The Last, Long Night (#5 in the Bregdan Chronicles Historical Fiction Romance Series) (60 page)

“Go, Hobbs!” he said urgently.  “I sent Clifford home to be with Carrie and Janie, but I’ll feel better if you’re there to protect them, as well.”

“And if the city begins to burn?” Hobbs asked grimly. 

“I’ll do what I can and then I’ll come home.” 

Jeremy was still waiting for the lighting of the bonfires when he saw a colleague from the Capitol coming down the street.  “Franklin!”

Franklin Ash, spectacles covering exhausted brown eyes, glanced up and managed a weak smile.  “Jeremy.  What are you doing here?”

“I just figured I would be on hand to help if the flames start to get out of control.”

“Good luck,” he growled, looking back over his shoulder at the bright light of flames coming from the downtown area.  “Someone cut the water hoses,” he said grimly. 

“What?”  Jeremy gasped in disbelief. 

“Oh, there are a few men trying to put them out, but they’ve got a battle on their hands,” Franklin sighed.  “Quite frankly, I don’t think they can stop them.  Most people have just been trying to loot as much as they can from the buildings before they completely burn.”  His voice was tight with frustration.  “I’m on my way home to make sure my kids are safe.  My wife is very ill and I’m afraid what will happen if things get out of control.”

“Is that why you’re still here?”

Franklin nodded.  “There was no way I was going to leave my family behind.  If I end up in prison, so be it.” His eyes sharpened. “What about you, Jeremy?  You should be gone.”

Jeremy shrugged casually.  “I have things to take care of here,” he said and then changed the subject.  “Are things still as chaotic downtown?  Have they gotten control of the mob?”

“Mostly. At least for now. The police and soldiers moved in and made some arrests of the worst offenders.  That, and the spreading fires, seem to have driven most people indoors.  At least for now. The ones still out there are trying to fight the fires.”

Jeremy drew a breath of relief.  “Good luck with your family,” he said as he reached out to grasp Franklin’s hand.

Franklin grasped his hand firmly and exchanged a long look that showed exactly how worried he was before he hurried away.

Just then the first torches were used to light the bonfires.  Jeremy watched as the flames spread through the warehouses, thankful for the calm night air that sent the smoke and flames straight upward.  He joined the crowd of men who stepped back to watch them burn, the aroma of tobacco pervading the night air as the buildings and their contents began to burn brightly. 

“This is craziness,” one snapped.  “General Lee has been telling Davis for months there would be an evacuation. It was just a matter of time.”

“Why Davis waited until the last minute is beyond me,” another said as he scowled at the flames lifting high over the city.  “People are terrified, and they’re going wild.”

“The evacuation should have started days or weeks ago,” another said bitterly.  “Everyone would be gone and the Yankees wouldn’t have much to lord it over.  If the government wanted to stay, fine, but they should have emptied the city of everyone else.”

Another man shrugged pragmatically.  “I don’t reckon it does any good to talk about what
should
have happened.  All we can do now is deal with what
did
happen.”

Jeremy agreed with all of them.  He stood quietly, but grew more concerned as he felt a slight breeze whisper at his hair.

“If the wind starts blowing,” the man standing closest to him said grimly, “I don’t think there’s anything anyone can do to control these flames.”

Unfortunately, his fears materialized as the light breeze increased to a brisk wind.  Flames, fanned to burn hotter and brighter, began shooting out sparks in every direction.

Jeremy groaned as the buildings around the warehouses began to catch fire, their flames adding to the heat and intensity.  He looked down the glowing streets and feared for the whole of Richmond.

He sprang forward with the rest of the firefighters, but it didn’t take long before everyone there understood there were not enough of them to put out the fires.  

Jeremy joined them as they ran for the center of town, looking for help.

Carrie had convinced Janie and Clifford to join her at the hospital, knowing the bluffs would give them the best view of the city.  By the time they got there the bluff was already crowded with patients and medical staff looking shell-shocked as they stared down at the burning city.

Carrie moved over to the edge and stared down, sick at what she saw unfolding below.  Flames shot up from the business district, but those were dwarfed by the raging inferno creeping toward town from the warehouse district.

“Jeremy is down there!” she cried to Clifford, tears filling her eyes.

She felt an arm circle her waist.  “He said he would leave if it got out of control.”

“Hobbs!”  Carrie grabbed him in a fierce hug.  “You’re safe!”

Hobbs flushed with pleasure.  “I reckon I am, Miss Carrie.  I saw Jeremy down by the warehouses just an hour or so ago.  He was fit as a fiddle then.  He told me if things got out of hand he would come back to the house.”

