One of the men rode forward with her to point out the way, and then Andrea headed out at a gallop. She’d intended to reach camp before daylight overtook her, but already the veil of night had lifted and the sun’s red eye was peeping over the horizon.
Chapter 14
They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist...
– Last words of Union General John Sedgwick
Andrea continued on her way alone, watching with wonder the light that heralded a new day.
“We’re getting close,” she said to Justus as she took a look around. She knew where she was now. The Union encampment was not far.
“Halt!”
Andrea instantly drew rein, then laughed.
“Hey Kildare,” she said casually as a figure appeared out of the mist. “You the only one in my welcoming party?”
The gray-bearded man didn’t laugh. Andrea didn’t recall that he ever had.
“Camp’s straight ahead,” he said gruffly, looking up at her with squinty eyes as if he disapproved immensely of her comings and goings.
Andrea didn’t take it seriously. Instead she saluted the sentry, hoping the sign of respect would lighten his mood—but he ignored it, turning on his heel and disappearing back into the veil of gray.
“See ya later, Kildare!” she yelled over her shoulder.
This too, got no response.
Andrea smelled the unmistakable odor of the encampment before she saw it or even heard it. She took a deep breath and smiled. Home at last.
As she rode out of a small stand of trees, Andrea drew rein to take in the sight, causing Justus to rear in impatient rebellion. A curtain of smoke floated above the encampment, resembling the fog on the river behind her. The vivid colors of the Stars and Stripes dominated her view as a lazy breeze lifted fold after fold of the massive flag to flutter against the scarlet sky of dawn. Beyond that lay the neatly aligned tents, and still further the white tops of the army wagons standing in stark contrast to the shadowy outlines of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Andrea allowed Justus to pick up a prancing trot as she marveled at the hustle and bustle of the waking canvas city. On either side of the deeply rutted road glowed the blazes of campfires, around which men sat or lay, some cooking, some eating, some doing nothing but talking. And from every direction came the noise of an army waking up. Bugling, swearing, drumming, and shouting created a symphony of sound that was accentuated by the resonance of neighing horses and the incessant banging of pots and pans.
The vivid picture that unfolded before her was part of the charm of camp life that Andrea loved. Already she could hear bits of conversation as men began their daily discussions around the campfire. Some conversed about experiences of the past. Others were spreading rumors with regard to future operations. And still others gossiped about something they had heard… as always, giving more consideration to entertainment value than accuracy.
Nudging Justus into a canter, Andrea flew past men going out to drill and beyond wagons rolling in with supplies. When she noticed an approaching detachment of cavalry filling the narrow road, she slowed Justus to a trot, then guided him off to the side as he danced and fought at having to stop again.
“Sinclair,” a deep voice at the head of the contingent said as his martial figure materialized from out of the haze.
Andrea immediately saluted upon realizing it was Colonel Jordan addressing her.
“You’re back.” He reined his horse in beside her and studied her intently. “Any problems?”
Andrea tried to look him in the eye, but felt her throat convulse in a hard swallow as she did so. “Uneventful.”
“Hmm. I thought I heard some shooting over yonder.” J.J. nodded toward the river, his eyes narrowing upon her.
Andrea decided that either she’d failed to convey confidence in her answer, or J.J. had figured out that her definition of uneventful—and his—were at odds. She looked down at the ground and then back up. “I was challenged by the pickets at the river is all.”
“Sounded to me like more than just a challenge.”
As he spoke, Andrea moved her seat—and her one spur—ever so slightly, causing Justus to suddenly rear. She pretended to be too busy regaining control to have heard.
J.J. shook his head. “Be that as it may, we were just going out for some target practice. I was bragging about you to Colonel Delaney. Care to join us?”
Andrea looked at the rider beside J.J. and realized for the first time it was Colonel Daniel Delaney.
