Summer Rose

by Caroline Hartman

  Little Phil spent a few minutes studying Jack’s orders and the poems, then looked up, his eyes pausing momentarily to her hand and Daniel’s ring. He leaned back, his hands laced across his buttons. “I’m up to my eyeballs in this whether I want to be or not, aren’t I?” One corner of his mouth curled up. “I knew you were trouble the minute I laid eyes on you. You slashed him with a Bowie knife that you just happened to have beneath your goddamn ball gown?”

  Summer lowered her eyes. The silence was loud and long.

  “Jesus Christ, General Sheridan, would you expect anything less?” blurted Hal, effectively breaking the ice with the general, Summer Rose, Daniel, and himself.

  The general shook his head, a little smile threatened his stern demeanor. Everyone laughed. His eyes sited to Summer Rose. “Next time slice the bastard’s throat.”

  He cleared his own throat then turned to Hal and Daniel. “Have you considered offering a reward for the dogs? Post it in the local towns. Someone will squeal. Men who deal in these sports would sell their mothers for the right price.”

  The next day posters were printed and sent out by courier to all the towns up and down the valley. They offered a $200 reward for the recovery of Nip and Tuck. Just about every rebel in Virginia and the entire Army of the Shenandoah now knew some version of the Lieutenant Lady’s dog story. The reward was huge and just about every Yank, rebel, and civilian wanted it.

  Just before dawn of the following day, a rider galloped by Daniel’s headquarters, and a package hit the dirt at the entrance with a thud. Daniel awoke with a jerk, and his wife stirred, but he patted her hand. “Relax. It’s just a mail packet.”

  But he knew it wasn’t a mail packet. When she’d fallen back to sleep, he pulled on his pants and boots. Jack, who had bunked across the road, knelt beside the burlap bag and pointed to the blood. Daniel heard a noise behind him, but didn’t turn. “Go back to bed, Rosie. You don’t want to see this.”

  Sergeant Landon and Boy Criel arrived just as the sun was coming up. Daniel took Summer by the arm and led her toward the guard post by the river. She still wore her nightgown with his army jacket over her shoulders. He questioned the guard and watched the men in the distance as they examined the hoof prints, the bag, and the murdered dogs. He held her close.

  “I’m going back, Daniel. I’m not a child.”

  She sat in the dirt and dust of the road beside the dogs’ mangled bodies and pulled them onto her lap. Her hands stroked their bloody paws and muzzles. Their nails and teeth had been pulled. As she ran her hands over the burn marks, a half-sob, a half-cry escaped. Daniel sat in the dirt beside her. A huge sob knifed through her, and she buried her face in the fur by their necks.

  “How could anyone do such things? What kind of people are they?”

  He sat beside her until Sergeant Landon knelt on her other side. “I’ll take them, Summer. Let me have them. I know just the place for them.”

  All afternoon she lay on Daniel’s cot, her body coiled into a ball. Later that day Sergeant Landon took her up to the hillside to Maryland Heights where they had first met, on the ledge where she’d waited for General Sheridan. He’d buried Nip and Tuck under a scrawny pine tree and marked their grave with a large oval stone. The mighty Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers roared below them.

  “I’ve always loved dogs,” he told her. “So much easier than people.”

  CHAPTER 51

  TRUEST FORM OF FLATTERY

  They sat for a long time, not talking. From down below they heard the bugler call evening mess.

  “You’ll miss your dinner, Sergeant.”

  He nodded toward the large cloud of dust making its way up the hillside. “I was waiting for him.”

  General Sheridan came into view, riding Winchester. She stood as he neared and walked out to greet him. Rienzi, now Winchester, nuzzled her shoulder while Sergeant Landon held the reins of all the horses.

  The general jumped down. “I wanted to tell you in private how very sorry I am. If I hadn’t made that suggestion about the reward … Well, I feel terrible.” He took her hand. “Your husband and Hal are both sick about it, too.”

  She placed her other hand on his. “They’re probably better off dead.” Her breath caught, and she started to cry again. “You know what was done to them.” She sniffed back her tears and tried to smile, noticing that even his eyes looked wet. “You have been so kind in so many ways, General.”

