Siege of the Heart (Southern Romance 2)

“Tell us about Stuart,” he said. His tone was almost pleasant, unless one looked at his eyes.

Jasper felt only a sinking fear. Men said they did not know things all the time. No one would believe him that he knew no one named Stuart. He had said Horace was dead, hadn’t he? Now he was going to pay for that lie ten times over, with broken ribs and blood pouring from his nose.

“Who?”

“Ambrose Stuart.”

“I don’t know an Ambrose Stuart.” The only way he would get through this was if Knox, by some miracle, believed him. Perhaps, he thought hopefully, they knew Horace had used a fake name, but they were not sure of it.

‘You’re lying, just like you did about Horace. We saw Stuart in the camp with him. What do you know about the man?”

“I don’t know who you’re talking about,” Jasper said desperately. Why Horace should have come with anyone, it didn’t make sense.

Despite himself, he looked to Cecelia, and even though there was no sympathy in her eyes, he saw her give the tiniest shake of her head. The name meant nothing to her either.

“I hope you’re telling the truth, because if not, you’ve found yourself a more painful death than hanging.”

Jasper took a moment to appreciate a threat instead of a blow, but his mind would not be distracted for long.

“Who is Ambrose Stuart?” he asked finally.

“Union spy,” Knox said flatly. “Still going to tell us you don’t know, Perry?”

“Yes. What use would a Union spy have with me?”

Knox gave a bark of laughter, and quieted.

“Either you’re the stupidest man that ever lived, or you really don’t know. And I’ve talked with you, Perry; I know you’re not that stupid. Of course, Jemison here might have whacked you a bit too hard with the butt of his rifle yesterday. So you’re telling me you don’t know a man, oh, up to my shoulder, looks like he should blow away in a stiff wind, all fancy manners?”

Jasper shook his head.

“So how does Horace know him?”

“I...don’t know.” And it was no deception. He truly could not think of how Solomon would know such a man. Had he ever seen someone of that description around the farm? He did not think so. Too late, he realized he should have said nothing, but it seemed his musing honesty had earned him at least a small reprieve.

“You really don’t, do you?” Knox asked.

“He’s lying,” one of the men said nervously.

“I don’t think he is.” Knox sighed. He did not help Jasper up out of the mud.

“How do you know this man?” Jasper asked finally. There was an angry muttering in the camp, but Knox did not pay them any attention.

“He was dispatched to us from command after you left. Rode with us for a week. Gave us orders, brought brandy with him. Said how proud they were of us.”

Jasper blinked. It seemed to him to be an odd way of spying on people.

“He...brought you information?”

“Not real information,” Knox snapped. “None of us saw it coming. Someone comes to tell you something, and you think...” Embarrassment turned his face a ruddy shade, but the incomprehension he saw in Jasper and Cecelia’s faces seemed to mollify him somewhat. “Even Union people don’t seem to know that trick then.”

“What did he do?” Cecelia asked, before she could stop herself. She colored and looked down, murmuring an apology.

Knox, however, was not inclined to lecture her on speaking out of turn; he only gave a bitter laugh and considered his words. “It’s a good question,” he said finally. “And I’ll tell you plain, I don’t even know all of it. What he was looking for...something small. One fact, command said later. Even they didn’t know. He’d gone to other groups as well as ours. He’d show up, say he had orders, and ride with the men for a few days. Unusual, but it was wartime and nothing is simple then. When a man shows up, never asks a thing...

“He has this way, see. It’s not like he’s listening, but it’s a quiet you want to fill, and you tell him things. We told him much more than he needed to know. I told him about my younger sister, Jemison told him about the crops at home, and somewhere in there, someone told him whatever fact he needed to know. He left us after a few days, and soon after that, we showed up where he told us we were supposed to be. Empty field.”

Jasper said nothing. He was still frowning. This still did not make as much sense as he hoped it would.