Love and War: The Coltrane Saga, Book 1 (41 page)

They talked on about the war, but Kitty was unable to learn any information that might tell her where Nathan would be. He could be anywhere. The war was going on all over, it seemed. Somehow, some way, she had to find him.

They reached the town of Murfreesboro, and the first thing that caught Kitty’s eye was the cattle pen next to the railroad which held Confederate prisoners. They wore tattered uniforms, and they looked thin, emaciated. Could Nathan be one of them, she thought with a painful twist of her heart, her eyes scanning the crowd of soldiers.

The prisoners shouted obscenities. She saw some of the guards hitting at them with the butts of their rifles. Travis turned once to look at her, but she kept her eyes straight ahead, pretending indifference.

Through the muddy, rutted street they rode, stopping finally in front of a ramshackle hotel set back from the other buildings and stores. “General Rosecrans is quartered here,” Sergeant West said as they prepared to dismount. “There are ample rooms upstairs for you and your lady. The other soldiers can camp at the edge of town with us.”

Travis helped Kitty from her horse and held tightly to her arm as they went up the steps and entered the hotel. To one side, there was a saloon, and on the other, steps wound upward. Travis introduced himself to a soldier standing guard, saying first he wanted a room for Kitty and then he needed to talk with Rosecrans right away. The soldier nodded, holding out his hand to Kitty, who brushed by him and walked on up the steps.

He led her to a room at the end of the hallway, and she stepped inside to survey the shabbiness. Worn, frayed carpets, a grease-stained bedspread on a sagging iron-postered bed. A chair and a rickety table were the only other furnishings. The windows were broken out. The soldier noticed her dismay and said apologetically, “You know we’ve had some skirmishes here, lady, and things are kind of in a bad way. We haven’t had time to fix up, and nobody knew you were coming.”

“This will do nicely,” she said, her voice crisp. Already she had noted the window at the end of the hall and the outside stairway leading downward probably to a rear alley. When the time came for escape, it would be very easily accomplished—if she could make the right contacts. “I’ll have some food sent up.” The soldier went out, closing the door behind him. She waited to hear it lock, but there was no such sound. Travis
did
trust her. There was to be no locked door. She hugged herself with delight and hurried to peer out one of the broken windows.

The stockade where the prisoners were held was in sight. Surely there would be one soldier down there among them who would know something about Nathan, where he might be fighting. And surely to goodness, one of them, if not more, would be willing to attempt escape and take her with him. It wasn’t much of a plan, not yet, but she would quickly work things out. It was now or never!

The sound of the door opening made her whirl about, startled. Travis stood there, smiling, a tray of hot food in his hands—griddle cakes, coffee, bacon. It smelled heavenly. “I’m having a tub of hot water sent up. Then you can get that bath you’ve been hoping for…”

“And have you in my arms as I’ve been hoping for,” she said meaningfully, lowering her lashes to look at him seductively.

He set the tray down, then took her in his arms and kissed her firmly. “That will have to wait, love. I’ve important business to discuss with Rosecrans. I may have some bad news for you, too, but let’s wait on that until I’m certain.”

“Bad news?” She stared at him, frightened. “Travis, don’t make me fret. Tell me, please…”

He sighed, shaking his head. “I shouldn’t have even mentioned it till I was sure. But I guess you will worry now. I’ve just been told that a man named Nathan Bedford Forrest, a general for the Rebels, has started attacks and raids that have to be checked. Colonel Ben Grierson is gathering as many Federal cavalrymen as possible in La Grange, Tennessee, and Rosecrans says Grant wants me to take my men and go with him. We’re going to tear up railroads and supply depots all the way to Louisiana and help clear the way for Grant’s campaign against Vicksburg.”

“What does this have to do with me?” she demanded. “Do you think I’m going to shout it out the window? Are you about to tell me I’m to be bound and gagged to keep from telling what you plan to do?”

She stomped her foot, face red with anger, and Travis had to laugh. “No, princess.” He grinned, kissing the tip of her nose. “I don’t believe you’ll do that. And who would you tell? Those Rebel prisoners down there who’ll be off to prison as soon as the next train comes through? I’m telling you this because you may have to stay behind. The ride will be rough, and even though we may need your medical skills, it won’t be any place for a woman. I’ll have to go back and get Sam and the others and head for La Grange to meet Colonel Grierson. You’ll have to stay here with Rosecrans. He’ll put you with the field surgical unit.”

