Spy of Richmond by Jocelyn Green

Author:Jocelyn Green
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Moody Publishers

Tredegar Iron Works, Richmond, Virginia

Monday, April 4, 1864

At the end of another ten-hour day, Abraham Jamison mopped the sweat from his face and silently cursed his fate. He should have rejoined his own regiment by now. His hands ached to caress his wife and itched to fire his rifle. Instead, they blistered and calloused around the hammer as he beat out heavy iron bands used to reinforce the breeches of Confederate cannon. Being in prison was one thing, he thought, visions of Libby snaking through him. But being forced to labor for the cause that upholds slavery … Words were simply too weak to match his abhorrence. His only solace was that the materials were of substandard quality. And so was his work—at least, as often as he could get away with it.

Mud cushioned Abraham’s footsteps as he left the blacksmith shop jutting into the James River. But the same wind that cooled his sweat-filmed body would dry out the roads soon enough, and the spring’s campaigns would begin. Barely suppressing a groan, he squeezed the burn in his right shoulder and circled his arm to loosen the tightness in his muscles. It would take some time to work back up to his previous blacksmithing physique. If he was lucky, however, he’d be long gone before that happened.

Turning his back to the river’s smooth opal shine, he lifted his gaze above his fellow laborers coming out of the shops and foundries, and scanned the wooded hills against which the city’s spires bristled. They were covered with the lime-green haze of tree branches studded with buds of unopened leaves. His hope was cocooned just as tightly but with little promise of unfurling. Bella was still in Richmond, yet so out of reach she may as well have been in Georgia. Without a pass, she could not come to the iron works, and he was not allowed to leave.

A heavy step announced the approach of another worker. Abraham turned to find John Taylor, a free Negro who worked in the gun foundry, on his way out for the night. “Well, Jamison, does the work suit?” His smile gleamed.

Abraham grunted. “Work’s fine. Location, though—” He shook his head. “Not my first choice.”

“Mm-hmm. If I didn’t have family here, I’d put in for a transfer to one of the furnaces west of here. For the scenery, of course.” He winked. “Now that the shipment of corn is here from Georgia, they’ll be in blast again and needing hands.”

“West of here, you said?” Abraham asked.

“I did. There’s a few south of Winchester, one of which is right on the border of West Virginia. Then there’s a whole slew of them west of Lynchburg, too. Also within riding distance of freedom.”

“Are they not concerned about danger from Union troops?”

Taylor shrugged. “It’s been the Rebel cavalry stirring up most of the trouble so far. Those furnaces were in place before the western part of Virginia seceded from us. They may be concerned about Yankees, but the furnaces won’t be moved on account of it.

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