“What do you mean?”
“Did you use one of Lavinia’s love spells on him?” Davis smirked.
Tamsyn gaped at him in horror. Lavinia Jackson was her childhood friend from Tennessee. The two were inseparable until Tamsyn left with Ben for Virginia.
“I-I d-didn’t do anything.” She remembered his lips and felt her face flush.
“Did he do something to you?”
“No!” Tamsyn shifted away from her brother. “Why would you suggest anything so improper?”
“He hasn’t taken his eyes off you since we started to march. I do believe the Yankee General is smitten.” Davis saluted the general, who’d maneuvered his horse next to the wagon.
“Circle the wagon to the east side of the McLean farm,” General Steele ordered the doctor. “Stay at a safe distance.”
“Yes, sir.” Doc nodded.
The wagon turned away from the line of soldiers, who continued to march toward the white farmhouse.
“Grant and Lee are inside,” Steele added.
Tamsyn swallowed.
The doctor jerked hard on the reins to stop the mule. “You jest, sir?” Doc stood in the wagon and looked back at the two-story farmhouse.
“I jest not.” General Steele urged his horse back in the direction of the house.
“Please let this be over,” Davis whispered.
****
General Steele brought hardtack. “Supplies are low.” He offered the rock-hard biscuits and frowned when Tamsyn set hers aside. Her stomach growled in protest.
Elizabeth puckered her face and tried to bite into her share. “There’s no butter? Or jelly?”
“Sorry, Little Bit.” He ruffled her red hair.
“That’s okay, Mr. General.” She grinned up at him and wiggled her finger to draw him closer. He leaned down. “Mama has jelly at the house.”
“She does? What kind?”
“Most of it’s apple, but there’s a little strawberry left. Strawberry is my favorite!” Elizabeth swung her legs on the edge of the wagon and went back to her biscuit.
“Well, strawberry is my favorite too.”
She giggled. “If you’re nice, maybe we’ll share the strawberry with you, Mr. General.”
General Steele nodded. “Sounds like a deal.”
He thought about his nephews in Boston. Parkman was just walking when the war began and little William still a newborn. He could only imagine how much they’d grown in the years he’d been absent.
He strolled around the wagon to where Tamsyn leaned against the wheel. “Thinking of making a run for it in the wagon, Mrs. Moody?” His fingers itched to push the rebellious curl from her face and he locked his hands behind his back.
She blinked and her eyes focused on him. “I’m sorry, excuse me?” She shook her head. Honey blonde curls caressed her shoulders and he again fought the urge to reach out and pull them through his fingers.
“I interrupted you.” General Steele wondered if she daydreamed about her husband. “What were you thinking about?”
“Home.”
The emotion in her voice tugged at him.
Home.
A longing he could identify with.
“General Steele, sir!” Knowles hurried toward them. He gasped for air when he stopped in front of the general. “It’s done,” he choked out between deep breaths.
“Done?”
“Yes, sir, the treaty is signed. Lee surrendered the army.”
The soldiers around them buzzed with the news.
Lee and Grant have shaken hands. There will be no battle here today.
General Steele welcomed the news.
“General Steele?” A young boy approached the group with caution. “Are you General Steele?”
“I am.”
“You’re asked to bring your recent prisoner and present yourself by the porch to General Grant. He’d like a word with you, sir.”
General Steele stiffened. His jaw worked and his teeth ground together. He’d ordered his men to keep silent about Tamsyn Moody. Someone in his regiment defied his orders.
The color drained from Tamsyn’s face. “He means me?”
General Steele nodded. “Leave Little Bit with Davis.” He offered his elbow.
“This is your captive?” The messenger waited to escort them.
General Steele nodded. Tamsyn took his arm. Her hand trembled and he placed his on top to steady her.
“No one reported it was a woman,” the messenger said before turning to lead the way.
They stopped at the bottom of the steps. Generals Lee and Grant stood against the rail making small talk. Their conversation ceased when they took notice of General Steele.
General Steele passed the letter confiscated from Tamsyn’s bag to the young messenger who jogged up the steps and handed it to General Grant. Grant skimmed over the letter, his face hid any emotion. He folded the letter and handed it to the gray haired man who towered next to him. Grant turned his gaze back on Tamsyn.
