Andrea closed her eyes from his look of scorn, her cheeks burning. So this was to be the conclusion to what she’d hoped would be a happy ending. The thought of what could have been and what was to be froze her in a place where all decisions and actions were impossible. She swallowed hard and looked up at him. “I understand. I’m sorry to have disturbed you, sir.” She turned to leave.
“Wait.” Hunter walked up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. “You know that is a sacrifice I cannot make.” His voice was softer now.
“Not even for me?” Andrea turned around, imploring him with her eyes.
“You have no right to ask that which I have no right to grant.” He leaned forward, his coat redolent with the intoxicating aroma of gunpowder and smoke. “It is a matter of duty, not mere inclination, that I must stand.”
Andrea stared solemnly out the window at the men talking in small groups outside. Hunter’s presence and poise were so comforting to her, she had to pretend he had no effect on her
“Andrea, this is no longer about you and me. It’s bigger than that. My Command, the Confederacy, demand I fight.”
“But the Cause is lost.”
“The Cause is not lost!” His voice rose in anger. “And we may yet prove it with another victory.”
“Victory?” Andrea threw her hands in the air, forgetting her former fears. “Victory or defeat, the price is the same—a senseless effusion of blood! Tell me, when will it be over?”
“When the last man falls or peace and liberty are restored…whichever comes first.” His voice was low and even. “We are willing to sacrifice—and to lose—everything but our honor.”
“For heaven’s sake. Half a million of the bravest men in the world have already shed their blood for honor. Where did it get them? Where has it gotten you?”
When she stopped and looked up, Andrea noticed Hunter’s countenance for the first time—tired, weary, like he had not slept for days. His eyes looked strained under the weight of responsibility that rested upon him. Yet he bore the burden with the confidence of one who is accustomed to suffering, one who considers it so commonplace as to be unworthy of his contemplation.
“The odds against you are great. Please…reconsider.”
“I am not good at arithmetic nor accustomed to counting odds.” He pulled out one of his revolvers and checked the chamber. “I’m an officer. My duty is to fight, not calculate the capability of the enemy.”
“But the size and number of the enemy’s guns generally have something to do with the end result, do they not?”
Hunter did not respond other than to raise his eyes to hers and then calmly lower them again. From that look she knew that fear, no matter the odds, never entered his mind; just as the word surrender, no matter the hazardous gamble, never entered his thoughts. He was planning to accept an assault he had no chance of surviving, simply in accordance with his habitual policy of withstanding anything placed in his path.
“I do not wish you to come back a corpse.”
“I intend to do everything in my power to prevent that,” he replied. “The task is difficult, but I trust not entirely impossible.”
“But Alex, you cannot win this battle based on Southern resolve. All your men and your Maker cannot withstand that which is aligned against you. Please—”
“If you are asking why I do not surrender, I’ll give you my uncompromising reply.” He paused and looked directly into her eyes. “My honor forbids it.”
“But it is not up to you to vindicate the South’s honor. It is too late for that.”
“You yourself said once that honor is the most priceless gift we can have.” His piercing gray eyes scrutinized her. “And I tend to agree.”
Andrea sighed in exasperation at the way he always used her own words against her. Then she looked at him wistfully and bit her lip, wanting to say something more but, for once, not venturing to do so.
Chapter 17
If it is a crime to love the South, its Cause and its president, then I am a criminal.
– Belle Boyd
Hunter read the look of private agony and suppressed emotion on Andrea’s face, and knew she was working hard to restrain herself. “I’m sorry.” He reached out and took her small hand in his. “You should return to wherever you came from.”
“The general knows I am here.” She took a deep breath and looked up at him, distress evident in her troubled eyes. “I cannot go back.”
He nodded while staring absently at the deceptive size of her hand in his. He knew well the slender figure it belonged to possessed more fire and energy per square inch than anyone he had ever met. Even now, dressed as a boy, she radiated a dignity and nobility that was visible even beneath the low brow of her hat.
“Very well. I’ll have one of my men take you someplace where you’ll be safe.”
“No.” She shook her head forcefully. “I don’t wish to leave. With the Colonel’s permission, I will share whatever fate awaits him.”
Hunter remained silent for a moment, his eyes probing hers as he tried to catch his breath. Then he pulled her to him, almost melted to tears by the poignant complexity of her affection. The struggle between her devotion to him and duty to country stirred his heart. “Dear Andrea, I cannot accept such a sacrifice.”
“I have come this far. I will share your peril.”
“You will stand with Virginia?” He held her at arm’s length and stared into her eyes.
“I promised you once I would not allow the war to come between us. I did not agree to do one thing to your face, and expect to do another behind your back.” Andrea placed her head against his chest, clutching his coat. “I will share in your danger and glory, Alex. I must. I fear you will not come back to me.”
“Of course, I will.” He rubbed her back. “I have survived worse.”
“And we can go home? To Hawthorne?”
Hunter looked down and searched her face, striving to understand the meaning in her words and the promise they contained. Eyes full of devotion stared back at him. “Home?”
“If the offer still stands.”
