The Lieutenant's Promise

by Aileen Fish

  Tom was just hammering the last nail in a board on the porch when Levi found him. “There you are,” Tom said. “Next time you decide to flirt with my sister, warn me so I don’t get put to work.”

  “Your absence is part of the reason that work is undone.” Levi raised a hand to ward off any indignation. “I understand why you enlisted, it’s likely the same reason I did. To keep your family safe, protect the state from what was happening in Kansas. I was working on my grandfather’s farm when the town of Lawrence was overrun and burned. My cousin was killed just walking down the road. It’s bad enough when some want to continue to own slaves, but destroying homes and cities and killing innocent people is beyond the pale.”

  Tom didn’t respond until he’d put away his tools and said goodbye to his family. As they walked down the road away from Springfield, he squinted into the sun. “I was torn when we heard what happened in Boonville. The border wars between the loyalists here in Missouri and the free-staters in Kansas were bad, but they were far enough away I could pretend my family was safe.”

  “Pretending is easy to do, at least for a short time.”

  “Exactly. We’ve never owned slaves, but we’ve never spoke out against them, either. Pa didn’t want to stir up trouble, so he said to walk away from any discussions.” He spat on the dirt road. “Maybe if we’d spoken out like we should have, if more people like us had, we wouldn’t be fighting over slavery now.”

  “Or, you might have been killed like my cousin. You wouldn’t help your family at all that way. At least in the army you can help change things.”

  “Yeah, but that leaves all the work to the girls.”

  “And your mother.”

  “No, Ma hasn’t been well since Harvey was born. She never got her strength back. Even bringing water from the well tires her out.”

  That left a lot of work for the two older sisters, with their hired hand gone. They needed Tom back.

  Watching over the safety of the men in his company was a part of Levi in everything he did. Seeing exactly what the loss of his friend would do to Tom’s family made him double up on that vow to see that Tom made it home when his enlistment was up.

  CHAPTER TWO

  For the next week, Levi, Tom and the others in Levi’s company divided up and spread out along the Wire Road south of Springfield. They kept to the woods where possible to avoid being seen. Major General Sturgis Price had led the Missouri State Guard south after losing the battle of Boonville, and Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon of the Federal Army of the West was certain he was meeting up with secessionists from Arkansas. What they weren’t sure about was whether the secessionists were this far south, or if they’d camped near Bolivar.

  Lyon had sent word to Springfield where Major Clanton set up rotating shifts of scouts both north and south of Springfield. This was the tedious part of the job. Levi worried they’d become complacent when day after day they saw no sign of the enemy.

  Part of the problem was that the enemy was a rag-tag bunch of recruits for the most part. The Missouri State Guard wore their gray double-breasted uniforms, many of which looked home made, and a few of the more recent recruits wore the clothes they brought from home.

  It was the men in their everyday garb that caused Levi the biggest worry. Was a man on the road with a squirrel rifle in his hand a farmer or a soldier? Every time they heard someone approach he and Tom went deeper into the woods, just in case, waiting until he passed so as not to be discovered. So far this morning, they’d seen no one.

  Tom tugged his sleeve free from a bramble. “Those rebels better not come this close to the farm.”

  “You live on the stage route from St Louis to Fayetteville. The loyalists will pass through here at some point, unless we stop them.” Levi bit back his own emotions brought on by the idea. There was no one on that farm to keep the Gilmores safe. He couldn’t blame Tom for joining the army to fight for his beliefs, but leaving his family alone…Levi couldn’t fathom it.

  He couldn’t understand people in northern Missouri, either. Those statesmen who believed Missouri should secede with the other states that stood with Jefferson Davis. The world was going mad.

  What was truly mad was how a few moments spent with Tom’s bossy sister had ingrained her on Levi’s mind. He wanted to make an excuse to patrol the farm, but they’d wasted too much time there the other day. He didn’t need distractions. Not at a time like this. No matter where Price’s men were now, at some point they’d ride north to attempt to take control of the state again.

