Somewhere in the World

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

 

Lovell, Massachusetts

August—December 1861

As he strode from the train platform, Mr. Thornton fought the poisonous mixture of shock, anger, and jealousy that coursed through him. That Miss Hale, that scion of maidenhood, should be seen in a public place at this time of evening, in the arms of a strange man, was inconceivable. She had scorned his marriage proposal so that she might dally with another man? He could not believe it. What were her parents about, to let her traipse over Lovell at all hours of the day and night? They might trust her, but he knew better. Did she have no concern for her reputation? Was she truly the wanton she appeared to be?

Even as the thought passed his mind, his better nature rejected it. He knew she could not be so—there must be some explanation, but what could it be? He might have thought it was her brother, but for the visit paid to his office by an Army captain this past week. That captain had asked if he had seen Frederick Hale anywhere about Lovell, and Mr. Thornton had replied no. He had asked the captain why he inquired after Frederick, and had been told the whole sordid story. For a man to desert the Army when his country needed him most was despicable—and highly dangerous. Mr. Thornton had to believe that wherever Frederick Hale was, it was far from Lovell.

So, if it were not her brother, who could it be? Her family was from South Carolina and Georgia, and with the start of the War Between the States, he could not believe any one of them would travel North. Mr. Hale had informed him that Maxwell Lennox was a Captain in the Confederate army, as was Henry Lennox. As officers of the enemy forces, they would not be anywhere north of the Mason-Dixon Line unless they were with their units—a chilling thought. But no Confederate forces had yet to cross into Pennsylvania, let alone New England.

Could it have been Frederick Hale, he wondered once more? Would he have endangered his life and his family by coming to visit in such stealth? Could any man be that foolhardy? Mr. Thornton knew Mrs. Hale had not been well, but would her poor health warrant plunging the entire family into peril? Captain Grenville had been adamant that the Army would pursue Hale until they captured him. No, the stranger could not have been her brother.

With an impatient movement of his hand, he brushed these thoughts away. It did not matter who the man was; all that mattered was that Miss Hale had been in his arms. He quickened his pace, as if rushing from the train station and what he had witnessed would banish the image of the woman he loved cradled in the arms of another man.

He slowed his pace and stopped in a sudden motion, bending over and bracing his hands upon his knees as he fought for composure.  He felt winded, as if he had run a long and difficult race, and his breath came in ragged gulps. His emotions momentarily overwhelmed him, and he struggled to remain on his feet when he wanted nothing more than to sink to his knees on the cobblestones of the street. He had taken a mighty blow, but was a strong man and eventually stood upright once more, angry with himself for his weakness. He was determined to overcome it.