"Amen, Mr. Cooper. Amen."
--*--
The rest of Christmas Day had been relaxing and uneventful. After dinner, small groups had wandered to various parts of the house. Some were in the dining room, enjoying a quiet talk over coffee and brandy. Others were in the front parlor, playing charades. Jeremiah had wandered off to the encampment to go over the contents of his tackle box with Duncan. Em had been put to bed, after wishing her mother a quiet good night. Charlie planned to retreat to the sitting room upstairs with Rebecca, but before he could retire for the night, he needed to talk with Elizabeth about Montgomery’s condition and to determine if Sheridan’s plan to hold the court martial the next day was viable. He found the doctor in the back parlor, quietly playing chess with Polk.
"Um, excuse me, Elizabeth, Richard. I need a word with you, Elizabeth, if you have a moment."
Richard rose to excuse himself. "No, Richard, stay. You know what this is about already."
"I assume it is time to deal with the issue of Montgomery." Elizabeth settled back in her chair and laced her fingers together.
"You are correct, and I am curious as to how you figured it out?" Charlie sat down on the settee and waited.
She sighed, "Well I knew it was bound to come up and that my opinion would be key to the whole affair."
"General Sheridan wants to hold a court martial while we have sufficient line officers here so that none of our staff will have to sit on the panel. In addition, since all of the witnesses are here, it is more appropriate than trying to convene at his headquarters later. He wants to know if Montgomery is sufficiently recovered to withstand the process. I suspect he will ask you if he is mentally able to undergo a trial as well."
"His physical condition has improved a great deal. However, his mental condition has not. He is angry and resentful."
Charlie smiled ruefully. "Well, I suppose that is an improvement over being angry, resentful, and suicidal."
"I am afraid he has decided that he will be hanged, so he does not have to give it any further thought. He is positive that you have some sort of personal vendetta against him."
"Well, to be honest with you, my friend, I would rather see him sent home on a medical release with a recommendation that he get proper care for both his body and his mind. But I am afraid if he does go home, he may continue to vent his anger on people, and especially on women."
Charlie stared bleakly into the fire. "Well, the decision is out of my hands. General Sheridan will chair the panel. You know, they will ask you for your recommendation as to the disposition of his case."
"Yes, I know. I am prepared to offer him my honest opinion as a physician, Charlie, that is all I can do."
"What is your opinion, Elizabeth?"
"Physically he is capable of standing trial. Mentally he is competent to stand trial. He understands what is going to happen. I cannot say I am happy about sending a man I worked so hard to save to the gallows, but he did bring this on himself and there is only so much I can do. I am a doctor, not a miracle worker."
Richard stood and moved to stand behind Elizabeth, gently patting her shoulder and offering what support he could.
"No, and I do not ask you to be one. I am just sorry we are in this situation in the first place." Charlie rose quietly. "I will leave you two to your game. Good night to you both."
He climbed the stairs to Rebecca’s sitting room slowly, thinking of the strains that the next two days would present. As he came into the room, Rebecca was sitting before the fire, absentmindedly brushing her hair. "Good evening, Miss Rebecca. You look lovely."
Rebecca turned and smiled at him; her smile quickly faded to a look of concern. "And you my darling, look exhausted. Come in and sit by the fire. I will get you a brandy."
Charlie slumped into the settee in front of the fire and merely nodded his thanks as she put a glass in his hand. He stared moodily into the fire.
"It is the situation with Montgomery that has you bothered." It was not a question; it was a statement. She settled down next to him, placing her hand gently on his leg.
"Yes, well, it is always hard to have a man under your command who has turned. Even though I was not in charge at the Wilderness, Wilson was, it is still hard. I am truly grateful I will not have to sit on the panel."
"Charlie, this is for the best. I am sorry this has happened to a man who, by all accounts, was a good officer, but I also get the feeling from things he has said that he is, and always has been, abusive. He needs to be stopped. Look at what he and his kind have done to Constance."
"How different is he from Mr. Gaines, dear?"
Rebecca looked away, staring into the fire. "In some ways, he is. Maybe that is why I feel no sympathy for him. But Mr. Gaines was acting within his rights as a husband, and Major Montgomery is clearly was not."
Charlie looked at Rebecca for a long moment then wrapped his arms around her. "I think I am beginning to understand. Perhaps it was just a matter of time before Montgomery’s character became obvious to all of us, regardless of what happened to him."
"I believe that is probably true." She reclined into Charlie's arms, resting her head on his shoulder and gently running her hand over his suit, playing with the buttons. "Em is going to miss you and your buttons."
Charlie stroked Rebecca’s back, just enjoying the sensation of holding the small woman for a moment. Finally, he asked, "And you, Ma’am. What will you miss?"
"My heart, for you are going to take it with you."
Charlie's breath caught in his chest. The intensity of the statement brought home to him, in a way that had never really penetrated before, just how totally his life and his future had changed. He held her closer. "I promise to return it to you in one piece, if it is at all possible."
"I expect you to return home to me, Charlie. As long as you are alive that is all that matters to me."
Charlie closed his eyes for a moment, thinking over all the places he had been where coming back alive had been questionable. There was a reason why he was called ‘‘Lucky Charlie.’ Well, from now on, he was going to be ‘‘Careful Charlie.’ "Darling, I will come back. This is home. You are my home."
"Will I be able to write you? Will you get the letters?"
"Yes, dear. There will be dispatch riders going up and down the rail line. I will make sure we have a mail stop here. I can make Culpeper a changing station and leave a small force here. I will write you as well, love."
"I would prefer you concentrate on coming home." She smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
He nuzzled into her hair and murmured into her ear. "Letters from you will be an inspiration to end the war and come home as quickly as I can, love."
"Then I shall write everyday. I am sure Em will enjoy writing her Papa as well."
"And I will read the letters every night and keep them under my pillow to be as close to you as I can."
She sighed, wishing there was some way the war would end before Charlie was due to leave, but she knew that was not very likely.
"Rebecca, dear, I do think it will be fairly quick. Lee is besieged; he cannot hold out for too much longer. As it stands now, there is really only one path that has remained open for his supplies, and I am sure we will look to cut that off. You know they say an army moves on its stomach. If we cut the supply lines, they will have to surrender, and then we can start on the work of rebuilding from this horror."
She nodded but remained silent. The realization that her Charlie was going away and might not come back was truly beginning to settle and weigh on her much like her brother's departure had. She prayed she would not receive that same word again. "Whatever happens, Charlie, just remember, I love you."
"You have managed to put much of the war out of your mind for a while, have you not, dear? So having the General and his staff here for Christmas rather brought that reality back home for you?" He could feel her nodding against his chest. "My love, I promise, I will be as careful as a man can be. I want to come home, to you, to your arms, to your love. I want to spend the rest of what I hope is a rather long life here with you."