“I have a few Union contracts, supplying clothes and cooking supplies to the army. I could talk to someone of influence, but it might be easier to include Jesse in an exchange of prisoners than get him parole.”
Which meant Jesse would go back to fighting. Diamond wanted him out of danger, but his freedom was most important. She’d hated seeing him behind bars like a criminal. “I would be grateful for whatever you can do.”
Bryce leaned forward, both hands clasped on the head of his walking stick. Though faded, his cool blue eyes were still piercing. “No threats? No demands this time?”
Diamond fought to keep her gaze steady under his scrutiny. “I should not have threatened you. But I had every reason to be upset.” Her voice rose, and she took a deep breath. “Still, I was wrong to blame you. You weren’t trying to hurt me. I was just collateral damage.”
There was a tinge of bitterness in her voice, but Bryce gave her a genuine smile, the first she had ever seen from him. “Behave like a woman from this century and the Democrat will like your work.”
“And you will try to help Jesse?”
“I will do what I can,” Bryce said. “But it may not be much.”
Thirty One
Chapter 31
The next time Diamond visited Jesse, she was alone. She brought him some cooked chicken, a loaf of bread and some fresh peaches. He was still pale from lack of sunlight and lean from lack of food, but the circles under his eyes weren’t as dark. She hoped she was part of the reason for his improvement.
His expression lightened when he saw her and she didn’t think it was only because of the food she brought.
“I told you not to come.”
“You should know me well enough to know I don’t take orders.”
“I discovered that about five minutes after meeting you.”
“And yet, here you are a prisoner of the Union, our great escape wasted.” Diamond didn’t think a person’s fate was set in stone, but the irony of their current situation made her wonder.
“Had the Yankees thrown me into a crowded cell while I was sick and injured I may not have survived.”
It had been touch and go as it was. Without her antibiotic ointment and pills, he might have died. Could fate have sent her back in time to save him? Diamond brushed aside Ari’s theories. No, her presence in Civil War America was a mistake, nothing more.
“I’ve talked to Bryce, and he promised to work towards your release.”
“Thank you, but it may not be necessary.”
“You want to stay here and risk transfer to somewhere far worse?”
“There are other options.” Jesse lowered his voice and spoke just above a whisper. “This prison is not very secure. I’ve talked with some other inmates about planning an escape.”
Diamond gaped at him, but, having learned her lesson from her first visit, spoke even softer than he had. “Are you serious? What would happen if they caught you?”
“Dozens of prisoners have escaped this year alone.”
Diamond blinked. “How many tried and failed?”
“They caught a few and placed them in more secure facilities.”
“And the others?”
“Some got clear away.”
“But some were killed, right?”
“They hanged a few as a deterrent.”
“You can’t take such a risk.” Diamond gripped the bars hard enough she felt them digging into her palms.
“I can’t stay here.”
“It won’t be long, only until you’re paroled or exchanged.”
“That may never happen.”
“Bryce is working on it. He has connections. He even got me a job on the newspaper.”
They were whispering to one another, their heads as close as the bars would allow, Jesse’s back bent to accommodate her smaller height. But at this, he straightened. He only topped her by a few inches, but Diamond now stared at his mouth. Her stomach tightened as she remembered his lips on hers. Gentle, but insistent. She slipped a hand through the bars and touched his face, her thumb flicking over his lower lip.
His beard was soft under her fingers and his lips tilted upward. He didn’t smile that often, her conscientious warrior, but he smiled at her now, a sad smile that didn’t reach his deep blue eyes.
“Short of going home, that’s what you wanted. I’m happy for you.”
Diamond brushed this aside. “The job’s great, but that’s not the point. Bryce gets things done. He doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.” Rather like her, but somehow things turn out better for Bryce.
“I appreciate what you’ve done for me.”
Diamond distrusted his stilted response. “This is all Jack’s fault. We wouldn’t be here if not for him.”
Jesse paced the length of his cell, two steps in either direction. “What would you have me do? I couldn’t allow him to be captured. The Yankees would have shot him on sight. No quarter given. He’s my brother.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to make any other choice, but I’m not sure your siblings deserve such loyalty. Jack got himself in this mess by deserting his unit and joining the guerrillas.”
“I understand why he couldn’t continue to fight for the Union. His heart was ever in it. Janet, however, is practical, like our father.”
“Practical to a fault. Watch what you say to her. When Guerrillas attacked us on the way to New Madrid, she told them our fellow travelers were Northern sympathizers. They nearly hanged the man.”
“Guerrillas attacked you? Were you hurt?” Jesse returned to the bars, his gaze intent on hers. “Father should never have let you travel alone.”
“We weren’t alone. Sarah and Henry were with us, but Henry ran off.”
“Were you hurt?” he asked again.
“No, but they shot Janet. A bullet grazed her ear. She’s okay; you saw her yourself. But the attack, along with her marriage to Finn, has swung her loyalties towards the Union.”
“She would never betray me.”
Diamond knew the siblings were fond of one another, but she couldn’t forget how Janet had endangered the farmer and his family to curry favor with the
