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"It could easily come to that." Wade muttered. "The tension now is unbearable. Everyone is talking about it. It isn't going away…"
"Can't you stop them from taking this boat?" His mother asked.
"I'm not sure I want to…"
"What are you saying?" His mother gasped.
"We'll talk of this later, mother, but not here and now." Wade told her and the look on his face told him he would not allow her to control this.
She nodded, "We certainly will…"
"Now, while you ladies are enjoying the sites tomorrow I'll be playing some poker." Wade announced changing the subject. Beth sensed he didn't want to talk of the war any longer and hoped his mother wouldn't insist. "However, keep your eyes and ears open as you go about and if you see any trouble, come back to the boat immediately. Understand."
"Of course we do," His mother nodded. "What kind of trouble, though?"
"I don't really know yet…but there could be trouble."
"We'll shop a bit, have lunch and come back then." His mother told him.
"That's a good idea. Things are in chaos right now. I don't want anything happening to either of you." Wade told them.
When the Captain came to find him, Wade excused himself and they went off to talk.
Beth watched until Wade was out of sight.
"Don't you fret now. Even if they have a war, it won't last long…" His mother was saying.
Beth looked doubtful. "I can't imagine…I wonder if Texas has seceded from the Union."
But her question was answered when she saw a newspaper laying on a table that afternoon.
"Texas, the seventh state to secede the Union has joined the confederacy on March 2, 1861."
Beth stared at the paper for a long time. No wonder Wade had been so worried. So many states had seceded.
War was inevitable.
Her mind ran rampant. What would her family do? Would they be alright. She feared for them.
Mother Cahill had gone to take a nap, and she went outside to the railing to watch the water. Wade always helped her to her bed, so he left with her.
As Beth stared out over the water, she felt its beauty was now marred by the talk of war. Usually the gentle movement of the water calmed her nerves, but not now.
Beth wondered what that General wanted of Wade. Why had he been so persistent?
She looked across the countryside and wondered if it would ever be the same again.
Her stomach roiled.
Part of her wanted to go home and hide, the
other part wanted to hang on to Wade. They had come into a perfect world here, on the water. His mother liked her, she was falling in love with her husband…
When had that happened? When had she decided it was love?
She knew…it was when she saw that war was imminent. She could lose her husband. A husband she had barely gotten to know. A husband, she hadn't shared herself with.
Panic squeezed her insides together.
