The Valiant Hearts Romance Collection

by Kristin Billerbeck

  Annie’s voice whined behind Permelia like an annoying gnat, but she couldn’t tear her gaze from William. The son of a wealthy shipbuilder, a graduate of West Point, and an officer in the Union army, out working in the fields beside an ex-slave. Laughter rose on the wind as he and Elijah shared a joke. Permelia smiled. Perhaps the war had indeed changed him.

  “I fear you are mistaken, Annie, about his appearance. He’s not hard to look upon at all.” The thoughts filling Permelia’s mind slipped off her lips unawares. She nearly gasped at her sensuous tone—a tone that drew her sister to the window, where she followed Permelia’s gaze down to William. An unusual look contorted her features. Almost like jealousy. But that couldn’t be. Annie would never be jealous of Permelia.

  As if reading her thoughts, Annie flounced to the dressing glass and cocked her head, sending her golden curls bouncing as she admired her reflection. “You know what I mean, Permi. His face. It’s hideous.”

  “You shouldn’t say such things. It’s him you love, not his face, Annie.”

  Her sister didn’t answer. Instead she held a string of pearls around her neck. “Can you hook these?” The necklace Jackson Steele had given her, no doubt stolen from some other Virginia woman.

  “You shouldn’t wear those.”

  “Why not? They are beautiful.”

  “They are too fine a gift from a man who isn’t your fiancé.”

  “What does that matter?”

  If Annie didn’t know, Permelia wouldn’t tell her. Besides, when did her sister ever listen to her? Permelia latched the hook.

  Annie swerved about, sending her skirts swaying back and forth like a church bell. “Stop being such a sanctimonious sprite, Permi. You always were so perfect. Never did anything wrong, anything dangerous. Don’t you want to live a little, enjoy life?” A devilish gleam sparkled in her eyes.

  Permelia squelched her rising frustration at the insignia she’d been branded with since childhood. Even the children in town had teased her when she wouldn’t join them in their shenanigans. She hadn’t wanted to disappoint her parents. She wanted to make everyone happy. To not hurt anyone’s feelings. But she’d been a hopeless failure at that as well. “Of course I want to enjoy life. But you don’t have to be evil to do so.”

  “But you can be a bit naughty now and then.” One side of Annie’s rosy lips lifted in a mischievous grin. “Come now, I’ll wager you’ve never kissed a man.”

  Permelia swallowed and dropped her gaze to the wool rug.

  “No, of course you haven’t.” Annie gave a ladylike snort and laid a hand on her heart, gazing upward. “Kissing a man is so heavenly.”

  Permelia gasped. “Don’t tell me you’ve kissed Jackson?”

  “Of course I have.” Annie pinned silk flowers in her hair.

  Permelia rubbed her arms and gazed back at William in the field. Her heart ached for him. While he had been fighting on the battlefield, his fiancée was in another man’s arms.

  “There’s no harm in a simple kiss,” Annie continued with a pout.

  Permelia eased back the curtains as a breeze fluttered the lace at her neckline and helped cool her anger toward her sister. “Now that William is here, you should reserve your affections solely for him.”

  “I don’t know if I can kiss him, Permi,” Annie whined and crossed the room, plopping back onto her bed. “He’s so …” She shuddered, and Permelia knelt before her, grasping her hands.

  “Annie, of course you can. He’s beautiful inside. I assure you, you will grow so accustomed to the scars, you’ll hardly notice them.” As Permelia had done these past few days. Forced to entertain William in Annie’s absence, she had enjoyed every minute of their time together—despite his constant inquiries about Annie. Yet the pain in his voice had prompted Permelia to do all she could to encourage Annie to rekindle their relationship.

  Though it tore Permelia up inside.

  “He must leave in a few days, Annie. And you never gave him your answer.”

  Annie leaned on the bedpost. “Is it possible to love two men?”

  “I have no idea.” Rising, Permelia eased a lock of Annie’s hair from her forehead. “But you can’t be engaged to two men. You need to call it off with Jackson.”

