Jasmine kisses, p.1
Jasmine Kisses, page 1
JASMINE KISSES
KATHRYN KALEIGH
To learn more about Kathryn Kaleigh, visit
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www.kathrynkaleigh.com
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CHAPTER 1
May 1864
Becca McConnell slid down in the hot water, the jasmine-scented bubbles tickling her nose.
Morning birdsong drifted in through her open window.
It was the warmest day of the year so far.
May in north Louisiana could be cool or downright hot or just right, like today.
Her fingers slid along and smooth cast iron of the tub and she splashed the water to keep the bubbles going.
Using the jasmine soap was a treat.
There was nothing particularly special about today, other than the warm weather.
The only thing Becca disliked about spring was that here in Louisiana spring lasted only a fleeting moment before it turned into tortuous heat.
The crack of an ax against wood reminded her that Thomas was outside replenishing the supply of firewood he’d used to heat the water for her bath.
Thomas lived with his grandparents about two miles away, but he came here most every day for a few hours to help Becca with chores.
Thomas—only sixteen—was three years younger than Becca. He’d only been thirteen when the men had left to fight in the war. He’d wanted to join up. Like the older boys, he’d been ready to kill the Yanks.
Though he was old enough now, it had been some time since he’d mentioned joining the army. In fact she couldn’t remember the last time he’d brought it up.
Everyone had expected the war to be over quickly. A few weeks at the most. After all, one southern boy could out shoot and out ride a dozen Yankee boys.
But here it was three years later and the war lingered.
They’d had hired servants at one point, but one by one, they’d left.
Loyalty only went so far when working without pay.
And Becca had no money to pay them.
Her father and two brothers had left first, responding to the first call of duty.
They left Becca and her mother behind.
Their money had last for about a year and they’d been for all intents and purposes untouched by the war.
Then Mother had left for Memphis to be with Becca’s sister.
Gabby, married a young man from Memphis, found herself alone and with child.
Mother made the decision that Becca would stay behind to take care of the house.
Gabby, being the youngest of four siblings, had no experience with running a household.
She’d done her best, of course, but she’d longed for those carefree days when she could spend her days doing whatever she wanted.
Playing the piano. Painting. Reading.
Lately, she’d been spending her days doing chores. Laundry.
Planting potatoes and corn.
Her fingernails were split from digging in the dirt.
Though she saw Thomas most every day, he was quiet and didn’t satisfy her need for conversation.
Becca longed to have a conversation with someone.
She wrote her sister and mother every day and received letter frequently, but it didn’t quench that need for conversation.
She ducked her head beneath the water to wet her hair and added soap to shampoo it.
The water was still warm, but it was cooling much too quickly.
Nonetheless, a bath was such a rare treat, she was determined to enjoy it to the fullest.
CHAPTER 2
Major Daniel Campbell rode in front of his men.
He steered his horse through a mud puddle as the little dirt road, mostly mud, curved to the left.
He looked over his shoulder at his men, following closely behind.
Twenty-seven soldiers in blue riding one behind the other made quite a sight.
It was a warm day. And even though it was only May, it was much like a summer day in Pittsburgh.
Such was the way of the south.
Daniel and his men had spent the last three years from New Orleans to Vicksburg, and several places in between. Their current summons was to Memphis.
They took their time traveling along the road full of mud holes from last night’s storm.
According all accounts, Memphis was a peaceful town, unlike New Orleans, at times.
Daniel would learn more about the motive behind this latest assignment when they arrived at their destination.
Daniel was weary of the travel. And the south. He already knew that it would be getting unbearably hot in no time.
He was not looking forward to another summer in the south.
“Sir,” his first in command said, coming up behind him.
Joshua was a good man. Daniel trusted his life with him.
And indeed, Joshua had saved him from being shot by a southern sniper back at the Battle of Vicksburg.
Daniel owed him one.
Daniel returned Joshua’s salute.
“What’s amiss?” Daniel asked, pulling the reins to bring his horse to a stop.
Joshua never broke rank unless there was a good reason.
“Some of the men are ill,” he said.
Daniel’s stomach roiled at the memory of last night’s stew.
They’d eaten at a farm along the road.
Daniel had taken one bite and excused himself.
In retrospect, the woman had been much too willing to cook for his men.
He didn’t even blame the woman. She was merely being loyal to her country. Slipping a little poison in the enemy’s stew was not unusual.
They had southerners who genuinely tried to help them and they’d had their share of southerners who tried to do their part to eradicate the enemy.
“The stew?” he asked, but it was more of a statement.
