Hearts Under Siege (Civil War Collection) (10 page)

The shadows of dusk replaced the clouds before Thomas pulled himself away and sat up. “We should move,” he said.

“Do we have to?” Alexandra asked through swollen lips.

“It’s still early yet,” he said, pulling her into his lap and kissing her senseless again.

An owl hooted in the tree above their heads, jerking him back to reality.

“I want you to wait here,” Thomas said, removing a knife from his boot.

“Where are you going?” Her eyes were slitted, her voice dreamy.

“I need to have a look around.” He handed her the knife. “Try to stay hidden, but if anyone should accost you, put this to good use,” he said, pulling her to him in a tight embrace. He kissed the top of her head before leading her to sit next to a tree near where he had secured the horse. “Watch for snakes,” he added.

****

Alexandra smiled, but the smile faded as she listened to his fading footsteps. Alone, the exploding shells in the distance sounded louder around her.

She sat in the midst of a battle.

Again. She sighed and scanned the area around her, straining to see anything odd or hear any strange noises. The double-edged bowie knife weighed heavy in her hands. She pulled it from its leather sheath and turned the ten-inch blade over and over.

Have you ever taken a life?

One would have to be inches from the enemy to use this or be skilled in throwing it. Shuddering, she pressed it onto the ground beside her.

She looked behind the tree and scanned the area again. What if he didn’t come back? She shivered, chilled despite the humid heat. Would she go on without him? Of course she would, she chastised herself.

Pulling the tube from beneath her shirt, she slid out the paper and studied the code. It began with XMOFI, a senseless scramble of words. For the hundredth time she wondered what could be important enough for Grand-père to risk both their lives.

Important or not
,
she
now risked her own life, as well as Thomas’s, to deliver it. Running a finger along her swollen lips, she smiled dreamily. She had never before imagined such sensual pleasure existed in the act of kissing. Had she possessed even an inkling of this knowledge, she might have tried it years ago. She shook her head, surprised at herself. When did she start caring about such things, she, who needed nothing more than a sketchbook and some paints or a piece of charcoal to be content?

Oh, to press her lips against his and stop the hands of time. Such hope, hope for the future, for a lifetime with someone she loved, burst from her heart. Love? Was it love she felt for Thomas?

Yes. She was in love.

****

Thomas discovered the enemy not only attacked the city but besieged it as well. He watched from a distance, wary of discovery. The hills surrounding Vicksburg were rife with Yankees. Getting in would be tricky. They would have to sneak through the woodlands and over gullies, and even then, so many Yankee troops wandered around the city, they ran the risk of being spotted.

His worry centered not so much on himself— he’d taken far greater risks before—as on Alexandra. How many moments had his lips touched hers? With other women, kissing always led to something more. Somehow, he’d wanted more than sexual release with Alexandra. His tenderness for her, foreign in its intensity, perplexed him. Something must be wrong with his libido. He didn’t want to have sex with her. He’d already compromised her enough. Making love with her would only hurt her. Besides the possibility of pregnancy, she would be ruined for her future husband. He scowled. The notion of her being married set like a peach pit in his stomach.

He turned and began retracing his steps. Right now his major concern centered on Alexandra’s safety.

I could leave her here and deliver the message myself
.
He shook his head
.
She won’t go for it, but I have no choice.

As he approached her, her eyes were riveted on him. He smiled. Heaven help the Yankee who tangled with her.

“Any problems?” he asked.

“No.” She stood up and ran, open-armed, slamming against him then encircling his chest in a visegrip.

He gasped.

“I’m glad you’re back,” she uttered.

He laughed and, lifting her off her feet, whirled her around. “Maybe I’ll leave you for a whole hour next time.” He set her down, one arm lingering around her waist.

“No,” she whispered. “Don’t ever leave me again.”

His mood sobered. “It’s too dangerous for you to go in,” he said.

“Well, what do we do?” she asked, her brow crinkled.

“You’ll have to wait here for…awhile. It shouldn’t be more than a few hours.” He released her, and she stepped back.

“All right,” she said, rubbing her hands along her arms.

