Hearts Under Siege (Civil War Collection) (5 page)

“You’re not going,” Thomas said with a note of finality in his tone.

“Yes, I am.”

“No.”

“If you try to prevent me from going, I’ll follow along behind you and be in far more danger than under your protection,” she said, smiling at him.

Thomas narrowed his eyes and scowled. “Keep a low profile,” he said. “I mean it.”

Sobering her expression, Alexandra watched him walk away to initiate departure. As she turned toward the river, she silently apologized to Jeffy and prayed to the heavens above to keep him safe. She wasn’t choosing between Jeffy and Grand-père, she assured herself. Her heart twisted. How could she leave, not knowing if her brother were alive or dead?

Then Thomas appeared beside her, and she looked up, her heart heavy with regret.

“I’ve instructed two of my men to remain behind and search the river. They won’t stop until they’ve determined the whereabouts of your brother.”

Alexandra felt a shift deep inside her heart. A little fragment of pain broke free, replaced by a warm glow. Maybe he was a traitor. Maybe even a Yankee. Maybe he couldn’t be trusted.

But he kept his promise.

Chapter Five

The drizzle started in mid-afternoon then grew heavier. Her muscles ached. Her clothes stuck to her body. At first the raindrops cooled her skin; now she couldn’t stop shivering. She longed to be off the horse…anywhere. Mostly she wanted to be home in her bed.

They stayed away from the main roads and the river and traveled through the woods. No singing. No loud talking. The South crawled with Yankees.

Alexandra blinked against the rain in her eyes and looked over her shoulder for any sign that Thomas returned. He took another soldier and rode ahead for some unknown reason. They hadn’t spoken since this morning when he’d informed her that he would make sure the search for Jeffy continued. She missed him.

Even now, Eli Cooper’s eyes bore into her back—his distrust of her making her cringe. He’d been watching her all day. Perhaps he thought her a traitor; though Thomas said they were cousins. Maybe he didn’t trust Thomas.

She
didn’t trust Thomas. First he showed up as a Yankee and then as one of them. Who was Thomas Munroe?

After hours of driving, and curiosity twisting her stomach in knots, Alexandra reached for the vial beneath her shirt. The wet leather strap chafed against her neck. How had Grand-père gotten so involved in the war?

The rain continued its steady downfall. Would the vial protect its contents? Eli’s eyes remained glued to her. Her hand stilled; the vial would have to wait.

Thomas’s horse appeared from around a bend in the path. A little surge of pleasure shot through her. He sat tall and straight against the torrents of rain that pushed other men back in their saddles.

He muttered something to the man in the lead position. That man passed his message to the next and so forth. When the man ahead of her received it, he swung his horse around and bypassed her. Thomas gazed in her direction but didn’t approach her.

She fought the urge to forego her charade and go to him.

The rain let up as they continued to trample through the woods for what seemed like another hour. The sun began its drop below the trees, creating shadows, when they gathered around an abandoned farmhouse and set up camp.

“Sammy,” Thomas commanded, “heat some water and haul it inside for the bathtub.”

Alexandra jerked up her chin and almost smiled. A bath would be the most wonderful thing in the world right now.

“I’m going to take a bath,” Thomas continued.

Alexandra’s elation shattered. Thomas wanted the bath for himself.

What an insensitive cad!

She glanced at Eli Cooper, watching this reaction.

Damn, I’d like to tell Thomas what I think about his boorish manners!

Seething all the while, she procured an iron cauldron and placed it over a fire that one of the men prepared. One by one, she carried buckets of steaming water into the house and poured them into the wooden tub lined with metal. The house was simple and small, but someone had taken the care to hang lacy curtains and needlepoint on the wall. Everything was in its place. It looked as though the home’s inhabitants had fled to a safer place with little more than the clothes on their backs.

The tub full, she stood staring down at the inviting water. Her muscles cramped; she nearly collapsed
.
I hope you enjoy your damned bath.

As she moved through the house toward the front door to inform Thomas that the tub awaited him, she rounded the corner and stopped inches from slamming into him. Her pulse raced at the near contact.

