The Vacant Chair (25 page)

“I can’t,” she said, voice catching. “I can’t stay here going out of my mind with worry every time an officer comes up the steps and I think they’re bringing me a telegram to say you’ve been wounded or killed. Besides, my brother is still locked up in Libby, and the conditions there…” She shook her head, wanting him to understand. “I need to go back to him. If things are worse now, he could be starving. I can’t let that happen. I’m all he has left in this world.”

His jaw tightened, eyes burning with frustration. “And what if someone turns you in as a spy because they’ve seen you coming in and out of the prison? I don’t want you anywhere near Richmond when the end comes. The way things stand it won’t be much longer. We’re closing in on it, and when it falls it won’t be pretty.” He shook his head, his eyes pleading with her. “It’s too dangerous, Brianna. Please don’t go back there.”

She knew how hard it must have been for him to beg her, especially out here in view of anyone who cared to eavesdrop. He was a prideful man, respected amongst his peers and by his men. But she couldn’t wait here while he was off on campaign again. She’d go mad. At least in Richmond she had plenty to keep her busy and people who needed her. There, she wouldn’t have the constant reminder of the possibility of Justin’s death each time one of the Brigade’s wives received news that her husband had been killed in the field. And her brother
did
need her, even if he’d never admit it.

She swallowed the lump in her throat, hating to cause him worry. “I have to go back. Please understand.”

He let out a defeated sigh, then hauled her close and crushed her to him. The desperate embrace conveyed his distress, his fear. He buried his face in her hair. “Damn, you’re a stubborn little thing.”

She gave a watery laugh and gripped the back of his coat in her gloved fingers. “Can’t help it. I’m half Irish.”

“Swear to me you’ll be careful.”

“I swear.”

He cursed, wouldn’t let her go. “I feel so damn helpless.”

She squeezed him harder. “I’ll be fine, and it’s only for a while.” She hoped. This terrible war had to end sometime, and with the Union victories last year, it seemed the tide had finally turned in their favor. “It’s you I’m worried about. You’re the one going back to the front.” Her throat closed up.

He titled her face up to his, his thumbs brushing at the tears brimming her lashes. “Don’t cry.” A plea, not an order.

It was impossible not to. If she lost him, she would never survive it.

“I’m safer now than I’ve ever been,” he told her. “I won’t be in the thick of things like I was as a captain.”

She sniffed. “Liar.” A rush of fear shot through her. If anything happened to him, she’d—

The train’s whistle blasted.

His eyes were troubled as he stroked her cheek. “Take care of yourself.”

The conductor called out to her. “Ma’am? Train’s leavin’.”

Oh God, this was it. Yet another goodbye, one of so many in her life. “I will.” Her eyes drank him in, memorizing every detail of his face. She framed his cheeks between her hands. “Come back to me. I don’t care what you have to do, just come back to me.”

“I swear it.” He hugged her and pressed a hard kiss against her trembling lips. “I’ll come back, angel. I
love
you.”

“I know. I love you too.”

When the whistle shrilled again, she forced herself to tear away from him. Chest tight as a vise, she boarded and rushed to her seat to press her palm against the window. On the platform, Justin put his hat on, tugged at the brim and waved. With a lurch and a shudder, the train began moving. The tears flowed faster now, coursing down her cheeks.

Forcing a wobbly smile, she watched him blow a kiss from the platform. She grabbed it in one fist and placed it to her lips, then over her heart, as he’d done aboard the steamer at White House Landing. He stood there in the cold and watched as she moved away from him, the cape of his light blue greatcoat blowing in the wind.

Chapter Twenty Five

Outside Richmond, VA

March 28, 1865

From their camp on the opposite bank, Justin gazed across the river at the spires of Richmond that rose above the budding treetops, while distant bells echoed across the water. It was strange to stand in the same place as McClellan’s boys had nearly two years earlier, but the end was close now.  Through the constant flurry of battles and skirmishes, the Michigan Brigade and the rest of the cavalry corps continued to tighten the noose around the Confederate army.

The far bank was dotted with pink cherry blossoms. Brianna was there. Just there, across the James River. And she was going hungry again, partly because of him and his men stripping the Shenandoah of its food supply.

He hadn’t seen her for more than a month, since the day he’d put her on that southbound train at Winchester. Only a few letters had arrived since. All these weeks later, he feared even more for her safety when the city fell. Did the citizens of Richmond realize how close they were to defeat? Along with their armies, the people were starving, the situation so desperate that old men and young boys were left to defend the dying cause. The Rebel lines at Petersburg were in peril, and once they collapsed the enemy would have to evacuate Richmond. That day couldn’t be more than a week or two away. He had to find a way to get Brianna the hell out of there before then.

He couldn’t stop thinking about her. It killed him to know she must be half-starved and working herself to the point of exhaustion, struggling to keep her visits to Libby prison a secret from everyone. Stationed so close without being able to help her tore him up inside.

“Major!” Williams waved at him from the top of the hill. “Colonel wants to see you, sir.”

