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  “No, but there is a high likelihood that after I do what I plan to do tonight, I might be driven from this place.”

  Trepidation filled her heart as she pressed her lips together. Wringing her hands, she implored, “What are you going to do? Surely it can’t be that dire.”

  “It depends on who you ask. Many might think it is,” Nathan warned.

  “Please, you cannot keep me in suspense,” Faith asserted with frustrated concern.

  Reaching out, he took Faith’s hands in his own. “I’m going to ask your father for permission to marry you, Faith. Before I do though, I have to know if it’s what you want.”

  “You should know by now, Nathan, I love you. I was just too scared to admit it because I wasn’t certain how you felt, or how our lives will work together.”

  “I, too, have refrained for the same reason. I can’t deny it any longer though. I love you, Faith, more than I ever thought possible.” He pulled her towards him, bent his head until his lips met hers, and placed a kiss upon her mouth.

  The intimate contact was searing. Her skin tingled all over, like a hot bath on a cold winter night. As he pulled her closer, he deepened the kiss, claiming her mouth for his own. In that moment, Faith knew she would never love another, and Nathan was her one and only.

  True to his word, Nathan had asked for her hand in marriage. Her father had been surprised, but after Nathan laid out his plan of buying land and starting his own plantation, he convinced Thomas to trust him with his eldest daughter.

  Nathan had kept money from his time in the military; along with the salary he had earned from working at Oak Haven, he had saved enough money to purchase twenty acres of land only miles from the Abernathy plantation.

  Faith, along with her mother, and sister, Ida, had set about the time-consuming task of planning the wedding. It would be an elaborate affair, as any proper Southern woman’s wedding from a respected family should be.

  Nathan had been busy working on their home when he was conscripted. His military service interrupted his plans to have their home ready by their wedding. Their nearly-finished house was a constant reminder of what almost was and what might never come to be.

  The clinking of forks against plates drew Faith’s attention back to the present. She watched each of her siblings around the dinner table, noting how each of them was different. Davis was the first-born son, approaching eighteen, and attempting to step up and fill in for Nathan by taking on the majority of the work around the plantation. What worried Faith, along with the rest of her family, was that in a short time, her brother would be forced to join the war efforts when he turned eighteen. Davis, on the other hand, wanted to join and serve, but their father refused consent.

  Faith remembered clearly the argument between the two of them regarding his desire to enlist.

  “All you have to do is sign the papers, Father, and I can serve the confederacy and our family proudly.”

  “I’ve already lost one son to the war, I won’t lose another. By law, the military can take you when you’re eighteen, but until then, I will not consent.”

  “Do you know how that makes us appear? We look like cowards, Father. Is that what you want for the noble Abernathy name, to be remembered as cowards who refused to fight in the war for our country’s independence?”

  “No, but I will gladly live with that stigma if it means you live, too. I’m not signing those papers, and it’s final,” Thomas declared, crossing his arms in resolution.

  The anger in Davis’ eyes was clear, but he promised not to go against their father and sign-up anyway.

  Determined as he was to join the war as a soldier, Faith knew Davis honored their father and wouldn’t do it behind his back. The problem was, in just a few months, he would be eighteen and their father couldn’t protect Davis any longer.

  Faith knew her father had a deep-seeded need to protect Davis because he was unable to keep Nathan from the war and blamed himself over the loss of him. Though Faith believed Nathan was alive and would come home one day, the rest of the family had accepted the news and considered him dead. It was a hard pill to swallow that she was alone in her prayers and hope for Nathan’s return, but she held fast to it none-the-less.

  She supposed her own determination came from being the eldest child in the family. At nineteen, she was prepared to be a proper wife and mother and couldn’t wait until she had the chance to start her own family. Her mother had trained her how to run a plantation household; along with learning how to manage servants and household routines, she had been schooled in the art of entertainment and conversation by the best tutors. Her mother had hoped for a good match for her, which was why Faith had been surprised when her father convinced her mother that Nathan was that match. Despite him being an orphan and a member of the lower class, her father saw the same thing in Nathan that she had. He was a good man, filled with resolve to make something of himself. He promised he would prove himself capable of living up to marrying an Abernathy woman, and she knew once he returned home, he would hold up to his word.

  Jack was born after Davis. At thirteen, he was always getting into trouble, both at school (when it was still open) and by taking chances on the plantation. Just earlier that evening, Jack had gotten into trouble for putting a frog in Ida’s apron. Ida came after Jack and was eleven. She loved helping in the house as well as watching Nancy, who rounded out the five children as the youngest. Ida was currently helping Nancy by cutting her food into smaller pieces.

  As far as looks, Jack and Nancy took after their mother with brown hair and green eyes. Faith, Davis, and Ida resembled their father with blonde hair. Of the three, Faith was the only one who did not inherit their father’s brown eyes, hers being green. Though they all were different from looks to personality, never had a family pulled together more than they had during the course of the war.

