Authors: Susan Macatee
“Lighting the candles so early?” he asked.
She gasped and turned to face him. “You scared me, Will. Don’t sneak up on me like that.”
He grinned and slid onto the settee.
Her hoop-lined skirt spun about as she turned her attention back to the tree set atop a side table. “The lights are so lovely. I just want to sit here and stare at them all day.”
“I would have thought Mrs. O’Connell would be here with you. I haven’t seen her since early this morning.”
“She took Amanda for a walk.” She turned from the tree and took a seat beside him. “They came back all covered with snow. They had a snowball fight.”
Will smiled as a picture formed in his mind of Mrs. O’Connell and Amanda throwing snowballs at each other.
“Now she’s helping Tillie prepare the meal.”
He raised his eyebrows.
“Says she can’t stand sitting around all day. Seems she’s bored.”
“Well, she’s used to working hard. After being pampered for so long, I suppose she wants to get back to the life she knows.”
Jenny smoothed her skirt, then crossed her hands over her lap. “I’ve been talking to Miss Erin about what it’s like in camp...”
“And?”
“It just got me to thinking. It sounds so exciting. The soldiers marching off. The battles... She told me she assisted the surgeons at Gettysburg.”
“That she did.”
“Well, I thought—” She glanced toward the window and rubbed her hands together.
“Thought what?” he prompted.
“That I could be a nurse.” Her eyes met his.
“In a hospital?”
She licked her lips. “No...on the battlefield.”
He laughed. “Jenny, you don’t know what you’re saying.” The very idea of his pampered sister on a dirty, bloody battlefield appalled him.
“I want to go with you when you return to your regiment,” she rushed on.
“Absolutely not.”
“But Miss Erin does it.”
“Erin O’Connell is an exceptional woman.”
“And I’m not?” Her eyes misted over. “You think I’m too weak.”
“You’re refined. The battlefield is no place for a lady. Besides, Father would never permit it.”
“You, Mama, and Papa—all of you want to keep me away from Kevin.” She dabbed at her eyes with her lace-trimmed hanky and stormed from the room.
****
Erin wiped her hands on her apron. After her jaunt in the snow with Amanda, the heat of the hearth and cookstove felt heavenly, warming her to her core.
“Miss Erin,” Tillie said, “after all the time you spent with Miss Amanda, I’m sure surprised you have the energy to help me out.”
“You do it all the time,” Erin protested. “I see how hard you work, and after all that, when they call you in to serve them, you’re there with a smile on your face. Besides, I’ve spent five months in an army camp. Living here is like a vacation.”
The Negro servant eyed her. “A what?”
“Umm...” What did they call vacations? It was likely this woman had never had one. “I just meant it’s very comfortable here.”
“Compared to an army camp.”
Erin nodded, laughing. Not only had she befriended Jenny, but she’d grown close to Tillie. And she absolutely adored Amanda.
But she still felt unsure of her feelings for Will. After the kiss in camp last summer, she wanted more, but he’d avoided her. Not until he was wounded, did she realize she was not only attracted to him but had fallen in love with him.
When he’d asked her to come here, she’d been wary but at the same time thrilled. An indication he cared for her would be a help.
“You’d best get dressed for dinner, Miss Erin,” Tillie said, pulling her from her thoughts.
“But I want to help you.”
The woman shook her head. “Mr. Montgomery won’t like that none. You’re a guest here.”
Erin sighed. The thought of changing clothes again exhausted her. And the last thing she wanted was to get into that damned corset. “Oh, I guess I’ll have to go change, then.”
Tillie shot her an exasperated glance.
Erin was sure the woman would change places with her in a second if she could.
She left the kitchen and headed to the second floor. On the way to the guest room, she halted when Jenny emerged from her room wearing the rose-colored gown and hoops.
Jenny smiled. “My brother has been asking for you.”
“When?” The thought of Will asking about her set her heart racing.
“When you were out with Amanda earlier.” She studied Erin. “I do hope you’re changing for dinner.”
Erin ran a hand over the skirt of her plain, unhooped dress. “That’s my plan.”
“I’ll be happy to help if you want me to.”
“That would be very nice. Thank you.” Maybe she could learn more of what Will said before they went down to dinner.
****
An hour later, Erin was corseted and hooped with every hair in place. Although she didn’t look forward to returning to camp, she had to admit, she wouldn’t miss this nightly ritual.
They entered the dining room. Will, dressed in a silk cravat and dinner jacket, was already seated and in conversation with his father. Her breath caught at the sight of his handsome face.
He raised his gaze toward her, and his eyes widened in apparent approval. He and his father rose and ushered the women to their seats.
