The Jackal's Mistress

Weybridge and Libby sit on the porch in the evening. Their subtle flirtation and discussion turn to the topic of guns, and Libby admits she has a Colt. She will not tell him where it came from; he agrees to show her how to load it.

The next day, Norton checks on Weybridge. Weybridge mentions the visit from Sears and wonders if Norton knows anything about the rumor of a Yankee officer. Norton, offended, insists he is a trustworthy man, unlike all Yankees, including Weybridge, who are “a people without honor” (205).

Weybridge shows Libby how to load the Colt, and she convinces him that she is ready for target practice on barrel staves. He coaches her through firing; she insists on emptying the chamber. Some are a direct hit, and Libby is pleased with her “natural” talent.

Weybridge begins to feel a more distracting infatuation with Libby. He loves his wife deeply, though, and understands himself well enough to know that just weeks ago, an interest in someone else would have been “beneath him.” He wants to keep himself busy on the farm by helping Joseph, and they decide he will help with the firewood for winter.

While helping Joseph, Weybridge mentions his distrust of Doc Norton. Joseph does not think the culprit is Norton and suggests there are others in the area who might be Libby’s enemies, resenting her influence on her husband’s freeing the people enslaved by his father. Joseph shares that Peter’s father sold one of his (Joseph’s) sons. Joseph also suggests that if Weybridge has any intention of “coming between” Libby and Peter, Joseph will chase Weybridge away himself. Weybridge is mortified and offers a “croaked” rebuttal that he is married.

Weybridge and Joseph approach the house in the wagon and see two uniformed soldiers talking to Sally. Weybridge hides in the woods, and Joseph continues towards the house. Lieutenant Henry Morgan and a corporal are rude to Sally and Joseph, insisting they are lying about not knowing of any Yankees hiding nearby.

They tell Joseph to stay in the wagon while they search the mill and Joseph and Sally’s home. Sally asks to get her bread from the oven, and when Morgan permits her to do so, she races upstairs and hides evidence of Weybridge. Downstairs, she fetches Weybridge’s papers from the top of the cabinet where Libby hid them. She is shocked to discover the guns and powder Libby has been hoarding. The search turns up nothing, and Morgan and the man leave, disgusted.

That evening, Weybridge and Libby sit out on the porch again. Libby is enjoying their discussion until Weybridge brings up leaving. He does not want to endanger them any longer. The prospect of Weybridge leaving dims Libby’s spirits. She insists Peter is dead, admits she murdered three men, and reveals she has more guns. She loses control emotionally and allows herself to be embraced by Weybridge.

The next morning, Libby regains control. She announces to Joseph, Sally, and Jubilee that Weybridge thinks he should leave. Joseph shares his idea for safely getting Weybridge to Harper’s Ferry and the Yankee garrison there: Joseph will build a coffin to hide Weybridge in. Weybridge will take one of the Colts, and Libby will travel in the wagon with another Colt. Like Libby, Jubilee is dejected that the Jackal is leaving. Sally asks who the dead person will be. Libby cynically says she will kill someone.

Weybridge helps Joseph build the coffin. He asks Joseph what will happen to them once he is gone. Joseph says he thinks the Yankees will burn the Valley. He believes they will survive, but no one in Berryville will take kindly to Libby again, even if she is a widow, because they think she prompted her husband to free enslaved people. Joseph also explains he tends to the mill and helps feed the Confederacy because he thinks those actions are helping to keep them all safe.

Smoke in the air alerts them. They start for the house and discover Libby burning all Peter’s clothes. She says that she is certain he is dead and tells them to finish the coffin.

Libby wakes to lightning and thunder and looks outside. She sees a man knock on Sally and Joseph’s door. She thinks he is an escaping enslaved person; this shocks her, as she had always thought “she knew what occurred on this property. Her property” (250). Jubilee wakes, sees the man, and heads out to investigate. Libby follows, and Weybridge goes too.

The man is Clark, an enslaved man at Leveritt Covington’s farm. He is there to warn them that Henry Morgan is bringing some of Mosby’s men within the hour to find the Yankee and hang him, then lynch Sally and Joseph. Covington told them not to hurt Libby. Libby is grateful to Clark and sends him away. She tells Weybridge she is sick of being bullied, that it is her property, and that she “will not go quietly” (254). She reminds them of the guns and tells Weybridge, “Deploy your troops” (254).