Therese lowered her eyes and quickly retreated back to the tray of porridge. She retrieved another bowl and then sat next to the double-arm amputee and asked how he was doing.
“As well as can be expected,” he answered. “Could you write a letter for me later?”
“Of course.”
“I’m afraid I’ll never get home.”
Tears filled her eyes. “I think you will. I’ll pray you do.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
She fed him several bites, and then he said, “That’s enough. I think I’ll nap for a while.”
He scooted back down on the cot as best he could, and she pulled up his sheets for him. Then she returned to the table and put the bowl on the tray of dirty dishes. Someone touched her elbow as she did. She turned to find Michael motioning her toward the hall. She walked beside him.
“Your mother will have to leave Warner.”
Therese nodded. “She won’t be happy. She doesn’t trust Dr. Talbot.”
“Because?”
“He’s a Yankee.”
“He’s also a Talbot. Besides, what about your father? Has she forgotten her devotion to a certain other Yankee so soon?”
“She’s fearful,” Therese said. “She seems to be ignoring everything Father stood for.” She shot him a sharp glance. “Like others I know.”
Michael narrowed his eyes and pointed to his chest.
She nodded.
He grimaced. “I suppose that’s fair.” He ran his hand through his long hair. “You have to understand, Therese, things… change, especially when you’re living far enough away to gain some perspective.”
Their gazes locked, and though she wanted to understand, all she could feel was disappointment. And sorrow.
Surely sensing her thoughts, he said, “I’ll be on my way just as soon as I get something to eat. I’ll look for a bowl of porridge in the kitchen.” As he walked off, a trickle of blood seeped from his boot.
“Michael, stop,” Therese said. “You’re hurt. Go back and tell Polly to look at your leg while I get the food for you.”
When Therese came out of the kitchen building with Michael’s porridge, Badan stood in the backyard of the hospital, his hat in his hands.
“Where’s Mother?”
“Upstairs.”
Therese explained that Warner was now fighting infection.
“Mrs. Jennings isn’t going to be pleased. She’s bound and determined to head back today.” He wrung his hat. “And I hate to be away any longer.”
“From Aggie.”
He nodded. “We jumped the broom last week, but that doesn’t stop…” He pinched his lips together and shook his head.
Therese lowered her voice. “Perhaps Mother would let Aggie come back here and nurse Warner. That would keep her away from River Pines.”
“And from me,” Badan said, clearly not liking that idea.
“It would be temporary.”
“I doubt Mrs. Jennings would agree to any of it. Mr. Porter seems to have convinced her that nothing’s going to change after the war ends.” He dropped his eyes to the floor. “Do you think that’s true?”
“No, Badan, I don’t. I think a lot of people are trying to make everything change.” She held up the bowl. “I need to get this to Michael.”
She headed up to the ward, where she found Michael sitting on an examination table with his pants leg rolled up while Polly washed out a shrapnel wound in his calf. Therese handed him the bowl and then continued on to Warner’s cot. Mother stood talking to Ruth and Alec, but just then an orderly interrupted them and said, “Dr. Talbot, Dr. Moore is downstairs. He needs to speak with you.”
Alec excused himself and followed the orderly, nodding at Therese as he passed her.
Ruth and Mother continued speaking, and then Mother said, loudly, “I don’t believe you.”
“I’ll show you.” Ruth pulled back the blanket covering Warner’s stump. “Most likely more will need to be amputated.” Ruth’s gruff demeanor had been growing so tiresome to Therese, but suddenly she couldn’t have been more grateful for it. If ever Mother was going to meet her match, it was Ruth Talbot.
“No,” Mother said. “That won’t do.”
“You, madam,” Ruth replied, “are an idiot.”
Therese stepped closer, stifling a laugh despite the seriousness of the situation. “He has to stay here, Mother. If it’s his leg or—” she dropped her voice, “—his life, then there’s no room for discussion.”
