TWELVE #2
Two guards returned, Corporal Benjamin Wheeler between them. They stood him in the small space between Henry and Maggie. She’d recognized the name as soon as it escaped Henry’s lips and the face when he entered the room. He kept his head down and averted his eyes.
McClellan zeroed in on him. “Corporal Wheeler. Head up. A senior commander is addressing you.” Wheeler reluctantly peeled his eyes from his boots and timidly looked at the general.
“Officer Farrow has stated that you have information pertaining to the case of Miss Ackerman. Do you recognize this woman?”
The young man shifted his gaze slowly until he met Maggie’s. As soon as their eyes connected, he looked back down at the floor. “Yes, sir. Not her name until Officer Farrow told me. But I remember her.”
“Describe—” before McClellan could continue, the senior general burst into the room like a cloud of thunder.
“What’s the meaning of this, McClellan? Did I not instruct you to handle this? Why in God’s name is there a mob outside?”
“I apologize for summoning you, Grant, but the situation is more complex than we originally anticipated. Miss Ackerman went wild after her sentencing and my guards were forced to intervene. That’s when Officer Farrow,” McClellan’s lips tightened, “arrived on scene. He blatantly disregarded authority, harassed the guards—”
“And who’s this one?” Grant pointed to Wheeler, visibly shaking.
“Ah, we’re just coming to that. Farrow brought him as a witness for Miss Ackerman, but we’ve yet to transcribe his testimony.”
“Fine then. Speak boy. We haven’t got all day,” Grant snapped at Wheeler.
He licked his lips to wet them. “I-I um…”
McClellan’s frustration with the situation was high. “Describe how you came to know Miss Ackerman and the events that transpired,” he ground out.
“I-I was on a scouting expedition down south with two others when we found her. We’d come up from Savannah and were searching for supplies.
She was asleep next to the creek. When she woke up, she pushed James—that is, um, Corporal Danbridge, and he took offense.
They argued and fought some. Danbridge thought she might be hiding supplies, so he had us search her.
He found a gold necklace on her and told her to take it off…
but she wouldn’t. He-he used his knife to cut it off and she was, um, hurt…
She was on the ground when Officer Farrow appeared out of nowhere…
He hit James over the head and then fought with Corporal Quinn.
I thought he was going to kill me, but instead he let me go. ”
He began to sob, blubbering, “I’m right sorry for what we did. She was just asleep in the woods and we…” Unable to carry on, he stopped, wiping his nose on his sleeve.
Maggie watched him and felt pity for him. He’d just been a victim under James’ power. He had made a mistake and repented. She could bear no hatred towards him.
“So, you’re implying that Officer Farrow killed a fellow soldier and attacked another?”
Wheeler’s head swung up. “It was an accident. He had his musket and sword. He could’ve killed him—all of us—outright, but he didn’t. I don’t think he meant to kill James, but the blow to his head did. You didn’t know him like I did…He was evil. It wasn’t a loss for anyone.”
Maggie’s pulse rapidly increased, fearing the repercussions for Henry.
She had told the truth but never mentioned James’ death.
After all, it wasn’t something she truly witnessed, only something Henry had told her afterward.
She glanced over Wheeler at Henry, but he didn’t meet her eye.
He outwardly appeared calm, not worried in the least about this coming to light.
“And what do you have to say for your actions, Farrow?” McClellan asked.
“I’m sorry for taking a life, but I’m not sorry for anything apart from that.
By the time that I stumbled upon the scene, Miss Ackerman lay bleeding out, and Corporal James Danbridge,” his jaw clenched, “was clearly about to rape her. Miss Ackerman nearly died that day. What was her crime? For being of southern birth. For not handing over the single possession from her recently departed mother to a group of bummers in the woods. For simply being at the wrong place at the wrong time. None of these reasons condoned the behavior I witnessed that day. This war has taken many things, but I would hate to think that the victorious side lost all sense of humanity along the way.”
“Careful, Farrow. You tread on dangerous ground,” Grant cautioned. “Corporal Wheeler, in your opinion, was it entirely by chance that Officer Farrow met Miss Ackerman?”
“Y-yes, sir. I don’t believe they knew each other until then.”
“Thank you. You are dismissed.”
Wheeler glanced at Maggie as the guards came behind him to take him back outside. “I am truly sorry,” he whispered.
She nodded and said softly, “I forgive you.”
As he departed from the room, she once again met Henry’s eyes. He had witnessed the encounter, and, in his face, she saw admiration, love, and respect.
Grant, McClellan, and the third general were conferring in the back of the room. McClellan looked furious, while Grant inquisitive. The third said little, offering advice from his notes. Finally, they separated, facing the couple.
“You both present a difficult problem,” Grant said slowly. “It’s a plausible story, and if true, could be a love story for the ages. However, one shriveling corporal’s testimony cannot hold up against such a serious charge—”
Unbelievable. They wouldn’t believe it unless they saw it. Before he could finish, Maggie turned to the side, away from Henry and began unbuttoning her blouse. A rash choice, but one she knew would have an impact.
“Miss Ackerman! Stop this at once! What are you doing?”
She stopped when she reached the top of her shift, only her upper chest exposed. Holding the two sides of her blouse open, she faced the trio. “Do you believe us now? The Union’s handiwork, courtesy of one rogue soldier. Something I’ll bear for the rest of my life.”
Having not seen the scar herself, she didn’t need to.
The looks on their faces were enough. Pity mixed with disgust. Turning around again so Henry wouldn’t see, she buttoned her blouse back up.
When she was modest again, she faced them.
“God sent Henry to me that day. Undeserving as I was, He protected me through a God-fearing man. Henry nursed me back to health, nearly sacrificing his own along the way, and brought me to safety within his own family. Once recovered, he maintained his honor-bound duty and returned to the war. I didn’t know if I’d ever see him again,” her eyes briefly flickered over at him.
“We’re from opposite worlds. He’s Union born, from a line of highly respected military men, and a believer.
I was born out of the Confederacy and I wasn’t a true believer.
Despite it all… I fell in love with him. ”
She gulped. “I fought it, but there was no use. I didn’t believe that the sentiment would be reciprocated when he returned from the war, so when his family was taken away, two of the only people in this world that he does love, I had to find him.
After all he had done for me, I owed him that.
After so many obstacles along the way, that day in Five Forks, I wasn’t going to let anything stand in the way of that.
So yes, I was stupid and reckless entering the battlefield.
But I’m not sorry for it. Because no matter what happens to me, I know in my heart that his family’ll be alright.
And I’ll make sure that he is alright. If anyone is to be punished here, let it be solely me. ”