Justin strode up the grassy slope and waited for admittance into the tent. Bent over writing at his desk, Colonel Hastings looked up as he entered. He was only twenty-two, even younger than Justin, but still an imposing man with broad shoulders and keen, dark eyes. His brown hair was impeccably combed, his face clean shaven. Though the lack of a beard gave him a boyish appearance, no man who’d fought either with or against him would ever make the mistake of questioning his prowess as a commander.

“Ah, Major Thompson,” Hastings said. “I have a special assignment for you.”

“Sir.” Justin stepped up beside him and leaned over the desktop, covered with a map of Richmond. Were they going in? His heart quickened. If they did, there was a chance he might be able to find Brianna.

Hastings leaned back in his camp chair with a speculative smile. “Sheridan wants more information about the enemy’s strength in the region. I want you to take a small scouting party to do some reconnaissance and report back to me. Troop numbers, defenses, ammunition and any other surprises the Rebs are hiding.”

“Of course, sir.”

Hastings rubbed a hand over his jaw, the wheels turning in his sly head, and fixed Justin with a pointed stare. “So that leaves just one question, Major, and I want your honest opinion on the matter.” He leaned back farther and crossed his arms over his chest, a speculative glint in his dark eyes. “How do you feel about a tour of Richmond?”

Justin felt like he couldn’t get there fast enough. He smiled in anticipation. “I’m looking forward to it sir.”

He exited the tent and went to find Williams. “Did you get the uniforms the colonel asked for?” Justin asked him.

Williams’s lips twitched beneath the trimmed moustache of his tidy goatee. “I did, sir, but the Rebs were mighty put out.”

“Yes, I imagine they would be.” Being taken prisoner and forced to strip down to your underwear would put anyone in a bad mood.

Williams fell in step beside him, heading back to Justin’s tent. “So, we finally get to see Richmond. I hear the ladies are beautiful there, sir.”

Justin smiled and called Brianna’s face to mind. “Now that’s a fact, lieutenant. That is indeed a fact.” And if their luck held, they’d be meeting the most beautiful one of all tonight.

He pushed aside his tent flap and stepped inside to find the pile of confiscated uniforms on his camp bed. The prospect of a covert operation behind enemy lines fired his blood. He held up two different pairs of ragged trousers and faced his lieutenant. “Well, what will it be, Williams? Gray or butternut?”

****

Six hours later, Justin’s good mood had long since vanished.

“She’s my
wife
.” He couldn’t keep the frustration out of his voice. After taking care of their reconnaissance duties, it had taken him half the night to find Brianna’s brother in the infirmary at Libby and learn where she was staying, and now her employer was being impossible.

“I can’t believe she would lie to us about something as important as that,” Mrs. Lancaster insisted to him in her front parlor. “She’s been here for months and works very hard indeed, without complaint. Why would she subject herself to such work if she were a gently bred belle? She must know that I would have helped her any way I could, had your story been true. Why, I am simply sick at the thought of forcing a young lady such as that to work as a house servant.” She set down her teacup and sat taller on the sofa, her formidable breasts heaving with outrage. “She and my daughter have become the best of friends, yet she has never mentioned anything of a husband to Cassidy, has she, dear?”

The young woman seated next to her mother shook her head, pale blue eyes wide.

Justin leaned forward, his body language conveying his urgency. His time in Richmond was running out. “I believe you, Mrs. Lancaster. I don’t for a moment doubt your sincerity.” He fought for patience. “But I’m telling you, the woman you know as Jenny is in truth my wife, Brianna.”

Mrs. Lancaster’s lips thinned in consternation, graying brows forming an angry slash above her eyes. “Nan!” she barked, making Cassidy jump and shoot her mother a sidelong glance.

The maid appeared in the doorway, peeking her capped head into the room. “Yes, ma’am?”

“Nan, these two gentlemen have been asking questions about our dear Jenny. Do you have any reason to believe she is not who she claims to be?”

“No, ma’am.”

Mrs. Lancaster nodded in satisfaction. “And she has never told you anything about any secrets she might have?”

“No, ma’am.”

Her mistress nodded in satisfaction. “Thank you, Nan. That will be all—except for another pot of chicory coffee for our guests. We haven’t any sugar left, though I’m sure you won’t mind,” she said to Justin.

Justin stared after the aging housekeeper, ready to gnash his teeth. She was lying; he could read it in the tension in her stance, the unease in her eyes. Was she doing it to protect Brianna? He glanced over at Williams, who stared at the spot Nan had just vacated.

About to open his mouth to try again, Williams beat him to it. He shifted to face the daughter and said, “Miss Lancaster, it is imperative that you tell us anything you know, for Jenny’s safety. We have reason to believe she may be in trouble.”

Her eyes widened. “I assure you, sir, if I knew anything I would tell y—”

“What sort of trouble?” her mother demanded in a suspicious tone.

The spying kind, where she could land in prison, Justin thought.

Or worse.

In his peripheral vision, Justin caught a shadow near the doorway. The housekeeper was eavesdropping. She knew something, he was certain of it.

