Heroines Behind the Lines Series (Set of 4 books) by Jocelyn Green

Author:Jocelyn Green [Jocelyn Green]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Moody Publishers

Atlanta, Georgia

Monday, July 11, 1863

I’m sorry. If there was any other way …” The principal trailed off, mopped his brow with a kerchief.

“You’re closing the school?” Caitlin gripped the wooden bench that supported her. Sunlight bathed the Atlanta Female Institute’s chapel, and in the silence suspended between the principal and his six staff, Caitlin heard echoes of the 140 girls who had begun and ended every day by singing here.

“They need the building for a hospital.”

Caitlin caught Minnie’s narrowed gaze, unspoken questions passing between them.

“And soon. The news from Gettysburg …” He shook his head before pinching the bridge of his nose. “And Vicksburg … as the hospital center of the South, we must prepare. They are taking our school. As I said, if there was anything I could do … but there isn’t.”

Caitlin clasped Minnie’s hand and whispered, “What will you do?”

“What else can I do? I’m going home. Grandfather will be all alone now, and I’m sure he’ll be grateful for the company.” Minnie tucked her fingers in the pleats of her unevenly dyed black dress.

Caitlin’s heart sank. “Home” for Minnie was a plantation in Tennessee, near Chattanooga. She would lose her job and her friend all at once.

“I’ll see you back at Periwinkles,” Minnie said. “I need to determine arrangements for the students I’d planned to teach over the summer break.”

Nodding, Caitlin rose and exited the chapel’s double doors.

“Miss McKae.”

The deep voice, like the distant gallop of cavalry, could only belong to Noah Becker, the German immigrant lawyer who taught modern languages part-time. She need not slow her gait for him to reach her in three long strides.

“Yes?” Impatience edged her voice.

“Where can you be off to in such a hurry?” Sunlight shone on his tobacco-brown hair as he looked down at her, his hat in his hand.

“Nowhere.”

“I’m headed that way, too. Share my carriage and you’ll get there even faster.” A grin softened the features of his angular face and teased a grudging smile from her lips. With a slight nod, she fixed her straw bonnet onto her hair, and he placed his hat back on his head. Together, they left the institute and found his tethered team.

“It is hard news.” Mr. Becker said as he assisted her into the carriage. “Do you grieve for a loved one at Gettysburg or Vicksburg?”

Was it a test? “I grieve for all of them, of course.” Silently, she breathed a prayer for Jack.

“Of course.” Red dust lifted off the road as hoofbeats plodded down Ellis Street. The closer they drew to downtown, the more Caitlin’s nose pinched. Ever since the casualties from Gettysburg had twitched across the telegraph wires, the air had soured as women dipped their dresses in pots of pungent black dye.

Mr. Becker sighed. “I don’t know how to say this delicately.”

“Speak your mind.”

“Without an income, you will soon run out of money for boarding.” Caitlin groped for a reason to contradict him. She found none.

He continued. “I have a large house.”

“How nice for you.” Heat scorched her face as the wicked words slid out.

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