Authors: Susan Macatee
As he considered his options, Jenny appeared at the door, startling him.
“Will, I’m so glad to see you up,” she said. “I need to speak with you before you leave.”
“What is it?” he asked.
She took the seat across from him. “You have to take me with you.”
Will gritted his teeth. “We’ve already been over this. I can’t take you.”
“But you can take Miss Erin.”
“That’s different.”
“How is it different? She’s a woman, too.”
“But she’s used to hard work. You’re not.”
She drew her mouth into a pout. “Please, Will, you can’t leave me here with them.”
“Jenny—”
“I’ll just die if you leave me here.”
“You’re being dramatic.” His gaze drilled over her. She wore her morning gown, her hair covered with a white cap. “You would not even last one day in a grungy, smelly army camp.”
“I’ve been to camp.” She eyed him with scorn.
“As a visitor. It’s not the same as living there.”
“I can do it.”
He shook his head, folding his arms across his chest. “You can take lice, rats, men covered in blood, amputations, enemy shelling, constant rain, mud...you’ll set eyes on the most horrible sights you can imagine. No, my dear sister, I do not believe you are ready to do that.”
She stood, anger flashing in her gray eyes. “You won’t even give me the chance to prove myself.”
“Because I know how it will turn out. I’ll be shipping you back home before the second day dawns.”
“That’s not true!”
“Mother and Father will never permit it, anyway.”
“You could persuade them.” She clasped her hands.
“No, I cannot. And furthermore, I won’t.”
“I hate you!” She stormed from the room.
He sighed. Women were turning out to plague him right and left. If it weren’t for Erin, he’d almost look forward to returning to the army.
****
Erin folded her clothes and packed them in the satchel she’d brought with her.
She’d absolutely blown any chance she had with Will. The look on his face when she’d told him she’d come from the future would torment her forever.
But she should’ve known. She couldn’t expect anyone to believe her crazy story. She still had a hard time believing it herself. It wouldn’t surprise her if he refused to take her with him. Then what would she do? She had nowhere else to go. She’d have to beg in the streets.
This is all going wrong
. All she could hope was that he’d take her to camp, so she could have a second chance with him. If he even spoke to her again.
A knock at the door drew her from her anxious thoughts.
“Come in.”
Jenny burst in, dabbing her eyes with an embroidered hanky.
“Will’s being so stubborn,” she said.
“About what?”
“I asked him to take me to camp so I can be a nurse like you.”
Erin stared at her. “You’d want to do that?” She couldn’t imagine this pampered woman nursing soldiers.
“Yes. I’d be good at it. I swear.”
Erin hesitated. She wondered why Jenny was telling her. “You said Will won’t let you go.”
“No, he says I won’t last a day in camp.”
“Well.” She had to suppress the urge to laugh. “I guess that’s that.”
“You could persuade him for me, couldn’t you?”
“Your brother’s a bit unhappy with me right now. I’ll be surprised if he takes
me
back with him.”
“Oh, no,” Jenny whined. “Why does he have to be so difficult?”
Why, indeed
.
****
In the end, Erin had been no help to Jenny. Will ordered his sister to stay home.
He assisted Erin into the carriage for the ride back to camp. Since she’d told him the truth, he’d been aloof—the air between them strained. Before he could climb in beside her, Amanda raced from the house followed by Tillie.
“Papa!” she called.
Will’s expression turned to stone. Amanda had created a scene early this morning, begging him not to go. His jaw tensed as his daughter neared him. He was obviously having a hard time keeping his emotions under control.
“I’m so sorry, Mr. Will,” Tillie apologized. “But she says she had something to give you.”
Will swallowed as he gazed down at his daughter. Tears welled in her eyes, as she watched him keep himself under complete control amidst such a heart-wrenching scene.
Amanda extended her small hand. In her palm, an auburn curl tied with a powder-blue ribbon rested. He lifted the lock.
“Amanda, who cut your hair?”
“I did it for her, Mr. Will,” the Negro woman said.
Erin’s eyes burned.
He lifted the lock and stared at it.
“You have to carry it with you always,” Amanda said.
“I sure will, darlin’.” He opened his coat, inserting the curl into an inside pocket. “I’ll keep it right here, next to my heart.”
The girl raised her delicate brows. “Even when you go to the battle?”
“Especially then,” Will assured her.
Tillie dabbed at her eyes.
Tears trickled down Erin’s cheeks. Her thoughts went to the brooch he’d given her. She must have meant something for him to give her such an intimate token.