Her hand gripped his arm. Her strength surprised him. She shook hard next to him and General Steele suppressed his urge to smile. He liked the rebel spy pressed tightly against his side.
“This is the spy?” General Grant asked.
General Steele opened his mouth to speak.
“You’re Ben’s wife?” General Lee looked her over.
Several moments passed before General Steele nudged her.
“Yes.”
Tamsyn’s eyes closed and General Steele readied himself in case she fainted.
“Yes, sir.” She spoke louder and opened her eyes. Green eyes glittered with fear and unshed tears.
“Do you have any idea how much trouble you’re in?” General Grant frowned down at her.
“Sir.”
General Steele bit his cheek when he realized he and General Lee spoke in unison.
A twinkle flashed through Grant’s eyes. Grant turned his attention to the southern general first.
“I would ask you to grant a pardon for this young woman,” Lee offered. His eyes rested on Tamsyn. “Her husband is the traitor. Ben Moody spied for the Confederacy for months. If the young Mrs. Moody possessed this letter, her husband is dead.” He turned his sad eyes to Grant. “Let there be no more bloodshed today.”
“Are we certain her husband is dead?” Grant asked.
“Yes, sir.” General Steele replied. “My men buried him this morning.”
Grant nodded. “Do you have something to add to the young lady’s defense?”
“I humbly ask your pardon for her, sir, a personal favor.”
****
Tamsyn’s knees buckled. She bumped against General Steele and fought to remain on her feet. His arm stiffened in a silent effort to hold her up.
Fainting won’t help.
“Mama!” Elizabeth’s voice rang out.
Tamsyn turned. Several soldiers stepped aside and Elizabeth wove through them. She skipped along, a bright smile on her face.
“Look what Mr. Knowles gave me.” She opened her hand with pride and held out a pearl white seashell about half the size of her palm.
“It’s beautiful, Elizabeth,” Tamsyn whispered. “But right now, I need you to stand quietly.”
“But, Mama, Mr. Knowles said it’s for good luck. And Uncle Davey said you needed luck right now!” Elizabeth’s voice carried even when she whispered.
Tamsyn sighed and pulled Elizabeth against her. She found Grant’s gaze intense and her face burned.
“James, how are your parents?” Grant asked.
“Last letter said they were both in good health, sir,” General Steele answered.
“Good, good. I hope to visit with your father soon.” Grant rocked back on his heels. “May we have a private word?”
“Yes, sir.” General Steele squeezed Tamsyn’s hand before he pried it away from his arm.
She met his gaze and swallowed.
When he winked, she thought her knees would give way.
General Steele walked away from her.
“Mrs. Moody, I offer my condolences for your loss,” Lee said. “Ben was a good man.”
“Thank you.” Tamsyn clutched Elizabeth.
“He should not have put the message in your hands.”
“Would it have mattered?” Guilt over her failed mission for her husband plagued her. The only thing he’d ever asked from her, and she failed. “If I’d gotten the letter to you, I mean?”
Lee pulled his gaze back to her. “Ben could be foolishly stubborn at times.” Lee dropped his head. “He was a good man but a poor soldier. He couldn’t see the whole picture. I told him so, many times.”
She nodded, uncertain how to respond to the raw honesty the general gave in his description of her husband.
“No, Mrs. Moody, it would not have mattered,” Lee answered. “I’ll do all I can for you here.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Grant and Steele emerged from their private conversation on the corner of the veranda.
“Thank you, sir,” General Steele said to Grant. He continued down the steps to join Tamsyn.
“You are a very lucky woman,” General Grant said. “And given the circumstances, I am in an obliging mood this afternoon. I’ll grant your pardon.”
Tamsyn sagged with relief. “Thank you.”
“There are conditions, Mrs. Moody.” Grant went on. “General Steele accepted these conditions on your behalf. If you find yourself unwilling to accept them, he is ordered to escort you in chains to the jail in Washington and charge you with treason.”
Tamsyn clutched Elizabeth’s shoulder. “Yes, sir.” Tamsyn nodded and closed her eyes. She heard General Grant rip the letter.
“This never happened,” General Grant said with authority. “General Steele, I have your word?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Keep her out of trouble, James,” Grant said sternly. “Until this is over, she is your responsibility.”
