Love Inspired Historical October 2013 Bundle: A Family for Christmas\The Secret Princess\Taming the Texas Rancher\An Unlikely Union (89 page)

In her heart, the decision was made. She knew full well what it was going to cost. She swallowed hard, tried to sound brave.

“Sir, I cannot speak for my fellow nurses...only for myself.”

Emily could feel Evan’s eyes upon her, but she dared not look to him. The colonel nodded. Heart pounding, the lawyer’s daughter gave her best defense.

“I eagerly support the United States Constitution, and I wish nothing more than to see this nation reconciled, with a true balance of power achieved. But until then, I cannot deny support for my state, or for the men who have chosen to take up arms in her defense. Therefore, I cannot sign your oath.”

Elizabeth reached over, squeezed her hand. “Nor I, sir.”

“That goes for me as well, sir,” Trudy said.

Colonel Cole looked at them in disbelief. So did the officers beside him.

“Then you leave me with no choice,” he said. “You will hereby be escorted from this facility immediately, never to return.”

He motioned to the guards at the back of the room. They stepped forward. Emily chanced one last glance at Evan before the Federal soldiers led her away.

He refused to even look at her.

* * *

They were gone within a matter of minutes. The guards marched the Baltimore women to Pratt Street. Reverend Henry took charge of the two sisters and Nurse Emily’s coachman was waiting to collect her. Evan watched from the second floor window as she rolled away.

Good riddance,
he thought, and told himself he meant it. He turned back for the ward.

Men were still patrolling the halls, but by now everyone knew the Johnny and his treasonous nurse were long gone. Evan hoped his commanding officer would send a squad to the Branson boardinghouse to arrest the girl,
if
she was foolish enough to be there. If she wasn’t, they could arrest the rest of her family for all he cared.

Loyal Nurse Rebekah was hard at work as usual, maintaining an orderly and disciplined presence in the room. The remaining rebs in the beds all wore faces of uncertainty. There was no talk. They simply looked at him, fearfully.

You should be afraid,
he thought.
You will lose this war. You will pay for what you have done.

Evan went through the motions of the day. Around noon Jacob Turner called for his assistance with an amputation. The air in the surgical room was rancid, the heat oppressive. Both men worked in relative silence, eager to finish quickly.

But as the flap of skin was closed over the stump and the bone saw returned to its case, Turner became chatty.

“I must admit, I admire their honesty.”

“Whose?” Evan asked.

“Those young ladies.”

Evan held his needle mid-suture. “They refused to pledge loyalty to the Union.”

“They did sign an oath.”

“An altered one.”

“You don’t think Colonel Cole knew that?”

Evan blinked. “What are you talking about?”

“Young man, the colonel knew
exactly
what they had done. This is a border state. Of course there will be sympathy for rebels here, but we
need
nurses.”

He could feel the fire in his chest. No wonder this war was taking so long to win. No wonder so many men had died. The army needed officers who would put the rebels in their place, not coddle them.

“So he allowed Southern sympathizers free rein of the wards?”

“Hardly,” Jacob insisted. “He had them watched. They each earned his trust, his respect. He would not have dismissed them had
you
not forced his hand.”

Evan couldn’t believe what he was hearing. This was not
his
fault. He was protecting this hospital. He was for the Union. “She sang a rebel battle song.”

“Tell me, have you never before made a mistake?”

The old man’s words were like a knife to his soul.

“Did you see the look on her face?” Jacob asked. “Nurse Emily was devastated. Not because she was being dismissed but because she had disappointed all of us.”

Evan didn’t care how remorseful Emily Davis had appeared. It didn’t change what she had done. “She and her friends unashamedly declared support for traitors.”

“They could have lied, but they didn’t. Would it be that everyone took their oath so seriously.”

“They are Maryland rebels. I am still certain
she
had a hand in the escape.”

Jacob looked at him like a father disappointed with his son. “Come now, would a woman who refused to lie even to save her position really help a prisoner escape from this hospital? You may not agree with her politics, young man, but don’t besmirch her honor.” He shut his instrument case. “I, for one, will miss her.”

Evan grunted as he finished up his task.
I won’t give her or her rebel friends another thought.

* * *

Providence willed that Emily’s parents should both be at home when she arrived. Through a veil of tears she told them what had happened. Though troubled by the dismissal, her mother hugged her immediately. Her father looked almost pleased.

“You did the right thing, dear,” he said. “You told the truth. You stood fast on what you believe and I am proud of you.”

She appreciated his words but wished none of it had happened. She had lost her opportunity to minister to the wounded and anything else she had hoped for. “I should have listened to Evan.”

His eyebrow arched.
“Evan?”

Emily caught herself. “Dr. Mackay. He knew Lewis wasn’t honorable, but I didn’t believe him. Now I have lost my opportunity to do good in this city.”

“You have worked very hard for a long time,” her mother said. “You have served unselfishly, but now it is time for you to look to your future.”

She knew what future her mother wished for her: marriage to a wealthy gentleman, far removed from the reach of war. Emily wished to please but the only life she wanted was with that stubborn, hard-hearted Scotsman. Tears filled her eyes.

“Please excuse me,” she said.

“Of course, dear.”

Emily quickly moved for the staircase, but she overheard her mother’s surprise.

“You don’t think she—?”

“I do indeed,” her father said. “Question is, what does the good doctor think?”

Emily’s embarrassment stung as badly as the truth. She had fallen in love with a Federal soldier, but the man thought of her as nothing more than a stone-throwing rebel.

