The Last, Long Night

by Ginny Dye

  Carrie looked up and drew even more hope from the strong light she saw burning in Rose’s eyes. “I believe you’re right,” she said softly, laying her hand on Robert’s forehead, happy his breathing was not so shallow, and his skin not so gray.

  She had turned back to rinse out some more rags when she heard the bed creak from Robert’s movement. She spun around, gasping when she saw his eyes were open. Blurred with confusion, they swept the room until they landed on Carrie.

  “Carrie…” he whispered hoarsely.

  Carrie gave a glad cry and sprang to the side of the bed. “Robert!” She felt his confusion and weakness. Laying her hand on his cheek, she stroked it gently. “You’re home, sweetheart. You’re home.”

  Robert’s eyes cleared a little more. “Home?” Then his eyes lit with a weak hope. “Oak Meadows?”

  Carrie’s heart sank. “No,” she replied softly. “You’re here in Richmond.”

  She bit back her groan when he turned confused eyes on her. He had no idea where he was. “It doesn’t matter,” she said, stroking his cheek. “The only thing that’s important right now is that you get well. You’ve been very sick.”

  Robert continued to stare at her. “The war is over,” he mumbled. “We lost.”

  Carrie controlled the unreasonable desire to laugh hysterically. She was wise enough to know the stress was exacting a toll. She felt Aunt Abby’s hand settle on her shoulder and drew the strength she needed to say calmly, “Yes, it’s over, Robert. You don’t have to fight again.”

  Robert’s eyes burned into her own, and then he sighed. “Good.”

  Moments later he was sound asleep.

  Carrie straightened and pulled the covers over his body. “He needs sleep now,” she said. “He’ll sleep through the night. Rest will help him more than anything.” She looked at the exhausted faces surrounding her. “Let’s go tell everyone the news.”

  The parlor was full of anxious faces when they arrived. Carrie had a brief thought that Matthew was going to lose his job if he continued to spend every moment at the house, but she was too grateful for his support to encourage him to do anything else.

  “Robert will get better,” she said firmly, catching the look Rose and Janie exchanged. “He’s a little confused right now, but that is the result of the fever. I’ve seen it in patient after patient. Now that the fever is gone, he’ll have a chance to regain his strength. There were things that swirled through his mind during the fever that seem more real right now than reality does. That will go away fairly quickly.”

  “What does he need?” Matthew asked.

  “Quiet,” she said firmly. “The only things that will help him are rest and good food.”

  Matthew opened his mouth to ask another question, but closed it again. Carrie knew what was on his mind. “I don’t know if he’ll come back to his full strength,” she admitted reluctantly. “He’s been sick for a long time. The body can only take so much.” Then she shook her head. “There is also a good chance he will be the Robert we knew, Matthew. I’m going to believe in that outcome,” she finished firmly.

  May was standing to the side quietly. “The garden be coming on real good now,” she said. “He’ll get lots of good food.”

  “Yes, it is,” Carrie agreed, but continued speaking, not even realizing she had made a decision sometime during the long night. “I’m going to take Robert out to the plantation as soon as he can travel. It will be the best place for him to get well.” She despised herself for even thinking that she was about to repeat the same experience she had with her mother; walking away from the chance to pursue medical school to care for someone else who was sick. What kind of doctor would she ever be if she didn’t put her patients first – especially the husband she loved with all her heart? She hoped no one in the room could look inside her and see the selfishness lurking there.

  “Besides,” she added, forcing a light note to her voice, “I promised Father I would be there when he got back – that I would take care of things until he could return.”

  “Moses and I are going with you,” Rose said firmly.

  Carrie spun around to look at her. “What? You can’t…”

  “You’re going to need help,” Rose said firmly. “None of us will be on the plantation for a long time, but it’s where we’re going to be until your father returns and until Robert is well. The country will need time to settle down before any more decisions are made.”

  Carrie wanted to protest further, was sure she probably should, but she couldn’t. The idea of having Rose and Moses with her on the plantation was too wonderful to refuse. She simply reached out and grasped Rose’s hand.

