Sadie came to a decision. She didn’t like this man. He was dirty, he smelled of sweat and beer, and he had a shifty manner, but he had been with her dear brother during the chaotic last weeks of his life. She had lost so much so quickly that her grief left her feeling drained and empty. This man was offering her a glimpse of the void she had felt since Tenley went away to war almost two years ago. She wanted to learn everything she could about her brother’s last days, and Dan Mitchell might be the only one who could enlighten her.
“Would you care to stay to dinner, Sergeant?”
A look of awe came over his face. “Why, miss, that’s mighty gracious of you. I’d be honored if I weren’t so scruffy. I’m afraid I don’t have any proper clothes now.”
Sadie stood. “My maid will bring you some things. You can bathe in the barn. We have a servant who will fix a bath for you there. I believe my late brother’s things might fit you.”
He was too smelly to continue the conversation as he was. She would give him dinner, but there she drew the line. She wouldn’t have him upstairs in the house. She had no reason to trust him, but she would take a small risk to gain an insight into Tenley’s death.
“Why, thank you, miss. And I’m sorry your father’s not well.”
She went to the hall, and he followed her. She called Pax and told him to take the guest to Zeke in the barn and then return for the clothes and linens Tallie would have ready. Tallie wouldn’t like it, and Sadie couldn’t blame her. She was a little afraid of Mitchell herself. But she knew that if she turned him away without hearing his story she would always regret it and wonder what he could have told her.
❧
When Dan Mitchell appeared for dinner, Sadie was pleasantly surprised at the improvement in his appearance. A pang of loss struck her as she noted how well Tenley’s clothes fit him. He was shorter than Harry and not so broad through the shoulders. His sandy hair was clean now, and he’d shaved.
Sadie had put on one of her nicer day dresses, knowing her guest would not be sporting evening wear. Tallie and Zeke served them in silence, watching the stranger’s every move. Sadie knew Tallie had planted a rolling pin in the sideboard, and Zeke had concealed her father’s pistol in a cupboard just inside the kitchen door. They had both scolded her for her hasty invitation.
The longer she conversed with Mitchell, the less she felt their caution was needed. It was true he was roughened by his years of harsh living in the army, but he seemed to have a rudimentary command of the manners acceptable in polite circles, and he was eager to please Sadie.
“I believe you said you helped my brother off the field of battle.” As she handed him the plate of biscuits, Sadie was careful not to let any emotion creep into her voice.
“Yes, ma’am. I started to carry him. The carnage was awful that day when we attacked the presidio, as I’m sure you’ve heard. I saw Tenley go down, and I knew if I left him there, he’d either be hit again or he’d bleed to death. As soon as there was a lull in the shooting, I went to move him farther back where we had men to tend the wounded. But just as I hoisted him on my shoulder, I took a musket ball in my leg.” Mitchell rubbed his thigh and frowned. “It was a terrible day, miss.”
“How did you manage to escape?”
“Well, I went down, but I knew we both had to get out of there. Our troops were pulling back, and if we got left there, we’d be right in the line the Mexes were going to take to try and rout our forces. I decided it was do or die for me and Tenley. I picked him up and hobbled along after our detachment.”
Sadie was silent for a moment, considering his tale. Was this man truly a compassionate war hero? “That’s quite remarkable. My family owes you its deepest gratitude, Sergeant Mitchell.”
He looked at her from hooded eyes. “That’s partly why I’m here, Miss McEwan. I don’t like to put it to you, but if your father is too ill to give me an audience, I suppose I’ll have to put myself on your mercy.”
“To what are you referring?” She stared at him with apprehension.
He smiled and tilted his head to one side, reaching for his water glass. “Your brother and I were very close, even before we got to the capital. We slept in the same tent for a while, and we swapped a lot of stories.”
Zeke was standing in back of Mitchell near the kitchen door. He was scowling and shaking his head behind the soldier. Sadie ignored him.
“Before we went into that last big battle, he asked me to do him a favor,” Mitchell went on. “It’s not unusual. Lots of men write letters home before they go into battle or give last messages to their friends.”