Carrie nodded in relief.  “I left him a note so he would know we’re here.”

Hobbs frowned.  “I saw it.  You reckon it’s a smart thing to leave the house with all the people looting?”

Carrie shrugged.  “From what I could tell nothing was going to stop them if they came.  They may take our things, but at least no one will be hurt.”  She also knew no one would find the money hidden away.  She could only hope the house was far enough away from the fires.  At least she didn’t have to worry about Granite locked away in the barn.

Janie groaned.  “Feel that wind,” she said with dismay.  “There is no way they are going to get those fires out.”

Carrie stared down at the orange glow.  Would there be anything left of her beloved city for the Yankees to conquer? 

“They’re burning the boats,” Clifford said sharply, as he waved his hand toward the river. 

Carrie looked down at the orange blazes shimmering against the water of the James River.  She could almost appreciate the beauty if she wasn’t so aware of the destruction being wrought.

Boom!

Carrie was thrown to the ground, perilously close to the bluff ledge as an explosion rocked the air and shook the earth. 

The initial explosion was followed by what sounded like a hundred cannons discharging at once, and the sky lit up as shells from the fired gunboat shot into the air in a huge pyrotechnic display.  Into the midst of the firing missiles came three more massive explosions as other gunboats were fired.

Hobbs still had his arm around Carrie, holding her close to the ground.  “Stay down!” he yelled. 

Carrie lifted her head just enough to see the entire bluff littered with prone bodies.  “Are they hurt?” she gasped, struggling to get up and go to her friends.

Hobbs pressed her down firmly.  “I don’t think so.  The explosion threw everyone to the ground.  You’re lucky you didn’t go over the edge,” he said grimly.  “The best way to miss all those exploding shells is to stay low.  It won’t last for long.”

Carrie nodded and peeked over the edge again.  “Oh, my…”

“That’s one way to put it,” Hobbs growled.  “We’re blowing up our whole fleet so the Yanks can’t get them.”

Once Jeremy realized there was nothing that could be done to stop the fire, he was anxious to get back to the house.  He thought about helping to fight the fires, but he had promised Thomas he would take care of Carrie.  The streets were almost deserted now, with the exception of soot covered men trying to fight the flames.  He was certain the frightened citizens would hide in their homes until morning.

He was at the bottom of Church Hill when the explosion of the gunboats rocked the streets.  He grabbed a lamp post to remain standing, listening as the tinkle of glass said windows were being shattered all over the city.  He could only imagine how many buildings on the waterfront had been leveled, or how many new fires had been ignited.  He stared up as missiles lit the air, but continued to move toward home. 

Would this night ever end?

As he crested the hill and turned toward the house, he looked back, his heart surging with sadness.  A stormy sea of smoke, shot through with crimson arrows of fire, covered the city.  The brisk wind caught spiraling flames and sent them leaping onto the next building, and the next, and the next. 

Jeremy could hear screams from women and children rising in agony above the cloud.  Crashing buildings and pounding feet added to the chaos.

He tightened his lips and hurried on.

He was halfway up the hill when another explosion threw him forward off his feet, slamming him into the ground violently.  Jeremy lay still, his heart pounding as he tried to identify the newest explosion.

He heard the sound of running feet coming up the hill.  “They blew up the arsenal!” a man yelled frantically.  “They blew up the arsenal!”  The man sprinted past him and disappeared.

Jeremy groaned.  No wonder the explosion had been so violent.  The arsenal stored close to three-quarters of a million shells that were now exploding into the sky, lighting it up like fireworks.  The very earth seemed to be writhing in agony.

Jeremy struggled to his feet, gaping when he saw shattered windows everywhere.  Doors were torn from hinges and chimneys were caved in all around him. 

“What’s happening out there?” a woman screamed.

“Are the Yanks destroying our city?” another screamed. 

“Mommy!  Mommy!  Are they going to kill us?  Are the Yankees going to kill us?” A child’s shrill scream rose to the sky above the explosions.

“They won’t need to,” Jeremy muttered.  “We’re going to do it ourselves.”  He gritted his teeth and continued forward, his only thoughts now of reaching Carrie and home.  

“Will this night never end?” he groaned. 

Carrie stared in fascinated horror at the scene below her.  “The whole city is on fire,” she whispered, trying to control the shaking in her voice.  “Is no one going to put it out?”

Dr. Wild joined their group on the edge of the bluff, overhearing her question as he walked up.  “They tried, but the fire hoses were cut.”