“But everything’s ready back at River Pines. And Aggie is such a good nurse.”
“Why don’t you send her here?” Therese suggested. “Warner can have Aggie’s individual care, and I’ll check on him during the evenings. So will Polly. It’s the next best thing to the care he’d receive at home, plus here he’d have Dr. Talbot’s surgical skills.”
“That’s not what I planned,” Mother said.
“None of this is what any of us planned.”
“Besides, Aggie and Badan just got married,” Mother said. “He won’t want her to come here.”
“You should ask him,” Therese said. “You might be surprised.”
Mother crossed her arms. “Do you expect me to go home and leave Warner here and not see him at all?”
“No,” Therese said. “I’m sure you can stay at the Corbetts whenever you need to, like before.” That would keep Badan in Richmond too. “But please consider sending Aggie. It’s what would be best for Warner.”
Mother’s voice wavered. “I’ve lost too much already this year. My husband. My father. My daughter. I have no intention of losing my son too.”
Therese wasn’t surprised at being included on Mother’s list, though she resisted the urge to remind the woman that she hadn’t been “lost” at all but rather had been forced away by Mother’s decision not to free the slaves.
She turned to where she could see her brother’s face. His eyes were open and his mouth was pinched. He blinked, and then very quietly he said, “I’m staying here, Mother. I’ll come home when I can, but now is not the time.”
Mother wrinkled her nose and then asked Warner, “Should I bring in Aggie to care for you?”
Therese didn’t realize that Michael had been listening, but he must have because he limped toward them, looking to Therese for permission. She gave him a slight nod, and then he joined in the discussion.
“Don’t you think that’s a good idea, Warner?” Michael asked. “To have your own personal nurse here full-time? Therese and Polly can only come on weeknights and Saturdays. The nurses are overworked, as are the orderlies.” He turned to Mother. “Doesn’t Aggie have a knack for nursing?”
Mother nodded.
“Then I’d definitely send her. Have Badan bring her tomorrow. And I’ll check on Warner as often as I can as well. If there’s any change, you’ll be notified immediately.”
After a long pause, Mother gave a heavy sigh. “I guess I’ll go home and send Aggie—for a week.”
Ruth huffed. “Finally, a bit of progress.”
Mother glared at the woman. “Who are you, anyway?”
“Dr. Talbot’s cousin.”
“Oh, heaven help us,” Mother said. “I should have known. If you’re done with my son, I’d like a few minutes alone with him.”
Ruth stared Mother down. “I’m not done with your son. I’m scrubbing out his wound, hoping to save him from gangrene. Give me a half hour or so.” Ruth returned to her work.
Warner let out a gasp. “Mother, please leave. I’ll do better if you’re not hovering over me.”
Tears filled Mother’s eyes, but she retreated to the door without saying another word. Therese returned to the dirty dishes, deciding she would take them out to the kitchen. Mother still stood in the doorway. “Come down with me,” Therese said, hoping to have a moment to talk with her about Aggie and Badan.
“I’ll meet you in the foyer,” Mother answered, her eyes still on Warner.
Therese felt relief as she
headed to the kitchen. Warner could stay, and he’d have his own personal nurse. Surely he would start to get better soon.
After she returned from the kitchen, she found her mother waiting for her in the foyer. Therese pulled her into the cloakroom, leaving the door open to allow some light to shine in.
“Mother,” Therese said, “I’m concerned about the way Mr. Porter treats Aggie and Badan.”
“Please don’t worry yourself,” Mother said.
“I can’t help it. If we’d followed Father’s wishes, not to mention Grandfather’s, they’d be free by now.”
Mother crossed her arms. Therese stepped to her bag hanging from a hook and took out the image of the escaped slave. “Remember this? Remember what we discussed with Father when we first saw the etching in the magazine and then the carte de visite?”
Mother turned her head away.
“Remember when Mr. Porter whipped Badan?”
