The affection in her voice was warm and genuine and Callie found herself answering softly. “I don’t think so. He has to return as soon as possible to his command.”
“Well, then, we shall have to make the best of this time for both of you. Christa and I will not intrude. Still, first things first!” She had pushed open the doors to the house. Callie was met by a massive wide hallway with doorways leading to rooms on either side of the house. There was a wonderful grand stairway leading to a landing where, even from here, Callie could see a gallery filled with pictures. Embroidered love seats lined the great hallway, and the matching rear doors, the ones that faced the river, had been thrown open. Far beyond the house Callie could see the beginnings of a rose garden.
“Janey, Jigger!” Kiernan cried out. A doorway to the left burst open. A tiny whirlwind of energy in very small breeches came bursting through first, racing toward Kiernan. “Mama!” he cried.
“Oh, dear!” Kiernan laughed, scooping down to pick up the little boy. Callie was startled at the boy’s appearance, for surely she was looking at her own son, one year from now.
“John Daniel,” Kiernan said, “this is your aunt Callie. And your cousin. What is his name?”
“Jared,” Callie said.
“This is your cousin, Jared.”
“Kiernan, he isn’t in the least interested in a cousin, yet!” Daniel said. He came around to sweep his wriggling nephew from Kiernan, holding the little boy up in the air so that he shrieked with laughter. “My goodness, John Daniel, you’re getting big!” He glanced at Kiernan. “Has Jesse seen him lately?”
She shook her head. “Not since Christmas. We discussed the idea of my moving up to Washington, but he knew that I would hate it there, and it probably wouldn’t help much, he never seems to get any time away.” She breathed quietly for a moment, looking at Daniel. “He’s back in Virginia, I’ve heard. In the valley somewhere, with Meade’s army.”
“Perhaps I’ll see him,” Daniel said lightly.
“Oh, Daniel, I pray not! When you see him, it is so frequently because you’re injured or in some place like that horrible prison!”
“Yes,” Daniel muttered, and despite herself, Callie felt herself flushing again. Well, it seemed evident enough that he’d never mentioned her to his sister and sister-in-law before. But she couldn’t tell by his manner just what he intended to tell them now that they were here.
He wasn’t going to say anything now, for there was suddenly a cackle of glee. “Master Daniel, you’ve done come home!”
“Jigger!” Daniel said happily, striding across the hall to hug the tall, lean black man who had just come in, running after little John Daniel Cameron. The boy, caught between the two men, squealed with delight.
“You look wonderful, Jigger. The rheumatism’s not too bad, eh?”
“No, sir. The summer weather is kind to my bones! But you, sir, you are looking by far the worse for wear!”
“Well, that’s because I do feel so well worn,” Daniel said.
Jigger was frowning, looking at Jared, still held in Kiernan’s arms, then glancing at Callie, and glancing at the baby again. “Oh, Lawdy! Why, you done brought home a missus, sir. And another little one.” He rolled his eyes. “This is going to be one busy household, sir, that it is!” He suddenly stood very straight, and offered Callie an extremely dignified bow. “Miz Cameron, welcome to Cameron Hall!”
“Thank you, Jigger,” she said quietly.
His gaze moved quickly over her travel-worn dress. “First things, first, I think. The new Miz Cameron must surely be wanting a bath.”
“Of course!” Christa said suddenly. “And you couldn’t possibly have carried any of your things. I think we’re of about the same size. I hope you won’t mind taking a few dresses and things from me?”
“I wouldn’t mind at all,” Callie said. “But you needn’t—”
“Here’s Janey!” Kiernan interrupted. A very tall, extremely attractive black woman came walking in from the rear porch.
“Well, I’ll be …” she began. “Master Daniel!”
A grin broke out on her face, and she ran down the hall to greet him. Callie suddenly felt warm. He was loved here. Dearly loved by his family. He could not be a cold or a cruel man and have earned this love.
