Love and War

'Where's Marie-Louise?'

'Where do you suppose she'd be at this hour? She's in bed. Cooper —'

'I don't want to argue.' He turned away.

'But something's happened to you. You don't seem to have any feeling left for me, your daughter — for anything except that damned department.'

One of his slender hands closed on the frame of the parlor door. He sniffed again, head lowered slightly. The way he gazed at her from under his eyebrows frightened her.

'Something did happen to me,' he said softly. 'My son drowned. Because of this war, my sister's greed, and your refusal to remain in Nassau. Now kindly let me alone so I can eat.'

In the kitchen, seated near the cold stove, he cut into the liver, ate three bites, and threw the rest away. He went to their bedroom, lit the gas, and shut the door. After undressing, he piled two coverlets on, but still couldn't get warm.

Presently Judith came in. She undressed, put out the lamp, and climbed in beside him. He lay with his back to her, his face to the wall. She was careful not to touch him. He thought he heard her crying but didn't turn over. He fell asleep thinking of the drawings of the fish ship.

Once a week, Madeline repeated her invitation to dinner. Near the end of May, Judith finally prevailed on Cooper to stay away from the Navy Department for one evening. At four o'clock on the appointed day, he sent a message home saying he would be late. His hack didn't arrive on Marshall Street until half past eight.

In the spacious rooms on the top floor, the brothers embraced. 'How are you, Cooper?' Orry smelled whiskey and was dismayed by the sight of his pale, disheveled guest.

'Very busy at the department.' The reply made Judith frown.

'What sort of work goes on there?' Madeline asked as she led them in to the table set with lighted candles. She was anxious to serve the meal before it was ruined.

'We're engaged in the job of killing Yankees.'

Orry started to laugh, then realized the remark was meant seriously. Judith stared at the floor, unable to conceal a look of distress. Madeline glanced at her husband as if to say, Is he drunk?

Murmuring a pretext — 'May I help?' — Judith followed her hostess to the hot kitchen.

Madeline raised the lid of a steaming pot. 'Can you conceive of greens selling for three and a half dollars a peck?'

The false cheer failed. Judith glanced at the closed door and said, 'I must apologize for Cooper. He isn't himself.'

Madeline replaced the lid and faced her sister-in-law. 'Judith, the poor man acts like he's ready to explode. What's wrong?'

'He's working too hard — the way he did when Star of Carolina was on the verge of failure.'

'Are you sure that's all it is?'

Judith avoided her eyes. 'No. But I mustn't say anything. I promised I wouldn't. He'll tell you when he's ready.'

Presently the four were seated with their food — the greens, a few potatoes sliced and fried, and the entree, a stringy saddle of lamb Madeline had purchased at one of the small farmers' markets springing up on the outskirts of the city. 'Orry will pour claret, or water, if you prefer that. I refuse to serve that vile concoction of ground peanuts they're selling as coffee.'

'They're selling a great many strange things,' Judith said. 'Pokeberry juice for writing ink —' She stopped as Cooper thrust his glass toward his brother. Orry poured it half full of claret, but Cooper didn't draw his hand back. The goblet sparkled in the candlelight. Orry cleared his throat and filled it full.

'Some —' Cooper gulped half of the claret, dribbling dark drops on his already-stained shirt bosom '— some in this town drink real coffee and write with real ink. Some can pay for those things.' He stared at his brother. 'Our sister, for one.'

'Is that right?' Madeline said with forced lightness. Cooper's stare was sullen, his speech slurred. Something ugly was in the air.

'I'll grant you Ashton lives in a fine house,' Orry said. 'And on the few occasions when I've seen her on the street, she's always been handsomely dressed — Worth of Paris or something equivalent. I can't imagine how she affords it on Huntoon's salary. Most clerks in the government make a pittance.'

Cooper drew a long, raspy breath. Judith clenched her hands beneath the table. The shout of a water seller reached them through open front windows, then the creak of his wagon. 'I can tell you how they afford luxuries, Orry. They're profiteers.'

Madeline's mouth formed a little o. Orry put down the fork with greens. 'That's a serious accusation.'

'I was on her ship, God damn it!'

'Dear,' Judith began, 'perhaps we'd better —'

'It's time they knew.'

'What ship do you mean?' Orry said. 'The blockade-runner that went down? The one you —?'

'Yes, I mean Water Witch. Ashton and her husband owned a substantial interest in it. The owners issued standing orders for the skipper to run the blockade at all hazards. We did, and I lost my son.'

He shoved back hair hanging over his forehead, and in the midst of all the shocks, Madeline noticed for the first time that Cooper was going gray. 'For Christ's sake, Orry, either pour the wine or pass it here.'

Noticeably upset, Orry filled Cooper's glass again. 'Who else knows about Ashton and James?'

'The other owners, I suppose. I never heard their names. The only man on the ship who seemed privy to the information was the skipper, Ballantyne, and he went down like —' Cooper's face wrenched. The memory was too hard to articulate.

He drank. Stared at the flame of the candle in front of him. 'I'd like to kill her,' he said, bringing the empty goblet down so hard the stem snapped.

Everyone stared. 'Excuse me,' Cooper said, bolting from his chair. It fell backward with a crash. He flung out his hand to prevent a collision with the wall and lurched to the parlor. He managed to reach the settee before he passed out.

They heard a rain shower starting. A sudden breeze set the candle flames in motion. Judith again apologized for Cooper's behavior. Stricken, Orry said apology was unnecessary. 'But I hope he didn't mean that last remark.'

'I'm sure he didn't. The loss of Judah was grievous for both of us, but it seems to have done special damage to him.'

Orry sighed. 'All his life he's expected the world to be better than it is. People with that kind of idealism get hurt worst of all. I hope he won't do anything rash, Judith. Ashton has already failed at the one thing she wanted most in Richmond — to belong to the best circles. I expect punishment for the profiteering will find her eventually. If he tries to judge and sentence her' — he glanced over his shoulder at the sad scarecrow figure on the settee — 'he'll only harm himself.'

The wind gusted, lifting the parlor curtains, stirring the gray-streaked hair on Cooper's forehead. Judith said, 'I try to tell him that. It does no good. He's drinking heavily, as you surely noticed. I fear what he might do sometime when he's had too much.'

Softly said, the words put dread into Orry. The three sat in silence, listening to the rain come down on the roof and the ruins of the evening.

Copies of the Richmond Enquirer reached the Winder Building every week. One issue, which George read with mingled curiosity and sadness, contained several long articles describing Jackson's funeral. On an inside page was a list of high-ranking military officers who had marched in the procession. Among the names he discovered that of his best friend.

'There it is — Colonel Orry Main,' he said to Constance, showing her the paper that night. 'He's listed with others from the War Department.'