  Still, his feet led Levi toward the Gilmore farm, veering south in the woods, then back east.

  “Are we searching near the farm again?”

  Levi let a thin branch slap back toward Tom. “They could have come this way. Until we have men stationed here to watch, we should keep circling through the same areas.”

  “That’s good. I can check on Ma and the kids.”

  “We can’t stay. Just a quick check on their wellbeing and we’ll be on our way.”

  “Of course.” Tom’s step quickened and he passed Levi in the brush.

  When they reached the farm, Levi found Em hoeing the vegetable garden. “Miss Gilmore, good morning. Have you seen anyone pass by who we should report?”

  She straightened, holding the handle of the hoe in one hand. “Men pass up and down the road every day. How am I to know where they stand on slavery?”

  “I’m less concerned with their moral standing than their political one.” He pushed his cap back on his head and grinned. “Have many men around here joined up with General Price?”

  “Pete Small left home, but his ma says he’s gone to visit family. The Dutton boys have been talking about joining up, but they aren’t known for actually following through on what they boast.”

  “If they talk that way, I’d prefer they did leave town.”

  Em brushed at her cheek with her sleeve. “For a long time we’ve hoped the battles wouldn’t reach us, no matter which side of the secession argument people stand on. The only ones who’ve moved away are the freemen, like our hand, Jasper. Most of the families, whether they have slaves or not, are praying we can keep our farms safe.”

  “I pray you do, too.”

  She glanced down at the weeds springing up around her squash plants, then offered the hoe to Levi. “Are you here to talk, or to help?”

  He laughed, but didn’t reach for the tool. “We shouldn’t stay. Shouldn’t even be out here in the open, but we wished to learn who’s been spotted in the area. It’s not as though we can go knocking on doors to ask.”

  “Maybe your General Lyon needs to station a few men in town. Then you’d be able to watch the comings and goings yourselves.”

  He hadn’t expected her to think much about what the army was doing. There was much more to her than he realized. He grinned. “Maybe the general needs to enlist you as his aide-de-camp.”

  Her lips thinned and she swung the blade of the hoe hard into the dirt. “Maybe you’d better get on down the road and look for your loyalists.”

  “What did I say? Whatever is was, I didn’t mean to offend you. I was a bit surprised, that’s all, to hear you bring up maneuvers. My sisters wouldn’t have a clue about anything we do. The only thing on their minds is their sewing bees and the young doctor my father has hired as his partner.”

  “As you can see, none of us around here have time to think about bees and doctors. Except maybe in the winter, but by then it’s so wet and cold we only go out to church, or for supplies.”

  She swung the hoe blade so hard at the ground, he was afraid she’d damage her plants. He stepped forward and held out a hand. “Why don’t you let me do that?”

  Em snapped upright. “Now you think I can’t do my own work properly? You’d better get back to your own duties, Lieutenant Lucas.”

  The sharp glance she threw his way made him back out of range of the hoe. “I stuck my foot in it, I guess. I’m sure you know more about farming than I learned in the
few years I helped my grandfather. And it’s clear you have a sharp mind.” And a sharper tongue, but he kept that to himself. “I meant it as a compliment when I compared you to my sisters.”

  Pausing in her vigorous slaughter of weeds, she lifted her gaze to him, uncertainty very clear in her eyes. “You have an odd way of making compliments. You didn’t have to sound surprised that I have half a brain.”

  If he had half a brain, he’d walk away now, while he still had most of his pride. Yet with Tom still inside with his mother, it gave Levi the excuse to stay. He had no desire to leave. “Can you take a break for a minute? I feel guilty standing here and watching you work.”

  “I offered you the hoe.”

  “So you did. Well then, hand it over.”

  This time she straightened more slowly, but she didn’t hold out the tool. “What game are you playing?”

  What was she talking about? Levi shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

  “You stop by and pretend to take interest in what I’m doing, and then run away and do whatever it is you do. It’s no help, all this distraction. All this standing around talking. Even when you help out I end up no further along than if I’d done it myself.”

