“Thank you, Maude,” Julia said, and skipped over to kiss the woman on the cheek.
By the time Julia had decided on what dress to wear, Abigail was tired. The girl who had been weak with a sick belly was a bouncing bundle of energy at the moment. They finally returned to the sitting room and found it changed. The women had festooned the room with bits of bright cloth, some spring wildflowers that had bravely come early, and bows. They had also arranged the chairs to face a small table where the preacher stood.
Robert stood up quickly and beamed at Julia. He took her by the hand and walked her toward the preacher. Julia looked so happy, Abigail felt her eyes sting with happiness for her friend. She added a prayer that nothing would happen to Robert. One just had to look at Julia’s expression to know if this war took her Robert she would be crushed.
The ceremony was quick as it was obvious the preacher was anxious to leave. He stayed long enough to get money from Robert though and Abigail had to bite her tongue. The man looked at his position as just a job and had no real calling, she decided. They all gathered to wave good-bye to the couple as Robert took his new bride to the hotel. Abigail looked for Maude and found her next to the major who had come to stand with Robert. Laughing softly, Abbie went up to the bedroom.
It was going to be strange to spend a night alone but Julia would be back in a few days as Robert had to return to the war that disrupted and shattered so many lives. Abbie got a book from the shelf near the fireplace and sprawled on her bed. It was rather nice to be on her own. It had been a very long time she had enjoyed such quiet.
She was lost in the story when the bed suddenly jiggled and she looked around to find Noah sitting next to her. “What do you want?” she asked as she put a piece of paper in the book to mark her place.
“Is Julia gone now?”
“For a little while. She will be back when Robert has to go back to soldiering.”
“Oh. I hope he doesn’t get hurt like your friend Boyd.”
“I hope so, too. It would break Julia’s heart.”
“Wanna play a game?”
Her quiet time was done, Abbie thought as she sat up. “What game?”
“I have jacks.” He held up a small cloth bag.
“I am good at jacks.”
“So am I,” he said, narrowing his eyes at her. “Really, really good.”
“Well, we best get on the floor then.”
“Okay.” He scrambled off the bed and sat down on the hardwood floor.
“How about we sit on the carpet? It is a little softer than the floor.”
Abigail sat cross-legged on the carpet. Noah settled opposite and emptied his bag. It was a nice set with a wooden ball and iron pieces. She wondered how he had saved this from his past life since she doubted Mrs. Beaton had children’s toys scattered around her house. It was such a small thing but she was pleased he had something from the past. Then she settled into a serious game. For only a moment did she consider allowing him to win. When he revealed he did indeed play the game well, she stopped and got serious. When he still won, he leapt to his feet and danced around waving his fists in the air.
“You are right,” she said when he sat back down and grinned at her. “You are a good player.”
“I saved this.” He frowned. “I would rather have saved my puppy.”
“Did you take care of your puppy?”
“I did. I even got him to pee outside.”
“Very good.”
Abigail thought about the tiny puppy she had impulsively claimed and was relieved. It might be that there would not be too much trouble about bringing him to the house. She was going to have to get up the courage to talk to Mrs. Beaton about it for the animal would soon be ready to leave its mother. The woman holding the pup for her would be anxious for her to take it. It was going to be a battle to get Mrs. Beaton to agree but Abigail decided the boy’s happiness was worth it.
“Wanna play again or go back reading your big book?”
“I can play again. Have to gain back my honor, don’t I?”
He giggled and set out the pieces again. Abigail resigned herself to an afternoon of playing jacks with a boy of four. She guessed that there would be another game and another until he accepted her claim that she was done.
By the time he accepted her claim that she was done, Abigail had only won two of six games. The boy did have an admirable skill and it was a little odd for such a small boy. His coordination was good. The way he could concentrate on the game was also impressive. She stood up and rubbed his hair when he stood up beside her.
The boy finally went back to his own room and Abigail returned to her reading. She would have to remember to read to the children tonight, she decided. It was a good thing to do, for their minds and, she suspected, to ease their fears and sadness with something normal. She had noticed several of the women took some time now and then to talk or play with the children and Abigail could see the difference in them. There was a little less sadness in their eyes.
The problem was, too many of the women still clung to their own sadness. It made it difficult for them to deal with the children’s as well. She could understand for it was not just the loss of their husbands. It was the loss of the whole life they had: their homes and the possibility of children. As hard as Abigail thought, she could not come up with a way to ease all that.
Picking up her book she started to read and quickly lost herself in the story again.
Chapter Five
Matthew took his hat off, finger-combed his hair, and waited patiently for Mrs. Beaton to fetch Abigail. After a long meeting with the other officers and planning for a possible assault he had decided he wanted to see her. He had wasted the bath he had taken the other day when the major had called for him and he did not want to waste the one he had taken today. He had a need to see and speak with her that he decided he could no longer ignore. What he did not understand was why he felt so nervous.
Looking around the parlor, he finally moved to one of the empty chairs and sat down. He hoped Mrs. Beaton would not take long to bring in Abigail. Matthew had the sinking feeling that it would not take long for his nervousness to turn into cowardice and he would run.
*
Abigail helped Julia back to bed then hurried to empty the basin the girl had been sick in. Either her few days away with her new husband had been too rowdy or it was the pregnancy. She decided she would ask the doctor why Julia was still having sickness when she was so far along in her pregnancy. At least the girl was now married, but there was still a chance people who knew she had carried the child before she wed could cut her.
“Is Julia still getting sick?”
Looking at the woman standing in the doorway, Abigail felt sure the woman was already suspicious about what really ailed Julia. “Illness rarely disappears in a day or two.”
“Well, do something for her before she spreads the disease.”