Washington Infirmary

October 10, 1861

A man’s howls echoed through the ward, slicing across Samuel’s ears the moment he stepped into the infirmary. Concerned, Samuel’s gaze swept over the room flitting from patient to patient. Men lay about in their beds, more sick than wounded now that the cusp of winter had fallen upon them. No surprise, as camp conditions were deplorable. How such a discrepancy between the civilization of Washington City and the near inhumane conditions of the camp could so quickly occur, Samuel had no explanation. Yet none of these, miserable as they may be with their cramped stomachs and yellowed complexions, produced the gut-wrenching sound that reverberated through his head.

He made his way deeper into the hospital, glancing at nurses and volunteers who saw to their duties as though the screams of a tortured man did not perforate the thick scents of waste and infection. That could only mean they had grown accustomed to it in the few hours since Samuel had returned home to find rest. He quickened his pace. Some of the men nodded to him as he passed. Normally, he tried to remember the name of every soldier under his care as he made his way past them, but today, he was far too distracted by the sound that had now become an enraged howl.

When he’d crossed the length of the main ward and had not yet found the man responsible for the unholy clamor, he turned to the hallway on the right that led to the hospital’s office chambers.

The sound stopped suddenly, and the ensuing silence seemed somewhat eerie.

About halfway down the hall, a soldier stood posted outside an open doorway. Frowning, Samuel leaned around the guard to get a better look into the small room where he assumed the screaming man was being held. The once empty chamber was dark, but the thick shadows still revealed at least two men lying on the floor.

He turned to the guard. “What is the meaning of this, soldier?”

The square-faced fellow had a glint in his blue eyes. “Sorry, Doc. Blasted Reb won’t keep his trap shut.”

A Rebel? “Is this man injured?” he asked, once again trying to lean past the stocky man’s frame.

The wailing had grown silent, though if because the poor man had run out of hope or had fallen unconscious, Samuel couldn’t tell.

“No need to worry yourself,” the unconcerned soldier intoned. “I’m just supposed to watch them three Rebs until they get loaded up to go to the Old Capitol.”

“Why bring them here if they don’t require medical care?” Impatience grafted an edge into his tone, and his hands clenched tightly at his sides. The man had the audacity to shrug, and Samuel’s blood temperature spiked. “If they are meant for prison, then why not take them straight there?”

The soldier considered this for a moment but then merely lifted his shoulders once more. “Just following orders.”

Samuel took another step closer, the distinct stench of waste, vomit, and blood flowing from the room and tainting his scrubbed ward. “Well, I daresay that if the men were brought to the hospital, it was because they need medical attention. Step aside, please.”

The big man scowled. “Why do you care? If they die, then that’s less we have to haul off to prison and fewer who can shoot at us.”

“This is a hospital,” Samuel snapped. “Not a prison or a battlefield. If there are men who need medical attention, it’s my duty as a doctor to see to them.”

“But they’re Rebs.” The man rubbed the back of his stubby neck and stared at Samuel in utter confusion.

“Soldier, were you given specific orders that these men were to be denied medical attention?”

“Well, no, but—”

“Then move aside.” Samuel placed a hand on the man’s shoulder and nudged him out of the way, then stepped inside the dim area that appeared more unused storage space than office. His stomach churned, and he swallowed down the familiar bile. Three men were huddled there, sitting on the bare floor without a single blanket or stick of furniture.

With the sweeping assessment the war had given him a knack for, Samuel slid his gaze over the captured soldiers. They were filthy, caked in mud and blood. The color of their uniforms was nearly indistinguishable. One cradled an arm, one lay curled on his side on the floor, and one sat with his back against the wall eyeing Samuel with open hostility.

In the corner, a single bucket contained the contents of what could only be bodily waste. He resisted the urge to put his hand over his nose and spun back toward the door. “Soldier! Get an orderly in here this instant!”

The man frowned. “What for?”

“Because these men obviously have not been allowed any basic necessities.”

“They’re Rebels,” the man stated again, as though that were the answer to everything.

Heat gathered in Samuel’s chest and burned its way through his veins. “I don’t care who they are! I will not have my hospital contaminated!”

The soldier merely stared at him blankly. Samuel stalked out the door, shaking his head. Regardless of what the army thought, any man in his hospital would be clean, fed, and tended. And for heaven’s sake, they would not keep waste in their room!

Evelyn shifted her weight from one foot to the other, wondering exactly how she had ended up here. Thinking back, it seemed a rather odd string of coincidences had piled upon one another, each step bringing her farther and farther down a path that, six months ago, she would have never believed herself traveling.

Not only had Mrs. Greenman made good on her promise by funding their stay at the hotel, but merely three days after they’d left her home, she’d had two trunks filled with petticoats, gowns of every variety, and other necessities delivered to their room. One thing was for certain. Evelyn had indeed underestimated her. How did she manage to do such things while still under guard?

