Happy Halloween...
14. Forrest
Fort Henry Encampment: 30 yards + 5 miles
Thud-thud-thud.
'Move it, Belikov!' a man bashed impatiently at the cabin door. 'We're not paying you to sleep through the war. It's oh-six-hundred and the ferry's due to leave. Get up and earn your keep or I'll find myself another Major who's ready to do the job.'
Rose heard the voice and half-surfaced from a dreamless sleep, feeling faintly annoyed. She was warm. Snug as a bug. Limbs so heavy and relaxed she didn't want to move. There was that comforting scent too. A man close beside her, his bare chest angled in to share her heat. An arm slung over her waist, a hand splayed at the base of her neck and fingers tangled in her hair. Dimitri. Her Dimitri.
There was another round of banging from the door, and the touch at Rose's neck stiffened.
'Alright! Ten minutes, Forrest!' Major Belikov rolled away from his wife and sat up, reaching for his trousers at the end of the bed then clutching the right side of his head as he registered the fresh, throbbing pain behind his temple.
The door opened without warning and a gust of cold morning air rushed in. 'Five minutes,' Lieutenant Colonel Forrest corrected, a disdainful expression twisting the neat line of his moustache. 'Gale wants Heiman built yesterday, and I can't get that done if you're back here playing house with your precious little cherry,' his gaze wandered sideways, seeking out the feminine curves of the woman nestled under the blankets.
Dimitri's headache was immediately forgotten. Dragging on his pants as he stood, he rose swiftly from the bed and in three paces he'd blocked Forrest's view through the doorway. 'I'll come in ten like I told you. And if you ever open this door again while my wife is abed, it won't be Gale's favour you should be worried about losing.'
'Your meaning, soldier?' Forrest swelled his chest out, ready for a fight.
Major Belikov was taller, broader and not in the slightest bit intimidated. He leaned in close to the other man's ear and lowered his voice to answer. 'Let's just say... next time you make a visit to the whorehouse in Paris, the doves won't have anything to coo about once they see what's left between your legs.'
The Lieutenant Colonel's face sharpened with bitterness and indignation. 'You dare threaten me, mongrel?' he hissed. 'I'm the second highest ranking officer in this camp. I'll open any doors and look at all the women I like.'
'Not this door, and not this woman,' Dimitri warned, deathly calm. 'General Gale has pledged Mrs Belikov his protection. So have I. If you choose to go against us, be ready for the consequences.'
The challenge set Forrest bristling with silent fury, but after a tense standoff he made the tactical decision to back down. Their General's sole agenda was making the forts on the Cumberland River ready for battle. Gale would not take kindly to having his time wasted again on the matter of Dimitri Belikov's wife. 'Just get to ferry,' Forrest snapped, turning to go. 'If you're not at the riverbank when we set out I'll have you marked as absent without leave, then you should be ready for the consequences.'
Dimitri slammed the door shut and leant a fist against it, breathing heavily and trembling with the effort of restraining his anger, but the self-control was short-lived. His temper exploded and he punched the door - muttering a burst of Russian curses under his breath.
'Dimitri?' there was a weak scuffling sound as Rose attempted to push the blankets off her chest and sit up, though she found both tasks impossible.
'What?!' he spat, before he remembered who the voice belonged to. 'Roza,' he crossed quickly to her and sat on the edge of the bed, stroking a calloused hand over her hair. 'I have to report for duty now, but I need you to promise me one thing. You cannot leave this room until I return. That man, Forrest, is determined to destroy us and you mustn't let him near you.'
Rose shook her head against the pillow, still groggy from the morphine but unable to forget what she'd witnessed the night before. 'Don't go,' she begged. 'Your head. Your back. You need to rest. Please,' she summoned all her strength and lifted her hand to his bearded cheek. 'Just... stay with me?'
The soldier's eyes lit with yearning and he dropped his head, finding his wife's lips with his own and sinking greedily into them. Rose responded with a moan of surprise and opened her lips to him, wishing she had the strength to keep up with his physical demands. For one intoxicating minute, Dimitri's hands fondled and caressed her face while his tongue made slow, insistent strokes against hers. They were home again - young lovers as they had been a lifetime ago, in another cabin far from here - until the man pulled back and the fantasy distorted.
