Erin's Rebel (33 page)

Mrs. Claymore returned with Doc in tow. He’d allowed Will to practice walking with the crutches he confiscated from a patient who’d developed an infection and died, but Doc warned him he needed to rest his leg as much as possible.

“You’re looking better today,” Doc said.

“I’d feel a lot better if I could get this splint off. My leg itches like hell.” He grimaced. “Pardon me, ma’am.”

The doctor, on the other hand, looked absolutely haggard. “Looks like you could use a furlough yourself, Doc.”

Mrs. Claymore excused herself, leaving the two men alone to talk.

“I could sure enough use one, but there’s no way to get past the trenches. Reckon the end of this damn war would be a blessing for everyone.”

Will shook his head. “I don’t have a good feeling about how things will turn out.”

“Are you talking about the war?” Doc seemed puzzled.

“We can’t win. Why drag it out any longer?”

Doc grinned. “You and I have no say. It’s up to the generals.”

Lowering his voice so Mrs. Claymore couldn’t overhear, Will said, “Erin told me the South will lose.”

Doc lifted a brow. “When did she tell you this?”

“Just before I sent her north. She wanted me to go with her.”

“You couldn’t desert your post. Or that little girl of yours.”

“You know me too well.” Will grunted and shifted his leg to a better position. “Reckon I’ll never see Erin again.”

“Now, don’t be thinking that way. The war will end. You’ll go up north and find her.”

“I don’t know. Maybe she’s already found her way back.”

“Her way back where?”

Will grinned. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

Doc leaned his straight-back chair against the window frame. He sat beside the lounge Will occupied that had been moved from Mrs. Claymore’s sitting room.

“Well...?” Doc prodded.

“Oh, no.” Will shook his head. “I can’t tell you this.”

“But Erin and I were friends. We worked together.”

“If she’d wanted you to know, she would’ve told you.”

Doc groaned and lifted his lanky frame to stand over Will. “Just rest and give that leg a chance to heal, then you can go traipsing off after Erin.”

After Doc left, Will sank back with despair. He felt that same helplessness as when Anne and Sam had died and Wagner had taken Erin.

Why had he let her go?

****

Will spent the next several days drifting in and out of dreams. He dreamed of horseless carriages speeding down glistening black roadways. Winged machines soaring through the skies. Buildings taller than he could ever imagine. As he observed these wonders, Erin stood beside him.

“See,” she said, “I told you all this was possible.”

He took her into his arms, amazed by the visions around him, but completely captivated by the woman he held. She smiled, and he kissed her, devouring her taste and scent.

He broke from the kiss. “I thought I’d lost you forever.”

“You’ll never lose me,” she said. “I’ll see to that.”

But even as she said it, she started to dissolve in his arms. He couldn’t hold her.

“No, don’t go without me.” His fingers closed on air.

He woke to thudding pain in his leg, his body bathed in sweat.

“There, there, Captain,” Jenny Claymore said. “You’re just having a bad dream.” She wrung out a towel over her basin, then bathed his face in the cool wetness.

Sighing, he relished the relief the towel brought.

“Was it about the war?” she asked.

“Pardon me, ma’am?” He still felt stunned by Erin’s disappearance.

“Your dream. Was it about the war?”

“No. It was about someone I lost.”

“Your wife?”

Will nodded, not wanting to explain any more. While Jenny Claymore continued to wash the sweat from his body, he reflected again on his loss.

If only he had the chance to do things over.

****

After taking the train as far south as they could go, Erin and Nathan Brody hired a carriage to take them to Mason in north-western Virginia. Erin grew impatient at the slow pace of nineteenth century travel. The young clerk, on the other hand, seemed excited to be out of York. Erin wondered why he hadn’t joined the Union Army.

“My three older brothers were killed in the war,” he told her when she asked. “One at Bull Run, the other two at Antietam. Being the youngest, I had to stay home to care for my widowed mother.”

“I’m so sorry,” Erin said. She dropped her gaze. And now, Radley had sent this young man into a war zone to protect her. She’d give her editor a severe tongue lashing when she got back.

The trip to Mason was necessary to locate Will. Most of the fighting on the Eastern front centered at Petersburg, a good ways south. But first, she needed to find out if Will was even there. Nathan was polite and solicitous, deferring to her wishes the entire trip. The young, dark-eyed, chestnut-haired, man would make an excellent husband for some lucky young lady.

****

Although Erin didn’t think she’d ever find her way home again, she felt closer to being home than she had in a long time. The familiar, welcoming faces of Tillie, Isaac, and Jenny made her feel she belonged. The only one missing was Will.