Alice stood at her side, dressed in a plain gown matching Evelyn’s own in simple function, without any adornments or feminine frivolity that might distract a man.

It had taken much longer for them to be ordered by unsigned missive to report to the infirmary as volunteers than she’d expected. Evelyn had spent the time afforded to her by Mrs. Greenman’s funding to try to locate her father, but none of the Washington papers had claimed to have seen him. Worry over his condition had become an ever-present itch.

The door clicked and an elderly gentleman with a thick gray beard strode inside, a spindly woman on his heels.

“Ah, here they are. Mrs. Brown, these are your new volunteers,” the man said, gesturing to Evelyn and Alice without an introduction. “Come with high recommend-dations.”

Evelyn dipped her chin. “I’m Evelyn Mapleton, and this—”

“Alice Avery, sir, ma’am,” Alice interjected, shooting Evelyn a harsh glare.

Evelyn snapped her mouth closed. What had happened to her sweet friend in Front Royal? Alice had grown more distant the longer they stayed in Washington. And lately, she hardly even saw Alice. Many days she didn’t return to their shared hotel room until late at night. Evelyn had asked what she’d been doing, but Alice’s vague answers had soon faded to quips that it was none of Evelyn’s concern.

The pair didn’t seem to notice Alice’s rudeness. The doctor merely nodded. “I’m Dr. Porter, the primary physician at this hospital. Nurse Brown is in charge of the volunteers and will see to all of your needs and direct you in your duties.”

The pinched-faced woman looked them up and down as though they were horses at the auction. “Experience?”

“I tended wounded in the Fifth Wisconsin near Chain Bridge,” Evelyn said.

“How interesting!” Dr. Porter said. “One of my students served a time at Chain Bridge. Surely you know Mr. Flynn?”

“Yes, sir. I became acquainted with him during my time there.”

“Excellent!”

The nurse seemed less interested in the revelation, and merely nodded for Alice to answer the same question. With smooth words and placid face, Alice replied, “I served at the Benvenue hospital as well, and before that helped in the tent hospitals under General Winfield. They were camped not far from our farm in Lewinsville, and as soon as our brave men arrived, I saw it as my duty to leave my own work behind to aid my country.”

Evelyn pressed her lips together, wondering at what point the bright-eyed girl from Front Royal had become a cold and efficient liar.

“And what brings you ladies to Washington?” Dr. Porter asked.

“I came to find my father,” Evelyn said. She’d not speak for Alice. If the girl wished to lie, she could do so on her own.

Nurse Brown studied Evelyn closely. “And where are you from?”

“I’ve lived for many years in Martinsburg, Virginia.” The truth. Evelyn kept the woman’s steady gaze until it darted to Alice.

“And you?”

“Front Royal.” Ah, now Alice would try for a sliver of truth. How would she remember which things she’d told in earnest and which she’d fabricated?

The nurse’s eyes narrowed. “I thought you said you were from Lewinsville.”

Evelyn held her breath, wondering if Mrs. Greenman’s entire plot would unravel because Alice easily forgot her story.

“Yes, ma’am. My grandparents have a farm there and I spend most of my summers with them. I consider it as much home as my own house. My parents are from Front Royal, though.”

The nurse seemed satisfied with this blatant falsehood, and after they bade good afternoon to Dr. Porter, they were ushered into the hall, where the nurse peppered them with instructions.

They trailed behind her purposeful stride down a wide hallway as she gave a brief tour of the facilities. Alice cut a sharp glance at Evelyn that she pretended not to notice.

Alice grabbed her elbow. “Did you know that Yankee doctor works here?”

“Yes.”

“And you thought not to mention it?”

She probably should have told Alice before they came today, but for some reason hadn’t. But then, it wasn’t as though the two of them sat and chatted anymore. Why, Alice hadn’t even been very interested in what had happened to Evelyn the night she’d been thrown out of Mrs. Greenman’s house! At least, not beyond what she’d done with those papers.

“Sorry.”

Alice narrowed her eyes but said nothing more as they passed a soldier standing guard outside a darkened doorway, the stench of waste drifting around him and making Evelyn’s eyes water.

“Oh, my,” Alice said, placing a hand to her face. “What’s in there?”

The nurse kept walking and spoke over her shoulder. “Just some captured Rebels. Don’t worry. They won’t be here long.”

Alice and Evelyn shared a glance. No one had said anything about a guard for wounded men in a hospital. Nurse Brown droned on about the location of linens and where to take the wash, and as she rounded the corner, nearly collided with a scurrying young man clutching a mop.

Throwing a hand up to keep the boy from running her over, Nurse Brown shouted, “Peter!” and the boy lurched to a halt. “What are you doing?”