  “Is now a good time to tell you I’m coming too?”

  Carrie gasped. “Aunt Abby… What… How…?”

  Aunt Abby laughed. “Clearly you need me; you’re suddenly unable to complete a sentence.” She stepped forward and took Carrie’s hand.

  Carrie’s head was spinning, but one thought suddenly broke through the confusion. “I don’t even know if the plantation is still there!” she gasped, the realization striking her full force. “There may be nowhere to go.”

  “It’s still there, Carrie.”

  Carrie’s head snapped up as Moses walked down the staircase. “You’re supposed to be in bed for two more days,” she said sternly, happy beyond words to see him standing on his two feet again. He looked weak, but he seemed fine.

  “If I stay in that bed one more day I will go mad,” he replied. “You said this morning the infection is clear and the wound is healing nicely. I know I can’t do much for a while, but it doesn’t mean I can’t walk down a flight of stairs.”

  The room broke into cheers as Moses walked easily into the room and sat down in her father’s wingback chair.

  Carrie smiled in defeat, and then remembered what he had said. “You said the plantation is still there. How could you possibly know that?”

  “Captain Jones was by this morning. He sent some of his men out there to check on it.”

  “He did?” Carrie was having as much trouble imagining a unit of soldiers being sent out to check on the plantation as she was believing it was still really there. “He must really feel he owes you,” she murmured, trying to let the news settle in.

  “Actually,” Moses responded, “he did this one for you. He’s never forgotten the way you escaped the plantation on Granite. He saved it from burning that time because of what you had done, and he wanted to know for himself if it was still standing. He said to tell you he was glad.”

  Carrie could only stare at him, letting the knowledge the plantation had survived the war, when so many had been destroyed, sink into her mind.

  “So, you see,” Aunt Abby teased, “I really do have a place to stay.”

  “But your business,” Carrie protested.

  “Pooh! What is the point of employees if I can’t take some time off when I need to? Rose is right that the country will need some time to settle down, and for the war to end on all fronts before I can do much to help down here.”

  “I hate to miss the party,” Matthew said sadly, “but Peter and I have been called out of the city. We’re leaving on the sixteenth.”

  “Just two more days?” Aunt Abby walked over to take his hand. “This time has been so wonderful; like an oasis in the middle of a barren four year desert. I don’t want it to end.”

  “Clifford and I are leaving for Raleigh in a few days,” Janie added, her voice thick with emotion.

  Carrie stiffened and turned to her friend, tears filling her eyes. She had known this time was coming, but knowing it didn’t make it any easier. “Janie…” she whispered, walking over and wrapping her in her arms.

  “Don’t you start crying,” Janie whispered fiercely. “I’m not gone yet.”

  Carrie just stared at her, knowing she had no clue how to say good-bye to the friend who had saved her and become her sister during the last four years.

  Aunt Abby moved between them and wrapped an arm
around each waist. “You girls have forged a bond nothing will ever break,” she said softly. “You may be separated by distance, but nothing will ever break the connection.”

  Carrie knew that was true. Wasn’t she experiencing that truth with Rose and Aunt Abby right now? She took a deep breath and nodded.

  “As long as everyone is revealing their plans, I suppose I should ask if there is room for me at the plantation, too,” Jeremy said casually.

  “The plantation? You’re coming, too?” The swing of emotions from loss to excitement was almost more than Carrie could bear.

  “I figure it’s time to discover the place I was born,” Jeremy said easily. “Besides, I haven’t spent enough time with my twin yet. If she and Moses are going, I guess I am, too.”

  Rose gave a glad cry and sprang into Jeremy’s arms.

  Carrie laughed. “You didn’t know?”

  Rose shook her head. “It’s as much a surprise to me as it is to you.”

  Carrie looked over at Hobbs. “Are you going home to West Virginia?”

  Hobbs nodded solemnly. “I got a letter from my folks yesterday. My dog is waiting to go hunting.”

