The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. The wind shifted, and the enticing fragrance that had stirred him disappeared. The woods standing sentry along the edges of the road held fast to their secrets. Still, Samuel remained rooted to his position, his senses alert to danger.
Would a rebel emerge from the underbrush to slay him where he stood? Samuel shifted his bag to his right hand, held it for a moment, and then decided to pass it back to his left. If a hot-blooded Southerner popped out of the trees, better he have use of his dominant hand to defend himself.
A flash of cornflower blue caught his eye, and then a slip of material passed between the trees. He narrowed his eyes. A skirt? What woman would be slinking about in the woods?
The swath of blue drew closer, materializing into a silhouette of a woman. He stood there like a fool, mesmerized by the sway of fabric as it drew closer. He watched as the details emerged, captivated.
The skirt hung limp, unencumbered by the fashionable hoops women of means touted. No frills or pomp, but no thick line of muck coated the hem. Why he should notice such a thing, he wasn’t entirely certain.
His eyes drifted farther up. The skirt narrowed at the top, and the fabric swelled over womanly curves. The graceful arch of a feminine neck rose from a high neckline, supporting a face hidden in shadows. Like a fairy from one of Emily’s storybooks, the woman hovered in the cover of the woods, watching him as surely as he watched her.
He dropped his heavy medical bag.
No sooner had it hit the dirt than she took another step forward. He waited, not wanting to frighten her. For surely a creature as timid as this offered no cause for alarm. The shadows of hanging limbs dappled across her form until she stepped free of their embrace.
Hair as dark as a raven’s wing swept away from a face free of a temptress’s paints. Wide, dark eyes stared at him, hidden for the briefest of instants behind the sweep of lashes. She drew her lower lip between her teeth and took another step toward him, twisting long pale fingers together.
A striking woman. With the contrast of her creamy skin and raven hair, he was again struck by the thought of a fairy. Her complexion was smooth, and the lines of her face pleasing. But it was her eyes that held him captive all the way to the moment she stopped a few paces from him.
Deep as pure cocoa, they sparkled at him with intelligence, bravery, and determination. Were he truly standing on a page of Emily’s book, surely this arresting creature would be called the Lady of the Mist or the Queen of the Wildwood.
The thought brought an unexpected turn of his mouth. Queen of the Wildwood. Emily would fancy that.
Lady Wildwood stepped closer and offered a tentative smile. Her lips parted, and the strong and confident voice one would expect of a fairytale queen broke the silence and the strange spell surrounding them.
“Are you the doctor?”
He lifted his eyebrows. Had she been waiting for him? “I am.”
She glanced down at his medical bag. “You have it, then?”
“Have what?” He reached down and picked up the black leather satchel that contained the whole of the supplies Dr. Porter had allowed him to take. As much as he could fit in one medical bag, Dr. Porter had said. And so Samuel had packed it full. Hence the weight that had caused him to need to shift it from one arm to the other. “Are you in need of medicines?”
She cocked her head, and those expressive brown eyes darted all around him. “I thought you would know what to give me.”
Suspicion cut through his fascination with the Wildwood Queen. Something was amiss. “Oh?”
She stiffened, as though he had disrespected some unknown sensibility. Curiosity prodded him on, so he played the game to see where it would lead. “Right. Of course.”
Suspicion flared in her widened eyes, and she took a step back. “You’re not him!”
He reached for her. “Wait!”
Evelyn took another step back and then spun around. She’d been mistaken! The brush of fingers swept along the back of her arm and she yelped, springing forward.
Dirt kicked up around her feet as she lunged back toward the woods. She darted under the cover of low-hanging branches, her feet churning through the fallen leaves and making too much of a ruckus. If he wished to follow her, he would have no trouble in doing it.
She ducked under a limb, and then another, her lungs heaving with exertion. Whoever said that proper ladies did not run had never found the need to escape a man.
Footsteps pounded behind her.
“Wait!”
