Impending Love and Madness

by Laura Freeman

  The sound of a band became louder, and the women took their seats.

  Jake stood to see where the music was coming from, and Morgan put his hand around the toddler to steady him. “Patient, young man. They’re coming.”

  “I see Dada!” He pointed at the band leading the way.

  “Not every soldier is Daddy,” Morgan corrected. “How did Blake look last night when you saw him?”

  “A little tired,” Cole said. “He’s glad to be home though.”

  “We all are,” Morgan said. “Is Blake going to resign his commission?”

  “Can he do that?” Tootie asked.

  “He’s not a career officer,” Morgan said. “He’s a businessman.”

  “He said he had to finish all the paperwork,” Cole said. “He enlisted Zach to help him.”

  Sid squeezed Tootie around her expanding waist. “You better sit. You shouldn’t tire yourself.”

  She sat on the bench next to Jess. “I’m not the first woman to have a baby.”

  Morgan looked at his sister. “It’s about time you embraced motherhood. How long have you been married to the Yank?”

  “We were married the same day as you and Jessie, but some couples believe in waiting before starting a family,” Tootie said.

  “You won’t embarrass him.” Jess adjusted the blanket around Jackson as he slept in his buggy. “He’s proud Jackson is a honeymoon baby.”

  “A lucky roll of the dice,” Sid said.

  Morgan winked at his wife. “Luck had nothing to do with it.”

  “And I thought I cut your arrogance down a notch,” Jess said.

  “Darlin’, you only raised it.”

  Jess gasped. “Morgan Mackinnon, my little sister is present.”

  Morgan squeezed her waist. “She’s old enough to keep Sergeant Ravenswood pining.”

  Cass reviewed their playful banter. The words weren’t the usual sweet flattering remarks lovers shared in the parlor, but the sensual attraction was palpable. How did her sisters do it?

  Cole pointed in the distance. “Here they come!”

  The first regiment approached. The flag bearers showed off the regimental colors. The tears and holes were a proud reminder of the battles the troops had carried the banner in without surrendering.

  A row of drummers pounded a steady beat and broke into a lively rhythm as the men raised their fifes and played “Marching Through Georgia.” The men in the ranks broke into song. “Hurrah, Hurrah! We bring the jubilee! Hurrah! Hurrah! The flag that makes you free! So we sang the chorus from Atlanta to the sea while we were marching through Georgia.”

  Cass stared at the baby sleeping in the buggy. “How can Jackson sleep through all this noise?”

  Jess shook her head. “It’s not as much noise as he makes when he’s hungry.”

  “That’s the Rebel cry,” Morgan said.

  “I would think you’d call it a highlander shout,” Tootie said.

  As if on cue, Jackson wailed, and Jess took him into her arms to calm him.

  Cass had made a sign with the words Ohio welcomes her brave boys home painted on it. She stood and lifted it as the Twenty-ninth regiment approached. “They’re coming. I can see their blue flag.”

  “Up!” Jake stood in the wheelbarrow. “I wanna see.”

  Morgan swung him onto his shoulders.

  Cole stood next to Cass, tears glistening in her eyes. “Don’t they look grand?”

  Hot tears stained her cheeks. Why was she crying? The war was finally over. The worst was behind them.

  The band played “When Johnny Comes Marching Home,” and they joined in with the words. “When Johnny comes marching home again, Hurrah! Hurrah! We’ll give him a hearty welcome then, Hurrah! Hurrah! The men will cheer and the boys will shout. The ladies they will all turn out. And we’ll all feel gay when Johnny Comes Marching Home.”

  Whether it was on Blake’s command or impromptu, all the men in the regiment raised their kepis and gave a shout. Cass waved at Zach. Ethan and Harry waved back.

  Blake froze when Morgan saluted. Jake copied the hand motion from his uncle’s shoulders. The men reduced their stride but kept marching. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m visiting my wife and son.”

  He stared at Jess and the baby in her arms. “When did this happen?” He turned to Cole, a puzzled expression on his face. “Did I miss a letter telling me about Morgan becoming my brother-in-law?”

