THIRTEEN
Maggie’s true feelings were finally known.
Pink filled her cheeks, and she couldn’t make eye contact with Henry. There wasn’t room for distraction right now.
The silence in the room weighed on her. Had she been too bold? Did she further discredit herself by appearing to be a woman of no morals?
After an excruciating pause, Grant cleared his throat.
“We need a few minutes to deliberate. Before we do so, I have one final question. I believe I already know part of the answer, but I need to grasp the full scope of the truth. Officer Farrow, under whose command were you obeying that led you to be alone that day in the low country?”
Henry didn’t hesitate. “General Sheridan. He believed General Warren to be incompetent and wanted to know if Sherman would support him when presented to you. As it was highly sensitive, he didn’t trust a courier to deliver a message.
He gave me leave to go to Atlanta to meet with Sherman.
Sheridan said I was to regroup with him in Virginia after the business was done.
I should’ve gone straight there, but for some inexplicable reason, I felt called towards Charleston.
At the time, I knew it was still held by the Confederacy and this direction wasn’t logical at all.
But I’ve long since known not to question it when God places something on my heart.
When I found myself quite lost in the wildness of the Carolinas, I’ll admit I started to wonder if it had really been God speaking to me, or if I was starting to go mad.
I had just turned my horse north when I heard a scream.
It was a woman screaming, and it was a sound I’ll never forget.
” He turned to Maggie. “It was Miss Ackerman. The second I saw her, I knew it’d all been for her. ”
His words concerning Sheridan didn’t appear as a surprise to Grant, but a glance between McClellan and the third general made it clear that it was to them. A mask of carefully concealed thoughts was plastered onto Grant’s face.
“We shall take our leave to deliberate in the quarters upstairs. Do not leave this room until we return.”
The heavy thuds of boots up the stairs echoed in the nearly empty house. The energy in the room crackled and buzzed. Now that they were alone, except for the four guards standing motionless at the back of the room, she couldn’t look at him. What would he think of her confession?
On the contrary, she felt Henry’s constant gaze. “Maggie,” he said softly.
There it was, again. One little word and she couldn’t deny him. Cheeks still hot, she turned slowly towards him. Her shackles jingled with the movement, not letting them forget where they were. “Henry,” she whispered back.
“Did you mean it?” He wasted no time in jumping to the point.
Her lips parted. “Yes,” she breathed.
A smile as wide as she’d ever seen split across his face. He was radiant with joy. “Tell me.”
She knew what he wanted, and she could deny him nothing. The guards watching and listening didn’t deter her this time. “I love you.”
Stepping forward, he closed the gap between them. “And I, you.” Unable to embrace her due to his bonds, he leaned down four inches and placed his forehead against hers. “Oh, Maggie,” he whispered.
Their eyes were closed, but she was very conscious of how close their lips were to one another.
They stood touching just head-to-head, reveling in the pleasure of close proximity.
Her body quivered just slightly, giving away her emotions.
Standing several inches lower than her, he towered over her, but leaning against each other so, they seemed a perfect fit.
She inhaled his scent. He smelled wonderfully masculine.
Outdoors, with a hint of pine, smoky like a campfire, and a scent that was all his own.
“I’d freeze time if I could and be content to never move again,” his words caressed her face. “Marry me.”
Gasping, her eyes sprung open and she lifted her head. “What?”
His expression was serious. “Will you marry me?”
How could he ask that at such a time when their fate was quite literally being decided above them? Her mouth was agape. “Henry…”
“Maggie, you’re the fiercest, bravest, most stubborn woman I know.
I knew it after that day in the woods, and before I left you at the farm.
I didn’t say it then because I sensed you needed time, but my feelings haven’t changed.
Not in the months since we’ve been apart, not for all of the time in the future.
No matter what happens now, I want you to be my wife.
I promise to love you until the last breath leaves my body, and to honor you every single day that I walk this earth. Please, marry me.”
She wept as he spoke, disbelieving the words that she was hearing. To hear that he loved her had been enough, never did she imagine how she would feel at his proposal. He wanted her for life. God was so, so good.