Finally, Mother met Therese’s gaze and then pointed at the image. “It wasn’t as bad as that.”
Therese shook her head. “He was fourteen. He’d done nothing wrong.”
When Mother didn’t answer, Therese pressed forward. “Please free them.”
Mother shook her head. “You don’t comprehend the seriousness of our situation.” She stepped out of the cloakroom. “And you need to mind your own business.”
Therese gasped as Mother fled the hospital. She didn’t go after her to tell her goodbye. Instead she stayed in the cloak room, clutching the carte de visite, feeling as if she’d failed her father and, even worse, as if she’d failed Badan and Aggie.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Therese
Mother left the next day while Therese was at church with the Galloways. Though Therese no longer worked Sundays at the hospital, she should have gone in anyway to check on Warner. But for some reason, she couldn’t manage to do it. Instead, she spent the afternoon reading with the girls.
Later Alec came by and invited Therese for a walk. The sun would set in a half hour, and the day had grown cold. She bundled up as best she could, borrowing Mrs. Galloway’s muffler, and headed out.
They walked in silence for the first block, and then he took her arm and pulled her closer.
“How’s Ruth settling in?” she asked, an attempt at conversation even though she didn’t really feel like talking.
Alec shrugged. “Fine. Her needs are simple. As you’ve seen, she’s pretty much all business, all the time.”
Therese smiled. And all bossiness and crankiness too.
“I spoke with her about the lacerated livers,” he added.
Therese held her breath, waiting for him to go on.
“She’s willing to take over the treatment of your cases.”
“Wonderful.” Therese exhaled slowly, reminding herself that angels came in all sorts of packages—even frumpy, perpetually angry, self-righteous ones.
“What’s the general timing?” he asked.
“Hopefully, both cases will arrive at the hospital tomorrow, or the next day at the latest—though one may not be able to stay for long. I’m not sure…”
“All right. I’ll keep Ruth updated.”
They walked along in silence for a minute, and then Alec said, “I’m sorry about Warner. That his wounds have become infected.”
“I didn’t go see him today.”
“I noticed.”
Her face warmed.
He quickly added, “It’s all right. Polly sat with him and read to him.”
Therese knew that Polly often went in on Sundays, even though it was their day off. “How is he doing?”
“About the same,” Alec answered. “I’ll most likely need to operate again tomorrow. I just couldn’t bear to do it today.”
She reached for his hand. None of this was easy for him either. In fact, she didn’t often think about just how hard it was for Alec. They continued to walk. The changing leaves were now a riot of bright orange and red, crowning the city and offering a distraction from the artillery that could be heard from the fighting around Petersburg. Each time a burst of shells exploded, Therese thought of Michael. God, keep him safe.
Alec brought her mind back to the streets of Richmond, pointing out houses he liked, mostly stately brick Georgian homes. Therese imagined sharing a similar house with him in Maine.
Strolling through the neighborhood with him and admiring homes seemed like the most normal thing they’d done together. For a moment the hospital and Warner and Mother and the need to get Aggie and Badan to the North all seemed far away.
As they stood gazing at a three-story mansion, Alec asked, “Did you have a chance to tell your mother that…” He paused. “That I’ve made my intentions known?”
“No,” Therese answered. “I didn’t see her outside of the hospital. I’ll speak to her when she returns.”
He nodded. “And then I’ll speak to her after that.”
Yes, it would do no good for Mother to be broadsided. She was feeling defensive enough as it was. Therese was no longer timid when it came to caring for others or working out her future, but she still needed to approach her mother with care—especially when the topic at hand would be that of the Yankee Quaker doctor wanting to take her daughter away with him to Maine forever.
Alec operated on Warner the next day, removing more of his leg. Therese waited late into the evening, but Mother, Aggie, and Badan didn’t arrive. Nor did they the next day after, nor by a week after. Therese sent letters to Mother every day, updating her about Warner and asking when Aggie would arrive, but Mother didn’t write back. Therese had no way of knowing if the letters hadn’t reached Mother—or if she simply chose not to respond. But she couldn’t help but grow more concerned for Aggie and Badan.
