LITMIR.BIZ

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up from the sheaf of field reports that he held. His irrepressible relative snapped a salute. Rob was not amused.

      “You take too many liberties, Lieutenant,” Rob muttered, hoping this mild reprimand would send the youngster scurrying back to his own paper-littered desktop. Ben exercised far too much familiarity during working hours.

      His cousin only grinned wider. “Indeed, so I was often told when we attended dear old Yale. But the question still remains. Are you planning to visit the family or stay in Washington to ring in the New Year?”

      Rob shuddered inside his blue uniform frock coat. His last trip home to Rhinebeck, New York, following his release from the hospital, had been an unmitigated disaster. Mama had done nothing but stare with open pity at his smashed right hand, while sighing with melodramatic fervor and moaning over her “poor baby boy.” Meanwhile his father had used Rob’s every waking moment to harangue his recuperating son into switching from the army to politics. “There’s a new wind blowing through this great land,” Jubel Montgomery had reiterated ad nauseam. “And the Republican Party will lead the way.”

      “No,” Rob snapped at Ben. “I shall remain in Washington.” Where it would be peaceful. He pretended to return to his papers.

      Instead of retreating, Ben leaned closer. “As I thought. Therefore, would the major care to join a company of bright young bloods on December the thirty-first?” He patted his breast pocket with satisfaction. “In here, I hold the key to a night of music and frivolity among the prettiest flowers that grow in Alexandria. That’s Virginia, sir. Virginia, where the girls are sweet as cream—and…and as pure as wholesome milk,” he added swiftly when Rob glared at him.

      Rob narrowed his brown eyes. “Need I remind you that we are, at this precise moment, on the soil of Virginia, fighting those damned Virginians? Are you suggesting that we feast with our enemies? I find that idea a highly—” he groped for the right word “—treasonable notion. We are speaking of Southerners, Lieutenant, a breed of pig-headed, uncouth Rebels. I detest them all.”

      Ben’s maddening good humor only increased. “You speak the truth in general, but these particular Virginian posies are fine, true and loyal to the Union. They are the delightful daughters and sisters of many of our fellow soldiers. They come from families who had the good sense to ignore the rabble cry of states’ rights—whatever that notion may be. Now they give aid and succor to us poor, homesick fellows.” His brown eyes twinkled. “Lord knows, we do need aid and succor from these most delightful ladies.”

      “Join their company then, and may they give you—” Rob paused, banished the lusty thought that rose unbidden in his love-starved brain, then continued “—some of what you desire. I intend to stay in my rooms at Ebbitt’s and read something edifying. I am no fit company for ladies.” He covered over his paralyzed hand with his good one, then turned back to decipher the hen-scratching written by a female undercover agent operating in St. Louis.

      Ben had the audacity to remain in front of Rob’s desk. Leaning over the stacks of reports, he said in a low voice, “Not all women are like your recent fiancée. You would find the truth of that, Rob, if you would deign to return to civilized society once again. You were once a lion among the ladies in New Haven. Word of your former exploits among the petticoats has preceded you here, sir.” His voice sank to a whisper. “It was your arm the Rebels shot up, not your charm.”

      Rob gritted his teeth. He had a good mind to plant his polished boot squarely in his cousin’s backside. He dropped his mangled hand below the level of the desktop, and thrust it into his coat pocket. Out of sight, out of mind. How dare this upstart puppy speak on the one subject that Rob never mentioned in public? Lucy Van Tassel’s scathing “I will not marry half a man” screamed in Rob’s nightmares and reverberated down the black tunnels of his memory.

      He sneered at Ben. “You have no idea of women, Lieutenant. Underneath all those pretty smiles and lilting words, they are vicious, selfish creatures, vain and greedy. They are interested in a man only if he is young, handsome, wealthy—and whole.”

      Ben opened his mouth to protest but another voice cut him off. Colonel James Lawrence strode out of the doorway that led to his inner office. “Nor, it seems, do you know women, Major Montgomery.”

      Rob rose to his feet in the presence of his commanding officer. The colonel regarded him from under white bushy eyebrows. He blew through his large walrus mustache. “Lieutenant Johnson may be wet behind his ears, Major, but in this case, he makes a good point. You have stayed away from society for too long. It’s high time you stopped feeling sorry for yourself, and start living among your fellow human beings again.”

      Hot blood rose up Rob’s neck. A vein throbbed in his temple, though he held his anger in check. “I will take the colonel’s opinion under advisement, sir.”

      Lawrence tapped the side of his nose. “Indeed, you shall, and sooner than you think. On the thirty-first of December, you will accompany the lieutenant and whomever else goes with him to this…this… Where is it you are going, Johnson?”

      Ben suppressed his grin. “A ball, sir. A masked ball, given at the gracious home of Mr. George Winstead.”

      The colonel cocked his head. “Winstead? The railroad man?”

      Ben nodded. “I do believe the gentleman is active in that particular business venture, sir.”

      The colonel returned his attention to the fuming Rob. “Very good, then. Major, you will attend this ball with the lieutenant. Do you understand me, sir?”

      Rob clenched his good hand at his side. “Is the colonel giving me a direct order, sir?”

      Lawrence flashed a brief half smile. “I am indeed, Major. You will dress in your best; you will act like a gentleman to all and you will remain at this ball for no less than three hours. Do I make myself clear?”

      “Perfectly, sir,” Rob said between tight lips.

      “Good! Lieutenant Johnson, I will want a full report of the major’s behavior on January first.” The colonel turned back toward his office.

      Ben snapped another salute. “Yes, sir!”

      “And enjoy yourselves, gentlemen,” the colonel added over his shoulder. “That is an order.” He shut the door behind him. One of the civilian clerks snickered behind his ledger book.

      Rob shot a filthy look at his cousin. “I presume you are satisfied now that you have made me look the fool, Lieutenant?”

      Ben refused to shake his good spirits even in the face of Rob’s anger. “Perfectly, Major.” In a lower tone, he added. “Cheer up, Rob. It’s only a dance, not a battlefield.”

      Rob returned to his seat and shuffled his papers into a jumble. “I may be ordered to go to this ball, Lieutenant, but I’ll be damned if I’ll dance.”

      Ben touched two fingers to his forehead. “See you in hell, Rob Montgomery,” he replied, giving him the soldiers’ traditional salute.

      Chapter Two

      Clara Lightfoot Chandler couldn’t concentrate on her embroidery hoop, not when she had such an important matter on her mind. Yet she knew she had to reveal the subject carefully, or else her husband might not agree with her wonderful plan.

      She sighed audibly, then stole a quick glance at the distinguished man seated across the parlor. Dr. Jonah Chandler continued to read his Alexandria Gazette without so much as lifting a brow in her direction. Clara drummed her bitten nails against the rosewood arm of her cushioned chair. She sighed again, this time a little louder. Jonah turned a page and continued his reading. Unable to bear her husband’s obvious refusal to give her his attention, Clara pulled her handkerchief from her sleeve and sniffed into it.

      Without looking up from the newspaper, Jonah asked, “Did you want your laudanum bottle, my dear?”

      Clara slammed her hoop into her sewing basket that sat on the crowded marble-topped table beside her chair.

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