"General, I think you will find that your bride is merely suffering from a severe case of nerves." Mrs. Cooper joined them and placed her arm around Rebecca's shoulder. "She will be fine. I will take care of her and she will be at the church in the morning. You need not worry. Everything is fine."
"Perhaps I should take her up to her room? Maybe a nap and some quiet time together?"
Mrs. Cooper smiled. "General Redmond, I realize that over the last few months, you and Rebecca have had a rather unique situation as far as sleeping arrangements are concerned. But for today and tonight, I think it would be best if you made arrangements to sleep elsewhere."
Charlie looked at her with his mouth hanging open. It had never occurred to him that he would have to observe that particular tradition. He and Rebecca had slept together every night since he had come to Culpeper, except for the few days he had spent in Washington. Spending the night on the chesterfield in his office was not exactly what he had planned for the night before the wedding. He had had visions of cuddling and wooing his lady. They evaporated with a snap before Mrs. Cooper’s gentle but firm presence. To make matters worse, he had just invited her to spend the night, so she was there to enforce this token gesture to proprietary.
"So, I assure you that Rebecca will be fine, General. Perhaps you should go enjoy your last night as a bachelor with a few of your men. If you are of a mind, I am sure Mr. Cooper would like to celebrate with you."
Meekly, Charlie acceded to her instructions. "Yes, ma’am. I will see you at dinner, and will send a messenger now to inform your husband of your presence here tonight."
"Thank you, General."
--*--
Banished from the main part of the house, Charlie wandered down to his office. He summoned Duncan and asked him to send a messenger to Mr. Cooper. Then he walked through the stables to see Jack, who was far more interested in Shannon. Charlie made a note to have Tarent mate them, as it was clear Shannon was coming into season. He then wandered through the camp, which was eerily quiet and seemingly deserted. Finally, he went back to the house and up to Em’s room. Tess was keeping her in her room, playing with her quietly to keep her out of the way of the final day’s preparations. Charlie sat on the floor, playing blocks with her, until it was time for supper.
That was not much better. Samantha Carter was running the house for the day and had rustled up some cold ham and a pot of soup for supper. It was simple; it was easy for everyone to take what they wanted, and it meant Sarah could focus on the wedding banquet. Charlie fed Em and gave her to Tess for her bath then wandered back to pick up something for himself. He was really hoping to see Rebecca.
Mrs. Cooper flashed into the morning room, gathering two plates. "How is Rebecca, Mrs. Cooper? Is she coming down for dinner?"
"No, General, she is resting in her room. I told you to go out with the other gentlemen. Now git."
Richard strolled up, overhearing Mrs. Cooper’s side of the conversation. "Come on, Charlie. The boys and I will keep you occupied for the evening. You need to escape from this hive of feminine activity."
Charlie followed Richard. He had no other options available.
Richard nudged his friend. "Buck up, Charlie, it is only one night."
"That is fine for you to say, but……" Charlie could hear himself. "God, I am whining. Get me out of here, Richard."
"With pleasure."
--*--
Richard threw Charlie’s greatcoat at him. "Come with me to the Officers’ Mess. Surely we can find something to do down there."
As the two men strolled down to the encampment, they chatted about the order of tomorrow’s event. The wedding was scheduled for three in the afternoon; then the guests were coming back to Redmond Stables for a festive banquet. Charlie and Rebecca would spend their first night as a married couple in their own bed, leaving on Monday for a week in Washington.
They arrived at the Officers’ Mess to find the timbered tent alive with voices. Richard threw the door open and literally pushed Charlie through it.
There were more men in the tent than usual and some of them were civilians. All of Charlie’s senior officers were present, as well as Cooper and Frazier and a couple of other local men of Charlie’s acquaintance. But there were also several unexpected gentlemen present. Sheridan, McCauley, and Merritt were over by a large punch bowl where Duncan presided. In the corner with Mayor Frazier sat a stubby man with three stars on his shoulders and a cloud of cigar smoke above his head. Charlie was overwhelmed.
It may have been his bachelor’s party, but Charlie’s training took over spontaneously. He snapped to attention and saluted. "General Grant, sir."
"Take the stick out of your arse, Redmond. This is your party." Grant grinned and went back to his conversation with Frazier, who he had met and befriended when he had used Culpeper as his own base of operations the previous spring.
Whitman handed Charlie a mug. Charlie immediately took a large mouthful and nearly choked. He had expected coffee, perhaps laced with brandy. What he got was hot rum punch, and by the intensity, one made mostly of rum with only a nod to the other traditional ingredients.
The officers stood in response to Richard tapping on his mug. "Gentlemen, I give you our beloved friend and commander, General Charles H. Redmond. Charlie Redmond, the model soldier, ‘‘til green eyes smiled and made his blood smolder. Now Charlie’s a groom, Rebecca’s in charge and together, we pray, they shall grow older. To Charlie and Rebecca."
The men duly drank the toast then pummeled Richard for his atrocious poetry.
The officers brought out their gift to Charlie, with Swallow, as the senior officer of the company commanders presenting it. "General, as much as we regret it, we understand that you intend to return to civilian life when this war is concluded. Therefore, we have decided that you need to learn to ride in something other than a cavalry saddle. So we got this for you." He unveiled a beautifully tooled hunt saddle that had the distinctive mark of Crosby Leatherworks. Charlie ran his hand over the butter soft leather. Young Dewees spoke up. "We tried it on Jack, Sir. Fits him like a glove." Charlie was deeply touched; he went to each man in his command with a word of appreciation.
Richard’s toast had opened the door to a round of raucous toasts and jokes. The tale of Rebecca and Charlie in the stable, which had made the rounds of the camp very quickly, was resurrected and speculated upon. Charlie spent much of the evening blushing, but as his consumption of the rum punch continued the blushes turned to the flushed face of a man who had had a little too much to drink.
As the midnight guard changed, General Grant decided it was time for this little party to break up, or risk the groom being useless the following day. He stood and cleared his throat. Of course, General Grant had helped himself liberally to Charlie’s supply of brandy, and his words were none too clear; nor was he particularly steady on his feet. "Gen’lmen. ‘‘S been a fine evenin’, but ‘‘tis time to bid our grushing broom –– uh –– blushing groom good night." Grant stumbled over towards Charlie, where he promptly flopped on Charlie’s shoulder. "Bed time, boys." Laughing, Sheridan and Merritt relieved Charlie of the unexpected burden of their commander.
Charlie pulled on his greatcoat and headed out the door, escorted by Richard. They trudged through the cold up to the house, where Charlie let himself in the front door. Richard, unexpectedly, followed him in. "What are you doing, Richard? I am perf’ly fine. I can find my own bed, thank you."
"Oh, really, General ‘‘Totally In Control’? Then why are you headed upstairs?"
"Because that is where my bed is, of course."
"Not tonight, my friend. Tonight you sleep in your office."