  Cole pointed down the road. “You’re being left behind by your men.”

  Blake pulled her against his chest and kissed her. “We’ll talk later.”

  “Talk?” Cole pouted. “I was expecting more.”

  He whispered something in her ear and hurried after his regiment.

  “I don’t think you have to worry about him resigning his commission,” Cass said. “The ink won’t even be dry by the time he removes his uniform.”

  Cole bumped Cass with her hip. “I think you’re right.”

  “I wish I could make Zach look at me that way.”

  “Baby, he already does. That’s what has us worried.”

  Was Cole right? But was Zach in love with her or only interested in free love? Many women were raising babies on their own after the fathers, unfettered by marriage, abandoned them. Free love was only free for men.

  Morgan carried Jake on his shoulders while Jess pushed Jackson in the buggy. They joined Logan and Jem at Pierce House where they had set chairs along the street. Deidre and Chauncy waved small flags and gave one to Jake.

  The crowd along Pennsylvania Avenue was larger. School girls in white dresses lined the avenue and sang “The Battle Cry of Freedom” as the men passed. Others threw flowers in their path or placed wreaths around their guns.

  When the Twenty-ninth Ohio passed, they broke into a chorus of “Dixie.” Blake looked at Morgan and saluted. “He’s still your best friend,” Cole said.

  Cass remained with Jem and her family while the others returned to Mermaid’s Mirth. She wondered if the boys would visit and after eating, glanced out the window for any sign of them.

  Logan gathered the leather satchel he used for transporting important papers. “Would you like to walk with me to Mermaid’s Mirth? I have some papers Blake will need to sign in order to resign his commission. I’m dropping them off.”

  Cass grabbed her bonnet from the sideboard near the stairs.

  “You might want to remove your apron,” Jem said.

  Cass looked at her attire and undid the apron. She dropped it on the sideboard and dashed out the door, keeping pace with Logan’s strides. “How long do you think it will be before Ethan, Harry, and Zach muster out?”

  “As soon as possible. The longer the men stay in the army, the more it costs the government.”

  “I promised Jem I’d stay to help with the baby. It’ll be fall before I return home.”

  “We’re thinking of going to Darrow Falls in a few weeks. Summers are hard to bear in Washington City, and I’m going to look for a job in Ohio.”

  Jem had talked with Logan about moving home for the past three years. “You are?”

  “I arrived in Washington City to serve Salmon Chase like my brother and father did before me,” Logan said. “Now that he’s serving in the Supreme Court, I’m not needed. I only stayed on at the Treasury Department because of the war.”

  “That’s wonderful news.” She would be home when the boys arrived and when Zach stepped off the train. Their relationship would be different in Darrow Falls. The familiar sights and sounds of her home would provide the proper atmosphere for a romance. And her baby sister, Jules, was a lenient chaperone.

  Logan joined Blake and Morgan eating at the dining room table. Cass looked around. “Did anyone else come?”

  “Only officers were given leave.” Blake wiped his mouth.

  Cass sighed and gathered their dishes. The boys were in camp.

  “If you had graduated from West Point, you would have made major by now,” Morgan
said.

  “The Union army was stricter about promotions, Major Mackinnon.”

  “Civilian now.” Morgan snatched the last slice of bread. “Welcome home, Blake.”

  “I’m glad we both made it, Mac.”

  “You don’t know how many times I saved your life.”

  “Saved my life?” Blake shook his head. “When?”

  “One of my sharpshooters had you in his sites at Culp’s Hill, and a few others wanted to blow the Baltic out of the water when she ran aground on a sandbar. I talked them out of it.”

  “Thanks, but I wasn’t the horse thief who stole Romulus and Remus.”

  Jess served dessert of cake topped with berries. “I was the one he took captive.”

  “I haven’t forgotten.” Blake grabbed her hand and examined the ring. “How long have you been wearing this?”

  “Close to eleven months.” A loud wail from the adjoining room interrupted their conversation. “Jackson is hungry,” Jess said.

