Plantation Nation (9781621352877) (33 page)

Emma moved directly to McClellan's tent,
careful to remain unnoticed by Orson and Will.

"General," she said, abandoning formalities
as she darted through the tent flaps.

Grooming his hair and thinner than when Emma
had seen him last, McClellan turned to her. Along with McClellan,
his assistant, Sergeant Howard, and two advisers were present. They
had been reviewing maps.

"Is there some sort of problem with the
recruits, Edmonds?" Urgency was absent from his voice.

"No, sir, but there's a man here who's
infiltrated our camp. I think he should be questioned."

"Oh? What sort of man might he be?"

"A peddler, sir, but I've seen him before,
both here among our men and within the Confederates' camp
also."

McClellan perked up, checked with his
advisors, and then said, "Show us this man."

****

Interest in Orson had flourished, and a
sizable mass had assembled around him. Tom, McClellan, and his
soldiers had to nudge their way through the encircling audience.
Orson stood at the center, displaying a bottle of bourbon and a
mischievous smile. At the sight of McClellan, though, he slipped
the bottle behind him, and his smile dissolved.

"Afternoon there, General." Orson noticed
Emma, and his eyes brightened. "Soldier." Orson froze, and Emma
wondered if Orson recalled the last time he'd seen her, on her
knees, hands tied, and a saber under her chin.

"I want this man's contraband searched
immediately," McClellan said. "His person as well."

It was the most in command moment Emma had
seen from the general, but panic swirled in her chest, as there was
no sign of Will.

"What is this?" Orson demanded as soldiers
pounced upon him and his goods. "Get your hands off me! You can't
do this!"

Emma, searching for Will, did her best to
peer over the heads of the gathered men, but it was difficult for
her to see beyond the sea of forage caps.

"Sir!" called a soldier who'd searched
Orson's wagon. He held open a small compartment within a drawer.
Inside were maps, detailing the location and potential movement of
Union troops. A wad of Confederate money was also found.

After a quick review of one of the maps,
McClellan crumpled it and held it to Orson's face.

"This demands a charge of high treason! I'll
see to it personally that you hang for this! Shackle him!"

"The boy!" Emma shouted. "Where's the
boy?"

Orson's face turned grim and stoic. A hatred
radiated from Orson, much like the hatred Emma had experienced from
Will.

"You can't win! You won't win!" Orson yelled
to all within hearing distance. "The Rebels have too many spies.
You're all gonna die, and the South's gonna take over this
nation!"

McClellan did his best to appear unrattled.
"We shall see." He turned his gaze to a nearby soldier. "Get this
vermin out of my sight." Then to Emma, "We must find his boy."

Emma nearly gasped, "The maps!" and shot off
toward McClellan's tent.

Soldiers surrounding the scene processed what
had taken place while Emma took off for Will on her own.

She spotted him slinking out of McClellan's
tent with a strange bulge in the front of his shirt. He shifted his
eyes, checking to see if he had been detected, and he saw Emma,
running straight for him. Will turned and ran.

Moving full speed and within a few yards of
Will, Emma easily caught up to him and tackled him to the ground.
Emma punched his side repeatedly, but Will was more muscular than
he appeared. Will grunted, then rolled Emma over and pinned her
down. He landed a blow to Emma's jaw, but the commotion of a
charging band of Union soldiers made him pop up from Emma and take
off running.

Emma rolled to her feet, ignored her
throbbing face, and dashed after Will.

With a small section of army chasing him
down, Will plunged into a nearby river. Emma followed and struggled
against the weight her wet wool coat added, as she swam toward
Will. Shock overtook Will. Bobbing in the water and useless against
the current, Will seemed in imminent danger of drowning. Emma
feared the boy would go down before she got to him. Her strength as
a swimmer prevailed. She snatched the back of Will's collar and
edged them both to the embankment on the other side. Exhaustion
threatened, and Will struggled. Emma went under and took a mouthful
of water. She forced herself up and gasped for air, never letting
go of Will. Emma pushed and kicked harder. Will flailed
uncontrollably, becoming harder to hold onto. Emma dipped
underwater again and felt her focus wane
—
and her feet touch rock.

