Lee cocked his head. All around him were silent, looking toward the north, expectant, wondering. yes, the volume of fire was dropping, intervals of half a minute or more between distant peals of thunder.
He looked over at Walter. The young colonel was actually asleep, stretched out on a pew, snoring lightly.
"I'm going up," Lee announced to no one in particular.
The gathered staff nodded; they were eager to see what was going on; the inactivity of sitting here, half a dozen miles from the action, was chafing on their nerves.
One of them started toward Walter to shake him awake. "No, no, let him sleep," Lee said, with an indulgent smile. "He can act as liaison here. If word comes from Ewell, forward it up to me immediately."
A groom brought up Traveler, and Lee swung up into the saddle, several men approaching to help him, but a sharp glance made them step back.
He was feeling better; the long night of sleep had been a blessing, some strength returning for all that was needed this day.
He started north toward the fight, the world around him so quiet that he could hear the chirping of birds, the sigh of a gentle breeze in the trees.