Southern Beauty - By Julie Lucia Page 0,14

night.”

That was enough for Johanna. She never said a word. And they rode back toward Charleston and she never looked back, not once. A blur, her time with David was something that changed her. But it was just a blur.

Private Graystone and Johanna didn’t speak until arriving at her home where her uncle had sent soldiers to keep watch. She entered, bathed, changed clothes, and went down into the dining room where Malcolm and dinner sat waiting for her. There were also at least a dozen servants she didn’t recognize milling around.

It was hard for Johanna to smile, but she knew that the soldier was doing his job. She couldn’t be angry with him.

“Thank you,” she forced a smile, “you saved my life.”

“Miss Lee, I was sent to take you to Arlington. I don’t really know what happened when you were abducted,” Malcolm looked at her with concern, “I know that Union soldier tried to force himself on you out there, and I am sorry that I wasn’t here sooner. I will never forgive myself for staying at the inn and not coming straight here.”

Johanna looked up at him with confusion and then frowned. “I just want to forget all about it,” she lied.

“On Sunday, I will take you to Arlington as planned. In the mean time, your uncle left word that he would like us to stay and meet him at the Beauregard’s party in two evenings from now.” Malcolm smiled. “I would love to take you.” He asked in a charming plea even Johanna couldn’t turn down.

“I thought he couldn’t meet us?” questioned Johanna.

“A change of plans,” answered Malcolm.

Johanna couldn’t think of anything she would rather not do, but she half smiled back and said, “That would be nice, thank you Mr. Graystone.”

“Please call me Malcolm,” he noticed her somber tone and put his hand on hers. “Cheer up Miss Johanna, it will be fun, I promise.”

The next day she spent in her room with thoughts of David and how she began to notice his kindness more during their time together. She was confused by her feelings. He was her captor, he was arrogant, yet, he made her feel an unbelievable shock to her heart every time he would lay his eyes on her or touch her. She was torn between hate and love. One second she despised him and the other she didn’t know how she would go on without him. It was ridiculous. She was being ridiculous she thought. How could this infatuation be good? It was not like her to feel such emotions. She must be coming down with something. She felt her face. Oh yes, it was flushed, she must be ill. Maybe she would lie down some more she thought.

“Stop thinking about him,” she angrily whispered to herself. She tried to read and then realized she left her magazine with the Union soldiers. She was heartbroken. How could she get it back?

She could not live with knowing that they had something that was so precious to her, unfortunately, they were long gone. They had what they needed. She knew they must have found her uncle’s cigar box with the plans inside.

Then she smiled to herself and put her hand on the locket that caressed her neck. She was able to save one page of her uncle’s plans, the map. They might have some of it, but they didn’t have all of it.

“Now go back to your regiment and see if your big heroes!” She actually had a twinge of sadness for them. They would look like idiots with half of a plan. She could hear someone at the front door. She hid her locket back in her dress and looked once again in the mirror and dashed down the stairs to see who had visited her.

# # #

“Damn!” said David punching the ground. He was angry and humiliated by his surprised blow to the head. It took him awhile to awaken when Jacob called his name and helped him off the ground.

“Are you okay?” Jacob said helping David with a hand up. “That bump on your head looks painful.”

“She’s gone,” David said as he felt his goose egg. His gaze directed past Jacob, looking in the direction Johanna had disappeared. There were footprints in the mud that lay before them. It had proven she had not escaped on her own.

“I know. I think we need to reevaluate what we are going to do. We have to get out of here before recruits come,”