“Miss?” His voice from behind her made her jump. Andrea took a deep breath and turned.
“I’m Colonel Delaney. You asked to see me?” Daniel looked curiously from her, to her escorts, and then back again, waiting for someone to speak.
Andrea could not bring herself to look into his eyes. Instead, she stared at his broad shoulders and powerful build, and then his boots. “I am … Maryann Marlow.” She mumbled the name she had used to get across the lines, then glanced at Daniel to see his reaction. There was not a hint of recognition on his face.
“What can I do for you, Miss Marlow?” he asked somewhat impatiently. “We are extremely busy here as you might imagine—”
Daniel stopped in mid-sentence when Andrea raised her gaze again and his blue eyes locked directly onto her green ones. Without moving his head, his gaze perused her body, moving from her face, slowly down the length of her gown, inch-by-inch to her toes, and then just as slowly back up.
“Sir, we need to know if you are acquainted with this woman,” one of the escorting soldiers asked. “She didn’t have a pass to come through the lines and was traveling from the direction of Richmond. She says you will vouch for her.”
Daniel did not remove his gaze. “Yes, I can vouch for her character. Thank you for escorting her here safely. You are dismissed.”
Daniel continued to stare, though whether the look was an approving one, Andrea could not tell. What she could tell was that his eyes were not the blue, laughing ones she remembered. They looked strained and tired.
“What are you doing here?” He pulled her into the shadow of a tree.
“That is not exactly the greeting I had hoped for.” She laughed to hide her nervousness.
“That does not exactly answer my question.”
Andrea looked down at the ground, upset at his cold tone. “I have information to report, Colonel Delaney.”
“I believe we have an established method of communicating that does not require you crossing the lines. You might recall that was part of the agreement with Colonel Jordan.”
“But I wished to see you.” Andrea could not bring herself to look into his eyes.
“Why?” There was not a hint of warmth in his voice.
Andrea raised her head, disappointment and regret turning to anger. “I was not aware that I needed a reason.”
“Were you aware there is a war going on?”
“Yes, but I …” Andrea looked up into the intense blue eyes gazing down at her and could not finish. “Perhaps I should leave.” Without waiting for acknowledgment or consent, she whirled around and headed in the opposite direction, toward what she hoped were the stables.
“Wait!” Daniel shouted, striding after her. “Where are you going?”
“To see if the horses are still hitched.”
Daniel grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop. “And if they are not?”
“Then I will hitch them, and I will drive them back to Richmond, and I will forget I ever came here!” Andrea struggled from his grasp, picked up her skirts, and ran toward the barn.
“Wait! Please, Andrea!” The desperation in Daniel’s voice made her stop, though she did not turn around. “Please … wait.”
Andrea heard him exhale behind her.
“I’m sorry. Can we begin again?” Daniel put his hand on her shoulder, his voice low and gentle, the way she remembered it. “Andrea, it is indeed a pleasure to see you again.”
Andrea allowed him to turn her around, but her gaze remained averted. Daniel put his finger under her chin and lifted her head. For a moment he did not speak, just stared solemnly and earnestly into her eyes. “I’m sorry, Andrea,” he finally said. “Please forgive me.”
“It’s my fault, Colonel Delaney. I should not have come.”
“My friends call me Daniel.” He stared at her, unblinking.
“I apologize.” Andrea could not meet his gaze. “I was not sure I had the honor to be considered among them.”
Daniel remained silent for a moment and then pulled her gently into his arms. “Andrea, there’s going to be a battle here. A big battle. And I never expected … I never dreamed that you—”
She waited for him to finish, but he did not. He just increased the tightness of his embrace so that she could feel his heart pounding against her cheek.
“Oh, pray forgive me!” he finally whispered. “You must realize … I never saw you like this.”
Andrea pulled back. “I know you have duties. If you wish, I can wait here for you.”
“Nonsense,” he said, bowing gallantly. “I am devotedly at your service. You must be frozen. Come in and warm yourself by the fire.”
“No.” Andrea glanced toward the crowded house. “I’d rather speak to you … privately.”
Daniel took a deep breath and offered her his arm. “Very well. If you’re sure you’re warm enough, let’s walk.”
Andrea linked her arm in his, and he led her silently toward the river.
“Colonel Delaney!” An aide came trotting toward them. “Colonel Delaney, I’m sorry, sir.” He paused, and looked at Andrea appraisingly. “The general wishes to see you.”
Daniel groaned. “About what?”
“Dunno. He was asking about Richmond though.”
Daniel looked at Andrea. “If he wants a report on Richmond, I suppose you should be the one to give it to him.” He grabbed her hand and led her toward the house.
“Daniel, no!”
He stopped and looked at her with a puzzled expression. “What are you afraid of, Andrea?
“There are things I need to tell you first.”
“They’ll have to wait. The general does not like delay.”
Andrea did not speak as he led her through a back entrance and down a hall. But she knew he could feel her trembling when they stopped in front of a closed door. “Daniel, wait—”
“Relax, he won’t bite,” he whispered, knocking once and opening the door at the sound of a rough voice telling him to enter.
