Fire Over Atlanta (13 page)

T
he marriage of Col. Nelson Majors and Eileen Fremont took place in a small Methodist chapel. The building was filled, mostly with officers and men of the colonel’s regiment.

“It sure looks odd,” Jeff murmured, standing next to Tom at the front of the church. “Almost nobody here but men. Never saw a wedding like this.”

“I guess that’s the way it is in war time. There comes Leah.”

Jeff looked back to see Leah, wearing a blue silk dress with a bow at her waist and a white hat tied beneath her chin. She held a bouquet and marched up the aisle steadily, then turned to stand beside him.

He nudged her and whispered, “You look great, Leah.” He was surprised when her lips drew into a frown.
I wonder what’s the matter with her
, he thought.

Across from Jeff and Tom stood their father. His ash-gray uniform was immaculate. Its brass buttons caught the glint of the lanterns burning on each side of the church and hanging from the chandeliers. He wore a scarlet sash around his waist, and he looked tall and straight and handsome. His eyes were fixed on the back of the church.

Suddenly Jeff saw him smile. The organ began to play “Here Comes the Bride,” and all the officers and men turned to watch Eileen come down the aisle on the arm of the colonel’s commanding officer.
He had been delighted to give the bride away, although he was no relative.

Eileen was wearing a white dress—borrowed, Jeff knew. A long bridal veil fell down her back, and a sheer veil covered her face. She kept her eyes fixed on the groom. The lights were soft and the church quiet except for the sound of the organ.

The preacher asked, “Who gives this woman …” The general said, “I do,” and there was the colonel standing across from her.

Jeff was fascinated as he watched. The two of them looked very handsome. He remembered with some shame how he had opposed the marriage.
She’ll be a good wife to Pa
, he thought as the words of the wedding ceremony were spoken by the minister.
He needs someone. I know he’s been lonesome, and she’s already been a mother to Esther—and to me too
.

Finally the minister intoned, “By the authority vested in me, I pronounce you husband and wife.” Then he smiled and said, “You may kiss your bride, colonel.”

Nelson carefully lifted the veil from Eileen’s face, bent over, and kissed her briefly. A cheer went up from his men, and the organ struck up the recessional.

Outside, officers quickly gathered to form a canopy of swords. The colonel and his bride passed underneath to where a carriage waited. He helped Eileen in, got in beside her, and then they waved at the cheering crowd.

“Let’s get out of here, driver!” he said. “Before some of those fellows think up some tricks to play.”

“Yes, suh.”

The horses took off at a dead run.

Jeff laughed to see the carriage careening down the street.

“I reckon Pa was wise to get away,” Tom said.

“He was, and they haven’t told anybody where they’re going for their honeymoon either. Pa said he was afraid somebody would think up a shivaree.”

Then Jeff said, “And I guess we don’t have to worry about Esther anymore.”

“No.” The look of relief on Tom’s face and the sound of his voice showed how glad he felt. “She’s a wonderful woman, Eileen is. Esther will have a great mother.”

The two soldiers, looking strikingly similar, walked back into the church, where they were congratulated as though it were their own wedding.

“Look,” Jeff said, “there goes Leah. She’ll need some help taking care of Esther till Pa and Eileen get back. But we both have got to get back to Petersburg …”

Jeff hurried and caught up with her. “That was a good wedding, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, it was.”

Jeff looked at her questioningly. Leah was usually outgoing and bubbly, especially at a wedding. But then, he thought, she had been withdrawn and silent all day. “What’s the matter with you, Leah?” he said. “Are you sick?”

“No, I’m all right. I just don’t … feel much like talking.”

He tried to get her to say more, but she said, “I’ve got to go home, Jeff. A neighbor is taking care of Esther, and I promised I’d come home early.”

And off she went.

Leah ran upstairs to check on Esther and found her asleep. Then she went back downstairs and said, “Thank you so much for keeping Esther, Mrs. Dayton. I can take her now.”

“Was it a nice wedding?” Mrs. Dayton asked. She was a woman in her late fifties with two boys in the Confederate army.

“Oh, yes, it was very nice. Colonel Majors looked very handsome and, of course, his bride was lovely.”

“Such a romantic thing. They’ll be so good for each other.”

