“Don’t feign innocence,” he said. “You may have been the canary, but I know all of you are in on this.”
“In on what? I have no idea what you are talking about.”
His eyes were dark, narrow slits. “Where is that Branson girl?”
Emily blinked. Maggie? The last thing she knew the other nurse had been asleep in her chair. She told him so.
“She isn’t asleep now,” Evan said. “In fact, she isn’t anywhere to be found.”
Well, that wasn’t so surprising. By now the day nurses had come on duty—that was evident by Trudy and Elizabeth’s presence. “Then I suppose she has already left the building.”
“Aye. ’Tis convenient, isn’t it? I suppose you would have fled as well had I not come upon you when I did.”
Why on earth would he think she would leave her post before her duty was done? And why did he act as though her foolish song was equal to an assassination attempt on the president or one of his cabinet?
“It was only music!”
He crossed his arms. “Move them on, Sergeant.”
Emily was shuffled into the pack and marched toward the part of the hospital where the military leaders issued commands. A portly soldier with a scowl on his face opened a door. She, Trudy and Elizabeth soon found themselves in front of a panel of officers. Their faces were grim.
Emily gulped. She told herself there was nothing to fear, that they were just ordinary men. They are simply husbands, fathers, brothers from cities and states not unlike my own. But she was afraid, very afraid. Would she and her friends be the next women to occupy a holding cell at Fort McHenry? Would her father be able to come to their aid?
Evan stepped to the panel, exchanged words with the officers, then claimed a place at the wall, in perfect view of her. The look he gave was one of absolute disgust. Emily bit back tears. Why won’t you listen? Why can’t you forgive?
The man at the center of the table introduced himself as Colonel Ezra Cole. Emily had seen him in passing around the hospital but had never spoken to him before. “Do you ladies understand why you are here?” he asked.
Trudy and Elizabeth glanced quickly at one another. “No, sir,” they said in unison.
Colonel Cole cleared his throat. “A rebel prisoner, a Florida man named Lewis Powell, has escaped.”
Cold dread washed over Emily. Regret coursed through her veins. Now she realized what Evan was accusing her of. It was far worse than a Confederate song. He believed Lewis was planning something, yet I dismissed his concern. I trusted Lewis. I thought he would comply with present authority and await his exchange like the others.
Elizabeth leaned toward her. “Are they speaking of the convalescent in your ward?” she whispered.
“Yes.”
Trudy had no idea what anyone was talking about. Lewis had only been at the hospital for one week. She had never even met him.
Emily chanced a glance at Evan. You were right. I should have listened to you.
If he read her expression, he offered no grace. You are my enemy, his stance said. You will be defeated.
Heartbroken, yet determined, she squared her shoulders. He may seek punishment for her. She may even deserve such, but she would not allow it for her friends.
“Sir,” Emily said to the colonel. “May I speak?”
“Of course.”
Her stomach was rolling, but she took a deep breath. “None of us had any knowledge of this man’s escape until this moment. In fact, Nurse Trudy has never even met him.”
Colonel Cole leaned back in his chair, his eyes focused on her. “The prisoner was assigned to your ward?”
“Yes, sir. He was.”
“Then perhaps you would care to enlighten us. Where is he now?”
“I do not know, sir. The last I saw him he was asleep in his bed.”
“And when was that?”
She couldn’t remember exactly, but she thought it was sometime when she was sitting with Ben Reed. I remember glancing about.... The guard was asleep. Emily winced, realizing yet another mistake. I should have woken him then! If I had, none of this would be happening.
She spilled the entire story to the colonel, holding nothing back. The man listened intently, making notes every so often on the paper in front of him.
“So you are saying that to the best of your recollection, the prisoner left the room sometime between the start of the song and Dr. Mackay’s arrival.”
“Yes, sir. It was only a matter of a few minutes.”
Colonel Cole looked to Evan. “Was the prisoner still in his bed when you arrived?”
Evan blinked as though he was surprised. “I did not think to look for him, sir. When I saw the blatant display of rebel pride, my only thought was to squelch it.”
“Indeed,” the colonel said dryly. “No doubt your ire was raised.”
Emily blushed on Evan’s behalf. His fiery temper must have been well-known to his superiors.
“And you ladies...” the colonel said as he looked to Elizabeth and Trudy.
“Sir,” Elizabeth said. “Neither I nor my sister had yet arrived at the hospital in the time of question.”
“Is that true?” he said to Trudy.
“Yes, sir.”
At that moment, Reverend Henry and Dr. Turner entered the room.
“Colonel,” Dr. Turner said. “If I may be so bold, I believe you are questioning the wrong girl.”
“And how is that, Doctor?”
“I would be looking for the Branson girl. It was quite obvious to anyone with eyes that she was sweet on the boy.”
Colonel Cole looked at Emily. “And where was she during your song?”
“Just across the room, sir. She was asleep in her chair.”
He grunted. “Or so you thought.” He looked again at Evan. “I suppose you didn’t notice her, either?”
The Scotsman’s face reddened as he admitted that no, he had not. In his anger toward her indiscretion, he had committed one of his own. Evan had failed to notice what was happening in his own ward.