Sadie caught her breath. “Did Tenley write a letter to us? We received nothing.”
“No, ma’am, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to raise your hopes like that. What he did was to ask me, if anything happened to him so’s he didn’t make it home, to visit his family here in Virginia and tell his father how it was at the end.”
Sadie felt tears prick her eyes, but when she looked toward the sideboard and caught Tallie’s eye, Tallie was frowning.
“I appreciate your making the journey here, sir,” Sadie said. “Where are you from? It must have been an inconvenience for you to seek us out.”
“Well, miss, I’m not really from anywhere. I was born in Connecticut, they tell me, but then my folks moved to Pennsylvania. After they died, I drifted around here and there, seeing the country and taking jobs where I could. I’ve been to Georgia, Ohio, and New Jersey, and everywhere in between. Then one day I joined the army, and, well, I got to see a lot more country.” He shook his head ruefully. “This here is heaven compared to Mexico, I’ll tell you. You don’t want to plan a pleasure trip down there.”
“The officer who wrote us said Tenley survived several weeks at the hospital in Mexico City.”
“Yes, that’s correct. At first I thought he’d get better, but he kept going downhill.”
“You were close by and saw him while he was being nursed?”
“Yes, ma’am. I spent a few weeks in the hospital myself. It was a big building near the palace, and they’d commandeered it for medical purposes. You see, my wound got infected. The heat and bugs down there are awful, and I think more men died of sickness and infections than from their wounds.”
Sadie felt slightly nauseous, and she raised her napkin to her lips. “I’m pleased you recovered,” she murmured.
“Yes, well, while I was there I was able to see Tenley every day. He talked to me a lot before he got feverish.”
She nodded expectantly, and he went on.
“Your brother told me a lot of things about his family, miss, and one thing he told me was how generous his father was.”
Mitchell swabbed the gravy from his plate with half a biscuit and took a large bite. Sadie sipped her tea, grateful he was waiting until he finished chewing before continuing his story.
“The last time I saw him alive, he was in dire straits. He knew he wasn’t going to make it.”
Sadie winced but could not tell him to stop. She wanted to know everything, every scrap, no matter how painful the knowledge was.
“He told me. . .” Mitchell smiled at her suddenly. “He talked a lot about his daddy. He told me if I ever needed help, to find Oliver McEwan. He said his father would help out a friend of his son’s.”
He paused, apparently assigning great significance to these words. Sadie waited, certain there was more to come.
“If I ever needed a job or a loan or maybe a letter of reference, his father would help me out, he said.”
“I see.” She looked at Tallie and Zeke. Both were staring in disapproval at the back of Mitchell’s head. “Zeke, perhaps you could serve us coffee in the parlor.” Sadie rose, and Mitchell jumped up.
“That sounds lovely, Miss McEwan. Might I be so bold as to ask if you can offer anything stronger?”
She stared at him in embarrassed shock. His manners were less polished than she’d thought.
He added hastily, “My wound, you know. It bothers
me some.”
“We do not keep spirits in the house, sir. Now, if you would excuse me for a moment, Zeke will show you to the parlor.”
Sadie pushed through the door to the kitchen and waited for Tallie to join her.
“You got to get that fellow out of here,” were Tallie’s first words as she entered carrying two serving dishes. “It’s plain he wants more than a fine dinner and some of your brother’s cast-off clothes.”
“That’s unkind, Tallie,” Sadie said. She looked toward the window and saw that it was nearly full dark outside. “It’s getting late.”
“Yes, but—” Tallie set the dishes down and placed her hands on her hips. “You not thinkin’ of lettin’ him stay here tonight?”
Sadie shrugged. “I don’t like him, but he was kind to Tenley when he needed help.”
“Maybe he was and maybe he wasn’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“You want my opinion? Anybody could say someone told them such and such, just to make folks feel sympathy.”
“But he obviously knew Tenley. He knew my name.”
“Oh, and he couldn’t pry that out of the person who told him where the house was?”
