Jesse checked them into a hotel, a quaint building near the river, and ordered baths and dinner. He walked her to her room and saw her settled before disappearing into his own.
Diamond sat on the bed marveling at how soft it felt, even though it was lumpy compared to her pillow-top mattress at home. Days of sleeping on the hard ground had changed her perspective. Besides the bed, the room held a small writing desk, a washstand with a pitcher and bowl, and a set of drawers for her clothes. She didn’t have much to unpack but stashed her backpack in the drawers so the maid wouldn’t see it.
Two husky men, under the watchful eye of a middle-aged woman, brought a tub to her room and filled it with buckets of steaming water. As soon as the door closed behind them, Diamond tore off her clothes and slid into the water. Made of tin and so small she couldn’t fit in it without bending her knees, the tub still felt luxurious. Using rose-scented soap, she scrubbed the weeks of filth off her skin and let the warmth seep into her bones. She felt clean for the first time since driving the ATV onto the trails after Bryce and Anne. She stayed in the bath even after washing her hair. Every inch of her body glowed, but she soaked until the water grew chilly.
Unable to bear putting on her dirty clothes, Diamond wrapped herself in a towel and rang the bell. A few minutes later, the servants came to remove the tub.
“Is there some way to get my clothes washed?” she asked the woman.
“Yes, ma’am. I will take them.” Her brows raised when Diamond handed over her jeans and sweatshirt, but she said nothing, following the men with the tub out the door and closing it behind her.
A few minutes later the woman returned with Diamond’s dinner. The food, a beef stew and crusty bread, tasted wonderful, almost as good as the steak they’d had on the train, but she missed eating with Jesse. She could hardly go to a public restaurant wearing a towel, however, so she made do. Once she had clothes to wear, they could eat together. For the next couple of days, anyway. Once she got home, she would never see him again.
She would miss him. More than she should after such a short acquaintance. He was easy to get along with and heartbreakingly handsome. Too young for her. He would no doubt marry some eighteen-year-old and have a dozen children. If he survived the war.
Don’t go there. When she returned to her own time, she wanted to think of him as having lived a long, happy life. Even if, technically, he would be dead by then.
She forced the somber thoughts out of her mind. Soon Jesse’s fate would be no concern of hers, and that was for the best. She had no business getting emotionally attached to a Confederate soldier several years her junior. She didn’t belong here and needed to get back to the modern world. Then she would break the biggest story of the century—time travel was possible. She wasn’t sure how she would prove it, but she would worry about it later. For now, a real bed called.
She slipped between the sheets, sighing with pleasure. Her weighted eyelids closed and she began to drift. The sound of horses’ hooves and carriage wheels drifted up from the street. The twenty-first century seemed far away.
Ten
Chapter 10
Jesse woke early the next morning and set out in search of clothes for Diamond. He went to a second-hand shop where he could pick up something cheap and ready-made. Once she had something to wear, she could go to a dressmaker and get properly fitted out.
He picked up another set of clothes for himself, too, since he had to keep his uniform hidden. He felt much safer in the city, although it was under Union control, than he had out in the country. No one knew him here, and he knew some of the population sympathized with the South. He was unlikely to run into any problems if he drew no attention to himself.
He told the woman working in the shop he and his wife had left most of their clothes behind when fleeing from the southwest part of the state. “We each need a complete set of clothes, including undergarments.”
The woman eyed him up and asked after his wife’s measurements. Jesse explained she was tall and of average build. He left with two packages, one of which he sent up to Diamond’s room along with an invitation to breakfast.
When she came downstairs, he almost didn’t recognize her. She wore the dress he had just purchased, a brown and white plaid gown trimmed with lace at the neckline. Her full skirts swayed as she walked and she had braided her wavy brown hair and coiled it at the back of her head.
“I don’t know how women manage with all these layers and big bulky skirts,” she said as she carefully sat on the chair opposite his.
“It can’t be long since you’ve worn them. Surely you don’t dress like a man back home.”
Her brows drew together. “I don’t dress like a man.”
“No one would ever mistake you for a man, but you wore masculine clothing.”
Diamond looked as if she wanted to argue, but held her tongue when a waitress brought them menus and asked if they wanted tea or coffee.
“Coffee,” they said simultaneously.
The waitress chuckled. “I’ll get that right out for you.”
Diamond’s scowl dissolved and a reluctant smile tugged at her lips. She thanked the waitress, waiting for her to leave before asking, “What will you do while I try to find Bryce and