The next Thursday was the day Abraham Lincoln designated as a national day of Thanksgiving, celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time since James Madison was in office. Of course, folks in Richmond—and throughout the South, for that matter—were not celebrating.
Once Warner’s fever was finally down, Therese decided she should return to River Pines herself to see what was going on, fearing some catastrophe had befallen them. She asked Polly to keep an eye on her brother while she was gone, but her friend insisted on going with her. “Dr. Talbot and Ruth will see to Warner,” she said. “But who will see to you?”
They decided to go on Saturday and return on Sunday after church. Polly knew of a farmer from her parents’ area who would be coming into Richmond on Friday to deliver produce, and he could give them a ride back once he was done.
On Friday afternoon, as Therese sat in the dining room grading Eleanor and Lydia’s mathematics, she heard Mr. and Mrs. Galloway talking in the parlor. She stood and stepped toward the doorway, trying not to appear as if she were listening.
Mr. Galloway said, “I can’t fathom why he’s agreed to it after all this time, but the secretary of state has decided that giving male slaves weapons to help fight the Union is the best course to take for now. At some point after the war, they’ll then be freed.” Footsteps came toward the hall, and Therese slipped back into the dining room.
“He had me draft a letter saying so and signed it. It’s on its way to President Davis today.”
The two stopped in the foyer, and Therese stepped out in the hall. Mrs. Galloway told her husband goodbye at the front door. Therese quickly slipped back to the table. A moment later the front door opened and closed.
Polly had gone on to the hospital early, and Therese planned to meet her there. She decided to finish correcting the girls’ schoolwork later and be on her way.
By the time she reached the hospital, the day had grown frigid. Therese shivered as she hung her cloak and hurried up the stairs. Matron Webb was working in the west ward and informed Therese that Polly, Ruth, and Dr. Talbot were all in surgery—working on Warner.
Therese braced herself against a table. “On his leg again?”
“No, his stomach.”
That didn�
��t sound good.
“They’ll be a while, I’m sure,” Matron Webb added.
Therese filled the time delivering meals to the soldiers, and then she concentrated on feeding the ones who couldn’t feed themselves. Finally, she spotted Polly coming toward her.
Therese rushed to her side. “How is Warner?”
“He came through it all right.”
“What happened?”
“Part of his small intestine was infected. Dr. Talbot removed it.”
“Oh, no.” Therese’s hand went to her abdomen. “Is he going to make it?”
Polly’s eyes filled with tears. “It’s possible.”
“Should I not go home?”
“No, you should. Ruth promised she’d make Warner her top priority. If we can bring Aggie back, it will make things easier for all of us.”
“All right.” Therese glanced around and then whispered. “I have something else I need to tell you—or Dr. Talbot directly.”
“Go up to the operating room. He’s still there with your brother. Warner won’t be conscious yet.”
“Thank you.” Therese hurried up to the third floor, knocking on the surgery door.
Alec seemed surprised to see her, but he assured her that Warner was stable as soon as she stepped in the door.
“Yes, Polly told me.” She closed the door behind her. “I have information. Can I say it straight out?” She didn’t know what the correct medical terms would be.
He nodded.
She stepped to the corner of the room by the windows overlooking Tenth Street and motioned for him to join her, not wanting Warner to awake to her words. Quickly, she told Alec what she’d heard about the plans to arm slaves as soldiers for the Confederacy. He thanked her and assured her he’d pass the information on.
“In the meantime,” he added, “why don’t you broach the subject with the other nurses and the orderlies tonight? Say you heard a rumor—of course don’t give a hint as to where you actually got the information. The Confederacy has been batting this idea around for years, so it’s not as if it could be traced back to you.”
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