Erin's Rebel

by Susan Macatee

  “I’m sorry,” she apologized, “but I felt awkward around your parents.”

  “I’m afraid they can be quite intimidating.”

  She laughed. “Jenny would agree with that. I’m surprised she isn’t out here, too.”

  “I see you’ve been talking with my sister.”

  She nodded.

  “My parents are not the easiest people to get along with,” he said. “They have certain...expectations.”

  “I understand.” She glanced up at the house. “I hope Jenny and Amanda will be okay when you leave.”

  Will sighed. “I hope so, too, since I have no choice in the matter.”

  “I suppose there’s no way you could take them with you.”

  He shook his head. “Army life wouldn’t suit those two.”

  “From what I’ve seen, I would have to agree.”

  His pulse raced when she gazed at him. She displayed both strength and vulnerability. He edged closer, catching the scent of lavender. “When I return to the army, will you be going with me?”

  “I have nowhere else to go.”

  The fear and sorrow in her voice made him long to take her hand and comfort her. He restrained himself. “Doc could use your help in the medical tent, I’m sure.”

  She eyed him with obvious suspicion. “And what about you? Do you want me to come?”

  “It makes no matter either way to me,” he lied.

  Her gaze dropped.

  What he wanted to do was take her in his arms, kiss her senseless, and carry her to his room for a night of lovemaking. Now that he had her under his roof, he had to control his feelings, so as not to bring scandal on his family.

  But he doubted he’d catch a wink of sleep tonight.

  Chapter Fifteen

  From a window, Will watched Emily saunter up the walkway. He turned to escape when his mother entered the parlor.

  “And where do you think you are going?” She blocked his exit.

  “Anywhere, but here.”

  “It would be impolite for you to leave with your guest arriving.”

  “I don’t recall inviting her.”

  Will overheard voices in the hallway. Tillie escorted Emily to the parlor.

  “Welcome, Miss Courtland. Will and I were just talking about you.”

  “I hope it was all good.” Emily flashed him an innocent smile and batted her eyelids.

  “Have a seat, Emily. I’ll find Tillie and have her bring some refreshments for you two.” Madeline eased out of the room.

  Will sat opposite her but hoped he could have left as his mother had. For a brief moment, he was relieved when Tillie served tea and molasses cookies. If it hadn’t been improper, he would have asked the servant to join them.

  After being served, Emily took a sip of the tea and gazed candidly at Will. “I had hoped to spend more time with you while you’re still home on furlough. The last few times you were home, your visits were so brief.” She placed a gloved hand on his arm.

  Will glanced down. He needed to be honest but didn’t wish to hurt her feelings. He removed her hand. “Emily, I—”

  “Is there something wrong, Will? Is your wound still plaguing you?” Concern shown in her eyes.

  “I’m recovering just fine. It’s just that…” He hesitated. “My feelings for you are not as strong as yours are for me.”

  “It’s that Yankee woman you’ve brought home with you—you’re in love with her.”

  Will glared at Emily. “She’s not a Yankee.”

  “Well, whatever she is—” Emily sat down the cup and waved her hand. “I can tell you have feelings for her.”

  He couldn’t deny her accusation. “I’m sorry, Emily,” was all he managed to say.

  Her eyes flashed. “But why? What can a woman like that offer you?”

  Before he could utter a word, she shook her head. “Oh, no, I’m not that naïve. I do realize what that type of woman can give a man.”

  “Mrs. O’Connell is not that type of woman. She’s had a hard set of circumstances. We’re friends.”

  “Friends?” Emily’s mouth gaped. “I do not understand you at all, Will Montgomery.”

  “I never intended to hurt you.”

  She pulled out an embroidered hanky and sniffed daintily. “Well, you have. I’ll be taking my leave now.”

  He escorted her to the door and watched her depart through the iron gate. Although Will felt a bit guilty for the way he’d handled things, Emily’s departure brought relief, until his mother appeared and joined him in the parlor.

  “Where has Emily gone?”

  “She had to leave.” Will didn’t want to explain any more than that to his mother.

  “I declare, William. It must have been something you said. I’ve watched your actions with Miss Courtland over the past weeks. How dare you treat that poor young woman like that!”

  “I’m sorry, Mother. I don’t have any interest in Emily, and it’s cruel to keep her hopes up.” He glared at his mother.

  Her eyelids narrowed to slits. “Nonsense. She’s the perfect match for you.”

  “Perfect! In whose eyes, may I ask.”

  “Why, anyone’s.”

  “I’m the one who would have to marry her. It should be my decision alone.” Will dropped onto the settee.

  “You’ve upset Miss Courtland,” Madeline sputtered, “and her parents will be outraged by your behavior as well. I demand you apologize.”

