ONE #2
Sitting back, Elijah examined the jewelry. “It could be my grandmother’s,” he guessed. “Uncle Henry was given her ring when she died. Mother might’ve been keeping it safe for him.”
It was a plausible explanation. Still, the question nagged them both—Why had Abigail hidden all of this together? Because, just looking at it, it appeared to be a bag for Henry. If he were to return or need to get away. Then there was Maggie’s bible… The odd piece not fitting the puzzle.
“Perhaps we’re overthinking it,” Maggie speculated. “Abigail put it away for me so that it wouldn’t risk being destroyed. I told you how your parents acted that day—None of us knew what was going to happen, but somehow, they did.”
Elijah nodded. “Father has always said that Mother was gifted in that way, just as Father said the Holy Spirit speaks to those who listen. I believe thee.”
“So, what now?”
“Now, we plan on how to find Uncle Henry. It won’t be easy, but we’d best get started.” Grabbing a map from the stack, he unfolded it on the table to begin.
They pored over the maps for hours. Henry had never indicated who he reported to, so there was no way to know where he might have gone. Finding him was starting to appear hopeless.
Maggie sighed, mentally exhausted. “What do I do, just start going camp to camp asking for him? It’s not exactly like they are going to tell anyone any information, much less a woman.”
“Maggie… that’s actually it!” His sudden excitement startled her, and she nearly fell out of her chair. “Thee is a woman.”
Has he gone insane? “Yes… Were you confused about that before, or?”
Elijah laughed. “It’s the perfect cover. Thee can enter camps, claim thee is looking for thy husband. Come up with a story—say thee received word he was wounded.”
“Elijah, I can’t just enter a camp.”
“Why not? Women are doing it on both sides.”
Maggie balked at his suggestion. “Yes. Nurses. But I’m not a nurse.”
Elijah shook his head. “No, Maggie. Women of all sorts are going along with the camps. At the start of the war, during one of the last Society of Friends meetings we attended, the topic came up. Most argued that it was immoral for women to be following and living in camps, but others argued that respectable women could change the nature of the war by having a subtle influence inside the camps. Sure, there are some women who act in…” Elijah flushed hotly.
“Loose ways. But there’re plenty of women there to help in practical ways.
Nursing the injured, cooking, sewing, being there for a loved one.
All thee needs to do is convince them that thee is there for Henry.
Which, technically speaking, isn’t a lie. ”
The new revelation from Elijah rolled in Maggie’s head. The gleam of the ring in the lamplight caught her eye. Cautiously, she reached over to pick it up. It was delicate. Made for a woman.
What if…
Putting it on the fourth finger of her left hand, she slid it down. A perfect fit.
“I received word that my husband,” she held up her hand, “has been wounded… My name is Margaret, and I am requesting to enter the camp to look for him.”
Elijah thrust the uniform into her hands. “‘I have made him a new uniform to ensure he is properly attired.’”
Mentally picturing the situation, Maggie muttered, “It just might seriously work.”
“It will work.” Elijah was firm. “Let’s practice again. For real this time. Tell me who thee is, what rank Uncle Henry is. Go over and over it until thee believes it.”
Taking a deep breath, Maggie began.
Maggie collapsed onto Levi and Abigail’s bed.
They’d rehearsed every scenario they could think of.
If she wasn’t prepared now, she would never be.
The biggest hurdle they didn’t have an answer to was the imaginary notice would’ve included where Henry was stationed. How could she explain the confusion?
The best idea they’d come up with was to say that the notice had arrived barely legible. The name of the location was smudged out. It wasn’t uncommon—Maggie remembered the notice that had arrived for Joel, months late and extremely damaged.
At daylight, she’d start making her way north to inquire after Henry at the first Union camp she encountered. If she ran into a Confederate camp, she would hide the uniform, name her brothers, and get out as soon as possible. The plan was feeble at best, but it was all that they had.
Sighing, she leaned over to touch her bible. She’d brought it into the bedroom, maybe just for comfort, or a thought of home. Abigail had gone to the trouble of safekeeping it, she might as well bring it along.
The worn leather cover was soft. The pages thin.
Maggie ran a finger down the side. A book that was supposed to have all the answers, but felt more like a book of mystery to her.
Months, she witnessed the devotion to Christ that Abigail and Levi had.
She saw it in Henry. Elijah. Her mother.
But it never seemed to connect with her.
On her deathbed, her mother had wanted her to confess her faith. Maggie couldn’t do it. She wanted to believe just as the rest of them, but she couldn’t understand why God had allowed so much to happen.
Even now, two of the people who loved God the most were taken away to take part in a war neither believed in. What was the point of it all?
The night before Henry had left, she’d prayed, begging God to keep him safe. To bring him home again. Maggie was betting her life on that prayer. If God failed… it would finish her off.
She thought of God, up in the sky, watching her. He knew where Henry was. Too bad he couldn’t tell her.
No use in wasting sleep on pointless thoughts.
Reaching over, she tried to set the Bible on the nightstand so she could turn down the bed. But she aimed short, and the Bible fell onto the ground.
“Great,” Maggie muttered. She considered leaving it there, but changed her mind. Annoyed at her mistake, she wiggled herself off the bed to get it.
It had fallen open and the pages splayed Song of Solomon. Unlike other chapters, this was less creased. Mother hardly ever read these verses. But Maggie remembered Levi reading a passage during their time of devotion a few weeks ago.