The towheaded boy glanced at the two women behind the nurse and then to the guard outside the door behind them. “Mr. Flynn said to clean the Rebs’ chamber.”

Evelyn couldn’t see the woman’s face, but she heard the scowl in her voice. “Whatever for?”

The boy shrugged. “He said enemy or no, he wouldn’t have any filthy soldiers contaminating the ward. He said I had to clean it.”

Nurse Brown considered this a moment and then nodded. “Very well. It is getting rather putrid in there.” She grasped his arm. “But you be alert. Don’t turn your back to one of them for a moment.”

The youth’s eyes widened. “I won’t.”

“Good lad.”

Evelyn clenched her teeth as she watched the soldier step aside for the nervous boy. Did they actually think suffering men were going to assault a boy trying to clean for them? Under the watch of an armed guard?

“How many of them are in there?” Alice asked as they continued down the hall.

“Just three.”

Alice quickened her pace to take the nurse’s side. “Why are they here?”

“Captured officers. They were hauled in here last evening, waiting to be taken to the Old Capitol.”

Evelyn found herself searching the area for Samuel, wondering what he would think of seeing her here. Would he find it another strange twist of fate?

“You can start by changing the linens on all of the beds. Then you can help the nuns pass out the evening meals. If any of the men need help with letters, you may do that as well, but only after every man has clean bedding and a full stomach.” Without further instruction, the nurse hurried away, leaving Evelyn and Alice to their chores.

Surprisingly, it took at least three hours before Samuel saw her. She’d been watching him as he assessed a patient, inspecting a cut on the man’s lower leg. The soldier had frowned as the doctor leaned close and then made a notation in a folio. Six beds away, Evelyn kept her head down and her hands busy tucking the ends of a sheet around the corners of the narrow mattress.

She worked too far away to make out the words Samuel spoke in low tones to his patients, but not too far away to hear the compassion in his voice. She was staring at him when he caught sight of her, and she didn’t avert her gaze as a smile bloomed on his features.

Leaving the next man on the line, Samuel walked to her with purpose and a friendly intent that should not have caused such flutters in her heart. Evelyn continued smoothing the finished cot, making sure it would be ready should a new patient have need of it.

“Why, Miss Mapleton, this is a surprise.”

She tried not to let herself be disappointed that he’d chosen to address her formally. Why should she expect anything different? “Good day, Mr. Flynn. I hope you are well.”

He waited until she met his probing gaze. “What, may I ask, are you doing here?”

A nervous laugh escaped her throat. “Currently? Changing bedding.” He stared at her as she gathered the rest of the linens and made for the next bed, the last of those she had to complete.

“I’d assumed you’d found your father or left the city, as I haven’t heard from you.” Disappointment laced his tone.

She’d often thought of calling on him again, but didn’t have the nerve. She’d told herself if she’d spent too much time in his presence, he might have found out the truth about her. Better to remember his kindness the way it was and someday look back on the memory of him with fondness.

She shook out a sheet and spread it across the mattress, ignoring the faded red stain splashed across the center. “I’ve done neither.”

“And so you came here. To my hospital.” His voice contained equal parts skepticism and curiosity, and Evelyn continued to avoid his gaze.

“I might as well be useful.”

“And you are still residing at the Halverson Hotel?”

With Mrs. Greenman’s funds. “Yes.”

He was quiet while she finished the bed and, with nothing else to occupy her, finally had to look up at him. He studied her as though she were one of his patients. Then he took another step closer, and she had to tilt her head back to keep his gaze.

“Why are you here, Evelyn?”

He spoke softly, and the way her name whispered across his lips sent a tingle through her that she could not ignore. She took a step back.

“I told you.”

His eyes lowered into scrutinizing slits. “I find it interesting that you keep showing up in my life. I have concluded it must be one of two explanations.”

“Oh?”

“Either Providence has thrown us together, or you have set your sights upon me.” Humor twinkled in his eyes as Evelyn felt the blood drain from her face. “Either way, I find it fascinating.”

She blinked at him. “Why, I…you can’t…” She snapped her spine straight. “What an ungentlemanly thing to say!”

“Oh?” He rubbed his smooth jaw, a boyish grin making him even more handsome. “I can find no other reason to explain you serendipitously finding your way into my path no matter where I go.”

Evelyn clenched her hands. “And who’s to say you have not been showing up in my path? I may very well accuse you of the same!”

He chuckled, and the blood that had retreated from her face now surged, heating her ears and most surely staining her cheeks a telling red.

Samuel turned his hands out, palms up. “I do live in Washington, and I am studying to be a doctor…” He let the rest of the sentence dangle, leaving Evelyn to fill in the fact that she was less likely to be in those places they’d met than he.

