Falling for the Enemy

Two Sisters

                                                                                Henry

Catherine makes it to and back from town in record time and without incident.  She asked a few townspeople if they had seen Charles Sankey or any of his associates, but it seems that the two remaining men have fled the county.  She spent some time in town spreading the word of the reward and she wired the neighboring towns.  Now, all we can do is wait for someone to spot them.  I don’t think they would be ignorant enough to return to Goldsboro knowing that the entire town is looking for them but I do fear that they may return to enact their revenge for the killing of their colleague.  Revenge is a strange thing that drives people to do things that they would never do.  Also, the two men cannot be happy about the fact that a woman was the one who killed their colleague.   In fact, Catherine being the one who pulled the trigger probably angered the two men even more so than if a man would have pulled the trigger.  There is some sort of dignity that goes with dying from the hand of another man but from a woman, it almost seems like a slap in the face, so this is why I am concerned for Catherine’s safety because if the men were to return, she would be the one they would be searching for.

So over the next few weeks, I stay close to Catherine trying to keep her within eyesight at all times but I must be very careful to not let Catherine know what I am doing.  If Catherine thinks for even a moment I am shadowing her to keep her safe, she will purposely avoid me.  She is not the type of woman who needs protection from a man.  I am not the only one on edge though.  Everyone including Catherine is on edge at the plantation.  Every noise or movement is taken as a risk to our lives and each noise is studied and researched thoroughly until it is known for sure that the noise was not a threat.  None of the townspeople in Goldsboro or any neighboring towns have spotted the two men but they are definitely looking.  The bounty Catherine placed on their heads is well above anything I have ever seen before.  She has most certainly caught the attention of the town and they are desperate to find the two men and to bring them to the Cooneys.  The longer things stay quiet around the plantation the more comfortable everyone gets, well at least everyone except for Susanah.   Susanah is still bedridden.  Her face is almost back to normal now except for the purple and blue bruises that still plaster her face.  She still moves very slowly when she walks, due to the soreness in her body.  Susanah has shared some of the horrific details from that day with us and we now know that they each took turns beating her and kicking her while she lay on the ground.  We also know that they each took turns violating her.  They went after Susanah because she was Adam’s mother.  Sankey enlisted the other two men so they could aid him with containing Susanah, which they did by holding her while Sankey beat her.  I still cannot fathom how three men could beat a woman in this manner.  I know that what happened to Susanah has had a profound effect on Adam because he is very wary to leave his mother’s side.  Just as I shadow Catherine from a distance, he shadows his mother.  He hasn’t left her side since that day and I can’t blame him because I am doing the same thing.  He loves his mother and he wants to keep her safe, just as I want to keep Catherine safe. 

            I have taken the place of Susanah in the fields, and I now work side by side with Catherine each day.  We have planted various crops in the last few days, and it is a full-time job maintaining the land.  Yesterday, Catherine and I dug an irrigation system so the plants would never lack water.  Today we are going hunting.  So this morning when I woke I swiftly dress.  I take the time to shave and hobble down to the main hall.  I am maneuvering much better now and I have graduated to just using a cane instead of crutches.  When I arrive at the main hall Catherine and Mary are busying their selves with breakfast.  From the looks of it, I can see that we are having fresh milk from the two cows in the barn and eggs that have been provided by the chickens.  Oddly, I no longer feel out of place. In fact, I feel as if I am right where I belong.  Joining Catherine and Mary I help them set the table. As we are finishing Susanah begins her descent down the stairs, seeing her struggling with Samuel, I walk up the stairs to offer her my hand for assistance too.  She gladly takes my arm and Samuel and I lead her to the breakfast table.  Here we are yet again, our strange little group of misfits, sharing breakfast at the same table.  It still amazes me how ironic this whole situation is, especially with the way the country is in a disarray in the country.  “So you and Catherine will be going hunting today?” Mary asks inquiringly.   Nodding my head yes “I hope to have a hearty meal for everyone tonight.”  “Yes, we are running out of meat from my last kill so we need to go back out to replenish our supply. It will be good to have two hunters in the woods instead of just one.  We will have a better chance of bringing something home with us today.” Catherine says hopefully.  “We are going to leave as soon as we finish our breakfast, so Mary I want you to carry the pistol with you in your apron at all times, and Adam there is another pistol in your mother’s room in case you would need it, just as it has been for weeks.  Remember to keep the doors locked and to stay within the walls of Moher.” Catherine states.  She has given this speech almost every day since Susanah was attacked and everyone has grown accustomed to her overbearing demands because each one of them knows she is only doing it because she worries for their safety.  “Yes, Catherine we know,” Mary says lightly and rolling her eyes towards her sister.  Catherine gives Mary a playful push.  “I am going to take some breakfast up to father.  Good luck today” Mary says to Catherine and me, as she excuses herself from the table taking a plate of food to her father.  Breakfast was very meager today, just as it has been every day but it is enough to keep everyone going.  “We should be going” Catherine stands and carries her empty plate to the kitchen and I follow.  We each have a rifle, which now leaves all of the guns accounted for in the home, two pistols, and two rifles.   Catherine and I spend the day hunting and we are able to shoot two pheasants one each so today is seen as a success.  When we return to the plantation I use this moment as a teaching one as I show Catherine how to prepare the pheasants for cooking.  She watches intently so ready to learn, she is like a sponge soaking up all the information that she can.  Unlike most women I have met, she is not afraid to get her hands dirty or bloody.  She knows that she doesn’t have time to be weak.  When I am finished preparing the pheasants for cooking we go to the stream to wash up.  “What am I going to do when you return back to the Army,” she says wistfully, as she scrubs her hands in the flowing water.  “I did exactly what I didn’t want to do and I have come to depend on you especially now that Susanah is injured.”  I can tell she is disappointed with herself for needing me and my help to keep things going.  “Still I am happy that you are here to help with the labor.  It does make it easier for me and you have shown me things that I didn’t know how to do so for that I am grateful.”  All of this talk of being grateful makes me curious.  “Are you planning on kicking me out soon? All this talk about being grateful has me nervous that I may not have a roof over my head tonight.”  This causes Catherine to laugh.  “Your leg is healing quite well now, and any day you will be ready to return to your division in New Bern.  It is something that I must prepare for.” She says indifferently.  She is right; I only have a slight limp in my leg now and I only feel a dull ache in my thigh.   I am also getting around much easier and if I were being completely honest I think I could get around without the cane.  However, the thought of leaving Moher is one I do not like to think about because that means I am leaving her and I have grown to crave her company over the last few months.  The reality of the matter is she is engaged to be married and we have had no physical contact since the night Susanah was attacked.  That night it felt like something changed between the two of us but the days following proved that we were still in the same position as we were before the attack.  I don’t know what I expect from Catherine, she has been quite open about her engagement with me.  I am the fool that lets my feelings grow when there is no room for my feelings here.  “Yes, I do plan on returning to New Bern before summer’s end.  I need to find out the status of my brothers and of my unit.  Also, I need to make sure my mother is well.  She may have received word that I am missing from my unit which would be causing her much distress because she was so against any of us even joining the war effort.”  New Bern is 60 miles north of Moher, so it will be a long journey through the heart of the Rebel army, so I need to be sure that I am physically capable to make the journey on my own.  “I don’t want to talk of your leaving anymore.  It is not a happy topic, so instead let's speak of how we are going to cook those birds tonight” Catherine says smiling and changing the subject. 