“Yes, they will,” Leah said absently.

When the woman left, promising to return, Leah made herself a cup of tea. Then she sat at the kitchen table and drank it slowly. From time to time she heard people go by on the road. Sometimes a horse would pass at a gallop. At other times the groaning of wagon wheels came to her. She thought of Jeff and how she had cut him off almost without a word.

“It seems I can’t do anything right,” she said aloud and started at the sound of her own voice.
Here I am, starting to talk to myself!

She got to her feet and did housework for a time. But her mind kept going back to Cecil. He had returned later on the day of his proposal. She had not felt able to talk with him, and he had left somewhat deflated. She knew that sooner or later he would be back.

She wandered into the backyard and leaned against the trunk of the apple tree and thought of how she had made such a terrible mess of things. She could only ask God to forgive her.

If only I’d never had that crazy idea of making Jeff jealous
, she thought.
It seemed so harmless at the time
,
but now—how in the world am I ever going to tell Cecil the truth?

All afternoon she tossed the problem back and forth, trying to find some way out. She went upstairs and began a letter to Cecil. But though she started three of them, whatever she said sounded silly, or trite, or cruel. She threw down the quill and for the rest of the day took care of the little girl.

Leah slept fitfully that night and arose feeling drugged and miserable. After breakfast she spent part of the morning playing with Esther. She was fascinated by the golden-haired child and her patter and for a time was almost able to forget her problems.

At eleven o’clock, however, she heard a horse pull up outside. She went to a window, and her heart sank. “It’s Cecil.”

When Cecil entered, she knew that there could be no more putting off what she had to do.

“Hello, Leah,” he said, smiling and removing his hat. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to come by, but they’ve kept me pretty busy at headquarters.”

“That’s all right.”

“I think we can go out for a walk tonight. I believe I can get off. Maybe we can go get some more ice cream.”

“Cecil … I’ve got something to tell you, and it’s not going to be very easy.”

He probably saw the trouble in her eyes. “What is it? Not bad news from home?”

“No, nothing like that … I … I got a letter from my brother, Royal. He’s engaged to a girl in Atlanta. They’re going back to Pineville after the war and get married there.”

“Why, that’s fine. Say, maybe you and I could go there too, and it could be a double wedding.”

Leah saw the happiness in the lieutenant’s thin face, and she swallowed hard. But she knew what had to be said.

“Cecil,” she began slowly and with great difficulty, “I’ve always been fond of you. Ever since I came to Richmond. Even when I didn’t behave very well, you were always kind to me. And I
didn’t
always behave well.”

“I don’t know as I’ve noticed you misbehaving, Leah.”

She shook her head impatiently. “Well, I have, and if you stop and think about it, you could remember a few times when I needed to be spanked. But now I’ve done something that I’m really ashamed of, and I’ve got to tell you about it.”

Cecil looked bewildered. “What is it, Leah? You can tell me anything.”

Leah forced herself to meet his eyes. “Cecil, I’m so honored that you’ve asked me to be engaged to you. It’s the highest honor a man can pay to a girl—and I’ll never forget what you’ve done.” Taking a deep breath, she said stiffly, “But we can never be married, Cecil.”

All the happiness went out of his face. He stared at her in disbelief. “But—but, Leah, I thought that you cared for me.”

“I do like you—very much. We’ve been such good friends, but …”

His face seemed to collapse. “But, Leah,” he said, “you’ve been so anxious to be with me the past few weeks. I thought that meant you cared.”

She shook her head. “I do care. Very much, indeed. But in the first place, Cecil, with this war on,
who knows how it will end, or where it will end? It’s no time to be even
thinking
about marriage.”

“The colonel did … and now you say your brother’s going to get married …”

Trapped, Leah said, “I know, but they’re older. I’m only seventeen. I know some girls get married at that age, but … well … I’m just not ready for that kind of commitment yet. And I don’t think you are either, Cecil. I know you like me, and I like you. But it’s just not time for things like that.”

He stared at her, disappointment written all over him. “You’re not telling me the whole truth, Leah. I can tell. There’s something wrong with the way you look.”

Then Leah knew that she had to tell him everything. She had confessed her wrong to God, but now she had to confess to this boy she had hurt so deeply. She hesitated only briefly. “I told you I don’t always behave as I should, and I’ve done a terrible thing to you, Cecil. I made up to you to make Jeff jealous.”

