Cordia was looking forward to spending a nice fall day with Julia at the Adams Farm. It had been a rough September for her dear friend. Julia had not quite recovered from the effects of not knowing Will’s fate. She had spent a great deal of time in bed lately, coughing, choking, too weak to get up. Cordia had been extremely concerned for her. She had been to see her every day. Sometimes she just sat by and watched Julia in a restless sleep. Other times, she would read to her, or they would share stories about their childhoods. At one point, Julia’s fever was so high, Dr. Walters wouldn’t let Cordia, or anyone else besides Mrs. Adams, even go into her room. Finally, it had broken, after about three days.
Since that time, about a week prior, she had seemed to be doing much better. Since it had cooled off a little, she was even spending some time outdoors in the fresh air. Cordia had sent word to Will about his sister’s condition, but she had not heard fr
“Home. There was that word again,” Cordia thought as she heard Julia gush over Will being home. She was behind them now, walking more slowly. How difficult it would be to have him here and to pretend to everyone that they were just acquaintances, just friends. Yet, as she noticed Mrs. Adams coming out the front door to greet him, she knew she had no other choice. They all went inside, and she lingered in the yard a moment, trying to get herself together. It wouldn’t be the first time she denied the way she really felt. She guessed she could do it again.Margaret was smiling and laughing, but it wasn’t the same as it had been before Jaris was killed. Now, her face seemed to have a gray tone to it. Even when she was truly amused, it never quite left her. She had gotten Will something to drink, and was trying to force food upon him, though he insisted he had eaten while he was making the trip from the train depot to the farm. He had walked the tw
Cordia sat through dinner doing everything in her power to act nonchalant about Julia and Will coming over later that evening. Her father had been so excited himself, he was bubbling with glee all through their meal. “It will be so nice to hear from someone who has actually been in battle,” he was saying.Cordia wasn’t really eating. It was more like she was conducting some troop movements of her own, maneuvering the various items of food around her plate so that it looked like she was consuming it. Her mother had noticed though. Finally, she said, “Cordia, dear, you don’t have to eat it if you aren’t hungry. I know it must be very sad for you to see Will. Probably just a reminder of your dear Jaris.”If that’s what it took to get out of pretending to eat, then she was willing to accept it. “Yes, mother,” she said. “May I be excused?” Her mother consented and she went upstairs to re-read Will&rsquo
Cordia was storing up a supply of bandages, as well as other medical supplies, in a little cupboard in the corner of a room off behind the staircase. Even though she didn’t feel it would be proper to shut the door, she didn’t think anyone would be coming back that way, and they would have a little privacy. She took one of the lanterns out of the foyer as she passed so that she could see to light the lamps in the room. For some reason, she felt a little nervous as she entered. She went about the business of lighting the place up and getting out her supplies.“Where do you want me?” Will asked.“Well,” she said looking around the room, “why don’t you have a seat on the table there so that I can see it a little better.”He did as he was told, and she slowly walked over, setting her supplies and the original lamp down beside him.“I was wondering how I was ever going to get you alone,” he said
It was almost unbearable for Cordia to know that Will was in town but that she could not see him. She realized she could have found an excuse to go over to the Adams Farm. But she also thought that she should give Julia some time to spend alone with her brother. Likewise, she had found out the day before how extremely difficult it was to be in the same room with Will and just pretend he was a simple acquaintance, the brother of a friend, the cousin of her lost love.Instead, she spent the day with Susannah. Her friend had not been the same since her husband went off to war. Susannah had always been one to worry about every little thing, but now, she was sure that her husband had been killed or was going to be killed soon. Every day that went by without a letter from James brought more horrifying images to his wife. And it didn’t seem to matter how many times Cordia explained to her friend that the post moved very slowly these days, especially out of moving army camps, s
Dinner was just as awkward as Cordia had imagined it would be. She spent what seemed like an eternity trying not to look at Will and could tell by his avoidance of making eye contact with her, he was trying just as hard. Finally, as the meal was ending, she suggested that she have a look at that bandage. Alas, Margaret chimed in that she had already changed it just a few hours ago. Cordia felt her heart sink, having no earthly idea how she was going to get to see Will alone now. She could see by the disappointed look on his face that he had not been a willing patient for his aunt either.“Well,” Isaac proclaimed, standing up, “That was a fine meal. Now, let us gentlemen retire to the study to finish our discussion of politics and warfare—ideas the woman can surely do without.”The men, including Zachariah who was nearly 15, all stood up to follow Mr. Pike into the study. It had occurred to Cordia that Margaret would not want to join them a
Cordia Pike had never even imagined doing anything like this before in her whole life. Except for her rash trip to Springfield, she had always been extremely honest with her parents—almost to a fault. Now, here she was, lacing up her boots at 1:45 in the morning to sneak out.She had wondered, at first, about the possibility of going out her bedroom window. There was a tree branch that overhung the roof, and she had thought it might be possible to swing onto the top of a little shed from there and then jump down. Though Cordia usually found it hard to admit, she really was scared to commit such daring feats. So, she decided she would do the most obvious thing and take her chances sneaking out the back door. She was too frightened to bring a lantern with her. Instead, she used what little moonlight fell across the stairs to navigate her way down them and into the hallway. Her parents’ bedroom was upstairs, as was Frieda’s, and none of them seemed to be follow
Will had seen the militia out making patrol rounds as he made his way toward the Adams Farm. They had not seen him or else he would have probably been interrogated and would have had to lie so as not to tell them where he had been. He finally made it back to the barn to tie up the horse, relieved to see that there were no lamps lit in the house. He snuck in the back door and made his way to the makeshift bedroom he had been sleeping in. However, as he crossed the kitchen, he saw Julia sitting up in her bed in the room beyond. He sighed, and she stood up to follow him into his room.“Well?” she asked, closing the door behind her.“Well, what?” he asked, taking off his hat and coat and throwing them over the back of a chair.“Aren’t you going to tell me where you’ve been?” she asked a bit too noisily.“Not so loud!” he said, sitting down on the cot and taking off his boots. “Why do you care w
Cordia gasped. Barely any light was coming in through her bedroom windows, making it difficult to see who she was looking at, but she thought the form and the voice were familiar. Finally, she said in a very meek voice, “Frieda, is that you?”The shadow shifted a little bit, and the voice boomed, “Yes, it’s me. Where have you been child?” She stood up now and reached over and lit the lamp next to Cordia’s bed, her face portraying she was unhappy with finding the girl sneaking back into her bedroom so late at night.Though Cordia was about as frightened as she had ever been, she suddenly became very aware that she was still wearing Will’s ring. She slid it off before Frieda turned back around and shoved it down the top of her dress. She decided to play nonchalant. “Oh, Frieda,” she said smiling, “don’t you know I sometimes like to go for walks? I was just out for a little stroll.”Frieda didn