She had loved him herself. He was hard, he was a blade honed razor-sharp by the years of war. But she had known that he was admirable, and that was why she had loved him.
Loved him still.
No! Only a fool would love a man who felt such a contempt for her as Daniel did for Callie.
“What!” Janey gasped, listening to something that Daniel had said. She, too, swung around to stare at Callie. “A wife! And a baby! Another boy? Miss Kiernan, when is someone in this house going to produce us a little girl to dress up and pamper.”
Kiernan laughed. “Don’t look at me, Janey. I haven’t seen Jesse since Christmas. Perhaps we can look to Daniel and his bride,”
Callie gritted her teeth. If she flushed just one more time here, she was going to scream. Don’t look at us! She almost cried. We hate one another.
But, as she had discovered, that very often had little to do with the production of a child. No promises, Daniel had told her. She had agreed to become his wife.
He stared at her now, watching her reaction. Gauging it?
Or mocking her all the while? She didn’t know.
“Let’s give the poor woman a chance to breathe,” Christa said, laughing. “A bath first! Janey, can you see to it, please?”
“Surely,” Jane said. “I’ll just take that child for you—”
“No, you will not!” Kiernan protested, holding tight to Jared. “John Daniel has gotten far too big to hold and love like this. I’m going to become acquainted with my new nephew. Daniel, perhaps you should take a walk with yours! Christa can see to whatever you may need, Callie, and then supper should be ready soon enough. How does that sound for everyone?”
“Fine,” Daniel said. “Young John Daniel, you and I are going for a walk.”
John Daniel wasn’t old enough to have much of a vocabulary, but he seemed to like his uncle well enough. “Walk!” he agreed, chubby little fingers winding around Daniel’s neck. Without a backward glance, Daniel started out through the back. Kiernan offered Callie a radiant smile. “I’ll just take him into the study.”
“He might need new—pants,” Callie said.
Kiernan laughed. “Why, Mrs. D. Cameron, I’m certainly experienced with changing a baby’s pants. Get away with you now!”
Then she was gone, and Christa had taken Callie’s arm. They walked up the long winding stairway, with Christa talking all the while, softly, warmly, as sweetly as if she had asked Callie to her home herself.
Callie paused in the portrait gallery at the top landing, intrigued by the portraits. Some of them were very old. All of them were oil paintings, except for one at the end of the gallery.
It was a photograph, a picture of a family. A handsome man and woman sat on a sofa, with Christa, perhaps at fifteen or sixteen, between them. Behind the sofa stood both Jesse and Daniel. Both were dressed in the dark blue of the Union cavalry.
“It’s nice, isn’t it?” Christa said softly. “It was taken several years before the war. I’ve heard that it was one of Mr. Brady’s finest. Ma and Pa were still alive then. And Jesse and Daniel were both in the U.S. Army. I love this portrait. It means so much to me. Especially when day after day after day goes by and I don’t know exactly where either of them might be …” Her voice trailed away. “A bath! I know that it is the first thing that I would desire, and I’d desire it with all of my heart!”
Christa led her to a room. Wonderful full-length windows looked out on the garden and the river beyond. Against the inner wall was a cherry-wood sleigh bed, and to the left was a huge fireplace. A desk was situated before the windows to catch the light, and two plush chairs were drawn close by so that someone sitting in them might look out on the beauty of th
e view. There were also two huge armoires in the room, and a large trunk at the foot of the bed, and a washstand to the left of it.
It was an attractive room, a welcoming one. It was also a definitely masculine one. Daniel’s.
The tub had already been brought, and a golden-colored little servant boy was dumping in a huge bucket of water.
“Just let me get you some things, and then I’ll leave you in peace,” Christa told her.
