Eden

by Bobbi Smith

  Eden led the way from the office, thinking him a most dedicated clergyman.

  Logan was impressed with the Haven. It was clean and spacious. It housed seventeen children now with the addition of Mark-nine boys and eight girls. The youngest was four, and at ten, Paul was the oldest. From what he'd seen so far, the children seemed quite well behaved.

  Eden showed him the main-floor dining room first. It was large and filled with tables and benches for the children. A single round table with chairs was at the front of the room for the adults. They made their way to the third floor next to see the boys' quarters.

  Logan walked to the open front window to look out at the street below.

  "It's amazing that Paul's aim was as good as it was. It's a long way down there," he remarked.

  Eden came to stand beside him. "That must have been very traumatic for him to witness."

  "He's a brave young man."

  "Yes, he is. Especially coming forth and admitting he'd done it. I'm proud of him."

  "There is one problem, though," Logan added, seeing the shattered remains of the chamber pot on the ground below.

  "What?"

  "The boys are going to need a new chamber pot up here."

  As terrible as the day had been, his response evoked a laugh from Eden. "They certainly will."

  The sound touched Logan, and he realized it had been a long time since he'd heard anyone laugh. He gazed down at her.

  Eden looked up at him and found herself staring into his dark eyes. Though his expression was unreadable, she was suddenly, intensely aware of him as a man. A shiver of sensual recognition went through her. Confused by her reaction to Logan, she stepped back to distance herself from him.

  "Let's go downstairs and I'll show you the girls' rooms."

  Nervous, she moved off a bit quickly, leaving him to follow. They continued on.

  "What's a typical day like for the children?" Logan asked as they made their way downstairs.

  "We get up early, usually by seven A.M.We have breakfast and then prayer. Miss Jenny teaches from around nine until noon. Then we have lunch and play for a while. In the afternoons, we're flexible. Sometimes we do chores, sometimes we study, and sometimes we just play some more. Dinner is usually around six o'clock, and bedtime is at nine."

  "Sounds like you're very busy."

  "Yes, but it's rewarding work. The children are special, and we love them like our own."

  Eden showed Logan around the second floor and took him to the classroom.

  Eden interrupted Jenny as she was teaching her class.

  "Miss Jenny, I have some news for everyone. Mark, the boy who came in with Reverend Matthews today, is going to be staying on with us."

  "That's wonderful." Jenny was sincere, but she was a bit surprised, for she'd thought the child was the reverend's son. "Where is he now?"

  "He's helping Paul repair the front door."

  "We'll have to make sure we give Mark a proper welcome later at dinner."

  "Good. And I have even more wonderful news. While Reverend Matthews is in New Orleans, he's going to help us out here at the Haven."

  "When will you be starting, Reverend?" Jenny asked, delighted with the news.

  Logan looked at Eden. "Tomorrow, if that's all right with Miss Eden?"

  "Fine," she agreed, truly pleased, for she knew what a good influence he would be on the children, and on the boys in particular after the way he'd counseled Paul.

  They started back down to the main floor.

  "You've done a fine job here. The children seem happy."

  "Thank you. I'm just glad we're able to keep them safe. So many of the children have suffered devastating losses. It's a harsh, ugly world out there right now."

  "Indeed it is," Logan agreed, thinking of his brother and hoping he was still alive.

  Paul and Mark were still hard at work repairing the lock on the door when Eden and Logan made their way back to the office. Eden glanced out the window as she went to the desk, and she saw several Union soldiers passing by on the street. The sight of them left her trembling, and she fought hard for control.

  Logan saw her reaction to the men. "I'm sorry about what happened to you today. Are you sure you're feeling all right?"

  Eden turned back to him and managed a halfsmile, even though her cheek still ached. "Yes, I'm fine. Thanks to you."

  "I'm going to be on my way now, but I'll be back first thing in the morning."

  "We'll be looking forward to it," she told him as she saw him to the door.

