My Scandalous Soldier- Chapter 1

Chapter 1
Virginia 1864
The dark shadow of a man emerged from the tree line, running toward the plantation with rifle in hand. Kate watched from her second story bedroom window, by the glow of the moon as he dashed across her lawn. Soon after, two more figures followed suit. They disappeared around the corner of her home. If men are retreating, it must be nearly over. The thought made her heart pound with anticipation. After this battle was done she would help nurse the men. She must be going soon.
Kate could hear the canons booming in the distance. Earlier, the darkness had invaded like the chill that snuck under doors in the winter, and now the crack of the guns that echoed through the hills was almost enough to make her want to hide. Instead, she stood entranced by the thunder and lightning scene that was down in the valley. Mixed with the orders shouted to the soldiers to keep up the fight.
Kate made up a basket with bandages, needle, thread, and other things that could be useful in nursing the injured soldiers. Union or Confederate, it made no difference to her— no other man would die from this war if she could help it.
She pushed that thought out of her mind, and threw the makeshift rope, fashioned out of curtains, blankets and whatever else she could find, out her bedroom window. She anchored the rope to one of her bedposts, and tugged on it twice to make sure it was secure. Quickly, she placed her basket on her arm, clung to the rope and climbed out her window. Her slender body made it down easily enough, although her hands suffered a few rope burns in the process. Soon her feet touched the ground and she swept her long, red hair away from her emerald green eyes.
She kept to the shadows as she ran to the nearby weeping willow and took cover in its sweeping branches, which were slowly swaying in the warm summer breeze. She felt safer here; no prying eyes could see her now. The stream was just a few feet away, she ran towards it and leaped just before hitting the water and flew out from the willows’ branches as she landed on the other side of the stream. From now on it should be easy because there were more trees to conceal her.
She ran down the hill as several deserters ran past her, though it was too dark to see which color uniform they wore. She stopped at the sound of the men in the clearing beyond her. A few shots rang out then the call for the cease-fire. The cries and smells of the wounded were everywhere, sickness and charred flesh permeated the air. The terrible sounds were like daggers stabbing into her heart.
Is this what it was like? The cries of these dying men, he could have been like any one of them. She pushed the memory of her brother out of her mind and ran out of the trees as fast as she could to the closest man lying in the wet grass and screaming in pain. She lit her lantern to analyze his wounds.
Something had hit his leg; it was bent at an odd angle with a bone sticking out of his knee. Her eyes widened and her hand covered her mouth. She had never seen such a sight before— and the smell! Her books had told her nothing of what her senses now picked up.
She dropped to her hands and knees and promptly vomited near the man’s head. When she had finished heaving the contents of her stomach a few seconds later, she sat up and wiped her mouth on the back of her hand. Then, turned back to wounded soldier and forced herself to ignore everything but healing him. She firmly wrapped a bandage around what remained of his leg to stop the bleeding.
“Miss! This is no place for a young lady!” His tone was from the north. So, they are Yankees.
Kate barely heard him, she was so in tune with what she was doing. Her eyes flickered up and she noticed a man coming toward her. She lowered her eyes back to her patient, who was looking at her as if she were the answer to his prayers.
“I will tend to him, Miss, go home,” the man who had approached said gruffly.
“No, I will not leave. I can help.” She said this calmly while still wrapping the wound.
He looked at her quietly, pure exhaustion masking his features.
“You cannot make me leave,” she repeated with a stubborn look on her face. “If you will not let me help you I shall find another doctor who will.” Satisfied with her handy work, she stood up and turned to leave.
“Ma’am, I am the only one here,” his voice was so weak it drew her to look at him.
“Then it seems to me you have no choice, sir.” She pushed her hair out of her eyes and stood up to her full height; at five feet three inches, she wasn’t very intimidating. The man turned to her and sighed. His posture slackened, a sure sign of defeat. She knew she had won.
“Go on over there then.” He pointed into the darkness. She raised her lantern to reveal an outline of a group of men left unattended and lying on the ground.
Immediately Kate ran over to the men, basket in hand, and took in her surroundings as she made her way down the line. Men noticed her presence, little murmurs and quiet laughs were pointed in her direction. Not trustful of their motives, she started to wonder if maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.
She noticed that most of the soldiers were self sufficient, prying a bullet out of their arm or cleaning wounds with whatever scraps of cloth they could find. Maybe she really wasn’t needed. However, she was determined to help so she approached the men confidently. She froze in place when she saw the look on one man’s face quickly change to anger.