  As workers disappeared one by one as they volunteered willingly to join the war or fled the area to avoid being conscripted, the Abernathys were left to work their own plantation for the first time in their lives. Their calloused hands, weathered skin, and tattered clothes were a testament to the fact.

  Tonight, they ate a simple meal of cooked yams and their weekly ration of ham, both prepared by Tabitha and Ida who now handled all the chores of the main house. Faith, on the other hand, helped her brothers and father in the fields, determined to not let the war starve her family to death. Though the meal was meager, and three years ago Faith would have never dreamed of her family being reduced to squalor, she was thankful that at least all of them were alive and together.

  Her eyes fell to the empty chair again, and she amended her previous thought. Almost all of them were together. Nathan was still missing, but she knew in her heart it wouldn’t be forever.

  After supper, everybody finished their final chores before bed. Faith cleared the dishes, carrying them into the kitchen and putting them in the wash basin. The kitchen, which had once worked well with a staff of three kitchen maids and a cook, now was larger than the family actually needed. They tended to only use the stove and two cabinets (out of dozens) for the minimal table settings and food they had on hand.

  Faith said a prayer in silence as she worked, knowing that once she was done she could finally rest.

  God, bring Nathan home safe to us. We miss him and our lives don’t work without him. I know everything is possible through You, so Lord, please make a way.

  After the final chores were finished, Faith climbed the long staircase that was now covered in stained, ragged carpet. Her hands, which used to glide along the smooth banister, now avoided it for fear she would add splinters to her already sore hands. Bare walls of the halls along the long route to her room on the second story made her home feel like a shell of its former glory; all of the paintings and decorations that once ordained the beautiful home were gone, either taken by the Confederacy to pay for the war or sold by the family for necessities.

  She entered her bedroom, and for a moment, imagined how
beautiful it once looked with her French-imported furniture and soft feather comforter and pillows. All of it had been sold and had been replaced by a singular bed and small dresser that once belonged to one of the servants. The small pieces of old, battered furniture made her room seem even smaller, but at the moment she didn’t care.

  Faith let her body fall onto the stiff bed, thankful that she at least didn’t have to sleep on the floor—at least yet. As she drifted off to sleep, Nathan’s smiling face filled her thoughts.

  Chapter 6

  Sleep evaded Nathan as he worried about the deadline. Part of him wondered if Christopher was bluffing, but Nathan had trained him to be ruthless and to never make empty threats. It would be just like him to abduct Davis and bring him here to torture in front of Nathan. He couldn’t allow that to happen. The boy was too kind-hearted, making him the worst possible candidate to endure something of this nature. He would never survive. If torture broke even the strongest of men, Nathan knew it would destroy Davis.

  “Nathan,” a soft voice whispered in the blackness of his prison.

  He turned his head to the side. Who was speaking to him?

  “Listen, Nathan.” The voice was quiet, yet strong, and came from nowhere but everywhere at once.

  A warm hand touched his shoulder. “Do not fear. I will help you leave this place.”

  Within moments, the ropes disappeared, and he felt someone lifting him up. The stranger wrapped his arm around Nathan’s waist, taking a majority of his weight. Despite his broken leg, the stranger guided Nathan towards the door.

  “Who are you?”

  “No time to talk,” the voice whispered back. The sound was soothing to Nathan, despite where they were. Somehow, the voice prompted a peace in his heart he didn’t understand.

  As the door opened, the normal noise and light of the corridor disappeared. It was quiet, like a blanket of stillness had fallen upon the place, and once again, he couldn’t see.

  “Why should I trust you?” Nathan inquired, shaking away the peace and focusing on his training.

  Suspicion was bred into him from his years as a spy. He worried this might be a trick to catch him off balance in hopes he would share the truth with the stranger, his rescuer. He didn't want to end up in a different room tied to another chair once they realized this new ploy didn’t work.

  “Someone who loves you sent me.”

  Nathan’s mind was racing. Who knew where he was? Faith’s family and their friends back in Myrtle Grove would do anything to find and save him. Though small and quirky, the town produced loyal neighbors who turned into faithful friends.

  Nathan remembered during one of the first town meetings he attended, Mayor Bryant stood up and announced because of Nathan moving to Myrtle Grove, the population had officially reached 500 people. Everyone clapped and cheered as if it was the greatest accomplishment in the world. One week later, they held an ice cream social in the center of town to celebrate the milestone.

  Unfortunately, even with so many devoted people trying to find him, he was aware the Union government never took chances with sensitive prisoners. He wasn’t being kept in any official prison. Instead, he was held in a place in which no one should have been able to locate him.

  “But I don’t understand. Not that I’m ungrateful, but how did you find me?”

  “The one who sent me can find anyone. Trust me, Nathan. When we reach the outside, stay right by my side until I get you somewhere safe.”

  “I’ve little choice considering my current condition. But if you show untrustworthiness, I won’t hesitate to do whatever it takes to get away.”

  As they reached another door, they paused long enough for the stranger to open it. The moonlight flooded Nathan’s senses as he stepped out of the building. He took in a deep breath, inhaling his first lungful of fresh air in what must have been months.

