Chapter Fourteen
Carrie leaned back against the carriage seat and smiled happily at her father. “Thank you for letting me come with you. It has been so long since I’ve been to Richmond. I can hardly wait to get there!”
Thomas gazed at her thoughtfully.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” Carrie demanded.
Her father smiled. “I was wondering where you came from.” He laughed at her startled expression. “Oh, you are every inch my daughter, but I have no idea where you developed your love for the city. If duty were not calling me to Richmond, I would have preferred to stay on the plantation. I don’t object to your enthusiasm for the city, but neither do I share it.”
“But the city is so fascinating with all the buildings and the church steeples. I love looking at all the businesses and the people with so much to accomplish. It’s been two years since I was last there. I can hardly wait to see all the changes. I’m sure many more buildings are there now. Richmond is growing very rapidly, you know.”
“And how do you know that?” Thomas asked, amused.
“Why, I’ve read all about it,” Carrie responded, her eyes shining with excitement. “I read all your magazines and newspapers.”
Thomas shook his head. “My daughter’s thirst for knowledge never ceases to amaze me,” he said with a laugh. “Just one more way you are so different from your wonderful mother.”
Carrie shrugged and continued on, eager to share what she had learned. “Do you know Richmond is the wealthiest city in the whole South? Why, I’ve read it’s the wealthiest city of its size in all America—maybe in all the world! We are the largest manufacturer of tobacco in the nation, and half the tobacco grown in Virginia and North Carolina is marketed here as well. We are also the second largest flour milling center.” Carrie’s pride in the city was evident in the way she emphasized we. “We’ve also become the leading coffee port in the country. All those huge ships carrying flour to South America return with loads of fragrant coffee.” She paused dramatically. “Richmond is a wonderful place.”
Thomas laughed. “You sound like a tour guide. Perhaps the city should hire you to promote it.”
“No, thank you. I have other plans. I just intend to enjoy it.”
“And what other plans do you have, daughter?”
Carrie grew evasive. The silence stretched between them, and Thomas looked at her with concern. Carrie battled with whether to tell her secret dream to her father. Finally, she looked up. “Would you mind terribly if I kept my dream to myself a little while longer? It’s very new, and I find I’m not quite ready to talk about it.”
Thomas managed a casual smile. “Not at all. You’re becoming a young lady. It’s not necessary for your old father to know all about you.”
Carrie knew her father too well to miss the hurt he was trying to conceal. “That’s not it at all, Father!” she cried. “It’s just… Well, it’s just that…”
Thomas leaned forward and held his finger against her lips. “Not another word. I know you’ll tell me when you’re ready. You’ve always had big dreams, Carrie. There’s no reason for me to think that would change now. Hold on to them. I believe you can make them come true.”
Carrie stared into his eyes for a long moment and finally asked the question she had wanted to ask for a long time. “Why do you encourage my dreams, Father? Most other fathers I know would be appalled if their daughters had dreams other than the desire to be a proper plantation mistress. Why are you different?”
“Because you’re so different,” Thomas answered immediately. “I learned a long time ago that you’re not going to be someone you’re not.” He shrugged. “I can’t deny there have been times I felt it would be far simpler if you were like all the other girls around you.”
“Simpler because of Mama?”
“That’s a big reason, of course. I grieve the lack of understanding between the two women I love most.” He hesitated.
“And because you have no son.” Carrie spoke his thoughts, realizing they had never talked about this before.
Thomas nodded. “I can’t deny that is true, Carrie. I’ve always promised to be nothing but honest with you. In so many ways, I suppose, I have treated you like a son. I have given you all the independence you ever wanted. You know as much about the farming operations of the plantation as I do.”
“Do you regret it?”
“Not for a moment,” he answered. “I love you just the way you are. I suppose that’s the real reason I’m so different. I wouldn’t change you even if I could. I’ve watched you do things your own way from the time you were little. You are very special, Carrie, and I believe you are going to do special things. Things that require big dreams—and the ability to hang on to those dreams.”
“Do the other men give you a hard time?”
Thomas looked at her quizzically. “Why all the questions?”
“I’ve had them a long time,” Carrie admitted. “I just haven’t asked.”
“Why now?”
Carrie shrugged, not sure herself. “I seem to have questions about everything lately. I decided I should start finding answers to some of them. So, do they? Give you a hard time, that is?”
Thomas nodded. “I suppose they do. Our way of life is steeped in tradition and culture. It borders on heresy when someone breaks out of line to do something different. But,” he continued firmly, “no one is going to tell me how to raise my daughter. Especially when my beautiful, spirited daughter is wonderful just the way she is.”
