“Then she goes home to her parents.”
“What if they don’t take her back?”
“They will. She is their only child. But even if they don’t, it’s not your problem, Jesse.”
“I guess not.” Jesse dug the heel of his boot in the earth.
“You take on too much. We have enough to handle just staying alive. Worry about Diamond and your family if you have to, but forget about the rest. You won’t do anyone any good if you get yourself killed.”
Jesse gazed out over the camp. The men were edgy. He’d thought the heat was making everyone grumpy, but maybe there was more. “We’re going into battle soon, aren’t we?”
“I think so. Not that our superiors tell us anything.”
“Maybe they don’t know either.”
“Maybe not, but they wouldn’t tell us even if they did.” Cole leaned back and lit a cigar. “How are you going to respond to Diamond?”
“I won’t tell her we think we’re about to go into battle. I don’t want her to worry.”
“What about Amy?”
“What about her? I’ll wish her and Jack well.” But he understood what his friend was asking. Diamond was bound to misinterpret anything he said about Amy. “Do you have an extra cigar?”
Cole tossed him one. “You rarely smoke.”
“I do today,” Jesse said. “It isn’t every day you learn your brother has become a deserter, an outlaw and eloped with your almost-fiancé.”
Twenty Four
Chapter 24
Janet ran into the parlor, her face alight. “I’ve heard from Finn. He wants me to come north and marry him.”
“That’s great,” Diamond said, setting aside her knitting. She had nearly completed her first pair of socks for Jesse and looked forward to sending them to him. She stood, stretching her back and wandered over to the window. The sun hung high in the sky, radiating heat. The house provided shade, but it was still hot and muggy. Her body was damp with sweat and she missed air conditioning. She tugged at the bodice of her dress, wishing she could tear it off and wear shorts and a tee-shirt.
Janet didn’t seem to mind the heat or maybe she was just too happy to care.
Diamond stifled her unease. She had never met Finn, so it wasn’t fair for her to have reservations about him. She knew little about him other than Ian thought poorly of him. Her father-in-law had nothing good to say about her either, so she shouldn’t let his opinion influence hers. If Finn made Janet happy, nothing else mattered.
“I’ll go home and we will marry as soon as Finn gets leave,” Janet said.
“I’m happy for you, but how will you get there? It isn’t safe to travel.”
“I did it before under worse conditions with only Sarah and the garden boy. I’ll ask Father to send Henry with us.”
“Us?”
“I hoped you would come with me.”
Touched by Janet’s invitation and welcoming a break from Ian, Diamond agreed. However, she still worried about the travel even if the coachman came along to protect them.
“Heard your screeching all the way upstairs,” Ian grumbled as he came into the room. “Finn finally make an offer?”
“It’s his second offer as you very well know,” Janet said, “But this time he accepts your terms. Diamond will come with me and we’ll take Sarah and Henry.”
“I suppose you want the carriage as well? How am I to manage without a carriage and coachman?” Ian asked.
“We will take the wagon. You can hire a coachman as needed, but you usually walk to your office, anyway.”
Ian grumbled, but didn’t argue further. “Fine, if it gets the two of you out of my hair. You’ll leave tomorrow.”
“Then we had better pack.” Janet turned to Diamond. “I’ll send Sarah to you once she’s finished with me.”
Diamond nodded. She wanted to say she could pack for herself, but had no experience packing hoops and the voluminous garments of the nineteenth century and would welcome Sarah’s help.
She slept fitfully that night, glad to be heading north, but dreading another journey. She was still tired when Sarah awoke her and eagerly downed a couple cups of tea at breakfast. Flour was growing more expensive and Cook no longer served biscuits every morning, but knowing Diamond’s fondness for them, had made a batch to see them on their way.
Diamond ducked into the kitchen to thank her before leaving.
“Your welcome, Miz Diamond,” Cook said. “I’ve packed the leftovers in the picnic basket along with a jar of jam.”
“I appreciate it.” She nodded to Cook and the scullery maid, who never said a word and was rarely seen outside the kitchen walls.
Cook lowered her voice. “Master Ian is a hard man and Master Jack pays us no mind. Miss Janet takes after her father, but Master Jesse, well he was always sneaking in the kitchen to grab a snack, ready with a quick smile if I tried to scold him.”
“He doesn’t play fair, does he?” Diamond, too, found it hard to yell at Jesse even when he did things to infuriate her. She still got angry when she remembered how he’d refused to shoot White when he had threatened her and stole their raft.
“Travel safely and watch out for Miz Janet.”
“We’ll be careful and Henry is coming with us.” She paused, wanting to offer the woman hope for the future, but unsure how. “Some good will come out of this awful war. Freedom for all people.”
“I hope you’re right.”
The kitchen door opened and Cook fell silent and lowered her gaze as Janet stepped inside. “I almost thought you changed your mind about coming with me when I couldn’t find you in the house. What are you doing out here?”
Diamond reached for the basket. “Cook has packed us food for the trip.”
“Excellent. We may find nothing on the way. Hurry, we need to get going.”
“I’m ready.” Diamond followed Janet out of the kitchen, the heavy basket dragging on her arm. Henry had already stowed their trunks in the wagon and he waited, reins in hand, on the buckboard.
Ian gave his daughter a
