With that plan in mind, he slid from the bed into the chill morning air, and briskly dressed in his work clothes, knowing that the little sounds of him moving about would rouse his fair-haired lady.
"Good morning, sweetheart. Look, it is a beautiful clear morning."
Rebecca rubbed the sleep from her eyes and smiled at Charlie. "Charlie, you are very chipper this morning."
"Oh, I am, my dear, I am. I am so sick and tired of rain; I swear I have no idea which way to turn. I need to be out and about today. So, will you join me for a ride this afternoon? I can have Shannon ready for you right after my staff meeting?"
"I would love to go for a ride. It will be nice to get away from the house and have some time for just ourselves."
He stepped over to the bed and slid his arms around her, holding her gently and kissing her forehead. "Then I will be here promptly. Ummmmm. Have I told you that I love how you feel when you have just awakened? You are so warm and soft."
"Hmm, is that so? Could be because I sleep so close to you I steal all your body heat." She smiled and nuzzled Charlie's neck. "I suppose it would not be possible to talk you into coming back to bed?"
"I was going to go run. You know how much I need to keep in shape, love. It would not do for the Colonel to start growing hips and a fanny, now would it?"
She could not help but chuckle, even as she kept her arms around Charlie and her nose buried in his neck. "No," she sighed. "I suppose not. I guess we should both get a start on the day then so we can go riding with a clear conscience."
"Then, dear, I will call for you promptly at one thirty. I think I will take a longer run than usual since it has been so long, have my bath and then breakfast in the office. I want to clear as much away as possible so we can have an undisturbed afternoon. Could you ask Sarah to arrange it?"
"Of course. Your bath will be ready when you get back. I suppose I should go check on the Major this morning as well."
"I would appreciate it. I hope that placing him in debt to Southerners for his life will help shift his attitude."
"I hope so, Charlie, but he is very bitter and very angry. I do believe he would see us all dead if he had the strength."
"I was afraid of that. Well, if nothing more, I have the grounds to send him home without raising the enmity of his troops. We may even come out the heroes in this for saving his life."
"I do not want to be a hero, Charlie. I just want to help the poor man to get better. I will try my best to change his mind about us, but I must tell you, once he is stronger, if he is still in his current state of mind, I think it would be prudent to have an armed trooper outside his door. I would hate for him to burn the house down around us."
Charlie's eyebrow shot up toward his hairline. "That bad? I knew he was angry, but I did not realize it was so entrenched."
"It is. Charlie, I believe he could be very dangerous."
"I will have a guard placed on his door this afternoon. I also need to discuss this at the staff meeting today. Between that little expulsion the other day and Montgomery coming around spitting enough nails to frighten you, we still have a problem."
"I know, and thank you. I will feel safer and I am sure the other ladies will as well."
"Then of course we will put a guard on him. I will quietly ask Polk to only use men who served with me in the 49th."
"Thank you." She gave him a little kiss on the cheek.
By now, Charlie was fully dressed, in the outfit that most amused Rebecca; the one with the short, belted jacket, tight pants and hobnail boots. Just to amuse her, he asked, "Do I look all right?"
"Oh yes you do...very all right." She nearly leered at him.
"Well, love, I will see you at half past one." A quick peck on the cheek and Charlie was off.
For Charlie, the morning went by quickly. There was some consternation over Montgomery's attitude. Fortunately, none of the other officer's shared his point of view, or, if they did, they were not admitting to it. The orders were clear; reconstruction was to be effected gently and peacefully. Before he knew it, one thirty arrived and Tarent was outside the door with Black Jack and Shannon both saddled and ready to go. Both horses were full of energy; the cool weather after days of rain and mud had them in as exuberant a mood as their owner.
He was standing, hat in hand, reins from both horses in his other hand, smiling and ready to go.
The front door opened and Rebecca stepped out on the porch, pulling on her riding gloves. "Why, good afternoon, Colonel."
"Good afternoon, dear lady. Are you ready to ride?"