Carrie leaned forward and gave her father a big hug. “Thanks. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Thomas replied in a husky voice. “Sometimes I wonder if I’ve done you a disservice. If I should have insisted on shaping you into a proper plantation mistress. I fear I may have set you up for disappointment after disappointment as you battle against tradition.” He laughed. “Not that I could have changed you, regardless. No, I would not go back and undo it if I could,” he said strongly.
Carrie reached forward and took his hand but said nothing as she smiled lovingly. Silence fell between them for a while as the carriage rolled forward. Carrie knew Miles was giving all his attention to his driving, trying to miss the holes and ruts that early spring rains had pocketed the road with.
The rains had also produced one of the most beautiful springs Carrie could remember. She took in deep draughts of the fresh air as they surged forward. Warm sunshine bore testimony to the fact that the unpredictable days of vacillating weather were over. Just yesterday, Carrie had asked Rose to put away her winter cloak. It was one of her favorite traditions. Those rare times in the past when it had gotten chilly again, defiance kept her from taking it back out.
“Have you heard anything from the Democratic Convention, Father?” Carrie saw her father hide his smile. Of course, he would guess she was interested in more than politics. She blushed as she realized he knew she was fishing for information about Robert.
“I’m afraid I have, Carrie,” he answered seriously, his smile fading. “I fear our neighbor, Edmund Ruffin, is quite a happy man today.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, though she was certain she already knew.
“The last report I got was on April thirtieth, four days ago. Douglas had his platform selected, with a possibility of winning the two-thirds vote needed.” He paused. “And then seven of our Southern states walked out,” he finished heavily. He told Carrie as much as he knew about the events that brought it to pass. “There is a possibility things turned around down there since my last report,” he said, though she could tell he didn’t believe his own words.
“What will happen now?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I’m on my way to Richmond. I have a meeting with Governor Letcher. We are of like mind on the need to maintain the unity of our country, and he will need all the support he can possibly get. Most of Virginia is not eager to see our country divided—though, there are many who would lead us in that direction—and too often the majority makes far less noise than a determined minority. Governor Letcher is a man of reason, but I fear he is about to fight an uphill battle.”
“How are you going to help him?”
“I don’t know,” her father admitted. “That’s why I’m going. I want to see exactly what I can do. There may be nothing, but I cannot rest with myself until I know. Landowners seem to be leading the drive to secession. I want to join my voice with those who are not being pulled in that direction.”
“The real issue is slavery.” Carrie was not asking a question.
Thomas nodded. “Yes and no. It seems to be slavery that has ignited the flame. It certainly is where the tension has become centered, but I believe it has expanded beyond that. Many of those raising their voice for secession have never owned a slave and never will. They are simply angered by the North deciding that it can dictate our way of life down here. People don’t like to be pushed into a corner. When they are, they lose sight of what they are fighting about. They simply fight to get out of the corner. At that point, reason loses all power to affect change. It becomes as futile an effort as trying to push back the tide.”
Carrie listened thoughtfully but didn’t respond.
“You seem troubled about something, Carrie.”
She looked at her father but truly had no idea how to tell him what was on her mind. She couldn’t remember ever feeling there was something she couldn’t talk about with her father. Silence stretched between them. Carrie knew her father was waiting for her, and so, taking a deep breath, she plunged in. “I don’t know what I feel about slavery anymore.”
Thomas looked at her closely. “What do you mean?”
Once Carrie had started, it became easier to share her thoughts. “I know you believe owning slaves is our destiny and that the slaves, if left to their own devices, would be unable to care for themselves.”
Thomas nodded. “That’s true.”
“But,” Carrie protested, “I’m not so sure that is true.”
“Why not?”
“I look at all the slaves at home. They do everything. They raise all of our crops. They make bricks, construct all of our buildings, take care of all our animals, and prepare all of our food. Those aren’t the actions of people who cannot care for themselves.”
Thomas nodded. “It is true they can do all those things, but only because they have the leadership of the white people to guide them in those directions. Left to their own devices, they would revert this civilization back to what they came from in Africa.”
Carrie glanced up at Miles’ stiff back on the driver’s seat. She was sure he could hear their conversation. What must he be thinking? But now that she had started the dialogue, she was loath to stop it. “There are many people who feel owning slaves is wrong.”
