Janet snickered as Diamond plopped down in her chair. “Keep acting like a bull in a china shop and you might get barred from these meetings,” she whispered.
“Aren’t you worried about your brother?”
“Not that giving up these meetings would be much of a hardship,” Janet continued, ignoring Diamond’s question.
The other women were also chattering to one another and Mrs. Verdine waited until silence fell upon the room. “There’s been a skirmish up in Missouri. A group of bushwhackers ran afoul of Union troops. A friend of mine in Neosho sent me the telegram in case any survivors make it this far south.”
One of the young women gasped and slid into a faint. Diamond watched in amazement as the girl’s mother placed smelling salts under her daughter’s nose. She hadn’t seen anyone faint since the female anchor at her station had gone on a crash diet and took a nosedive just before going on air. It had worked to her advantage since the producer called upon her to take the woman’s place for the broadcast. She wouldn’t have thought the mere mention of a battle would send someone into a swoon.
When the girl roused, she admitted to being courted by a guerrilla, much to her mother’s dismay.
“They’re lawless scoundrels,” she scolded.
“They fight for our cause, same as our loyal soldiers,” Mrs. Verdine said. “It’s our duty to assist them.”
Diamond couldn’t keep quiet. “It’s not the same at all. All the soldiers, blue and gray, adhere to a standard of conduct. They don’t make war on civilians like the bushwhackers.”
“Soldiers don’t always follow the rules of war,” Mrs. Verdine said.
“Agreed, but the guerrillas do as they please with no one overseeing them.”
“I see little difference between them and the Jayhawkers,” Janet said, referring to the violent abolitionists who raided Missouri from Kansas.
The fainting girl’s mother bridled. “We’d have no need of our own outlaw groups if not for those villains. At least our men fight for our way of life and aren’t interfering in other people’s business.”
“Mama, my only concern is for Matt. Mrs. Verdine, does the telegram mention any names?”
“The telegram only states that the men ride with Quantrill.”
“Will they really come here?” Diamond asked. She’d recalled tales of guerrilla atrocities and wanted no part of them.
“Probably not,” Mrs. Verdine replied, almost sounding regretful. “But we will continue to do our small part for the cause. Get to work, ladies.”
Janet continued to mutter under her breath, but Diamond turned her attention to her sock. Knowing Jesse was not involved put her mind at ease as did the unlikelihood of the renegades retreating as far south as Little Rock. Janet might worry about Finn, but it seemed the Southerners had gotten the worst of the encounter.
Amy passed the dessert tray and poured the tea. When she reached Diamond, her hand slipped and some hot liquid spilled over the cup and into the saucer.
“Sorry,” she said, handing Diamond a tea cloth.
“No problem,” Diamond said. She wondered if she made the younger girl nervous or if Amy had spilled the tea on purpose. She was lucky it hadn’t ended up in her lap, but that might have been too obvious. As it was, Mrs. Verdine frowned and Diamond suspected Amy would be in trouble later. She helped herself to a slice of cake, determined to ignore Amy’s hostility. She was the winner in this little catfight. But she would watch her back since she wouldn’t put it past Amy to betray her if the opportunity arose.
Twenty
Chapter 20
Diamond expected Ian to invite a few of his fellow legislators over for dinner that night, but the senator seemed less concerned about the guerrilla skirmish than the ladies. He went out after dinner, which was unusual, so he might have been meeting someone in secret.
An evening without Ian’s caustic comments was cause for celebration in her opinion. As soon as the door closed behind her father-in-law, Diamond raided his private liquor stash and splashed a generous dollop of whiskey into her and Janet’s teacups.
Her sister-in-law’s eyes widened. “What if he finds out?”
“He won’t. We only took a little.”
“Where on earth did Jesse find you?”
“We met on the battlefield and he’s seen me do worse than swipe a little booze. I nearly killed a man during our escape.”
Janet sipped at her tea, blinking at the bite of alcohol. “A Union soldier?”
“No, one of ours.”
“Why would you shoot a Confederate?” Her second sip appeared to go down easier.
They always drank wine at dinner, but Janet wasn’t used to hard liquor. Diamond hoped a simple spiked tea wasn’t enough to get her sister-in-law drunk. Ian would have a fit. “He threatened to rape me. All I had on me was my knife, but I was preparing to use it when Jesse rescued me.”
“Good heavens.” Janet’s hand shook as she set her cup down. “I’m sorry, Diamond, I had no idea what you went through.”
Diamond tilted her head to one side, surprised by the intensity of Janet’s response. Perhaps she should have used a euphemism for the word “rape,” which Janet had probably never heard spoken aloud. “Nothing happened. Jesse got there in time. And the man claimed I misunderstood his intentions.”
“I thought it might happen to me.” Janet swallowed. “When the Union soldiers confiscated our home. I was so scared… but the officers behaved like gentlemen.”
Diamond sipped her own tea, wishing she’d gone for a straight shot. “I shouldn’t have brought this up.”
“No, I’m glad you did. You’re the first person I’ve talked to about this. No one else would understand.
“Your father should never have left you there.”
“I understand why he did. He hoped I could protect Hickory Grove and maybe my presence helped. But I don’t think they would have burned the house when they could use it for their own purposes.”
Diamond made a noise of assent, although she thought little of a man who would sacrifice his daughter to save his house. She could no longer recall exactly what her