And she’d ruined everything.
She averted her face when he climbed into the carriage, taking his place beside her. She longed to bury her face in his coat and hold him but was sure he’d never permit it. He obviously noticed her tears but hadn’t reached for her. He sat stiffly beside her, the tension mounting between them.
Although he was just a touch away, right now she felt miles and a universe apart.
Chapter Eighteen
Confederate camp outside Mason, Virginia
March 1864
Jake watched Captain Montgomery as he assisted Erin from his carriage. After so long, Jake had wondered if he’d ever see the bitch again. Her tent, along with the belongings she’d left, had been disassembled and packed away after she’d gone and kept in a small shed built to house extra supplies when the men moved into winter quarters.
After Montgomery left, Jake continued to observe her while she inspected her tent that had been erected when the company knew they were returning. Once she disappeared inside, he strode over and yanked back the flap of canvas. From where she stood leaning over her trunk, she half turned and gasped.
A red leather-covered book sat on top of her clothing. “A new journal?” he asked.
“If you must know, it was a gift from Will’s sister, since I lost my other one.”
“Will, is it now?” When she didn’t answer, he continued, “Reckon you’d like to know what happened to it.”
“I’m sure I know who took it.”
He took a step towards her. “I have your book, and I know all about how you just
tolerate
my presence for the information I hand you, you whore. I also know about you and the captain.”
She licked her lips. “What about him?”
“You spent over six months with him, and I assume you did more than tolerate
his
presence.”
“Get out of my tent,” she ordered. “I no longer have need of your services.”
“Is that right?” He grinned, enjoying the feel of power he held. “If you have any notion of turning me in, I’ll have you up on charges of spying for the Yankees quick as greased lightning. And I have it in your own handwriting.”
A look of panic crossed her eyes. “I haven’t said anything to Captain Montgomery.”
“But he knows about us.”
“All he knows is you appointed me laundress. I told him we were cousins.”
Just like a woman to move on when she found someone who could give her more. And he suspected the captain had given her much more than he’d ever been allowed. He raised a finger. “If anyone learns of my part in this, I’ll drag you down with me, missy. You’ll likely be sent to a Confederate prison.”
Her eyes widened as she chewed her lower lip. She moved closer to him. “I only went with him to get information.” She traced her finger over his collar. “He trusts me now. We can use him.”
What’s this Yankee whore up to now
? He grasped her wrist and pushed her away.
****
Erin had to think fast. She needed to get that book back. She wouldn’t let him complicate things by calling her out as a spy. Although he made her skin crawl, she’d have to entice him into giving it back.
“Jake, I’m not lying. He’s a captain, and I can get him to tell me anything.” She reached for his hand. He didn’t pull away.
“You just said you don’t need me.” His eyes narrowed. “I don’t reckon I should trust you.”
She kept hold of his hand and reached her other one behind his head. Pulling him close, she hoped she could gain his confidence. The stench of whiskey and tobacco juice on his breath nearly gagged her, but she couldn’t have him holding the journal against her. Without the book, she didn’t believe he had any proof of her great-aunt’s activities. And since she’d told Will her story of time travel, he’d been nothing but cool and polite toward her. He didn’t believe her, so she had no ally in this time period. No one she could confide in.
When Jake bent his head toward hers, she didn’t flinch. She concentrated on her goal. If Grandma’s great-aunt Erin could do this, so could she. But when he forced his tongue into her mouth, she pushed both palms against his chest, forcing him away. She couldn’t do this.
Jake scowled. “You don’t seem all that enthusiastic.”
“I’m just tired, is all. We’re in this together. I have no interest in Captain Montgomery. I used him for the information I could gather.”
He sneered. “Like you’ve been using me.”
“No. We’re partners.”
“Have you forgotten I read your book? And I know that’s what you’re after now, bitch!” Abruptly, he turned and left the tent.
She followed, grasping his arm, the book uppermost in her mind. He tried to shrug her off, but she tightened her grip, refusing to allow him to leave. Twisting around, he shoved her with his other hand and knocked her to the ground.
****
Will couldn’t believe the scene before him. Wagner stepped from Erin’s tent, while she clung to his arm trying to pull him back inside. After all these months, he’d believed her story that the sergeant was a controlling relative who demanded a percentage of her pay, but nothing more. Will’s face heated, and he prepared to turn away. She was a liar after all. Her time travel story had been pure invention. He’d cared for her and thought she cared for him, but he’d been wrong.