  "I'll see you tomorrow, Mark," Logan promised as he stopped to talk with the boy.

  "You're coming back?" Mark asked, not really believing he would.

  "I'll be here."

  Mark nodded and returned to his work.

  "Do a good job," Logan told the two.

  "We will," Paul assured him.

  Logan left the building.

  Eden returned to the office. She found herself drawn to the window, wanting to see Logan one more time just to make sure he really existed. She glanced out just as Logan swung up onto his horse's back, and her gaze lingered on him. He was tall and confident in the saddle, and he commanded his mount with practiced ease. She lingered there, watching as he rode away, not wanting to lose sight of him.

  Only when the reverend had disappeared from sight did Eden turn back to the desk. She sat down and wrote notes to both Gabrielle and Veronica, letting them know that she'd heard about the Yankees accosting them and that she hoped they were all right.

  That done, she wrote another note, but this one was short and terse. It contained only the names of the Yankee private and corporal who'd attacked the women and invaded the Haven, and requested information about them. She sealed it in an envelope and slipped it into the pocket of her gown. She would see it personally delivered to her contact that very day. Once she got an answer to her request, she would decide what action to take. Men like Layton and Moran needed to be taught a lesson, and she planned to do the teaching.

  There was one other thing Eden needed to do to ease her fears, but she knew it would have to wait until she went home for dinner that night. Never again would she be caught defenseless before the hated Yankees. She was going to get one of her father's guns and bring it with her to the Haven. From this day forward, she would always be ready to protect and defend the children with whatever force was necessary. She couldn't always count on someone as wonderful as Reverend Matthews showing up to defend them.

  As she went out to see to the children, Eden thought of the minister again and smiled. She found she was looking forward to seeing him the next day.

  Fever ate at him. Burning him. Searing him. Braden struggled against the agony that tore at him with razor-sharp claws. Thrashing about on the pallet, he sought peace from the torment, but there was no peace-no release.

  Union Corporal Jim Danner felt helpless as he tried to ease his lieutenant's suffering. They were trapped in a prison camp where no one cared if they lived or died.

  "Is the lieutenant getting worse?"

  Danner looked up at young Private Taylor who had only been brought into the camp a few days before. Taylor didn't look much older than fifteen or sixteen.

  "Yes, and there's not a damned thing I can do to help him."

  "Let me see if I can help," Taylor offered, dropping down beside the wounded man. "My pa was a doctor."

  Danner was glad for his aid and moved back to let Taylor tend to the lieutenant. "The bullet's out, and he seemed like he was getting better for a while, but now a fever's got him."

  Taylor nodded and set to work. The private took the blanket off the injured officer, then removed his shirt and the bandage to examine the wound. "Can you get me some water?"

  Danner hurried off, anxious to do whatever he could to help.

  "Easy, Lieutenant," Taylor said as the officer tossed about restlessly in his delirious state.

  Taylor made sure the wound was clean and then rewrapped it, all the while talking
in low, calming tones.

  Danner returned quickly with a bucket of fresh water and a dipper.

  "Good. Thanks. What's your lieutenant's name?" Taylor asked.

  "Braden Matthews."

  Taylor nodded and, lifting the officer's head, pressed the dipper to his lips to try to force him to drink. "Lieutenant Matthews-you need to drink this."

  As if from a distance, Braden could hear someone talking to him, calling to him, but he wasn't sure who it was. He knew it wasn't Corporal Danner. This voice was different, higher than the corporal's. He thought maybe it was the woman from the Bayou Belle who'd helped him when he'd first been shot. He tried to concentrate on the voice, to use it to pull himself back to reality. He fought for a grip on his sanity and awareness, and for a moment Braden managed to focus on the face above him. He didn't recognize the soldier speaking to him and couldn't reason well enough to understand what was happening.

  "Drink," Taylor ordered, recognizing the momentary look of clarity in the officer's eyes.