“How can I say no to someone whom I crossed hundreds of miles for?” She asked through her tears. “Yes, Henry. A million times yes.”
His eyes filled with tears then. “How I have I earned such a love as this?”
Their first kiss had been filled with passion, fueled by their longing for one another. This kiss would seal a promise. Tilting his head down once more, he tenderly touched her lips with his own. They were soft and tasted of salt as his tears slipped down, mingling with her own.
Footsteps overhead brought them back to earth and they unwillingly separated. Maggie remembered the guards in the room but decided she didn’t care. They had graciously looked elsewhere, giving them as much privacy as they could. Henry’s eyes never left Maggie.
General Grant, McClennan, and (later she would learn), Halleck filed back into the room. Grant’s eyes roved over them, sensing a change, but didn’t address it. Maggie and Henry held their breath, waiting to learn what was to come.
“After much deliberation on the new testimony and evidence presented, we’ve found Margaret Ackerman not guilty of espionage,” Grant paused.
“However, based on the actions taken in light of this accusation, Officer Farrow is to be dishonorably discharged from service. All military titles and pensions will be revoked. The two of you may go, but are not to leave the city until the war is officially declared over.”
Unbridled joy filled her. They believed her. She and Henry were free.
In the next instant, his punishment sank in, and her heart hurt for him. But when she searched his face, she found no animosity or sadness. He’d done his part and his time in warfare had ended.
“Thank you, sirs,” he said, bowing to his superiors.
“Good luck to you both,” Grant said and strode out of the room, McClellan glaring behind him, and Halleck waddling behind, still holding his paperwork.
The guards came and unlocked their manacles, freeing them. Maggie rubbed her wrists, rejoicing in the weight lifted after so many days.
Henry held his hand out to her. “Ready to face the world?”
She grasped his firmly. “With you, I’m ready for anything.”
The sun shone on May first as Reverend Adams married them.
They’d spent nearly two weeks together in City Point, relearning each other under the watchful eyes of the reverend and the Joneses.
The Joneses had made a bold decision not return to Halifax.
They wished to start afresh in Richmond with the money they’d earned.
Reverend Adams promised to box up the few items left back at their homestead and send it once the trains resumed running.
The war in North Carolina had not yet ended.
Skirmishing in the mountains still occurred, and whispers of raids reached them.
Henry and Maggie both feared for the safety of Elijah and the Browns, as well as Levi and Abigail, who were hopefully returning to the cove.
They didn’t stop praying for them. When Henry and Maggie were allowed to leave, they’d return the reverend to his home and then make their way to Albemarle.
Henry’s friend, William, asked to travel alongside them. He’d overheard Maggie mentioning the Browns’ plans to go out west should the senior Joseph Brown return. Always fancying a new adventure, William desired to offer his protection to the Quaker family and to accompany them across the country.
“I’ve had enough of being a soldier. Would be nice to be a cowboy for a bit,” he chuckled.
William stood as a proud witness the day of Henry and Maggie’s union.
The young couple was saddened that their family was not there, but knew they wouldn’t expect them to wait.
As Henry put it, “We’ve lived through a war and know that we aren’t guaranteed time.
I don’t want to enter a new season without you being my wife. ”
Maggie agreed wholeheartedly. After two weeks of sleeping under the stars amongst the Joneses and the Reverend, with Henry just feet away, she longed for time alone with him.
The Reverend counseled them, offering words of wisdom and fruitful advice for marriage. After nearly half a century of marital experience himself, he certainly had the credentials to do so.
They stood on the docks and overlooked the harbor. The salty air reminded Maggie of home, and she smiled, thinking of her parents. Henry pulled the very ring that she’d worn from Albemarle out of his pocket.
She’d given it back to him on the first night, after bashfully explaining its role in her journey. Henry hadn’t minded. “My mother would be honored for you to have it. I planned to give it to you when I returned, anyway. Abigail was keeping it safe for me.”