Camellia (21 page)

“And I wish you and Jane were not.” His handsome mouth did not relax into a smile. He didn’t look angry. But he glanced toward Mrs. Dabbs, and his face hardened. “I wish I could spare all of you girls, but your families will no doubt read of it in the newspaper. Traitors cannot be tolerated. Not when so much is at stake.”

Camellia put a hand to her mouth. It couldn’t be true. But then she saw the defiant gleam in Mrs. Dabbs’s eyes. The lady looked as though she was proud of her actions. Camellia took a step away from her.

Jane sidled to her and put an arm around Camellia’s waist as she directed a question toward their teacher. “What have you done?”

Mrs. Dabbs rolled her eyes. “Why don’t you ask the brave captain?” She directed a frown at him. “I assume you have thoroughly searched the rooms upstairs?”

Captain Watkins nodded. Then he looked at Camellia and his sister. “We intercepted a letter she tried to send to Captain Poindexter, a man who happens to be her cousin.”

That didn’t sound too bad. Camellia supposed she had relatives who were Yankees. Would she be arrested if she wrote to one of them? She sent a questioning gaze toward the captain.

“It contained information we planted during her party.”

Now he had everyone’s attention. Even the younger girls stopped sniffling to listen to his story.

“We’ve had reports of a traitor—maybe one person, maybe more—who is passing information to the Yankees about our troop movements. Of course the letters are in code. They appear to be innocent, but in reality they are detailed descriptions of our plans, weapons, and troop strength. We got a lead on Poindexter and decided to set a trap, something that would flush out the guilty party. We planted false information about the impending arrival in New Orleans of General Joseph Johnston and his troops. Then we waited for someone to take the bait.”

He drew a folded sheet of stationery from his coat pocket and opened it with a snap. “This is all the proof we need to arrest Mrs. Dabbs. It’s taken more than a week, but we finally broke her code. This letter warns her cousin of Johnston’s arrival and begs him to come and conquer the city while our defenses are weak.”

Camellia’s stomach clenched so hard she felt nauseated. “What will happen to her?”

“We’ll take her to prison.” The captain’s eyes blazed with scorn. “I hope they hang her.”

Jane gasped, and several of the students began crying again.

Camellia tightened her jaw against the nausea, reminding herself that she had to be strong for the other girls. She could feel their gazes on her, awaiting her response. “We’ll pray for her.”

Captain Watkins’s expression softened a smidgen. “Your sympathy is admirable if misplaced. I’ll check on you and Jane as soon as I can.” He took Mrs. Dabbs’s arm and urged her to the door.

As he led their schoolteacher away, Camellia turned toward the distraught students, wondering what had driven Mrs. Dabbs to take such drastic steps. Why had she turned on the system that supported her students? Her school?

And what did this turn of events say about Camellia’s ability to judge others? She had respected Mrs. Dabbs more than most, as much as Aunt Dahlia. She could no longer trust anyone, even if her own powers of discernment said differently.

“I hope Thad doesn’t arrive before we get back from delivering Molly to her parents.” Camellia glanced toward the little girl who huddled in one corner of the carriage.

“I’m sure he’ll wait.” Jane coughed and waved a scented handkerchief in front of her face. “The smoke seems worse than this morning.”

Camellia nodded her agreement. “I wish they would stop ringing the alarm bells. Surely no one in New Orleans is unaware of the danger.” She thought about the report Brigitte had brought them while they were getting ready to leave.

Mrs. Dabbs’s assistant had gone to Jackson Square to discover why the alarm was being sounded. Apparently everyone expected the Yankees to arrive at any moment. The shipyards across the river at Algiers were in flames. Bales of cotton had been dragged out of warehouses and put to the torch. Even boats on the river had been set afire and loosed from their moorings to drift down the river.

“I hope my parents are all right.” Tears puddled in Molly’s eyes.

“I know you’re frightened.” Camellia hid her fear behind a brief smile. “Don’t worry. I doubt the Yankees are really coming. Don’t you remember all of the handsome soldiers who came to dance with us?”

Molly looked a little happier as she nodded.

“Those silly Yankees wouldn’t dare to attack them, now, would they?”

Molly shook her head and sat up straight as the carriage made a turn. “Are we there?”

Camellia leaned forward, careful to keep her spine straight as she’d been taught. No matter what the future held, she was determined to present a polished and serene image. A curve in the drive showed her a double row of moss-draped oaks, a fitting entrance to a grand plantation home. “I believe we are.”

She and Jane helped gather Molly’s belongings, but before they could alight, a short lady with dark curls and worried brown eyes was at the door to the carriage. When Camellia saw the woman’s rounded stomach, she realized why Molly’s mother had not been able to come collect her daughter. She was going to have a baby, a little brother or sister for Molly.

“Merci. My husband is in the army, but we have much room if you would like to stay here with us.”

For a moment Camellia was tempted to take up Molly’s mother on her offer. Farther from town, the air seemed clearer, the danger not so immediate. They could hide out here and hope the war would pass them by.

But then a picture of Thad’s earnest face appeared in her mind. His dark eyes boring a hole into her, his arms coming around her, his lips—Camellia slammed the door on the memory—not of Thad but of Jonah. Why was he the one she thought of?

No matter, they had to go back to the school or
Thad
would be worried. She shook her head. “We have family in town.”

The older woman nodded her understanding. Putting an arm around her daughter’s waist, she led Molly between a pair of white columns and onto a shady porch. They both turned and waved as the coachman backed the carriage and began the drive to town.

When a bend in the drive hid the graceful, two-story home from sight, Camellia turned to Jane. “What do you think will happen to them?”