“Well, I am sorry I couldn’t be of more help, and I certainly do hope you find your wife before any harm comes to her,” said Mrs. Lancaster. “When I see Jenny next, you may be assured I will get to the bottom of this.”

Withholding a growl of frustration, he got to his feet. Bowed. “Thank you for your hospitality, ladies.”

Their hostess inclined her head. “Not at all.”

Williams followed him to the front door, where Nan hovered with her hand on the knob. As he came closer, she backed up a step and averted her eyes. He stopped in front of her. “When you see her,” he began in a low voice, and the woman’s eyes darted up to his, “tell her to stay close to the house. Richmond will fall soon, and then I’ll get word to her as soon as I can.”

Nan swallowed and didn’t answer.

“And tell her I love her.” He pulled his hat on and started down the front steps, his chest aching.

“Wait.”

He pivoted.

Nan came out on the stoop and shut the door behind her, glancing around to make sure no one could overhear her. “She went to Libby. She goes there every other day.”

“Yes, I know, I spoke to her brother, who’s very ill. Apparently she was there earlier today and left hours ago to see if she could find him some medicine.” The man was so ill that Justin wasn’t sure he’d live to see the end of the war. It had to be killing Brianna. “When the city falls, all of you stay here with the doors locked tight. Her brother will make sure you’re all safe until he can get you out of Richmond.” The city had a pitiful number of home guard and supplies left to defend itself with. Justin hated that he wouldn’t be here to protect Brianna when the end came, but there was nothing more he could do.

“Thanks be to God,” the woman whispered, crossing herself.

“Things are going to turn ugly,” Justin warned. “Don’t leave the house, do you understand?”

“Yes. I’ll watch out for her.”

It was better than nothing. “Thank you.” He took his horse’s reins from Williams and swung into the saddle to trot away from the brick house, swamped in disappointment. Damn. He’d been so close to finding her. His eyes scanned the streets in the hopes he might still spot her. It was late, and she shouldn’t be walking out here alone. Anything could happen to her.

Brianna walked at a fast pace on her shortcut home, plagued by a sense of unease. Maybe she should have taken the longer, safer route back home after her fruitless search for a tonic that might help Morgan. Food was hard enough to come by in the city, let alone medicine. With nothing to show for her efforts, she’d just wanted to get home quickly after seeing her brother so sick in the prison hospital.

Up ahead in the distance, she saw two men on horseback and instinctively ducked out of sight. The one in front seemed to be searching for someone, now and then slowing his horse, his head turning back and forth. Her heart thumped in her ears. People recognized her in town now. They knew she went to Libby to see her brother, knew she spoke to Elizabeth Van Lew. Justin, Morgan and Sam had all warned her someone might think she was a spy, and she was wary enough to pause for a few minutes in her hiding spot, waiting for the mounted men to leave. When they moved on at a trot, she let out a relieved breath and hurried onward.

Still no sign of her. And Justin was out of time. They’d already risked everything by crossing the lines with the borrowed enemy uniforms. He and Williams had to get back to their own lines before they drew any more suspicion from the home guard.

“Sir,” Williams began.

“What?”

Williams jerked his chin to the right. “We’re about to be intercepted.”

Oh, hell.
He’d been so focused on searching for Brianna he’d let his guard down. Now three Confederates came toward them from the opposite end of the street, hands on the butts of their pistols.

“Halt,” one of them called.

Justin stopped his horse and faced the group, his muscles tensed. He put the hint of a drawl into his voice. “Evenin’.”

The man in the lead drew near, face shadowed by the brim of his hat. “Evenin’. May I see your passes?”

He fished in his breast pocket for the forged document and handed it over. The tension spread inside him until his hands grew damp inside his gloves.

The Confederate scratched his salt-and-pepper beard as he studied the pieces of paper. He frowned, and Justin’s heart sank. Sensing his nervousness, his horse shied a little. “Easy,” he murmured, trying to appear calm. Williams shot him an uneasy glance.

The man raised his head, and Justin stilled at the shock of recognition he saw on the other man’s face. The man knew him? From where? He fought to remain motionless.

The soldier shook his head in wonder and stared at him. “You were at the Wilderness. You carried me to the hospital.”

Justin stared back in shock. The man from the fire. The one he and Mitch had rescued.

Justin couldn’t believe the Reb had survived being gut shot, let alone that he’d run into him in Richmond tonight. He held the man’s astonished gaze, waiting for him to give the order for his arrest. Instead, the man grabbed Justin’s horse’s bridle and walked him away from the group.

Justin eyed the man’s pistol. If he spurred the horse he might have a chance to escape, but he’d probably wind up shot in the back, and he would never leave Williams behind to face their punishment alone.

When they were out of earshot, the Reb fixed him with a hard stare. “What in Sam hell are you doing in Richmond?” he demanded in a near whisper, eyes narrowed. “You a spy? Because last I saw, you were wearing a different color uniform. Which side you fightin’ for?”

The man already knew the truth. It wouldn’t do any more damage to tell him about Brianna. “My wife is here.”