof, she quickly scampered off.
Rebekah appeared in the parlor doorway. Henry went to her immediately and kissed her. “Are you well? Kathleen said Dr. Stanton was here.”
“I’m perfectly fine,” she assured him. “Or, rather, Dr. Stanton says we are perfectly fine.”
He blinked again. “We?”
Taking his hand, she laid it gently upon her middle. His pulse quickened at once. “Y-you mean?”
She nodded and smiled.
“Oh, darling!” Moving to embrace her, he stopped just short of doing so.
Rebekah laughed heartily. “It’s all right, Henry. I won’t break.”
With a chuckle of his own, he then drew her close, their breath becoming one and the same.
“Do you know how happy I am?” she whispered.
“Do you know how much I love you?”
Rebekah lifted her head and grinned. The kiss she gave him made Henry feel as though he were the richest, most powerful man in the world.
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from HIS PRAIRIE SWEETHEART by Erica Vetsch.
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