An officer who was seated behind a desk reading when the two stepped inside, quickly rose to his feet when he saw Andrea.
“General, it’s my pleasure to introduce you to … ah … Maryann Marlow.”
Andrea strode across the room with her hand extended, a shy smile masking her true emotions. “It’s such a wonderful privilege and honor to meet you, General.”
“Miss Marlow.” The officer bowed and took her hand, looking curiously at Daniel for an explanation.
“I understand you are interested in news of Richmond,” Daniel said, “and since she has just come from there, I took the liberty of inviting her.
“From Richmond?” the general croaked. “Today?”
“Indeed.” Andrea walked over to a large map on a table, pretending that getting in and out of Richmond was no serious matter. “I’d be honored to tell you what I’ve discovered, sir. I’ll not take too much of your time.”
The general looked confused, but Andrea ignored him. “I have learned that there’s an immense line of embankments and heavy artillery in a circle of about two miles from the city … from Battery No. 1 on the north side of the James to No. 17 on the south side.” She cocked her head and looked up. “I’m sorry to report, I’m only aware of the specifics of No. 15. It has only one company of light artillery—eighty-five men, commanded by a Captain Hanns. The battery is here,” she said, pointing on the map.
“Tell me, Miss Marlow, just how did you get through Confederate defenses to go traipsing wherever you pleased in enemy territory,” the general asked, regarding her doubtfully.
“Sir, she is our replacement for Winslow in Richmond.” Daniel stepped forward. “I vouch for her character and the reliability of her information.”
“I never authorized a woman to go to Richmond!”
“No,” Daniel answered, “but you asked me to find the most capable person I could.”
Andrea stared at the map, pretending to have no interest in the conversation about her.
“That still does not explain how you know about these fortifications.” The general gazed at Andrea suspiciously.
“To answer your question … I mentioned to an officer that I wished to see the sunrise from the highest point of Richmond.”
“And he complied,” the general finished for her.
“Yes, he did. I have found the enemy’s proclivity for gallantry makes them most accommodating in that fashion.”
“Splendid.” He walked over and took Andrea’s hand while she looked over his shoulder at Daniel. Unlike the general, whose face beamed with approval, Daniel’s expression was one of melancholy and concern.
“I must commend you on a job well done, Miss Marlow. I would never have permitted it had I been aware, but I’m glad Colonel Delaney had the sense to see the benefits of using a woman’s grace and charm to our benefit.” He turned to Daniel. “Well done, Colonel.”
He pulled out a pocket watch and then clicked it closed. “My dear, it’s late. You must be exhausted. Colonel Delaney will show you where you can get some sleep, and then we can talk in more detail tomorrow.”
Daniel impatiently took Andrea’s hand and started pulling her toward the door.
“I will, of course, need all this written up into a formal report,” the general said.
Daniel turned around like he’d been hit. “But she’s only here a short while.”
“There should be plenty of time to write a report. That will be all.”
Chapter 15
“Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today, tomorrow will be dying.”
– Robert Herrick
Colonel Delaney did not speak another word until they reached the bank of the river. “You seem to have made quite an impression on the General.”
Andrea shrugged and looked up at the night sky, pulling the hood of her cloak tight. “I simply told him what he wanted to hear.” She laughed. “It is usually the easiest way to deal with men.”
“All men? It seemed to come rather naturally to you.”
Andrea looked over at him, surprised at the allegation and shaken at the accusing tone of his voice. “No. What do you mean?”
“You told me earlier you traveled all this way because you wished to see me. Was that because you thought it was what I wished to hear?”
Andrea blinked at the insinuation and felt hot blood coarse through her veins. “Of course not, Colonel. How could you think such a thing?”
Daniel took a deep breath of exasperation. “I told you before, my friends call me Daniel.”
“I’m sorry, Daniel.” Andrea put her hands to her temples. “To answer your question, I came because I missed you. And the more I thought about coming, the happier I felt. And, oh, never mind. I don’t know why.” She turned around and sighed with frustration.
“Then stay.”
Andrea looked over her shoulder at him and frowned wistfully. “You know I can’t stay. They’re expecting me—”
“I mean stay. Don’t go back.” He turned her around. “It’s too dangerous.”
Andrea pushed him away. “We’ve been through this, have we not? No one is promised tomorrow. Not me. Not you. No one.”
“But you don’t have to tempt fate by constantly pushing it to the limit!”
“I face no more danger than you do, or any of our troops in the field.”
“But you should not be risking your life like a—”
“Like a man?” She finished for him.
“Dash it all, you are but a child.” His voice sounded distressed.
“Is that what you think of me?” Andrea’s voice revealed her dismay. “I came to prove to you that I am capable of doing my duty. What must I do to win your esteem?”
“Dear Andrea, you must know you already have my esteem.” He pulled her closer. “You cannot blame me for worrying about you.”
“I worry about you too,” Andrea said. “Yet I do not ask you to stop doing what you do.”
“You do think of me then?” Daniel held her at arm’s length, probing her eyes for the truth.