She smiled despite the fact she had been in the saddle for more than six hours and the throbbing in her ankle was intensifying with every step. Her hard landing at the farmhouse had done little to relieve the pain—and from the feel of it, had done much to increase the swelling.
“Sure,” she said, turning Justus and falling in beside Daniel. “I didn’t know we were expecting a visit from you so soon.”
“Colonel Jordan and I had…some things to discuss,” he replied with a grin and a twinkle in his blue eyes.
“I see.” Despite the miles behind them, Andrea had to work hard to keep Justus at the slow speed the other horses were traveling.
“I understand you’re quite a good shot.”
Andrea glanced over at Colonel Jordan. “Just what have you been telling Colonel Delaney?”
“That I taught you everything you know.”
“Yes, that’s true.” She smiled at J.J., who sounded like a proud a father talking about his son.
She and J.J. had practiced shooting targets from horseback as a game long before the war had even begun. It was his Colt .44 she carried on her saddle, a gun she knew well how to use—though never with the intent of killing anything.
As they drew rein near a picturesque grove of trees, J.J. turned to Andrea again. “How’s the ankle feeling?”
Andrea pulled her foot out of her stirrup and stretched her leg, then crooked it around the pommel of her saddle. “To tell the truth, it’s throbbing like a son of a b—.”
“Sinclair!” J.J. didn’t allow her to finish. “Must you curse like a common soldier?”
Andrea looked up sheepishly and shrugged. “You do.”
“I’m a….” J.J. glared at her, and then turned his gaze to Colonel Delaney, who was looking straight ahead, though a smile twitched at the corners of his mouth.
“Never mind.” He spurred his horse forward, directing his men on how and where to set up the targets.
By the time the cans were set, the veil of mist that had clung to the ground had withdrawn, as if licked away by the magical rays of the sun.
“The object,” J.J. explained to Colonel Delaney, “is to shoot as many of the targets as possible. Riders can choose their method, but the winner will be the one with the most targets hit in the shortest amount of time.”
Andrea watched as most of the men pulled their horses to a stop at a central place, took aim at each target, and fired. She analyzed each and evaluated how she would have done it differently, even though she assumed she was just there to observe.
But when all of the men had taken a turn, she was surprised to see J.J. resetting the cans. He nodded toward her and held up his timepiece. “Your turn.”
Andrea shook her head in alarm. She’d never done this in front of anyone but J.J. And it had always been just a game—not a competition.
“Go on,” J.J. urged her. “Just pretend you’re home.”
Taking a deep breath, Andrea eyed the targets again. Then she kicked Justus into a full gallop, and rode the length of the line, striking every target save one when Justus stumbled. Still, she beat the best soldier’s time by three seconds.
J.J. sat tall on his horse with a beaming smile. “See what I mean?” he said to Colonel Delaney who sat staring at Andrea with a look of half amused, half amazed admiration.
“How long have you been in the saddle, Sinclair?” J.J. asked Andrea when she’d pulled Justus to a halt in front of him.
Andrea stood up in her stirrups sligh
tly and stretched. “Feels like twelve hours, but probably only six.” She settled back into the saddle, swinging one leg over the pommel again, so she could rub her sore ankle that was banging against her boot.
“How long since you’ve slept?”
“You mean all night?” She closed one eye as she tried to recollect.
“Never mind,” he responded. “How long since you’ve eaten?”
Again Andrea looked at him blankly, afraid to tell him she had actually left Catherine’s yesterday so she could do some snooping around on her own. That would mean her last meal had been yesterday morning—and now that he mentioned it, she was fairly ravenous.
She watched the two officers’ eyes meet, but could not read their expressions.
J.J. cleared his throat.
“Colonel Delaney and I are riding to Centreville today. Perhaps we can talk upon our return.”
Andrea nodded, taking the hint that she was dismissed. After saluting, she turned Justus back toward camp. With the smoke of hundreds of fires beginning to burn her eyes, she listened to the two officers and their entourage gallop away behind her.
“Sinclair!”
