Sarah's Roses, Book II: Roses of White

Chapter XVIII

Wow, I’m putting up a chapter a day. Holidays are such a wonderful thing, are they not? Since I wrote the first draft out long before, now it is only a matter of doing a little editing and revising, which takes a lot less time than the actual writing did. Hope you are enjoying it so far

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Chapter XVIII

There was no mistaking the fact. It was Samuel Climb sitting on that horse. The sight of him made a million questions to race through my mind. When had he learned to ride? What had he been doing all these years? What was he doing here? I struggled to keep my composure in front of all the men. I had crossed Sammy out of my life for good and now all of a sudden, there he is right in front of me. Our eyes met, I felt the heat rise to my face and I quickly turned my attention back to Colonel White and Captain Sawnders to keep the horrid blush from getting out of control.

“It says here you are to go to the Thompson Plantation,” Colonel White was saying as he handed the papers back to Sawnders. “What are you doing on the Greensten Estate? Have you forgotten how to read, Captain Sawnders? Or were you never taught in the first place? It has to be one of the two, because there is nothing wrong with the writing. It is spelled out in clear, comprehensive English that you are to set up camp at the Thompson Plantation and await further orders. So what brought you here? Got lost perhaps?”

“I was at the Thompson Estate, sir. It is nothing more than a burnt ruble.”

“And?”

“My men have better things to do with their time than sit around on a dump. This plantation is right nearby and I figured…”

“You figured?” Colonel White interrupted him. “Captain Sawnders, this is a direct violation of orders. Just because you are a captain does not give you the right to go around doing whatever your darn well please. What is more, you had the nerve to come here and begin assaulting this young lady. Turn right around and get back to the Thompson Plantaion, and I assure you headquarters will hear about this.”

Captain Sawnder’s face flushed red with anger and humiliation. “Who are you to tell me what to do? And what are you doing on this plantation yourself? You have seen my orders, now let me take a look at yours.”

“My orders?” Colonel White thundered. I was sure he grew in height as he towered over Sawnders in rage. His voice made the ground shake and everyone, including myself, took a step back. “Captain Sawnders, who are you to ask such a thing of me? You have obviously allowed the fact that you are a captain get to your head. Do you know who I am? Do these insignias tell you nothing? Even the young lady here guessed right away. I am a colonel in the army and this makes me an officer of considerably higher rank. You do not ask questions of me, you do not talk back and you do not question my authority. It is plain as day you have no respect for your superiors and the time has come for you to be educated. You can rest assured that I will speak to the right people and have you removed from your position. Now get the hell out of here!”

A deafening silence hung once Colonel White was finished with his speech. Captain Sawnders was so red I thought he would explode. Without another word he turned and signaled for his regiment to follow him. Soon they were making their way off my land. I prayed Mr. Browne would be able to find safety. Sawnders was heading to the very place he had been meaning to hide.

Once the regiment had put a good distance between us, Colonel White returned his attention to me. 

“We’ve been chasing a Confederate spy and we know he’s somewhere in these parts. Miss Rose, I’m afraid I am obligated to search your house. We have more than enough reason to believe he is here.”