Oh, Lord, Emily thought, please don’t let this bring trouble on him.
Colonel Cole motioned to the guard standing beside Emily. “Go and see about Nurse Branson,” he said. “Although I suspect if she is part of this, she is long gone by now.”
There was a pause. Emily held her breath while Colonel Cole fingered his mustache.
“Now, ladies,” he said slowly. “I am afraid we still have a problem.”
Emily had a feeling she knew what it was, for there on the table before him were several sheets of familiar paper.
“The three of you began your work here following the battle of Antietam. Correct?”
“Yes, sir,” the women each said.
“And each of you altered your oaths of loyalty.” The man smiled slightly, but Emily couldn’t tell if it was a look of satisfaction or pity.
“Yes, sir,” Elizabeth said. “We crossed out the line which said we could not give aid or comfort to the enemy.”
“And why, may I ask, did you do this?”
“We are nurses, sir,” Trudy said.
He stared at them. Emily knew he was waiting for a different answer.
“Sir,” Evan said, “each of these women has friends or family serving in the rebel army.” He cast her a cutting glance. He may as well have run her through with a sword.
Despite her pain, Emily agreed. “What Dr. Mackay says is true, sir. We each know someone serving in the Confederate army. We have nursed men on both sides of this conflict with equal compassion.”
“But you would give aid to rebel men directly if given the opportunity?”
She gulped before answering and looked at her friends. They nodded.
“Yes, sir, we would. We would not turn them away.”
The colonel leaned back in his chair. He sighed as if not knowing what to do.
Reverend Henry stepped forward. “Sir, I know and trust each of these women. They are fine nurses and have proved this
time and again. Don’t punish them for their mercy.”
“I agree,” Dr. Turner said. “They are not responsible for the choices of others. They only wish to show compassion to all.”
“I am not punishing them for their mercy,” Colonel Cole insisted. “But they have each confessed rebel sympathy. And this one—” he gestured to Emily “—is filling the wards with illegal music.”
“Sir,” Emily said. “It was wrong of me to do so. I dare not ask you to forgive my transgression, but please do not punish my friends because of it.”
He sighed once more. “I do not wish to punish any of you. Your reputation for care is well known throughout this hospital.” He stared straight at her. “You say you acted out of compassion for the troubled man.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Given the fact that you were previously attacked by a rebel, it is understandable that you thought it necessary to use any means to keep him calm.”
Emily blinked. How did he know that? Had Evan reported such?
“However,” Colonel Cole then said, “we cannot have the loyalty of our nurses in question. Therefore, this is what we will do.”
He motioned to his right. The officer beside him straightened the stack of paper; he readied an inkwell and pen. Emily’s heart sank. She knew what was coming. Decision time was at hand.
“You will each sign a new oath. A complete one. And you will cut off all contact with your rebel men.”
A lump filled her throat. “Sir,” Emily said. “I appreciate your understanding. I wish to remain a nurse in this hospital but—”
He leaned forward. “But?”
“I cannot sign your oath as it is written.”
A look of incredulity filled his face. “Come now,” he said. “We are not barbarians. No one is asking you to deny care to a bleeding family member who comes to your doorstep. Only that you remain loyal to our Constitution, that you report such persons to the proper authorities.”
Her future as a nurse depended upon what she did next. Be reasonable, her mind told her. Sign the paper. The army need not know what you really think. You can still tend to the wounded. Just give them what they want.
She looked at Evan. His face had softened to a look of concern. He was watching her intently, waiting to see what she would do. Emily’s heart squeezed. If she signed, she could remain. She could prove to him that she was not the stone-throwing rebel he thought she was.
But then she remembered Lewis and Maggie. They had each displayed a face of submission while secretly harboring an ulterior plan.
Emily realized if she signed Colonel Cole’s oath, she would be doing the exact same thing. She would never aid in the escape of a Confederate prisoner, but she would also never give information that would lead to the arrest of one of her friends. To sign an oath pledging to do so would be a lie.
In her heart, the decision was made. She knew full well what it was going to cost. She swallowed hard, tried to sound brave.
“Sir, I cannot speak for my fellow nurses...only for myself.”
Emily could feel Evan’s eyes upon her, but she dared not look to him. The colonel nodded. Heart pounding, the lawyer’s daughter gave her best defense.
“I eagerly support the United States Constitution, and I wish nothing more than to see this nation reconciled, with a true balance of power achieved. But until then, I cannot deny support for my state, or for the men who have chosen to take up arms in her defense. Therefore, I cannot sign your oath.”
Elizabeth reached over, squeezed her hand. “Nor I, sir.”
“That goes for me as well, sir,” Trudy said.
Colonel Cole looked at them in disbelief. So did the officers beside him.
“Then you leave me with no choice,” he said. “You will hereby be escorted from this facility immediately, never to return.”
He motioned to the guards at the back of the room. They stepped forward. Emily chanced one last glance at Evan before the Federal soldiers led her away.
He refused to even look at her.
* * *
They were gone within a matter of minutes. The guards marched the Baltimore women to Pratt Street. Reverend Henry took charge of the two sisters and Nurse Emily’s coachman was waiting to collect her. Evan watched from the second floor window as she rolled away.