Andrea’s face broke instantly into a smile at the sound of her friend’s voice.
“Boonie!” She saluted the private as enthusiastically as if he were a general. “Do you have my bed ready?”
He laughed. “Sure, boy. It’s under yonder tree. No tent, just the way you like it.
“Are the sheets clean?”
“You a soldier or a silly woman?” Boonie grabbed onto Justus’ bridle while Andrea carefully and tenderly dismounted.
“I’m a soldier whose looking for a clean bed, is all,” she responded, taking a couple of hopping steps on her good ankle.
“Well, I looked all day and found you the softest dang rock in this here field for your pillow.”
“Mighty kind of you, Boonie.” Andrea put her hand on his shoulder and leaned on him as she limped along. “Lead the way. I’m tired enough to sleep on a whole bed of rocks.”
Chapter 15
Do your duty and leave the rest to Providence.
– Confederate General ‘Stonewall’ Jackson
Andrea did not awaken until late afternoon, or at least did not rise until then. She lay quietly, listening to a group of men trade lies around a campfire in front of her, while another group insulted one another in a card game behind her.
When she heard the clarion voice of a soldier shouting orders, she sat up and watched the two colonels return to camp with little fanfare, but a lot of activity. Soldiers ran to grab their mounts, while aides scurried into a nearby farmhouse to make preparations for their arrival.
Rising from her earthen bed, Andrea joined her comrades in a half-hearted game of poker, but each time she heard Colonel Jordan’s booming laugh, she became distracted. It was nice the two old friends had a chance to visit, but she wished they would come out and tell her what they were talking about.
One by one Boonie and the others went off to their tents, but Andrea knew she would not be able to sleep now. She sat alone by the fire, knees drawn up to her chest, hands clasped around her calves, hypnotized by the weird shadows the fire created on the tents and bushes within its glow.
As fierce as were the scenes of war, equally apparent to her was the peace that surrounded a camp at night. Nothing stirred now except the steady drone of insects and the occasional crack of the fire. It was in these quiet times that Andrea would contemplate the men around her and the sacrifices they were willing to make. What number of the patriotic hearts that beat around her would cease to be in the upcoming days and months ahead? And what of the enemy…those who lay in like numbers under the same stars, gathered as well to defend their Cause until death?
She sighed deeply at her heavy thoughts and listened absently to the muffled tramp of night patrols going out, followed by the gruff challenge of a sentry as another returned. She was tired. She should close her eyes. But like a moth attracted to the flame, she continued to stare at the crackling blaze, seemingly unable to remove her eyes from its entrancing glare.
“Keeping a close watch on the fire, are you?”
Andrea hadn’t heard any footsteps so the voice startled her. She watched the approach of J.J., his shirt unbuttoned at the collar, coat wide open. Daniel Delaney was right behind him in a similar state of undress.
Andrea picked up the stick beside her and poked at the flame sending another shower of sparks into the night sky. She didn’t answer, just nodded.
J.J. cleared his throat. “We’ve been talking about you, Sinclair.”
“Is that a fact?” Andrea tried not to sound interested, but her heart pounded violently.
The two officers plopped down on the ground, one on each side, their knee-high cavalry boots squeaking as they shifted their weight.
“You still interested in going to Richmond?” J.J. asked in a low voice.
Andrea looked up, almost afraid to answer.
“Yes,” she finally said, looking straight ahead now, her eyes locked on the fire.
“You’re willing to take the risks? Be discreet? Not allow your temper or disposition to get in the way of the job you must do?”
Andrea glanced sideways at Daniel, then turned back to J.J. “Yes.”
She watched J.J. look over her head to Daniel, doubt still evident in his eyes.
Then it was Daniel’s turn to clear his throat.
“The Colonel and I have still not come to an agreement on this,” he said, rubbing his hands together as if they were cold, though the night air was anything but. “We thought we’d bring it up to you first…make sure you are still interested.”