“I don’t want you to leave me,” she cried, pretending to be heartbroken. “How can you do this to me, Travis…to us? Don’t I mean anything to you at all?”

He grabbed her, holding her close against his chest. “Of course, you do, precious, but I can’t endanger your life. Before, it didn’t matter. I’ll be honest with you. You meant nothing to me, but now you do, and I want you to be kept as safe as possible. Cavalry raids are very dangerous, and I just can’t take you with me.”

She hated herself for actually feeling regret that he would be leaving her soon. She hated him, didn’t she? Oh, God, the whole world was turning upside down! She had to get away—return to her people—before she completely lost her sanity!

“Sir, Rosecrans is waiting,” a voice came through the door.

“I may be late.” He kissed her again. “Enjoy your food. Take that hot bath. And wait up for me.”

He walked out, closing the door behind him, and Kitty tiptoed to the door, pressed her ear against the thin wood, and listened. “Get the lady her bath and then clear this floor. I don’t want any of these men getting ideas about peeking through keyholes.”

“Sir, with you and the commander right next door, I think guards should be allowed to be on post,” a strange voice commented worriedly.

“Place a guard downstairs. Hell, soldier, the only Rebs around here are at the stockade! I gave you an order, now follow it.”

Next door
,
she thought feverishly. The conference between Travis and Rosecrans would take place right next door. And there would be no guards posted in the hallway because she was supposed to be taking a bath! Oh, it was all too easy, she thought, hugging herself with delight. She ate ravenously, then pretended excitement over the washtub of hot water that was brought in by two shiny-eyed soldiers. She waited about ten minutes, then slowly opened the door and stepped into the hallway. There was no sound except for low voices coming from the room next door, and she tiptoed in that direction, praying the floor would not creak beneath her feet.

“It’s true that the Northern grip is tightening,” she heard a strange voice saying as she pressed her ear against the door. “Grant’s bogged down in that damned steaming low country north of Vicksburg, and I’m inactive here trying to get my men back together. It’ll take six months or more. Hell, at last count I lost thirteen thousand men.”

There was a low whistle, and then Travis’s voice, saying, “What happens next?”

“Hooker’s doing a fine job with the Army of the Potomac. You know, he’s shown real talent as an organizer, which came as a surprise to many. He drinks at lot, but he’s a leader, and that’s what counts. He can whip his men into shape. Makes them shave, clean themselves up. I’m afraid I haven’t been able to fret over such matters.”

“Nor have I,” Travis admitted doggedly. “I’ve been too worried about keeping them alive to worry about keeping them clean.”

“Hooker’s sent word to Mr. Lincoln that it’s not a question of whether or not he can take Richmond—it’s a matter of
when
.”

“That’s cocky.” Travis laughed.

“Not if you know ‘Fighting Joe’ Hooker,” Rosecrans said, also laughing. “He means it. As soon as the spring winds dry the dirt roads so the armies can start moving, he’s going to head for Richmond with more men than McClellan ever had. He’ll move along the Virginia countryside on the south side of the lower James River, apparently aggressive to the enemy to hold them in check and keep that part of the country open so that its bacon and forage can be used. But he won’t repeat Burnside’s mistake and butt head-on against the Confederate defenses at Fredericksburg. He’ll leave a third of his army there to hold Lee’s attention, and then swing up the rest of his men along the Rappahannock and cross the river to march on Lee’s unprotected left and rear.”

Kitty held her breath. Dear God, if she could only get this information to the Confederates! It could save the capital! But how far away was Fredericksburg, Virginia? She was in Tennessee!

“I’d rather return to General Grant, sir,” Travis was saying.

“No,” came the booming reply. “Grant says you are one of the best qualified cavalrymen and officers in the whole Union army, and a sharpshooter besides. You head on out and join Colonel Grierson’s troopers like Grant wants you to do.”

“And you’ll look after the lady?”

