Letters in Time, Reiss Susan [read me a book TXT] 📗

could. If I may be so bold, I wanted you to know that I carried you with me in my heart. But it was not to be. I kept telling myself that you were detained for a good reason.  As we rode away, I told myself over and over again that your absence was not because you didn’t care.

I am sure that your father’s decision to leave seemed sudden. It was not. Over the many weeks before that fateful day of our departure, your father weighed the arguments about the declaration of allegiance surrounding the War Between the States. As you know, I spent my days with him as he walked the land, attending to his many daily responsibilities. I spent hours listening to him speak aloud of the many things said by each side of the debate, those favoring the North and those feeling strong ties with the South. 

When he first expressed their arguments, I thought he was talking to me, trying to make me understand the divisions facing our state of Maryland. I soon learned I was wrong. He was trying to better understand the situation himself. He was facing a great decision that would affect the future of Waterwood and his dear Emma. Little did I know that this decision would affect my life as well.

For a while, the disagreements between the Union representatives and Southern sympathizers were far away. Then the situation changed and tensions moved across the Chesapeake Bay and into Talbot County and our very own town of Easton. Federal troops came from Baltimore and seized ammunition, muskets, cannons, and sabers from the Easton Armory. Those armaments had been stored there since the War of 1812. That act of seizure made our citizens realize that the government believed that we would storm the building, commit thievery and use the arms against our fellow Americans. Many found that idea abhorrent.

Could they imagine an even more offensive act was about to be perpetrated by soldiers from Baltimore under orders of the government?  I think not.

When the Union soldiers came to Easton, dragged a judge from the bench, and arrested him, it was a source of upheaval. 

Your father was greatly agitated.  That was the moment that he felt the federal government had gone too far.  He knew it was time to make a stand. 

He reflected on both sides of each argument. In the meantime, he had to be careful to avoid confrontation.  Do you remember the time he took away your peppermint stick? People were calling it secessionist candy. It was striped red and white and didn’t have any blue representing the federal government.  He thought it was trivial, but he didn’t want trouble.  

Though he was a citizen of the great state of Maryland, a state that remained in the Union, he felt his ties were stronger to the Southern cause. He believed your mother would have supported him in this decision if she were still alive. She may have joined the ladies of other Eastern Shore plantations and made faces at the federal soldiers on the street. Many local residents would not walk under the Stars ‘n Stripes flag hung over the sidewalk on Washington Street.

Once your father made his decision to support the South, he ordered provisions and made equipage ready. Everyone quietly worked to prepare provisions for the Confederate army and the supplies needed.

I was honored and humbled when he asked me to accompany him, to tend to his needs on this trek. He declared that we had to make haste and depart as soon as humanly possible.  He was fearful that the men of the town committed to the Union would try to stop him. We needed to slip away without detection. He hoped to return soon to prepare another shipment of supplies without anyone the wiser.

As I made final preparations, my heart ached to talk to you, even if it was only for a moment. I looked everywhere. You were not to be found. When I saw Joshua in the stables, I asked him to deliver a message asking you to meet me at the Lone Oak, our tree.

My father was sworn to secrecy by your father. He beseeched my father to protect Waterwood and the most precious one in his life. You, dear Emma, his daughter. It gave me great pride when my father gave his blessing to my upcoming travels. I too begged him to care for and protect you.

The time was nigh for us to leave. I went to the Lone Oak and waited in vain for you to come. As your father decreed, we rode away as the last rays of the sun disappeared. I kept looking over my shoulder, hoping to catch a glimpse of you one last time. It was not to be. The lands of Waterwood faded in the gathering dusk. Would I ever cast my eyes on them again?

Emma, I hope you will accept this explanation of what happened and truly believe that my heart stayed with you and Waterwood on that day and every day thereafter.

Ever Your Servant,

Daniel

Tears prickled my eyes as I laid the letter down and looked out the window to the great tree across the creek. It must have been agony for Daniel to ride away, to do his loyal duty without saying goodbye to Emma. Not knowing why she didn’t come must have troubled him.

Then I wondered about this other person named Joshua. Why had he failed in his mission to deliver the message from Daniel? Was he a rival for Emma’s affections? Did he resent Daniel because he was the son of a plantation manager?  Or was he a slave who refused to take orders from the young man?

I gazed at the Lone Oak, its large leaves