Gods and Generals - Jeff Shaara [59]
“My esposita, I have only a few minutes. I must get back . . . we have a church service. . . . Dr. White is going to lead . . . then we are moving out, to Richmond.” He was out of breath, and she knew he had run all the way from the institute.
“Come, before I leave, we must sit, read together. There is a verse . . .” and he led her into his study, found his Bible, hurriedly thumbed through. “Yes, yes, here. Corinthians, Second Corinthians, chapter five, please, sit by me. I have been thinking about this verse.”
Anna sat, put her hand on his, and they read it together.
“For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens . . .”
When they had finished, he turned, knelt before her, looked at her with a softness she had never seen, then closed his eyes and said, “I pray, O Almighty God, I pray that You feel our love, You feel that we do only what You ask, that our path is the right one, and that we may sit by Your side . . .” He went on, a long and earnest plea, and Anna pulled her mind away, watched him, saw the passion, the determination to do right, and she lay a hand gently on the side of his face, waited.
He finished, the final Amen, then she pulled him closer, and he opened his eyes, and she knew it was to be, his way was clear. They rose, stood with hands together, and she smiled. He saw the first smile from her today, and suddenly he hugged her, clamped his arms around her, pulled her into him and held her . . . and then it was done.
She stood at the open door, watched him move in a quick motion down the steps, watched the long strides marching up the street, away. He turned, one more wave, and she tried, could not raise her hand, watched him crest the hill and drop out of sight. She looked up then, tilted her head toward a bright sky, the sharp unblemished blue, and asked aloud, “How could You make this day so beautiful?”
11. LEE
April 1861
HE STARED out the window of the moving train, saw the buildings of Richmond grow in size and number. He had not been through this part of Virginia in years, and he marveled at the changes, the vast number of new houses, the sleepy farmlands absorbed by a spreading city.
Barely two days after his resignation, Lee had received a messenger from Governor Letcher, a request that he accept the command of the Provisional Army, the defense forces for the state of Virginia.
The train ride was his own idea. He did not receive an invitation to meet personally with the governor, but assumed it would be best if he was closer to the rush of events that would certainly follow the secession vote.
As the train began to slow, Lee continued to gaze intently at the buildings, stately homes of red and white brick with tall, peaked roofs. They reached the station, and the train lurched to a stop. He climbed down onto the platform into a fever of activity, the hot energy of people moving with a purpose. Through the moving crowd he spotted a line of horse-drawn taxis, carried his one leather bag and climbed aboard, alone and unrecognized. The taxi began the climb up the streets of the city in turmoil, toward his temporary home, the Spottswood Hotel.
The Spottswood was a grand place, and as such, the focal point for important meetings and gatherings. Lee walked slowly through the hurried clatter of the lobby, saw groups of men, some huddled in intense conversation, others waving big cigars, broad-chested men with loud voices, proclaiming their opinions with the mindless flourish of those who share no responsibility for the consequences of their grand ideas. Lee stopped briefly, listened to one such speech, felt uncomfortable and began to wonder what reckless policies and self-indulgent planning was going on elsewhere.
His room was large, with white walls and dark oak furniture. He placed his bag on the bed, deciding to unpack later, for he wanted to waste no time before seeing the governor. From the large window he gazed down at the streets, saw tightly packed carriages,