“I told you I worry about you. You are in a far more dangerous position than I, yet you are too noble to worry about yourself … instead, always thinking of what could happen to me.”
“Andrea, it’s not nobility that makes me worry about you.” Daniel brought her close to him again. “From the first moment I met you I felt … a connection … an attraction.” He laughed nervously. “And now I— And now seeing you like this I—”
Daniel stopped in mid-sentence and sighed. “You must think I’m foolish, rambling like a schoolboy.”
Andrea wrapped her arms around his stalwart soldierly form, glad that her sweet Daniel had returned. “No, not a schoolboy,” she said, laying her cheek on his chest. “I shall always think of you as my knight in shining armor, the gallant soldier who rescued me from Hunter on that hillside.”
Daniel remained silent, but Andrea felt his body stiffen at the name. “Well, that’s behind us,” he finally said. “And, thankfully, you won’t need rescuing from Hunter in Richmond. For that, at least, I can be grateful.”
Now it was Andrea who stiffened and held her breath, hoping he would say no more … hoping she would not be forced to lie—or worse, tell the truth.
But Daniel seemed to sense trouble in her sudden silence and pulled away to look at her. “You have not seen Hunter in Richmond.”
Andrea looked down and bit her cheek, contemplating her options.
“You have not seen Hunter in Richmond,” he repeated louder.
“He did not recognize me,” Andrea mumbled to the ground.
He did not recognize you?” Daniel shook her. “You talked to him?”
“Not intentionally,” Andrea defended herself. “I mean, it would have seemed strange not to converse during a waltz.”
“During a waltz? This is folly!” He stepped away from her and began pacing. “I cannot allow you to return! Colonel Jordan would never forgive me, and I could never forgive myself. No duty of war could be so trying as knowing I sent you into danger—to death!”
“He did not recognize me.” Andrea grabbed his coat sleeve to stop him and force him to listen to her. “The worst is over.”
“How do you know that?” He stood so close she felt him trembling. “How would you know if he recognized you and is only waiting for you to fall into his trap? Hunter would never do anything rashly. He would wait until the time is right. Why must you trifle with him?”
“He did not recognize me. I am sure of it. And I am going back.” Andrea crossed her arms and turned away from him.
She heard Daniel take a deep breath of exasperation from behind her. “What are you running from?”
“I’m not running from anything.”
“You must be. Why else would you not be able to see reason? Be reasonable?”
Andrea stared at a thousand tiny reflections in the river but did not answer.
“Is it your past?” Daniel continued prodding her. “That of which you never speak? What is it that consumes your soul? Perhaps I can help you.”
Andrea shrugged and sighed. “My past? It’s another world.”
“Then let it go.” Daniel turned her to face him. “Whatever it is, whatever it was, let it go.”
“It’s—not—that—easy.” Although she tried to erase the images of the slaves she had seen punished at the hands of her father, Andrea’s words came out in short, choking sobs. “I allowed things . . . things to happen when I was young. And now—I must sacrifice—to make it right.”
“Sacrifice your life?” He shook her as he spoke. “For something that happened when you were but a child?”
Andrea’s eyes filled with tears of grief and pain, but they did not overflow. She gazed over his shoulder a moment, then took a deep, shaky breath and forced a faint smile. “Oh, Daniel, why must we talk of such things? My time here is too short.”
“Yes, let’
s walk,” Daniel said, taking her by the hand. “It will do us both good.”
After only a short distance, Andrea paused and stared out over the vast expanse of river, admiring the sparkling ripples reflecting the soft glow of campfires. “It’s beautiful. I’m so glad I came.” She looked over at Daniel. “Even if you are not.”
“Oh, Andrea, I’m glad you came.” Daniel turned her toward him and brushed a tendril of hair from her face. “You must forgive me for being overly protective. It’s a natural reaction, the way I feel . . .”
Andrea looked up at him, her eyes questioning.
“I wish I could stop the hands of the clock, right at this moment.” Daniel gazed at her intently. “Though I suppose I would have as much success stopping Father Time as stopping you.”
Andrea laid her head upon his chest. “Oh please, Daniel, don’t speak about time. Nowadays there is never enough of it.”
“I know,” he said, running his hand down her back. “But I cannot help but wish this evening might last forever, that you would not go.”
“Please don’t be angry with me, Daniel.” Andrea put her hands on his arms and clutched his coat with her fingers. “Truly, I cannot bear it.”
“I’m not angry. I only wish you would reconsider.”
“But what would I do here?” Andrea asked dejectedly, her cheek against his coat.
“You could let me protect you, care for you, the way a man cares for a woman.”
Andrea looked up at him. “Why would you wish to do that for me?”
Daniel smiled. “Andrea, you are a woman, are you not? I am a man.”
“But you said I was only a child a few minutes ago.”
Daniel frowned and stared into her eyes. The look softened when his eyes rose to the chignon on the crown of her head. Her hair, which had always been cropped short when she was in camp, had grown much longer during her months in Richmond.
“Take down your hair,” he said.
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