'I know what you're up to, Roza,' Dimitri frowned, moving away to finish dressing - the remaining articles of his uniform mostly dry now after hanging overnight by the fire. 'You're trying to convince me to stay because you think my injuries have made me weak. You don't think I'm strong enough to fight in the battle that is coming. You've lost faith in me.'
Rose denied it in all the ways she could, but when the soldier was fully clothed he returned to the bedside, leaning over his wife to demand her full attention. 'One day I will stay by your side and never leave you again, milaya,' Dimitri whispered fervently, 'but nothing good in life comes without sacrifice. I am willing to sacrifice everything for our future - to give you the home and child you deserve,' he lowered his lips for another drugging kiss, one hand slipping under the blanket to rest on Rose's belly, then he lifted his face and locked his eyes to hers. 'The question is... are you?'
Dinah entered the cabin soon after Dimitri left. She brought breakfast and helped her lady eat it, then mixed a drink of tea from the herbs in Sydney's medical bag. 'My master says you must drink this,' she held the mug to the white woman's lips.
Rose drank, too tired and despondent to protest. Yesterday's plans of escape seemed foolish now, little more than an impossible dream.
She slept again when she was alone. There were nightmares this time. One about being trapped in a dark box and banging on the lid but nobody would let her out. Another where Dimitri stood naked before her - an angry, red star covering his back, each cut dripping tears of blood. 'I will sacrifice everything. Will you?' he demanded, twisting around to stare at her. Then, out of nowhere, she saw the face of a man now dead - grizzled hair and beard splayed out around his face as he lay serene on a bed of sweet grass.
'You did good, kid,' Pavel reached up to touch her shoulder, and a ripple of warmth spread slowly throughout Rose's body. 'Go find that husband of yours and have a happy life,' he turned his eyes away, drawn by the faint echo of a child's laughter.
'Pavel! Marian!' Rose screamed out to him, desperate to hold onto the image of that one friendly face, but her lungs produced no air and the sound came out muted - words garbled like she was deep underwater.
The old man looked back at her, understanding completely. 'Tell Mr Mazur I did my best to look after his little girl,' he told her, though his lips did not move, then another peal of childish laughter rang out and Pavel was gone.
The very next moment a woman's face swam into view. Dark, hooded eyes, golden-brown skin, black hair parted in the middle. 'Oh, my pobrecita,' she purred, and the air all around them hung heavy with the cloying fragrance of tobacco smoke. 'You are stronger than you know. Wake up!'
Susana! Rose gasped awake, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she fought through the curtain that divided consciousness from sleep. Gradually, her breathing steadied and her eyelashes fluttered open. She felt... clearer, more alive, like a missing piece of herself had been returned to her. Deputy Belikov tested her strength and found she could push the blankets back from her legs. She sat up slowly - her stomach not so badly affected by the morphine this time around - and swung her feet over the edge of the bed, her mind obsessing over the contents of her dreams.
Did she really meet Susana in a spirit-dream or was it just her brain grasping for any straw of hope it could find? Either way, Susana was right. No matter how horrible her situation was, Rose would find the strength to face it. As for Pavel's advice, she'd already found her husband but there was no happiness she could share with him here. Their only chance at a happy life was if she could get Dimitri away from Fort Henry - before Forrest found any more ways to hurt him, and before the Union army advanced with their gunships to bring death and destruction upon them. Tell Mr Mazur...
Rose wobbled a little as she stood up, then found her balance and padded in her stockinged feet across to the woodpile. The message she'd written to her father two days ago was still hidden at the back of the pile, and she drew it out to skim over the pencilled words.
Dear Dad,
My journey has been successful but I am unfortunately delayed. The war and weather have made it impossible for me to return home by the road I came, however I hope to see you again as soon as I am free to do so. Our mutual friend in Memphis wishes to send you her regards. Please tell Sydney I hope she will remember my husband in her prayers.