  Blake’s eyes widened. “Jackson?”

  “Jackson Lincoln Mackinnon,” Morgan said. “My son.”

  “When did you have time to leave Lee’s army, marry my sister-in-law, and create a baby?”

  Morgan leaned forward. “I was wounded in the Wilderness. Jess found me on the battlefield, transported me to Mermaid’s Mirth, and nursed me back to health.”

  “Must not have been much of a wound.”

  Morgan pulled his hair back to reveal a long scar on his skull. Blake grimaced.

  “You can compare battle scars later,” Jess said, calming Jackson in her arms. “Cole has put Jake to bed by now.”

  Logan gathered the papers Blake had signed. “I’ll deliver these to Stanton’s office in the morning.”

  Blake shook his hand. “Thank you. It’ll save me a trip back from Cleveland.”

  “Do you think your boys will be able to make it on their own?” Morgan asked.

  “They know the way home.” Blake stared at the ceiling. “My room was on the main floor.”

  “Cole needed more space,” Jess said. “Sid and Tootie stay in your former room.”

  Blake shook his head. “Sid didn’t have a problem with you staying here to recover?”

  “He didn’t know I was a Confederate major.”

  Blake raised his hand. “Don’t tell me tonight. It’ll give me nightmares.” He kissed Jess and Cass and grabbed Morgan in a hug. “I always considered you a brother. Welcome to the family, Mac.”

  Blake and Morgan had been best friends before the war and enemies the past years, facing each other on the battlefields. Now they were glad to be alive.

  Cass paused at the foot of the staircase while she tied her bonnet. Morgan carried Jackson and escorted Jess upstairs. She’d been frightened of the big Scotsman, but even little Jake recognized his tender heart and embraced him. Cole shrieked inside her room at the top of the stairs, and Blake’s laughter followed. Morgan paused outside the door before Jess pulled him toward their bedroom.

  What would life be like with Zach? What happened once the bedroom door was closed? And how long would it be before she found out?

  Chapter Eight

  The boys were enlisted to help the clerks update the company books and didn’t receive passes to visit the town for a week. All three called on Cass at Pierce House. Ethan was family and acted as chaperone. It wasn’t necessary. Zach and Harry were in a battle to impress her. If Zach recited poetry, Harry read a passage in a book. If Harry told an amusing story, Zach told a bold tale.

  Ethan took a tray from her. “And you thought the war was over.” He glanced at his friends arguing over who should read next. “How does it feel to have two men fighting for your attention?”

  “It’s exhausting.” Cass gathered her bonnet and reticule. “Let’s go for a walk.” Ethan held the door, Zach offered his arm, and Harry claimed her other arm.

  Ethan chuckled. “I didn’t realize my cousin was so helpless.”

  Cass froze by the gate. Pennsylvania Avenue was crowded with soldiers, a sea of blue flowing in and out of town. “Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. What’s it like toward Mermaid’s Mirth?”

  “Worse,” Harry said. “Every open space is filled with tents.”

  “Where are you camped?”

  “Bladensburg in Maryland about five miles outside of town,” Zach said. “And we had to squeeze into that patch of ground. Every regiment has to wait upon paperwork before it boards a train and heads home.”

  “We received a present from Ohio,” Harry said. “A new national flag. They stenciled the names of thirteen battles we fought in onto the stripes.”

  Her head was like a pendulum turning right and left to listen to their warring conversation. Cass was in the company of three handsome young men and didn’t want them fighting. “Let’s enjoy the day. What do we do first?”

  “Unless we want to battle the rest of the Union army, we better avoid the popular sites,” Ethan said.

  “I need to post some letters,” Harry said. “I wrote Ma and Pa I was coming home.”

  “I wrote my grandfather that I’d be home soon to help him with the horse sale. I hope everyone can visit.” Zach’s gaze lingered on hers.

  “We’ll be happy to visit,” Harry said. “I’d like to see this Ravens Roost you keep talking about.”

  Cass turned to Ethan. “Didn’t you write your parents you were coming home?”