“I’ll watch the door. Just don’t be too long,” he said, looking over his shoulder.

“What?”

“Go. Take your bath.”

“But I thought—”

“What am I going to do? Try explaining why my little cousin gets better treatment than any of them? Go.”

Alexandra admitted to herself that he had a point. She closed the bedroom door behind her. She’d been so angry, she hadn’t noticed that Thomas brought her second set of clothing in and laid it out to dry. Stripping, she stepped into the hot water and lay back with a sigh. The unscented soap made her feel cleaner than ever before. As she washed, the soap lathered up. Bubbles popped around her.

She rinsed her hair, and Thomas burst into the room and locked the door behind him. She gasped.

“Shhh. Someone’s coming,” he said, one hand in front of him, palm down, the other flat against the door as though to keep anyone out.

She darted a glance right then left for a towel, but it lay three feet away on the washstand. Thomas, however, stared toward the window, its curtain blocking his view.

“Captain Munroe?
”
Eli’s voice
.

Thomas backed up to stand in front of the tub, so his voice wouldn’t give him away.

“What is it?”

“Sorry to bother you, sir, but the sky’s about to open up. The men want to know if we can sleep inside tonight?”

“No, I won’t have the lot of you destroying this house. You’ll sleep in your tents like the soldiers you are.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. Sorry to bother you.”

Eli mumbled, and the thud of his footsteps decreased in intensity. The door slammed.

“You can’t blame them,” Thomas said. “Some of them haven’t had the comforts of home in two years.”

Alexandra sat silently huddled in the tub, afraid to call attention to herself. His eyes on the far wall, Thomas picked up her towel and handed it to her.

“I’ll keep my back turned. Dry off so I can get into the tub and take a quick bath.”

He did as he promised, pulling a chair up to the fireplace and sitting with his back to her. Nonetheless, she swiped the towel over her wet skin and pulled on her damp, but clean, clothes. She darted a glance around the room, looking for an escape route. The thought of remaining there while Thomas bathed heated her cheeks, he
r
bod
y
, to a fever pitch. Most of the soldiers had probably forgotten her existence, but Eli Cooper, no doubt, would note her absence.

“Thank you for arranging the bath,” Alexandra said, coming to stand next to Thomas.

He looked into her eyes, and she swallowed a gasp. He had to be the most handsome man she had ever seen. His rumpled black hair framed a face rough with a new beard. Her breath caught, and a knot settled into the pit of her stomach as his lips softened into a slight smile, and his eyes sparkled like a dark blue sky at dusk.

“I am delighted to be of service,” he said. “I only hope you can forgive me for all the hardship I’ve put you through.”

“I will try to forgive you, even though I did have to haul all those buckets of water without any help.”

Thomas laughed, and years vanished from his face. “Are you sure you don’t want to go back? It isn’t too late for me to arrange it.”

“I wouldn’t think of it.” Not only did she have a message to deliver, but she was loath to leave Thomas’s company. “Your water is getting cold,” she said, turning toward the door.

“You have to stay,” Thomas said, suddenly serious again.

“But I can’t. It wouldn’t be proper.”

“The circumstances are hardly proper. Wait here in the chair as I did.” His tone allowed no denial.

She knew he was right. Eli Cooper lurked about, questioning her whereabouts. Being cooped up in this room with Thomas was torture. Already her hands trembled, and her thoughts whirled about.

“No, I think I’ll wait in the sitting room. You won’t be long.”

He appeared at her side and grabbed her arm. She gasped.

“You don’t seem to realize the danger you’re in. Besides being a woman alone in the midst of lonely soldiers, your grandfather is suspected of treason. What do you think that does to your safety? Your disguise is paramount. Please help me maintain it.”

With tears stinging her eyes, she nodded, and he released her. His expression softened. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, “I just don’t want to place you in danger.”

“It’s all right. I understand,” she said, her eyes downcast as she moved to sit in the chair. ****

Thomas undressed and stepped into the lukewarm water. Even though he would have preferred it to be hot, bathing in the same water Alexandra had was…intimate. Sighing, he glanced in her direction. The girl was going to send him to the insane asylum.