She spun away to put as much distance between herself and this confounding man as possible. Cool fingers wrapped around her wrist.

“Miss Mapleton, wait.”

She paused but did not look at him.

“Forgive me. I should not tease you in such a manner. I don’t know why I find it such a temptation, but for some reason…”

At his hesitation, she couldn’t help but turn to look at him. The sensation of his hand upon her wrist tingled all the way up her arm. His warm eyes studied her, and once again she was struck at how open this man seemed to be.

“Well, that is not entirely true. I believe I do indeed know the reason.” His smile wobbled, and her heart seemed to drop to her feet. “I fear I’m most taken with you, Lady of the Wildwood.”

Samuel watched as confusion broke through Evelyn’s carefully composed features. He probably shouldn’t have said any of that, especially revealing his secret nickname for her, but he couldn’t help it. She would surely think him mad now, and perhaps that’s exactly what he needed. He’d had a most difficult time erasing her from his memory even without the occasion to look upon her. Now she’d found her way to him once again, and this time he would take note of it.

He couldn’t have her working in his ward and keep these stirrings to himself. Life was far too short. She was simply too intriguing, and all the more so now as her mouth worked to form a response to his wild musings.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?”

Realizing he still held her, and as they were in the midst of the listening ears of the patients, nurses, and volunteers, Samuel dropped her hand and motioned her toward the door. “Would you mind if I walked with you to gather more linens?”

“But I’m finis—” She shook her head, dislodging a lock of raven hair from the sensible knot at her nape. Then she laced her fingers and dipped her chin. “Yes, that would be fine.”

He directed her out of the ward and hopefully away from the majority of the listening ears, and waited to speak again until they were in the quiet hallway. “Forgive me. I’m certain you’ll find such blather the ravings of a madman, but the first time I saw you, you reminded me of a sprite from one of Emily’s tales.”

She peeked at him through her lashes but kept her face forward, slowly walking at his side, where he had the uncanny feeling she belonged. “I resemble a sprite? I’m not entirely sure if you mean to complement or insult me, sir.”

Despite the edge of sarcasm in her voice, Samuel laughed. “Believe it or not, it is a compliment. I saw this beautiful fairy queen emerge from the woods like something from a fanciful children’s tale. When I would think of you after that, I didn’t know what to call you, so I gave you the title of Lady of the Wildwood, or the Wildwood Queen.”

She remained quiet for several moments, sealing Samuel’s worry that she would, indeed, consider him either a halfwit or a fool.

“You thought of me after we first met?”

“Often.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. They came to a stop by the linen closet. He glanced around the hallway, but they remained alone. “I still do.”

She tilted her head back to look up at him, her eyes full of questions. “Why?”

A sudden nervousness swirled within him. It was not a sensation he often felt, as a doctor must be sure of himself, but this one little woman had an odd effect on him. He placed a hand on her shoulder. “I should think that would be obvious, Evelyn. I find you captivating.”

She drew a deep breath that lifted her shoulder under his touch. “But you don’t know me.” She shook her head and gave a rueful laugh. “And I am certainly nothing from a fairytale.”

“Would you like to come to dinner tomorrow? I believe Mrs. Tooley is preparing a roasted lamb.”

Something sparked in her eyes, but it quickly disappeared behind another guarded expression. She stepped out from under his touch and clasped her hands. “I don’t think that would be wise.”

He could tell she’d appreciated the invitation, and in the moments when her eyes had found him when she’d thought he hadn’t seen her, he could tell she found him at least somewhat appealing. Why, then, did she pretend otherwise?

“Emily would be happy to see you.”

“She’s a precious child, but I don’t think it would be good. We don’t need to form any attachments, since I won’t long be in Washington. It would only cause…” Her throat seemed to tighten, and her next words came out pinched. “It would only cause unnecessary hurt later.”

His forehead creased. Did she speak of the children…or herself? “I would say that none of us knows what the good Lord has in store for tomorrow.” He took a step closer, and she didn’t back away. He longed to reach out and see what her cheek would feel like under his fingers.

“Mr. Flynn!” Nurse Brown’s voice hit him like a volley.

Samuel turned to find the woman scurrying down the hall. She shot a curious look at Evelyn, who quickly ducked into the linen closet, and then called to him again.

In two strides he met her. “What’s happened?”

“They cleaned that room as you said, and one of the orderlies got them washed for you to examine. But Dr. Porter—” She pinched her lips. “Well, I told him he best take it up with you, seeing as how you gave the orders.”

Stifling a groan, he cast one look at the linen closet. His conversation with Evelyn would have to wait. He gestured for Nurse Brown to lead the way and hurried on to his duty.

But for the first time, he found himself wishing he could ignore his patients and take hold of a woman instead.