Words Heard in Silence (39 page)

At that point, Reverend Williams entered and took his position before the altar. Mrs. Williams started into the processional. Further conversation was postponed until after the service was complete. The laggards filed into their seats and with the appropriate amount of rustling and coughing, the congregation came to order. The exhortation, read by one of the elders of the church, and first hymn were ordinary.

Then the Reverend Williams stepped into the pulpit. From the mild, slightly bumbling man who Charlie had seen before there emerged someone very different. Williams was something very rare –– a minister who truly believed in the power of the God whose word he preached and who allowed that power to flow through him when preaching.

"Our text for the day comes from Ecclesiastes, Chapter nine, verses ten through eighteen."

"Through fate and chance, we have faced a time of war. Now, that time of war is coming to an end for us and we must find a different way." The good minister spoke passionately and compassionately on the ravages of war and the prices that all had paid for it.

"But then, are we not all at war against evil thought, against lack of compassion, against letting the matters of the body politic overwhelm the matters of the soul?" He looked to the future and spoke of a conflict that would come to end all conflicts; that each man, woman and child would have to face for themselves.

And then he spoke of what would happened if a wise man who came among them and offered them peace and a chance for a new future; how the voices of fools who could not let the time of war pass into the time of peace might drown the words of wisdom. For wisdom is spoken softly, and wise words heard only in the silence of a peaceful heart.

Reverend Williams talked on, reaching many of the people in his audience with the compassion in his plea. Emily was far too young to listen. She looked around the church, enjoyed the light through the window, sucked on her fingers for a while and started squirming. Constance’s pregnancy was beginning to show; holding a squirming toddler was uncomfortable, so Rebecca took the little girl in her arms. She promptly cuddled up in Rebecca’s lap and fell asleep.

With the sermon over, the congregation stood for the second hymn. Reverend Williams’ prayer asked for the silence of the heart to hear words of wisdom in this time of change. The hymn roused the little girl, who was usually cranky and fussy when she first woke. Charlie quietly lifted the child from Rebecca’s lap and held her through the hymn. She went back to Rebecca while the collection plate was passed. Charlie dropped a silver dollar into the plate, and Rebecca reached into her reticule for a smaller silver coin. Charlie noticed that many of the people in the congregation had nothing to offer, and of those who did have an offering, it was usually just a penny.

The final hymn and the benediction was over and it was time to file out of the little church. Constance was looking tired, and Elizabeth and Polk were both being solicitous of her. Charlie simply took Emily back into his arms and walked out to politely greet anyone who would deign to speak with the Yankee invader. The first to greet him was the good minister. Mr. Cooper was there as well. Surprisingly, Mayor Frazier was also there to acknowledge the Colonel and his entourage.

The ladies, led by Mrs. Cooper, clustered around Elizabeth and Rebecca, who by now had taken Emily from Charlie’s arms. The little girl was the center of a great deal of oohing and aahing. She was ecstatic at the attention and was being very charming.

As the ladies were admiring the little girl, Miss Reynolds noticed the ring on Rebecca’s left hand and pointed to it. As the other women in the group realized what that ring implied, there was a moment of stunned silence so profound that the gentlemen looked up to see what was wrong. Then all of the women broke out at once, some envious, others unsure of the propriety of marrying the enemy.

Mrs. Williams, having divested herself of the robe she wore as the organist, came charging into the group, obviously prepared to condemn the conqueror and his harlot, when her husband stepped in front of her. In a firm, carrying voice, he turned to Charlie and announced, "I see congratulations are in order, Colonel. When do you plan to have the happy event? You know, I expect to officiate."

Charlie grinned, Rebecca blushed and Mrs. Williams looked like she was going to explode. All in all, it was a very successful Sunday.

R
ebecca entered the room quietly, closing the door behind her. She moved to Montgomery’s bedside and looked upon his sleeping form. "Good evening, Major. I will be sitting with you for a time. Dr. Walker has asked that we talk to you in the hopes you will respond. But since I do not know what to say to a gentleman such as yourself, I thought perhaps I would just read to you."

She pulled a rocker close to the bed and raised the wick on the lamp for more light. Taking the bible from the table, she opened it. "Let us start at the beginning, shall we, Major?" She cleared her throat as she adjusted the lap rug over her legs. "Genesis, chapter one. In the beginning……."

Rebecca rubbed her eyes. She was not sure how long she had been reading. She would pause occasionally to give the Major a sip of water as Elizabeth had instructed. She placed her ribbon marker in the Bible and stood up to stretch tired muscles. Moving to the window she could see it was very late.

The moon was high in the sky, thin gray clouds passed over it, causing shadows on the land. Rebecca realized that was how she felt right now, since Charlie seemed to be so distant the last few days, like a shadow had been cast over her heart.

She looked at the ring on her finger, playing with it. "Oh, Charlie, if you have changed your mind, you need only say so," she sighed, her thoughts plunging into darker despair with every moment. She was about to retake her seat when the door opened and Samuelson came in.

"Good evening, Miss Rebecca. I am here to spend the rest of the night."

"Thank you, Samuelson."

"Has there been any change?"

"No, I am afraid not, but he is taking water regularly. Just small sips but he does swallow it."

"That is good." The man regarded the woman before him. "Miss Rebecca, I think you need to rest. You look exhausted."

