Minnesota Bride

by Lisa Prysock

  “Thank you. I hope so, too.” Melody sipped more of her tea, thankful the gentlemen joined them at that point, sparing her the need to divulge any further personal details. They did have some common ground, if only she could remember to stick to the few details which were safe to share.

  All the while as they chatted, Varina grew wearier by the time the gentlemen arrived in the sitting room. Shortly thereafter, instead of violin or piano for entertainment with dancing, everyone agreed to turn in early. Much to Melody’s disappointment, the chaos of moving and traveling had gotten the better of them all.

  Chapter 8

  By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. Hebrews 11:31, ESV

  * * *

  Melody spent the next few days helping Varina around the household with unpacking and looking after six-year-old Margaret, four-year-old Jefferson, Jr., and two-year-old Joseph. The children had a slave nurse maid, but they were quite active and occasionally underfoot. There were boxes, crates, and trunks of dishes, clothing, and books to be placed in the mansion. Her husband spent much of his time talking to Danville and sometimes, Davis himself, often behind closed doors.

  Varina grew to regard her as a friend from all Melody could tell. When Mrs. Davis collapsed into a chair on the third day of their unpacking, she rushed to her side with toddler Joseph on one hip, Margaret directly behind, and a small stack of slim books in her free hand. Finally, they’d begun to open boxes and crates of books after days of properly placing dishes, décor items, and clothing. She set the stack of books on the table beside Varina. Melody had high hopes of being permitted to unpack the books for either Beau’s office quarters or perhaps even the study belonging to Jefferson.

  “Are you all right, Varina? You look pale as can be.” Melody set Joseph down so he could watch his older brother play a game of jacks in a corner of the same room. “It’s an unusually warm day for early June. Would you like a glass of water?”

  “I’m fine, but I’m with child, and I daresay this unpacking and moving business has exhausted me. Yes, I will take some water, thank you.” Varina sipped from the glass of water Melody handed her and wiped her forehead with a handkerchief.

  Varina continued. “It is a bit warm today, especially with all of the work we’re doing. I’m so glad you’re here. I don’t think I’d have been able to accomplish as much without you. Sometimes the servants aren’t as capable as I wish them to be. We’ve accomplished twice what they have in far less time.”

  Melody nodded, looking around. She was feeling a little deflated as they hadn’t found a single piece of information to help the Union, but perhaps she and Charles had gained the trust of the Davis entourage. “Yes, we have accomplished a good deal. The clothing is folded and hung up in the bureaus and wardrobes. It looks as though we’re down to a few boxes of household items and the books. The furniture is all in place now, too. The servants finished moving those items a little while ago.”

  “We are accustomed to the finest of furnishings, and I am not too disappointed with what I found here when we arrived, along with what we brought.” Varina continued to sip some of the water and wipe her forehead and décolletage with the handkerchief intermittently. “I admit Davis and I were reluctant to have Beau’s friends visit during this chaotic time, but my, what a help you and your husband have turned out to be.”

  “Thank you,” Melody smiled, concerned for Varina’s health. Moving from Vicksburg, Mississippi all the way to Richmond, Virginia couldn’t have been easy for a woman with child and three young children.

  “Beau spoke so highly of your husband and his family. Now I see why. Only yesterday I encountered your Charles and my husband’s private secretary assembling my favorite walnut table, that very one in the corner there by the windows with the ornate cast iron legs. They even moved it all the way up here from the first floor. I thought it would be best used here in our second floor sitting room where I intend to use it as a tea table. And all of these boxes you’ve helped us to unpack. It dazzles my mind.”

  “I quite agree about the table. It looks lovely in this room. You can tell me which rooms you’d like these books placed and I’ll manage so you may have a lie down before dinner.” She hoped she didn’t sound too eager.

  Melody had taken her husband’s advice and tried to make all of her words have a southern drawl. So long as she stuck to speaking about fashion, household topics, and recipes, Varina seemed completely unsuspicious and trusting. The most daunting discovery was finding out Mrs. Davis was the granddaughter of a governor. My, but they had so much in common! When she began talking about how much she enjoyed her time in Washington, D.C. when she’d served as a hostess for this and that to support her husband’s political career, Melody worked hard to bite her tongue lest she divulge far too much.

  “Yes, Mrs. Trumbull, it is naptime for the children as well. My dear girl, I intend to take you up on that offer at once. Where is Nel? She can take the children back to the nursery and then I’ll have a look at which books go where. I believe those in the crates are for my husband’s office, and those over there in those two trunks are for the household library on the first floor. The morning sickness is bad enough, but then the afternoon exhaustion comes and does me in. How happy I shall be when we have unpacked the last box. I simply cannot function in such chaos.” Her hands waved about toward the boxes, trunks, and crates as she wiped her forehead again. Then she snapped her fan out and began fanning herself vigorously.

  “I’m more than happy to help,” Melody assured her, a smile reaching her lips to have been called Mrs. Trumbull. “I’ll return as soon as I locate Nel, but do promise you’ll call me Melody, although I do like the sound of Mrs. Trumbull. In any case, you should be resting for the health of your baby and yourself.”