Love, Rose
It was as much as she dared to say. Giving away her location, Dimitri's name and rank, or any mention of the upcoming battle at Fort Henry might be used against her as proof of treason, so she could only hope that Abe would read between the lines and figure out what she needed him to know. That she had been detained against her will but intended to make for home as soon as possible by another road - north, not west back along the Santa Fe Trail. That she'd met Janine in Memphis and her mother had knowledge of her whereabouts. That Dimitri was alive and in need of a doctor. She didn't think Abe would figure the last part out by himself, but Sydney could help him solve the riddle. Miss Sage was a woman of science - certainly not inclined to prayer. The only time Rose had ever heard her friend praying was on the road to Las Vegas, when it turned out she was actually reciting Latin anatomical terms from her medical textbook. Mentioning Dimitri and the anatomy prayer in the same sentence might be just enough for Abe to infer that his son-in-law required urgent medical aid. Once she'd managed to lure Dimitri safely across the border into Kentucky she could contact her father again with details of their exact location.
Rose tucked the slip of paper into the waistband of her navy day-dress - secreting it beneath the bodice's V-shaped hem - then sat down to button her boots. Dimitri had warned her to stay inside, but he and Forrest would be across the river at Fort Heiman until nightfall, and the light filtering through the cabin's canvas roof told her it was still early in the afternoon. This might be the best chance she'd ever get to send her message to Abe. Rose's heart clutched nervously as she considered the consequences if she was caught out of quarters, but she kept hearing Dimitri's voice in her head - repeating the question he'd asked her before he left their cabin this morning, and again in her dream. Was she willing to sacrifice everything for their future? Rose already knew her answer. She pushed the cabin door open and stepped outside.
It was raining lightly. The sprawling tent city off to Rose's right was little more than a blur of white canvas peaks, but all around her she could hear the sounds of soldiers hard at toil. On the edge of the encampment men were felling trees - the rhythmic pounding of their axes making it seem as though the camp itself had a heartbeat. Others split timber for firewood, hammered at iron nails as they built more winter housing, and shovelled endless sacks full of sodden earth to reinforce the rifle pits and picket lines that defended the camp.
Rose would have felt safer ducking from cabin to cabin to keep out of sight of the soldiers, but stealth was not an option today. Weeks of rain had left the campground slick with mud, and she couldn't risk getting her dress dirty or Dimitri would know that she'd disobeyed him. Wrapping her arms around herself for warmth, Deputy Belikov kept her head down and ventured as quickly as she dared along the slippery, corduroyed pathway that ran between the rows of officers' quarters - glancing up every few steps to check for the wire-strung poles that would lead her to the camp's telegraph office.
She'd only gone twenty yards or so when a small knot of youths in civilian clothing cut past her from behind, carrying muskets and cussing good-naturedly between themselves. Rose veered to the edge of the path, hoping they'd assume she was a servant and pay her no mind, but the oldest soldier in the group saw the quality of her dress and shushed his comrades, pausing to offer a respectful 'ma'am'.
'Good day, gentlemen,' the Southern Belle greeted them with her best attempt at a smile, praying they wouldn't recognise who she was.
'It is now!' one of the younger boys grinned enthusiastically, and his companions broke into friendly laughter as they jostled away along the path.
Unnerved by the encounter, Rose snatched a look over her shoulder to check nobody else was following her, and that's when she caught sight of someone struggling through the mud between two nearby cabins. It was a slave - tall and wiry, with a load of firewood balanced high on his shoulder. 'Excuse me,' she called to him softly, seeing a way to locate the telegraph office quickly and get home again before her absence was noted.
The slave didn't acknowledge her.
'Hey, sir. Wait!' she tried a little louder, venturing along the path toward him until the corduroys ended at the doorway of the nearest cabin. 'I said stop!' she called again, pressing herself up against the cabin's outer wall and edging along it to keep back from the worst of the mud.
The black man stopped, muscles tense and eyebrows drawn in confusion. The lady said 'sir'. He thought she must have been talking to an officer. Most people just called him 'boy', or something much worse, or nothing at all. 'Beg pardon, missus. You wanted me?' he asked the ground at her feet.
Rose lifted her chin assertively. 'I need to send a telegram… on behalf of my husband,' she amended, hoping the lie was convincing enough. 'Can you tell me where to find the telegraph office?'
The slave's gaze slid west across a narrow tract of swampland to Fort Henry's stone-walled river defences - where Rose had been summoned to meet with General Gale the morning before. 'Over there, ma'am, but you cannot enter.'
