“As soon as I receive word from him, I will bring it myself. You may rest assured that we will not occupy your land even one day longer than necessary.” When she made to speak, he held up his hand. “But knowing General Granger as I do, it would be prudent for you to simply accept that you will have to deal with me and my men indefinitely.”
A pretty glower creased her forehead. “We shall see, won’t we?” With that, she flounced down the steps, green skirts swishing. Moses helped her onto the high wagon seat.
Once she was settled, Levi thought she might turn to send him one last glare, but much to his disappointment, her gaze focused ahead. The wagon lurched forward, and only Carolina sent a shy wave goodbye from her seat in the crowded bed. Levi looked away in time to see Banks return the gesture, a wide grin on his face.
Levi cleared his throat. The young man jerked to attention, though his smile remained in place.
“See to it that the house is closed up. I want all the doors locked except the one leading to my rooms.”
“Yes, sir.”
Levi glanced at the retreating wagon, then back to the soldier. “We won’t have time to fraternize with the locals, Banks. We have a mission to accomplish.”
“Yes, sir.” The young man opened his mouth, then closed it. He’d been Levi’s right-hand man for over a year now, and Levi always knew when Banks had more to say.
“What?”
Banks gave a slight shrug. “I’m just thinking that I’m not the one who gave a pretty lady a crateful of oranges, sir.”
Levi dismissed the soldier with a wave of his hand. Banks was too smart for his own good.
“Tell me the story again, Mama.”
Samuel sat on Natalie’s lap on the porch swing, his hands and face covered with sticky orange juice as he leaned back against her chest to watch the dusky western sky fade to twilight. She would need to scrub her son well before tucking him into bed this night.
“Samuel, you’ve heard it three times already.” She ran her fingers through his thick, sweaty hair. “It’s nearly time for bed.”
“Please.” He moved his head so he could look up at her with pleading eyes the same color as her own.
She bent to kiss his nose. “One last time.”
He nestled against her again. “You went to Grandfather Langford’s big house ’cuz you forgot to get somethin’.”
“Yes.” She smiled. He often asked to hear a story then proceeded to tell it himself.
“But when you and Moses and Carolina got there, the so’diers was there already.”
“They were indeed.”
“But they aren’t mean, and that nice so’dier that carried you when you fell down was there too.”
Natalie nodded, her mind inadvertently conjuring the image of Colonel Maish standing on Langford Manor’s porch. How had she not noticed how handsome he was when he was here at Rose Hill? Surely the shocking news he brought prevented her from noticing the deep brown of his eyes and the fullness of his lips. When those lips curled in smile—
“Mama?”
She looked down to find Samuel studying her.
“What comes next in the story?” she asked, shaking loose the image of the Yankee. She certainly didn’t need to entertain thoughts of a man who’d been her enemy only the day before and who refused to vacate her property.
“The nice so’dier gave you the or’nges ’cuz he wanted to say thank you for letting his men sleep in tents in the fields.”
Natalie smiled and clapped her hands. “Very good. Now, young man, it is off to bed.”
“Aw, can’t I have ’nother or’nge?”
She laughed, scooped him up in her arms, and headed for the door. “You’ve already eaten three. You only have a few left, and you’ll want to save them for a special treat on a hot afternoon.”
Earlier, when they’d returned to Rose Hill, Natalie gave Moses and Carolina several oranges and then instructed Moses to give one to each of the remaining workers. She would have gone to the quarter and passed them out herself, but she didn’t want the freed slaves to be suspicious of her motives. The truth was, it felt good sharing the sweet fruit with them. Wasn’t that what Adella Rose had tried to tell her years ago? Natalie’s mother-in-law, Martha Ellis, had apparently been generous with the slaves over the years, and Adella had tried to follow in her mother’s footsteps, as much as her father would allow. She’d advised Natalie to do the same once she became mistress of Rose Hill, yet Natalie hadn’t taken the advice to heart. Had she shown more of an interest in the slaves’ well-being, perhaps the majority of them would not have left.
With Samuel tucked into bed, she went to her room. Carolina would be in soon to help her out of her dress and corset. She stood at the open window. A soft evening breeze stirred the curtains. Night sounds filled the air, and stars twinkled in the darkening sky.
She glanced to the east, in the direction of Langford Manor. Was Colonel Maish settling into the guest room after a long day? Perhaps removing his high black boots and coat and stretching out on the quilt-covered bed? Heat rose to her cheeks at her scandalous line of thought, but she couldn’t prevent the image of his thick brows and long dark hair from stirring something deep inside her.
Shaking her head, she turned from the window. Had she been alone so long that an infuriating man like the Yankee colonel could now appropriate her mind? Although she’d been