"I am very ready simply to spend the afternoon with my charming Colonel. I do not care where we go or what we do."
"Then come along and we shall run away for the day." He lifted her into the saddle, his hands lingering for a moment on her trim waist, then made sure she was settled and in control of the rather frisky mare. He swung up onto Black Jack's saddle and played the big stallion for a few minutes while the horse danced and fidgeted. Then the two of them set off around the house toward the bridge over Gaines Run and the orchards and pastures west of the pond.
"I do believe, Charlie, Shannon needs to get out more." Rebecca chuckled as she gave the feisty beast a pat on the neck.
"Tarent warmed them up for us, so I would say a good run would be in order." The two of them entered the big pasture behind the stable yards and gave both horses their heads. Running neck and neck, knee-to-knee, they covered the half mile or so to the tree line in good time. Both were laughing with sheer joy at the end of the run.
"Oh Charlie, that was wonderful!"
"It was indeed." He pulled Jack to a sitting trot and Shannon followed suit automatically. Drawing in a huge lungful of fresh air, he turned to her, grinning like a willful boy full of mischief. "What do you say we just keep riding west?"
"West, east, I do not care as long as we keep riding. We can ride in small circles for all I care at the moment. I am just glad to have the time together."
They rode through the strip of woodland that bordered the run and across the old wooden bridge, breaking out into a long run of grassland that led toward the foothills in front of them. The profile of the Blue Ridge was hazy purple in the distance. "Then we ride, dear."
Rebecca was completely amused by her fiancéé. He seemed like a young man, so full of life and energy. "You know, Jack would make a fine stud. I believe we could get good money for his colts."
"I rather had that in mind, love. He has been put to stud on a couple of occasions and the line ran true. And, just in case you were wondering, both Jack and Shannon are mine, not the Army's."
"I am very glad to hear that, Charlie. I was rather hoping I would not have to petition President Lincoln to buy Jack out from under you."
"Another gallop to get the beans out of these two?"
"Of course. Where you go, I follow."
"Sometimes I think I should call you Ruth, not Rebecca." And with that jibe, he touched his heels to Jack's side and was off running again"
She smiled and shook her head, sending Shannon right after the frisky two ahead.
The ride continued until it was clear the horses needed a rest and perhaps some water. Charlie found a small glade, with a couple of fallen logs that would serve as seats for them and a rill that chuckled over moss-covered stones. He slid off Jack and lifted Rebecca down from her saddle, and then ground tied the horses near both the water and a small patch of grass. He pulled a blanket from the roll behind his saddle and a small packet with a flask, apples and cheese from his saddle pack.
He spread the blanket over an outcropping of rock and offered her his hand. "A small treat, my love?"
She smiled at him. "You think of everything don't you?"
"Well, I actually have something I want to talk with you about." He was nervous and fidgety.
"What? You know you can talk to me about anything." She placed her hand over his, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"Umm... Well, I was thinking. About our future. About all the things that might happen. And I have found that if I. If I, umm, plan for the worst case, um, it usually helps. Keeps bad things from happening." The last came out in a rush.
Rebecca looked at him, trying not to get upset. "Please, do not think like that, Charlie. Nothing bad is going to happen. I believe that. You have to believe that as well."
"I do believe that. But what I have found is that if I do all the things I have to do in case the bad things happen, then they do not happen. I know it sounds superstitious, but it has worked for me for twenty years, and it is extremely important to me. You are the most precious thing in my life, and I want to make sure everything is taken care of before I go, just in case. Please?"
"All right, Charlie. You know I am willing to do whatever will make you feel better."
He caught her left hand in both of his and tenderly kissed her fingers, then lingered over her hand, just looking at his mother’s small garnet ring on her hand. "You know, this hand represents the only people who have ever truly loved me, I think."
"Charlie, I love you with all my heart and soul, but there are others who love you as well. You have very dear friends who care for you so very much."
