TWO
She awakened to the smell of wood burning and something yeasty… Bread?
Her eyes fluttered open. She was in her cabin. The fire was burning and there was bread and a cup of water sitting next to her cot. Her stomach growled and she hungrily reached for the bread. A searing pain in her chest forced her back as she cried out.
“Careful, I’ve staunched the bleeding, but the wound’ll easily reopen,” a deep voice sounded beside her.
Maggie jumped. Ravenous for food, she hadn’t noticed anyone else in the room. It was him—the officer who’d fought off the other men.
His coat was removed, hanging on the kitchen chair. There were dark circles beneath his hazel eyes, as if he hadn’t slept. His blonde-brown hair tousled, curling at the ends, in need of a cut.
“You.” Her heart pounded. “What do you want? Get out.” The words came out in a scratchy whisper, not as harsh as she had intended them to be.
“Respectfully, I don’t think you’re in a state to demand anything. You’ve got a nasty gash and shouldn’t be left alone.” He spoke matter-of-factly, without a hint of arrogance. He remained still, as if not to frighten her further.
At the second mention of her wound, she glanced down. Covered with a threadbare quilt, she lifted it and saw gauze wrapped around her chest, tinged pink. She gasped.
Reading the reason behind the panic that paled her face, he quickly added, “You’re still wearing your shift. It was already exposing the cut. I wrapped the bandage over it. Only your gown has been discarded.” Adverting his eyes, he nodded to the dress in a heap on the floor near the fire.
Leaning her head back onto the cot, she closed her eyes in silent relief.
He hadn’t violated her.
But someone else almost had.
Remembering the scene in the woods, she had to ask a question that plagued her. “I saw you let the one boy go… Are the other two men dead?”
“One is, yes. The other was only knocked unconscious. After I brought you back here, I went back into the woods to speak to him. He must’ve already come to because he was gone by the time I arrived.
After hearing what the boy told of their companion, I don’t think he will be any trouble.
” After a short pause, he concluded, “I buried the body.”
Too many thoughts jumbled in her mind at once. Pulling one at random, she asked, “You brought me back here? How did you know this was my cabin?” Her voice was husky with a mix of emotions.
“I had to get you somewhere safe and stop the bleeding. I followed the path from the stream.” He quietly added, “I took the liberty of using a needle and some thread I found in the chest to stitch the wound closed while you were out.”
“How long was I—”
“About a day. You needed the rest.” It seemed he could read all her thoughts.
The conversation fell silent. Then he rose and came closer. Maggie flinched and he stopped walking. He was taller than she first realized.
“I’m going to help you sit up a bit to drink some water.” He still spoke softly like he was calming a wild animal.
She was thirsty… She nodded and he knelt beside her. Lifting her head slightly, he put the cup to her lips. She drank deeply, wanting even more when the cup was drained.
Help from a blasted Yankee.
Gently, he helped lay her back. “Keep that down and you can have more in a few minutes. The last thing you need is to retch and tear open your stitches.”
Pride flared. “I don’t need your advice.”
He cocked an eyebrow. Oh really? His face seemed to say as he took in her weakened state with his eyes. Then he placed the cup back down and moved to stoke the fire. “My name is Henry. If that helps you think of me as a human.”
It didn’t. All she could think about was what had taken place in the woods. All that she had suffered since the war began. That she was truly alone in this world. She drew a jagged breath, hissing between her teeth when the movement caused the wound to sting like a bee.
Henry watched her. She refused to meet his eyes.
If I have to suffer further and bear your company, I will not do so willingly. You will see my disdain and leave.
“When was the last time you’ve eaten?”
At the thought of food, her resolve wavered.
“…Dunno. A few days ago. I think…” It had been a pitiful stew of acorns and dandelions, but she wouldn’t admit that. She trailed off, ashamed of what circumstance had come to.
Papa and Mama hadn’t been well off, but she and her brothers had never once gone hungry. Crops always yielded under Papa’s hands and Hugh was a fair shot when hunting game.
No, they would not be proud of her defeat in putting food on the table.
“The starving sparrow.” She whispered again.
He placed a piece of bread beside her hand. If he heard her last comment, he pretended not to or didn’t address it.
“Eat. It’s not too stale yet. Tomorrow, I’ll find us something else.” He motioned to the door. “There should be plenty of small game in those woods.”
Maggie stuffed the bread in her mouth because she couldn’t resist. And because it kept her from telling him where he could go instead.
She swallowed and enjoyed the feeling of something in her belly instead of the hollowness she’d come to expect.
Turning her head to him, she asked, “Why are you helping me? I’m your enemy, and you’re mine. Did you not notice you fought men from your own side?”
Henry met her glare for a long moment and then turned his head again towards the fire.
“What those men were doing was unconscionable. Abominable. There’s no excuse for evil acts, war or no war.
Yes, you and I appear to be on opposing sides.
But I believe in a higher power than an invisible line dividing the people. ”
Oh, he’s a Christian...
Before she could react further to this revelation, he pulled something from his pants pocket. “And I believe that you do too. All I will tell you is this—it wasn’t just by fate that I happened to be in those woods today.”
He dropped the object into her hand, something cool and hard.
Her mother’s cross necklace.
A multitude of emotions swept over her. Relief. Pain at what this had cost her. And the all-too-familiar grief mixed in shame. Closing her fingers around the necklace, she pulled her hand underneath the quilt. Her inner thoughts were not his business.
“While we may agree on one of your first points, we won’t agree on the last. I don’t believe in God. So, it appears that you saved me for no reason at all.”
His eyes flickered for the briefest second with an emotion she couldn’t describe. “Then why wear and hide the necklace?”
“It was my mother’s. Her dying wish was for me to have it.” Or at least that was partly true.
He paused, as if considering her statement. “I don’t believe you. You do believe in something. But that’s neither here nor there. God put me in the woods to come across you. Whether you believe it or not, it’s He whom you should thank.”
“I’m not thanking anyone.”
Henry chuckled. “I didn’t think you were. Anyway, close your eyes and rest for a bit more. You’ll need it to heal.” He stood and walked to the door, but stopped with his hand on the latch. “I’ll be going out for just a while to try and set some snares out. If you need me, just yell and I’ll come.”
She pretended to ignore him and he left.
I will not let a Yankee into my family home.
Anger won out over anxiety. Swinging her feet off the cot, she attempted to sit up. Pain streaked down her chest, and she grit her teeth against it. Black spots swirled in her vision. Standing, she swayed on unsteady legs.
Don’t faint.
Putting one foot in front of the other, she made it across the room before she knew she’d better sit down. Reaching the kitchen table, she flopped into a chair, but the chair bumped into a small box on the edge. The box fell off and its contents spilled on the floor.
The cabin door swung open at the noise of commotion, and Henry stepped in, taking in the mess and her relocation.
“Do you know how to listen? You just experienced a major injury, yet you’re so stubborn that you would risk yourself. For what?”
“Just get out,” she snapped. “Whether you helped me or not, I cannot have my family home defiled with you in it.”
He walked slowly to the table. “All you see is war. What makes you any different than those men, in that case?”
She would’ve jumped up and slapped him if she could. “How dare you—”
“Why do you think they attacked you? Out of pure hate. Because they see you as the enemy. Something to be overpowered, beneath the most common decency. Right now, you are viewing me in the same way… I’m a man of honor.
I swear I will not touch you or harm you in any way.
But like it or not, you need help, and I’m the only one here.
When that changes, I’ll go. But I’m not your enemy. ”
He bent down and picked up the family bible that had fallen out of the box on the floor.
“You dropped this.” He placed it on the table and went back out.