  Laughter lightened the atmosphere in the room.

  Carrie wasn’t done, however. She looked at Miles and May standing to the side. “What about you two?”

  Miles shrugged. “We like working for your daddy. If he got enough money to hire us when he gets back, both of us would like that. We done talked about it.”

  “I don’t know my father’s plans,” Carrie said hesitantly, thinking of his lost fortune and not knowing how far the gold hidden upstairs would take him. “I know he plans on going back to the plantation.”

  “Yes’sum, I know everything be real mixed up right now,” Miles agreed calmly. “But as long as he owns this house somebody gonna need to care for it. We got a good garden and a place to sleep. That’s more than most have. It’s enough for right now. We’ll see what happens when things settle down.”

  A sudden knock on the door startled them all. Who was visiting at two in the morning? Miles moved quickly to open it, obviously ready to scold whoever was disturbing them. When he opened it no one was there.

  “Who be out there?” he demanded.

  “I need to see Carrie Borden,” came a hushed voice from the shadows.

  Jeremy and Matthew stepped forward. “Who are you? Why are you here at this time of night?” Jeremy snapped.

  Carrie stepped forward. “It’s alright,” she insisted. “Who could hurt me with all of you here? Who would even think of trying?” She eased out onto the porch. “I’m Mrs. Borden. What can I do for you?”

  “I’ve got a letter for you from your father,” the shadow replied as he pressed an envelope in her hand, jumped from the porch and disappeared into the darkness.

  Carrie stared at the envelope in her hand for a long moment and then walked back into the room.

  “We’ll leave you to read it,” Aunt Abby said.

  “No,” Carrie said quickly. “All of you are my family now. I want all of you to hear what he has to say. If any of it is private, I’ll leave it out.”

  Everyone nodded and settled back in their chairs again, expectant looks on their faces.

  “When is it dated, Carrie?” Matthew asked.

  “April ninth.”

  He nodded thoughtfully. “He wouldn’t have known yet about the surrender.”

  “He wrote the letter the same day Lee surrendered,” Carrie murmured, and then began to read.

  Dearest Carrie,

  I hope this letter finds its way to you. I made it safely to Lynchburg and Granite is safely in a stable. He’s already put on a little weight.

  Carrie smiled with relief and then went back to reading.

  Governor Smith is quite determined to set up a new Virginia government here in Lynchburg and continue the fight. I also hear President Davis remains committed to the Confederate cause from his new headquarters in Danville.

  “Not anymore,” Matthew muttered, and then clarified when everyone stared at him. “We just received word before we came over tonight that Davis got notice of Lee’s surrender. He is evacuating Danville, as well.”

  “He’s on the run,” Jeremy commented.

  “Yes,” Peter agreed. “Lincoln is more than willing to pardon anyone who pledges allegiance to the Union again, but I suspect your president is far from that.”

  “I suspect that is true,” Carrie agreed. She turned back to the letter. Right now she didn’t care about what President Davis was going to do; she was only concerned with her father.

  I wish I knew what Lincoln’s true intentions are. In spite of the determination of both the governor and the president to continue the fight, I know it is over. I discover I have no real desire to be on the run. I’ve heard many plans to escape to Mexico, or Cuba, or even Peru. While I admit to curiosity about those lands, I find I want nothing more than to go home to the plantation.

  Carrie’s eyes filled with tears as she envisioned her father lonely and alone. “Matthew, do you know what Lincoln intends with government officials?”

  Matthew nodded. “President Lincoln wants an easy peace,” he said confidently. “He’s not looking for hangings and reprisals. He wants a real peace that will allow our shattered country to grow together again.” He paused. “I’ve heard he’s actually hinted that he wished Davis could somehow manage to escape from the United States and go to some foreign country where vengeance could not reach him. He wants the soldiers to go home and pick up their lives. Lincoln also wants to begin re-establishing civil government in the Southern states.” He took a breath. “Of course, the war has to end first for all this to happen, but he’s fulfilling his vision of sending all the soldiers home as proof of his intentions.”