  “I’m waiting until I know the date we’re mustered out.”

  “It can’t be long,” Cass said. “Why would they keep you any longer than necessary?”

  Ethan shook his head. “The army never makes orders simple. They’re sending the new one-year enlistments home right away. We veterans have to wait. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?”

  The boys were at the mercy of the U.S. Army until they were formally mustered out. They delivered the letters to the General Post Office on the corner of E and Seventh streets.

  Outside, a crowd gathered around a young black girl dancing on the corner. She had a bright yellow scarf wrapped around her head, and brass bracelets dangled on her thin arms as she twirled for the spectators. “Have your fortune told?” She clicked castanets and smiled at Ethan. “Madame Cherie can predict your future.”

  “It’s witchcraft,” Harry said. “They claim to talk to the spirits of dead people.”

  “Madame Cherie reads the cards,” the girl corrected.

  “That sounds harmless.” Ethan winked at the others. “Let’s see what she says about our futures.”

  “I’m not going to have her predict mine,” Harry said. “Ma wouldn’t like it.”

  Ethan pulled him along. “Just watching won’t jeopardize your soul.”

  “Come.” The girl led them two blocks away to a decrepit three-story boarding house in need of paint and repair. A poster nailed to a bulletin board near the entrance announced in neatly printed letters, Madame Cherie, fortune teller, spiritual guide, and faith healer.

  “That covers everything,” Zach said.

  The girl led the way along a narrow staircase to the third floor. She knocked on a door with a star nailed below the number 303. The room was dark except for a grouping of candles on a well-worn sideboard. Some wax pillars were tall and newly lit while others had burned to the base, a puddle of wax coating the tin holder. A strangely sweet scent permeated the humid air. A scrap of cloth served as a curtain for the single window overlooking the adjoining building, but no breeze offered relief from the heat of early June.

  Her eyes burned, and Cass waved her fan against the smoke and odors that assaulted her senses and made her dizzy.

  In the center of the room was a round table, the wooden surface nicked and scarred from years of service. Mismatched chairs were placed at spaced intervals. On the far side was seated an ancient black woman. Her white hair was cropped short, and her leathery skin was wrinkled around toothless gums. She bent over the cards spread in front of her. Her gnarled arthritic fingers plucked at one
and turned it over. She looked up. One eye was discolored. “Come in, come in.”

  “This is my great-grandmother, Madame Cherie,” the girl announced.

  “This isn’t a good idea,” Harry muttered as he remained by the door.

  “He’s a non-believer,” Ethan said. “Will that ruin the reading?”

  “No,” Madame Cherie said. “But your disbelief will.”

  Ethan frowned. “What makes me a non-believer?”

  “You can only trust what you see,” she said.

  Ethan shrugged. “That leaves you two.”

  “Ladies first.” Zach scraped a wooden chair against the floorboards, and Cass sat. He took the seat beside her.

  “How much?” Cass reached into her drawstring purse.

  “Whatever my wisdom is worth.” Madame Cherie shoved a carved figure of a naked woman with a basket upon her head toward her.

  Zach placed his hand over her purse. “I’ll pay. He deposited a few coins into the basket. Ethan sat beside Zach, glancing beneath the table, while Harry remained standing in the doorway.

  Madame Cherie shuffled the cards and had Cass cut the deck. Then she laid out four cards in a row. “Turn over the first card.”

  The occult was popular. Those who had lost loved ones in the war sought answers from the dead. She didn’t believe in the nonsense. No one could predict the future, but was it wrong for her to encourage the old woman in her game of fraud? Even in fun.

  She hesitated. Zach had already paid. She flipped the card over. It was a naked couple. Cass swallowed. Had her thoughts and curiosity about coupling been so transparent?

  “Love is in your future,” she said.

  Ethan’s blue eyes danced with merriment. “Anyone could have predicted that.”

  Madame Cherie raised her gnarled hand. “Silence, non-believer.”

  “Harry is the non-believer,” Ethan defended.

  “No, his faith is strong but not in me. You are the skeptical one, muleskinner.”