  ~*~

  Em wiped her forehead with her sleeve. As if her work wasn’t hard enough, she had to put up with this…this…citified boor who seemed determined to keep her from what she needed to do.

  Leaning his rifle against a tree, the lieutenant yanked the hoe from her hand and delicately worked the ground between the lettuce heads. “Forgive me for being concerned about your wellbeing. To be perfectly honest, odds are there will be fighting in the area. Not just guns, but cannons, rockets. This could be the beginning of a long battle. And not only here in Missouri.”

  “We hear what’s going on. We read the newspapers at the general store. As long as we stay close to the farm, we shouldn’t have to worry.” She knelt down in another row and pulled weeds by hand.

  “That isn’t necessarily true. My cousin was killed in ’55 walking between Lawrence and his father’s farm. A few years later, their farm was burned to the ground.” He worked the ground more roughly. “My uncle thought they were safe because they stayed out of the arguments over slavery. They kept to themselves, kept their mouths shut. And what good did it do them?”

  Em sat back on her heels. She’d had suspicions when she’d first met the lieutenant that he might be a spy working for the loyalists, because something just struck her as odd. Now he’d practically confirmed it. Who else would be foolish enough to head into an unsettled area like that?

  Although, Tom had done just that, in a manner of speaking. He hadn’t necessarily run into battle, but he signed up with General Lyon’s Federal Army of the West as soon as the call for volunteers came. He went, knowing he’d see battle, and possibly never return. It was surprisingly heroic, she thought.

  Frustration built, making her body tense. She pulled weeds with a vengeance. She refused to see Lieutenant Lucas as a hero. His arrogance and outspoken ways were impossible to like.

  “My uncle moved his family north to Iowa. He says there is some dissention there, especially among those who came from the southern states, but there have been no conflicts. You should consider moving your family there.”

  The man was truly oblivious. Couldn’t he see how they lived?

  Seeing a praying mantis on the dandelion she held, Em lowered her hand so the creature could find safety in the loose outer leaves of the head of lettuce. It allowed her to bite her tongue long enough to consider her words. “We cannot afford to move. I understand your uncle had no choice in the matter but we do.”

  “You also have the choice to keep your family safe.” He stopping working, turning to face her. “If the rebels come through here, especially if they are fighting nearby, there’s no telling what they might take. Your mule, your food, your wagon‑all are things they might need. Your rifles and shot, your gunpowder. General Lyon has control of the railroads, so Price’s army only has what it can obtain in Arkansas. They’ll have no remorse in taking what they can gather along the way.”

  It was impossible to think she could pack up her family and leave. Ma was too weak to make the journey. Even if they sold off what they couldn’t take with them, they couldn’t afford to buy land wherever they went. They had to do what they could to remain safe on the farm. Besides, talk was there was nowhere safe in the country right now, unless they traveled all the way to California. “How do we know there won’t be fighting wherever we go?”

  Lieutenant Lucas looked off toward the road. “I guess you can’t. It’s up to us to keep you safe.”

  About the time they finished the lettuce bed, Tom came out of the house. “As usual, I find you playing at farming, Lieutenant.”

  Handing the hoe to Em, the lieutenant retrieved his rifle. “I don’t see you helping out.”

  Tom shrugged. “I had to fix the leg on Ma’s bed. We’d better hit the road, hadn’t we?”

  “We should.” Lieutenant Lucas offered Em a smile that betrayed none of the argument that had passed between them. He looked silly when he bowed gallantly. “Miss Gilmore, I’d love to stay and help, but duty calls.”

  As he and Tom walked back into the woods, Em shook her head. She was as worried over the safety of those two as she was for her family. Neither one of them appeared to be concerned about the rebels that the lieutenant was certain were nearby.

  When they were out of sight, she made her way to the large oak tree behind the house. Beneath it were the two simple crosses Tom had made and Em had carved the names into. Her father and baby brother would always be a part of this land. Em was determined to keep it in the family as long as they all lived.

