Legacies (38 page)

With an effort Temple tore her gaze away from Ike as he followed the other soldiers noisily clumping up the stairs. She had been there the night he was born. She had laid him in Phoebe's arms. Surely he couldn't . . . he wouldn't give The Blade away if he found him. But the color of his uniform was the same as Jed's, and she remembered that, however reluctantly, Jed always followed orders—just as he had that long-ago day when he had forced the members of her family to leave their ancestral home of Gordon Glen and marched them to the detention camp to await their removal West.

Her heart was in her throat when she turned back to Jed. She saw how closely he watched her and knew he had to be remembering that, too. She mustn't let him see how frightened she was.

"Phoebe, bring some coffee to the drawing room," she said, then smiled at Jed. "If it wouldn't be considered consorting with the enemy, we would be happy to have you join us, Jed."

"A moment ago, it was Major Parmelee," he reminded her.

"A moment ago I was upset with you because I thought you didn't believe me when I said The Blade wasn't here. I forgot that, even if you did believe me, you would still be obliged to carry out your orders. You are a soldier. It is your duty. I shouldn't have taken it personally, Jed. Will you forgive me?"

He hesitated a split second, then smiled. "Of course."

"I knew you would understand." Temple breathed a little easier and led the way into the drawing room.

From all parts of the house came the sounds of searching soldiers, most of it muffled by the thick walls. But it was the noises from the second floor that kept Temple on the edge of her chair, nerves tense. Making idle conversation was an ordeal.

 

Ike paused outside the master bedroom, struggling with the feeling that he had no right to enter it without permission. Yet his buddies were already inside, beginning their search of the interior. He reminded himself he wasn't a slave anymore; he was a soldier with orders to search the house. He walked into the room.

He looked around. The last time he had been in this room, he had helped carry Kipp here, wounded after that battle at Pea Ridge in Arkansas. They had laid him on the bed, and he had listened to Alex tell about the fighting. He had thought the Yankee soldiers would be coming soon to free him. He was free now, but sometimes it was hard to stop thinking like a slave. Even now he felt uncomfortable being in this room without permission.

There was a basket on the floor by the nightstand. Drawn by its vaguely familiar shape, Ike walked over and picked it up. Miss Temple's medical basket. What was it doing here? Then he heard a sound, like someone breathing in sharply. It came from close by. Both of his companions were on the opposite side of the room.

He didn't know why he did it, but he knelt down and lifted the white lace ruffle that skirted the bed. Cautiously, he looked under it. When he saw the long dark shape of a body, he opened his mouth to call the news. Then he found himself staring at a pair of tortured blue eyes. The Blade was looking at him, his face twisted with pain, sweat rolling off it. He had something in his mouth. At first Ike thought they had gagged him with a leather strap of some kind. Then he realized that The Blade was biting down on it, the muscles in his jaws all ridged with the effort to hold back any sound of pain. He was hurting. He was hurting bad.

Slowly, Ike let the ruffle fall back in place. A sob of frustration lodged in his throat. He tightened his grip on the rifle in his hand. He couldn't do it. He couldn't turn him in. He knew he should. The Blade was the enemy. He didn't owe him anything. So why couldn't he say it? Why couldn't he shout that he had found him? That's what any other soldier would do. He stood up and stared at the bed.

"Find anything, Ike?"

He hesitated, then shook his head and started toward the door, avoiding their eyes.

 

After a three-hour search of the house, grounds, Negro cabins, and outbuildings, the young lieutenant reported to Jed that they had found nothing. Almost immediately, Jed turned to her, and Temple had to suppress quickly the shudder of relief.

"My apologies, Temple, for disrupting your morning this way."

"If you are truly sorry, you will stay for dinner." She was anxious for him to leave—for all of them to leave, but she didn't want it to appear that way.

"Perhaps another time . . . under more pleasant circumstances."

"We will look forward to that."

As he rode away, Jed was more than a little relieved that he hadn't found The Blade at Grand View. He had hated to be the one conducting the search for him—just as he had hated to be the one commanding the detail that had forced Temple and her parents from their home in Georgia. He was glad that this time, at least, he hadn't had to hurt Temple. She had been through enough.