“We should pray for their safety.” Jane sighed.

As the carriage trundled through the countryside, each retreated into her own thoughts. Camellia wondered why everything had changed. Why was her life so out of control? No matter what she did, nothing ever worked out as planned.

First she was kissed by the wrong man. Then Thad, the man she hoped to marry, appeared to arrest Mrs. Dabbs. He had single-handedly closed down the school, although she supposed she couldn’t blame Thad for his actions. But couldn’t they have just intercepted the letters and waited to arrest Mrs. Dabbs once the term was completely over? And now the Yankees were practically knocking at their front door. How much worse could things get?

The thoughts continued to roll in her mind until the carriage came to a halt. “What now?”

Jane’s eyes widened. “Do you think it’s … Yankees?”

A shudder passed through Camellia. “I hope not.”

The coachman climbed down and opened the door between them. His dark face was drawn in a frown. “There’s some kind of speechifying going on up on the Levee Road. I can’t get through right now. Did you ladies want to get out and walk about while we wait?”

Without waiting for Jane’s agreement, Camellia moved toward the door. She needed to get out of the stuffy carriage. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she looked about. A crowd had gathered around a man of average height whose mustache blended with his side-whiskers. Curiosity drove her forward.

“Wait for me.” Jane’s voice came from behind her.

The heat pounded on her shoulders, and the smoke was worse once more. Camellia choked back the urge to cough. When Jane drew even with her, they linked their arms and picked their way around the ruts in the road to stand on the outskirts of the crowd.

The man tugged on his uniform and cleared his throat. “That’s why I feel it would be best to withdraw from the city.”

A collective groan greeted his statement. One of the ladies fainted. Her escort caught her and lowered her to the ground before returning his attention to the man speaking.

“We will be within easy reach should you need our military support, but I don’t want the Yankee navy bombing the city. If no one remains within New Orleans but workingmen, women, and children, I believe they will not take action against you.”

Camellia was horrified at his suggestion. Without a military presence, the city would undoubtedly fall into Yankee control. Since her sister was directly involved in the world of commerce, she understood what it would mean to the South to lose the city. The free flow of arms and goods would be halted. It would be a devastating blow, one that might mean the end of the war, the end of everything that mattered to her.

Y
ou cannot remain here all alone.” Jonah held on to his patience with an effort. The woman standing in front of him had to understand the dangers she and her friend might face. “Now that Admiral Farragut has landed, New Orleans must surrender to the inevitable.”

Camellia opened her mouth and closed it with a snap. “If you believe that, you’re an idiot. Our soldiers will defend us.”

“Is that what you think? Do you expect Captain Watkins to ride in on a white horse and save the day?”

Her eyes darkened, distracting him.

All he wanted to do was take her in his arms once more and feel her soft curves yielding to him. Jonah shook his head to clear it. This was definitely not the time to be thinking about romance. He needed to convince Camellia and Jane to leave the school and take up residence with his family where he could keep an eye on them. Just to make sure they were safe, of course.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.” He pivoted and walked to the far side of the visitors’ parlor, his footsteps echoing in the empty house. Maybe some distance would help him keep his focus.

She sniffed. Had he made her cry? Jonah glanced over his shoulder, relieved to see that her lips were folded in a straight line. She might be angry, but at least she wasn’t falling apart.

A thought occurred to him. Was she angry with him because of this afternoon? Or was she upset about the way he’d acted the last time they were together? “Camellia, I’m sorry for what happened that night, and I know what you must think of—”

A disdainful roll of her eyes stopped his words and made his jaw tighten.

Jonah took a deep breath and began again. “I promise I won’t come near you if you’ll only consent to moving to the town house. Father will fuss about the Federals, and Mother will fuss over you and Miss Watkins—”

“Jane. Her name is Jane.”

He was glad to get past the apology, so Jonah ignored the needling tone in her voice. “You and
Jane
cannot remain here without Mrs. Dabbs.”

“We couldn’t very well abandon the younger girls to suit your sense of propriety.” Camellia raised her chin in a defiant gesture. “Jane and I have spent the past two days getting messages out to the families of the other girls and delivering the ones who could not be picked up.”

Jonah sighed. “It’s not my sense of propriety, Camellia. I’m impressed that you took it upon yourself to reunite the remaining students with their families or send them home, but that responsibility is completed. I saw no sign of any servants, so I assume they’ve run away. It’s time for you to leave, too. Thieves are taking advantage of the confusion and panic to break into homes and steal whatever they can find. And they don’t care if they hurt someone in the process.”

“Wait a minute.” Camellia’s chin lowered a notch, and her gaze studied him. “How did you know Mrs. Dabbs wasn’t here? We haven’t told anyone, and it hasn’t been in the newspapers.”

She was too quick for her own good. Jonah could hardly tell her he’d received a report from another sympathizer who was stationed at the prison. Nor could he kiss her again to distract her. He looked away, his mind grasping for a plausible answer. “That captain sent me a note about it and asked me to make sure the two of you were safe.”

The suspicion on her face didn’t abate. “Why would he do that? When did the two of you become such fast friends?”

He forced a laugh. “I wouldn’t call our relationship friendly, but you’re the one who introduced him to my family. He was worried about you and couldn’t check on you himself. It’s no wonder he contacted my father.”

“I thought you said he sent a note to you.”

“I—I meant that I read Father’s note.” Jonah summoned up all the innocence he could muster and met her gaze openly. It was time to put her on the defensive. “Why are you so concerned about how he addressed the message? What really matters is that you and Miss … Jane pack a bag or two. I could not bring the wagon through the streets, so don’t pack too much.” He held his breath as he watched the emotions play across her features.