Sadie frowned. She felt a strong discomfort in Mitchell’s presence, but she didn’t like Tallie implying she was naive. “You’re too skeptical, Tallie. He’s a veteran who needs a boost.”
“Humph! He’s a bad egg what needs a kick in the pants. He wants your papa to give him a job, that or some money.”
“You may be right, but what can I do? I wasn’t the one who told him Papa was ill now, was I?”
“No, but it’s a good thing I was the one to see him first. If you’d blurted out the truth with this one, he’d have seen a golden opportunity, and I mean golden. He’d be calculatin’ how to get this property away from a simple little orphan girl. Right now he’s just expectin’ a little silver.”
“That’s enough, Tallie.”
Zeke entered the kitchen just then, and Tallie pounced on him.
“What you want to leave that grifter alone in the parlor for? He’ll be pocketin’ Miss Sadie’s valuables.”
“He asked me to get his coffee right away.”
“I just bet he did,” Tallie said. “He wants a chance to look things over again.”
“All right, I’ll go tell him you’re gettin’ it.” Zeke pushed the door open.
“Wait, Zeke!” Sadie held herself tall. “I would like Sergeant Mitchell to stay at your house tonight.”
“What? No! That bum? He’s not sleepin’ in my cabin.”
“But I thought—well, I can’t have him here under the circumstances,” Sadie faltered. “I thought perhaps he could stay with you one night. You know, like Harry Cooper did.”
Zeke shook his head. “Don’t go comparin’ that man and Mr. Harry, Miss Sadie. The answer is no, no, and no.”
Zeke left the kitchen, and Sadie stared after him. “Well then, I guess he’ll have to have Tenley’s room.”
“No, Miss Sadie!” Tallie cried. “Listen to me. That man is no good. Zeke brought his dirty uniform up for me to wash, and he said, ‘that’s not any officer’s uniform.’ He’s right. There’s no sergeant stripes on it, and I can’t see where there ever has been. Don’t you let him stay here.”
“Perhaps he lost his original uniform while he was in the hospital,” Sadie said.
“Oh, and perhaps General Scott slept in the tent with his men, too, and played cards with them.”
“Just one night,” Sadie said, setting two china cups on a tray.
“Rubbish.” Tallie wagged her finger under Sadie’s nose. “You just pinin’ for Mr. Harry, and you all wrathy because he left so sudden. That’s no reason to bring a shiftless stranger into the house.”
“I’ll take the coffee in. You see that his room is ready.” Sadie picked up the tray.
“No. You can’t do that.” Tallie scurried around the worktable and tried to beat her to the door, but Sadie was too quick.
“I’m doing it,” Sadie said.
“Then I have to sleep up here with you. Can’t let no vagrant stay here with you unchaperoned.”
“Fine.” Already Sadie regretted her impulsiveness, but she was too stubborn to admit when she was wrong. Tallie’s remark about Harry hit close to home. Her heart was aching, and this diversion had taken her mind off it. Well, she would send Mitchell away right after breakfast.
❧
Sadie woke and lay still for a moment. Moonlight shone in through her window, but it wasn’t near dawn yet. She sat up and listened. Was that a step she’d heard? Too early for Tallie to be starting breakfast.
Another stealthy sound drew her attention. It sounded like the front door closing softly. She rose and tiptoed to the window, standing to the side and peering down into the yard.
It’s nothing, she told herself. Lord, calm my heart and let me rest. She couldn’t help but add, And please let Harry forgive us, Lord! Give him peace, too.
She still found it hard to believe Tallie’s admission that she had continued the lie. She had told Mitchell that Papa was sick. How many tongue-lashings had she given Zeke for that very thing?
Sadie went back to bed and tossed fitfully, thinking about Harry and all the things they’d told him that couldn’t be unsaid. At last her thoughts grew fuzzy with sleep.
Fourteen
Harry left his garret room at the inn and went down the two flights of stairs to the dining room. Breakfast here was better than the dinner fare. He was served a high stack of flapjacks with sorghum, fried sausage, applesauce, and plenty of hot, strong coffee.