Heaven knew he didn’t enjoy being stern with her. In fact, he dreaded it. Having her there in the bedroom swiped all logical thought from his head, leaving his insides aching with desire. Having to feign nonchalance required every ounce of selfdiscipline he could muster. There had to be a way to get her out of here without being detected. And he needed to get that bloodhound Eli off her trail.

“How do you plan to get us out of here?” she asked.

“We’ll think of something,” he said, stepping out of the tub. He wiped the towel along his body and hair.

After dressing and putting Alexandra’s hat on her head to hide her wet hair, Thomas went out the front door to inquire about his cousin Sammy’s whereabouts.

“That’s what I’d like to know,” Eli Cooper said. “I’ve been looking for him, but he’s disappeared.”

“He’s got to be somewhere around here,” Thomas said. “Don’t worry, I’ll find him.”

Looking in the direction of the woods, Thomas paced behind the house. Just as he had predicted, Eli followed along behind him.

“There he is!” Eli announced.

Turning, Thomas spotted Alexandra lounging in a rocker on the back porch and tried not to smile. She resembled a boy at the moment.

“Where have you been?” Eli asked, approaching her.

“I went for a walk,” Sammy said.

“Don’t you know there is work to do around here?”

“Cooper,” Thomas interrupted, “as I said before, I’ll handle my cousin.”

“What if he goes running off again in the middle of the night and attracts the Yankees?”

“I’ll keep him inside with me tonight. He won’t be going anywhere.”

As Eli turned and huffed off, Alexandra gave him a little smile, and there was something in her eyes he couldn’t quite make out.

It would be a long night.

****

After an adequate supper of biscuits, parched corn on the cob, and dried beef, the men broke into groups of four or five and gathered around the campfire to play cards. Alexandra held no interest in card playing, so she walked around the clearing. A light rain fell, and thunder cracked in the distance.

How odd to invade the home of others, but it was the way of the war.
She swept her hand through the air, dismissing her thoughts.

Gratitude warmed her heart because Thomas got her inside for the night.

“It isn’t safe to wander off alone.”

Alexandra jumped, startled from her reverie. Her heart pounding, she turned toward the sound of the familiar voice.

Thomas, but where is he?
She darted glances around the darkness, unaided by the moon hidden behind clouds.

“Thomas,” she whispered, trying to keep the tremble from her voice.

He stepped forward from where he’d been leaning against a tall pine tree.

“I swear, I have to watch you every minute,” he said with mock exasperation.

“I’m sorry. I just needed to get away,” she said, her mood remaining serious in spite of his playfulness.

“It’s been a hard day. You should rest. Tomorrow won’t be any better, especially if the rain returns.”

“Don’t you worry that the owners might show up and find us in their house?”

“They won’t. Even if they did, there’s nothing they could do about it. This is war, and as an officer of the Confederate States of America, I have the right to seize the house and lands for use of the army.”

“That sounds so cold,” she said, looking back toward the little house, once filled with love—she assumed—now surrounded by soldiers.

“I don’t like it any better than you do,” he said, his voice resonating empathy. “If you hadn’t been with us, I probably would have pushed the men farther tonight. We could have put more miles behind us.”

She searched for accusation in his tone but found none. “I don’t want special treatment.”

“I have to get you to Vicksburg in one piece, or your grandfather will have my head.”

Alexandra breathed in the clean smell of freshwashed earth and looked toward the house. Homesickness struck, twisting her stomach with longing pangs of regret.

“How could someone just run away and leave their house and land to be ravaged by soldiers? I would have stayed and protected my house,” Alexandra declared, her chin lifted.

“Come over here,” Thomas said, with a nod to his left. “I want to show you something.”

Names scratched in an uneven hand across wooden slates identified three lost souls. Alexandra stared down at the markers plunged inches into newly turned mounds of dirt.

“Tom and I found them just after supper. A man, his wife, and young daughter, not more than a few months old, died, my best guess, protecting that house.”

Alexandra did not reply. She too would have done the same thing. She filled her lungs with air, breathing in life itself.