When Will seated her, his masculine scent and close proximity made her breath catch. She decided the ordeal of the past hour had been worth it, after all.
“Jenny, Miss Erin, you both look lovely tonight.” His gaze fastened on her.
He called me by my first name!
She found it hard to draw a breath.
She glanced toward Will’s father, noting the rise of his bushy eyebrows. That was the first time Will had called her Erin, instead of Mrs. O’Connell or ma’am.
Catching the smug smile on Jenny’s face, she suspected Will’s sister had matchmaking on her mind all along. But had Will purposely called her Erin or had he slipped?
Mrs. Montgomery entered last and explained Amanda had already been fed by the servants in the kitchen. “The child was exhausted. Tillie had Isaac carry her off to bed.”
Jenny grinned. Erin knew she’d heard about the snowball fight but obviously hadn’t told her mother.
“I hope she’s all right,” Erin said. “We had a great time this afternoon.”
“Why, I thought Tillie was caring for her today.” Madeline Montgomery lifted her napkin, shaking it out.
“I thought Tillie could use a break.”
Madeline frowned.
“Break what?” her husband asked, perplexed.
“I mean, help with handling all she had to do.”
“Why, that’s her job, my dear,” Zachary Montgomery said.
“I like doing things with Amanda. We had a lot of fun.”
Madeline pursed her thin lips in obvious disapproval, but Will came to her rescue.
“I believe Miss Erin is good for Amanda.” He gazed at her. “She needs someone like you.”
A thrill raced through her as Will’s parents both shot glares his way. Jenny wore a look of absolute triumph.
Chapter Sixteen
March, 1864
Will cleaned his pistol in preparation for his return to the army. Tillie laundered his uniform, while Isaac polished his brogans. Will had purchased several new shirts and undergarments.
Through his long recovery and the months he’d spent here at his home, he’d finally come to a decision about Erin. In caring for him, she’d shown how much she cared. The touch of her hand, her smile, her scent had all helped him heal from the wounds he’d suffered at Gettysburg. She also brought joy into a part of his life he’d believed dead. A glimpse of her or the sound of her voice set his heart racing and his body responding.
She was wonderful with Amanda and seemed to really care for his daughter.
Since Anne’s death, he’d dismissed the thought of remarrying, afraid of being hurt again. But maybe it was time to reconsider.
Just after Christmas, he’d cut off a lock of his hair and taken it to a hair jeweler. The woman had woven the lock into an engraved-edged brooch. He planned to present it to Erin tonight. Should he fall in battle, she was the woman with whom he wanted to leave a piece of himself.
He watched her all through dinner. Her hair, confined in a braided coil, was adorned with one of Jenny’s blue velvet ribbon hairnets. Her eyes seemed brighter, her complexion pink and cream. The time spent here had agreed with her. The gray and pink striped gown she wore complemented her coloring. And the bodice accentuated her lush bosom.
He watched her generous lips as she bit into and chewed every morsel of food. Or curved into a smile at something he or Jenny said. Under her smooth jawline, the creamy skin at her throat fascinated him, making it difficult to swallow his meal or converse politely.
Erin’s gaze lifted to him as she sipped her tea. The tip of her tongue darted out to lick her lips. Swallowing, he found himself unable to look away. He longed to hear those lips form his name, tell him she felt for him as he did for her.
No longer able to concentrate on what his father was saying, he cleared his throat and stood.
“Pardon me,” he said, his gaze sweeping the table, “I need some air.” With measured steps, he walked from the dining room into the foyer. Opening the door, he stepped into the frigid air and let the chill wash over him and bring his erratic breathing under control. One thought monopolized his mind. He wanted to see her before she went to bed. He feared he wouldn’t get any sleep with his need for her so strong.
After everyone retired, he moved quietly to Erin’s door. Light flickered beneath the crack at the bottom. He’d hoped to catch her before she retired. Raising his hand, he lightly rapped.
The door opened a crack, and a vivid blue eye regarded him.
“Captain?”
“Please, call me Will.”
The door opened a few more inches. She’d changed into her nightclothes, and her hair flowed loosely about her shoulders. Her brows rose in question.
“Forgive me, ma’am. I have something I want to give you.”
She opened the door further, inviting him in.
He glanced over his shoulder, before awkwardly stepping into the room.
She closed the door behind him, tilting her chin as her lips curved into a smile.
****
What is going on here?
Erin’s heart skipped a beat as she anticipated finally being alone with Will Montgomery. He’d been her hero from the start, since the dreams that had begun this whole adventure. He was the one bright spot in an otherwise nightmarish experience.