On to Richmond (62 page)

             
The lady managed a shaky smile.  “That is very kind.  Where are you headed?”

             
“Wherever you are,” Carrie responded. 

             
That brought a genuine smile.  “My name is Janie Winthrop.  And yes, I would very much appreciate a ride.  I saw you send the two men to try to help me.  Thank you,” she said, tears shining in her eyes again. 

             
With those words, Carrie remembered Eddie.  She looked around quickly and saw him standing next to Spencer by the carriage.  She took Janie’s arm and led her over.  “Thank you very much for trying to help.”

             
Spencer nodded gravely.  “You’re welcome, Miss Cromwell,” he said and climbed back in the carriage.

             
Then Carrie turned to Eddie again.  “It’s wonderful to see you again, Eddie.  How is everything?”

             
“Things be just fine, Miss Cromwell.  It’s good to see you again, too.” 

             
“We were just headed to your house, Eddie.  I was hoping to see Opal.”

             
“You won’t be finding Opal there just now, Miss Cromwell.” 

             
“Oh?”  Was that a flicker of alarm in his eyes?  Surely it was just her imagination.  There was nothing in what she had said to cause alarm.

             
Eddie shook his head firmly.  “Her and Fannie has gone visiting.  They won’t be home till later.  I’ll tell her you asked about her, though.  I’m sure she’d love to see you.”

             
“She is doing well?”  Why was she feeling uneasy?  She couldn’t shake the feeling that Eddie was hiding something, yet she didn’t want to pry. 

             
“Oh, yes, ma’am. She be doing real well.”

             
Carrie nodded.  “Tell her I’ll try again another time.”  Then she turned to Janie.  “Now.  Where is it you were going?”

             
Janie smiled.  “I was on my way to visit a friend, but I seem to have lost any desire for that.  I would really just love to go home.”

             
“Of course, you would,” Carrie said quickly.  “Where is home?”

             
“I have a room in a house on Church Hill.  22nd Street.  Is it terribly out of your way?”

             
Carrie smiled.  “You live just a few blocks from where I am visiting my father.  My plans to visit a friend have ended, so I am going to head back home.  It won’t be out of the way at all.”

             
Silence fell on the carriage as Spencer clucked to the horses.  As they rolled forward, Carrie shuddered, wondering what would have happened to Janie if they had not happened along.  True, it had been the policeman who had saved her, but she was sure Eddie and Spencer’s presence had distracted the man from his immediate agenda.  She took time now to study the woman across from her.  Janie could not have been more than twenty-two or twenty-three.   Her slender, soft hands still shook in her lap, and her bright blue eyes were still slightly swollen.  Brown hair, once carefully pulled back in a bun, was now mussed all over her head.

             
Janie reached up a hand and straightened her hat.   Then she lifted her shoulders, and when she spoke, the tremor was gone from her voice.  It was at once calm and slightly cheerful.  “I am really most grateful for what you’ve done.  There were other people around.  You were the only one to step forward to try to help.  At first I felt angry toward the people who merely watched.  Now I find I feel nothing but pity.  I hope I never reach the place where I am so hardened I could watch such a thing - even if it meant my own safety could be in jeopardy.”

             
Carrie nodded.  “I couldn’t have lived with myself if I hadn’t done something to help.”  Then she leaned forward.  “Are you from Richmond, Miss Winthrop?” 

             
“Please call me Janie.  I shall call you Carrie.  Surely your helping to save me should move us beyond formalities.”  She waited for Carrie’s nod then continued, “No, I’m not from Richmond.  The war has brought me here from Raleigh, North Carolina.”

             
“The war brought you here?”

             
Janie nodded.  “I understood there was need of medical help here.   I arrived just after the Battle of Bull Run.  I have chosen to stay.”  She paused.  “I am helping prepare Chimborazo Hospital.”  She paused slightly.  “I trust my instincts that you are not another Southerner who believes a woman in a military hospital is a shameful thing.  They think our feminine delicacy shouldn’t and couldn’t bear the atrocities that abound in such a setting!” 

             
Carrie smiled.  She had known instantly this was a woman she could be friends with.  She had been right.  “I think that’s wonderful.  I understand Dr. McCaw has big plans for the place.”  She and her father had discussed it just the night before.

             
“Yes, he does,” Janie said enthusiastically.  “He is a wonderful man.  It is exciting to work with him.”  Again she paused and then laughed merrily.  “Not that I’m doing much of what I would call real nursing.  The men who run the place seem to think the few women there can be best utilized cleaning and cooking.  Matron Pember tells me I must be patient.”  Carrie looked at her blankly, and she continued.  “Matron Pember came to us from Georgia.  She is the head matron in charge of one of the divisions.  She keeps telling me it is going to be women who save the day for Confederate medical care.  She believes that soon all the men will be on the battle front.  Then women will get the chance to show what they can do!” 

             
Since Carrie had not gotten far from home when the unpleasant incident had occurred, the carriage was almost approaching 22nd Street.  She leaned forward impulsively.  “I know you’ve had a harrowing experience, but I would love to have you join me for tea.  Would you care to?”

             
Janie’s eyes lighted.  “That would be lovely, Carrie.  And I really am feeling much better.  I have learned one has to be tough to survive in Richmond just now,” she said with a laugh.