  “I will not.” He caught her gaze and held it. Madeline huffed and left the room.

  ****

  Aside from the debacle with Emily, Will savored the months spent recovering at home with Amanda and Jenny. The days preparing for Christmas were a comfort to him.

  Mrs. O’Connell proved to be a total distraction. Away from the camp wearing the refined clothes Jenny had loaned her, he couldn’t imagine the past she’d led. She no longer resembled the rough-edged Irish woman who’d entered camp six months ago. The fall from the horse had changed her. His judgments about her character could have been wrong.

  Over the past few months, his initial attraction for her had grown. Since the dinner where he’d spurned Emily, his parents had been reserved toward Mrs. O’Connell but hadn’t been unkind, although they’d questioned his motives for bringing her here. He’d told them she possessed excellent nursing skills and had been in a bad situation. He helped her as she helped him. He then refused to discuss the matter further. Although his parents were far from pleased with the situation, they’d wisely remained genteel hosts to his guest, while he healed.

  Christmas Day had been a joy, watching the bright, blue eyes of Amanda when she unwrapped the porcelain doll Mrs. O’Connell helped him choose and wrap. The year prior, he’d been at Fredericksburg and unable to get a furlough to be with her on the holiday. Mrs. O’Connell bought his daughter a rag ball with the bit of money she’d made doing laundry in camp. Delighted with both gifts, Amanda gave him and Mrs. O’Connell a sweet kiss on the cheek.

  Today, the morning after Christmas, he brought a pine wreath, adorned with red ribbons and pine cones, to place on Anne’s grave. Since she’d died, he’d had a few furloughs to pay a visit, but since the war had escalated, he’d had fewer chances to return home.

  After placing the wreath on the thin crust of snow at the base of her headstone, he paused to read the inscription. Anne Eugenia Montgomery, Beloved Wife and Mother. His mind drifted back to that Christmas, the second one they’d celebrated as man and wife, when she’d told him he was to be a father.

  ****

  Will had entered the house, arms loaded with packages wrapped in brown paper. Anne’s sweet voice echoed from the parlor, the strains of “Deck the Halls” sounded loud and clear. She sang like an angel.

  Carefully, he deposited his parcels on the mahogany table in the entry, brushed snow off his greatcoat, then slipped the coat off, hanging it on a peg by the door.

  As he stood in the parlor doorway watching Anne’s trim form, he couldn’t keep th
e smile from his lips. Her tiny waist was accented by her burgundy hoopskirt. Her back was to him as she worked the twine of popcorn onto the spruce he’d brought home the night before, her auburn hair shining in the candlelight. She’d twisted her locks into an elaborate braided style adorned with velvet ribbons. When she turned to find him in the doorway, she gasped in delight.

  “Will, I didn’t expect you home so soon.” She raced into his arms. The scent of lilac, vanilla, and bread greeted him.

  “You’ve been baking,” he said.

  She flashed a smile. “Of course, silly. It’s Christmas Eve.”

  He gazed a moment into her clear hazel eyes. “I’ve got a surprise for you.”

  Grinning, she patted her stomach. “And I’ve got one for you.” When his eyebrows rose in question, she added, “It’s what you’ve wanted since our wedding day.”

  Comprehension dawned on him. Since they’d married over two years ago, they’d talked about having a child, but so far, it hadn’t happened.

  “Darlin’, are you telling me...” He didn’t finish.

  She nodded eagerly. “We’re going to have a baby.”

  He’d never been happier since the day they’d wed.

  ****

  Kneeling by the stone, Will pressed his lips against it. The taste of cold granite brought the pain back anew. All he had left of her now was Amanda. Their stillborn son rested by Anne’s side.

  He left the small, church cemetery and strolled home as his thoughts filled with Anne and Mrs. O’Connell. Each woman was so different. Anne had been refined and well-mannered. He hardly recalled a complaint coming from her lips. She’d been the perfect wife, mother, and hostess.

  Mrs. O’Connell, on the other hand, could be bold and sometimes brash. She often asked direct questions of a personal nature, causing his father’s eyebrows to rise and his mother to shake her head. She was curious about everything, and he’d often catch her scribbling in a journal Jenny had given her to pass the time.

  He found her unpredictable, but at the same time, she intrigued him. Anne had been gone two and a half years. And Mrs. O’Connell was a lovely distraction. He caught the glances Jenny gave the two of them. She, no doubt, had matchmaking on her mind.

  When he arrived home and entered the parlor, the scent of fresh pine and wood burning in the fireplace greeted him.

  Jenny, wearing a forest green frock, stood by the tree lighting candles set in the branches. She wore her hair in a braided ring around her head with a black ribbon hairnet for adornment.

  “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 wide
ned 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.