Faith (36 page)

“
 
—matters to me,” she finished for him.

“In the letter, I have asked Armstrong to forgive me, and now I ask God to forgive me and you to forgive me as well.”

“Of course I forgive thee for thy confusion. Thee was torn between thy mother’s ways and thy uncle’s ways. Ideas sound easy, but people can make matters hard to see.” She smiled and chuckled at him, drawing closer. “And I love thee, silly man.”

“I have been more than silly. I’ve been foolish.” He nudged the letter. “I said so here.”

She did not look at the pages but met his gaze. “Armstrong will forgive thee.”

He believed her.
If only Armstrong survives.
“I hope we get to meet again after the war.”

“That is in the Lord’s hands.”
Is thee going to kiss me, Devlin Knight?

Her nearness prompted him. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. “My sweet, my wife.” He leaned forward boldly and kissed her lips. They were as sweet as he’d imagined.

She returned his kiss.

Her wholehearted response flooded him with an energy he’d not felt for a very long time. “Tonight,” he promised.

She chuckled at him again, stood, and went to shoot the bolt on the door. “We will be alone for hours.” She offered him her hand, her everything.

Almost not believing her, he rose and slipped his crutches under his arms. “Lead the way, wife.”

So she did, shutting the door to their bedroom and kissing him with all she felt for him, all the love, all the passion.

He returned her kisses and held her close, as he had long desired. They would become one at last.

APRIL 30, 1865

Faith and Dev waited, listening, beside the railroad track west of Columbus to watch President Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train pass by. They had decided not to join her sister Blessing and her family the previous day to pay their respects to their fallen president in crowded Columbus, Ohio’s state capital. The funeral train had stopped there for one of the many memorial services on its way from Washington, DC, to Springfield, Illinois, where the president would be interred.

America was in mourning. Even here, far from any city or town, the railroad tracks on both sides were lined with people dressed in black, some holding flags, many women weeping.

Faith’s heart was also heavy. How soon the joy over Lee’s
surrender at Appomattox had turned to sorrow when Lincoln had been murdered in cold blood.

Dev moved, obviously shifting his weight from his damaged hip. He still leaned heavily on a cane beside her.

She wanted to tell him they could return to their gig. But she was always careful not to mention his daily pain nor point out his physical limitation. Her husband liked her to ignore it.

Then the chugging of the steam engine came to her ears. Every head turned toward the sound. Silence fell. A baby cried and the mother crooned softly, soothingly.

The funeral train appeared around the bend. Men removed their hats. Faith felt tears streaming down her face. She thought of the president’s family, their sorrow and suffering through the long, terrible war
 
—and then to lose their husband and father so horribly. She pressed a handkerchief to her lips, holding in the sobs that wanted to burst forth.

The slow train passed, draped in black crepe. No one spoke; no one looked away. Even when they could no longer see it, merely hear the sound in the distance, they still stood. Finally Dev shifted and turned to her. “Let us go,” he murmured in the continued hush.

Grieving, Faith made a sound of agreement, still unable to speak words. People nodded to them as they wended their way to their gig. He propped himself against the side of the vehicle and helped her up into the seat. Then he walked around and climbed in beside her. They would spend the night at an inn and drive the rest of the way home tomorrow. It would be good to be home with their family. Again Faith said a prayer for Mr. Lincoln’s family to be comforted. What
would have happened to their nation if a lesser man had led them through this dreadful war?

When Faith glimpsed her family’s home, she felt instant relief. Ella came out to welcome them, still dressed in mourning for her husband, who had fallen at Atlanta. “You’ll never guess!” she called. “You’ll never guess who’s here!”

Dev drove up to the Cathwell door, and Faith climbed down, hoping she was guessing right.

Honoree ran from one of the nearby cabins. “Faith!”

Faith flew to Honoree and they wrapped their arms around each other. Faith couldn’t speak, but her tears flowed. Finally the two of them parted, still holding hands.