Cecil’s thin face turned pale. For a moment he seemed to freeze.

“Oh, Cecil, I’m so sorry!”

“So you were just playing with me?”

“Don’t put it like that!”

His lip quivered. He bit it then and straightened up. His voice was thin and filled with disappointment and hurt as he said, “I didn’t think you would do that to me, Leah. I thought you were a different kind of person.”

“Cecil—”

But the lieutenant wheeled and stalked off. The door slammed.

She ran after him. As she came out onto the porch, he was mounting, and she called his name. “Cecil, please don’t go. Let me tell you—”

But Cecil was gone. He slashed his horse with the reins, and the animal reared, then shot forward in a wild burst of speed.

Leah watched as he disappeared, and her knees felt weak. She had never felt so miserable in all her life.

Lucy knew at once that something was wrong. She had gone to the Taylor house, as she often did, on a visit with her mother. She had been disappointed not to find Cecil there, but later that afternoon she saw him riding in and went out to meet him.

The lieutenant dismounted, handed the reins to a slave, and turned toward Lucy when she greeted him.

“Why, Cecil, what’s the matter?”

“Nothing.”

“There is too. You look awful!” She put a hand on his arm. “Come over here and sit down.” She urged him into a secluded section of the yard formed by tall rose hedges. Then she sat down beside him. “What in the world is wrong with you? Your hands are trembling.”

“I can’t tell you.”

Lucy was baffled. She tried to think of some awful thing that Cecil might have done that had so shaken him. She took his hand and held it in hers and said, “I don’t care what you’ve done, Cecil. You can tell me. It won’t go any farther. Maybe I can help.”

“Nobody can help.”

Perhaps it was the sympathy in Lucy’s eyes and the touch of her hand on his that brought Cecil’s defenses down. At any rate, he finally poured out the whole story, ending by saying, “She told me she was just seeing me to make Jeff jealous.”

Lucy was shocked at the bitterness in his voice. She suddenly realized that Cecil Taylor was the kindest boy she had ever known. He had never hurt anybody in his entire life. Anger shot through her as she realized what Leah Carter had done. Hot words leaped to her lips—but she knew that was not what Cecil needed to hear.

“I’m sorry you had to go through this, Cecil,” she said softly. She stroked his hand, thinking of the times he had comforted her when she had been foolish—which had been rather often. “I remember the time that I made such a pest of myself when I had that crush on David Jamison. It was you who came and helped me to see how silly I was being. How old was I—fourteen? And he was almost twenty?”

“I remember,” he said.

“There were other times too. You’ve always been there when I needed you, and I wish now you’d let me be a friend to you.”

Cecil looked down. “I even talked to Jeff. I asked him if he cared for her.”

“What did he say?”

“He said that they’d been friends all their lives, but if I wanted to go calling on her that it was all right with him.”

“He
had
to say that, don’t you see? I think Jeff truly cares for her, and Leah does care for him. She’s been a foolish girl, but then so have I been—many times.”

Lucy talked gently for a long while, and slowly he seemed to relax. “I’d hate to see you become bitter over this, Cecil. Leah isn’t a bad girl. She’s just been foolish.”

He slowly nodded. “I guess you’re right.” He forced a grin and said, “I’m glad you were here to pick up the pieces. I don’t guess I would have shot myself or anything, but I was feeling pretty low.”

Lucy leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “Come on, let’s go into the kitchen. Suzy made some chocolate cookies. You always liked chocolate cookies better than anything.”

“All right.”

Lucy led him away, thinking,
What a stupid girl Leah Carter is. I’d thought better of her
. Then she again remembered some of her own escapades and quickly added,
But I guess all of us make foolish mistakes. We just have to learn to deal with them
.

R
osie wandered along the streets of Atlanta, rather depressed by the sight. Most of the businesses were boarded up. Many had been destroyed by the shelling of Federal cannon. The citizens who passed him were poorly dressed and had a look of defeat written on their features. Many of them looked angrily at his blue Union uniform, and Rosie muttered, “I can’t say I blame them much. If the Rebels had bombed out Pineville like we done with this place, I guess I’d be pretty mad myself.”