Thomas took two steps and untied the leather straps binding the horse to a tree. “There’s a small stream behind us. We’ll make a camp there so the horse can have water.”

From the corner of his eye, Thomas saw Alexandra pick up his knife from where she’d left it on the ground, step, and reach toward him in offering. Her hand paused, and she withdrew the knife, easing it into her knapsack instead.

He opened his mouth to make a comment but bit back the words. He glanced at the sword secured at his side. If Alexandra found comfort in having a knife on her, he would allow her to keep it.

No tirade of objections rained down upon him. Easiness spelt trouble. A trickle of worry prickled along his spine. Perhaps she was plotting some type of escape again. She had certainly tried that before.

She followed in silence to his chosen campsite. He led the horse to the stream where it drank its fill. The bright moon offered enough light to make out movements. They couldn’t risk building a fire. A velvety cloak covered them in their own world of darkness. In between shelling echoes, crickets gave the night a safe and normal illusion.

“You do understand, don’t you?” Thomas asked, adjusting the saddle.

“I suppose,” Alexandra answered.

“You’ll have to give me the message to take with me.”

“Give you the message?” she repeated.

“Yes. If I’m to take it to General Pemberton, you have to give it to me.”

Understanding dawned on Alexandra’s face. She seemed to realize he didn’t intend to send her in alone at all. He planned to go himself and leave her here.

“No,” Alexandra murmured. “I won’t let you do it. I’ve come this far, and I have to finish it.”

“That’s crazy talk,” Thomas quipped, unable to hide his frustration any longer.

“I may be crazy, but I’m not a quitter,” Alexandra said, lifting her chin and clenching her jaw.

Thomas’s hands stilled on the straps. He dropped the leather bands and turned his full attention upon her. All his frustration drained when he saw the tears pooling in her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he said, going to her and wrapping his arms around her. He pulled her against him and held her against his chest. Their bodies molded together, and he pressed his cheek against her hair. “I just don’t want to place you in danger.”

At first Alexandra held herself stiffly, and then she put her arms around him and gripped him, her fingers tightening on his sleeves.

“I’m sorry, ma chérie,” he said as he smoothed the hair at the back of her head. “Will you let me take care of this dangerous mission for you?”

Alexandra sighed. “I’m sorry, Thomas. But I made a promise, and I must carry it out.”

She spoke just as he had known she would. She didn’t make a promise lightly. What would happen to her when they parted? Each time they kissed, she made a promise with her lips.

****

The cannon explosions grew in intensity as Thomas and Alexandra moved toward the city. Those residing in the city, soldiers and civilians alike, wanted to get out. Those outside the ring of siege wanted to stay out. If anyone saw them, they chose not to stop their progress.

They skirted trenches teeming with Yankee soldiers, staying well beyond the abatis—felled trees with sharpened branches pointing towards the enemy. Thomas left her three times, waiting behind a shelter—a tree, a house, and a shed—as he dashed ahead to scan the trenches, looking for a way through. He’d come back to her each time, assuring her all was clear.

The third time, they shifted direction, turning east before moving forward again. The trenches were less occupied here, away from the river. A sprinkle of stars lit their way. Thomas, as surefooted and confident as though it were midday, guided her, dodging trees and dipping into gullies, gripping her hand.

The voices of watchmen drifted to their ears before they could see the camp. They’d gone more than halfway around the city avoiding Yankee soldiers.

“This is it,” Thomas whispered.

“Are they Confederates?”

“Yes. Do you see—?”

“Captain Munroe?”

Thomas turned and blinked at the familiar face of one of his men.

“Sir, welcome back. We took you for dead.” He stuck out his hand.

“Lieutenant Malone,” Thomas responded warmly, shaking his hand and then grasping the younger man by the shoulder. “I hope you didn’t send such rumors to my poor old mother.”

“Ha. Your poor old mother would be hardpressed to believe it. Besides, old General Outs wasn’t about to give up on any of his boys.”

Thomas laughed at Malone’s summation of General Outs. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you a little far north?”

Lieutenant Malone glanced at Alexandra. “This is the army, sir. I just follow orders.”

“Then it must be fate that I found you. I would never have expected a cavalry unit to be ensconced in a siege.”

