The Rebel Wife Read Free

sleeping naked.
    He secured the blanket around his waist and with a quick swipe, found his eye patch. He slipped it on and ducked through the tent flap.
    Pale moonlight illuminated the four riders dressed in unmistakable Union blue. One of them had dismounted and was poking around. Jack clamped his teeth around a curse. There could be any number of reasons why his Southern intruder didn’t want to be seen by Yankee soldiers—none of them good. And that didn’t bode well for him either.
    “What can I do for you, Lieutenant?”
    The officer nudged his horse closer, the barrel of his pistol aimed at Jack’s chest. “What’s your name, mister, and what’re you doing camped here?”
    He put on his best smile. “Name’s Jackson Porter. I’m a journalist for The New York Herald , heading to Point Lookout Prison on assignment. I’d shake your hand, but...” He tightened his hold on the blanket. “I’ve papers, if you want to see them.”
    The Lieutenant peered at him, then lowered his weapon. “One-eyed Jack. I’ve heard of you. The papers won’t be necessary.”
    He fought the urge to adjust the eye patch. Helluva thing when a man was known for a mangled eye. It’d cost him more than his sight, and if he had it to do over again...
    No. That was past stupidity. He needed to focus on the matter at hand, before he found himself not needing his good eye either. “What brings you out so late, Lieutenant?”
    The officer leaned over and spat a stream of tobacco juice to the ground. “We’re trailing a woman.”
    “A woman?” He made an effort to sound shocked.
    “She fled from us just north of here. We didn’t get a good look at her face, but she’s a scrawny thing with bright colored hair.”
    “Blonde?”
    “Not sure. But she definitely wasn’t dark.”
    “Why are you after her?”
    Leather creaked as the lieutenant straightened in his saddle. “A courier was found knifed to death on the roadside. His dispatch sack is missing.”
    “And you think this woman is responsible?”
    “She was seen kneeling over him, hands covered in his blood. We captured her Negro, but he’s in no shape to talk. Took a bullet in the back. Once he’s patched up...” The officer gave a meaningful pause. “Perhaps, he can be persuaded to answer a few questions about his mistress.”
    “So, she wasn’t traveling alone?” Gripes . How many more people might show up tonight?
    “We only saw the two of them, but better to be safe than sorry.”
    “Sir.” The nosey soldier had made his way to the tent and now had his pistol drawn. “I think there’s someone in there.”
    The lieutenant again leveled his weapon on Jack. “You’re not alone?”
    He fisted the blanket. Now what? Did he risk a noose for concealing a suspected murderess? Or protect her, and risk getting murdered himself? And yet, guilty or not, he knew what the soldiers would do if they got their hands on her. War brought out the worst in men. In Pennsylvania, he’d been powerless to stop an assault on a woman accused of aiding the Rebels. She’d been beaten and raped, despite her denial of the charges. If the soldiers suspected his petite intruder of wrong-doing, she likely faced an equally brutal torture. He couldn’t allow that.
    Damnation . Think fast, Porter. “No.” A long shot, but it might work. “I’m not alone. I...uh...brought my new bride along with me.”
    The officer looked skeptical. “New bride, eh?”
    “She’d come out and greet you, but...” He let the blanket hang open. “We weren’t exactly dressed for company, if you take my drift.” The lie pricked at his conscience. He’d dedicated his life to the black and white truth. And here he was, shading his words in gray. She damn well better appreciate his sacrifice.
    There was a bit of snickering and expressive throat-clearing. One man coughed.
    “Odd place for a honeymoon,” the lieutenant said, still scowling.
    “As I told you, I’m on assignment. The Herald’s got