  Somehow neither of them found it strange that while they had to stay composed, keep a stiff upper lip for the half-million men who had given their lives in the war, they could still cry for a couple of slaughtered mongrel dogs.

  He pressed her hand in the crook of his arm, and they walked together to the oval stone. His presence calmed her. The general removed his hat and she stopped her tears, dabbed her eyes with her handkerchief. Rabbit bravely snorted at Winchester; a skein of geese honked across the sky.

  They stood for a few minutes until he broke the silence. “I questioned some rebel prisoners. I vaguely remember that bastard, Hobbs. He was in my company at West Point my first year, then he dropped out or was kicked out. Even then he was a misfit.” He squeezed her hand. “I’m concerned for your safety, Summer. His verses made my skin crawl.

  “We’re staying here for a while, until the spring perhaps. I’m putting your husband in command of headquarters. Whether he likes it or not, he won’t be going on patrol. Sergeant Landon knows of a house for rent in town where I want you to stay. I believe you know Colonel Stone’s wife. Several wives are coming for the winter. We’ll put round the clock guards on you. Have you a pistol?”

  She shook her head.

  “Ever use one?”

  “I fired one a few times.”

  “We’ll get you a good one. Not one of those little pea shooters. Sergeant Landon can set you up for some target practice.” One side of his mouth curled. “We’ll get the bastard even though Boy Criel said he’s long gone.” He petted her hand. “The President asked about you.” He smiled at her reaction. “So I’d better take good care of you.”

  He walked with her to where Winchester waited then motioned Sergeant Landon to bring Rabbit forward. “Now for the real reason I’m up here.” He removed his hat again. “We can change all those plans. All you have to do is leave that big lout of a husband of yours and marry me.” His dark eyes shimmered. “I could arrange to have him—”

  She arched her eyebrows and made a mock face of horror. “You know how hard I worked to get him back, and you want me to leave him now?” Her face smoothed into a smile. “He found me first, Sir, or else I’d be honored to be your wife. I have a feeling that once this war is over, General, you’ll find the perfect girl.” She stepped back, but her hand lingered on his sleeve. All laughter left her face. “And she will be a most fortunate woman.”

  She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. He picked up her hand, the hand with Daniel’s ring on it, and kissed it. For a long moment he didn’t say anything. Then he bent and laced his hands into a step and helped her mount Rabbit. With surprising grace, he pulled himself onto Winchester.

  “I’m going to be particular. I know exactly the kind of woman I want.” He nodded to his sergeant. “Lead us slowly down this mountain, and tomorrow I want you to make sure our girl has a Smith and Wesson.”

  CHAPTER 52

  LEWIS AND CLARK

  Just before Christmas, Daniel moved his office into the brick headquarters in Harper’s Ferry. Late that Thursday afternoon, Hal ducked into the new office, his great coat dripping with moisture from the storm outside. Sleet peppered the windows. Hal stood in the dim afternoon light and studied the room. “Nice. At least you have solid walls.”

  Daniel knew Hal’s headquarters were still a large tent.

  Hal sniffed and swiped his arm across his face, trying to dry it, but only smearing more moisture. “One of my troopers needs to get rid of a couple of puppies. They’re good looking dogs. Would it be too soon to give them to your wife?”
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  Daniel noticed how Hal always now referred to Summer Rose as ‘your wife’. They still avoided speaking about the incident, though the knowledge of what had happened would always be there, like a bastard child.

  Daniel slowly put his feet on the floor. “Where are they?”

  “Right behind my headquarters.”

  He stood and reached for his greatcoat. “Let’s take a look.”

  The wind picked up, rippling the canvas between blasts of ice pellets. The puppies, both males, had identical markings, but in reverse. One was tan with back markings, the other black with tan markings. They didn’t resemble the mother.

  The soldier who owned the mother looked about sixteen. He shrugged when they asked about the father. “Sergeant Nolan told me I had to get rid of them by tomorrow. If I don’t, he will.” He shuffled some straw with the toe of his boot.