* * *

The midday meal was late in being served. The hospital-wide search for the missing reb had disrupted the cook’s schedule. Evan sat in the dining hall with his fellow doctors and picked at his beans and ham. The meat tasted like shoe leather. The beans were as tough as hardtack.

What I wouldn’t give for a slice of peach pie.

He quickly shoved the thought away. He had told Jacob Turner that he wouldn’t give Emily Davis a second thought. He’d meant it. He settled for stewed apples, but they weren’t nearly as good.

Evan then returned to duty. The afternoon passed long and laboriously. He went about his tasks while the rebs stared at him and whispered about
her.
He was determined to ignore them, yet one had the audacity to address him.

“You didn’t dismiss her did you, doc? You didn’t really send her away, did you?”

Stubborn lass,
he thought.
She did that herself.
“No. I didn’t dismiss her, but she will not return to this hospital.”

The Johnny’s face was crestfallen, as were all the rest within earshot. None, however, looked more disturbed then Private “Maryland, My Maryland.”

That’s right. She’s gone,
Evan wanted to say.
Was your song worth it?

The reb reached under his pillow. Evan quickly moved, ready to confiscate whatever the traitor was fetching. He froze when he recognized the item. It was
her
poetry book.

“Nurse Emily left this behind,” the reb said. “Will you see she gets it back?”

For a moment Evan’s thoughts returned to that night in the corridor, the light in her eyes, the sweetness in her voice. When his hand had brushed hers, he’d actually had trouble breathing.

He pushed the memory aside and took the book from the reb. “Aye. I’ll see she gets it.”

He would give it to Nurse Rebekah. He knew they were acquainted with one another. Before he could turn to do so, the Johnny drained pale.

“Something wrong?” Evan asked, though he really wasn’t inquiring out of concern.

Sweat began to bead upon his lip. “She didn’t want to do it, Doc.... She didn’t mean to cause no trouble. I talked her into it.”

Evan’s pulse quickened. He stepped closer, glared at him. “You talked her into what?”

“Singing.”

He grunted. He didn’t believe it. “You are covering for her because you are taken with her. You all are.”

The man shook his head. “I knew Lewis was planning something. I heard him and that other girl whispering one night when I couldn’t sleep.”

That got Evan’s attention.

“Miss Emily was just trying to help me, like she always did. She let me talk about my brother. She let me sing.”

“And?” he said, growing impatient.

“When I noticed the guard had fallen asleep and Lewis was creepin’ from his bed, I talked her into singin’ with me. I kept her from noticing what was going on. I knew she would try to stop Lewis, but, well, he seemed like a determined fella to me. I didn’t want her to get hurt.”

Blood boiling, Evan was ready to explode. “Sergeant!”

A sentinel came running.

If the reb hoped his confession would ease his inner pain, he was sorely mistaken. Evan would see he paid his debt in full.

“See to it that this man is removed from the ward,” he commanded. “It was he who aided the escaped prisoner!” He eyed the guilty Johnny. “Did you think I would commend you for your honesty?”

“No, sir. I just wanted you to know Nurse Emily did nothing wrong.”

Evan wanted to spit on the man’s gentlemanly concern but kept himself under control. As soldiers in blue surrounded the bed, he turned for the door. Colonel Cole would be pleased to know Powell and Branson’s unknown accomplice had confessed to his crime.

By the time he returned, the Maryland reb was gone. The bed linens were changed and the space occupied by another prisoner. The new man was pale and quiet. Evan shot him a look as he passed by.

Don’t even think of stepping out of line.

Though he was relieved to know Emily had not actively participated in the escape, her unwilling involvement proved his point. Her compassion for rebs was dangerous. Only nurses of impeccable loyalty could be trusted. He was a fool to think any differently.

Night came and his ward was staffed with orderlies to fill her position until a suitable replacement could be secured. Exhausted as usual, Evan climbed the staircase. He realized he had forgotten to give Nurse Rebekah the poetry book before her departure. Grumbling, he pulled it from his pocket and tossed it to his cot. Then he sat down.

The September heat burned and already the nightmares down below had begun. Evan raked his hands through his hair. He hated this place. There were nights when he felt as though he was locked in an asylum.

He knew full well that he could leave. Other physicians did it all the time. They sought temporary reprieve from the madness by a night at the theater or supper in a loyal home. If he had any sense, he would do the same.

But where would I go?

Baltimore held no comfort for him. The only place he wished to be did not exist. Pennsylvania had repulsed the rebel invasion, but Mary no longer tended the home fires, awaiting his return. Evan had sold his home to another, along with every stick of furniture, every reminder except those that would fit in an army trunk. Tugging it from beneath the bed, he sifted through what little remained of his previous life.

There was a tintype of him and Andrew, taken just before the war, an embroidered handkerchief with Evan’s initials. Mary had stitched it when they’d wed. He still had her Bible, but he had not opened it since her death. He did so now, but only because of his emptiness.

A scattering of hand-tatted bookmarks and scraps of paper bearing her tiny, precise script fluttered to his lap. They were like knives to his soul. Unable to view them, he quickly scooped them up and placed them back into the Bible. He then laid the Holy Book inside the trunk and closed the lid.

He wasn’t worthy to touch it, let alone read it. Shame filled his soul and guilt cut him as sharply as the cries from beneath the boards sliced his ears.

I should have listened to her. If I had, I would not be here.