"I know. But that is not the same, is it, love?" Charlie took a deep breath. "So, Rebecca, my love, will you marry me before I am called back to service?"
Rebecca could only smile tenderly at him and stroke his cheek with her fingers. "Of course I will."
Charlie was wearing his childlike look, part impish, and part bashful. "I talked to Reverend Williams. He could marry us on the 28th of January. I was hoping you could be ready for a small wedding that quickly. Could you?"
"The end of January? My goodness, that is not a lot of time, is it?" She considered it for a moment and nodded slowly. "Yes, I am sure I can enlist enough help to be ready."
Charlie caught her other hand up in his and covered them both with delicate kisses. "You. Have. Made. Me. Exquisitely. Happy."
"And you, my dear Charlie, have made me happy beyond words." She looked up suddenly. "Oh my...oh my..."
"What is it, darling?" Rebecca looked a little pale.
"This will be a military wedding, will it not? Charlie, I know nothing about military weddings."
"My dear, this will be what ever kind of wedding you want. Reverend Williams has agreed to officiate, and I am sure that Polk and the boys will want to honor us, but if you wish, we could have a civilian wedding. I will even get a new civilian suit, if you want me to."
Rebecca smiled and shook her head again. "No, no not all, Charlie. I think you will look absolutely dashing in your dress uniform. I just need to make sure that everything is perfect. I would not want anyone to think you have married below your station."
Charlie shifted so that he could pull the smaller woman into his lap. "My love, I am the interloper here. I just want it to be good enough for you." Charlie could feel her trembling in his arms. "My love, are you chilled?"
"You, sir, are an important commander in the Union Army, very trusted and apparently highly spoken of in the circles of high command. I have been talking with Elizabeth, Charles Redmond. I know more than you think. I am shaking partly from the chill and partly from nerves."
"You, madam, are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, the owner of a fine property, and a woman of such spirit and intelligence and breeding that any man would be proud to call you his wife. And if you are chilled, I have a flask of brandy. Would you like a sip?"
"Why, Colonel Redmond, are you trying to get me drunk so you can take advantage of my person?" she teased, tugging on his tunic.
"Sweetheart, I have no desire to see you back in a sick bed, so I took the precaution of bringing a bit of medicinal brandy. And if I were going to take advantage of you, I would have done so already. I do believe you may have attempted to take advantage of me on occasion, though," he laughed as he poured her a shot of brandy into the little silver cup that formed part of the flask.
She laughed as she took the cup and sipped the brandy. "Well, now, my reputation will be completely undone if people find out I have been trifling with the Colonel. Taking advantage of him in ways that I never thought possible." She finished the cup and smiled at Charlie as she held it out for more.
He refilled her little cup up and leaned in to whisper in her ear "Love, you may trifle with me all you wish. I am yours to command in all things."
Charlie's breath tickled her ear and she giggled like a schoolgirl. "You have no idea what that does to me."
"Oh?" His voice sank to a rumbling purr. "Then tell me, darling. You can tell me anything and everything."
"Oh, Charlie," Rebecca sighed as she again sipped from the cup. "You just excite me all over. Before you came, there were nights when I was afraid to go to sleep, for fear of what the next day would bring. And now, I cannot wait for night so I can be with you and be in your arms. And I look forward to every morning because I know it will bring us new joyous discoveries." She licked her lips after taking another drink.
Charlie's lips, so close to her ear, dropped to place light, teasing kisses on her exposed neck. "My future is with you, dear. It is a future I dreamed of and never thought I would find. And here you are, loving, feisty, adventurous, and so beautiful it makes my heart stop. I love you, Rebecca."
"I love you too, so very much." She turned and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him quite soundly.
He savored her kiss, flavored with brandy, spiced by the crisp air. He responded with teasing nips and strokes with just the tip of his tongue.
Rebecca moaned. She was feeling just a tad light headed. She was not sure if it was from Charlie's kiss or the brandy, but she decided that it did not matter. Another strong shiver ran through her body, but she knew that was from the kiss.