  “I could not agree with you more about resting. I hope my Jefferson will understand. He should have a lie down, too. You know he suffers from his health issues at times. I do so wish the servants understood that and took better care of things regarding this move.” Varina shook her head, leaned back, and closed her eyes while Melody slipped out into the upstairs hall.

  After searching the second floor and then the first, she returned with Nel about ten minutes later and helped gather the children to the door. Then the servant ushered them out and led them down the hall to the nursery. Varina was so weary she didn’t even offer further instructions as she followed her brood down the hall to her bedroom.

  Once Varina was gone, Melody was left with the problem of how to move the crates down the hall to Jefferson’s office. She selected one that weighed the least. Mr. Davis might shoo her away, but she drew in a deep breath as she approached his door and tried to muster her courage. After all, the lady of the house had granted her permission to complete this task.

  Finding the study open and empty, Melody found herself delighted at the benevolence granted her to be in the office alone. She figured it was only temporary and quickly placed the crate on a chair near the shelving.

  She’d almost finished stacking one row of books and was about to abandon the task to move toward Jefferson’s desk when she heard a creak in the hall. Then she heard heavy footsteps sounding like those belonging to a man wearing boots.

  There was almost always someone about on both floors of the house. She had no way of knowing who might be approaching, or if they’d enter the study. It would be best to remain near the bookshelves than to be found near the desk, so she turned back toward the shelves in a state of utter panic. Why hadn’t she remained at the crates? What if Jefferson found her near his desk? She’d ruin everything! Her husband would be so disappointed in her.

  “Hello,” Charles greeted her, startling her as she reached the crate again. “I thought I might find you here.”

  “Oh, Charles!” she breathed. “You gave me such a fright.”

  “No need to fear.” He stepped into the room and stopped to survey the crate
of books she was shelving. “Beau was sent to review some troops, and Davis informed me the bone spurs in his heel are acting up. He’s taking the afternoon to put his feet up while Beau handles the troops on his behalf. I don’t think Beau will be long though. The city seems like it’s crawling with soldiers everywhere. I don’t think he had to drive very far. The whole of Richmond seems like a Confederate fortress.”

  “I need you to be the lookout,” she said in a hurried whisper, her nerves beginning to fray. “Varina is taking a lie down as well. Did you know she’s expecting?”

  He shook his head. “No, I didn’t.”

  She nodded. “Taking care of the children and unpacking are taking a toll on her in this warmer weather. How did you know I’d be here?”

  “I noticed today most of the boxes were unpacked, but almost every bookshelf in the house is empty. I figured what few crates remained were books, and I made a guess some belonged in here.” Charles loosened his cravat as he looked about the study, glancing at the desk.

  “Good deduction.” She looked toward the desk, thinking she shouldn’t waste another moment. Beau might return soon, or Davis might wake from his afternoon lie down.

  “Funny you mention the children. When I walked with Beau down the staircase, a little boy was at the front door by the name of William Patton. He wanted to know if he could play with his new neighbors.” Charles peeked out into the hall to see if anyone might be coming in their direction.

  “I’ll mention it to Varina when I see her next. The children will love having a new friend and playmate. This is apparently our best chance,” she commented quietly as she reached the desk. Her husband remained at the door of the study to keep an eye out for intruders.

  Her eyes caught some verbiage on a letter that alarmed her. Then her mouth fell open aghast as she picked up a stack of papers and quickly leafed through it, shocked at what she read. “This is a stack of copies of letters to various dignitaries in Europe asking for recognition as a separate nation.”

  She replaced the stack to exactly where it had been before and moved over a little around the desk to view more piles of papers. There were a few receipts from local purveyors for items for the pantry. She ignored those, thinking they’d be sent on to his household manager. Charles crossed the room to assist her by looking at the piles on the other side of the massive desk.

  One note near the middle of the desk caught her attention. The note appeared to contain details concerning a large shipment of muskets and ammunition on the way to troops in Virginia from Mississippi. She memorized the expected date of arrival, numbers of muskets, and the dropping point before going on to the next stack.

  They rummaged through more papers, being careful not to move things around too much. Then she discovered a little book that put her in mind of a private journal of sorts. The first few pages were filled with the names of prominent southerners and their positions in the Confederate government. Then, a few pages later, she saw a list of Jefferson’s top generals and various military commanders. She saw so many names and numbers that it was impossible to commit them to all to memory, but she tried to remember some of the names and especially the notes about the numbers of militia coming from various states before moving on to read more notes resembling some kind of military strategy.

  The book had all sorts of information penned on its pages in what appeared to be Jefferson’s own handwriting, but she only had time to concentrate on a few details she thought might be significant. His penmanship wasn’t always the easiest to interpret, but she managed to read something about his goal to take control of the railroads, beginning with the B & O in western Virginia, and then some sort of hope to build up a Potomac Army. This would be exactly the sort of thing Lincoln needed to know.

  “I’m not finding anything of value here,” Charles complained. “Maps with no markings, and some correspondence about the colors for their Confederate flag, and various drawings of military uniforms.”