Emma forced her head upward and caught sight
of the river's edge. With a rebel-like yell, she propelled herself
and Will toward the shore. Pebbles met their feet. Coughing, they
staggered out of the water. Safe from the rapids, both Emma and
Will collapsed on the muddy river bank.

****

"Edmonds, if I had an army of men like you,
this war would be over," McClellan declared when Emma and Will were
retrieved and returned to camp.

Soaked, her uniform torn from the scuffle,
and with mud streaking her clothes and features alike, Emma felt
embarrassed in front of her leader and fellow comrades. James had
been right in his distrust of Orson.

"Further inspection of the peddler's cart
revealed communication between various Union commanders," McClellan
said. "He not only had maps, he also had vital correspondence. This
here outpost, and I myself, am exceedingly proud of your work here
today, Edmonds. I'll be sure to inform the president."

"I'm honored to be of service," Emma
said.

The men who had assisted McClellan and Emma
and who had chased Will to the river's edge were gathered. They
applauded, but Emma waved them off. She wished James was there.
He'd been suspicious about Orson the moment the peddler had
appeared in the camp. For a second, Emma even envisioned James'
face among the crowd, complete with that stern smirk of his.

After she was dismissed, Emma decided to head
to Eleanor's to clean up. Her jacket had nearly disintegrated
through the ordeal, thanks to its cheap manufacturing. All she
wanted was a change of clothes and a hot cup of tea.

But it wasn't meant to be.

Walking between tents, Emma was tackled to
the ground and knocked unconscious.

****

Frigid water splashing over Emma's face
roused her. For a moment, she thought she was back in the river,
swimming and chasing Will. But then she remembered the ambush.
Evening had set in. A distinct chill covered her arms rather than
clothing, and she realized her torso was bare, except for the linen
wrap she wore around her breasts. The wrap hung loosely.
Instinctively, her arms slapped over her chest, and she tried to
make sense of her surroundings. She sat up and quickly tightened
the bindings around her. A lantern sat beside her on the ground,
and the sound of the river's current wasn't far off.

"Get up."

"No. This ain't right."

Emma stood, still holding her arms to her
chest. "Graham? Nash?"

Silence beat a moment before they both
stepped in close.

"You're a liar," Graham said to Emma, "and a
disgrace. You made everyone believe you were a soldier, just like
the rest of us." He glanced at her wrap. "But you're not."

Nash stood quietly, a confused, uncertain
expression on his face.

"I can explain," Emma said.

"Wouldn't surprise me if you were a Rebel
spy," Graham continued, "planted here this whole time."

"I'm not a Rebel spy!"

"We'll see about that." Graham grabbed her by
the arm and led her back to the encampment. Emma pleaded, and Nash
mumbled his misgivings about the situation, but Graham ignored them
both. He barged into McClellan's tent.

Although wearing a nightgown, the general sat
reading documents. He stood when the trio entered. He feigned
embarrassment until he took in the sight of 'Tom Edmonds' in his
dimly lit tent.

"What's the meaning of this?"

"General, I've discovered an imposter in our
ranks," Graham said. "This woman has been disguising herself as a
man."

McClellan seemed to ignore the implication of
Graham's statement and talked over him.

"Land sakes, Graham, what on earth have you
done? Have you assaulted Edmonds in some despicable manner?"

Graham reddened, unprepared for the general's
verbal battering.

"Sir, I beg your pardon," Graham raised his
voice, "but Edmonds here is in fact a female."

He shoved Emma toward the general. McClellan
stared at her with perplexity and an unexpected sense of
compassion. He shook his head slightly as if his head could not
accept the revelation. He reached for a blanket and wrapped it
around Emma's bare shoulders.

"How could this be?" he asked in a low
voice.

Shaking, Emma had no defense and couldn't
make eye contact with her commander as she spoke.

"I'm sorry, General," she whispered. "I meant
no harm."

"That's a lie!" Graham removed a folded paper
from his coat pocket. "This letter says she's from South Carolina.
A damned Rebel!"