“You heading out today, Cooper?” the landlord asked when he pushed back his chair.
“I believe I will, sir.”
The landlord nodded. “Good. I could rent your room three times over tonight.”
“Something happening in town?” Harry asked.
“The traveling preacher pulled in yesterday. He’s holding services today, and lots of folks will come in from the countryside.”
Harry wondered if Sadie knew about this. If she did, she would probably come to Winchester to worship.
“Guess I lost track of the days,” he said, trying to count them off mentally.
“It’s Sunday all right,” the landlord told him. “We take the parson whenever we can get him, though. Sometimes we have church on Friday or Tuesday. Folks stop their work and come.”
Harry nodded. It was almost three months since he’d had the opportunity to attend a church service, and he felt a sudden longing to drink in God’s Word. And this preacher knew the McEwan family. Harry might get a chance to talk to him. It wouldn’t hurt him to stop over a day and let the dust settle between him and the McEwan farm.
“Where is the church service to be held?” he asked.
The landlord smiled. “At the schoolhouse.”
“I think I’ll stay until tomorrow, take a day of rest, and attend the service,” Harry said.
The landlord’s smile drooped. “As you wish. You’re welcome.”
“You won’t lose money if I keep my room, will you?”
“Well, I suppose not. Not too much.”
“What, you’d squeeze five or six people in that little closet?”
The landlord shrugged. “I might put a family with kids up there.”
Harry thought that over for about a half second. “Well, I tell you what. If you can serve me breakfast again for supper tonight, I’ll pay you extra.”
“Oh, I don’t know, sir. Mrs. Ferguson doesn’t like to make special orders at dinnertime. It’s too busy in the kitchen.”
“Isn’t it busy in the kitchen now?”
“Well, yes, sir, but the hired girls, Bessie and Emma, fix breakfast. My wife does lunch and dinner.”
Harry reached into his pocket and produced a silver dollar. “Well, I’m paying for my room and tomorrow’s breakfast in advance, and when I come back tonight there’d better not be any drunks or kids in my bed.”
❧
When Sadie descended to the kitchen on Sunday morning, Tallie was preparing a breakfast tray.
“Is that for me?” Sadie asked. “I’m up.”
“No.” Tallie did not look up from her work but arranged the plate of bacon, eggs, and fried potatoes with painstaking care. “This is for your friend, Sergeant Mitchell. He can’t come down for breakfast this mornin’. It’s his leg, you know. It bothers him sometimes.”
Sadie watched her with growing dismay. “Well, he was wounded in battle.”
“Is that so? I never would have guessed it, but then I didn’t have to. He’s told me a hundred times in the last twelve hours.” Tallie poured out a mug of tea for the tray.
Sadie wished she hadn’t come downstairs. Tallie had lavished love on her since she was born, and Sadie knew she only wanted the best for her. Realizing she had been foolish in allowing Mitchell to stay overnight made it worse.
“He’s making extra work for you, isn’t he? Here, I’ll take the tray up.”
Tallie’s back straightened, and she slapped at Sadie’s hand. “Don’t you touch that. You aren’t going near that man’s bedroom.”
Sadie pulled away and twisted her hands together. “I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have to wait on him.”
“Not goin’ to. I’ll get Zeke to take the tray up as soon as he’s in from the barn. Of course, the sergeant may object to his breakfast being served by a man who smells like the stable, but it’ll be good for him to know that’s part of life on a farm.”
“He can’t think we’re rich, Tallie. This place is comfortable, but it’s not like the grand places over near Richmond.”
“I can’t say what Sergeant Mitchell thinks, but I don’t suppose it’s anything good.”
❧
Harry enjoyed the church service. He joined in with the others, singing hymns he had learned as a boy. Pastor Richards was of middle age, but robust and passionate. His sermon focused on God’s holiness, and his message touched Harry’s heart.
At the end of the service, the pastor announced that worship would reconvene at two o’clock. Folks brought lunches from their wagons and spread blankets on the grass in the schoolyard for a picnic.
Truly Yours Historical Collection December 2014 Page 10