“Rebel bitch!” He struggled to his feet and advanced toward her. Quickly, she backed away from him and was about to run when one of the other men from the group grabbed his shoulders and pulled him back.
“This is no place for a southern belle like you, Miss Kingsland. Or do you go by a different name now?” The rich voice floated over her like the warm water of a bath, a luxury she couldn’t often afford.
Kate knew that voice, although she hadn’t heard it in years. His accusation was far worse than the angry Yank threatening her, now she really wanted to run. She brought herself up to her fullest height, put on the bravest face she could muster, and turned to face the man who had abandoned her and broken her heart five years before.
“Why, Mr. Bennett, imagine finding you here.” She almost lost her composure. By God he was even more handsome than she remembered. He was without his uniform jacket, standing there with muscles that hadn’t existed last time she laid eyes on him. He looked enticing in his First Lieutenant uniform. It suited him very nicely, although she hated to admit it, even to herself.
“I, Miss Kingsland, am supposed to be here. You are not.” His dark eyes bore into hers, the flickering of the lantern making it difficult to read his expression. She knew her cheeks must be as red as a baby’s bottom but she held her ground and crossed her arms over her chest as if they could protect her.
“I was merely trying to help your men, after such a long and horrible battle. I knew there must have been wounded and dying soldiers. I just simply could not stand by and let them die like . . . like . . .” She couldn’t finish the sentence. Damn the man! He had such an effect on her. She could feel the burning threat of tears behind her eyes. What she wanted to do was confide in him, to talk to him like they use to, with nothing held back. That was something she hasn’t been able to do with anyone else since he’d left. She hadn’t realized how much she missed him until now.
“If you would kindly come with me, I will get you a drink while my horse is readied.” He gave a pointed look to a young man behind him and the man ran off to follow the silent order. His tone was patronizing, as if he were talking to a young child and not a grown woman with whom he had once been very close.
Kate didn’t even question his intentions, he was offering her a place to go where she couldn’t embarrass herself. After all this time he was protecting her. One more reason to hate him, she thought. Had he been cold, or even indifferent, he would have been less of a threat to her. She followed him away from his men and sat on a nearby rock. He handed her the canteen he had untied from his belt and squatted down in front of her.
“I am sorry about Will, Kate. He was a great man.”
She could tell by his eyes that he truly meant it. She couldn’t respond, she would surely cry if she did. Instead, she took a drink from the canteen. Instantly, she began coughing and hacking, her throat aflame as if Hell itself resided there. Why do men consume something so atrocious?
He stood and laughed at her as he took the canteen back and placed it to his lips to take a swig himself. When she was finally able to stop coughing and sputtering she glared at him. Oh, this man was irksome. He flashed that wicked grin she remembered all too well. She almost allowed her walls to come down.
“Best get you home,” he said to her, his demeanor suddenly serious. “This is no place for you, no place for anyone as a matter of fact.” She still didn’t say anything. As much as she loathed him she wasn’t ready to leave his presence now that he’d come back into her life.
“Your parent’s place is just up there if I recall.” He pointed up the hills. She nodded slightly.
“I know the way, James. I don’t need your escort.” She still did not move from her perch on the rock. She looked up at him, their eyes locked. For a moment they were both mesmerized and still as a soldier on guard from the enemy. He shook his head, breaking the trance.
“You are not going alone. You will be accompanied by me.” It was a statement, not a question and she knew better than to argue, remembering how stubborn he could be about some points.
The sound of approaching footsteps made them both look over. A young man wearing a dirty, disheveled uniform proudly told James his horse was ready. After a few words with the other man, James pulled Kate up from her seat and lifted her up onto the horse’s back with such ease that she felt as if she weighed less than a twig. The feel of his hands on her hips remained long after he let her go. It bothered her just how aware of him she was; this man could break her heart all over again.
James silently walked beside the horse, holding its reins. Kate looked back over her shoulder and saw most of the men staring at their retreating backs. Some faces curious, some furious. She supposed they didn’t like seeing the “rebel bitch” with their lieutenant, sitting astride his horse while he was forced to walk. When she looked down at James he didn’t even seem to notice them, but he had to know of the violent looks looming behind them. He must not care what anyone thought of him seeing her safely home.
“Thomas was quite taken with you. He said an angel appeared to save him.” James's words pulled Kate from her thoughts.