"Graham! Calm yourself," McClellan said. He
took and read the letter. "Would you mind explaining, Graham, how
you come to be in possession of Edmonds' mail?"

"The letter arrived after
she
had gone
on furlough. I was told to hold onto it, but I didn't see the point
since I didn't think Edmonds was coming back. So I read it, found
out there was no Tom Edmonds. I couldn't believe it. Then she ends
up coming back, right after Trumball was injured, and, well, I had
to figure out what to do."

For Emma, that explained why Graham had been
taken aback at seeing her, awkward and standoffish. He'd avoided
her for two months and hardly spoken to her. She had attributed the
change in him to his recent experiences on the battlefield, knowing
that combat affected every man differently.

"Then all that ruckus went on with that
peddler," Graham said, "and I couldn't stomach you heaping all that
praise when I knew different. So I had to prove to myself that it
was true. I took her down and checked in her jacket. Sure enough,
she's a woman."

"And what part have you played in this?"
McClellan shot a look at Nash.

"I didn' kno' nothin' 'bout it 'til Graham
here says we gotta git Edmonds. I thought it was some lark. I didn'
kno' he was a-gonna attack him. Or, uh, her."

McClellan folded the letter. "Graham, I am
appalled at your behavior with this situation."

"General!"

"Silence! You are temporarily relieved from
your duties until this matter is resolved
—
without your further participation."

Graham stood dumbfounded for a second, then
drew his pistol and aimed it at Emma.

"I'll resolve this matter right now. A woman
in the ranks is a humiliation! I'm not gonna be a fool for some
woman!"

He clicked back the hammer, but Eli Nash
lunged at Graham and collapsed him to the ground. Graham fought
back, and the gun fired. No one was hit, but the sound created an
alarm in the camp. Soldiers scurried to the general's tent. Moments
later, Graham, without his gun, was pulled to his feet and
restrained. McClellan called for more shackles.

Nash, now holding the pistol, pointed it at
Graham.

"Edmonds may be a woman," Nash said, "but
he's a right fine soldier. Risked his life for all of us, went on
them missions, even got shot." He glanced at Emma. "I don' care if
he's a girl. I'd go to battle with him any day."

Emma smiled, mainly to herself, and tried to
forget that a small crowd of her fellow soldiers had gathered
inside the tent.

"Take him away!" McClellan thundered. "And as
for the rest of you," he said to the confused, gawking men, "clear
my quarters. I will handle this." He held Nash back and told him he
would speak to him later. In the meantime, McClellan said, Nash was
to offer no details of what had transpired that night.

"Nash," Emma said, "thank you."

He gave her a grin and a nod before he ducked
out of the tent.

Once they were alone, McClellan held up the
folded letter.

"I believe you have a great deal of
explaining to do."

General McClellan surprised Emma. Not only
did he maintain a relaxed posture around her, after she changed
into suitable clothing, but he also listened intently to her entire
story of how she ended up as a Union soldier. From her faux
engagement with Vaughn, to her desire to help end slavery, and even
to her feelings for James Trumball, Emma's tale never lost his
interest. Emma surprised herself, hearing the story unfold.

"Well, I must say, Miss Cartwright, I don't
take kindly to being made a fool of," McClellan said in a mild
tone. He stared at Emma as though he still couldn't believe that
Tom Edmonds did not exist. "This matter places me in a precarious
situation."

"Yes, sir, I
—
"

McClellan held up his hand. "Please, allow me
to finish. You may not be aware, Miss Cartwright, but you are
hardly the first woman to disguise yourself and infiltrate the
corps as a man."

Emma's face went blank, stunned from such
revelation.

"Why, I've heard reports of widows picking up
the arms of their husbands and continuing on into battle. I've even
heard of women being discovered as you are, wearing a uniform and
presenting themselves as men. Do you know the fate these women have
met?"

Emma shook her head mildly and felt heat rush
to her face.

"If rumors are to be believed, prison,
lashings, even hangings." McClellan studied her. "Tell me, Miss
Cartwright, what sentencing do you suppose is most proper?"