 

As soon as the soldiers were out of sight, Temple hurried into the house. Susannah waited for her. "Are they gone?"

Temple nodded and closed the door behind her, then sagged against it for a moment, weak with relief. "I saw them turn onto the Texas Road. They're on their way back to the fort."

"Thank God," Eliza murmured with sincerity.

Regathering her strength, Temple pushed away from the door. "Have you checked on The Blade? Is he all right?"

"He's fine, Miss Temple," Phoebe said from the top of the stairs.

"Where's Deu?" Temple crossed to the stairs. "We may need his help getting The Blade back into bed."

"The last time I saw him, he was outside. I'll go find him." As Susannah turned to leave, Deu entered the foyer from the rear hall.

"I don't know where you've got Master Blade hid, Miss Temple, but I wouldn't be too quick to get him out," he warned. "I just saw two riders out back by the stables."

"That's impossible." Temple froze, one hand on the newel post and one foot on the step. "All the soldiers left. I saw them."

"Are you certain there were two?" Susannah asked quickly. "It might be Lije."

"There were two, and they were trying to keep out of sight so I didn't get a good look at them." He turned to Temple. "The Yankees are cagey. They could have sent another detachment to surround the place in case Master Blade tried to slip out."

"I'm going out and have a look," Susannah announced, her shoulders squared with determination.

"But if there are—" Eliza began in protest.

"I'll bring back a load of firewood."

"I'm going with you," Temple said. "Eliza, you and Sorrel keep watch out the front windows. Phoebe, let The Blade know he'll have to stay in hiding a while longer. Deu—"

"Master Blade would want me to go with you, Miss Temple."

"Three people to fetch a load of firewood will look ridiculous."

"Then I'll make like I'm going to do some chopping."

"Who cares how it looks," Susannah declared with impatience and set off for the backdoor. Temple and Deu quickly followed her.

The minute they stepped outside they heard the muffled pounding of hoofbeats on grass. Susannah halted, alarm shooting through her nerves. A horse and rider came around the corner of the detached kitchen at a gallop.

"Lije," Temple whispered in relief beside her.

But it was the second rider on a short-coupled bay who claimed the whole of Susannah's attention. Almost a full year had passed since she last saw him, but she recognized Rans Lassiter instantly. The sight of him was like an intoxicant running through her bloodstream, making her feel suddenly warm and giddy.

Lije piled out of the saddle as his horse plunged to a stop short of the back steps. "What was Parmelee doing here? What did he want?" He shot the questions at Temple.

"He was looking for your father. Somehow he found out he was—"

"Diane," he said in a savage mutter and hurled an angry look in the direction of the distant fort.

Temple shook her head. "You can't be sure of that. I think someone recognized Deu and guessed The Blade had to be here, too. In any case, they didn't find him." Rans dismounted, drawing her glance. "When Deu caught a glimpse of you down by the stables, we thought they were coming back to look again."

"Not to worry, ma'am," Rans told her. "One of my boys is following the Yankee column to make sure they don't take the notion to double back. The rest are fanned out along the perimeter."

"Captain Lassiter of the Texas Brigade," Lije said by way of introduction, the troubled scowl never leaving his face.

Rans nodded to her. "A pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Stuart." Then his gray eyes at last turned their attention on Susannah, a warmth entering them that snatched at her breath. "It turned out to be a lucky thing we crossed paths with Lije while he was out hunting. As soon as I mentioned we'd spotted a detachment of infantry headed this way, we hightailed it straight here."

"I'm glad," Susannah murmured, her pulse quickening under the steady regard of his eyes.

His mouth quirked. "Not half as glad as I am," he replied and released a long sigh of satisfaction. "You're a feast for hungry eyes, Susannah." He stepped closer and caught her hand, raising it to his lips. A thrill quivered through her when he brushed his mouth over her fingers.

"Deu, get the horses saddled and bring them up here," Lije ordered abruptly. "Lassiter, I'll need you to give me a hand with the major."

"Why?" Temple said in alarm. "What are you going to do? Where do you think you're going to take him?"