  Daniel knelt and picked up the puppies. Short-haired and healthy, they were a handful to hold. Their paws were big and their faces square. Both had black eyes and wet noses. He handed the black one to Hal. Neither puppy seemed shy. Little pink tongues lapped at their fingers. Hal pulled a bill from his pocket and gave it to the boy, who beamed.

  Daniel grinned. They both knew how difficult parting with cold cash was for Hal. “I’ll split the cost with you.”

  Hal shook his head.

  They mounted their horses, both automatically sheltering the little dogs under their capes. The sleet increased, starting to harden into snow and cover the ground. They turned uphill and into the wind, toward Daniel and Summer’s house on Washington Street, where they met General Sheridan coming from the armory. They saluted and Sheridan nodded toward the puppy sticking its head out from Daniel’s cape.

  “For Summer Rose?”

  Daniel nodded. General Sheridan saw the other puppy; he shyly smiled at his colonels. “I would like very much to see this, if you don’t mind.”

  Daniel led them to the rear of the house via an alley, their chins tucked down as they fought the roaring wind. A groom took their horses, and they entered the house through the warm kitchen. Daniel introduced them to Ida, the Negro woman making biscuits at the kitchen table, and she nodded her approval when they wiped their boots on the mat by the door and hung their dripping hats on the hooks. She beamed at General Sheridan and made no comment about the puppies.

  “How is Winchester, Sir?” She moved her head toward the barn. “Is he …?”

  General Sheridan shook his head. “The weather’s too nasty for Winchester. He’s snug in his stable.”

  Ida nodded. “That’s good, Sir. You can’t be too careful of our hero.”

  Daniel led them through a narrow hallway to the living room. Summer sat by the fire with her feet up on an ottoman. Dressed in a soft raspberry-colored wool jumper and a white blouse with Garibaldi sleeves, she looked the picture of health. Her shining sable hair had grown a little, so she could tuck it around her ears. Holding a half-knitted, tiny yellow sweater, she stood quickly when she saw who her guests were.

  “How …” Her eye caught the tiny nose poking out from her husband’s cape and she squeaked, dropping the little sweater and crumbling to the floor. The skirt of her jumper billowed around her like the petals of a peony and she held out her hands, her fingers wiggling. All three men grinned from ear to ear, watching her cuddle the tan puppy to her chest, beaming as the puppy licked her face and neck. Hal knelt beside her, showing her the other black nose as it poked out of his cape. She hooted again, and he put the second puppy in her arms.

  Daniel took the men’s coats and hung them in the hallway, then poured each a glass of bourbon. Daniel and Hal sat on a wooden bench by the fire while General Sheridan joined her on the floor and played with the puppies. Hard sleet splattered against the glass windows, and the fire cast a golden glow like a spell over the general, the girl, and the puppies.

  Daniel’s heart rose in his throat and caught there. He stuck out his hand and Hal took it, knocking down a chunk of the wall of hard feelings between them. They had been friends since before they could walk, and Daniel couldn’t blame any man for wanting Summer Rose. But while his Rosie was, without any doubt, the most gorgeous girl any of them had ever seen, she was also so much more.

  He knew Hal would never touch her again, not like he had that night, and he knew she’d never again be so innocent. The hardest thing for Daniel was forgiving himself. He should have focused on her fears, her innocence, rather than his miserable jealousy. He should have spoken to Hal earlier about his inappropriate actions, let Hal know he wouldn’t tolerate such behavior. He was aware of the ease with which General Sheridan joked with his wife. It hadn’t gone unnoticed that the general glanced at her secretly, admiring her, perhaps more than he should.

  Daniel lowered himself to the floor and picked up the tan puppy. “What are you going to name them?”

  General Sheridan picked up the black mongrel. “When your tenacious and shameless wife was convincing me to let her play soldier in order to worm her way back into your affection, Daniel, she told me that the two of you were, and I quote,”—he raised his voice to a falsetto—“‘General Sheridan, Sir, we’re like bacon and eggs, bread and butter, salt and pepper, even Lewis and Clark.’”

  Summer blushed to the shade of her jumper. General Sheridan’s grin spread across his face, and he held up the black puppy. “May I suggest that this one reminds me of Meriwether Lewis? See those big black eyes? Did you know that sixty years ago Meriwether Lewis and William Clark’s expedition started here at Harper’s Ferry?”

