Encounter at Cold Harbor by Gilbert L. Morris Page A

too.”
    He did not want the moment to end. He took her hand. “I guess I’ll never know how to thank you for the way you’ve come to take care of Esther for me.” He bent over and kissed her hand and smiled. “Thank you very much, Mrs. Fremont.”
    “You’re very welcome, Nelson. And I … I wish you didn’t have to go into battle.”
    Something in her voice touched the colonel. Without planning to, he took her in his arms and kissed her. When he stepped back, he said, “I can’t apologize for that.”
    “I don’t think you have to.”
    Inside the house, Jeff peered through the front window. He saw his father kiss Eileen Fremont, and at once he straightened up.
    Leah, standing at his side, touched his arm. She understood. “Don’t let it bother you, Jeff.”
    He did not answer, however, and when the colonel and Eileen came in and his father said, “Well,
we
had a great time. How about you folks?” Jeff said nothing.
    Leah spoke up quickly. “Oh, we had a good time here too. We made popcorn balls for you to take back to some of the officers.”
    “That’ll be fine, Leah. Thank you. Well, let’s get back to camp, Jeff. Thanks again for the lovely evening, Eileen.”
    “It was a pleasure, Colonel.”
    As soon as the two men left, Eileen turned to Leah. “Jeff was angry, wasn’t he?”
    “He saw his father kiss you. I think he’s very upset.”
    “That often happens when young people lose their mothers. They’re bound to feel some resentment toward anyone who tries to take their place. I’m sorry for it.”
    “He’ll be all right. Jeff gets like that sometimes.” Leah hesitated, then said, “I get that way myself. Sort of bullheaded.” She put her arms around the older woman. “Now, come along. I want to hear all about the ball …”

9
Smoke in the Wilderness
    O n the morning the troops departed, Leah rose early and found that Eileen was already up and preparing to go to town.
    “I didn’t know you were going to see the men off, Eileen,” she said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
    Eileen was fixing breakfast, and Esther was clinging to her skirts, babbling as usual. Finally Eileen stooped down, picked the child up, and kissed her. “You go play. I can’t work with you pulling at me like that.” She gave the child a gentle shove and watched as Esther ran off. Then she turned to Leah. “It’s a sad day. Nelson told me yesterday that they’d be pulling out early, and I want to be there to see him off.”
    Leah took some plates out of the cabinet and set the table. “It is sad, isn’t it? It’s just awful to watch men leave and know that some of them will come back crippled and some of them … won’t come back at all.”
    A shiver seemed to go over Eileen. “I went through this before. A long time ago, it seems now. I remember when John—my husband—went away. We thought he’d be back in a few weeks. The flags were flying, and the bands were playing, and it was very exciting down in Baton Rouge. But he never came back.”
    Silence fell over the kitchen as the two were preoccupied with their own thoughts. Finally Eileenshook her shoulders. “Well, we can’t let the men see us sad like this. Women have to be cheerful, no matter what.”
    It made Leah feel good that Eileen referred to her as a woman, not as a little girl. “That’s right,” she said. “I’ll go get Esther. Then, after breakfast, I’ll hitch up the team to the buggy. What are you going to wear?”
    “The best dress I have.” Eileen smiled. “And so must you. We want to give Jeff something to remember you by.”
    “And give his father the same thing, Eileen.” And Leah went off to get Esther.
    To Leah it seemed that every soul in Richmond and the surrounding countryside had come to see the troops off. The town square was full. The streets were packed, and from somewhere a band played “Dixie.” There were not as many people as when the men had first gone off to war, back before Bull Run. Still, there