The man’s voice cut through the woods around her, but she had no intention of heeding his call. Whoever he was, he certainly wasn’t the man Alice told her to find.
And that wasn’t good.
She lurched around a sturdy oak, lungs burning with the effort of each breath. Her skirt snagged on the claws of branches and slowed her progress. They tugged and ripped, shredding fabric and leaving strips of it behind.
She gasped, her throat searing with each gulp of air that could not cool her lungs. Her stomach rolled. Still the man’s heavy boots pounded behind her. She darted behind another tree and glimpsed salvation.
A massive oak stood like a king among its subjects, its trunk wide enough that two of her would have had a hard time clasping hands around it. Stumbling, she flung herself behind the tree and pressed her back against the bark.
She tried to listen, but she panted so heavily that she could hear naught but the rapid flow of air in and out of her body. Evelyn closed her eyes and prayed he would not see her. Her heart pounded in her chest, beating against her ribs like the Yanks trying to burst into the house.
She couldn’t be caught by one of them out here in the woods. If the vile brutes would mar a lady in her home before a cluster of witnesses, what would one of those Blue Devils do to a woman alone in the woods?
Her hands searched for the comfort of Uncle Phillip’s pocket pistol. But a Yank had long since taken that.
Panic, cold and icy, perforated the burning in her chest. A flash of movement, and a hand reached out and cinched her wrist.
Evelyn screamed.
Startled, Samuel released his hold and stepped back, raising both hands in the air. “Easy, miss. I don’t mean to frighten you.”
She patted her hands along the upper folds of her skirt and stepped away from him. Her chest heaved after her dash through the woods, short as it had been. The material over her bosom rose and fell, and he had to snap his eyes back to her reddened cheeks to keep his gaze from resting too long.
She stared at him, black hair all tangled and hanging in disarray around her face. She looked like a frightened child. Vulnerable. He took a step closer, meaning to dispel her concern.
Her eyes hardened, and she planted her feet. She drew her shoulders back, and the vulnerability left her features. She glared at him. “What…” She sucked another breath. “What do you want?”
Samuel rubbed the back of his neck, wondering the same thing himself. He’d dashed after her without the first thought. Now that he’d caught her, he had no idea what he aimed to do next. “I thought you might be in trouble.”
She took another step back and bumped against the stately oak. “Liar.”
Samuel paused. Venomous little sprite. He held up his palms and took a step away from her. “I’m not going to harm you.”
Her eyes narrowed into slits. “Forgive me for not believing you.”
Samuel tossed his thumb back over his shoulder. “What was that about?”
“What?”
He sighed. This was foolish. He had things to tend to. Whatever purposes the Queen of the Wildwood had were her own. It had nothing to do with him. He shrugged. “Suit yourself. But if you have a loved one in need of the medicine you asked after, I would be willing to give you some.”
Her mouth pressed into a line, and she seemed to consider his words. “Why would you do that?”
“Because, despite your odd behavior, I’m a doctor, and it is my duty to offer aid to any who have need of it.”
Her breathing slowed as she studied him, and he wondered if she would bolt. He waited, watching her assess him. What did she see that caused her to look intently upon his face?
“Very well. But you’ll walk in front of me, and when we arrive at the road, you’ll remove the medicine from your bag and leave it on the ground.”
He almost chuckled. “Such demands, lady. And what makes you think I will adhere to them?”
She lifted her shoulders. A tear had ripped the top of her dress, leaving a flap hanging open at her arm. “Do or don’t. It makes little difference to me.”
She was as likely to run as not, but Samuel gave her his back all the same. He needed to get to General Winfield and stop dallying with this madwoman in the woods.
He wound his way through the underbrush, picking the easiest path back out of the forest. Pieces of her cornflower blue gown clung to the tips of briars and brush, and he wondered if some of her anger at him spouted from her ruined dress. But then, it was hardly his fault she raced through the woods.
No noise followed him, at least that he could hear over the crunch of his own boots, but the scent of honeysuckle and lavender was as clear an indication of her presence as heavy footfalls would have been.