When Amanda raced in with her braids, tied off with pink ribbons, swinging over her shoulders, Erin felt near tears. How she’d missed all of them.

“Miss Erin, where have you been?” Jenny said. “We’ve been so worried.”

“Will sent me to Pennsylvania.” Remembering the quiet young man beside her, she apologized. “This is Mr. Nathan Brody, a clerk at the
York Dispatch
, where I’m now working.” To Brody she said, “This is Miss Jenny Montgomery, Tillie, Isaac, and Miss Amanda Montgomery.”

Jenny smiled. “It’s Mrs. Kevin Donnelly, now,” she corrected. “I forgot you didn’t know. I’m married to Kevin.”

“Oh, how wonderful.” Erin embraced Jenny. She genuinely liked the young Irishman. He was the perfect match for Will’s independent-minded sister. “When did this happen?”

“Right after Will left to look for you.” She lifted her left hand, proudly displaying the plain gold band adorning her ring finger.

“I’m so happy for the both of you,” Erin said.

“You work for a newspaper?” Jenny pulled Erin toward the parlor. “Tell me all about it.”

The group settled in the parlor.

Tillie reached for Amanda’s hand. “I’ll take Miss Amanda to her room for a nap, then put on some tea.”

Amanda rubbed her eyes and left without protest.

“Do tell.” Jenny eyed Erin. “What do you do at the newspaper?”

“I’m a reporter.”

Jenny clapped her hands. “How exciting! But what are you doing here?”

“We’re heading south to report on the war.” Erin exchanged glances with Brody.

“This is wonderful news,” Jenny said, as Tillie set down the tea tray. “You could find Kevin for me.”

“Why? Where is he, what’s happened?”

“He’s been wounded down in Petersburg. I’d go to him myself but...” She patted her stomach.

Erin’s gaze was drawn to Jenny’s swelled, rounded abdomen. “You mean...?”

“I’m having Kevin’s baby.”

“I’m so happy for you, Jenny. When are you due?”

“In August.”

“That’s wonderful. The war will be over by then. Kevin will be home.”

Jenny and Brody stared at her.

“How do you know the war will be over?” the young man asked.

“Ah...” How would she answer this one?

Jenny frowned. “Do you know something you’re not telling us?”

“No, I’m just saying...the war
could
be over by then.”

“That’s not what you said,” Brody put in, “you said the war
will
be over.”

“It was just an expression, is all. But I surely hope it will be over by the time Jenny’s baby arrives.”

Fortunately, they let the matter drop.

“I’m worried about Kevin,” Jenny said. “What if he dies?”

“Don’t say that,” Erin insisted. “We’ll find Kevin and send word to you. If he’s been wounded, maybe he could come home.”

“Oh, that would be wonderful.”

“But now—the reason we’re here—I need to find Will. Do you know where he is?”

“Oh, that’s right. You wouldn’t know. Papa got the charges of desertion dropped. Will’s with Kevin in Petersburg. But we’ve had no recent word from him.”

Relieved he was still alive and not in prison, Erin’s thoughts churned. Will
was
in Petersburg. This would work perfectly for her, thanks to Mrs. Driscoll’s card reading.

And she
would
find him.

****

Since they couldn’t continue their journey that day due to the hour, Erin and Nathan accepted the Montgomery’s hospitality for the night. They’d head for Petersburg first thing in the morning.

Erin was escorted to the guest room, while Nathan stayed in Will’s room.

After Brody retired, Erin spent the rest of the evening catching up with Jenny. The young, dark-haired woman was like the younger sister Erin had never had.

“How did you get a job on a paper?” Jenny wanted to know.

“My landlady at the boardinghouse where I was staying told me about the position after I’d told her I was a journalist.”

“But I thought you’d only ever worked as a laundress.” Jenny’s brows knit together in confusion.

“I used to be a journalist...in another life.”

Jenny continued to frown.

“It’s a long story,” Erin said. “It really doesn’t matter now.”

“Well, anyway...how did you get the position?”

“I walked into the editor’s office and asked for a job.”

“And he hired you, just like that?” Jenny’s mouth was agape.

“I had to write a story first.”

Jenny leaned forward eagerly. “What’d you write about?”

Erin laughed at the memory. “I was sent to cover a ladies’ tea party. I turned the story into a sentimental piece about the boys in blue in the ladies’ families they were knitting socks for.”

“And now you’re going to Petersburg to cover the war?”

“I insisted on the assignment. I have to find your brother.”

“Oh, I do hope you find him and the two of you can be happy. I have a feeling about you and Will. You’re perfect for him. Much better than Anne was.”