“I’m so glad to see you home at last
 
—”

“Where’s Armstrong?” Dev interrupted.

“He’s here. He’s been mustered out. Right now he’s over yonder watching them make glass,” Honoree replied. “We stopped in Maryland and found his mother had gone to Baltimore. She is with your mother, Colonel, and intends to move here with her.”

That was the plan. Dev had decided not to return to Maryland, and that suited Faith. She never wanted to leave her family again. Dev had recently taken over keeping the books for the Cathwell family business.

He and Faith would build their own home in Sharpesburg with quarters for his mother. Ella and her little daughter would also live with them. Though not for long, perhaps
 
—one of Thad Hastings’s grandsons, newly home from the war, was already courting her.

Faith couldn’t stop staring at Honoree. The war had dragged on and on, taking more and more lives. Peace felt strange. Unfortunately Jim Sanford, who had accompanied Shiloh home in ’63, had fallen in battle as well. So many lost. So much sorrow. But both Shiloh and Honoree had been spared.

Shiloh appeared, carrying a cake. Behind her trailed her daughter and son, five and four years old respectively. Their father
 
—LeFevre, the man who had bought Shiloh
 
—had shown enough sense to leave them in the care of a free woman of color in New Orleans when he took Shiloh off to war. Honor and Samuel had traveled with Shiloh by river to New Orleans and brought them home in ’64.

“Come in,” Shiloh said. “It’s nearly time for luncheon. The men will finish and be in soon.”

Faith, Dev, and Honoree went inside. Faith shed her bonnet and gloves and helped set the table, unable to stop looking at Honoree. They were all home safe now. And that made her think of the president’s family again. The war was over, but there had been no happy ending for them.

Samuel, Honoree’s father, and Armstrong entered. Armstrong had gained some gray hair and lost weight. He looked older yet stronger somehow. Faith looked over her shoulder at her husband, wondering how he would react to seeing his former slave.

The moment Dev had waited for had come at last. Would Armstrong forgive him? He walked over to Armstrong and offered him his hand. Silence fell over the room.

Dev kept his hand out, hoping Armstrong would take it, not rebuff him as he deserved.

Armstrong accepted Dev’s hand.

Dev’s heart beat faster with relief. He shook Armstrong’s hand, knowing that he’d been forgiven, though he didn’t deserve it.

“Well, we both survived,” Armstrong said. He released Dev’s hand and clapped him on the back.

Dev nodded, holding up his cane. “Just a little worse for wear.”

“And we gained good wives in the bargain.”

“Truer words were never spoken.” Dev waved Armstrong farther inside and walked over to sit back down.

Faith felt tears sting her eyes again.

A baby’s cry sent her to her feet. She hurried into the room she shared with Dev and brought out their nearly year-old son
 
—Samuel, after his grandfather. His grandparents had kept him safe at home while she and Devlin observed the funeral train. She carried him into the large room.

When he saw his father, the boy stopped crying. He reached out both arms to Dev, who claimed him. He stood the child on his lap. “Well, Son, did you miss your parents?”

Little Samuel giggled and danced up and down with Dev’s hands, one under each arm, holding him up.

Honor stood from her place at the table. “After forty-five years of working to end it, I can hardly believe that slavery has finally been outlawed.” She wiped tears from her eyes.

Royale rose and stood beside her. “It was a long time coming, all right. But we are free at last, truly free.”

Faith could hardly bear it. So much happiness. No more slavery. No more war. Those battles were done. And the battle for a better nation had begun. The assassination of the
president had sparked a wave of anger, a thirst for revenge, in the North.

But now, setting aside the nation in turmoil outside the door, Faith gazed around. She was home. Honoree and Shiloh were home. Dev and Armstrong had survived the war. She would be grateful to the Lord for peace, no more killing, wounding, or dying.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

S
O WE COME TO THE END
of this series of three Quaker brides:
Honor
,
Blessing
, and
Faith
. Each has her own story and her own struggles and her own love. It was a privilege to be able to write their stories.