“That would be my best guess,” Joshua said.
“Did you eat the stew?”
Joshua shook his head. “A couple of bites. Not enough to do any damage.”
Daniel nodded.
Joshua was a wise man with good instincts.
“How bad?” Daniel asked, looking back toward his line of men.
He saw no obvious indication that anything was amiss.
That was typical of his men though. They were good soldiers, one and all.
“Wouldn’t hurt to stop for the day. Give them time to recover.”
“All right then,” Daniel said.
He hoped his mission in Memphis wasn’t time sensitive.
With the rain and now a regiment of sick men, it was taking a while to get anywhere.
“One of the men has a friend with a home nearby,” Joshua said. “We can try there.”
CHAPTER 3
Becca fell asleep in the bath.
Not only was it startling to wake up with her cheek pressed against the smooth cast iron, it was rather startling to wake in a pool of cool water.
All the bubbles had dissolved.
Good heavens.
She was lucky she hadn’t drowned herself.
Shivering, she started to sit up, then froze.
There were footsteps coming down the hallway.
Her first thought was that Thomas must have come to check on her.
But there were so many things wrong with that thought.
First of all, it would completely inappropriate for Thomas to come upstairs.
He’d been downstairs in the house, of course. And they’d spent hours together in the garden. Doing laundry. But he always went home.
She’d tried to tell him that she couldn’t pay him, but he insisted that as long as she occasionally shared her food with him, it was payment enough.
Second of all, those were not Thomas’s footsteps.
Thomas was a mere boy. A scrap of a lad.
The footsteps coming down her hallway were those belonging to a man.
A man walking with a purpose.
Her father?
One of her brothers?
If Thomas was still here, he wouldn’t allow a stranger to come inside the house, much less upstairs.
He must have already gone home.
She ducked back down into the water, her hands against the side of the tub, and peeked over the rim.
He opened the door across the hall, then came to her door.
She held her breath.
Neither her father nor her brothers would come to her room unannounced.
She slid as far down as she could without putting her nose under water.
Perhaps the man, whoever he was, would simply go away.
The little clock on her dresser ticked away the minutes and she began to think that perhaps she’d imagined the whole thing.
She’d been asleep, after all. In a tub of water, nonetheless.
She shivered.
Either way, she couldn’t just stay in the tub, the water getting colder by the minute.
She shifted to stand up.
Then the door opened.
She gasped and slid back down into the tub, gripping the edges of the cast iron rim.
Water splashed over the sides of the tub.
She knelt in the tub, her heart pounding dangerously in her chest.
She couldn’t reach her towel without standing up.
All in all, she was in a precarious situation.
But she heard no more footsteps.
The door was open, but she heard nothing.
CHAPTER 4
Daniel hadn’t known that someone was in what appeared to be a d eserted two-story house.
It was obvious the house had once been grand, but the white paint was peeling from the outside walls and one of the columns on the front veranda was chipped.
What had clearly once been flowers along the edge of the veranda were now no more than dried weeds.
The house was like so many others in the south. Neglected and abandoned.
Even though he hadn’t expected anyone to be inside, Daniel had pulled his weapon before stepping inside.
The hardwood floors gleamed in the morning sunlight, but the wallpaper, like the paint outside, was peeling and faded.
The house, unlike many other southern houses he’d been in, was still fully furnished. There were even still paintings on the walls.
He passed a library with a wall of leather-bound books and a large desk on one side of the room.
The desk was cluttered and it looked as though no one had touched it in quite some time.
A faint scent of cigar smoke lingered in the room.
Daniel moved cautiously through the house, room by room, making his way upstairs.
When he came to the last room at the end of the hall, and opened the door, he heard water splashing.
Good thing he’d been cautious.
Someone was definitely in the room.
He slowly pushed open the door to what was obviously a young lady’s room.
And it wasn’t just the heady scent of jasmine that gave it away.
There was a tall four poster bed in the middle of the room. Gauzy white material draped across the top of the frame. A white quilt with pink flowers embroidered across it covered the unmade bed.
A dresser on one side and a large bureau was on the other.
The dresser was cluttered with pink and yellow ribbons, hairbrushes, and other feminine things.
One of the bureau doors was open, dresses spilling out of it.
Then his gaze was drawn toward the cast iron bathtub on the other side of the bed.
He could just see the top of someone’s head and long fingers gripping the rim of the tub.
His best guess was that this room belonged to the girl in the tub.
He almost turned and left, but then he noticed the towel on a little wooden stool a few feet away from the tub.
A smile played about the corner of his lips.
