Desperate (Harris Trilogy Book One) (6 page)

He
shook with fury. “Get back to camp, Lieutenant. I’ll deal with you in the morning.” He kicked Emerson in the ass, and pointed toward camp. “Now!”

He
angrily stomped away. David watched him leave unable to believe the Mike he knew would do something as despicable as rape. They grew up only miles apart. Hell, he’d known the man all his life, considered him a friend.

He peered
at the frightened young woman and his anger evaporated. Huge green eyes gazed back at him. He wondered what he would do with her. “What’s your name, Miss?” 

“Ka
te Monroe, Sir. I’m so sorry. I did not mean to cause any trouble.” Tears slipped over her beautiful cheeks.

Female tears always pulled at his heartstrings and he felt sympathy for the girl.
“Well, get dressed and we’ll talk when we get back to camp.”

He turned his ba
ck while she slipped into the clean pants that she had brought with her to the creek. He could hear the cloth rustling against her skin. In his mind, he could still see her exquisite body before she donned her shirt.

How in the hell
did she hide all those curves? He was going to have to get her out of camp quickly. She could stir up a lot of problems if someone found out she was a woman; problems for her and him.

They walked back to camp
in silence. The poor girl was pale as a sheet. What was her story? How did a woman as pretty as her end up in a camp full of men? 

Captain David Harris escorted
Miss Monroe to his quarters and fixed her a hot cup of coffee. Sitting on the small sofa, she sipped slowly letting the warm liquid heat up her cold body. He still couldn’t believe she had been among a throng of men and no one noticed she was a female. He waited patiently as she made the coffee last as long as possible prolonging the inevitable.

When she finished, David took the cup from her hands,
and set the cup on the small table by the tiny sofa. “Let’s start with why are you here?”

She wrung her hands in her lap. A long silence followed before she met his gaze.
“My parents died in a barn fire about a year ago. Then my brother, Jake Monroe, was injured in the war and died two months after returning home.” She wiped at a tear with the back of her hand. “My grandmother died only a week ago. I have no family left. I’m all alone.”

“
Lots of people are alone, Kate. That doesn’t mean they should do something crazy like dress up like a man and go to war. Look what almost happened because of your reckless behavior. Lieutenant Emerson was going to rape you.”

“I
know what he was going to do.” Her cheeks turned pink.   

“I’m sorry, but I could n
ot stay on my farm any longer.” He started to interrupt, but she raised her hand and pleaded, “Please hear me out and let me explain my plight. My neighbor, Bob Lewis tried to force me to marry him. I don’t want to marry him. I detest him. He’s not a nice man.”

I
rritated, David argued, “Miss Monroe, it seems you have no other option but to marry. You are too young to be on your own, and without funds you can’t survive. Someone needs to take care of you. It sounds like this Bob Lewis is your only choice.”

Eyes full of sorrow, she
pleaded, “You don’t understand sir, he is a cruel man and I will not marry him.”

Tired and frustrated
, David needed rest. Besides he couldn’t do anything tonight. “I’ll decide what to do with you in the morning. I’m too tired to try to make a decision tonight, but you can’t stay here. I’ll have to make arrangements to get you out of camp tomorrow.”

He stood, took her small hands into his, and pulled her to her feet
. “You take my bed and I’ll sleep on the sofa.”

“I can sleep on the sofa
. I don’t mind. Besides you are too tall.”

David ran his fingers
through his thick, black hair. “I’m too tired to argue tonight. Go to bed and we’ll work all this out in the morning. When she opened her mouth to protest he snapped, “Good night, Miss Monroe.” He was getting annoyed not knowing how he was going to get out of this predicament without anyone else in camp finding out about her. The woman sure put him in a quandary.   

****

Sleep did not come easy for David. He lay trying to figure out what he was going to do with the beautiful, Kate Monroe. He almost admired her courage of dressing as a man and joining the war. There was no way she could be the innocent she pretended. She had to have known men or she would not have taken the chance showing up in the middle of so many.

All he could see when he closed his eyes was her magnificent body through the thin shirt
. Her breasts were exquisite. Her legs were shapely, long, and perfect for wrapping around a man’s body. He was going to have to get her out of the camp quickly. She was nothing but trouble. Yes, first thing in the morning Kate Monroe would be leaving.

****

Kate could not wait to get a good nights rest in a real bed. The tiny cot in her tent wasn’t very comfortable. She stripped down to her thin shirt and crawled under the covers. Oh, the feather bed felt like heaven.

Then the memory of almost
being raped entered her mind. She shuddered at the thoughts of what would have happened to her if Captain Harris had not shown up when he did.

What would he do
about her? She would be devastated if he sent her back home. She doubted she would be lucky enough to escape Bob Lewis a second time. As she lay trying to go to sleep all she could see was beautiful, clear, blue eyes that seemed to stare into her soul. He was a man she could fall in love with. 

****

The next morning Captain David Harris received a message and a map from General Lee to organize his men and start marching toward the wilderness area of Virginia. Lee’s message said it was urgent to move swiftly to meet with General Jackson’s men to hold off the Union Army. 

Captain Harris gave the order to pack up th
e camp and get ready to march. The camp was a buzz of activity, as the men got ready to fight.

David went in to wake Miss Monroe
. She looked so sweet and childlike as she lay sleeping. As he watched her sleep, something stirred inside him.
I have to get her out of here as soon as possible. She is too much of a distraction.
“Miss Monroe, wake up, we have to pack and move out.”

She
sat up, pulling the covers up to her neck. She blinked several times trying to clear her head. 