            That night everyone in Moher goes to sleep with a full belly.  It has been quite some time since we have had a meal that was able to completely fill everyone, and it feels good.  I am exhausted from the day’s events and my leg’s dull ache has become slightly more intense.  My thoughts are brought to my journey to New Bern that I will soon have to make alone.  I need to stay off of the main roads so I do not draw attention to myself. It will be difficult traveling through the heart of the south alone but it can be done, and because I am alone it will make it easier to move along without being detected.  I am excited at the prospects of rejoining my unit and discovering my families’ fate but I am greatly saddened by the thought of leaving Catherine and her family here at Moher.  When I leave in a few weeks, it will be the last time I will ever lay eyes on the people I have grown to care so much about.  With these thoughts in my mind, I will never be able to get any sleep tonight.  Sliding out of my bed, I put on a pair of clean trousers and decide to take a walk on the upper veranda that wraps around the top floor of Moher.  Everyone is asleep so I don’t bother with a shirt because the hot North Carolina nights are more than warm enough.    Taking my cane with me, I slowly tiptoe down the hallway towards the French doors leading out onto the veranda.  Some of the bedrooms have access to the top veranda but my room is not one of them. So with my feet padding ever so lightly on the hardwood floors, I take each step as noiselessly as I can.  I gently open the French doors and step out onto the veranda, closing the doors behind me.  I walk over to the banister and lean against the railing staring out into the darkness.  I can hear the katydids and the cicadas echoing in the night.  There is also the faint sound of frogs calling to one another.  It is so peaceful here.  When I leave here I am going back into a war, where I will be surrounded by death and not singing insects and pleasant breezes blowing through the veranda.  With this thought I continue walking around the veranda, pausing only when I see a figure standing at the end of the veranda in front of me.  At first, I am concerned that Sankey has returned but that thought quickly exits my mind when I notice the figure is wearing a nightgown and robe.  My heart begins racing at the thought of Catherine being up and out here on the veranda too.  Then I am reminded that I did not put on a shirt before coming out here and I am feeling overexposed.  I start to turn around to head back towards the French doors but it is too late the figure has seen me and she is waving for me to join her.  Slowly I walk towards the figure, my breath is quickening, it is not until I am 10 feet away that I realize this is not Catherine but Mary.   Yes, this is definitely Mary, I can see how she is shorter than Catherine and not as muscular as her sister and her skin has a wintery look to it because of how pale she is.  Her sister is much tanner from being out in the sun all day but Mary’s skin is still untouched from the harsh southern sun because she spends most of her days in the house tending to her father.  “You couldn’t sleep either,” Mary says stepping to the side to create a space for me next to her.  She is looking out over the fields where Catherine and I spend much of our days working.  “I have a lot on my mind and I couldn’t clear my head,” I say stepping beside her and looking out onto the field too.  “Yes, I can imagine you have a million thoughts swirling in your mind.  You have become a very important staple here at Moher.” She says in agreement with my last statement.  “Do you like it here at Moher?” she asks inquisitively.  “I do but it is not mine to like.” I say looking towards her.  “I don’t know how my family and I can ever thank you for everything you have done for us.” Mary says while resting her hand on my arm and turning to look me in the eyes.  “No, it is me that will be eternally grateful for the kindness your family has shown me.”  It is with that statement that Mary leans towards me, and I soon realize that she is going to kiss me; with a quick movement, I dodge her lips and instead pull her in for a quick hug.  “I should go to sleep.” I say releasing Mary from our hug and turning to walk back to my room.  “Did I do something wrong?” Mary squeaks from behind me.  Turning to face her I shake my head no.  “Mary, I am in love with another and I cannot betray her trust.”    Mary puts her face in her hands.  “I am so embarrassed I didn’t realize that you were betrothed to someone else.  Please excuse me for my indiscretion” before I am able to say anything in response Mary swiftly exits the veranda entering her room where the girl I love is sleeping on the bed and who Mary now joins in her slumber.This is a situation that I did not expect and it is something that I would like to avoid in the future.