Rosecrans chuckled. “So that’s it. You’re worried about your lady. A pretty thing she is, too. Yes, I’ll see that she’s taken care of, and if she’s as good a nurse as you say, she’ll be desperately needed. You haven’t gone and fallen in love with a Rebel prisoner, have you?”

“Her father left her and her mother to join our side, sir,” Travis spoke up quickly. “Kitty’s changed. I’m pretty sure of it. As for love, guess my reputation hasn’t reached you, sir. I love no woman.”

“Such a reputation is not important enough to reach me.” Rosecrans’s voice was cold and intimidating. “But I will see to it that she is taken care of. You can be sure of that. Now I want you to prepare to leave first thing in the morning to go get your men and head for La Grange. It’s on the Mississippi line and you need to get started right away.”

But Travis was not intimidated by the higher-ranking officer. “Sir, a few days can’t matter that much if the Colonel has to wait for the roads to dry up. It’s only mid-February, and my purpose in bringing Kitty down out of the mountains was to give her a respite from the hard winter. You don’t understand what she’s meant to me and my men. She’s saved many lives, and she’s gone without her own rations to give to a sick soldier who needed the nourishment, such as it was.”

“I’ll see that the lady is treated well…entertained…”

“No, sir.” The voice was firmer, and Kitty felt a strange little shudder rippling through her body. “You don’t understand. It’s
me
she wants to entertain her, and if I’m to leave her behind…”

There was a moment of silence. Kitty tensed. Then there came a loud, surrendering sigh. “All right. Take three days’ leave, Captain. I suppose you and your men are quite deserving.”

Kitty hurried back to her room. She was a mixture of emotions. Travis had stood up to a man like Rosecrans, demanding that he be given time to spend with her before leaving her—and now an unfamiliar emotion was sweeping over her. Could he actually have fallen in love with her? Could she actually be in love with him? It was time to admit that the thought of escaping and never seeing him again caused a gentle ache deep within. But no! It hadn’t happened—and it couldn’t happen. The cause was greater! She was promised to Nathan. More than that, she owed a debt to her people—to Doc Musgrave and the thousands of other Southerners who had died for something they believed in.

And Poppa? Did she owe him a loyalty, too? “A man has to follow his heart,” he had said that to her many times. “A man has to have the courage of his convictions.” He was following his—if he was still alive—and she had to fellow hers. Travis was handsome, dashing, exciting, and he could make her body come alive in a way she never dreamed existed, But love? No. It couldn’t be. Underneath the aura, there lay the coldness, the brutal savagery, of a man with no heart. Any emotion that existed between them was physical, and anything physical is fleeting, decaying like the flesh when committed to the grave. “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” the Good Book said. And so would their feelings for each other be committed.

She did not have to wait long. The door opened softly. Kitty lay naked from the hurried bath. Travis undressed, stretching out beside her. He reached for her with a gentle hand, but his lips were hungry. He caressed her, touched her, made her body sing with a chorus of a thousand voices in joyful unison. And then they crested together, her head tucked against his shoulder, as she closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.

Travis dressed, tiptoed from the room. He would be joining his men downstairs for drinks and revelry. She would have a few precious hours to attempt her mission.

Someone had left a clean Union uniform, and she dressed hurriedly, moved to the end of the empty, silent hallway, then crept quickly down the outside stairway. The streets were almost deserted. The sounds of music and laughter from inside the saloons along the way gave evidence that the soldiers were relaxing and enjoying themselves with the loose camp women who abounded.

She hurried along to the railroad stockade, picking her way through the shadows of the dark buildings. She paused just across the street to look over the situation. There seemed to be only two guards, and as Kitty watched, they passed a bottle between them. She could not distinguish their conversation but heard enough to tell that the speech was slurred. They were drunk!

Someone walked by, and she pressed herself fiat against the doorway of the building and held her breath. The person went on by. It would be difficult to explain why a woman wearing a baggy uniform of the Federal army was spying on the Confederate prison stockade in the middle of the night.

The guards were soon slumped against the gate. Kitty moved across the street after checking to make sure no one was around. She kept a safe distance from the stockade where the prisoners were lying on the ground. Some of them were asleep. Others were sitting up mumbling and cursing. If they spotted her, they might give her away.