“Yes, sir.” General Steele gripped Tamsyn by the elbow. They’d been dismissed.
Tamsyn allowed him to lead her and Elizabeth through the soldiers. Her mind rolled over the last few minutes.
Conditions? What conditions?
“We have to talk.” General Steele kept his eyes forward while they moved. Ahead, Davis hobbled through the crowd with his crutches.
“Elizabeth!” Davis stopped. “I’m so sorry, Tam. I looked away for just a moment and she was gone.”
“It’s all right, Davis.” Tamsyn touched her brother’s arm.
“What happened?” His anxious gaze landed on General Steele. “What is going to happen to Tamsyn?”
“Knowles!” General Steele barked.
Knowles moved out of the crowd. “Yes, sir?”
“Give the men the order to march back to camp.”
“The doctor is busy with patients from another regiment.” Knowles passed on the information. The soldiers began to move around them.
General Steele moved to the wagon where his horse stood tethered. “Give Doc the horse.” General Steele tossed the reins to Knowles. “I’ll start back with the wagon.”
Knowles nodded.
“General, I’ll take whatever punishment is given to Tamsyn. She’s my sister. I’ll take responsibility for her,” Davis pressed.
“Davis, the general pard—”
“Get in,” General Steele ordered. He lifted Elizabeth into the back of the wagon with Davis and offered his hand to Tamsyn, urging her to the front.
Once they were all settled in the wagon, General Steele snapped the reins and started the mule on the path back to the camp.
“The soldiers will take a bit longer to fall into line and march back.” General Steele glanced over his shoulder at Davis. “General Grant offered your sister a pardon with conditions.”
“What sort of conditions?” Davis asked.
“General Grant agreed to the pardon if I agree to be personally responsible for your sister until the war is over.”
Tamsyn stared at General Steele. “What does it mean?”
General Steele lifted an eyebrow. A look of amusement crossed his face before it went void of emotion. “It means you are my captive until further notice. I gave Grant my word you’d remain under guard.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Because General Grant doesn’t believe you’re innocent,” Davis answered from where he leaned against the back of the wagon.
Tamsyn’s eyes burned and she blinked back the tears.
“Ben made you guilty by association,” Davis growled.
Chapter Six
“Come up front with your Mama, Little Bit.” General Steele helped Elizabeth move from the back of the wagon. “Knowles is going to take you to your cabin. The regiment will camp here.” He touched Tamsyn’s knee with his fingers.
An electrical pulse flared through her lower half and she bit her bottom lip, pushing away the attraction to the handsome Yankee.
“Can I go with my sister, General?” Davis asked.
“No. You haven’t been released yet and I don’t need rumors that I’ve left two rebels alone to conspire. Even if the rebels are a woman and a one-legged man.”
Knowles and two other soldiers hurried toward the wagon.
“One of you in the front, one of you in the back, and you keep the house in sight at all times. She is under house arrest. No one is allowed in or out of the house unless you’ve heard me give approval with your own ears.” General Steele growled his orders.
“General, surely this isn’t necessary.”
He looked up at her, surprise on his face. “Rebs will be on the move. Their units are being disbanded.” He kept his gaze fixed on her while he issued his orders. “Detain anyone trying to get inside the house.”
“Yes, sir,” the soldiers answered in unison.
“Knowles.” He turned away from Tamsyn. “You’re either inside the house or on the front porch at all times.”
Knowles nodded.
****
General Steele took a long draw on his pipe and hurried across the small yard. Sweet tobacco smoked billowed through the air around him. He continued toward Mrs. Moody’s cabin, the soft sounds of an old lullaby whispering by on the breeze. He stopped at the bottom of the steps, tilted his head and listened.
“My grandmother sang that song,” Knowles said. “She’s from Scotland. I wonder if Mrs. Moody’s people are also.”
“It’s beautiful,” General Steele said as the song faded to an end.
“Do you know where our next orders will take us, General?” Knowles mustered in early on in the war and had never taken any leave.
“I think Grant will disband us. We’ve been an active unit since Fort Sumter. Our time is more than served.”
“I look forward to it.” Knowles nodded and stood. He tipped his hat and slipped away into the darkness.
General Steele tapped his pipe on his boot and looked around. The cabin ached with the need for repairs. In the dark he could feel the tilt of an uneven porch and he frowned.