“Thomas?”
“The man whose life you saved back there. Had you not arrived when you did, his leg would have bled out too much before the surgeon could get to him. He thought you were an angel there to save him.”
So she had done it, she had made a difference and saved a life! Her tired body sat a little straighter in the horse's saddle. James looked up at her and smiled.
“Now there is the girl I remember.” He winked at her then refocused on the path ahead.
“But you are not the boy I remember,” she told him flatly. “You seem so different.”
“War changes people, Kate, and it has been a long time.”
“Yes, it has. Tell me, James, when did you become a Lieutenant?”
James thought for a moment before answering with a simple “about a year ago.” He didn’t offer any more information and Kate didn’t press for it.
They progressed further up the hill and the branches were getting low now. Kate had to duck down to avoid hitting them.
“And your parents, how are they?” James asked. Her parents were Kate’s least favorite subject and James knew it.
“Oh, they are the same as always I suppose. And yours? I have missed them since you all left, your mother especially.” I have missed you the most she wanted to say.
“They are doing very well, at least in their last letter they seemed to be.”
Under his careful guidance, the horse leapt across the stream Kate had crossed earlier. The trio took refuge under the willows branches.
Kate placed her hands on James’s shoulders as he helped her slide down off the horse, her hands sliding down his arms as he set her down on the ground in front of him. She couldn’t see much of anything in the dark as she held onto his arms, but for a moment she felt like a young girl again. In that moment the war around them disappeared and the casual sounds of night were muffled. The horse let out a whinny and they broke apart.
“Thank you for helping my men today,” James said softly. Kate blushed in the darkness, thankful that he couldn’t see her reaction to his words in the black of the night.
“Thank you for seeing me home.” She turned and walked away without saying goodbye, her fingers curled tightly over the baskets handle. If she had to say one more word she knew she would not be able to hold back what she really wanted to tell him, and what she really wanted to tell him was impossible.
She ran from the willow tree and back to the shadows of her house again, tiptoeing to where she had left her makeshift rope dangling earlier. It was gone. Thinking some very unladylike words that would make her mother cringe in public, she made her way to the side door and slipped in. Silently, she closed the door behind her and breathed a prayer of thanks that it had been left unlocked. With a smile on her face, she leaned against the door for a few seconds before sneaking stealthily towards the staircase that led to her bedroom. A noise to her right startled her, causing her to gasp, just as the light from a candle flickered on. She silently cursed as her mother’s face materialized in the light.
“Where were you?” her mother asked without preamble. She didn’t bother to keep her voice down and Kate could tell she was angry.
“I needed a breath of fresh air, mother. Now if you will excuse me, I am quite tired and I am in need of my sleep.” Kate walked past her mother toward the staircase. Her mother reached out and grabbed her wrist, forcing Kate to turn and face her.
Kate knew the look on her mother’s face well; the only way out of this was to get away as quickly as possible and retreat to her bedroom. Kate jerked her wrist out of her mother’s grip and was rewarded with a stinging slap across the face.
“We cannot afford any scandals, Katharine! You're sneaking out at all hours of the night. What if Colonel Harrington discovers your little adventure? What would we tell him? You have blood all over you.” Her mother looked down Kate’s dress in disgust.
For the first time since she had stumbled upon the wounded soldiers, Kate looked down at herself— Thomas's blood was on her hands, arms, and dress. Looking down farther, she discovered more blood on her legs from when she had kneeled in the grass.
“I'd rather the good Lord strike me down, mother, than have that wretched man anywhere near me. The only good that would come out of the marriage is leaving this prison cell.” With that, Kate turned to climb the stairs quickly before her mother could grab her again.
Her mother followed her. The ensuing fight was the worst they’d ever had with angry words screamed from both sides. Her mother, worried about herself again, brought up the marriage between Colonel Harrington and Kate, stating it was an ideal match for Kate's father. The Colonel had many influences that could be useful in gaining more slaves and customers for them, and therefore, more money. Kate wanted to leave the plantation, but her parents forbade it.
Her mother's screams were cut short, however, by the sound of marching feet. Kate ran to look out a nearby window, desperate for one more glance at James before he disappeared from her life a second time. Earlier she had watched the Deserters fleeing past the plantation; this time she stared wide-eyed as the Soldier’s shadows slowed as they got the closer to the house. Kate looked back at her mother, who had gone very still and pale. Then raced passed her to greet the men at the door.