“No, she married my brother and chose to remain with him.”
“How did she manage?” Diamond couldn’t imagine giving up so much for a man.
“It wasn’t easy, but she loves him. I will introduce her to you. She can give you advice.”
Diamond tried to cover her surprise. She found it astounding that these people were all still alive. Wasn’t life expectancy much lower in the nineteenth century? “Okay.” She mentally kicked herself as soon as the word left her mouth. Nothing about this situation was “okay.”
“I’m afraid I have to rescind my invitation to stay here. Bryce won’t stand for it. But I won’t leave you on the street. Do you need a place to stay?”
“I have a room at a hotel with a friend, but I can’t keep sponging off him. He has to return to his life and I—well, I thought I could return to mine. If that’s not possible, I don’t know what to do.”
Ari’s brows raised. “A male friend? Consider marrying him. This may not sit well with you, but the best position for a woman of this time period is that of a wife.”
“I’ve only known him for two weeks and he’s due back at his regiment. Not to mention the tiny problem that he hasn’t asked me to marry him and I can’t imagine why he would.”
“You’re not romantically involved?”
“We’re not sleeping together if that’s what you’re asking. We’ve been busy just trying to stay alive.” Diamond clamped her mouth shut. Sarcasm wouldn’t help. She needed to remain calm, if such a thing was even possible in this nightmare scenario. “Please, Ari. Leave a message for Hannah. Ask her to come back.”
“Finish your tea. I will talk to Bryce tonight. We’ll consider trying to contact Hannah, but I still think it’s too risky.” Ari raised a hand as Diamond tried to interrupt her.
“Hear me out. If you don’t want to come work for us, your best option would be to marry. I think I can convince Bryce to give you a dowry. Maybe that would entice your young man to come around?”
Diamond closed her eyes, wishing she could close herself off to reality. “You’re willing to bribe someone to marry me?”
“It’s not a bribe. Parents have been providing dowries for their daughters for centuries. It’s an established practice which only went out of fashion in the twentieth century.”
“I’m not your daughter.”
“No, but I feel somewhat responsible for your predicament.”
“Why not just give me the money?” Did it matter? She didn’t want a payoff; she wanted to go home. But a payoff would be better than nothing.
“Bryce is from this time period. He won’t feel comfortable letting you handle the money.”
Diamond threw up her hands. “That’s crazy.” She searched for a way out of this mess, an advantage she could leverage. Only blackmail came to mind. “I could go to the press. Tell them about the time travel.”
Ari’s face hardened. “I already told you how dangerous that is. Time weaves its fabric to a particular pattern. Break the pattern and the whole picture changes.”
“I don’t care. I can’t worry about the fabric of time when my whole life is ruined.”
“You don’t mean that. Not in the long run. Besides, no one will believe you. They will think you’re crazy.”
“Someone might believe it.”
“Don’t threaten me.” Ari warned. “If I were to tell Bryce about this, he would refuse to help you. He might do worse. I want to help you; don’t make me change my mind.”
Diamond stared down at her tea. She preferred to go down swinging, but she felt guilty for threatening Ari when she’d been nothing but kind. She could even understand the woman’s reluctance to risk her daughter. Diamond wished she’d never even heard of time travel.
“I’ll provide you with a new wardrobe. And something for your friend. Our shops are the finest in the city.”
When the door closed behind Ari, Diamond swallowed the rest of her tea. It was lukewarm, but still rich with spices. She took a bite of her cookie. It tasted of ginger and was delicious, but she had no appetite. She had come here full of hope, certain she would be home in a matter of hours. Now her home was forever out of reach. As she stared down at the cookie, tears welled up in her eyes. She blinked them back, but one escaped and splashed onto the fine china plate. Brought to tears twice within an hour when it usually took broken bones to bring her so low.
What had she done to deserve such a fate?
Twelve
Chapter 12
When Jesse saw Diamond get into the carriage with an older woman, he went back to the hotel. It seemed things were going well for Diamond and the Pooles would help her. Soon he could rejoin the Confederate Army. Not that he wanted to. He already felt sick of bloodshed, poor food and living rough. But it was his duty. He had never wanted the situation to come to war, but once it had, he had done as his father wished and signed up to fight for his homeland. That committed him for the next eighteen months at least.
He stopped by a newsstand on the way back to the hotel and bought a copy of every paper they carried. He hoped to discover the fate of his regiment and the situation in New Madrid. As far as he knew, his sister was still living in their house in New Madrid, but he hoped she had fled to their father once it became clear the town would fall to the Yankees. Their father should never have left her alone in the first place, but he wanted someone to watch the property.
Jesse ordered a drink at the bar and settled in with the papers. They offered no definitive news, but as he suspected, losing Island #10 had been costly for the Confederacy. The Union now controlled the Mississippi River, a vital trade route,
