To his relief, an awning jutted from the side of the building. Crawford leapt upon it, grasped the edge and swung himself to the ground. Jesse scrambled to follow. His hand was slippery with blood and it throbbed in rhythm with his knee. He scooted to the edge, and using primarily his good hand, lowered his body over and dropped to the ground beside Crawford. Both men panted, sweating even as the rain washed them clean.
Jesse tore his shirt and wrapped the makeshift bandage around his hand. “What now?”
“I’m to meet some friends at a nearby bar. You’re welcome to come, too. They have ways of getting people out of the city.”
“What about my wife? I don’t want to leave her here.”
“Then you should have stayed in jail,” Crawford said.
“I couldn’t.” Being locked in a cell, away from the earth and sky and at the mercy of his jailors, had whittled away at his soul.
Crawford ran a hand across his brow, a futile attempt to keep the water from running into his eyes. “You could come with me now and let them get her out later. That would be best.”
Jesse considered. It would be the safest thing to do, his best chance at getting clear of the city. They still had some time, but eventually the guards would discover their absence and raise the alarm. But Diamond was angry with him and would be even more angry when she found out he’d ignored her pleas and escaped. Would she want to follow him? Fleeing with an escaped prisoner put her safety at risk, but he wasn’t sure he could trust Crawford’s friends to keep her safe.
He had to see her before he left. He might never see her again. “Give me the address of the bar. I’ll meet you there.”
Crawford rattled off the numbers. “We won’t wait for you.”
“That’s a chance I have to take.”
* * *
The thunder was getting on Diamond’s nerves. She and Janet had eaten a modest supper and retreated to the sitting room where Janet struggled with a needle, trying to mend a pair of Finn’s trousers, and Diamond knitted yet another pair of socks. She was getting better at them, and now that she had made two pairs for Jesse, this one would go to a Union soldier. Janet insisted they now had to support the Union war effort.
“I’m still married to a Confederate soldier,” Diamond protested.
“A fact we want to draw as little attention to as possible.”
“And you’re still the daughter of a Confederate state congressman,” she said just to annoy her sister-in-law.
“Something better swept under the rug.” Janet threw the pants aside with a sigh. “I’ll ask Sarah to finish these. My mother should have taught me practical sewing rather than embroidery.”
Diamond took pity on her. “You’re very skilled at embroidery. I’m sure you can learn to sew if you really want to.”
“I prefer making pretty things.” Janet rested her hands in her lap. “Finn wants me to give Sarah her freedom.”
“It’s a good idea.”
“I thought you were loyal to your husband and the Southern cause.”
“I’m loyal to Jesse, but never claimed to embrace the South and all it stands for.”
“You never said a word of this to my father.”
Diamond shrugged and set aside her knitting. She couldn’t argue and concentrate on the pattern. “I didn’t want him to toss me out. Your Father enjoys threatening others.”
“And does Jesse know about your views?”
“Jesse never wanted this war. Our views are not that dissimilar.”
“So you think I should do as Finn wishes?”
“Absolutely not. I think you should free Sarah because it’s the right thing to do, not because your husband likes to give orders.” She chose her next statement with care. “I think this war will end the practice of slavery, at least in the north. Why delay the inevitable?”
“I know there has been talk of freeing the slaves. Fremont even passed a law freeing slaves here in Missouri when he ran the Department of the West, but Lincoln made him retract it. Still, it’s hard to imagine such an enormous change.”
Lightning flashed outside the window, followed soon after by the crash of thunder. “The storm is getting closer,” Diamond said. It worried her, not because she was afraid of bad weather, but because she worried Jesse might use the chaos as a cover for his escape. Still angry over his refusal to play it safe, she had not been back to the prison. While she appreciated that he had been honest with her instead of lying and telling her what she wanted to hear, she needed someone to put her first. Just once, she wanted to matter more than the cause, the glory or the truth. Foolish. She had admired Jesse from the first for his steadfast honor.
“Sarah has been with me since the day I was born. Her mother nursed both of us.”
“I didn’t realize.” In the twenty-first century, Diamond had covered stories at the station about the popularity and benefits of nursing but used to the convenience of formula, she hadn’t considered how mothers fed their babies in the nineteenth century. It seemed wealthy women had the option of wet nurses, a term she had heard, but never thought much about. As babies, Janet and Sarah had been as close as sisters. What a shock it must have been for Sarah to learn later the vast difference in their status. “You’re afraid she will leave.”
“Sarah would never leave. I’m as much a constant in her life as she is in mine.”
Diamond stuffed her neglected sock in her bag. “I think I’ll turn in early.” She started to leave the room but stopped at the doorway. “I think you might be right about Sarah, but wouldn’t it be nice to know for sure?”
* * *
Diamond curled up on her bed. Sarah had helped her out of her corset and petticoats, but instead of changing into her nightgown, Diamond had dismissed the maid and thrown on
