“Good luck.”
“Thanks. I’ll need more than luck.” As she opened the door, she saw John Nicolay’s office door close and looked back at Hay. “Are you and John Nicolay taking bets on my chances of survival?”
Hay chuckled and shook his head. “No. Go on, Anna. Just knock on the door from the library so she’ll know it’s you.”
“Why not the door from the corridor?”
“It has a ‘do not disturb’ sign on it. She won’t answer your knock unless you go through the library.”
“Very well.” Anna hurried out, turned right into the main corridor, walked past President Lincoln’s closed office door, past the crowded reception area and turned left into the family library. Mrs. Lincoln’s bedroom door was about halfway along the right wall. Anna knocked.
“Come in.”
Anna opened the door and peeked around it. “You sent for me, Mrs. Lincoln?”
“Yes. Please come in, Mrs. Lagrange.” Mary Todd Lincoln was a small, plump woman with plain features. She was propped up in bed with her head swathed in bandages. “Thank you for coming.”
Anna went in and closed the door behind her.
“Won’t you pull that chair over and sit a moment?”
“Yes. Of course.” Anna discovered that the chair that Mrs. Lincoln had indicated was quite heavy, but she managed to move it next to the bed and sat down. “I just heard of your accident, Mrs. Lincoln. I hope you’re not in too much pain.”
“I’m fine, thank you. But I won’t be able to manage the levees and I was wondering if you might act as hostess.”
“Me?” The exclamation escaped Anna’s lips before she thought. “I mean – why me, Mrs. Lincoln? I mean – it’s a well-known fact that you dislike me and...”
“I think I have wronged you in that, Mrs. Lagrange. You represent Eastern culture while the President and I are Westerners.”
Anna didn’t know what to say.
“I noticed last week that you and your sister-in-law were wearing gowns with low necklines.”
Anna was still not able to grasp the gist of Mrs. Lincoln’s conversation, nor could she think of a reply. She nodded instead.
“I’ve often been criticized for wearing dresses that are cut low,” Mrs. Lincoln continued, “so when I saw you and your sister-in-law, I realized that we have much in common.”
“Oh,” Anna replied, feeling stupid. “Oh, yes. I see. The necklines. Well…”
“Did you know that I’m also well-educated?” Mrs. Lincoln asked.
“Yes. Yes, I did know that, Mrs. Lincoln.”
“My father believed that women should be educated.”
Anna nodded. “Very progressive of him, I’m sure.”
“I think that we also share the burden of being misunderstood in our attention to men.”
Anna gave up on replying to this and just stared.
“My relationships with Senator Charles Sumner and John Watt are perfectly innocent.”
“I’m sure,” Anna said, when Mrs. Lincoln stopped as if waiting for an answer.
“There was a time when I thought you were a rival,” Mrs. Lincoln continued.
“A rival?” Anna asked. “For what?”
“For the President’s affection.”
Anna blinked. “Uh…”
Mrs. Lincoln waved her hand. “I realize that’s just foolish now that I know more about you – and your sister-in-law.”
“Oh. I see. Hmm.”
“Well?”
Anna looked puzzled. “Madam?”
“The levees.”
“Oh. The levees. Yes. Well, to be honest with you, I really wouldn’t know how to manage one.”
“Very well. Thank you for coming, just the same,” the First Lady said dismissively.
Anna hesitated. “But I’d really like to help you, Mrs. Lincoln – if I could. Is there anyone on the staff who could guide me?”
“Elizabeth Keckly.”
“Your dressmaker?”
“She’s my friend and confidant.” Mrs. Lincoln’s famous temper was showing.
Anna met Mrs. Lincoln’s eyes for a moment, then she got to her feet. “I’ll talk to Mrs. Keckly.” Anna struggled to return the chair to its original position.
“One more thing, Mrs. Lagrange.”
“Yes?”
“You might as well move your office back here to the White House. The subterfuge must be tiresome.”
“Subterfuge?” Anna turned to look at her. “I moved from the White House to a private office because I knew that my presence here upset you. No one has ever made an effort to hide the fact from you that I’ve continued to write official press releases. There’s been no subterfuge.”