“It wasn’t exactly planned.” He glanced again at Alexandra, who was shifting from foot to foot.

Annoyed by Lieutenant Malone’s suspiciousness, Thomas relented. “Sir, may I introduce Miss Alexandra Champagne of New Orleans.” He looked at Alexandra and gestured to the lieutenant. “Miss Champagne, this is Lieutenant John Malone.”

Lieutenant Malone stared agape at Alexandra.

“I’m pleased to make your acquaintance,” Alexandra said in a gracious tone. She then turned and scowled at Thomas for giving away her cover.

He grinned. “Close your mouth, Lieutenant. Haven’t you ever seen a lady before?”

“No. I mean yes, sir.”

“I need you to locate Miss Champagne’s aunt.”

“Her name is Miss Maggie Champagne,” Alexandra corrected.

Thomas watched his fellow soldier mutter and set off to do his bidding; then he turned to Alexandra.

“Why did you tell him?” she asked.

“You can trust my men.”

“I don’t trust anyone.”

Thomas raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?”

Alexandra turned away from him without looking at him or answering. Her chest rose and fell with a silent sigh.

“Miss Maggie Champagne is in the caves,” Lieutenant Malone said, breathlessly rushing back.

“Caves?” Alexandra echoed.

“How do you know that?” Thomas asked.

The Lieutenant shook his head. “I know because one of my men had to personally drag her from her home and escort her to safety only minutes before it was overrun by Yankees.” He turned his attention to Alexandra. “The people have dug into the hillsides. It is the only place they have that is safe from the bombardments.”

“You’ll go there,” Thomas announced, glancing at Alexandra.

“I will not,” she answered.

“Thank you, Lieutenant,” Thomas said, dismissing the soldier with a curt nod. He turned to Alexandra, grabbing her by the arm. “What is wrong with you?”

“Wrong with me? Nothing’s wrong with me,” she answered, her voice on the verge of shrill.

“Look at me,” he whispered.

After hesitating, she raised her eyes to his. As the dawning sun filtered through the trees, the gentle light softened her face but reflected the fear in her eyes.

“I’ll make sure you’re as safe as possible.”

“You’re sending me away,” she blurted.

“No,” Thomas said, pulling her into an embrace. “Do you want to go to your aunt?”

“I suppose so,” she said, her voice muffled against his chest.

“I’ll have the Lieutenant take you there, after you have some breakfast, while I check in with my commander. I’ll come for you soon. All right, ma chérie?”

She nodded. He pulled back and lifted her face for a swift kiss.

As he led her toward the tents, he couldn’t bring himself to look back at her. He could not bear to see the disappointment he was certain would be on her face.

****

This was the mistake he had been waiting for. They would split up now, and the fancy cavalry officer would go back to the army where he should be, and leave the little whore unprotected. He would wait, patiently, until the time was right. Then he would pay her back.

Chapter Ten

Alexandra paced the circumference of the cave for what must have been the hundredth time in the past three days. Each time, she took a different route around the cave as she dodged the dozen or so other inhabitants of the makeshift dwelling. Though Aunt Maggie knew most of the other people thrown in with them, Alexandra saw the furrowed eyes of strangers follow her as she paced.

Many families had brought furniture from their houses, resulting in a hodgepodge of décor, from a velvet maroon settee shoved against the wall to a tea table stuck in the middle of the room. The McRaes had even brought a rug to cover the dirt floor. The rug itself was now covered with dirt. Mrs. McRae insisted on using a branch to sweep it off every couple of hours. Alexandra expected portrait paintings to appear on the walls at any time.

A door someone had provided, no doubt from a destroyed home, divided the cave into two rooms. Women, making up the majority of the cave dwellers, huddled around the reverend, one of three men along with two adolescent boys making up their clan. At night the ladies retreated to the back room, curling under quilts. On the other side of the door, the men slept on their own blankets next to the supplies. The back room used by the women lacked an outside door, trapping stale air during the night. Taking shallow breaths to avoid the dank earth, Alexandra barely slept at night. When she did sleep, she woke with sweat running down her back, her muscles aching from the hardness of the ground.