  “We need to keep moving. There is no time to stop.”

  He smelled the oak trees and felt the fallen leaves under his feet as they moved through the forest. Nathan tried to look around and make note of where he was, but no matter how hard he tried, he was unable to make out his surroundings or the details of the stranger helping him. Everything around him blurred.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Peter left Boston to find you. I’m taking you to him.”

  A chill shot up Nathan’s back. No one besides Faith knew the man who had led him to the Lord lived in Boston.

  “Wait, how do you know Peter?”

  “As I’ve said, the one who sent me can find anyone, and He always helps the ones He loves.”

  Nathan was wondering about the cryptic answers he was getting from the stranger. “Who sent you to rescue me?”

  The stranger didn’t answer the question, but instead stated, “Just past this set of trees is a house on the edge of a clearing. Peter is inside and he is expecting you. He will take you back to your family.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “You will in time.”

  “None of this makes any sense,” Nathan protested, frustrated he couldn’t get his bearings or figure out what was going on.

  “Faith is the evidence of things unseen.”

  “True, but I don’t understand. This is happening so fast.”

  “You need to trust me,” the stranger said in the same soothing voice as before.

  The light was glowing from the window of the small cottage as they approached. Nathan stood on the doorstep and raised his hand to knock on the door. He hesitated for a moment, turning to thank his rescuer. Shocked, Nathan found the stranger gone. He looked everywhere but saw no trace.

  He heard the door open and Peter’s voice say, “He told me to be expecting you.”

  Nathan spun around and asked, “Who?”

  “God.”

  Chapter 7

  As Faith made her way down Main Street, she glanced at the list in her hand. Faith, along with Davis, was responsible for purchasing the weekly supplies at the Myrtle Grove General Store. They had just enough money to get the materials they needed for the garden, and groceries they didn’t produce themselves. It wasn’t much, but it would keep the family going for the next couple of weeks.

  As Faith moved down the boardwalk, a man handed her a copy of The Index, a special newspaper created to feature the Confederacy war effort. There was a long article about the Confederate military strength along with a list of Southern victories. On the second page, there was a discussion of the right to self-govern and the need to resist oppression by the North. The article went on to say how it would be impossible to conquer the South due to the country’s superiority in every aspect.

  Faith folded up the newspaper and placed it in her bag so she could take it home and share it with the family. As she continued down the boardwalk, recruitment posters plastered the brick walls around town. Out of curiosity, she stopped to read one:

  Your soil has been invaded by Abolitionist Foes, and we call on you to rally at once, and drive them back. We want volunteers to march immediately to Charleston and report for duty. Come one! Come all! And render the service due to your State and Country. Fly to arms, and succor your brave brothers who are now in the field.

  Just a further bit down the road, another one read:

  Action! Action! Should be our rallying motto, and the sentiment of Virginia’s inspiring Orator, “Give me Liberty or give me Death,” animate every loyal son of the Old Dominion! Let us drive back the invading foot of a brutal and desperate foe, or leave a record for posterity that we died bravely defending our homes and firesides—the honor of our wives and daughters—and the sacred graves of our ancestors!

  Though Faith was a woman, the words resonated with her and made her want to stand behind her country. She could see why so many men were enticed by them to join the cause and fight against the tyranny of the North.

  Remembering her task, Faith hurried along the boardwalk towards the butcher shop, hoping the rumors at church on Sunday were true. She
couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten beef and was hoping the shipment from the Charleston cattle company had indeed arrived.

  The grin on Mrs. Brooks' face radiated as she entered the store. “Good morning, Faith, how are you doing this morning?”

  Since she could remember, Mrs. Brooks had always stood behind the counter and taken care of the sales and display case. Mr. Brooks did the carving and butchering in the back, but poked his head out when someone came inside.

  True to form, Faith saw Mr. Brooks’ face appear from around the corner of the hallway. “How do you do, Faith?”

  “Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Brooks. I’m well this morning.”

  Faith felt relieved when they didn't bring up Nathan. She didn’t feel like having to wade through one more person’s condolences.

  “What can we do for you?” Mrs. Brooks inquired.

  Faith handed over the list. “Someone told me there is a shipment of beef today. Is there any left?”

  Mrs. Brooks shook her head. “The meat never made it here. I found out that the meat was seized by a Union regiment and the entire shipment was lost.”

  Faith’s cheerful expression vanished as the disappointment took hold. She shouldn’t have gotten her hopes up, but she had thought about all the wonderful dishes she wanted to make with the meat. Baked beef and asparagus, pot roast with potatoes, beef stroganoff, and carrots with brisket of beef. Her mouth had salivated all the way to the shop, and now none of those tasty dishes were a possibility. The family would have to settle for less desirable types of meat, even if there was any of those to speak of.

  “Do you have ham or sausages?”

  “We have both, but the town conservation board has limited only a quarter pound of each per family.”

  There was no point in arguing; besides, she believed in the cause. Faith hoped their sacrifices would bring the men home shortly, maybe even perhaps Nathan.