Free Shades of Gray: A Novel of the Civil War in Virginia by Jessica James

him.
    Perhaps she took this pass, by mistake or
otherwise, and collided with Hunter. The thought alarmed him, as did the
following reflection: he had given her an order—the type of thing she
reverently listened to while he was present and instantly forgot when he was
not.
    J.J. heard one of his men yelling and turned to
see him pointing in the opposite direction he’d been looking. The gazes of a
half-dozen men followed his, riveted on the movements of a lone horse and rider
galloping through the pass less than a hundred yards away—straight through
Thoroughfare Gap. J.J. closed his eyes in prayer. Thank you, Lord. Disobeyed
orders—again—but at least she’s safe.
    His feeling of relief turned to despair in a
split second. The angry bark of a fieldpiece filled the air, and in a moment,
the woods across the gap were in full song, spewing forth a steady stream of
fire. J.J. watched the explosion of smoke and flame in disbelief at first, as
if it were a dream—and then in complete horror when reality set in. Every man
with him instinctively leaned forward with squinting eyes, each one realizing
that the gunpowder blasting from those weapons was focused on one lone figure.
    “Land sakes!” J.J. cried, urging his horse
forward and standing high in his stirrups. He looked at the stricken faces
around him and realized they were thinking the same hopeless thought: what
chance had flesh and blood to survive that hellfire?
    “To horse, men!” He turned to a courier by his
side. “Alert the sharpshooters in the mill. Tell them to pick off as many as
they can!” There was no need for the order. Guns already barked a challenge,
and spurts of fire erupted from the mill in reply to the voluminous display of
weaponry on the opposite ridge. To add to the spectacle, the sun now poured
down a crimson light, tinting the smoke so that it appeared almost bloody.
    J.J. waited, somehow expecting the horse and
rider to reappear from the haze. Much as he tried to conjure up the image, he
saw nothing but the continuous belching and spattering of guns. The peaceful
valley of a few moments ago smoldered in a sea of smoke as seconds ticked
slowly by.
    Suddenly there appeared from within the smoke,
some movement—hard for him to discern at first, but yes, it was a horse. The
men around him gave a collective, involuntary moan at the sight of the
riderless animal until someone with a spyglass gasped and pointed. “By Jupiter,
there he is!”
    J.J. saw Andrea appear as if by magic, leaning
low over Justus’ back. He cursed and applauded her foolishness all at once. He
had often seen her perform the same trick, throwing one leg over the side of
her mount and bunching into a ball with all her weight in one stirrup. How many
times had she fooled him with that game, laughing when he thought she’d been thrown
from her mount? J.J. continued to hold his breath, fearing any moment the horse
would go tumbling, especially after she turned her head toward the enemy and
gave them a mocking salute.
    “Fletcher, ride down to Broad Run and intercept
Sinclair before he heads to Hopewell Gap. Looks like he might finally be
following my orders.”
    J.J. still heard the popping of sporadic gunfire
as the Confederates realized their mistake, but Andrea was well out of range by
now.
    The sound of firing suddenly increased again, and
his gaze shifted further up the hill. With the aid of his spyglass, he watched
men in blue descending on the Confederates from behind. J.J. forgot about
Andrea for a moment and ordered his men forward. They now had the Rebels pinned
in on three sides, with only one direction for escape.
    * * *
    Captain Hunter put his hand in the air to signal
a cease-fire. “Confound that scoundrel!”
    The horse and rider were well out of range now,
no sense in wasting ammunition. They’d lost their chance once again, despite the
fact they’d waited on this ridge all night for just such an opportunity.
    Hunter stared in disbelief and