  “Hmph. I already tried.” Annie folded her lips, then cast Permelia a venomous look. “And I know you told him about William.”

  Permelia began to straighten the pillows on Annie’s bed. “I had no choice.” Perhaps she should have told her sister about the encounter in town. But wait. Permelia stared at Annie. “What do you mean, you tried already? Tell me Jackson hasn’t come to call.”

  Annie sashayed to her dressing table and dabbed perfume on her neck. “He came by last night, after you retired.”

  “Highly inappropriate.”

  “Don’t be silly.” Annie’s voice was patronizing. “I assured him that I hadn’t made up my mind yet.” She paused, glancing at her reflection in the dressing glass again. “Jackson is so handsome, so charming, so romantic.” She sighed. “But he has no money.”

  Pamela rubbed the ache rising behind her temples. Sometimes she felt as though she didn’t know her sister at all. “You’re promised to William. Please give him a chance.” Though the thought broke her heart, Permelia wanted to see William happy above all else.

  And from all indications, he truly loved Annie.

  Annie adjusted her skirts. “I’ve never seen Jackson quite so enraged. Though I don’t know why. I informed him about William years ago.” She faced Permelia. “I simply can’t know what’s he’s going to do. He all but declared he will not let me go without a fight. Isn’t that romantic?”

  At the look of excitement in her sister’s eyes, Permelia spun back around. Jackson Steele was not a man to be trifled with. She recalled the way he had glared at William in town as if he were an enemy on the battlefield. A knot formed in Permelia’s throat. Certainly the man wouldn’t harm William. Would he?

  A warm spring breeze wafted over William as he strolled along the stone path marking the outskirts of the Shaw plantation. The scent of dogwood and cedar filled the air as the honeyed voice of Annie filled his ears, bringing him a contentment he’d not felt since he arrived in Virginia. Not only had Annie finally recovered from her illness, but she agreed to spend some time alone with him. Just like they used to do when he’d come courting, walking this same path, arm in arm.

  Although the scenery had changed.

  Fields that used to be brimming with tobacco plants lay overgrown with weeds. Instead of the chatter of activity, whinny of horses, grate of ploughs, and laughter of children, only the buzz of insects and the chirp of birds accompanied the tap of their shoes over the thistle-infested flagstone.

  Yet with Annie’s delicate hand once again on his arm, his mind wandered back to former days, to a happier time when they had strolled down the bustling streets of New York, drawing the gazes of society matrons all abuzz at their famed courtship. William Wolfe, inheritor of Wolfe Shipbuilding and the most handsome eligible bachelor in town. Ah, yes, those were grand days!

  “I’m most pleased you are feeling better, Annie.”

  Adjusting her parasol against the hot sun, she smiled but did not meet his gaze. “I am not sure what came over me.” She hesitated. “It is truly good to see you, William.”

  See him? Since they’d left the house, she hadn’t seen him at all. Not once had she looked his way. Though he couldn’t attest to the same. In fact, he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. The way the sunlight glittered off her skin and hair in a shower of brilliant diamonds, her lips the shade of the wild geraniums doting the landscape, moist with dew. He swallowed the desire to kiss them. Though he had taken such liberties in New York, he felt no such offer extended to him here. At least not yet. And not before he discovered who this Jackson fellow was and why he was under the mistaken notion that he was engaged to Annie. But he’d wait to pursue that topic. William did not wish to spoil the first happy moment he and Annie had shar
ed since his arrival.

  “This war has done no disservice to your beauty, dear. You are the picture of loveliness as always.”

  Voices drew his gaze to Miss Permelia helping Elijah load the wagon with vegetables to exchange in town for much-needed supplies. Absent from the younger sister were the sparkling jewels, the bead-laced coiffure, the bell skirt that fairly floated over the ground. Instead, with loose hair flowing down her back, Permelia wore a simple cotton gown fringed in nothing but dirt.

  “Why, how kind of you to say, William.” Annie giggled, drawing his gaze back to her.