Faith’s story was especially challenging because the amount of historical research I had to do was many times more than the research for both
Honor
and
Blessing
combined.

First, I had to choose a part of the war to use as my setting. I finally selected the crucial Western Theater, where the Union forces fought under the command of Ulysses Grant. Most people don’t think about this theater of the war, but it was critical for success and made Grant into the commander who finally achieved the victory.

If you’ve read the previous books in this series, you know that while many Northerners disapproved of slavery, most would not raise a hand to oppose it. Then in 1852 came the bestselling novel
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Though the novel fell into disrepute in the twentieth century, it brought the evils of slavery fully alive
 
—for
the first time
 
—in the minds and imaginations of many Northerners.

Today we wonder why we had to fight a war to end slavery. And such a terrible war that devoured over six hundred thousand lives.

To prepare for writing
Faith
, I read five published memoirs or diaries of Civil War nurses. The most memorable was
Civil War Hospital Sketches
by Louisa May Alcott, the author of
Little Women
, who was also a nurse in the war.

Almost as unbelievable as slavery is the way women nurses were disrespected at this time. Englishwoman Florence Nightingale had begun the movement of modern nursing in the Crimean War in the decade before the American Civil War. When she returned to England, she tried to institute the training of nurses and to elevate the status of female nurses, but she met with stiff opposition.

Now we think of male nurses as out of the ordinary. How times change. We hope for the better
 
—for a world without discrimination.

And as Dev’s mother reveals when she recognizes Honor, Dev’s and Honor’s families have a history with each other in Maryland. In my novella
Where Honor Began
, I reveal the event that set this series in motion and that comes full circle with the marriage of Dev and Faith and the end of slavery.

Again, I’ve enjoyed the challenge and opportunity to tell the story of those who worked for freedom against all odds. To me, it demonstrates how a minority can end up changing the mind of the majority, kind of like the first-century Christians, who prevailed in spreading the gospel against all odds.

1. During the Civil War era, many churches and Christians endorsed slavery. What was their rationale for doing so? How can we avoid supporting an injustice just because the culture around us justifies it?
   
2. Faith lost her twin, Patience, at a critical time in her life. How does this tragedy affect her throughout the story?
   
3. Dr. Dyson is regularly abrasive and disrespectful toward Faith and Honoree. Why does he act this way, and how do these women respond? How would you advise someone in a similar situation?
   
4. Though Armstrong has been free since the Emancipation Proclamation, he decides to stay with Devlin until Dev gives him manumission papers. Why does he choose to remain Devlin’s manservant when he’s no longer enslaved? Why is it so damaging to the men’s relationship when Devlin breaks his promise?
   
5. When Devlin goes back on his word to Armstrong, Faith accuses him of being a “double-minded man.” Have you ever found yourself caught between two principles as Devlin is? What choice did you end up making?
   
6. Faith and her family regularly help escaped slaves hide on their property. Is it ever right for a Christian to break a law as a matter of principle? If so, under what circumstances?
   
7. At the beginning of the story, Faith is determined to find Shiloh under her own power and determination. But eventually she realizes she’s incapable of finding Shiloh on her own
    
   —that she must rely on God to bring her friend home. What makes her change her mind? What does it look like to trust God in our circumstances while also taking an active role?
   
8. For most of the book, Devlin is certain he is going to die during the war. Why is he so convinced of that? When he realizes he’s going to live, how does his outlook on life change?
   
9. In the epilogue, Faith reflects, “So much happiness. No more slavery. No more war. Those battles were done. And the battle for a better nation had begun.” What makes her hopeful for the future in spite of Lincoln’s recent death and the widespread tragedy of the Civil War? What do you see ahead for Faith, Devlin, Honoree, and their families?
   
10. What do you view as the legacy of the Civil War in our modern times?