  The tan puppy squirmed out of Daniel’s hands and wiggled toward Hal who lifted the second puppy. “My father, when he was a boy, met General Clark. He spoke at length about his fine appearance and said he had a lot of teeth. I think the tan one looks just like William Clark.”

  Summer laughed. “You’re teasing me.” The tan puppy squirmed out of Hal’s hand and made its way across the lush wool of her skirt. “Are you making this up?”

  Little Phil shook his head. “Meriwether Lewis did come here. And I distinctly remember you saying, ‘bacon and eggs, bread and butter, salt and pepper, even Lewis and Clark.’”

  She hugged Clark, who nibbled her nose. “I vaguely remember saying Lewis and Clark. I guess I was tenacious, wasn’t I?” She grinned at her husband and mouthed, thank you, then smiled at Hal.

  Ida stuck her head in from the kitchen. “Mrs. Charteris, I set two more places for dinner and made an apple pie for dessert.” She motioned to Hal. “Colonel St. Clair, there’s a nice wooden crate in the cellar. Would you bring it up to the kitchen for the puppies? Daniel, go with him and bring up a couple of bottles of wine. General, Sir, I warmed some water. You may wash your hands in the kitchen.”

  As the general followed Ida to the kitchen, she turned and handed General Sheridan a small apple. “For Winchester, Sir. Do you think possibly you could arrange it so I could meet him?”

  CHAPTER 53

  THE END AT LAST

  They spent the winter in Harper’s Ferry waiting for the roads to dry out and the ice to crack on the upper Potomac. By Christmas, Summer Rose’s waistline had thickened, and the baby occasionally gave a soft flutter. At night Daniel laid his head against her abdomen and waited for the baby to bump his cheek.

  Summer giggled. “That’s my stomach gurgling, not the baby.”

  The puppies slept in the crate beside their bed. Daniel ran them outside a couple of times during the night then came back to their bed, shivering, with his report. “Clark peed. I almost lost Lewis. His black coat fades into the night.”

  She wrapped her warm body around her husband. “Come here. The baby is a little furnace.”

  They ate Christmas dinner in one of the warehouses with all the soldiers and danced at a military ball in the same warehouse less than a week later. Harvey, Amelia, Emily, and Abbey with Hank all came for a visit and stayed at a hotel near the parade grounds. Becca and Ned came to help take care of everyone and stayed at Daniel and Summ
er Rose’s quarters.

  Hal spent as much time as possible with his son. They sat for another photograph, and Hal enclosed it in a letter to Fanny. For the next few days, Hal could be seen walking and riding around the post, the baby tucked in his arms.

  Amelia and Harvey gave Daniel and Summer a fluffy Swiss comforter, which they put to immediate use. Frostbite had become the hospital’s biggest affliction; however, Ray had his hands full that winter with more than frostbite. Grace was expecting their first child. Her sister had won the hundred dollar gold piece from their father for producing the first grandchild. Grace made such a big fuss over losing the gold piece that Summer considered suggesting an easy way to earn gold pieces. She confessed her wicked thoughts to Daniel, expecting him to admonish her, but instead, he told her she should go ahead and tell Grace.

  “It might shut her up,” he said.

  Becca laced Summer Rose’s stays tight and adjusted the black velvet ball gown so it fit her expanding figure. “No one would ever guess you have a baby in there. You look sinfully gorgeous.”

  Daniel thought so, too. They walked through the post, he in his dress uniform, she with her black, hooded cape billowing about her. They couldn’t help but remember the last ball they had attended.

  “I wonder where Hobbs is?”

  Summer Rose had a knife strapped to her leg and Smith and Wesson in her pocket. Two guards trailed behind them. “I hope he’s under six feet of dirt.”

  Daniel filled her entire dance card, but she danced twice with General Sheridan and once each with the gallant George Custer and handsome Myles Keogh, the Irish Soldier of Fortune. The charming young Lieutenant Colonels, Jake Hunt and Ed Kincaid, danced several times with Emily and Abbey. Both couples seemed quite interested in their partners.