Evelyn kept several paces behind the man’s retreating form, lest he think to whirl around. Even if he did, she wouldn’t be able to outrun him. If he had no intention of manhandling her, then why did he chase her into the tangle of the woods? Did he truly only want to help her? Why would he bother?
She stared at the back of his head, as though her eyes could see through the hair that curled around the top of his collar and thereby read the thoughts encased behind them. The color of a river stone, his locks were a deep brown shot through with auburn strands. His shoulders were fairly wide, tapering to a slimmer waist, indicating strength was hidden under his jacket. Could such a man truly be a physician?
The doctors she had seen were usually into their graying years, and even those who weren’t were spindly, or bespectacled…or, well, not like this. This man appeared more a blacksmith than a doctor.
Another reason not to trust him. But she’d missed whoever Alice had sent her to find, and her friend would be furious. If this man was willing to give her medicines, perhaps Alice would forgive her.
He stepped out the woods and ambled to his belongings as though he’d fully expected they would still be right where he’d left them. She scanned the road, but saw no signs of any Federal blue. They must be there somewhere, though.
He lifted a small box from his bag and placed it on the ground. “What ailments do you need a cure for?”
She ignored his question and waited at the edge of the trees. But rather than repeat himself or be annoyed, he merely regarded her with calm assurance. His confidence rankled her.
“Who are you?” The words slipped free, though she knew better than to try to engage him.
“I could ask the same of you, miss. Why is a lady hiding in the woods?”
She forced herself to keep his gaze, even though it surely allowed for him to see right through her. “These are dangerous times, as you know. A woman is at constant risk.”
Surprise, and then concern, played across his cleanly shaved features. This was all very confusing. He had clearly given the sign. He’d gone farther past the bridge than he was supposed to, but she’d figured he’d had his reasons for it. Then he’d stopped, looked around for his contact, and proceeded to exchange his medical bag from one hand to the other before dropping it to the ground. Did he yet test her to see if she were truly his contact?
“Are you in danger now, miss? Has someone sought to harm you?”
He did not test. She’d merely foiled the mission. She took another step away. He made no move to follow her, though he surely could have caught her.
“Miss, I’m sorry for whatever trouble you’ve found yourself in. I apologize for not being able to offer you proper aid, but I must get on to patients who need me.” He gestured toward the little box on the ground. “But there are medicines for stomach ailments and infection in there. Please take it for whoever needs it.”
He cast her one last apologetic look and turned and walked away.
Evelyn stood there long after he’d gone. When all remained quiet, she darted to the center of the road, scooped up the box, and then ran back into the woods. With one hand clutching her skirts and the other holding fast to the box, she leapt over an upturned root.
A flash of movement to her left sent a stab of fear through her gut. He’d circled back upon her! She darted in the other direction when a harried female voice caused her feet to stumble.
“Evelyn!”
She halted and spun, finding only Alice. She blinked, trying to be sure her friend stood there and not another.
Alice scrambled over to her. “Evelyn! For heaven’s sake, what are you doing?”
“I…I thought you were a Yank.”
Alice let out a breath that stirred the curl hanging across her brows. “Whatever gave you that idea?”
Evelyn simply shrugged.
Alice’s eyes sparkled. “You got it!” She pointed to the box in Evelyn’s hand.
“No, I’m afraid not.” She glanced around, still not sure if they were safe. “Come on. We need to get away from here.”
Alice frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I approached the wrong man.”
Alice frowned. “Then what’s that?”
“He was a doctor, but not the right one.” She pressed her fingers to her temple, which had begun to ache. “He gave me this medicine because he thought I needed it.”
“That doesn’t make sense. If a doctor gave you something, then it was what we were after.” She smiled. “You did well!”
Evelyn bit her lip. That couldn’t be right, could it? She didn’t tell Alice about her flight through the woods. If Alice had what she wanted, then it didn’t matter. And if Evelyn had gotten it wrong, then they would know eventually. For now, she was simply glad it was over.