“Yes, but those people simply don’t understand the will of God in all this. The scriptures are quite clear about the basis for slavery. I know some would have us go against God’s will, but they are simply ignorant.”
Carrie couldn’t miss the edge of anger in her father’s voice as the silence built. She decided to avoid any further conversation about slavery as she was still too confused about where she stood herself. Her thoughts were as yet too unformed. She had no desire to argue with her father about it. “Where are we staying when we get to Richmond?” she asked brightly, wanting to leave the unpleasantness behind. “Are we going to stay with Mr. Thomas, your tobacco friend, like we did last time?”
Thomas allowed her to lead him away from the discussion. “No, we’re staying at the Spotswood Hotel. I was keeping it as a surprise, but since you asked, you might as well know.”
Carrie grinned with delight. “The Spotswood! How wonderful! It is such a beautiful hotel. I have dreamed of staying there since I was a child.”
“It is indeed beautiful,” Thomas agreed. “It is also the center of much of the political talk in Richmond right now. It seems to be the place where everyone is congregating. I find I want to be in the thick of things during this trip to our capital city. I didn’t think you would be adverse to the idea.”
The rest of the trip passed easily as Carrie chattered about all the things she wanted to do while in Richmond.
“Miles will accompany you this afternoon, Carrie. If you don’t mind, I’m going to stay here at the hotel and talk with some friends.”
“Of course I don’t mind. Miles and I will have a grand time exploring the city,” Carrie assured her father. “I’m not at all hungry, so we don’t even need to bother with a meal just now. You can eat with your friends. I’ll find something later.”
It had been just past noon when they arrived at the beautiful five-storied Spotswood Hotel. Its brick construction and iron facade gave it an air of quiet dignity. Richmond was both an old town and a booming, young city. Remnants of its agrarian society mingled easily with industry tycoons intent on bringing change to the rapidly growing area. The Spotswood reflected this spirit. Everywhere you could hear conversations about the events capturing the minds and hearts of America as heated words mixed with voices of reason.
Carrie was intrigued by the hotel. She would explore it more thoroughly, but right now it was the city itself that beckoned her. The explosion of spring could be seen everywhere on the streets of the bustling city. The hotel’s location on the corner of Main and Eighth was right in the center of the city she loved so much.
“Miles, I would love to go walk through the area around the Capitol again. It’s been so long.”
“Whatever you say, Miss Carrie,” he said, falling into step beside her.
“Do you like Richmond, Miles?”
“I ain’t got to see much of it, Miss Carrie. I can’t rightly say whether I like it or not.”
“But you come here so often,” she protested.
“Yessum, I guess I do. But I mostly just be in one area.”
“Where’s that?”
Miles looked uncomfortable and shifted his eyes away to avoid hers. “Down on Franklin Street, Miss Carrie.”
“What takes you down there?” Suddenly, it was very important to know what was making her friend so uncomfortable.
Miles hesitated for a long moment before he spoke. “The auction buildings be down there.”
Carrie heard the pain in his voice but didn’t know what to say. She thought about the wagonload of slaves that had come in a few weeks ago. She knew it bothered her, but she still couldn’t find her own mind on it. She shook her head to force the clamor away.
Miles cleared his throat and asked, “Richmond be changed much from the last time you be here?”
Carrie was grateful for his change of subject. She was here to enjoy Richmond, and enjoy it she would. The bustle of Main Street thrilled her. “Miles, the city has grown so much! There are so many more people. And look at all the new businesses.” Main Street was the business center of town. The streets were lined with storefronts topped with comfortable apartments and lodging. A steady flow of horses and carriages confined pedestrians to the sidewalks. Tall steeples of some of the city’s forty churches reached for the sky, demanding attention over the bustling commercial area. Carrie stopped at the top of the street and allowed her gaze to sweep over the surrounding hills. Church spires dominated the skyline, with the columned splendor of the Capitol building proclaiming its importance.
Carrie allowed the Capitol Building to pull her. She could almost feel its importance—knowing that within its walls men made decisions that could dictate the direction of her life. She couldn’t put it into words; she was simply drawn to it. The park-like atmosphere of the wooded Capitol Square was enchanting. Everywhere, flowers were in full bloom, the canopy of trees providing the perfect setting.
All of a sudden, a sense of foreboding swept through her. She stopped abruptly and stared up at the sky.
“What you looking at, Miss Carrie?” Miles asked, his eyes following her own.
