The Lieutenant's Promise (3 page)

Pausing in her vigorous slaughter of weeds, she lifted her gaze to him, uncertainty very clear in her eyes. “You have an odd way of making compliments. You didn’t have to sound surprised that I have half a brain.”

If he had half a brain, he’d walk away now, while he still had most of his pride. Yet with Tom still inside with his mother, it gave Levi the excuse to stay. He had no desire to leave. “Can you take a break for a minute? I feel guilty standing here and watching you work.”

“I offered you the hoe.”

“So you did. Well then, hand it over.”

This time she straightened more slowly, but she didn’t hold out the tool. “What game are you playing?”

What was she talking about? Levi shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

“You stop by and pretend to take interest in what I’m doing, and then run away and do whatever it is you do. It’s no help, all this distraction. All this standing around talking. Even when you help out I end up no further along than if I’d done it myself.”

~*~

Em wiped her forehead with her sleeve. As if her work wasn’t hard enough, she had to put up with this…this…citified boor who seemed determined to keep her from what she needed to do.

Leaning his rifle against a tree, the lieutenant yanked the hoe from her hand and delicately worked the ground between the lettuce heads. “Forgive me for being concerned about your wellbeing. To be perfectly honest, odds are there will be fighting in the area. Not just guns, but cannons, rockets. This could be the beginning of a long battle. And not only here in Missouri.”

“We hear what’s going on. We read the newspapers at the general store. As long as we stay close to the farm, we shouldn’t have to worry.” She knelt down in another row and pulled weeds by hand.

“That isn’t necessarily true. My cousin was killed in ’55 walking between Lawrence and his father’s farm. A few years later, their farm was burned to the ground.” He worked the ground more roughly. “My uncle thought they were safe because they stayed out of the arguments over slavery. They kept to themselves, kept their mouths shut. And what good did it do them?”

Em sat back on her heels. She’d had suspicions when she’d first met the lieutenant that he might be a spy working for the loyalists, because something just struck her as odd. Now he’d practically confirmed it. Who else would be foolish enough to head into an unsettled area like that?

Although, Tom had done just that, in a manner of speaking. He hadn’t necessarily run into battle, but he signed up with General Lyon’s Federal Army of the West as soon as the call for volunteers came. He went, knowing he’d see battle, and possibly never return. It was surprisingly heroic, she thought.

Frustration built, making her body tense. She pulled weeds with a vengeance. She refused to see Lieutenant Lucas as a hero. His arrogance and outspoken ways were impossible to like.

“My uncle moved his family north to Iowa. He says there is some dissention there, especially among those who came from the southern states, but there have been no conflicts. You should consider moving your family there.”

The man was truly oblivious. Couldn’t he see how they lived?

Seeing a praying mantis on the dandelion she held, Em lowered her hand so the creature could find safety in the loose outer leaves of the head of lettuce. It allowed her to bite her tongue long enough to consider her words. “We cannot afford to move. I understand your uncle had no choice in the matter but we do.”

“You also have the choice to keep your family safe.” He stopping working, turning to face her. “If the rebels come through here, especially if they are fighting nearby, there’s no telling what they might take. Your mule, your food, your wagon‑all are things they might need. Your rifles and shot, your gunpowder. General Lyon has control of the railroads, so Price’s army only has what it can obtain in Arkansas. They’ll have no remorse in taking what they can gather along the way.”

It was impossible to think she could pack up her family and leave. Ma was too weak to make the journey. Even if they sold off what they couldn’t take with them, they couldn’t afford to buy land wherever they went. They had to do what they could to remain safe on the farm. Besides, talk was there was nowhere safe in the country right now, unless they traveled all the way to California. “How do we know there won’t be fighting wherever we go?”

Lieutenant Lucas looked off toward the road. “I guess you can’t. It’s up to us to keep you safe.”

About the time they finished the lettuce bed, Tom came out of the house. “As usual, I find you playing at farming, Lieutenant.”

Handing the hoe to Em, the lieutenant retrieved his rifle. “I don’t see you helping out.”

Tom shrugged. “I had to fix the leg on Ma’s bed. We’d better hit the road, hadn’t we?”

“We should.” Lieutenant Lucas offered Em a smile that betrayed none of the argument that had passed between them. He looked silly when he bowed gallantly. “Miss Gilmore, I’d love to stay and help, but duty calls.”

As he and Tom walked back into the woods, Em shook her head. She was as worried over the safety of those two as she was for her family. Neither one of them appeared to be concerned about the rebels that the lieutenant was certain were nearby.

When they were out of sight, she made her way to the large oak tree behind the house. Beneath it were the two simple crosses Tom had made and Em had carved the names into. Her father and baby brother would always be a part of this land. Em was determined to keep it in the family as long as they all lived.

~*~

Early in the morning two days later, Em drew the wagon to a halt in front of the general store in Wilson Creek. Lowering the gate in the back, she stacked the small crate of lettuce on top of the crate of eggs and carried them inside, setting them on the end of the counter. Mr. Harris scribbled in his sales record book as he set supplies in a box. Mrs. Dutton chatted with Mrs. Harris over the spools of ribbon on a shelf.

“So Walt tells me, he says, Pete wrote to my boys asking them to meet them down in Fayetteville. He says…” Mrs. Dutton noticed Em and paused, continuing in a loud whisper. “General Price needs more men.”

Mrs. Harris whispered back. “I thought they’d met up with General McCullough’s men.”

“They have, but they need as many men as possible.”

“Are your boys going to volunteer?”

Nodding, Mrs. Dutton leaned closer, but her voice still carried in the otherwise empty room. “I told them to. They can’t just sit by and let some president who’s never even lived here tell us how to run our farms.”

Mr. Harris set down his pencil and walked down the counter toward Em. “What have you brought today?”