  Braden swallowed thirstily of the proffered water.

  "That's good. That's the way."

  The pain threatened to overwhelm Braden again. He closed his eyes against it, welcoming the relief from his agony in the darkness of unconsciousness.

  Taylor put the dipper aside, tore a strip of cloth from the lieutenant's shirt, and began to bathe his brow with what was left of the water. His fever was dangerously high and had to be broken soon or he might die.

  Together, Taylor and Danner worked through the night to try to ease Braden's suffering.

  "Eden! What happened to you?" Camille LeGrand gasped, coming face-to-face with her sister when Eden returned home for dinner that evening.

  At the sound of her youngest daughter's remark, Francene hurried from the dining room where she'd been setting the table to see what was wrong. She was stunned by her first look at Eden. The bruise on her daughter's cheek was vivid and her lip was slightly swollen. Francene rushed to her side, horrified as she tried to imagine what had happened to cause the injury.

  "My darling! You're hurt. Look at your face! Who did this to you?"

  Eden had known her mother and sister would be upset, and she hurried to calm their fears. "I'm fine. There was a problem at the Haven today."

  "What kind of problem? What happened?" Francene exclaimed, worried.

  Eden quickly related everything that had happened and how the reverend had arrived just in time to save them.

  "Oh, my God," Francene said weakly, her color turning ashen at the news of her daughter's peril. "You could have been killed."

  "But I wasn't, thanks to Reverend Matthews." She noticed how pale her mother had become. "Let's go sit down in the dining room while I tell you the rest of my news."

  "There's more?" Francene asked weakly, not sure she could handle anything else right then. It was traumatic enough worrying about her husband and son away at war, but the realization that something terrible could happen to one of her daughters right here at home was unnerving.

  "The rest is all good, Mama. I promise," Eden reassured her as they entered the dining room.

  "Who is this Reverend Matthews? Where did he come from?" Camille asked. In her mind, all ministers were white-haired old men. She was having trouble understanding how an old, decrepit minister could have driven two angry, drunken Yankee soldiers from the orphanage all by himself.

  "Reverend Matthews is from St. Louis, and not only did he help with the Yankees, he brought the Haven a sizable donation." Eden told them about the money he'd collected for them. "Logan Matthews is one very special man.

  "He sounds like it," her mother agreed. "I'm going to have to meet him and thank him for what he did for you and the children."

  "He said he was going to come to the Haven regularly, so he'll be there working with the children. Why, he even brought a homeless boy he found on the streets with him today in hopes that we could take him in."

  "Did you?"

  "Oh, yes. We never turn away anyone in need. There's always room for one more. The boy's name is Mark. When I first met him, I thought he was the reverend's son."

  "How old is this reverend?" Camille asked, instantly alert at the suggestion that the reverend could have had a young son. That meant he wasn't quite in his dotage yet. Her hopes elevated as she awaited her sister's answer.

  "Oh, I don't know-maybe thirty or so," Eden told her as their maid began serving dinner.

  "Tell me more about him, Eden," Camille urged. She tried to sound casual, but in truth, there was nothing casual about the way she was suddenly feeling. Because of the war, available, able-bodied men were few and far between. At eighteen, she was of marriageable age, and she had no intention of becoming an old maid. She was after a husband, and she was going to get one. Just the fact that this reverend was a man and was physically fit made him wonderful in her eyes. "What does he look like? He's not married, is he?"

  "Camille!" Eden gave her sister a censorious look as she realized where her thoughts were going. "Logan's a minister!"

  "So? He's a minister, right? He's not a priest. Besides, you still haven't answered my question. Is he married?"

  "We really didn't discuss his personal affairs," Eden replied with dignity.

  "Too bad. Is he handsome?" Camille pressed, sensing that Eden was acting strangely reticent where this man was concerned.

  The image of the way Reverend Matthews had looked as he'd ridden away from the Haven played in Eden's mind.