Hunter closed his eyes, smiled, and pulled her back to him. “Oh, Andrea, I told you how I care for you. I do so still.” His voice was only a whisper. “I promise. We’ll go home.”
A swift knock interrupted them and they parted, just as a man stuck his head in the door. “Sir, Gus just got back. Said it’s important.”
“Send him in.”
The scout soon entered, followed by Carter and three other officers, including Captain Pierce. Andrea tried to remain inconspicuous, walking to the back of the room, her hat pulled low.
“What do you have?” Hunter took a deep breath and prepared himself for the worst.
“It appears all routes are closed. They are massing in every direction.” Gus pointed on the map. “Looks to be at least a brigade here.”
Hunter stared at the crude drawing, a grave look upon his face.
“Pretty heavy odds,” Carter said, “considering we’re backed up to the river like this and down supplies.”
“If they wish to fight, they will be facing the best the Confederacy has to offer.” Hunter walked over to the fireplace, and leaned for a moment in silent meditation against the mantel as he stared at the crackling flames.
“Pierce, I want you to dismount your men as skirmishers at the front. Carter, take your men and place them here.” He walked briskly back to the table and pointed to the map. “Jake and Boz, you’ll be here and here to protect our flanks. Gus and Hank can hold some men in reserve.”
Hunter gazed up at the eager faces of his men and then focused once again on the map and the business at hand. “If only there was a way to bring in reinforcements and supplies, we could handle them easily.”
“I’ve been up and down that river,” Gus said. “I have found no ford.”
Andrea began to pace back and forth, her spurs clanking loudly on the floor. More t
han one of the men looked back at her, irritated at the distraction.
“I see no choice but to proceed as planned.” The men started for the door at Hunter’s words.
“Wait!” The room grew silent as each man turned toward Andrea. Walking to the map, she studied it for a moment, trying to get her bearings. “I know a ford.” Her voice was small and weak.
“You don’t have to—” Hunter began.
“I know a ford,” she said, louder this time. “It’s deceiving. Its banks are steep. But the water runs low.”
“Do you know this boy, sir?” Pierce stepped forward as if he did not trust what he was hearing.
“Yes. He can be implicitly trusted.”
“Capital! We can send for reinforcements. Take me there.” Pierce talked excitedly while starting again for the door.
“Wait!” Hunter’s voice froze everyone in the room. “Are you sure it is passable?”
Andrea bit her cheek. “It will not be easy, but I’ve crossed in similar weather.”
Again, everyone in the room fell breathlessly quiet. Hunter ran his hand through his hair. “How far?”
“Maybe a mile, probably a little less.”
Hunter nodded. “Very well. Take some men with you, Pierce. If it’s in enemy hands, engage with anything less than twice your number. If you can take it without firing a shot, all the better. I’d rather not alert the Yanks that we are aware of its presence.”
Pierce nodded with obvious annoyance, apparently more eager for the opportunity for a fray than to take the ford without a fight.
“Post enough men to keep it in our control. We must command that passage at any cost, whether we choose to stand…” He paused and looked at Andrea. “Or not.”
He sat down to write another hasty dispatch, never raising his eyes, even while giving additional orders. “Get this across as soon as you can get through,” he said, handing the message to Gus.
He rattled off more orders with practiced ease and walked to the door with his men as they filed out. He closed the door just as Andrea reached it.
“Are you adequately armed?” His voice was low and strained.
Andrea nodded, but wore a questioning look. “You cannot think I will use force against your enemy.”
“Confound it. Your enemy is all around you! And if you don’t know that then I am reluctant to let you go.”
Andrea nodded regretfully, seeming to accept that loyalty and treason had somehow fused. “Still, I will not use my weapon save in my own self-defense.”
Hunter put his hands to his temples, trying to decide whether to let her go. The battles fought during four long years of bloody struggle were not half so hard as the decision that confronted him now. “Do you understand the extreme peril you are undertaking?”
“I comprehend both the peril and the necessity. Don’t argue about it. I am going.”
Hunter looked into eyes that were both uncompromising and decisive. “Return to me here as soon as Pierce is led to the ford. Do you understand?”
He stomped over to the table and drove his pen across another piece of paper furiously. “That means you do not wait for him to engage, or even to see if the ford is guarded. Turn around after showing him the ford’s location no matter what you hear. Do you understand?”
“I understand, Colonel.” Andrea stood impatiently with her hand on the door latch.
Hunter strode across the room. “Here. Take this pass in case you get stopped by any of my men.” Then his voice turned softer. “You’ve taken enough risks on your own accord. You need not take any more on mine. I understand the sacrifice.”
“If you will use the ford to get back to Virginia, it is well worth the sacrifice.” Andrea shoved the piece of paper into her pocket.
“I’m not in the habit of choosing routes of retreat. I leave that for the enemy.”
“I would hope that you’re not in the habit of allowing your men to be needlessly slaughtered either. Your reputation as a brave and gallant soldier is not worth that.” She reached for the door latch, but he held it firm.
“It’s not for my reputation or glory that I fight. It’s for the honor of Virginia. You know that.”