“Just eggs and lettuce, this time.”

He smiled. “I sold out of your early corn. I’ll put these on your account. Can we get you anything while you’re here?”

“Yes, thank you. There are a few things we need.” Em gave him the list Maggie had written, wanting to hear more of what Mrs. Dutton had to say. The two women were now talking about which lace edging to sew on a neckline to hide wear to the fabric on an old gown.

While she waited, she wandered to the leather goods. Fred’s harness was still sound, since she mended the seams when the threads frayed. She could use a new pair of gloves, but would wait until she absolutely couldn’t work without them before buying a pair.

Em wished Mrs. Dutton would say more about what she’d heard regarding Price’s plans. It wasn’t likely Pete Small knew everything Price had planned, not as a new volunteer, but any news Em could take to Tom could be important.

Mr. Harris helped her load her purchases into the wagon bed. After he latched the tailgate closed, he paused. “How’s your mother doing?”

“She’s the same, I’m afraid. The doctor says she needs to eat more meat, but she insists on saving it for the kids.”

“I’m sure he told her she’d help you all more by getting her strength back.”

Em nodded. “We’ll keep more of the piglets this year, so Ma won’t have any excuses about not having enough for everyone.”

“That’s good. Have you heard from Tom since he left?”

She hesitated. How much of what she said would become casual conversation with other neighbors? Em had to be cautious, not let on she knew anything about what the Union army planned, or what they were currently doing. She hoped her smile appeared genuine. “He’s been gone just over a month. They’re probably keeping him too busy training to leave any time for writing home.”

“I’m not surprised.” Mr. Harris drew his fingertips along his moustache. “Talk is, we’ll be seeing a lot of coming and going on both sides of the conflict. You and Maggie keep your eyes open. If you need anything, you send for me.”

“Thanks, Mr. Harris. I will.”

Mr. Harris had been especially kind to her family after her father died, offering to buy what he could if they decided to move away. But the only thing Em knew was farming. She and Maggie could probably earn some wages cleaning or mending for others, but not enough to feed the family and keep them clothed. Still, it was good to know there was someone she could trust nearby.

As she drove the wagon home, she debated whether to tell Tom what she’d overheard. General Lyon more than likely already knew Price had retreated to Arkansas, but what if he didn’t? What if Em learned something important from talk in town and neglected to pass it on? She could be responsible for the loss of many lives, perhaps even Tom’s. Or Lieutenant Lucas’s.

The lieutenant would probably find a reason to berate her if she did ride to Springfield, but that was a small price to pay for keeping her family safe. She’d make the trip as soon as she could spare the time.

CHAPTER THREE

Rain fell the next two days, not enough to flood the fields but enough to keep her from working on the third day in spite of the sun shining. Seeing her chance to go to Springfield, she put the harness on Fred just before dawn.

Maggie came into the barn carrying a basket of eggs. “Are you certain you should be traveling alone?”

“I’ll be back before dark. If I’m in danger on the road, then we’re in danger here, too.”

In the light from the lantern, Em saw Maggie’s eyes widen and instantly regretted worrying her sister. “I didn’t mean it that way, Mags. If the rebels were close by, Pete wouldn’t have told the Dutton boys to go to Fayetteville, would he?”

“I guess you’re right. I wish I could go with you, though.”

“I need you here. Ma needs you here. Let Queenie and Penelope out to pasture for a few hours after you milk them. See if you can convince Ma to hem that gown you made for Susie.”

“All right. But you be careful.”

“I will, Mags. I promise.”

Her sister left the barn. Em turned down the wick on the lantern and led Fred outside to the wagon.

Maggie was at that awful age where she was too old to be treated like a child, but only beginning to fully understand the responsibility of being an adult. Sixteen was such a difficult age. Some of their friends were married by that age. Maggie, like Em, hadn’t found anyone nearby who was worth the time to go out walking with, had any of them come courting.

Maggie was sure pretty enough to catch a man, even at sixteen. Her hair had hints of gold in it, rather than Em’s brassy auburn. She almost always wore a smile, and it made her blue eyes even brighter.

A few years ago at a barn raising, a handsome, intelligent, unmarried young man had come up from Reeds Spring with his family, but it turned out he was only passing through. At night in the bed the sisters shared, they’d whisper of their dreams to one day marry, but when the sun came up and the cows began calling to be milked, the dreams scattered like dandelion seeds in a breeze.

Em passed a few wagons on the Wire Road traveling in the opposite direction. As the main road through the Ozarks, running parallel to the telegraph wire that had recently been strung, it normally had a fair amount of traffic. A stagecoach approached her so quickly she had to steer Fred off the road into the grass. Thankfully its wheels churned up no dust, as the road was still damp.

She searched the woods as she traveled, but saw no sign of anyone stalking among the trees, wearing Union blue or any other color. She doubted she’d find trouble on the road, but her foot scooted back a bit on the wagon boards until her heel met the rifle. She’d never be able to shoulder it in time if the need arose, but she felt safer knowing the gun was there.

Lieutenant Lucas was making a big deal of the possibility of the State Guard being nearby. He and Tom were the only soldiers she’d seen since Tom had volunteered. How could an entire army, small though it was reported to be, slip past the farm without being heard? If thousands of men had marched or ridden down the Wire Road at night, Rufus would have barked up a storm. The old hound might sleep through a fox raiding the hen house, but he was quick to notice people nearby.

An army of a thousand men or more couldn’t travel without making a sound. It simply wasn’t possible.

By midday, Em reached Springfield and continued to the northeast where the Union army was encamped. A young guard halted her when she drew near the rows and rows of white tents. There were so many of them; how many men were camped there?

“I’m sorry miss, but you’ll have to return to the road.” He stood stiff, his rifle in his hands but not aimed her way.