“We have orders from General Lee to converge with Jackson’s army an
d Lee’s to strike the Yankees. I don’t have time to send an escort to take you back home. You are going to have to come with us. I need you to keep your disguise a little longer. Please get up and dress in your uniform. I told Lieutenant Emerson not to tell anyone your gender. No one in camp knows but Emerson and me.”

It was obvious she
was elated with the news she would not be going home. He could see the relief in her eyes. “Don’t think for one minute you’ll be staying. As soon as I can spare the men you are going home.” David didn’t want to give her false hope. She needed to understand it was not possible to stay. 

Waiting until David left the room, she bound her breasts even though it was uncomfortable and dressed in her brother’s uniform.
Even the rawness where the binding had rubbed her skin couldn’t ruin her good mood. For the moment she was safe from Bob Lewis.

She ran to her tent she shared with Adam and pac
ked the rest of her belongings. When she arrived back at David’s quarters, she was ready to leave.

Quick to follow David’s directions, his men were ready to leave their camp at Red Springs
behind. He approached Kate. “Can you ride?” 

“Yes, S
ir, I’ve been on horseback a few times for my training in camp.” Not convinced, David chose the calmest horse in the pasture. It was a small, buckskin mare named Betsy. The men in his outfit had brought their own horses or mules because the South did not have the money to provide all the men with horses. A farmer, who could no longer afford to feed her, had donated Betsy.

Kate mounted
her horse with a little effort. David’s voice was brisk. “Stay close to me at all times. The forests are full of Union sharp shooters hiding in the woods.”

She couldn’t think of any other place she’d rather be than by the handsome Captain’s side.
He gave the signal to surge ahead, and his men marched with the excitement of getting the chance to kill some Yankees. They were ready for some action since they had been inactive for a long time.

On the long trip to the tangled Virginia forest known
as the Wilderness, David didn’t speak to Kate. She had hoped to use the opportunity to learn more about him. He seemed to be deep in thought. Concerned she asked, “Are you all right, Sir?”

“I’m wondering how many of these men that I am about
to lead into battle will die. Some of them are just boys. I hate that part of the war. I’ve already seen so many of my men die, and now many more will perish.”

“I’m sorry,
Sir. I know it must be difficult. They know what is expected of them and they are men of honor and will not hesitate to die for what they believe in. It’s the way of life in the South. My brother felt the same way and he did not live to see his seventeenth birthday.”

“Speaking of your family, why is it that you speak so refined, and act like a lady from the city, even though you were born on a small farm?”

“My mom felt education was important. She lived close to Richmond when she was young. Her parents owned a large plantation and she had the best of everything. She attended the best schools money could buy. She wore the most beautiful and stylish clothes. She was a spoiled, rich girl.” Kate patted Betsy’s neck. “She lived a life of pleasure.”

“
Everything was wonderful until she fell in love with her father’s overseer, Daniel Monroe. My mother adored him even though he was not of her class. Her father forbad her to see him. She ran away with him to Durham, North Carolina and that is where they settled and built a small farm. My mom gave up parties, pretty dresses, and her parents. She gave up so much, but she loved my father deeply, and was very happy with the life she had on the small farm. Never again did she speak to her father. For a while she corresponded with her mother until her father discovered they had been writing each other. My grandmother was forbidden to write another letter to my mother. It is terrible she died without their love.”

“What is your grandfather’s name?”

“Roy Talbert. I don’t even know if he and my grandmother are still alive.”

“I know him. He is still in Richmond.
I’m sorry but your grandmother died a year ago.  Maybe we should try to contact him.” David thought this could be how he could get rid of Miss Monroe before any of the other men found out about her gender.

Kate snorted indelicately.
“Do you think I would speak to him after he treated my mother and father the way he did?” I have nothing to say to him. If my father was not good enough for him, neither am I.”

Annoyed with her s
tubbornness, David stated, “Miss Monroe, you are going to have to do something. You cannot stay here. As soon as we get back to Camp Kanway we are going to have to decide what to do with you. If the men find out that I knew and let you stay, I will be court-martialed. You could be in a lot of trouble yourself. I don’t think the army would be too happy when they discover a woman had duped them into believing she was a man.”

Kate opened her mouth to argue, but David put up his h
and to keep her from speaking. “The subject is closed. I don’t want to hear anymore arguing. You have to leave.” With that made clear, he kicked his horse into a gallop, and raced ahead. She watched until he disappeared from sight in a sea of gray uniforms. 

Kate was mad as a bull.
The man was going to be difficult to reason with. She was not going to contact her grandfather. She would have nothing to do with him. There must be another alternative. 

Suddenly another ho
rse came trotting up beside her. Looking into the intense, dark eyes of Lieutenant Emerson, Kate blushed. The ugly claw marks on his handsome cheek reminded her of what almost happened last night. At least she had inflicted some pain on him. His face was also bruised from the beating he had received from Captain Harris. He did not look too pleased.

“So now you’re whoring around with the Capta
in.” It seemed he was still angry because his plans with her had been ruined because of David. Instead of lashing out at David, he chose to take his fury out on her.

“Go away and leave
me alone, Lieutenant Emerson. I do not like or trust you, and never will.” She was already fuming with Captain Harris, and did not need Lieutenant Emerson making her angrier.

“If you think he cares
one bit about you, think again. A man of Captain Harris’ standings would not marry a whore.”   

Kate opened her mouth ready to give Lieutenant Emerson a piece of her mind when
she heard David’s angry voice. “Get back into formation, Lieutenant Emerson. I have had enough of your poor attitude.” She was thankful Captain Harris had returned. Emerson’s lewd remarks made her furious.