She was as good as her word, bringing in a supply of soap and towels, and then being joined by Janey, who helped her carry in all manner of petticoats and pantalets and stockings and gowns. There was such an array of things that Callie began to protest, but Christa ignored her. “There’s nowhere for me to wear all of these things anymore! I’m afraid I was terribly frivolous before the war, so I’m grateful now that I can think perhaps it was destiny I was so sadly greedy!” She laughed, and then she was gone, and Callie was alone.
The first thing she thought when she sank into the water was that it was not going to be nearly so terrible as she had imagined.
She leaned back, then bolted up again. This was Daniel’s room. She didn’t know when he would come back to it. She bit her lip,- looking around, noticing the little things she hadn’t seen at first.
There was a set of crossed swords on the wall, old swords it seemed, from the Revolutionary War. There was a tintype of Daniel. He was in a Union uniform, and he appeared very young. She wondered if it had been his graduation from West Point.
In the stand beside the bed were several books. Books by Shakespeare, by Defoe. She strained her eyes. A copy of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. There were a few other books. A small handbook on military maneuvers, and one on animal husbandry. On the desk was another photograph. It was one of Daniel and Jesse, arm in arm, in front of the house.
She closed her eyes. The water was growing cold.
How would they bear it here if either brother died?
Don’t go back, Daniel, she thought.
But it was wishful thinking. Even if he loved her, even if he adored her, he would not shrink from returning to the war.
I love him, she thought.
No! He would not believe you; he would hurt you worse. Maintain your distance, keep your heart safe and hold on to your pride. And then he will be gone.
But what if he doesn’t come back?
With that question continuing to plague her, she rose from the tub. She dried herself quickly, then looked through the array of Christa’s gifts. There was a silver-gray day dress, with cream and black lace edgings. She ran her fingers over it, then began to dress. Christa had supplied simply everything. She found stockings and garters and pantalets, and everything fit. She awkwardly tied herself into a corset, then slipped the dress over her head and shoulders, and let it fall. It was beautiful.
She still wished she had the white dress back. It had meant so much to her. She didn’t know if it was because it was the first thing that Daniel had given her, or because she had been married in it, or because of the little red slippers Varina had given her to go with it.
No matter. It was gone. And she was surrounded by more luxury than she had ever known.
Christa had supplied her with shoes as well. And with a silver-handled brush.
She finished dressing, aware of the silence in the house. She tentatively stepped into the hallway and walked down the stairs. A door toward the back of the house was open. She could hear voices coming from it and walked toward it.
She paused, for she could hear Kiernan and Daniel.
They were talking about her.
“Daniel, truly, I’ve no wish to intrude in your life, but … ?”
“What is it, Kiernan?” he asked dryly, but a warmth and humor remained in his voice. “Please go ahead and intrude now, because eventually you’re going to do so anyway.”
“All right, where is she from?”
“Maryland.”
“Are you really married?”
“Yes.”
“Does she want to be here?”
“No.”
“Wonderful. You’re going back to war and leaving us with a woman who despises us all!”
“She doesn’t despise you all. Just me,” he said. There was a deep, underlying bitterness there. Callie bit her lip. She had no right to be eavesdropping in the hallway. She needed to make her presence known.
“But that baby … Daniel! You didn’t—”
“I didn’t what?”
“Force her into anything, did you? I mean you didn’t—”
“Rape her? Kiernan! How the hell long have you known me?”
“I’m sorry, Daniel: But this baby! He is so beautiful! All that black hair—and the eyes. Beyond a doubt, they are Cameron eyes!”
“Yes, I know.”
“Daniel Cameron, you forced her down here because of this baby!”
“He’s my son.”
“But he is hers too!”
“And she’s my wife, Kiernan!” he said, and sounded impatient.
“But—”
“Kiernan, Lord knows how many marriages are arranged with the bride and groom scarcely knowing one another. So ours is not a love affair. She is still my wife.”
“Well, you did acquire a striking woman, Daniel. She is probably the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.”
Daniel sniffed loudly. Callie could hear the sound all the way into the hallway.