Unable to resist, he stepped forward and picked up the towel.
CHAPTER 5
“Do you need some assistance?” a man asked.
The man’s voice was smooth and… kind. But his accent reminded her of her uncle from up north.
Becca gasped and hugged the edge of the tub, keeping her head down.
She hadn’t heard the man step forward.
And she’d almost stood up right there in front of him.
Good heavens.
“No,” she said softly. Then cleared her throat.
“I don’t need any assistance,” she said. “Thank you kindly.”
The man waited a moment and Becca’s heart nearly beat out of her chest.
She heard men talking outside.
So this man wasn’t alone.
“Are you certain that you don’t need any assistance?” he asked.
“I don’t need any assistance,” she said quickly, trying to keep her teeth from chattering.
She wasn’t sure if it was from the cold water or from being in such a vulnerable position.
“At least take the towel,” he said.
“Good heavens,” she said. “Just be kind enough to leave.”
He laughed softly and turned.
She held her breath until his footsteps reached the door.
She waited until the door closed and she heard him walking down the hallway.
Peering over the rim of the tub, she put a hand against her chest.
She took deep gulps of air and stood up.
He’d moved the stool with the towel on it over next to the tub.
She stepped out of the tub and wrapped herself in the towel.
Her knees were shaking. In fact, she was trembling all over.
She went to her bureau and pulled out the first dress she could grab.
It was a yellow cotton dress that was frayed at the edges. She’d worn it and washed it so many times that it was threadbare in places.
But she didn’t care.
All she wanted to do was to get dressed.
She wrapped a woolen shawl around her shoulders.
It was a thick shawl, normally for cold winter days.
Not bothering with shoes, she grabbed up her skirts and dashed to the window.
Good heavens.
There were soldiers all around the house.
Putting up tents. Building fires. Grooming horses.
There were a half dozen or so men sitting on the ground.
The yard was swarming with them.
But they weren’t just soldiers.
They were Yankee soldiers.
CHAPTER 6
Daniel smiled to himself as he walked back downstairs and joined his men out on the lawn.
There were half a dozen men too sick to move about. They sat together beneath a large oak tree.
Joshua left the horse he was brushing and joined Daniel on the veranda.
One of the sick soldiers got up and dashed toward the outhouse.
“See anybody inside?” Joshua asked.
Daniel scrubbed his chin.
He put his hands on the railing. It was loose. Like much of the house, it needed some repairs.
“Not really,” he said, under his breath.
“An odd answer,” Joshua said, absently running his fingers over the scar beneath his beard.
He’d been wounded in a skirmish about a year ago. Before that Joshua had never gone a day without shaving. But now he wore the beard to hide the scar.
“There’s a lady… or a girl,” Daniel said.
“You don’t know?”
Daniel shook his head. “She was indisposed.”
Joshua looked at him with a small, but suspicious grin.
Then he turned and followed Daniel’s gaze toward the men.
Except for the few that were terribly ill, the other men seemed to be in good spirits as they set up camp for the unexpected day off from travel.
“How bad are they?” he asked.
Joshua shook his head. “Not sure yet,” he said. “but there may be others. I just saw Toby holding his stomach and running toward the trees.”
Daniel lowered his gaze and ran a hand along the loose railing.
Damn.
This illness might be worse than he’d thought.
The innocent looking farmwoman who’d slaved over a hot stove for them must be laughing herself silly right about now as she imagined the Yankee soldiers sick with poisoning.
They would most definitely have to be more careful. And less trusting.
“Shall I have the men assemble your tent, Sir?” Joshua asked.
Another soldier was running for the cover of the trees.
It was going to be a long day.
“Not yet,” Daniel said. “I’m thinking maybe I’ll sleep in the house.”
No sense in sleeping in a tent when there was a perfectly good house going to waste.
His decision certainly had nothing to do with the mysterious girl in the bathtub upstairs.
CHAPTER 7
Becca sat on the ottoman in front of her vanity and laced up her boots, listening to the soldier’s banter outside her window.
The men sounded like her brothers having good-natured arguments. Except that there were more than just two of them.
Fully dressed now, she paced back and forth between her door and the window.
Every time she got to the door, she stopped. What was she going to do about this invasion on her home anyway?
Then she’d pace back to the window and look down at the soldiers in blue. She watched from behind a thin white curtain so they couldn’t see her.
Perhaps not the same men, but the same army that her brothers and father fought against at this very moment.
It seemed disloyal to have them here on the grounds of their home.
She paced back to the door.
But she hadn’t invited them here.
They’d shown up of their own accord.