  ~*~

  Early in the morning two days later, Em drew the wagon to a halt in front of the general store in Wilson Creek. Lowering the gate in the back, she stacked the small crate of lettuce on top of the crate of eggs and carried them inside, setting them on the end of the counter. Mr. Harris scribbled in his sales record book as he set supplies in a box. Mrs. Dutton chatted with Mrs. Harris over the spools of ribbon on a shelf.

  “So Walt tells me, he says, Pete wrote to my boys asking them to meet them down in Fayetteville. He says…” Mrs. Dutton noticed Em and paused, continuing in a loud whisper. “General Price needs more men.”

  Mrs. Harris whispered back. “I thought they’d met up with General McCullough’s men.”

  “They have, but they need as many men as possible.”

  “Are your boys going to volunteer?”

  Nodding, Mrs. Dutton leaned closer, but her voice still carried in the otherwise empty room. “I told them to. They can’t just sit by and let some president who’s never even lived here tell us how to run our farms.”

  Mr. Harris set down his pencil and walked down the counter toward Em. “What have you brought today?”

  “Just eggs and lettuce, this time.”

  He smiled. “I sold out of your early corn. I’ll put these on your account. Can we get you anything while you’re here?”

  “Yes, thank you. There are a few things we need.” Em gave him the list Maggie had written, wanting to hear more of what Mrs. Dutton had to say. The two women were now talking about which lace edging to sew on a neckline to hide wear to the fabric on an old gown.

  While she waited, she wandered to the leather goods. Fred’s harness was still sound, since she mended the seams when the threads frayed. She could use a new pair of gloves, but would wait until she absolutely couldn’t work without them before buying a pair.

  Em wished Mrs. Dutton would say more about what she’d heard regarding Price’s plans. It wasn’t likely Pete Small knew everything Price had planned, not as a new volunteer, but any news Em could take to Tom could be important.

  Mr. Harris helped her load her purchases into the wagon bed. After he latched the tailgate closed, he paused. “How’s your mother doing?”

  “She’s the same, I’m afraid. The doctor
says she needs to eat more meat, but she insists on saving it for the kids.”

  “I’m sure he told her she’d help you all more by getting her strength back.”

  Em nodded. “We’ll keep more of the piglets this year, so Ma won’t have any excuses about not having enough for everyone.”

  “That’s good. Have you heard from Tom since he left?”

  She hesitated. How much of what she said would become casual conversation with other neighbors? Em had to be cautious, not let on she knew anything about what the Union army planned, or what they were currently doing. She hoped her smile appeared genuine. “He’s been gone just over a month. They’re probably keeping him too busy training to leave any time for writing home.”

  “I’m not surprised.” Mr. Harris drew his fingertips along his moustache. “Talk is, we’ll be seeing a lot of coming and going on both sides of the conflict. You and Maggie keep your eyes open. If you need anything, you send for me.”

  “Thanks, Mr. Harris. I will.”

  Mr. Harris had been especially kind to her family after her father died, offering to buy what he could if they decided to move away. But the only thing Em knew was farming. She and Maggie could probably earn some wages cleaning or mending for others, but not enough to feed the family and keep them clothed. Still, it was good to know there was someone she could trust nearby.

  As she drove the wagon home, she debated whether to tell Tom what she’d overheard. General Lyon more than likely already knew Price had retreated to Arkansas, but what if he didn’t? What if Em learned something important from talk in town and neglected to pass it on? She could be responsible for the loss of many lives, perhaps even Tom’s. Or Lieutenant Lucas’s.

  The lieutenant would probably find a reason to berate her if she did ride to Springfield, but that was a small price to pay for keeping her family safe. She’d make the trip as soon as she could spare the time.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Rain fell the next two days, not enough to flood the fields but enough to keep her from working on the third day in spite of the sun shining. Seeing her chance to go to Springfield, she put the harness on Fred just before dawn.