Words Heard in Silence (33 page)

She raised his hand to her lips and brushed his knuckles over her cheek. "I know you will have to leave, and believe me it will be the hardest day of my life, letting you go. But I know you are going to come home and I will be here waiting." She gave a sad little smile, trying to hold back tears that wanted to fall as she thought of Charlie leaving. "I will be making wedding plans. You will wonder what you have gotten yourself into, my dear Charlie."

Charlie softly wiped her tears away, brushing his thumbs over her eyelids. "That reminds me. I need to make a trip to Washington. And I need to know your ring size, love."

"Oh Charlie, do not spend your hard earned money on something like that. I only need you. I could wear a band of copper and to me it would be the most precious thing because you gave it to me."

Charlie smiled. "I am not a rich man, but I have had few expenses in the last twenty years, and have accumulated enough to be more than comfortable. Anyway, I want you to be able to announce to the world that a man of substance has claimed you. If for no other reason, it will set the biddies on their ears. Will you want gold and diamonds? Perhaps an emerald for your eyes?"

Rebecca laughed, cuddling closer to him. "Whatever you desire, my love. And if you want to set the hens clucking with your choice I will be more than happy to flaunt my good fortune." She looked up at him, her brows drawn together. "Well, now that was not very charitable of me, was it?"

Charlie threw his head back and laughed. "My dear, look at what you are doing - taking in a broken down old colonel, a whole regiment of boys, and some stray refugees - and you think you are not charitable. Mrs. Williams needs to take lessons from you."

"Oh, Charlie, you are many things." She gave him a little leer. "Broken down and old are not among them."

They continued into town, and as they approached the church, Rebecca straightened and patted Charlie on the leg. "Let me off here, dear Charlie. I would imagine this is where I will find everyone I am looking for."

"I will go on to the courthouse first, then visit with Mr. Cooper, and meet you here. I want a word with Reverend Williams, myself."

"I will be here, and with any luck, I will not blow up and take the roof off the church." She gave him a wink.

"Darling, be gentle. The refugees are our concern, not the biddies. And remember Mrs. Williams will have all her allies around her here. It is not a good idea to walk into an enemy camp single handed if you are not carrying a white flag."

"Hmm, good advice from an expert. I will remember that, Colonel Redmond. Now have a good chat with the gentleman. I promise to be as kind as possible."

"And I promise to come riding up with the cavalry just in case you forget the rules of truce talks." Charlie pulled Shannon up in front of the Episcopalian Church and stepped down from the trap to hand Rebecca down. As he did, he whispered in her ear, "And be good."

"Why, Colonel Redmond, I thought you would have learned by now," She paused and ran her hand over his arm. "I am always good." She laughed then turned on her heel and walked toward the church.

Feeling a little dazed, and a lot teased, Charlie climbed back into the trap and headed up the street to the little red brick courthouse, where he knew he would find Mayor Frazier. Time to be the gentle conqueror again.

R
ebecca entered the church to find the sight before her nearly horrifying. There were women and children huddled together under thin blankets around the fireplace and a small stove. No one was talking and the only noise heard was the occasional whimper of a frightened child.

"Oh dear." She sighed. "Well, Daniel, this is quite a battle we are going into." She looked around and saw Mrs. Cooper coming from the back. She raised her hand in hello as she made her way over.

"Rebecca, I am so glad to see you."

"Grace, I did not know things were this bad. When did they start arriving?"

"A few days ago. Rebecca, I just do not know what were going to do with all of them."

She scratched her chin, looking around the room. "Colonel Redmond and I are preparing Gaines Cove to take as many as we can handle. That will be twelve or so. We hope by doing this, others who have room will also take some in."

"You are a gift from God, Rebecca. I was at a loss as what to do with them. Reverend Williams, of course, offered the church for as long as it was needed, but Mrs. Williams had a right fit and said we did not need the burden of cleaning up after them so we could have services on Sunday. I swear to you, Rebecca, I do not know what that woman is going to do when she is at the Pearly Gates and St. Peter asks her to name one good deed."

Rebecca tried not to laugh and quickly placed her hand over her mouth. "Grace! As a very wise man just told me, be nice."

"Would that very wise man be the good Colonel Redmond?"

"It would." Rebecca took her friend by the arm and turned her around for a bit of privacy. "Tell me, Grace, what is the general consensus about the Colonel and his men? Can we expect any real problems, because the Lord in Heaven above knows we have enough problems already?"

"No, I do not think so. Most folks know that their being here is actually a good sign. We hope that this will all be over soon."

"Colonel Redmond believes it will be, but at what cost I am not sure and I am afraid to consider it too seriously."

"What more could it possibly cost us? They have taken everything we had."

"Grace, in all this destruction and this horrible time, I have found something very important and I cannot bear the thought of losing it."

"What have you found dear?"

"Love. I have found love."

"You and the Colonel?"

"Yes. He is truly a wonderful man who, if I am learning to understand him correctly, hates this conflict just as much as we do. He simply wants it to end so he can come home and have a life."

"A home and a life with you?"

"Yes. Please, Grace, be happy for me, I am finally going to have a good life with Charlie and he is only going to be an asset to our community."

The older woman smiled, "Of course I will be happy for you, child. Your mother and I talked many times before she passed and all she ever wanted for you was for you to be happy. She knew you were never happy with Mr. Gaines and right before she died, she was going to ask you to come home."

"I could not have done that. I would have disgraced my entire family. But now I have a chance at happiness and I am going to take it."

"You should. Colonel Redmond is, umm," she smiled. "Well, let us just say I will expect to see you with child within a few months."

