““husband's departure. I'd don britches and boots and ride far from this place, past the city into the woods. I'd not return 'til midnight passed, praying my brother's messengers would not land on my porch like nighthawks with more ciphers to decode: Men I met in shadow and prayed never to see again, the armed Rebels ordered to make themselves known to no one but me. Because my husband returned at all hours and slept like the dead 'til dawn, they passed in safety and silence. And always, as I handed off the dispatches because I could not refuse””