'What?! Why not?' the deputy took a step forward and her boot sank two inches deep into the boggy earth. She jumped back at once, silently cursing herself when she saw the line of filth now coating the edge of her skirt.
'Military use only,' the man looked away like he was anxious to leave, his thin body straining under the load he carried, 'but the telegraph office at Danville station is only a few miles south of here. If you give me the message, I can have a rider deliver it for you?' he shifted the weight on his shoulders and held out a hand for the telegram.
The offer was sorely tempting, but Deputy Belikov hesitated. What if this slave belonged to Forrest and passed her message straight into his hands? What if the telegram was lost before it even reached Danville and never made it to her father. What if… 'Never mind,' she declined hurriedly, boots squelching as she backed up against the cabin wall behind her. 'I'll have my husband deliver the message himself tomorrow… Thank you for your time,' she added, remembering her manners. 'You are free to go.'
The slave darted a curious look at the white woman then bobbed his head quickly and disappeared into the dreariness, leaving the young lady – muddied and blinking back tears of frustration – alone under a fine mist of rain.
Rose knew she should hurry back to her quarters and get herself cleaned up before Dimitri returned from Fort Heiman, but the burst of energy she'd woken with was already starting to wane. She picked her way slowly along the edge of the cabin, wracking her brain for another way to get her message out to Abe, and was completely unprepared when the door beside her swung open and a hand shot out - clamping firmly over her mouth.
'Let go of me!' she cried out in muffled protest, tugging at the fingers that pressed against her lips and bucking wildly as strong arms dragged her inside the room.
'Not until you shut your yap and stop that wriggling,' a man hissed in her ear. His breath smelled faintly of cloves and cigar smoke. The neat bristles of his goatee scratched softly against his captive's cheek.
Deputy Belikov did not stop. She only fought harder, muddy boots kicking out in an effort to defend herself. The soldier tightened his grip to bring his prisoner under control, but Rose used this to her own advantage - biting down sharply and catching the fleshy part of his middle finger between her teeth. The taste of metal flooded her mouth and she knew she'd broken the skin.
'You'll pay for that later,' the man sucked in an angry breath but didn't loosen his grip, retaliating instead by pinching her nostrils shut to deprive her of air.
The deputy gave a few more jerky kicks before the lack of oxygen forced her into compliance, and when the soldier finally released her she dropped to the floor - dizzy and gasping for breath.
'On your feet, spy.'
Rose looked up from her hands and knees and found herself staring into the cutting, blue gaze of Lieutenant Colonel Forrest. 'I am not a spy!' she denied it fiercely, wiping her mouth in revulsion when she felt moisture on her chin and realised it was the blood of her enemy. She tried to stand, but stumbled on her skirts and fell back to the ground, bringing a twist of dark amusement to Forrest's lips.
'Get her up,' he ordered sharply to someone in the corner of the room, and a moment later Rose felt a slave-girl's hands hooking under her armpits, forcing her to her feet.
'Stand still, missus,' the slave urged softly when Mrs Belikov swayed a little.
Dinah! Rose recognised the familiar, husky note to the woman's voice and sent out a silent plea for help, but Dinah only melted back into the shadows, intent on her own survival.
Forrest took a brief moment to inspect his injured hand before his eyes snapped up again to his prisoner, his expression filled with contempt. 'It's time you started telling the truth, Yankee spy. What's so important that I come back to camp and find you sneaking around outside instead of keeping to your quarters like you've been told to?'
Rose saw red. 'You want to talk about the truth? Then why don't you start telling the truth! What the hell is your problem with me and my husband?! I saw what you did to Dimitri's back! What gave you the right to do that?!' It took everything she had not to rush at the man and beat him with her fists.
The soldier's mouth pulled into an ugly smile. 'He gave me the right. He asked me to do it.'
Rose's stomach twisted. 'What? No!' she shook her head, refusing to believe it.
'Yes,' Forrest's smile broadened to show a row of slightly yellowed teeth. 'When your beloved Dimitri came to me a month ago he was like a wild dog - half-delirious and spattered in the blood of the sentry he'd just killed for trying to confiscate his revolver. Kept shouting he needed to see the man in charge or he'd shoot his way out of camp - pathetic, really, given the state of him. He didn't recognise me at first. It might have been the goatee, or the uniform... but he knew exactly who I was when I told him your name - Rosemarie,' he said it slowly, like he was tasting the word on his tongue and finding a perverse pleasure in it. 'Rosemarie Hathaway.'
