The Fire Within

Chapter 10

Zachariah leads Helen into his house with her bags. “Follow me, I’ll show you to your room then to the woman that you will be caring for.” He begins to ascend the stairs, when he looks back he sees a confused looking Helen standing at the bottom looking up to him.

“I thought you were showing me to my room, sir.”

“I am, your room will be upstairs. Is that a problem?”

“Um… No, I’ve just never been given a room in the main house before. Usually I have to stay in the servants’ quarters.”

“Well, I don’t have servants’ quarters. There is a house in the back that belongs to the caretaker, but that is her home.”

“Oh, okay,” she says reluctantly. Helen has found that even in the north there is a lot of racism and bigotry among white people. She’s never actually met a white man that talked to her like she was and equal. She follows him up the stairs and he leads her down the hall to a room.

“This will be your room. The room next door is Maria. She’s Colonel Monroe’s housekeeper and she’s helping out around here until they are able to return home. You will meet Colonel Monroe and his wife Mary at dinner.”

They place her belongings on the bed, “I’ll introduce you to the woman that you will be caring for. She received a gunshot wound to the shoulder.”

“May I ask how a woman got shot in the shoulder?”

“I’m sorry, that is not information that I wish to share at this time,” Zachariah says coldly.

Helen realizes at this moment that even though he doesn’t treat her poorly, he’s still a colonel, he still carries that air of authority and power that such a high ranking soldier should carry. It is a demeanor of authority, not superiority though, which is something that she can respect. She quietly follows him to the master bedroom. He knocks on the door and stands to wait to be invited in. The voice behind the door calls out for him to enter. He opens the door and leads the way in.

“I found a nurse to help you, I brought her to meet you,” Zachariah announces.

“I’ll be out in a moment,” the female voice responds.

Grace finishes dressing in the bathroom. She puts on a comfortable dress and puts her arm carefully back into the sling. She looks at herself in the mirror, happy to actually feel like a woman for once. She opens the bathroom door and enters the bedroom. When she sees the woman standing in the door way her eyes widen and she immediately begins to tear.

Helen can’t believe her eyes when she sees the petite woman leave the bathroom. The smile that plays on her face at the sight of her best friend is huge.

“Helen? Helen, is that really you?”

“Hi Grace, it’s been a long time.”

Zachariah looks between the women remembering Grace’ story about the would-be fiancé and the best friend that saved her. He smiles, without knowing it, he managed to reunite these friends.

“This is the friend you told me about?” Zachariah asks.

Grace snaps herself out of her shock and smiles at Zachariah. “Yes, this is Helen.”

“It’s nice to meet you Helen, I’ve heard quite a bit about you.”

Helen smiles, “Nice to meet you also Colonel Wheaton.”

“Please, call me Zachariah. I’ll leave you to your reunion. I’m going to check on dinner, it should be done soon.”

When the two friends are left alone, Helen closes the door and approaches Grace. She smiles and pulls her old friend into a gentle hug. “So, care to tell me how you got shot?” Helen smirks. “Wait, I know you. You somehow managed to get yourself in the middle of a fight.”