“Yes. Well, subterfuge may have been a poor choice of words. What I should have said is simply that I’d have no objection if you came back to the White House. In fact, I’d like that. I think we might eventually become friends.”
Anna walked to the door. “I hope you’ll be feeling better soon, Mrs. Lincoln.”
“Thank you.”
~
“What a grand day this is,” Abraham Lincoln said to Anna. “Victory at Vicksburg, Gettysburg and in the White House.” He thought about what he’d said for a moment. “Too bad it took a bump on the head to bring Molly to her senses about you, though.”
Anna offered no response.
“Is there something else?” Lincoln asked.
“Not about Mrs. Lincoln.” She hesitated. “But I got a telegram from my nephew saying that two of my brothers are missing in action after Gettysburg.”
“Which two brothers?” The President was suddenly serious again.
“Jack was General Reynolds’s chief of staff. Thomas was with John Bell Hood in Robert E. Lee’s army.” She shook her head. “Listen to me. I’m using the past tense.”
Lincoln hesitated. “You do know that General Reynolds was killed?”
“No, I hadn’t heard that,” she replied.
“The reports from the army have been sketchy but I saw it in the Times.”
“Sometimes I wish the newspapers were as sketchy as the army,” Anna grumbled. “The National Intelligencer says that the dead are stacked like cordwood and are being buried in mass graves along with horses and other animals.” She took a breath. “If Jack or Tom fell, we may never know their fate.”
“Cordwood.” Lincoln looked ashen. “My God. Cordwood.”
“I’m so sorry, Mr. President,” Anna said. “I’ve ruined your good mood.”
“No, no. It’s not your fault. I’m very grateful. You were a big help with Mother.” He gave her a sad smile. “It’s a great day for the Union, thanks to so many fine men, like your brothers. Mrs. Lincoln and I will pray that they’re found soon, alive and well.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Lincoln looked out the window. “Are you going back to your office now?”
“No, I was going to go straight home – unless you need me or something from my office.”
“No, no. I don’t need anything. But it’s beginning to rain and the streets will be crowded with parade-goers. Let me call for my carriage to take you home.”
“No thank you, Mr. President. A walk in the rain may be just what I need.”
~
Nancy Vreeland Van Buskirk looked up from the book she was reading as her sister-in-law Anna Lagrange came into the suite that they shared in the Willard Hotel. “You’re early.”
“Anything from Robert?”
Nancy shook her head. “Why are you all wet?”
“It’s raining outside,” Anna replied.
“That’s not an answer.” Nancy put down her book and uncurled from the couch. “I’ll get you a towel. Why are you all wet?”
“They didn’t cancel the Fourth of July parade so it took me forever to walk home through the crowds,” Anna called from the vestibule.
“Sorry, I can’t hear you,” Nancy sang. She hurried back through the living room and handed Anna a bath towel. “Wh
at did you say?”
“I said the parade crowds held me up.” Anna unpinned her hair and used the towel to dry it.
“Where’re your umbrella and raincoat?”
“At my office. I was at the White House when the rain started and I was eager to get home to see if you’d gotten any news from Robert about Quincy.”
“What were you doing at the White House on the Fourth of July?”
“Mary Lincoln wanted to talk to me.”
“What?” Nancy giggled.
Anna smiled at her from under the towel. “She’s decided that you and I are not so bad.”
“How did I get included on her ‘not so bad’ list?”
“Your cleavage did it.” Anna giggled.
“My what?”
“She said that she’s often been criticized for wearing dresses that are too low-cut. I guess our Macy’s summer dresses put us in her company.”
“You’re teasing me, right?”
“No. I’m absolutely serious. Unbutton me, please.” Anna turned her back to Nancy. “She even invited me to move back into an office at the White House.”
“So, are you going to?” Nancy began unfastening the row of tiny hooks.
“I haven’t decided. Do you know anything about the levees that she holds every week?”