Again she tried to remove his hand from the latch. “There is no honor in fighting a losing battle. I’m showing you the location of the ford so you can retreat with dignity—not get whipped with honor.”
He frowned when he read the impatience on Andrea’s face. “When the ford is in our hands, I will decide our course of action.” He paused and stared at her intently. “I hope you fully appreciate the risk of the venture. Your hand must be against them, as it has been for them.”
“Surely you do not believe I came all this way without appreciating that risk. As for whom I stand with now, I am willing.”
One more look in her rebellious eyes caused Hunter to concede. “Very well. Show Captain Pierce the way.”
Although he intended to give her a parting kiss, he did not have time. By the time he passed through the door, she had already leaped into the saddle and was holding a large, spirited, and impatient horse in her skillful hands.
The massive beast beneath her snorted and pinned its ears, providing more than a little indication that it intended to try to remove the obstacle from its back at the first opportunity. No need to worry about that, Hunter thought to himself. She would ride a hurricane if someone dared her to, or attempt to jump a mountain if someone told her it could not be done.
He watched in breathless silence as she whirled the horse around, and took off at a gallop with a dozen men following close behind.
Hunter closed his eyes and, for the second time in his life, said a prayer. He could not believe he was entrusting the one he loved with so dangerous an errand on behalf of his Command, nor that she was willing to accept it on behalf of him.
Chapter 18
The inspiration of a noble cause enables men to do things they did not dream themselves capable of before.
– General Joshua Chamberlain
Colonel Hunter paced impatiently after hearing a few shots in the distance, his heart and eyes weary of watching for her arrival. When the sound of galloping hooves interrupted the silence, he anxiously scanned the lane, waiting for the image of the horse to come into view. But it did not appear where he expected.
The bay, lathered and blowing, came bursting out of the woods not fifty feet away. He watched as she aimed her mount straight for the fence that separated the road from the pasture, watched men who were lounging nearby scatter, and watched with his experienced eye, a horse that had no intention of attempting flight.
Hunter turned his head when they were but one stride out, seeing in the actions of the horse that it was indeed going to refuse to jump. When he did not hear a crash, he turned back to see the duo sailing over the obstacle with a foot to spare. Andrea’s spurs were deeply dug into her charger’s flanks, and the horse’s eyes still bulged from the shock of the perfectly timed action.
A hellcat on horseback. Hunter stared at her in suppressed amazement as she drew the horse to a jolting stop, spraying clumps of mud upon the porch step where he stood.
“Mission accomplished, Colonel.” She saluted him in such a way that he knew it was instinctive rather than planned. “It was occupied but did not appear to be heavily guarded. Gus is through with your dispatch and Captain Pierce’s men are—”
Andrea sucked in a mouthful of air as she dismounted. Although she made an obvious effort to land on her good leg, she grimaced and cursed under her breath when she hit the ground nonetheless. “…In control of the ford.” She finished her sentence, and straightened up with gritted teeth. “He should be back soon with his report. I await further orders.”
“Yes, come with me. I need to talk to you.” Hunter turned and clanked noisily up the steps, his gaze falling on Carter who lounged against the wall beside the door as if preparing to stand guard. Hunter nodded in gratitude at the duty being perform
ed with no orders to do so, and Carter nodded back with a kind of contented smile on his face.
“There’s going to be a hot fight,” Hunter said before Andrea had even closed the door.
Andrea half-nodded and half-shrugged with half a frown on her face, showing as much concern or interest as if he’d just predicted warm weather in the middle of July.
“You need to get away from here.”
This caused a bit more of a reaction. First, she blinked in surprise. Then her eyes, which had been glowing with satisfaction, narrowed with a grave look of defiance. “But I—”
“After careful reflection, I’ve decided I don’t want you involved in this.”
“You mean you’ve decided you want me out of the way.”
Hunter closed his eyes when he heard the rebelliousness in her voice, knowing there was more to follow when it reached that tone. He braced himself for the fallout. “You’ve already done more than we can repay, more than we could ask. I want you safely behind the lines.”
Although Andrea had stood before him calm and determined before, she now bristled with hostility. “Which lines, Colonel? North or South? Because I can be felled by a Yankee bullet as easily as Rebel now. It makes no difference to me from where the lead comes!”
He grabbed her by the arm. “I prefer that you return to Hawthorne, and wait for me there.”
“I’m on the wrong side of the Potomac for that,” she spat. “As are you. Though you are apparently too determined to go down in a blaze of glory to care.”
“We have the ford now.”
“I did not show you the location of the ford so I could retreat to a place of safety.”
When Hunter spoke again, his face was resolute, his tone was stern, and his words were unrelenting. “If you defy me, I will have you arrested and placed there by force.”
Andrea’s jaw dropped and she blinked in surprise. “You would not dare!”
“I am the commanding officer here.” The response was calm, but loud. “Yes. I would.”
Carter stuck his head in the door at the noisy exchange, and gazed worriedly at the courier and the colonel as they stood face to face—one looking enraged, the other careworn and troubled beyond measure. “Everything all right in here?”
Glory Bound (Shades of Gray Serial Civil War Trilogy Book 3) Page 9