             
Carrie frowned.  “It has not always been like this.  There was a time when a lady was perfectly safe to roam the streets at will.”

             
Spencer spoke up from the driver’s seat.  “That time ain’t now, though, Miss Cromwell.”  He turned as the carriage rolled up in front of the house.  “I’ll be around back with Micah when Miss Winthrop be ready to go home.  You just give me a call.” 

             
“Thank you, Spencer,” Carrie said warmly.  Then she led the way up the walk and into the house.

             
There was no more talk until Micah had delivered hot tea and biscuits. 

             
Then Janie turned to Carrie.  “Did you know that black man who tried to help your driver?”

             
Carrie nodded.  “He is the cousin of one of my father’s slaves.  I was on my way to visit her.”

             
Janie looked at her quizzically, opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, then shut it again.

             
Carrie smiled.  If this was going to be a friendship worth having, and she sensed it was, she needed to be honest from the first.  “Opal, Eddie’s cousin, is not just my slave.  She is a friend.  I visit her whenever I’m in town.”

             
Janie looked at her closely.  “You are friends with your slaves?”

             
“My father’s slaves,” Carrie corrected.  Then she smiled.  “I’m one of those evidently rare Southerners who believe slavery is wrong.  I find my views make me extremely unpopular with some people, especially during these times.”

             
“Yet you are so open with me.  Why?” Janie asked bluntly.

             
Carrie chose honesty again.  “Because I sense you and I could be good friends.  I’d just as soon be open from the start.  If my beliefs repulse you, it could save us both a lot of time.”

             
Janie laughed.  “You’re right.  You and I are going to be good friends.  I have found no one in this city as refreshingly honest as you.  And, no, your beliefs hardly repulse me.  I feel the same way you do.  I, too, have lost friends because of my beliefs.”

             
Carrie smiled in delight and moved forward to squeeze Janie’s hand.  The rest of the afternoon passed in a haze of conversation and laughter. 

             
Finally Janie looked at the clock.  “Oh, my goodness, I really must be going.  My landlady will think something horrible has happened.”  She paused.  “I would love for you to come for tea tomorrow.  Where I live is not as grand as this - I have just a room - but I would love for you to come.”

             
“And I would love to do so,” Carrie said, delighted. 

             
She walked out to the carriage with her new friend, waved good-bye and then returned to the porch.  She smiled as she stared up at the darkening sky.  “Thank you,” she whispered softly.  Her heart was light as she went inside.  She had been so lonely for a friend.  She knew she had found one. 

Carrie was resting by the fire when the front door slammed open and her father strode in.   She knew instantly something was wrong.  “Father!” she exclaimed.  “What is it?”

              Thomas scowled and threw his hat into the nearest chair.  “I want you here in Richmond, Carrie.”

             
Carrie stuffed down her alarm and tried to be casual.  “I
am
in Richmond,” she said with a smile.  Her father’s scowl did not diminish.

             
“It’s simply not safe for you on the plantation.”

             
Carrie was confused.  “What are you talking about?”  She tried to keep her voice calm.

             
“I’m talking about the confirmed intelligence we received today.  We have heard rumors that McClellan had plans to take Richmond but there has been no action on his part.  I had begun to believe the Union was going to focus its efforts elsewhere and leave us alone.” 

             
“You no longer believe that?”

             
Thomas shook his head.  “Lincoln is getting impatient for action.  There has begun to be a great deal of criticism leveled at his administration, as well as at McClellan, for doing nothing with the huge army sitting just outside of Washington.  Our sources tell us something will have to happen soon.” 

             
“What does McClellan plan to do?” Carrie asked carefully.  If she could keep him talking, she knew it would diffuse some of the stress exploding within him.

             
Thomas sighed and leaned back in his chair for the first time.  “No one knows for sure, but reports say he is planning an offensive on the coast and then overland to Richmond.”  Then he frowned again.  “That would take him right past the plantation, Carrie.  I simply cannot allow you to return there.”

             
Carrie struggled to control herself.  She had to give her father time to calm down.  As much as part of her yearned to be in Richmond, she also knew she had to return to Cromwell Plantation.  It wasn’t time yet. “No one knows for sure what he is going to do, do they?”

             
“No,” Thomas admitted.  “But I’m sure President Davis is going to order Johnston back to the vicinity of Richmond.  We simply cannot lose the capital!” he almost shouted. 

             
Carrie hated conflict with her father when he was upset, but she knew she had to face this now before he assumed she was in agreement with him.  “No one knows for sure what the North is going to do.  It could be nothing.  It could be McClellan decides to attack from a different direction.”  She paused and then continued.  “Regardless, no one can move an army that size without being detected.  Am I right?”

             
Thomas nodded reluctantly, opening his mouth as if to interrupt, but Carrie pushed on.  “The plantation is only three hours from the capital.  In case of danger, you will be able to notify me.”  Then her voice became firm.  “I
am
returning to the plantation, Father.  I’m sorry if you will worry about me, but I have a job to do.  We have talked about this before.  I am no longer a little girl.  I promised you I would leave the plantation if things became too dangerous.  So far there is just talk.  But I will promise you again.”  She leaned forward, looked him in the eyes, and spoke softly, but firmly, “I will leave the plantation if it becomes too dangerous.  I promise.”