“Not much. She used to hold two a week before Willie died; one on Tuesday evening and another on Saturday afternoon. You’ve never been invited?”
“No,” Anna said. “And she wants me to be her hostess while she recovers.”
“Recovers from what?”
“Oh. I didn’t tell you. She was in a carriage accident yesterday.”
“Was she badly hurt?”
“I think she’s worse than she’s letting on.”
“That seems odd, given her personality.”
“What seems odd?”
“That she’d play down an injury instead of looking for attention.”
Anna shrugged. “I don’t know her well enough to judge that. What seems odd to me is that she’d ask for my help.”
“She knows you’re rich. Maybe she just wants to borrow money from you.”
Anna craned her neck to look at Nancy. “Why would she need money?”
“You must remember that she overspent the White House budget, then sold the President’s upcoming State of the Union speech to the Times to pay the bills. Maybe she’s done it again.”
“No, no.” Anna shook her head. “That wasn’t Mrs. Lincoln. Somebody on the White House staff stole that speech. He confessed.”
“He was paid or coerced to confess.”
“Oh, Nancy. That’s just gossip.”
“That doesn’t make it untrue.”
“Mary Lincoln’s not that clever.”
“Maybe she’s clever enough to keep you from seeing how clever she is.” Nancy patted Anna on the shoulder. “Okay. You’re unbuttoned.”
“I suppose that’s possible.” Anna slid the soggy dress off her arms and pushed it off her hips. “She’s certainly difficult for me to fathom.”
“That’s the opium.”
“Opium?”
“The opium makes her moody and unpredictable.”
“She uses opium?” Anna continued to undress. “Are you sure?”
“I know the man that provides her with it.”
“I suppose opium might explain her mood swings, but isn’t it supposed to make people calm? Mrs. Lincoln is rarely calm.”
Nancy knitted her brow. “Well, the man I mentioned could be lying. He’s a braggart and a bit of a windbag.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m still stuck with her damned levees.”
“Will you need some help?”
“Absolutely. I have to talk to Mrs. Lincoln’s dressmaker first. She has some role in them, apparently.”
Nancy nodded. “Elizabeth Keckly?”
“Yes.”
“She’s become one of Mrs. Lincoln’s confidants.”
“Yes, that’s what Mrs. Lincoln said. Odd, don’t you think?”
“What’s odd?” Nancy asked.
“That a woman like Mary Todd Lincoln, who grew up owning slaves, would become friends with a former slave.”
“Elizabeth Keckly is quite a remarkable woman,” Nancy said. She began to gather Anna’s wet clothes from the floor. “Her work with the Contraband Relief Association is exemplary.”
“I’m not disparaging Elizabeth Keckly in any way, Nancy. God knows that she deserves everyone’s respect. I just meant that – never mind.” Anna wrapped herself in the towel. “This is going to sound ridiculous, but have you, by chance, heard any rumors about Mrs. Lincoln and other men?” She started toward the bathroom.
“Yeah, sure,” Nancy said, following her. “She’s fairly brazen about traveling unescorted and meeting men during her travels.”
Anna looked back at her. “You can’t be serious.”
“I didn’t mean to imply that there’s any truth to the rumors, Anna. You asked me if I’d heard any.” Nancy dumped the wet clothes on the bathroom floor, then turned on the water in the bathtub. “I don’t suppose you have any news of Jack or Thomas.” She handed Anna a button hook.
Anna sat down on the edge of the tub to unbutton her wet shoes. “No. And I can’t think of how to get any. The papers say that there are nearly eight thousand dead and twenty-five thousand wounded at Gettysburg. Going there to look for Jack and Tom would be of no use.”
Nancy put the plug in the drain.
“Why do you suppose we’ve not heard anything else from Robert?” Anna asked.
Nancy shook her head. “He usually writes to me several times a week, but the confusion at Vicksburg must be overwhelming.”
“Yes,” Anna agreed. “The city’s reported to be in total ruin and there are something like thirty thousand Confederate prisoners to deal with.”
“You’re worried about Quincy?”
