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Dianna stood and sighed as they rode into the camp, she was relieved that Isabelle was safe. She could see the young girls tear stained face and the smile that was on her face as well as the young soldier spoke to her softly. Maybe this young man could change things for Isabelle as Kevin had changed things for her. Dianna turned and went about her work checking on her patients.
“ What’s going to happen to the traitor?”
“ He’s being tried. And his name is Kevin.” Dianna said as she changed an injured soldier’s bandages.
“ Well you seem to have gotten really close to the southerner.”
“ I am a southerner myself if you don’t mind” Dianna said moving away from the young man.
“ What of the young girl? The little southern whore?”
“ She’s not a whore and I’d appreciate if you’d speak kinder about the commanders niece.”
“ She’s the commanders niece. What a fine looking little thing.” One said as Jeremy brought Isabelle into the infirmary.
“ I thought you best look at this cut Miss Dianna. She got it dismounting her horse in the woods.” He said kindly. Dianna moved over to Isabelle and looked at her hand. There was a large gash that took up the center of her hand.
“ My goodness child how did you manage that?”
“ I don’t know.” Isabelle answered.
“ Well let me clean and dress it and then have this nice young man escort you back to your quarters.”
“ Thanks.” Isabelle said. Jeremy stood near the doorway and waited as Dianna helped with Isabelle.
“ If you will take her to her quarters. I will come check on her later.”
“ All right. Come along Isabelle.” Jeremy said holding his arm out for her. Several of the injured soldiers made comments under their breath but Jeremy heard them and stopped in the doorway.
“ Unless you’d like to be reported to the commander I’d keep those comments to myself Mr. Johns.”
“ Why are you defending her Jeremy?”
“ Because she needs defending now shut up.” Jeremy said. Isabelle held back a sob as Jeremy led her from the room, he knew that it was still daylight and that Isabelle was very tired after her ordeal that day.
“ Come on don’t worry about Johns he’s always saying things he shouldn’t.”
“ I am not tired.”
“ Would you like to sit and talk?” Jeremy asked. Isabelle nodded and sat down on the chair that sat outside the room she usually slept in. Jeremy grabbed another chair and sat across from her.
“ How long have you been alone?” Jeremy asked.
“ My mother died in the early summer of 61 my fiancee was called to duty two days later my father left a short time after that.”
“ You stayed in your home alone?”
“ My father sent for his cousin Brian. Father Brian.”
“ The Priest?”
“ Yep. He is my cousin.” Isabelle said looking to see Brian teaching some children.
“ He seems to be a kind man.”
“ You seem to think that about all my family.”
“ They are kind people. Your uncle was very nice to me when I first arrived here. Commander Richardson was the one that helped me understand the duty I had to perform and the reason I was here.”
“ My Uncle has always been a man of many means. I’ve only met him a few times, one time being at my grandfathers funeral.”
“ You still seem to be a close family.”
“ My father was very close to both of his brothers.”
“ Both?”
“ I have an Uncle Jim, my father is the youngest.”
“ Wait a minuet he’s the youngest?”
“ Yeah so?” Isabelle asked, wondering what his sudden interest was in the fact her father was the youngest in his family.
“ No reason go with your story.” He said.
“ My grandmother said that she loved all of her boys equally even though they said that she loved Dad more.” Isabelle said with a small smile.


Jerold watched Kevin pace inside the cell he had been taken to. The judge had wanted some time to make his decision and asked that Kevin be taken to the jail.
“ Kevin stop pacing.”
“ I am going to die today. And you want me to stop pacing.”
“ You’re not going to die.”
“ The hell I’m not. I am so glad you can be so optimistic about this. I cant. I can’t watch my baby girl fall apart when she finds out I won’t be coming home.”
“ How about Dianna. She seems very fond of you?”
“ Her too. God Jerold this isn’t fair. The first woman that can make my heart skip a beat, just like Kris could. I won’t even have a chance with because I won’t even be alive to try.”
“ Why don’t you give it the benefit of the doubt and wait and see what the judge says. I told him that you’re the old one that can keep Isabelle calm, that she has already run off twice on me because she’s had a fear of losing you.” Jerold said looking at his irritated younger brother.
“ I don’t know Jerold I just have this feeling that Isabelle is going to lose it all tonight.”
“ Maybe not.” Jerold said. He looked to see Dianna walking towards them with a tray.
“ I came to bring Kevin something to eat.”
“ How about the two of you eat, I am going to check on a few things I will be back.” Jerold said leaving the two alone. Dianna sat down outside the cell and Kevin sat down inside.
“ So what’s to eat?”
“ Cook made chicken, potatoes and corn on the cob.” She said handing him a plate. She knew he was hungry. After the fever he had a few days before he hadn’t eaten much and had to be starved.
“ Sounds good.” Kevin said. He dug into the food as if he was a dying man, to him he felt like he was.
“ Tell me something Kevin.”
“ What?” He asked looking up at her.
“ Would you court me if things had been different?”
“ In a heart beat. Even before the war I knew I was losing Kristin, she was very ill and there was only a matter of time before she was going to be gone. I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to be ready. But when I saw you that first day in the infirmary I knew that I could go on with my life and that Kristin would want that.”
“ Your daughter seems to think that way as well. I wrote my parents about you.”
“ And do they approve of a proper southern gentlemen?”
“ They do, but they wonder if we will make anything of our relationship with the trial and all.”
“ Then I guess I do what my brother said and wait and see what happens.” Kevin said looking into her eyes.