“That I love her, and I’m trying to make this right.”
Clara hesitated, then gave a tiny laugh. “You know she’d tell you not to do anything stupid just for the sake of penance.”
It was a blessing, of a sort. Solomon nodded his head at her, touched, and mounted up in one fluid motion, turning Beauty and thundering into the woods. He did not look back, and he knew Clara would go into the house so she did not have to see him go.
Neither of them, as it happened, saw the lone figure make its way out of the trees by the road and mount up to follow him at a discreet distance, the brown cloak melding almost perfectly with the shadows of the forest.
Chapter 3
Jasper awoke with a start. His head hurt like crazy and he was sure for a moment he’d gone blind. When he shook his head, opening and closing his eyes, he felt the brush of fabric. His head was hazy, and every part of him hurt now. His mouth was dryer than he could remember.
His heart sank as he realized where he must be. The memories he had were of jolting and jostling, of hearing Cecelia’s muffled sobs as they rode. He heard nothing now. Was she unconscious? Terrified into silence? Was it too much to hope that they had taken pity and left her behind?
His teeth rattled as the horse trotted roughly over the uneven ground. Memories were coming back: sliding as the horses traversed their way up mountains and down again, jostling and shaking, passing out and waking again in a haze of misery.
Things came back in pieces.
Clara. The thought came to him suddenly. How long had they been gone? His heart squeezed. By now, she would know he was missing, surely she would, and if Cecelia was back, she would know why.
If not...
Surely none of them would think that he and Cecelia had run away together. But that was, Jasper knew, exactly what Cyrus would tell then. Only, Solomon would know better. Wouldn’t he?
He groaned in frustration. He could only hope Cecelia made it back. What if Clara, too, had noticed his reticence lately? What if she thought he had left of his own accord? No, she would never think that. Surely not. She would realize he had been kidnapped.
Taken by force by militia. Marked for death.
He was terrified, and a sudden stop brought to mind vivid images. He was hauled down from the horse, immediately falling to the ground as his tired legs gave out below him, and he heard the snickers of the men watching him. Sudden anger suffused him, gave him life. He stood tall for a moment, having struggled to his feet, and he looked in their direction, jaw clenched.
“Who are you?” he asked them, and there was laughing again. He knew he must look a mess, disheveled and exhausted. He was trembling where he stood, but he still had dignity, dammit.
It was the crying that broke him. He knew those cries. He had heard them enough in the past. How long? Days? Hours? He had lost track of time, and yet it must only have been hours. They had not stopped for food and water, he was sure of that. How far had they gotten?
“Don’t cry, little miss,” one of the men said roughly, and Cecelia, bless her, paid them not a moment’s thought. Jasper felt their discomfort as she sobbed onwards, and the muted anger, the feeling that perhaps they had done something wrong. He looked towards Cecelia, anguished.
“That’s right,” one of them told him angrily. “Your wife is here too.”
“My...?” For a moment, Jasper felt his throat constrict. They thought Cecelia was his wife. Oh, no. No. If they thought....
“Let her go,” he said quietly. “Whatever there is between me and you, leave her out of it. She is not a soldier. She’s a civilian. A casualty of war.”
“Oh, I don’t think so. You see, she’s here to ensure your good behavior.”
“If you hurt her...” But he could do nothing about it, and they all knew it. It was on the tip of Jasper’s tongue to tell them she was not his wife, but if she was not, then she would still be a woman who had seen Confederate soldiers creeping around in the forests of Virginia. She would be a liability. Would they let her live? He closed his mouth on the words.
“What do you think of us?” one of them asked him, voice low and angry. “That we’d hurt a woman?”
This was a rather disingenuous statement after they’d kidnapped her, but Jasper knew better than to argue about it. He clenched his jaw to stop himself from answering.
“No, she’s here to make sure you don’t do anything stupid,” the stranger said.
Jasper closed his eyes on a rush of relief. “And you’ll release her?”
“When we’re done with you?” A Confederate soldier scoffed. “Maybe.”
Cecelia started crying again, and a new voice broke in.
“That’s enough.”