Good riddance, he thought, and told himself he meant it. He turned back for the ward.
Men were still patrolling the halls, but by now everyone knew the Johnny and his treasonous nurse were long gone. Evan hoped his commanding officer would send a squad to the Branson boardinghouse to arrest the girl, if she was foolish enough to be there. If she wasn’t, they could arrest the rest of her family for all he cared.
Loyal Nurse Rebekah was hard at work as usual, maintaining an orderly and disciplined presence in the room. The remaining rebs in the beds all wore faces of uncertainty. There was no talk. They simply looked at him, fearfully.
You should be afraid, he thought. You will lose this war. You will pay for what you have done.
Evan went through the motions of the day. Around noon Jacob Turner called for his assistance with an amputation. The air in the surgical room was rancid, the heat oppressive. Both men worked in relative silence, eager to finish quickly.
But as the flap of skin was closed over the stump and the bone saw returned to its case, Turner became chatty.
“I must admit, I admire their honesty.”
“Whose?” Evan asked.
“Those young ladies.”
Evan held his needle mid-suture. “They refused to pledge loyalty to the Union.”
“They did sign an oath.”
“An altered one.”
“You don’t think Colonel Cole knew that?”
Evan blinked. “What are you talking about?”
“Young man, the colonel knew exactly what they had done. This is a border state. Of course there will be sympathy for rebels here, but we need nurses.”
He could feel the fire in his chest. No wonder this war was taking so long to win. No wonder so many men had died. The army needed officers who would put the rebels in their place, not coddle them.
“So he allowed Southern sympathizers free rein of the wards?”
“Hardly,” Jacob insisted. “He had them watched. They each earned his trust, his respect. He would not have dismissed them had you not forced his hand.”
Evan couldn’t believe what he was hearing. This was not his fault. He was protecting this hospital. He was for the Union. “She sang a rebel battle song.”
“Tell me, have you never before made a mistake?”
The old man’s words were like a knife to his soul.
“Did you see the look on her face?” Jacob asked. “Nurse Emily was devastated. Not because she was being dismissed but because she had disappointed all of us.”
Evan didn’t care how remorseful Emily Davis had appeared. It didn’t change what she had done. “She and her friends unashamedly declared support for traitors.”
“They could have lied, but they didn’t. Would it be that everyone took their oath so seriously.”
“They are Maryland rebels. I am still certain she had a hand in the escape.”
Jacob looked at him like a father disappointed with his son. “Come now, would a woman who refused to lie even to save her position really help a prisoner escape from this hospital? You may not agree with her politics, young man, but don’t besmirch her honor.” He shut his instrument case. “I, for one, will miss her.”
Evan grunted as he finished up his task. I won’t give her or her rebel friends another thought.
* * *
Providence willed that Emily’s parents should both be at home when she arrived. Through a veil of tears she told them what had happened. Though troubled by the dismissal, her mother hugged her immediately. Her father looked almost pleased.
“You did the right thing, dear,” he said. “You told the truth. You stood fast on what you believe and I am proud of you.”
>
She appreciated his words but wished none of it had happened. She had lost her opportunity to minister to the wounded and anything else she had hoped for. “I should have listened to Evan.”
His eyebrow arched. “Evan?”
Emily caught herself. “Dr. Mackay. He knew Lewis wasn’t honorable, but I didn’t believe him. Now I have lost my opportunity to do good in this city.”
“You have worked very hard for a long time,” her mother said. “You have served unselfishly, but now it is time for you to look to your future.”
She knew what future her mother wished for her: marriage to a wealthy gentleman, far removed from the reach of war. Emily wished to please but the only life she wanted was with that stubborn, hard-hearted Scotsman. Tears filled her eyes.
“Please excuse me,” she said.
“Of course, dear.”
Emily quickly moved for the staircase, but she overheard her mother’s surprise.
“You don’t think she—?”
“I do indeed,” her father said. “Question is, what does the good doctor think?”
Emily’s embarrassment stung as badly as the truth. She had fallen in love with a Federal soldier, but the man thought of her as nothing more than a stone-throwing rebel.
* * *
The midday meal was late in being served. The hospital-wide search for the missing reb had disrupted the cook’s schedule. Evan sat in the dining hall with his fellow doctors and picked at his beans and ham. The meat tasted like shoe leather. The beans were as tough as hardtack.
What I wouldn’t give for a slice of peach pie.
He quickly shoved the thought away. He had told Jacob Turner that he wouldn’t give Emily Davis a second thought. He’d meant it. He settled for stewed apples, but they weren’t nearly as good.
Evan then returned to duty. The afternoon passed long and laboriously. He went about his tasks while the rebs stared at him and whispered about her. He was determined to ignore them, yet one had the audacity to address him.
“You didn’t dismiss her did you, doc? You didn’t really send her away, did you?”
Stubborn lass, he thought. She did that herself. “No. I didn’t dismiss her, but she will not return to this hospital.”
The Johnny’s face was crestfallen, as were all the rest within earshot. None, however, looked more disturbed then Private “Maryland, My Maryland.”
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