  Carrie thought about the numb, aimless soldiers wandering the streets of Richmond. “At least the ones who have somewhere to go,” she commented.

  “Will the Federal government allow all this to happen?” Rose asked. “There has been a lot of talk that not even all of Lincoln’s cabinet agrees with his approach. Add in the Radical Republicans, and there are many who feel the South needs to pay heavily for what has happened, and they are demanding martial law.”

  Matthew shook his head heavily. “Only time will tell. President Lincoln is an astute politician who knows how to wield his power. It won’t be easy, but I tremble to think what our country would be like without him at the helm.”

  “What else does your father say, Carrie?” Janie prompted.

  I’m praying you are safe in Richmond, though I cringe to think of you living in a city under Union control. I know you said you would return to the plantation to wait for me when you are able. I don’t know if that is truly possible, but I find the idea of it gives me great comfort.

  I know you and Robert have a life of your own to live. I’m going to do all I can to find my way back home quickly, hoping it is possible for me to live out the rest of my life in peace.

  I love you so much, Carrie.

  Father

  Carrie blinked back the tears stinging her eyes and cleared her throat.

  “He’s tired,” Aunt Abby said quietly. “He’s given all he has to give for the Confederate cause and now he just wants peace.”

  Carrie nodded. “Yes. There was a time, after mother died, when leaving the plantation and working in the government was the only thing that gave him peace. Now all that has dissolved around him and he wants what he spent his life creating.” A fierce longing clutched her heart. “I so hope he is allowed to have it,” she whispered.

  “The war will soon be over,” Jeremy said comfortingly. “I truly believe Lincoln wants an easy peace. We’ll be out on the plantation soon and then all of us will have a chance to rebuild our lives.”

  Three days later, while the sky was still dark, only a faint glimmering revealing that dawn lurked beneath the horizon, a sudden banging on the door reverberated through the house.

  Carrie’s eyes spra
ng open in alarm, and she felt Robert shift beside her. “Go back to sleep,” she whispered, noting his breathing was a little easier. He still had yet to do more than whisper a few words, but his eyes were getting clearer on a daily basis. He still thought he was at Oak Meadows, but at least he knew who she was.

  She could hear Miles shuffle toward the front door, grumbling at the early morning intrusion. Sensing bad news, Carrie jumped up and slipped into a dress, not bothering with her hair.

  Rose and Aunt Abby were already at the head of the stairs, eyes wide with alarm when she hurried out of her room. Moses was right behind her.

  “What in the world is going on?” Moses growled.

  “Mr. Matthew!” Miles’ sleepy exclamation rose up the stairway. “What be wrong?”

  All of them exchanged looks of deep concern and started down the stairs.

  “You need to wake everyone,” Matthew said quickly.

  “We’re awake,” Moses assured him.

  Janie, Clifford, Jeremy and Hobbs descended down the stairway from the opposite wing of the house.

  “What has happened?” Jeremy asked, his eyes heavy with sleep, but his voice clear and full of concern.

  “Sit down,” Matthew advised in a heavy voice. “This is indeed a dark day for our country.”

  Carrie sank down along with everyone else, staring at him with fear. “Matthew, you’re scaring everyone,” she said unsteadily. “What is going on?”

  Matthew took a deep breath and looked around the room. “President Lincoln has been assassinated.”

  There was not a sound as everyone stared at him with complete shock.

  Finally the words penetrated Carrie’s mind. “He’s dead? President Lincoln is dead?” She heard the words come from her mouth, but couldn’t quite connect them with reality.

  “Matthew!” Aunt Abby gasped. “Tell us… what happened,” she stammered.

  Matthew sank down heavily into a chair. “Lincoln was attending the theater with his wife two nights ago. They’ve identified his killer as a southern

  actor, John Wilkes Booth.”

  “Oh, my God!” Carrie gasped, horrified by the president’s death, and also immediately recognizing the consequences that would come from it.