  “Shh, I’m trying to memorize something,” she whispered as she read notes about a spy in the White House who worked as an ordinary housekeeper in D.C. under the alias of Fern Bridger. She needed to get a letter off to Lincoln urgently. The spy had uncovered some kind of information about Lincoln’s top generals. “Fern Bridger,” she repeated to herself.

  “Who’s Fern Bridger?” Charles asked as he returned the items he’d been looking at to the desk.

  Before she could answer him, they heard steps coming up the staircase. She looked at him, and he looked at her. Then they both hurried to the bookcase and the small crate on the chair where they froze.

  “Kiss me!” Charles said, pulling her into an embrace.

  She giggled softly in his arms as he kissed her nose. “What a clever idea! We are on honeymoon, after all!”

  “If someone discovers us now, they’ll assume we’re looking for some corner in which to behave badly in as newlyweds.” He nibbled on her ear, whispering words of affection to her, causing her to laugh some more.

  When the footsteps passed, she exhaled, realizing she’d been holding her breath. Charles looked a little pale as he stepped away, but she couldn’t tell if it was from the kissing, or the spying episode and nearly being caught. She knew they had enough information. They needed to make their escape back to putting the other books away. She could barely remember it all, and the thought of being discovered in Jefferson’s personal study made her nervous, even if they were kissing like any normal recently wed couple. Would Davis cast them into a prison if he suspected them of spying? Would he put them in front of a firing squad, torture them, or perhaps see them hanged?

  Her husband had drops of sweat formed into beads on his forehead. He raked a hand through his dark hair. “Let’s get out of here. It sounds like you’ve got something useful for us to send on.”

  “Oh, do we ever!” She nodded, keeping her tone a whisper. “May I suggest we focus on putting away the other books Varina told me about into the library downstairs? There are some crates of books for this room that I can’t lift. Could we drag them to the door and leave them in the hall? Then we need to find an excuse to leave for home. I must write Lincoln at once.”

  “Good idea. The less we’re seen having been here, the better. Let Davis think a servant moved these books onto the shelves. Can you ask someone to take on this part of the unpacking?” Charles raised a brow.

  She nodded as they slipped out into the hall and made their way towards Varina’s sitting room for the other crates. “Yes, they’ve got a new servant who has been among the most helpful named Mary. I’ll ask her. She does some seamstress work, too. A neighbor came by two days ago, a Mrs. Van Lew, recommending Mary for sewing and housekeeping. Varina employed her at once and I was impressed with her work ethic yesterday, and something else I’ll tell you about later.”

  He nodded as they entered the sitting room. “Sounds bully good to ask Mary to unpack these books. Let’s get these crates of books down the hall. Then we’ll begin stocking the library shelves downstairs with the other books.”

  Melody watched her husband scoop up the next two crates as if they weighed nothing and followed him, pointing out the trunks for the first floor. She felt herself begin to swoon with how handsome he was, and then interrupted her own thoughts in an effort to remain focused. Mentally, she began going over the details again to write Lincoln about upon their soonest escape. She followed Charles down the hall, watched him place the crates by the door to Jefferson’s private study as she’d suggested, and then they returned to the sitting room with the trunks. All the while, she went over the facts she’d learned again and again in her mind. Then she went in search of Mary.

  A little while later, she returned to her husband after settling the servant into the remainder of the task. Charles had hoisted the trunks on his shoulder one by one and carried them downstairs. Then they’d emptied the first one and she stood back with her hands on her hips. She was sure she’d memorized everything she could possibly remember from Jeffe
rson’s study as they worked quietly together to fill the shelves.

  Checking to be certain the door to the downstairs library was still closed, she worried about how to properly evacuate the premise. “What are we going to say about leaving? I mean, we can’t simply disappear into the night. They’ll send someone after us.”

  He was perched on a short ladder to place books on the top shelf as she handed him another stack from the trunk. “Very intuitive, my dear. I’ll think of something. I’m not sure what yet.”

  She bent over into the trunk and gathered another handful of books. “Why don’t you write a letter to me and I’ll read it at dinner...for say the third time today, and then it will begin to bother me with worry...and I’ll burst into tears. Something about I’m worried about my Aunt Ruby in western Virginia who needs an operation...and how we must return to her side.”

  “What kind of an operation?” He jumped down from the ladder when the top shelf was full.

  “Appendicitis.”

  “All right,” he nodded, lowering his voice again when they heard footsteps running down the first floor hall. “An attack of appendicitis it is, but you’ll need to write it. My handwriting is known to Beau. Mind you, say it was delivered by post from western Virginia to my parents who had a servant deliver it to you this afternoon. They might not be too comfortable with a guest receiving mail here yet, but a special delivery from my childhood home would be acceptable. Beau knows they are slave owners. No one will be the wiser.”

  “Ah, good thinking,” she whispered. “You’ll need to say we must leave after dinner.”

  He gave her a kiss on the cheek. “After dinner ‘tis, and keep memorizing lest you forget. And nary a word of it until we are a few blocks away from this house. If someone overhears you telling me of anything, it’s too dangerous.”