J.J. interrupted. “It’s not exactly that we’re not in agreement that you go. It’s just that I have told Colonel Delaney I do not want you delivering messages to anyone outside of Richmond.”
“And I have told Colonel Jordan, I cannot promise that won’t happen,” Delaney answered, frustration obvious in his voice. “You are undoubtedly more capable of getting in and out of Richmond than anyone. Probably be less in danger and possibly accomplish more.”
“But that is just too dangerous.” J.J. stood, still not giving Andrea a chance to speak. “Gathering intelligence in enemy territory is one thing, delivering it is quite another.”
“It’s no different than what she’s been doing for you the past ten months.” Delaney stood as well.
Andrea looked from one man to the other as they glared at each other over the fire.
“It is different if she’s delivering to another agent,” J.J. flung back. “She’s been reporting to me and me alone. Too many things can go wrong with another person involved. There are spies and counterspies everywhere. She possesses a reckless disregard for prudence, and I do not feel comfortable trusting her life with people not of my choosing.”
“Can I say something, please?”
Simultaneously they looked down at Andrea as if they had forgotten she was even there.
J.J. swept his hand in front of him as if giving her the floor to speak.
Andrea stood and brushed off her pants. “Union lines are within fifty miles of Richmond, aren’t they?”
They both nodded.
“Then half way is only a day’s ride…”
“A hard day’s ride,” J.J. interrupted her. “And what of the ride back? You would need two horses. And you can’t just come and go out of Richmond at will…”
Andrea threw her arms up in the air. “If you are determined to keep me here, why don’t you just say so?” As far as she was concerned, distance meant nothing to someone who possessed motive and will—and she was not lacking in either department.
Kneeling down, she grabbed a stick and began stirring the fire as if it were personally responsible for her troubles.
J.J. touched her shoulder. “I am not determined to keep you here. I just don’t want to throw you to the wolves. I want to know you will be safe.”
“I don’t belie
ve Colonel Delaney is going to allow me to be devoured by wolves.”
J.J. took off his hat, wiping beads of sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. “He does not know you like I do, Andrea.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Andrea watched Daniel eyebrows shoot up at hearing J.J. call her by name.
“I believe the Colonel does have your best interests at heart,” Daniel stepped forward, looking deep into Andrea’s eyes. “But,” he said, turning to face J.J., “I also believe you should give…Andrea a little credit. From what I have seen, she is competent and capable, and should be given the opportunity to do this service for the Union.”
Andrea stared at Colonel Delaney, stunned at his defense of her, and somewhat astonished that she did not object to him addressing her so casually.
“I haven’t known her long, but I already have implicit confidence in her abilities.”
Now it was J.J.’s turn to throw his hands in the air.
“I can see you two are determined to work together and would probably conspire to do so whether I give my blessings or not.” His tone was gruff, but his eyes sparked with a hint of surprise and pleasure.
Andrea looked at Daniel and grinned, then turned back to J.J.
“We won’t be working that closely together. We’ll have a few thousand of the Confederate army between us.”
“Thank you for reminding me.” His expression turned instantly serious. “That makes me feel much better.”
“Well, I want your blessing.” Andrea grabbed his hand. “I won’t go without it.”
J.J. let out an exasperated breath, and pulled her to him in a brotherly hug.
“All right. You win. You can go with a clear conscience if you so choose.”
It took no knowledge of Andrea’s circumstances to know that she did so choose.
“You have my blessing, but…” He held her back again at arm’s length. “You have to promise you’ll be careful. You’ll listen to Colonel Delaney. Use due diligence. It will be perilous in no small degree.”
Andrea nodded emphatically.
“Well, I guess that’s settled. Let’s get some sleep, Colonel.” J.J. threw his arm around his friend’s shoulders and started walking back toward the house. “You do the same,” he said nodding back at Andrea.
Duty Bound (Shades of Gray Civil War Serial Trilogy Book 1) Page 7