She shook her head, pondering the feeling that had consumed her. Her former happiness was suddenly shadowed by the realization that, if her father was right, all she loved might soon be under attack. In spite of the bright sunshine, it was as if dark clouds were lowering onto the bright city, threatening to destroy the very ideals the country had been built on. What if there weren’t enough men of reason to stop them?
“Carrie Cromwell!”
Startled, Carrie jumped and looked around. “Sally Hampton! Natalie Heyward! What a wonderful surprise. What are you two girls doing here?” She was delighted to see her friends and relieved to see the sun shining brightly again. All the talk of secession must be affecting her more than she thought. She shook off her dark thoughts, glad to have something else to claim her attention.
“We’re here with our mothers on a glorious shopping spree. Thalhimers has just gotten in a wonderful new shipment of dresses. We’ve been buying all day!” Sally’s voice was euphoric.
“What about you, Carrie?” Natalie asked. “You didn’t mention you were coming to Richmond when we saw you at Louisa’s.”
“No, my father decided rather suddenly to make the trip. I harassed him into letting me come along,” Carrie said. “I do so love this city!” She laughed at her own intensity. “Forgive me. I’ve just so looked forward to being here again.”
The next hour passed quickly as the three girls continued their tour of the city, while Miles and Sally’s driver, Tom, followed, chatting quietly. Carrie insisted they spend long moments in front of Washington’s monument. As she gazed up at the impressive statue, she couldn’t help wishing Washington would dismount from his horse and come back to save the country he had helped found. He would be appalled that everything he and so many others had fought for was so close to being thrown to the winds. Surely he would have something to say to stop the madness. There was no movement, however. Washington, from his place in history, merely stared out over the multitudes, challenging them to find their own way through this dark time.
“I’m starving, girls,” Natalie announced.
Carrie laughed. “You’re always hungry, Natalie.”
“Not true!” she retorted. “But what does it matter? I’m hungry now, and I intend to do something about it. Does anyone care to join me?”
A short time later, the girls were seated at a cozy little restaurant on Main Street with bowls of hearty soup and thick slices of bread in front of them. Tall, cool glasses of iced tea promised to soothe their burning thirsts. Their two attendants were given lunch and permission to go off as long as they were back within an hour.
“So, have you heard anything from Robert Borden?”
“Sally Hampton!” Natalie exclaimed. “Have you no manners at all?”
“Oh, poo,” Sally scoffed. “Don’t bother to look all proper and shocked, Miss Natalie Heyward. You know you’re as curious as I am. You were just waiting for me to do the dirty work.”
Carrie laughed as the two friends sparred. “There is no news here worth fighting over. I have not heard from Mr. Borden since he departed Blackwell Plantation for Charleston.” She wanted nothing more than to discuss the Democratic Convention with her two friends, but she knew they would laugh at her and tell her to concentrate on things more important.
“Oh, yes, that Democratic Convention.” Sally’s tone left no doubt how little she thought of it. “I say those Northerners got what they deserved. It will show them how useless it is to try and push things over on the South!”
Carrie gazed at Sally, a little shocked. “You know what’s going on in Charleston?”
“Why, of course, silly. Every proper southern lady had best be aware of the attempts of Northern aggression to destroy our way of life down here.”
Carrie didn’t like where the conversation seemed to be going. “Surely you have no desire to see the Union destroyed?”
Sally sniffed. “There is no reason to stay loyal to a government that wishes to abolish slavery. Why, in no time there would be all manner of uprisings and killings. No respectable white person would be safe if all the slaves were set free. It’s plain craziness.”
Carrie thought the sparkle in Sally’s eyes reflected a certain craziness of its own, but she decided not to say so.
Sally rattled on. “I was talking with some other girls last week. We’ve decided it might be fun to have a war.”
“Sally!” Carrie could force out no more than a shocked whisper.
Sally ignored her. “I’ve watched all those men marching with the Virginia Militia. They look positively divine in their uniforms. Can you imagine anything more romantic than a whole army of such stunning good looks?”
Carrie found her tongue. “People get killed in war, Sally.”
“Oh, poo! There won’t be a real war, silly girl. The North may be pushy, but they’re not crazy enough to come down here and fight our boys. Why, we would send them running back with their tails between their legs.” She laughed as she envisioned it. “It would be fun to have them give it a try.”
Carrie felt sick. She couldn’t believe this was her lifelong friend talking. Had the whole country fallen into this crazy way of thinking? She couldn’t define where her deep-seated horror of war came from since she had never experienced it firsthand. Yet, from somewhere deep within, she felt it—the pain, the suffering, the utter futility of men fighting one another.