'You know my maiden name?' Rose felt confused, exposed somehow, that this man had such intimate knowledge of her when she knew nothing of him except that she hated him with every fibre of her being.
'I know everything about you,' he shrugged, face arrogant. 'A bastard child whose mother didn't even want her - a delinquent and a runaway raised by some old hag who traded her knitting needles for a Sheriff's badge. The kind of loose woman only a foreigner would accept as his bride. You call yourself a Deputy, and yet you murdered one of your closest friends - at a wedding no less! Victor Dashley told me all that and more when we shared a cell in Alcatraz.'
'Who are you?!' Rose's chin trembled in outrage.
'Your Russian dog asked me the same question when we met too,' the soldier was enjoying the game now. 'My name is Forrest. Lieutenant Colonel James Nathan Forrest,' he made a mocking bow.
Deputy Belikov's eyes widened in understanding. 'James Nathan? You're the outlaw that Dimitri and I were hunting last year! The one who shot his way through half of California and the Nevada Territory before my husband captured you in Saint's Town!'
The man stepped forward suddenly, grabbing Rose tightly by the wrist. 'You want to know who I am? I'm the one who lost a sister and five more companions at your husband's hand. I'm the one who lost half a year of his life in jail thanks to your precious Dimitri.'
Forrest gripped tighter and a trickle of blood from his bite wound ran down Rose's sleeve. 'I'd still be stuck in jail now, if my uncle hadn't pulled some strings to get me a commission in the Confederate States Army. He's a senator, you know. A lawyer before the war. He always hated me and my sister Elena for leaving our mother to go west for the goldrush, but blood is blood, and Uncle Milton would rather see me rotting on a battlefield among the glorious dead than rotting in a Yankee prison,' disdain soured his expression. 'As soon as I was a free man again I put out a bounty on the bounty hunter, and then finally here he was - standing right in front of me, all bloody and snarling like a feral beast.'
Rose was aware of pressure at her wrist but it didn't hurt. All she felt was anger. Seething rage. 'Dimitri is a man, not a beast!'
Forrest ignored her. 'At last, I could claim justice for all the wrongs he'd done me. I ordered my men to bring the Mad Dog to his knees, but when I put my pistol between his eyes I realised I couldn't just shoot him. It was too easy - too quick a death for a monster like him... so I decided it would be more fun to play with him instead,' the soldier pulled his captive closer to him and dropped his voice, low and intimate like they were lovers sharing a secret. 'I gave your husband a choice, Mrs Belikov: run, so I could hunt him down - like he once hunted me - and watch him die in the mud with my bullet in his back-'
'Dimitri would never run,' Rose hissed, horrified by the man's cruelty.
Forrest scowled. 'As it happens, he chose the second option. Life, paid with blood. Six lashes - one for each of my comrades he killed, one for each of the months I was forced to serve in prison. If he could take the flogging like a man, silent and steady on his feet, I'd grant him mercy. My surgeon would see to his festering head wound, and I'd grant him the privilege of joining my Escort Company. He was already a killer, so he might as well kill for me, and I can't tell you what a pleasure it's been moulding him into my creature - making him do all the things he would have once detested.'
'You bastard!' Rose struck out at him with her free hand.
'Bastard?' he seized her arm before she could land a single blow and shook her once, roughly. 'If it wasn't for me, your husband would already be dead in the earth, and he knows it too. He is loyal to me now, and loyal to the South, however I strongly suspect that you are not. Enough talking, Mrs Belikov. Time to find out what you've been hiding from me,' Forrest adjusted his grip on her left hand - fingers probing the cuff at her wrist then squeezing a path up her sleeve to the elbow, her armpit, searching for anything he could present to Gale as proof of the woman's treason.
'Get your filthy paws off me!' Rose tried to pull away as he swapped to her other arm. 'General Gale promised me his protection. Dimitri-...'
