by Sharon Drane
Chapter 10
Port of Vicksburg
Amelia breathed deeply of the cool, crisp air. In spite of the incident with Logan Matthews, she slept well last night for the first night in a long time. She looked at Joshua by her side, so handsome in his uniform, even if he was a Yankee.
It feels right to be here with you. Eagerly, she faced the day.
Joshua turned to her. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about your maiden name. You’re the first St. John I’ve ever met. Did you grow up in the south?”
“No, I spent my childhood in Connecticut. My great-grandfather was from England. He fought for the colonies during the Revolutionary war.”
“He sounds like a true patriot.”
“His English family didn’t agree. His older brother was a duke. They didn’t support my great-grandfather’s decision. So we’ve never met that branch of the family. They want nothing to do with their American relations.”
She looked down at the frantic action below. Crowds of people churned in a huge mass on the dock, all begging to be taken aboard the Dixie Queen.
One man broke through the deckhands guarding the boarding ramp. He made it halfway up to the boat only to be caught and tossed into the water.
“Goodness,” Amelia turned away from the sight. “Why are they all so desperate to board this boat?”
Joshua wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. “Vicksburg citizens had a hard time during the siege. They still haven’t recovered. Many of the houses were destroyed during the bombardment. People want to move elsewhere.”
She looked away. “I know what it’s like to worry how you’ll feed your family,” she murmured.
“I heard Galveston had it bad, too.”
Amelia turned her face back to the scene on shore. “We managed. We were able to live on fish and crabs. Some of my late husband’s men were still loyal to him. They shared what they caught with us. I’m thankful to them. We wouldn’t have made it without their generosity.”
She took another deep, calming breath. The odor of the dank mildewed wood of her once grand house drifted in the air. It reminded her of decay, the death of her girlish dreams.
“I heard the people of Vicksburg had to eat their horses, their dogs, even the vermin to stay alive.” She shuddered at the thought. “At least we had it better than that.”
Joshua pulled her closer. “I’m so glad I found you.”
Amelia leaned toward him, touching her cheek his shoulder. She smiled as his epaulet tickled her skin.
A sharp sound rang out from the docks. Joshua ducked, tugging Amelia down with him.
As she fell to the deck, Amelia heard a high-pitched whine close to her. Time stopped, freezing the action in her confused mind. A second later, the crowd below erupted into screams and scattered, running in hysteria to safety. From her seated position, Amelia looked around. “What was that?”
Joshua held her close, studying their surroundings for more menace. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine, just a little shaken. I heard a loud noise near my face.”
He gripped her chin in his hand, and turned her face gently, examining her for injury. His eyes darkened as they slid over her face. “Can you stand?”
The expression on his face frightened her as her cheek began to sting. “Of course, I can. What’s wrong?”
He got to his feet and pulled her up with him. “Keep low.” He led her away from the railing and into the interior of the boat.
Once inside, he stopped one of the stewards. “Mrs. Wilcox has been injured. Do you have a doctor aboard?”
“No, Sir, he left the ship when we docked.”
“Bring some linens and sulfur powder to her cabin. She’s been grazed by a bullet. Someone shot at her from shore.”
“Right away, Sir.” The steward hurried off in the direction of the crew quarters.
What does he mean I have been shot? That is ridiculous…Amelia touched her face where it burned. “What the…” Her fingers were red and sticky with blood.
“Don’t touch it.” Joshua gently moved her hand away from her face. “Let me tend to it first.”
She pulled back as he led her along the corridor. “Mariah can take care of it.”
He moved on, never pausing, toward her cabin.
“Besides, who would want to shoot me? Surely it was an accident.”
They arrived at her cabin door. He opened it and let her enter first.
“Miz Wilcox,” asked Mariah, “what happened to your face?”
Amelia tossed her gloves and reticule on one of the chairs. “Major Hawthorne thinks I was shot, but he must be mistaken.” She picked up her hand mirror from the bureau. As she studied the wound on her cheekbone, Joshua’s reflection appeared behind hers.
