The one on the left, whose white wig looked freshly powdered, addressed her first. “May we help you, miss?”
“Aye, thank you.” She smiled, attempting to flick the irritation that began to buzz like the flies that seemed to find the narrow street so pleasing. “I should like to see Major Stockton.”
Both sets of eyebrows suddenly pressed to their noses, and Anna ground the frustration at her feet. They were only yards from the group she’d just left. Had they not heard the conversation? She blamed her rising annoyance on the plagues of fatigue, hunger, and if she admitted it, fear.
With a breath, she attempted the request a second time. “I need to speak with your superior on a pressing matter.” She paused, inspecting their quirked mouths and narrowed eyes. “Please?”
Like the others, they regarded her as if she’d spoken a language completely foreign.
She cleared her throat, caressing her voice with both charm and confidence. “I am looking to discuss a matter of great urgency.”
The other soldier shook his head, hi
s eyes squinting, as if he still endeavored to understand her meaning. “Forgive me, miss, but has Major Stockton asked to see you?”
“Well, no, but—”
“I thought as much.” The soldier shifted his weight over his feet, impatience bleeding from his eyes. “Major Stockton doesn’t see anyone unless he wishes to see them first.”
“Well, of course. I do understand.” She offered a slight smile. “But I’m sure if you knew the reason for my coming and how desperately I must speak with—”
“You are welcome to wait inside, miss, but I won’t make you any promises.”
She breathed out a sigh and grinned. “Thank you.”
Gripping the door handle, she stopped when he spoke again. “You might be waiting for some time.”
With a nod, she opened the door. “I appreciate your candor, but I assure you I will wait as long as I must.”
Anna placed herself just inside the doorway of the regiment headquarters, keeping her posture straight despite the insecurities that threatened to weaken her. One soldier stood in front of another door, behind which erupted several heated voices. He acknowledged her with a scowl, as if she were a stray dog the army had taken to feeding with reluctance. She took a quick, sweeping look around the room. A lonely chair rested in front of the entryway window, and she quickly determined to keep it company by putting its vacancy to use.
Voices continued to bellow from behind the closed door and she imagined the deeper-toned one must be Major Stockton’s. A word here or there wedged through the barrier, but Anna kept her attention on the outside, praying that her audience with the major would not come near the level of discord of the current exchange.
Staring through the window that overlooked the small street, her mind drifted to the recent memories that clung to her spirit like the scent of stale smoke. She tapped her fingers against the small bag in her hands. Had she done right? Leaving all she owned—all but her Bible with Samuel’s likeness tucked in the pages, her beloved sewing kit, the clothes on her body, and the treasured ring and chain around her neck—to come to this rough land in search of something that she might never find? Nay. She shifted her head to tilt away the misgivings. Leaving had been her only choice. Another marriage like her first—loveless and empty—would have been the death of her. If not the death of her body, then indeed the death of her spirit.
As she watched the crowd of soldiers she fingered the ring that rested on her chest, her mother’s words singing from the past. I want only happiness for you, child. Marry for love alone, not for status or money or rank. We are come to this life to have joy, though sorrow will be ever present, that is true. If you are joined with the one who truly fills your heart, you will never wet your pillow with tears of regret.
A familiar figure in the road jerked her from her memories and Anna leaned closer to the window, clutching the bag as her pulse took flight. She blinked and tried to clear her vision. Nay. Her mind but played a trick. She scowled. Her breath quickened and she leaned closer to the glass. Across the road, beyond the soldiers and past a resting horse and cart, a man stood. Staring at her.
Spinning from sight, she pressed her back against the wall of the entry, hoping the distance and commotion of soldiers had made her invisible. The thumping in her chest told her otherwise. She blinked, rifling like mad through her mind to locate when and where she had seen those eyes. England perhaps? On the ship?
“Miss?…Pardon me, miss.”
“Oh!” Anna jumped and spun, her cheeks hot as the sun that beat the side of the building. She cleared her throat and took a breath to calm her embarrassment. “Do forgive me, I’m afraid I was lost in thought.”
The soldier nodded slowly, a questioning tilt to his mouth. “What is your business here?”
A hopeful excitement burst from her chest, but she clamped it down and answered with practiced calm. “I should like to speak with Major Stockton on matters of—”
“I’m sorry…” The man shook his head. “I fear he is preparing to leave and hasn’t time to speak with anyone.”
Anna stood motionless. She squinted, trying to make sense of what he said. “You don’t understand I need to speak with him on matters of extreme—”
“As I said, miss, I’m deeply sorry, but there’s nothing I can do.”
She lost a measure of her posture. “You are in earnest.” The truth began to take root, and her stomach twisted.
Any hope she’d borne wilted like a plucked flower. Reaching for the reserves of determination that waited within, she looked toward the door then to the man in front of her. Undeterred by his one raised eyebrow, or the way he continued to look behind her as if he wished she’d find her way from the building, she smiled.