Natalie, striving for peace, changed the subject. “I’m going to take a trip in June.”
Wearily, Carrie turned to her. “Where are you going?” In truth, Carrie couldn’t have cared less right then.
“I’m going to visit my Aunt Abby in Philadelphia.” She had Carrie’s attention now, so she pressed on. “Aunt Abby is my mother’s oldest sister. She went to Philadelphia to a girls’ boarding school and just never came back. She fell in love with the city and then married one of its leading businessmen. He died several years ago, but she has chosen to stay there. I received an invitation last year asking me to visit and my parents have given their permission for me to go.” She paused and leaned forward to take Carrie’s hand. “My mother said I could take along a couple of friends for the month. Sally has already accepted. I would love for you join us. Would you like to come?”
Carrie was delighted. “Oh, Natalie, that would be wonderful!” She had always longed to visit Philadelphia. Robert’s accounts of the city, along with his information about the medical college there, had intensified her longing. “I’ll speak with my father about it as soon as possible. How soon must you know?”
“Oh, in a week or so,” Natalie replied. “I do hope you’ll be able to join us.”
“So do I,” Carrie murmured. “So do I.”
Carrie was concerned by the drawn look on her father’s face as they sat across from each other in the Spotswood’s elegant dinner room. “I take it you haven’t heard much good news today?”
“You’re right. I’ve heard nothing to encourage me and much to cause grave concern.”
“Things didn’t improve in Charleston?” Carrie guessed, already sure she was right.
Thomas shook his head. “They gave up yesterday. The delegates that walked out formed their own convention, developed their own platform, and then sat back to wait and see what the rest of the party, which they nicknamed the Rump Convention, would do. The remaining delegates, after countless numbers of attempts to garner enough votes to nominate a candidate, finally threw up their hands and left town. They are going to try again in Baltimore on June eighteenth.”
“Well, isn’t that a good sign?” Carrie asked. “Maybe things will change by then.”
“I have no real hope of that. The madness affecting our country is not going to change substantially in the next few weeks. Unless it gets worse,” he predicted morosely.
Carrie looked at her usually optimistic father with surprise, casting around in her mind for something to say, while also seeing Sally’s face, euphoric with the thought of war.
Thomas rubbed his forehead wearily. “I’m afraid the end result of all of this will be war. I fear there are not virtue and patriotism, nor sense enough left in this country to avoid it.” He paused for a long moment. “I will do everything within my rather weak power to stop it, but in less than one year I predict this country will be in the midst of a bloody war. What is to become of us then, only God knows.”
Carrie stared at him with a sinking heart. She had no words to ease her father’s pain. She knew how much he loved the South and how beloved his way of life was to him. She could only imagine the agony in his heart. It still all seemed so unreal to her, but suddenly it was scarier than it had been before.
Thomas forced a smile and raised his glass to take a long drink. “Enough dark talk. Tell me what you discovered in Richmond today.”
Carrie hesitated to talk of such light matters but decided the distraction might do her father good. Detail by detail, she invited him into her afternoon. She painted the city in glowing terms, gratified to realize her storytelling was lifting some of the gloom from her father’s countenance.
He was surprised to hear Sally and Natalie were in town. “Are their fathers with them?”
“No, this is a women’s expedition.” Carrie laughed. “They are here to empty Thalhimers of their stock of spring and summer dresses.”
Thomas looked thoughtful. “Do you need dresses, Carrie? I hadn’t even thought of that when we came. Your mother is probably expecting you return with an adequate wardrobe.”
Carrie shrugged. “I have plenty of clothes.” She loved pretty clothes as much as any girl, but she had enough, and somehow she sensed even now that it was frivolous to focus on such trivial issues. “There is something I would like, though.”
“What is it?”
“Natalie has invited me to go with Philadelphia with her. I would dearly love to go.”
Her father leaned back in his chair and regarded her with surprise. “Philadelphia? That’s quite an invitation. How long would you be gone? Who else is going along, and where would you be staying?”
“We would be gone a month.” She filled him in on as many details as she knew.
Thomas fell silent. Long moments passed, but Carrie was content to wait. “This is a wonderful opportunity,” he finally said, his voice deep with concern. “We are not living in normal times, however. I fear you will not find a warm welcome in the North.”
Carrie held her breath. Surely he was not about to say no?
“It’s fine with me if you go,” he finally agreed. “I simply cannot bring myself to say no.”
“Thank you!” Carrie jumped up from the table and wrapped her arms around her father.