Was Rose having an affair with Gray? Was that why he’d been whispering in her ear the night of her dinner party? Had he also given her information about Bull Run?
“Rose and her youngest daughter are on house arrest,” Papa continued, unaware of my swirling thoughts. “Pinkerton will supervise visitors to Mrs. Greenhow’s house and has moved atleast one other Confederate operative into her home, a Miss Lily Mackall, who is a suspected courier.”
I was speechless and overwhelmed at this news. All I could think about was Gray. Had he been feeding information to Rose? Could my suspicions of him be true?
“Washingtonians will sleep better tonight,” Papa said as he started to leave the dining room. “With Mrs. Greenhow’s arrest, I believe more will follow. There are spies all around us, I’m afraid. We cannot be too careful. Please send Joseph up to help me change.”
He left the room, and I could hear his footsteps up the stairs. I stood where he had left me, staring down at the china and silverware, wondering if Gray would come to our dinner party after all. If Rose had been arrested and Senator Wilson had been linked to her, would her other conquests soon be named? Would Gray be one of them?
“Was that the senator?” Joseph asked, coming into the dining room.
“Yes.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “He asked for you to help him dress.”
Joseph nodded and left to attend my father.
I was still reeling thirty minutes later when Papa received our first guests, Mr. and Mrs. Seward, our neighbors. We had invited the Lincolns, but they sent their regrets, as I’d suspected they would, though other cabinet members had accepted our invitation, including Mr. Cameron, the Secretary of War. We would host twelve guests in all, and Gray was supposed to be one of them.
But as the night progressed and he did not show, my heart grew heavier and heavier. It took all of my willpower and skill as a hostess to hold my emotions in check. One of my responsibilities was to keep the conversation flowing at the table, which I did, trying to find topics that didnotinvolve war.
I was so sick of war and destruction that I wanted to scream.It was all around me. Why couldn’t God have placed me in an era of peace? I had thought 2001 was such a time, but the attack on the World Trade Towers—and possibly the Pentagon—suggested otherwise. It struck me hard that if my dad had been in the Pentagon with me, he might possibly be dead as well. And what about Dorothy and the others? I’d been so preoccupied tryingnotto think about it, I hadn’t contemplated all the ramifications.
Tears threatened. Was there no such thing as peace? Why did humans have such anger and hatred toward one another? I understood why we were fighting the Civil War and why we would eventually enter WWII, but why had some unknown terrorist group hijacked airplanes to kill innocent people? It was unfathomable and senseless.
Add those concerns to my disappointment at Gray’s absence and his lies, and I was ready to be done with our guests so I could climb into bed and have a good cry.
The wind picked up outside, rattling our windows. Lightning filled the sky, promising a storm. Good. The weather matched my mood.
It felt like dinner lasted a decade, but eventually all the courses were served and the after-dinner entertainment came to an end. Our guests gathered their hats and gloves and started to depart, commenting on the foreboding weather.
Finally, it was just Papa and Mr. Cameron who stood in the foyer while I made small talk with Mrs. Cameron in the parlor. I kept one ear on Papa’s conversation, waiting for the telltale signs that Mr. Cameron was ready to leave and I could send Mrs. Cameron on her way.
“I’m afraid Mrs. Greenhow’s contacts reach all the way to Jefferson’s desk,” Mr. Cameron said. “It’s fair to say the Battle of Bull Run was tipped in the South’s favor because of her intelligence gathering.”
“What a shame,” Papa said. “So many of our men lost andsuch an embarrassment because of one woman’s machinations.”
“She’s not the only one to blame, but hopefully we will soon have more answers. Pinkerton has his men guarding the house around the clock. He’s detaining anyone who visits her, and I’m surprised at the number of people in and out of her home in one day—and such high-ranking government officials, to boot. Cooper was one of the first men to arrive.”
I wished I hadn’t been listening, but it was inevitable that I would learn of Gray’s involvement. At this very moment, he was across the square at Rose’s house, under arrest.
Anger boiled, replacing the desire to cry, and all I wanted to do was confront him—point fingers athim. I couldn’t believe I had been tempted to tell him the truth about myself.
“Come, Mrs. Cameron,” Mr. Cameron called. “If we are lucky, we will get home before the rain starts.”
“It was so nice of you to have us this evening,” Mrs. Cameron said to me. “Such a lovely diversion from the difficult days and nights we’ve all been enduring. We will be sure to reciprocate as soon as possible.”
“Thank you.” I forced a smile for her benefit and then walked her out to the foyer where Papa was saying good-bye to Mr. Cameron.
When the door was finally shut behind them, I let out a weary sigh, and Papa smiled at me.
“You did an admirable job tonight, Margaret. I’m so proud of you.”
“Thank you.”
He stifled a yawn behind his hand.
“It’s been a long day for you,” I said. “Why don’t you head up to bed? I’ll see to turning out the lights and making sure everything is set to rights in the dining room.”
“Do you mind?”