"Perhaps. It has been a very difficult few days." She patted his shoulder. "Good night, sir, I will see you tomorrow."

She left the room and headed for her bedroom. Stepping inside she saw that the bed was still empty, that Charlie had not yet come to bed. She left the bedroom and went downstairs.

Entering the kitchen, she prepared a pot of tea. Fighting tears the entire time she worked around the kitchen. Picking up a piece of bread she started to bring it to her lips, but found she had no appetite and replaced it in the basket.

Taking the tea, she went to the rear parlor and settled in her rocker by the window. Pulling a shawl over her shoulders and a blanket over her legs, she sipped her tea as she watched out the window. It was not long before she felt her lids getting very heavy, but rather than go face their bed which was cold and empty, she let sleep claim her in the chair.

C
harlie spent the evening documenting the problems he had found throughout the county. He indulged himself in a quiet half hour before the fire with a cigar and a glass of brandy. Finally, he slipped into the hall and sat on the bottom step to pull his boots off. Holding them in one hand, he crept up the stairs and eased into Rebecca’s private sitting room. There he stripped off the rest of his clothes and pulled on his nightshirt. Dousing the last light in the room, he eased the door to the bedroom open. He nearly panicked when he realized that she was not in bed as he expected.

Quickly he looked around the room. No, the rocking chair was empty. He went back into the little sitting room. Maybe she had fallen asleep on the davenport, but that too was empty. He hurried downstairs and then saw the faint light under the door to the back parlor. There she sat, wrapped in a shawl and lap blanket, asleep in her chair by the window.

Softly he went to her. Moving slowly and gently, he gathered her up in his arms. She did not wake fully, but wrapped her arms around his neck and burrowed her head into his shoulder with a contented sigh. Carefully, he carried her up stairs to bed. He tucked her in on her usual side, and then slid in beside her. She rolled over, seeking his warmth in her sleep. Entwined, satisfied for the moment to feel his arms around her and the sweet smell of her in his nostrils, they slept.

R
ebecca woke slowly and reached for Charlie, who was already gone. She sighed and rolled over on her back staring at the ceiling. She was not sure what had come over Charlie the last few days, but she wondered if it had something to do with the other women that had shown up. Perhaps he found young Constance and little Emily far more appealing, after all this was a woman with children and it was clear Charlie adored Em. Pushing the thoughts from her mind, she tossed the covers back and sat up.

Lizbet entered the room and opened the curtains. "Mornin,’ Miss Rebecca. What would you like to wear today?"

"I do not care." She answered quietly.

Lizbet looked at her mistress. "Are you all right, Ma’am?"

"I am fine. Just very tired."

Rebecca moved to the window while Lizbet bustled around the room laying out her clothes. She looked out over her land wondering where Charlie had gotten off to. "Has Colonel Redmond left for the day?"

"Oh yes, Ma’am. The Colonel was up and out very early this morning. He had breakfast with Miss Constance, Miss Emily and Dr. Walker before he left."

"I see." She heard her own voice crack as she sniffed back tears. It looked like Charlie was making some new changes. She could not think of a reason why he would not have awakened her.

Rebecca dressed quickly then went to Major Montgomery’s room. She slipped inside to find Elizabeth tending to her patient.

"Oh, I am sorry I did not mean……" She started to leave.

"No, no, Rebecca, come in. I am nearly finished here."

"How is he?"

"Improving. I see some movement behind his lids now. That is a very good sign."

"Elizabeth, did Charlie seem all right to you at breakfast this morning?"

"Oh yes, you should have seen him helping little Em with her breakfast. It was adorable."

She smiled, even though she felt her heart breaking. "Good, I am glad. He did not wake me this morning."

"Well, we were all up very early. One of the hazards of life around the military."

"And Constance?"

"One of the hazards of being pregnant." Elizabeth chuckled, pulling the blankets over the major.

"I am sure." She moved closer to the bed and handed a cool cloth to Elizabeth. "Do you know where the Colonel has gone off too this morning?"

"I believe he is finishing his survey of the needs of the county. You know, he is really very serious about trying to set the groundwork for a effective reconstruction."

"Oh yes, I know. These people do not know how lucky they are it was the Colonel who arrived and not someone else."

"He said something about wanting to get it done so that work could begin before the first snow."

"A valid point. We could get snow anytime now and the weather has started turning." She wondered how long she could make idle chit chat. She felt as if she was dying inside and all she wanted to do was think of something else and figure out how she could let Charlie go.

"He told me privately that he wanted to get this done, and get things settled into a routine so that he would have more time to spend with you."

She smiled and gave a little nod. Apparently Charlie had not explained to Elizabeth that there might be a change in his plans. "That would be nice."

"Rebecca, what is wrong?"

"Oh nothing. I am sure that, given time, it will work itself out." She drew a deep breath. "There is just so much to be done."

"Rebecca, look at me."

The blonde squared her shoulders and looked to the doctor. "Yes?"

Elizabeth looked at Rebecca very closely. There were deep shadows under her eyes, which were slightly bloodshot. Her color was pallid, and there was a very tiny tremor to her hands. "You are pushing yourself too hard. If you are not careful, you will be on my list of patients. I recommend a good meal or two and several naps."