He spoke softly. “Yes, she is beautiful. And she knows how to weave a spell and use that beauty. My wife can be as treacherous as she is lovely, Kiernan. Remember that.”
“Where are you going?” Kiernan said.
He must have been rising. Panicked, Callie ran out to the porch.
It was dark now. She flattened herself against the wall. She was breathing far too quickly. She closed her eyes, willing her heart to beat at a more sensible pace.
She opened her eyes. Daniel was standing before her.
He had bathed and shaved elsewhere. His hair was damp, his cheeks were clean and alluring, the fullness of his mouth was twisted in a wry, rueful smile. In the darkness, his eyes were obsidian. His scent was clean and raw, and as he moved closer to her, she nearly cried out.
“Well, well, good evening, Mrs. Cameron. Fancy finding you out here.”
She lifted her chin, and hiked up a brow. “Oh? Was I to have been confined to the house, sir? If that is the case, then you should have advised me so.”
“Careful, Mrs. Cameron, you’ll find yourself confined to your room.”
“I haven’t a room. It is your room.”
“I keep a lot of my personal property in my room,” he said casually.
She tried to kick him. He stepped out of the way, laughing, then he caught her arms and suddenly wrenched her toward him.
“I’m going to Have one dinner in this house, madam. And it’s going to be a pleasant one.”
“Perhaps I should beg a headache, and then you needn’t fear any disruption.”
“No, my dear wife, for if you were so distressed, I would consider it my duty to be with you. And we’d be locked together all of those endless hours.”
“Dinner sounds divine,” Callie said sweetly.
He took her arm. Warmth danced along her spine.
The moon suddenly appeared, shining down on them both. “You are extraordinarily beautiful,” he told her softly.
She swallowed. She wanted to say something. She wanted to beg for a truce.
“Am I?” she whispered wistfully.
“Indeed. We’ve one night, my love. Just one night.”
The warm, dancing shivers assailed her once again.
She didn’t know if the words were some kind of a threat or a promise.
———— Twenty-four ————
Sometimes, Daniel reckoned, it was possible to forget the war.
Sometimes he could almost half close his eyes, sit back, and imagine that they had gone back to a time when the army rations weren’t always ri
ddled with worms, when he didn’t have to look at shoeless men in rags day after day.
Sometimes there was a return to events so warm and sweet and gracious that he forgot the screams of the dying as they echoed in his head.
Like tonight.
The older children, Patricia and Jacob Miller, had determined that they weren’t going to eat with the grown-ups, but that they’d be responsible for entertaining John David until his bedtime.
Christa had determined they wouldn’t sit at the regular dining table, for it was far too large for an intimate dinner of four. The large oak table had been set far down the room, and a small square table from the kitchen had been brought in and covered with a snowy cloth.
The Cameron’s best silver was on the table, and their glittering Irish cut crystal. Between the women of the household and Janey and Jigger, they had created a banquet. The meat was only ham, but there was an array of summer vegetables and fruit to tempt even a well-fed palate, let alone Daniel’s. He held an orange with amazement, but Kiernan cheerfully told him they’d had a blockade runner tied up at their dock just the week before, picking up raw produce from the plantation in exchange for all manner of commodities. The captain had just been down to Florida, and the fruit he had brought back had been exceptional.
He saw that Callie, too, studied an orange with a certain awe, and he was startled by the depth of feeling that suddenly shook him, a combination of shame and admiration.
Perhaps he really had had no right to drag her through the lines the way that he had. He’d put her through danger, and massive discomfort. She’d never once complained.
He bit into his ham, chewing hard. She’d always had courage. He’d admired it from the start. That was why he had fallen so swiftly and so completely in love with her. That was why he had followed her out of the cornfield that day.
It was why the Yanks had beaten, subdued, shackled, and imprisoned him.
But perhaps she had done it to save his life. If it weren’t for the damned war, perhaps he could trust her. He wanted to.
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