“Of course I’m worried.” Anna tested the water in the tub. “He’s my only child.”
“But Robert’s there with him. I’m sure we’ll get word as soon as Quincy’s back in Federal control.” Nancy backed away from the steaming bathtub to stand in the doorway. “I’ve been keeping something from you.”
“What?” Anna looked at her.
“The girl that Quincy is so in love with, Christina Davenport, is colored.”
“Oh, I know.” Anna dropped her shoes and stockings onto the heap of wet clothes, then adjusted the water. “She and Ginger are both passing for white.”
“Did Robert tell you that?”
“Yes. Right after Ginger was accepted into the Merchant Marine’s nursing corps.”
“Hmm.” Nancy made a face. “That’s odd. When he told me, Robert said that I wasn’t to tell you.”
“Well, he didn’t exactly tell me about Christina, but he did tell me that Ginger and a younger woman were both passing for white. I just put two and two together and decided that the younger woman was Chrissy.” She tested the water again, turned off the taps, dropped the towel and then climbed into the tub.
“You’re not upset?”
“About Chrissy being colored? No. Concerned would be a better word than upset.” Anna sank into the water up to her chin.
“If they marry, they’ll be breaking the law.”
“Yes, I know. But they’re adults and it’s a stupid law.”
“I agree. But that’s not the issue.”
“But it’s still a stupid law.”
Nancy walked closer to the tub. “How did you get that bruise on your breast?”
Anna giggled. “It’s not a bruise, it’s a love bite.”
“Oh Anna.” Nancy made a disgusted face.
“Oh shut up, Nancy. You’re one to talk.”
“I’m married.”
“I know. It seems to me that the pot’s calling the kettle black.”
Nancy raised her hands. “Sorry. You’re right. It’s none of my business.”
“Do you suppose that Pea
sent wires to everyone? Or was he expecting us to pass on his message about Jack and Tom?”
“I sent wires to Robert and to Jane in your name,” Nancy said. “Robert hasn’t replied. Jane probably won’t get hers until it’s hand-delivered by the Pony Express.”
Anna laughed. “There’s no Pony Express any more, Nancy.”
“Well, there’s no telegraph office in Waco either.”
“I think there may be, now.”
“But Robert must have gotten his wire by now.”
“He must be very busy.”
“Yes. I suppose he must be.”
July 4, 1863
Milliken’s Bend, Louisiana
Generals Ulysses Grant, Robert Van Buskirk and William T. Sherman were seated in camp chairs across the narrow road from the headquarters tents. Sherman had just returned from Vicksburg where Union troops were dealing with the surrendered Confederate army and the starving population. He seemed troubled and lost in deep thought.
“Did you hear me, Cump?” Robert asked.
“Huh?” Sherman looked surprised. “What’d you say, Professor?”
“I asked if you’d seen my nephew while you were in Vicksburg,” Robert said.
“Yes, yes,” Sherman replied. “I brought Quincy the new uniform that you had made for him. I thought I told you.”
Robert continued to look at him. “That’s all you have to say?”
“What do you want me to say? He looks fine, Robert.” Sherman waved his hand. “He was wounded when he breached the wall, but not badly – and, as you well know, he’s had two Navy nurses to look after him.”
“What is it that you’re not telling me?” Robert insisted.
Sherman glanced at Grant, then turned back to face Robert with a sigh. “It’s more about what you’re not telling me.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You knew that those nurses are both colored women.”
“Yes, of course I did,” Robert said.
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“There was no reason to tell you.”
“I never expected you to lie to me.”
“I didn’t lie to you, Cump,” Robert insisted, “I omitted telling you something that’s unimportant.”
“How did you find out, Cump?” Grant asked.
“Sergeant Major Abraham Van Buskirk of the African Brigade asked me if I had any news about his sister,” Sherman replied. “His sister turned out to be Georgia Van Buskirk, one of the two nurses that the Confederates captured.” He looked disapprovingly at Robert. “Imagine my surprise that a black man has a white sister.”
Freedom (Gone For Soldiers) Page 3