"It isn't safe here. Not anymore," Lije told her, a grimness in his expression. "If Diane hasn't told them he's here, she will now. They'll be back. And the next time they'll turn this house upside down until they find him."

"But he's in no condition to travel," she protested.

"He's better than he was when I brought him here."

"No. I'm not going to let you move him."

"Lije is right, Mrs. Stuart." Rans stepped in before the breach between them widened. "If your husband stays, it's almost a certainty he'll be taken prisoner. But if he leaves with us, we can escort him safely through the Yankee lines and see that he gets to a reb hospital. The major is a valuable man. We'll look after him."

"I—" Temple groped for an argument, then turned away in defeat, fighting tears.

Lije moved past her toward the house. He paused at the door and glanced back. "You coming, Lassiter?"

"In a minute," he said, his gaze swinging to Susannah.

She barely noticed when Temple followed Lije into the house. She was conscious only of Rans and the growing ache inside. "Can't you stay?" She crossed to him. "Wouldn't it be safer to wait until nighttime and leave under the cover of darkness?"

He shook his head. "It would be too risky to linger here very long, much as I would like to. Too many Yankee patrols use the Texas Road, and this place is too close to it. Every minute we stay here increases the chance my men might be spotted, and we'd find ourselves fighting to escape. We have to leave now—as soon as we can." He curved his arms around her waist and drew her closer, as if holding her was the most natural thing in the world. "It seems every time we meet, I barely have a chance to say hello before I have to say goodbye. This is a helluva courtship for you."

"Is that what it is? A courtship?" Susannah asked, her voice all breathless.

"It is to me." He rubbed his cheek against the side of her hair. "I love the smell of your perfume, that fresh, clean hint of sandalwood. It makes me think of sunshine and spring days." He stroked a hand over her back. "We'll have those days together, Susannah. I swear that to you." He drew back and cupped a hand to her face. "Right now, all we have is this minute. It has to be enough."

"It is," she whispered, loving him totally, completely.

"The hell it is," he muttered and kissed her hard and quick, then pulled away and walked into the house.

Within the hour, they had lifted The Blade onto the back of a horse. Lije swung up behind him and reached around him to collect the reins. Rans stood in the stirrups and released a shrill, loud whistle. A dozen riders—two dozen—poured from their hiding places in the surrounding trees and converged on the pair.

Lije checked to make sure Deu was mounted, then he tipped his head to peer at his father's profile. "Are you ready?"

The Blade nodded, still grimacing with the pain. "Let's go."

"He's hurting, Eliza," Temple murmured brokenly.

"He'll be fine." She curved an arm around Temple and rubbed her shoulder in comfort as Lije moved the horse out at a walk.

Rans reined his mount over to the back veranda, hooked an arm around Susannah's waist, and scooped her up to plant a hard, needy kiss on her lips. Then he let her slide to the ground.

"I'm coming back to collect my dance," he told her. "You'd better save one for me."

"I will," she promised, both a little dazed and a little dazzled.

He touched his hat to her and backed his horse away, then swung it after Lije. His men fell in behind him. Amidst the clatter of hooves and the groan of leather, Susannah heard him whistling. Even though she could only hear snatches of the tune, she knew the song was "Oh Susannah."

Sorrel glanced sideways in curious wonder. "Are you in love with him, Susannah?"

"I'm not sure, but I think so." She smiled at the thought, secretly pleased by the idea. It was crazy, but it also felt very right.

 

The house was silent. There was no sign of movement anywhere around it. Again, Alex scanned the run-down shanties of the Negro quarters and the plantation outbuildings. Nothing except some chickens scratching in the dirt.

The buggy was still in the barn. He had checked that already. They had to be around somewhere. Maybe the vegetable garden. He climbed onto the black mare. Keeping to the trees, he rode around the manor house to the plot of ground near the river. Phoebe was stooped over a shovel, digging potatoes.

"Where is your mistress?" Alex halted the mare close to the fence and made no attempt to check her nervous dancing.

"She's in the orchard, picking apples."

He started to ask her about The Blade, then thought better of it. He reined the mare away from the fence and kneed her into a canter, heading for the orchards.