Again JoBeth was struck by Curtis’s extraordinary good looks. She noticed he had grown a mustache and that it suited him. He was perhaps leaner but still held himself with that combination of assurance and athletic grace shown to such advantage in his well-fitting gray uniform. There was something else about him, something not so familiar. His expression had a maturity and character that it might have lacked before.
As she stared, stunned by this unexpected arrival, his glance caught hers. For a full minute neither of them moved. Her heart gave a little leap. Before he had taken a step, she knew he was coming over to her. She half rose from the bench. A few seconds later he was standing there, towering over her. She saw he now had captain’s bars on his collar. They looked at each other. Then Curtis said huskily, “JoBeth! What are you doing here? I never thought I’d see you again.”
She swallowed, trying to find her voice. When it came out, it sounded high and rather shaky. “I’m staying with the Brookes. I’ve been here about a week.”
His eyes swept over her, moving from her dark hair to her eyes, lingering on her mouth, where her lower lip was now trembling.
“I’m so—glad to see you,” Curtis said slowly. “I could hardly believe my eyes. For a minute, I thought I might be dreaming—could it really be you?”
JoBeth found relief from her tension by laughing lightly. “Yes, it’s me. No illusion.” She was trying hard to regain her composure, to stop feeling so dizzy, so at a loss. She gestured toward the sling. “What happened? Were you wounded?”
He shrugged, dismissing her concern. “Nothing more than a flesh wound, actually. My shoulder took a slight hit.” With a cynical smile, he said offhandedly, “Those Yankees are damn poor shots.” Immediately realizing he had cursed in front of a lady, he quickly said, “Sorry. Now tell me about you. How do you happen to be in Richmond? I thought travel was difficult, nearly impossible, these days.”
How much she should say without telling a lie? She sat down again on the bench, shifting her crinolines to make room for Curtis beside her, and said, “Actually, Mrs. Brooke is an old school friend of my mother’s, and everyone agreed it might be a good idea for me to visit.”
It seemed a plausible enough explanation, but JoBeth could see from the slight frown between Curtis’s dark eyebrows that it didn’t satisfy him. She might have been pushed into saying more, except at just that moment Amelia came upon them and greeted Curtis effusively.
“Ah, I see my hero has found my house guest! How lovely. He won’t tell you, I’m sure, my dear, but Curtis is one of the bravest of our young men. With no thought to his own safety, he returned not only once but twice into the line of fire to rescue two of his badly wounded men.” She smiled dotingly upon him, patting his shoulder fondly. “Now, you must give him special treatment this evening, JoBeth, since he is just out of the hospital and deserves our attention and care.”
With that Amelia floated away in a swirl of ruffles to circulate among her other guests.
JoBeth looked at Curtis. “So you are distinguishing yourself in battle.”
“Nothing more than any of us would do under the circumstances.” His frown got deeper. “Enough of that. What interests me is, How long are you going to be here?”
“I’m not sure just how long,” JoBeth answered. “What about you?”
“Until the doctors certify I can go back to my regiment. I have day passes from the hospital now. But the doctors want me to be out and exercising, getting back on my feet, starting to ride again, before they release me back to duty.”
JoBeth glanced at the sling. “Can you do that? Ride, I mean, with one arm?”
Curtis shook his head slightly, indicating how unimportant he considered this. “It’s almost completely healed. I have to get the strength back into it. Thank God that my horse survived. Both of my horses are stabled here in Richmond, and my man is looking after them.”
The garden was filling up with new arrivals. The buzz of voices, laughter, the clink of punch glasses, began to flow around them. Curtis bent toward her. “The important thing is, When can I see you again? I mean, alone.” Then he asked abruptly, “Do you ride?”
She looked startled. “Yes, of course, but—”
“What if I come tomorrow, then? You can ride my other horse. She’s a lovely, sweet-tempered mare.” He looked at her eagerly.
“I’m not sure, Curtis. I don’t know if Mrs. Brooke might need me or have other plans …”
He dismissed her protest. “Never mind about that. I’ll clear it with her. It would be a real favor. Zephyr needs exercising.”
“Come along, you two,” Amelia’s voice reached them. “We’re going in to supper now.”
“Tomorrow, then? Say, two o’clock.” It was more of a directive than a request.
JoBeth hesitated a split second. Perhaps it would be better to see Curtis alone and, without revealing to him the complete truth, tell him she had come to Richmond to meet her fiance. He need not know who it was or that Wes was a Union officer. The bare facts were all that were necessary. This evening, among all this company, would be an inappropriate time.
“All right, tomorrow,” she murmured. “Now I must go help Amelia serve,” she said and hurried away.
At the supper table, she was seated between two of Colonel Brooke’s junior officers and so did not have another chance to talk to Curtis. However, she was often conscious of his eyes upon her during the meal.
JoBeth was surprised that there was less war talk there in the immediate vicinity of the conflict than there had been in similar gatherings in Hillsboro. Perhaps here they purposely avoided speaking of the current Southern situation, being anxious for some respite from the constant pressure of campaigns, looking for a relaxing evening of enjoyable company.
The evening progressed pleasantly enough. However, even while she chatted with some of the other officers, JoBeth was aware of Curtis’s eyes upon her. Anytime she happened to look his way, she met his gaze. There was both admiration and hope in it. Again she prayed she had not made a mistake by agreeing to go riding with him alone.
When all the party had left and JoBeth was helping Amelia gather up the empty glasses, the napkins, and the coffee cups, she told her about Curtis’s invitation.
“I couldn’t be more delighted, my dear!” Amelia glowed. “Jacob considers Curtis Channing one of the most outstanding young officers he’s ever known. Not a shred of fear in him, not a timid bone. He’s all man, all courage.” She rushed on, saying, “I’m so glad you can make his leave a happy one. I’m afraid he’s pushing his superiors to let him go back to his regiment. Maybe too soon.” She clucked her tongue, and a sad, worried expression shadowed her face. “We’ve lost so many of our wonderful young men—” She halted, as if remembering JoBeth’s particular circumstances. Then she gave a small shudder and, quickly picking up some more cups and saucers, bustled off in the direction of the kitchen.
JoBeth stood there for a minute, looking after her, holding two plates of crumbled cake in her hands, thinking about what an awkward situation she had put everyone in.