  He kissed her forehead, inhaling her fragrance of lilac. A fragrance that brought back memories of the last time he saw her on Bow Bridge in Central Park four years ago. He could picture them so clearly standing on the snowy bridge: the way her distraught sighs had emerged in sweet puffs upon the icy winter air, her glistening eyes so full of love, her father’s carriage in the distance waiting to take her back to Virginia, and William commanded to report to his captain that afternoon and be sent off to fight.

  “I cannot stand to be apart from you,” she had said, falling into his embrace. “I hate this war already. Why can’t we be married now?”

  William had reluctantly nudged her back. Taking her shoulders, he’d studied her face, trying to memorize each line and curve, the graceful shape of her nose, her thick lashes now wet with tears. “Because your father will not permit us to marry until this war is over.” Reaching into his pocket, he’d pulled out the coin and handed it to her.

  “What is this?”

  “My pledge to you, darling.”

  She examined the engraving. “It says ‘Love never fails. W.W. Central Park.’” A tear slipped down her cheek.

  He wiped it away. “This coin is my pledge to marry you on this very spot as soon as the war is over.”

  “Oh William.” She stood on her tiptoes and smothered him with kisses.

  Even now, four years later, William warmed at the memories. Especially with her once again by his side. “Where is that coin I gave you?”

  Pushing away from him, she fingered the top of a tall weed. “I have it somewhere. I don’t remember.” She started walking again.

  William’s jaw tightened. Don’t remember? Did his pledge to marry her mean so little?

  A group of wood swallows flitted between the limbs of a mighty oak to William’s left, serenading them in a celebratory chorus. Or was it a warning?

  The silence stiffened between them, and William sought the words to ask her once again if she would accompany him to New York. If she still wished to marry him.

  Perhaps sensing the oncoming question, she began chattering about all the difficulties she had endured during the war.

  A squirrel halted on the path ahead of them and stared at them curiously before scurrying away.

  Taking her hand, he slid it in the crook of his elbow once again. “I cannot imagine what you suffered, darling. I wish I had been here to help, to comfort you, when you heard of your father’s death.”

  “And we were left defenseless.” She sobbed, though no tears filled her eyes. “All our slaves ran off. Can you believe it?” She flashed a glance at him but quickly averted her eyes. He remembered that expression of hers so well, like a spoiled little girl who didn’t get her way. It used to charm him. But now, he found it oddly annoying.

  He halted. “All men have a right to live free, Annie.”

  Huffing, she snapped her parasol shut. “Of course I know that.” She leaned her head on his shoulder. “But it was so frightening, William. Just Permi and me. And then the soldiers ransacked our house, I feared for our …” She bit her lip. “Well, you know…. I feared they would …”

  Gripping her shoulders, William turned her to face him. “Did they?”

  She lowered her chin. “No. But Permi shot one of them.”

  “Shot?” He glanced at Permelia hefting a small crate onto the back of a wagon.

  “Yes, it was horrifying.”

  Horrifying for Permelia, no doubt. He glanced at the pearls around Annie’s neck and her elaborate gown. “Yet you seem to have kept most of your nice things.”

  “Only because of Ja—well, a lady needs such fripperies, William.” She gave him a coy smile, her gaze avoiding the scarred side of his face. “How else am I to charm my fiancé when he arrives?”

  Which fiancé? William wondered. “Because of Mr. Jackson Steele, you meant to say.”

  Her lips slanted, and she continued forward.

  William wiped the sweat from the back of his neck. “I met him in town. The man swears you are engaged to him.”

  Halting beneath the shade of a hickory tree, she turned her back to him. “You do not understand. I had to ensure our survival.”

  Agony caught in her voice, lowering William’s defenses. He was behaving like a jealous ogre. He touched her shoulders. She didn’t recoil. Turning her around, he took her in his arms. “Forgive me, Annie. I didn’t mean to distress you.”

  She looked up at him, then out onto the fields, her eyes blue jewels in a creamy pond. “While Permi grows her meager crops, it is I who’s been forced into frightening alliances with the enemy.”

