Old city canal
Previously in the novel: War Secretary Edwin Stanton holds President and Mrs. Lincoln captive under guard in basement of the White House. Janitor Gabby Zook by accident must stay in the basement too. Guard Adam Christy reports on his condition each evening to his sister Cordie and fellow hospital volunteer Jessie Home.
Cordie and Jessie both laughed as they stepped out the front door of the hospital onto the Mall and into the rancid smell of the old city canal, broken into little cesspools of urine, rotting animal carcasses, and scum-covered water. Discreetly, they both pulled out handkerchiefs to cover their noses. Cordie tried to maintain her composure as they walked past the neatly landscaped grounds of the Smithsonian. Soon her eyes were searching the shadowy corners of the large, red, castle-like building. The many bushes around its walls provided perfect hiding places after dark for the roving gangs of thieves which preyed upon passersby foolish enough to come near.
“Are you sure we’ll be safe?” Cordie whispered.
“Of course, me darlin’,” Jessie replied with a laugh. “If anyone dared to jump from the dark to grab me, they’d better be ready for a swift kick and jab of me elbow. Scottish lasses are strong, and loud. I’d scream like a banshee and more help than we could imagine would appear in the twinklin’ of an eye!”
“Are you sure?”
“As sure as I am of me red hair and Scottish brogue.” Jessie put her arm around Cordie and firmly squeezed. “Ye worry too much, me love.”
All the same, they increased their pace as they mounted the steps of the iron bridge over the stagnant canal, putting them out of harm’s way from the Smithsonian gangs. Cordie tried to compose her thoughts and control her heavy breathing.
“I’ve never been one of the smart ones,” she began slowly and humbly.
“Why, what a thing to say! You’re sharp as a tack, ye are!” Jessie gently slapped at her shoulder.
“No, I’m not really that bright when it gets beyond cleaning a floor or washing clothes or sewing.” Cordie shook her head. “Believe it or not, Gabby was the smart one. You wouldn’t know it now. When we were young, he was so bright and smart. I pinned my hopes on him. I always saw myself taking care of Gabby’s clothes and house, and he’d take care of me, always provide a roof over my head.” She paused to laugh ruefully. “I knew I wasn’t going to find a husband, the way I look.”
“What’s wrong with the way ye look?”
“Bless your sweet heart.” Cordie patted Jessie’s back. “You’re so pretty and attract men so easily, you don’t really understand how hard it is for plain women to find a husband.”
“I’m not that pretty.”
They stepped off the bridge and walked briskly up Thirteenth Street to escape the canal’s stench. Turning west on F Street, they slowed their pace as the air cleared, and they put away their handkerchiefs.
“Now Gabby was a handsome boy, smart and handsome,” Cordie continued. “Put him in a lieutenant’s uniform, and I knew he’s be irresistible to the young ladies. But I hoped he’d find one who wouldn’t mind having his old-maid sister live with them as their maid and nanny to their children.” She breathed deeply. “It was a good life I imagined. But it all ended when he went to West Point.” Cordie paused, halfway expecting a question from Jessie, and was relieved when it did not come. Turning north on Fifteenth Street, she mustered the strength to finish her story. “When he came home,” she said, “his mind was gone. I realized I would have to support him, to be the smart one.”
She stopped talking to keep from crying. Looking ahead at the corner, Cordie saw Adam standing under the streetlight in Lafayette Square, his shoulders slumped and his head down. She noticed a change in him over the last two months—not as dramatic as the change in Gabby, but a change nonetheless—that scared her. Cordie did not want to witness another young man wasted by the insatiable needs of the war machine.
“There’s me private,” Jessie said with a chirp, quickening her step to reach the park.
Cordie practically had to run to keep up with her, but she did not mind. Watching young love bloom brightened her life and relieved her of the constant worry about Gabby and why he must stay in the Executive Mansion.