Rebecca managed not to laugh out loud. "We will see." She turned back to the women and children. "We need to get these poor souls settled over at Gaines Cove. Having a sense of stability would be good I think. Corporal Duncan said we could probably be ready to take them by tomorrow evening."

"We have some old down mattresses we can send with them to help until new supplies can be gotten."

"Wonderful. Maybe the Colonel can have his men make some rough frames to keep them off the floor."

"If you need anything like hammers and nails let me know, and I will see what I can get Mr. Cooper to scare up at the store."

"Thank you. One of my concerns is keeping them warm enough. Do you think we could take the stove from the church? You still have the fireplace and the building only needs to be warm for services."

"We can ask the elders. And you know I have a say there and I will certainly take up your cause. If we are not going to care for these people here, we should support those willing to take them in and you have more than enough in your life right now. I certainly do not know how you keep giving of yourself like you do."

"It is as my mother always taught me, Grace, ‘‘Do unto others’."

"Mrs. Williams had better not hope it comes back tenfold."

C
harlie tied Shannon at the hitching post in front of the courthouse. He walked into the brick building, which housed the county's records, the small county court room, and the office of the city administrator. Virginia was rather odd; counties and towns did not overlap, so there were separate administrations for each. However, with the catastrophic reduction in Culpeper’s population, the mayor had taken over what little administration was possible for both county and town. Charlie quickly sought out the office of the Mayor and knocked lightly on the door.

"Come in." The voice bidding him enter was brusque and a little squeaky. Mayor Horace Frazier was an old man, grown crotchety with age, rheumatism, and the stresses of the past four years. Charlie entered the small, cluttered office, barely warmed by a tiny iron stove in the corner. The place was an invitation for a fire; there were ledgers and papers piled everywhere.

The mayor looked askance at the Colonel standing awkwardly in front of him. "Well, what do you want? As you can see, the only thing I have plenty of is old paper. If you want them, you are welcome to them. Otherwise, make it quick."

"Mayor Frazier, I understand we have some refugees and that we may be facing an influx of more in the future. I would like to form a joint civilian/military committee to work together to find places for these people, provide medical care, and see to it that they have at least basic food, clothing, and a warm place to stay."

"Bluntly, Colonel, neither the city or the county of Culpeper has any resources left. We have not enough to feed our own people, let alone support some rag tag collection of refugees. We might be able to find room in some of the houses around here, but nothing more. And most of the houses that have stood empty are badly damaged. You would have to repair them if you want to use them. Put your committee together; Reverend Williams, Mr. Cooper, some of the others around here might be willing to help. I suggest you talk to the ladies; they are more equipped to figure these things out. But expect no official support from me. You can only get so much blood from a stone."

With that, the Mayor turned back to studying the papers in front of him. Charlie had clearly been dismissed.

Exiting the building, he gathered Shannon's reins, but instead of remounting the little trap, he walked, leading the horse down the main street to Mr. Cooper's shop. As he passed the few people on the street, he cordially tipped his hat and bowed. Every one of them pointedly ignored him. Again tying off the patient horse, Charlie went into the store hoping to catch Cooper alone. He was not so fortunate, and so waited patiently until the customer was served and departed. The whole time he waited, the woman, who was buying a spool of thread, looked at him askance. She left quickly, clearly uncomfortable with being seen with the Union officer. Charlie sighed. Trying to forge relationships with these people was just not going to be easy.

"Colonel Redmond, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit today?" Mr. Cooper was open and cordial, a distinct relief after the reception Charlie had gotten from the others.

"Good day to you, sir. Mr. Cooper, I will get right to the point. I want to organize a joint civilian / military committee to deal with the refugees and with those in the community who need assistance this winter. However, given the reception I have gotten so far, I have about as much chance of doing so as I have of ending the war tomorrow."

"Well, if I may be perfectly honest, Colonel, you are the conqueror. You have to expect a certain level of resentment and resistance."

"I know. I have to tell you, Cooper, this is far harder than facing a battle. In battle, you know your enemies and your friends. You can see the lay of the land. You know what your resources are, and where reinforcements can be gotten. Here, I am lost. I feel like I am forever about to step on a land mine, usually carried by the most innocuous looking woman.

"Well, Colonel. These are southern ladies. They know more about covert warfare than any man ever will." The merchant laughed at his own joke. "Seriously, sir, I think if you and Miss Rebecca keep on the path you are on, providing support consistently, being there when needed, offering things that this community has been desperate for and too proud to ask for, they will come over, one at a time, but they will come over. Mrs. Cooper and I are certainly aware of what you are trying to do and will do our best to support you. It is time for this to be over and for this country to look to healing itself. What you are doing is important to that end."

"I think so. But I seem to be in the minority."

Charlie reached into his inside coat pocket and retrieved a cigar. "Mind?"

"Not at all."

Charlie could see the wistful look on the merchant's face. "Want one?"

"Do not mind if I do."

The two men enjoyed their cigars together for a few minutes, discussing the logistics of supplying both the refugees and the most urgently needy in the community. Charlie felt more reassured in his plans as he cordially parted with Cooper. And perhaps he had made his first male friend in the community, which Charlie knew was vital to his own future.

R
ebecca had made a list of those that would be coming to the house. She had four women with seven children and one on the way. There was the pregnant woman, who was several months from giving birth, but she already looked ill and Rebecca wanted to get her to Dr. Walker as soon as possible. The woman’s daughter, a tiny girl of between eighteen months and two years hid behind her mother, peeking out to give Rebecca a bright smile with tiny teeth showing through pink gums.

The blonde knelt down and offered her hand to the child. "It is all right sweetheart, I am not going to hurt you."

The girl’s mother helped her daughter toddle to Rebecca. "Her name is Emily."