  “Of course, darling. I’m behaving the cad.” Though William could not entirely understand why she had to go as far as espousing herself to Jackson, he did understand the desperate measures one had to take during wartime to survive.

  She laid her head on his chest and sniffled. “The sacrifices I’ve made. And here you accuse me of … of …”

  “I am truly sorry.” He caressed her back, wondering why his body did not react to the press of her curves—a sensation he had longed to feel during the endless years of war. But it was her letters that had kept him going. Her sweet letters—filled with words that had caused him to fall even more deeply in love with her.

  Chapter 5

  Flirtatious laughter spilled from the front parlor. Halting at the door, Permelia took a moment to brace her heart before entering the room, tea service in hand. She knew what her eyes would see. What they had seen all day. Her sister clinging to William, chattering and fluttering her fan about like a lovesick bird—like she always did when eligible men were present.

  Any eligible man.

  Earlier Permelia had been forced to witness the amorous playacting as the couple strolled about the plantation grounds. Now, in early evening, the heartrending performance continued incessantly in the house.

  Silently begging God’s forgiveness for her jealousy and for the strength to endure the night, Permelia set the tray down and gazed at the couple sitting side by side on the sofa. She supposed the sight would settle better with her if William looked at all pleased. But a perpetual glimmer of suspicion and unease had sparked in his eyes ever since they’d entered the house.

  Completely unnoticed by Annie, of course, who continued to regale him with gossip from town.

  “You don’t need to do that, Permi. That’s why we have Martha and Ruth.” Annie waved her fan in Permelia’s direction.

  “Martha and Ruth are otherwise occupied preparing our supper.” Permelia forced a smile and handed William his tea. “For which we have you to thank, William. I must say, we haven’t had such abundance in years.”

  Taking his glass, William’s eyes locked with hers. Something flickered within them she could not place. But whatever it was, it sent her heart thumping. Turning, she strolled to the open window. Shadows drizzled over the trees like molasses, transforming their bright greens into a dull gray. A breeze cooled the perspiration on her neck. Absently slipping her hand into her pocket, she fingered the coin, the feel of it helping to assuage her sorrow. She’d meant to give it back to Annie but had forgotten. Or had she? She couldn’t imagine being without it. Besides the letters, it was her only link to William. A link that had shamelessly fed her fantasy all these years that he’d pledged his love to her instead of Annie.

  Which was ludicrous, of course.

  She sipped her tea. A burst
of mint followed the cool liquid down her throat.

  “So, dear William, tell me how your family fares?” Annie asked. “Were you able to visit them after the war?”

  “Indeed. I paid them a visit before traveling here. They are all well.”

  “And your family’s shipbuilding business. Did it suffer much during the hostilities?”

  Permelia spun around and lowered herself into a chair.

  William glanced toward her, sending a thrill through her once again. “Quite the opposite, in fact,” he said. “War increases the need for sturdy, well-built ships. My father informed me production has nearly doubled.” He’d abandoned his uniform for civilian clothes: black trousers stuffed within knee-high boots, a gray waistcoat over a simple white shirt, a black neck cloth neatly tied about his throat. Yet even without the epaulettes and stripes, his commanding presence permeated the room.

  “I am so pleased to hear it.” Annie flashed one of her beguiling smiles and sipped her tea. “You’ll no doubt be taking over the business in a few years as your father promised?”

  “That is my plan.” Again, he looked at Permelia. She averted her eyes. Why was he torturing her so?

  His answer seemed to please Annie as she squirmed in delight, sending her curls bouncing over the nape of her neck. Candlelight shimmered over her cream-colored gown and reflected a luminous glow from the pearls at her neck and ears and the beads adorning her hair. Even her turquoise eyes glittered like the sea under a noon sun.

  Permelia glanced down at her plain, soiled gown, suddenly wishing she could fade into the velvet fabric of her chair. After working in the fields, traveling to town and back, and spending an hour helping Martha in the kitchen, she had forgotten to change for supper.

  Running a hand through his hair, William leaned back on the sofa and gazed at Annie as she continued prattling. How could Permelia blame him for being so enchanted with Annie’s beauty?