“It should heal well. Looks like you were just grazed. If you had moved your head an inch to the left, the shot would have been lethal.”
Oh dear Lord, I could have been killed. She sat down quickly on the nearest chair, her legs no longer able to support her. With the evidence before her, she could not deny her wound. “But why would anyone want to shoot at me?”
The steward returned with the cloth and the sulfur powder. He gave them to Mariah and left the cabin.
“Please bring me the cloth soaked in water and soap, Mariah.” Joshua gently took Amelia’s hand. “Whoever fired the gun could have shot at random.”
Mariah hurried back with a damp cloth, liberally lathered with soap.
He stooped to wash the blood off Amelia’s cheek. “Or it might well have been meant for me.” He reached for the sulfur to treat the wound. "This might sting a bit."
Amelia watched his face as he worked. “You mean they might have shot at you because of your uniform?”
He frowned in concentration. “It could be. Union soldiers aren’t popular these days anywhere in the south. But the good people of Vicksburg have even more reason to hate the sight of us.”
She sat still as he applied a dusting of the sulfur powder. In the awful days at the end of the war, she was angry at the Union, too.
But mostly she was angry at Clayton for putting her in such danger. Joshua looked so serious, so determined not to hurt her, she could not help but smile.
“I’m almost through.” He applied more of the powder and handed the cloth to Mariah. “There now, please help Mrs. Wilcox clean up.” He started for the door.
“Where are you going?” I don’t want you to leave. In the aftermath of her shocking wound, she quivered at the thought of being vulnerable without his protection.
“I won’t be long.” He stroked the unmarked side of her face. “You’re in safe hands. It’s best to get information while the memories of the witnesses are fresh.”
As requested, Mariah helped Amelia freshen up, and change her dress. By the time Joshua returned, Amelia had calmed somewhat. She sat in a chair, holding Dougie on her lap, playing finger games with him, while he chuckled.
“Major!” cried Dougie as he scrambled down to the floor. He ran to Joshua. “Pony Ride,” he demanded with his arms extended.
“Certainly, Mr. Wilcox.” Joshua smiled as he put Dougie on his back. “Hold on tight.” He moved around the limited space, bouncing little boy and making him giggle.
Joshua swung Dougie down into his arms. “All right, the pony is tired for now. It’s time to get down.”
“No, I want to ride some more.”
“Dougie, you can ride some more later. The major and I need to talk now. Mariah will take you to get some milk and cookies. Would you like that?”
He went to Mariah with a big smile and took her hand. She led him out the door.
When the door closed behind them, Amelia looked at Joshua. “What did you learn, anything of use?”
“Not much. There was widespread panic and confusion. The mob fled in all directions. One of the deckhands said he saw a man fire the shot. But the man’s back was to him. He didn’t see the man’s face and couldn’t identify him. The man s
lipped away into the crowd.”
“What do you think?”
“It could just be someone angry enough to take a shot, maybe try to slip aboard in the confusion. But nobody came aboard during the pandemonium.” He frowned. “But it could be someone aiming at you or at me. It could be Matthews attempting to get his revenge.”
“But surely he’s in jail.”
“I am sorry to tell you this, but they only put him ashore. He wasn’t taken to the authorities.”
Amelia felt her mouth drop open in surprise. “Why would they do that? He attacked me.”
Joshua nodded. “Yes, he did, but it’s your word against his. Nobody witnessed the early part of the confrontation. In such cases the usual procedure is to ban someone like that from ever boarding a boat of the line. Word will spread to the other steamboats on the river. He won’t be able to gamble on the river if they know who he is.”
“It makes sense he would come after us. He thinks we ruined his livelihood.” Amelia looked up at Joshua. “We could be in serious danger.”
He pulled her to her feet and enfolded her in his warm embrace. “I will protect you and Dougie. Matthews will have trouble getting all the way to St. Louis. We will travel faster than he can on land.”
Amelia snuggled in his warm arms. “Thank you, but you cannot always be with us.” She pulled back from him. “I want you to teach me how to fire Clayton’s gun.”
