Dinner
Cordia sat through dinner doing everything in her power to act nonchalant about Julia and Will coming over later that evening. Her father had been so excited himself, he was bubbling with glee all through their meal. “It will be so nice to hear from someone who has actually been in battle,” he was saying.
Cordia wasn’t really eating. It was more like she was conducting some troop movements of her own, maneuvering the various items of food around her plate so that it looked like she was consuming it. Her mother had noticed though. Finally, she said, “Cordia, dear, you don’t have to eat it if you aren’t hungry. I know it must be very sad for you to see Will. Probably just a reminder of your dear Jaris.”
If that’s what it took to get out of pretending to eat, then she was willing to accept it. “Yes, mother,” she said. “May I be excused?” Her mother consented and she went upstairs to re-read Will’s letter. It wasn’t quite 6:30, so she still had over a half an hour of time to kill before he arrived. They arrived. Julia was coming, too; she mustn’t forget.
September 21, 1861
Dearest Cordia,
I have tried to write to you several times these past weeks but I have not been strong enough in my shoulder to sit up and still write. Now, I am finally able to do so. Please forgive me for not sending word some other way, but I didn’t think you would want me to dictate a letter to you the way that I have dictated a letter for my sister. I have had plenty of time to think about you while I have been lying here in this makeshift hospital bed. It has seemed like an eternity since the day I saw your face. I hope to look on you again soon. I do plan to take your advice and come home for a few days when I am well. But, I hope that, when I do, you will not try to talk me into staying. Please know that I would give anything to be able to settle down with you now and start a life. But it wouldn’t be right, and I would spend my time loathing myself, rather than enjoying being in your company. So, I will come for a few days and hopefully find some way to spend a few moments alone with you. It will be unbearably hard to see your lips and not kiss them, but it will be better than not seeing your face at all.
All my love,
Will
She must have read his words over ten or fifteen times before she finally heard noise downstairs. They were here. She tucked the letter away for safekeeping along with his other letters and then ran to the landing. She could see her father leading them into the parlor. She smoothed her hair and then ran down the stairs to join them.
At first, her father said he thought the ladies might be more comfortable off by themselves, after all, talk of war and fighting was not exactly proper discussion in front of ladies. But Cordia insisted that it wouldn’t be fair to Julia to take away any of the time that she had to spend with her brother, so he finally relented, and they all sat down in the parlor together. Will and Mr. Pike were sitting in chairs, while the ladies were situated on a small sofa across from them, although Cordia’s mother spent a great deal of the evening bustling around, refilling tea, taking care of other minor household duties. Frieda was not there that evening. She spent a few evenings a week over at a friend’s house at a quilting bee.
After a little while, Cordia began to feel sorry for Will. Her father was asking a barrage of questions—complex ones, too, for that matter. He wanted to know what Will thought of Lyon’s decision to attack, how he had felt standing there with the rest of Sigel’s men, watching those gray uniforms get closer, what he thought of this U. S. Grant and this campaign into Tennessee. But Will was able to handle every single question tossed his way, and with surprising skill, Cordia thought. For someone who claimed he never knew what to say, he sure was holding his own with her father—a man known for being quite the debater.
As the evening wore on, it became fairly apparent that Will’s shoulder was bothering him. Ever since Cordia had visited that hospital, she had been compelled to learn about nursing so that, if there should be a battle nearby, she would be equipped to help. Dr. Walters had been training her a couple of hours each week. She could plainly see, though Will was trying his best to hide it, that it was really starting to hurt him. Finally, she had to say something. Her father had just asked another difficult question, but before he could answer, she said, “Will, when was the last time that bandage was changed?”
All evening long, Will had been trying his hardest to pretend he was not aware that Cordia was in the room. He had looked in her direction a few times, but he had to be careful because, after all, this was her doting father he was speaking to. So, he was a little surprised when he heard her talking to him. “What’s that?” he asked.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, Daddy,” she said to her father. “But, Will, it looks to me like your shoulder is bothering you. I have some ointment.”
“Did you know Cordia’s been studying to be a nurse?” Julia asked her brother, happy to finally have a chance to speak. She had been listening for ages, it seemed.
“No, I did not know that,” Will said. “Isn’t that interesting?”
“I could change the bandage if you want,” Cordia said, hoping that no one would volunteer to help her.
“All right,” he said standing. Then he turned to her father. “I’m sorry—I can answer that when I return.”
Her father nodded obligingly, and Will moved to follow Cordia out of the room. “So, Julia, you must be excited to have your brother home for a little while,” she heard her mother saying as they entered the hallway. She was relieved then; neither her mother nor Julia were going to follow them, which meant she’d finally have a chance to be alone with Will.
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