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.
Wagner shoved her, knocking her to the ground. Blood pounded through Will’s temples. No man, no matter who he was, should do that to a woman. He approached the couple, ready for a fight.
Wagner turned, his eyes widening.
“Sergeant,” Will said, “I thought I ordered you to stay away from her.”
“I came for my payment, sir.”
Will glanced at Erin. She gathered her skirts, preparing to rise. He extended a hand. She took it but didn’t look at him directly.
“Be on your way, Wagner,” he ordered.
Without another word, the sergeant strode off.
“Would you care to tell me what that was all about?” Will asked.
Erin shook her head.
He clenched his fists. “It looked like you were trying to pull him back inside.”
“He has something that belongs to me.” She dropped her gaze, wiping her hands on her apron.
“What is it?” He scowled.
“I—I can’t tell you.”
Releasi
ng a long sigh, he realized he’d been right about her and Wagner all along. “I can’t help you if you won’t be truthful with me.”
She looked directly into his eyes. “I don’t need your help in this matter.”
He swallowed. “Well then, good morning, ma’am.” Tipping his cap, he turned his back and left. He’d known from the start this woman was going to be trouble. And damned if he hadn’t been right.
Chapter Nineteen
That afternoon Will noticed a well-dressed, young woman strolling through camp chatting with a soldier. His rage bubbled to the surface when he realized the woman was his sister. What the hell was she doing here? He moved toward her. She calmly lifted her lace-trimmed parasol and tilted her chin defiantly.
He hadn’t received any word of her visit. His parents surely wouldn’t have allowed her to travel alone.
Kevin Donnelly stood behind her. He whispered in her ear. She smiled. Donnelly also smiled, but when he raised his gaze to Will, the Irishman’s smile disappeared, and he stood at attention.
“I’ll be getting back to me duties, sir.” Donnelly saluted, waiting for a return salute before leaving.
Jenny flinched when Will moved within inches of her, but the smile plastered on her heart-shaped face didn’t waver.
“No one wrote me you were coming,” he said.
“No one knew but me.”
“Mother and Father don’t know you’re here?”
“They would never have allowed me to come. I left without telling anyone.”
He clenched his teeth. How could she be so foolish? “You can’t just go running off like that. The country’s at war. It isn’t safe for a woman alone—”
“I don’t need to be lectured.” She backed off, closed her parasol, and pointed it at his chest.
“I’m your brother. I have a responsibility for your safety.”
Her eyes flashed. “You think I’m just a helpless female.”
“Mother and Father will be frantic. And what about Amanda?”
“Tillie can take care of her.” She dismissed his concerns with a wave of her gloved hand. “And Momma and Papa are being impossible.”
“How?” Although he asked the question, he knew just how impossible his parents could be.
“Papa was trying to marry me to a stranger from South Carolina.”
“Surely not!” Will crossed his arms over his chest.
“Well, the man was looking for a wife and...”
“And your heart belongs to someone else.”
Her cheeks colored. “I’ve tried to keep it hidden, but I do believe you’ve known all along.” She locked her gaze with his.
“Yes, I know about Donnelly.”
“And you don’t approve.”
He sighed. “You know what Mother and Father will say.”
“I’ve had it drilled into me since I was small that I was to make a socially acceptable marriage.” She removed her gloves and slapped them against her skirt. “Isn’t love more important than social status?”
“They’re only thinking of your future.”
“But it’s different for you, because you’re a man.”
“I’m still expected to choose an acceptable wife. Anne came from a well-respected family.”
“I don’t want to be controlled. I want to live my life and do important things.”
“Like marry a poor Irish lad. Wash his clothes, cook his meals, bear his children?” He shook his head. She wasn’t thinking straight.
“You make it sound like a life of drudgery.”
“It is, my dear sister.”
“Please, Will, don’t tell them I’m here. It could be my only chance to have an adventure before I’m forced into a loveless, acceptable marriage.”
“You don’t know what you’re asking.”
“Please, I’d do it for you. I’d never tell if you had a secret sweetheart.”
Erin’s face came unbidden into his mind. But she wasn’t his sweetheart. He had to stop thinking about the laundress. She wasn’t his responsibility. But Jenny was. He had to decide what he’d do if his parents contacted him about her.
He’d have to find a place for her to stay tonight, but first thing tomorrow, he’d make arrangements to send his headstrong sister home.
****
Up to her elbows in hot, sudsy water scrubbing soldier’s dirty laundry, Erin realized the workload hadn’t taken long to shift back to her. She thought about Will again and how she could regain his confidence. Should she even try? She’d bared her soul only to have him drop her like a hot potato.