  She finally answered her sister, "Yes, as a matter of fact, I think he is quite good-looking, but he is a man of God, and he's very serious about his calling."

  "Ooh," Camille cooed. "I just love serious men.

  "Camille!" Francene scolded. She understood her daughter's interest in eligible young men, but she had raised Camille to be a lady and she should act like one.

  "Sorry, Mama," Camille apologized, but she didn't mean it. She was suddenly seriously considering volunteering to help out at the home. It had never appealed to her before, for she wasn't all that fond of children, but if this handsome young reverend was going to be there, well, she might be able to find a few hours a day to dedicate to the less fortunate little brats.

  "Eden, what's going to happen to the soldiers who hurt you?" her mother demanded.

  "Nothing."

  "But they should be punished!"

  "I'm afraid if I did report them, they might make more trouble for Paul or for the Haven. It's better to just let it go. The children weren't harmed, and that's all that matters." She did not reveal any of her own plan to wreak revenge, knowing it would only upset her family.

  As they finished eating, Eden looked over at her mother.

  "I want to take one of Papa's guns with me tonight when I go back to the Haven," she told her. Eden had expected her mother to be terribly upset by the suggestion; instead she nodded her head in approval.

  "I have two of them in the study. Let's see which one is easiest for you to use," Francene said.

  "You aren't angry?"

  "Heavens, no," she reassured Eden. "I think you're smart to do it. In fact, if you hadn't brought it up, I was going to. I don't want you to be alone and at anyone's mercy ever again. We don't have your father or brother here to protect us, and while you were fortunate that the minister showed up today, there's no way of knowing when this might happen again, with the way the war is going and the way the city is these days. You've got to be able to defend yourself."

  Eden hugged her spontaneously, glad to have her mother's support. "I was hoping you'd understand."

  Camille was about to suggest that Eden stop going to the orphanage, but then held her tongue. If this handsome young minister was going to be there, she had to have a way to get introduced to him, and her sister was it. Not that Eden would listened to any advice she'd give her anyway. Camille knew Eden well enough to know that she would never stop working with the children. "Well, you'll have Reverend Matthews there with you for the next few days until M
r. Forrester gets back, so maybe it will be safe."

  "It will be safe once I have the gun with me," Eden declared as she and her mother went into the study.

  A short time later, carrying the gun in her reticule, Eden made the trip back to the Haven. She spent her nights at the home when Adrian was gone because she didn't want to leave Jenny alone with all the children in case there was any emergency.

  As she reached the front door, Eden was pleased to note that the boys had finished repairing the lock. The wood around the door was still damaged, but the portal itself was secure. She was glad, for she didn't trust the two soldiers not to return. With the door locked, if they ever did try to break in again, she would have enough time to get her gun.

  Eden used her key to let herself in. She left her things in the small room off the main hall that she slept in when she spent the night, carefully storing the gun in the bedside table. That done, she went to seek out Jenny, who was in the kitchen talking with the cook about the meals for the following day.

  "Paul and Mark did a good job on the door," Eden told Jenny.

  "Yes, they did. I was quite pleased with their work, and I think they were, too," Jenny said.

  "How is Mark doing?"

  "He and Paul seem to be getting along very nicely."

  "That's good for both of them." Eden was glad. She had hoped that they would become friends, for she knew Paul was very much a solitary child. "I'm going to go upstairs and take a look in on them before I retire."

  "Is the reverend really coming back tomorrow?"

  "He said he'd be here in the morning.

  "The children are looking forward to it. They saw how he helped you, and they think he's wonderful."

  "Reverend Matthews is wonderful," Eden agreed on her way to speak with Paul and Mark.

  It was almost lights-out time, but all the boys were still awake. Some were reading, others were talking among themselves in small groups.

  "Miss Eden's back!" The cry went up as she entered the room.

  "Good evening," she told them as she greeted each boy individually, working her way around the bedroom.