She wanted more than anything to talk to him, convince him she wasn’t insane or a liar. The scene with Jake had made things worse. Damn that man. He always showed up at the worst possible time.
She had to convince Will she was telling the truth. But she couldn’t prove she’d traveled over one-hundred and forty years from the future. If she’d met a man who’d claimed to have come from the twenty-second century, what would she have done?
Suppressing a laugh, she never would have believed him unless he’d landed in a spaceship. So, she couldn’t expect Will to believe her.
She wrung out the last of the shirts. Arms aching, she carried the heavy wet pile to the clothesline. Automatically, she reached for the wooden clothes pins and started to drape the shirts over the line.
Her mind focused on Will and her dilemma. She wouldn’t give up on him. She loved him and had come here to be with him.
She had to find a way to prove she wasn’t a liar.
Chapter Twenty
The next morning Erin woke to the sound of Jenny’s soft breathing on the cot across from her. Erin had offered to share space in her tent, and although Will seemed reluctant, she’d insisted Jenny stay. They’d had a long talk before falling asleep, catching up on events since Erin and Will had left.
Jenny related the story of her parent’s expectations, and Erin agreed she needed a chance to experience life before settling down. She advised her to speak to Doc about staying on as a nurse.
After a quick breakfast of leftover corn muffins and strawberry jam, Erin brought her to Doc’s tent. Jenny had met the doctor on her visit last summer but commented aside to Erin that he appeared thinner and older than she remembered.
“Jenny wants to stay on as a nurse,” Erin told him.
Doc wiped his hands on a towel, then ran a long finger over his thick mustache. “Reckon we could use more help.” He looked Jenny over. “You have cared for family members.”
Jenny fidgeted under his gaze. It had been a statement rather than a question. “I’ve read to Papa and Amanda when they were ill with the croup.”
“I suppose that will be some help.”
“I can write letters for the soldiers, too,” she offered. When he hesitated, she blurted, “I’ll do anything you need me to do if you just allow me to stay.”
“What does your brother have to say about all this?”
“He’s just fine with it,” she lied. She glanced at Erin, who kept silent.
He tapped his chin. “As long as Will approves, you can stay. But if you’re not able to do the work or become ill, we’ll have to send you on home.”
“Thank you, Doc. You surely won’t regret allowing me to stay.”
“The first thing I suggest you do, young lady, is find a suitable dress. Fancy clothing and hoops have no place in an army camp.”
“I’m sure we’ll find her something appropriate,” Erin said.
When they left, Jenny breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you so much, Miss Erin.”
“You still have to convince your brother.”
“I know,” Jenny said. “But I’ll show him...and everybody, that there’s more to me than a pampered female who needs to be protected and controlled by a man. Women should be allowed to do whatever they want.”
Erin smiled. “In the future that will certainly be true.”
“The future? How can you be sure?”
“Women will fi
ght for their rights and win them. But it will be a long time before we’re considered men’s equals.”
“Men’s equals,” Jenny repeated.
Erin detected awe in the young woman’s voice.
****
That afternoon, Will arrived at Doc’s tent to check on two of his men who were recovering from measles. He caught sight of a familiar, dark-haired woman dispensing water to the patients.
Damn his sister. He’d planned to send her home this morning, but duties had prevented him from making the arrangements.
Jenny turned his way. Her startled glance softened into a wavering smile. She wore a plain brown wrapper, covered with an apron. No hoop. What in blazes was she up to now?
“Doc said I could stay to help,” she said.
“He said what?”
“He told me he needs women volunteers with nursing skills.”
Will rubbed his chin. “You’re going to nurse ill and wounded soldiers.”
“That’s right.” Her eyes flashed.
He chuckled at the thought of his spoiled sister assisting at an amputation or wiping up vomit or other unmentionable duties. She wouldn’t last the day.
“You can stay, for now,” he said. “But at the first complaint out of your pretty little mouth, I’m shipping you home. Is that understood?”
“Oh, Will.” She rushed to him and kissed his cheek. “You won’t regret allowing me to stay.”
“I fear I will.”
Her gaze narrowed. “Why? What’s wrong?”
“I received a dispatch today from Father. He’s written me that you’ve run off. If I see you, I’m to immediately send you home.”
She shook her head. “You won’t tell him I’m here, will you?”
“What you’re asking...” He sighed. How could she place him in such a position?
“Please, Will. Tell them you haven’t seen me. They’ll never know.”
“But it’s wrong to worry them like this.”
“William Montgomery! I know how glad you are to be out of that house with their impossible demands. Once the war is over, you can take Amanda and start a new life elsewhere. I only ask that you give me the same chance.”
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