'Dimitri?' Forrest scoffed, dipping his fingers under the collar at her throat. He moved to her ribcage next and worked downwards, a smear of blood from his injured finger darkening the fabric of her dress. 'Dimitri isn't here, cherry. And do you really think it's a wise idea to tell him about our little meeting when it was you who came to my cabin not the other way around? Best to keep your lips sealed if you know what's good for you.'
A gleam of sordid satisfaction lit the soldier's eyes as he reached for the angled row of buttons at Mrs Belikov's breast, but he paused when a panicked voice called out over the lady's renewed struggles to break free.
'Master, your hand,' Dinah stumbled out of her corner, snatching up a flannel and tugging his arm towards her. 'Please let me tend to it. If the wound sours you won't be able to lead your horse into battle.'
Forrest looked down at the bloody mess of his palm and swore - realising she was right. 'Wrap it then, if you must,' he gritted his teeth, 'but I'm not getting stitched up just because some she-cat had a nibble at me. Just get me some whiskey... and get that woman,' he glanced angrily at Rose, 'out of my sight.'
Trembling from shock and exhaustion, Rose turned gratefully for the door, but Forrest arrested her with two words.
'Not. Yet.'
The deputy turned to face him, ready to defend herself or flee outside to beg help from a passing soldier if she had to.
'Your dress is all soiled,' James Nathan swept his eyes over her - scornful, calculating. 'Give it to my slave for washing. We can't have Major Belikov returning home tonight to learn that his supposedly-loyal wife has betrayed him - wandering around camp against his orders and spending time in another man's cabin. I've seen Belikov when he's in a rage. He'd kill you in a heartbeat.'
Rose wasn't comforted by this newfound concern for her wellbeing. 'Why would you help me?' she demanded tightly, pressing her fists to her sides. 'You've wanted to get rid of me since the moment we met. Why not just let Dimitri kill me and save yourself the trouble?'
Forrest almost smiled. 'Whatever gave you the impression that I want you dead, Mrs Belikov? I don't want to kill you. I only want to hurt Dimitri - and you're of far more use to me alive than dead for that. Just think... I can play with you right under his nose for as long as I like, and then, when he's feeling completely at his ease, I'll choose the perfect moment to take you away from him, and watch on with great enjoyment as it destroys him all over again.'
'You sick sonofa-...'
'Language, Mrs Belikov,' the Lieutenant Colonel reprimanded her. 'Now get out of my cabin, and don't leave yours again without my permission. You!' he called to Dinah. 'See the lady to her quarters and get her cleaned up. We can't have people saying we don't take care of our guests.'
'Come. Quickly,' Dinah instructed Mrs Belikov, and fifteen minutes later the captive found herself back in her own cabin - shivering in her petticoats as she waited for the slave to return with a bucket of soapy water.
Rose paced in front of the fireplace, a turmoil of emotions as her fingers clutched tightly over the folded notepaper she'd rescued from her skirt. She had to get out of here! She couldn't just remain at Fort Henry and let James Nathan use her as a tool to punish Dimitri, but how would she escape now - or get her message out to Abe - with Forrest watching her every move? She was alone and there was nobody she could trust to help her... Or maybe there was? Rose stopped dead, recalling the moment when Forrest went to unbutton her dress and Dinah rushed out to interrupt him. Maybe she did have one ally left after all?
A knock at the door soon announced the slave's return and Rose hurried to greet her - pulling her inside the room and double-checking the door was closed before launching on with her plan. 'I know you don't owe me anything Dinah, but please hear me out,' Rose trapped the woman by one shoulder, imploring her to listen. 'I need your help, but you have to understand it's a secret. You can't tell Forrest or my husband or General Gale about it - even if they ask you. Can you keep a secret for me?'
Dinah clung to her bucket handle, visibly uneasy, but she didn't disagree so Mrs Belikov took the silence as a yes.
'I need to get a message home to my family,' Rose held out her precious scrap of paper between them. 'I came here to find Dimitri, but now it looks like I might be here... for longer than I'd planned,' a lump formed in her throat but she swallowed it and pressed on. 'I just want to let my father know I'm alive. Can you get this to the Danville telegraph office and have it wired to Abraham Mazur in Saint's Town, Nevada?'
There was an impossibly long silence as Dinah just stared at the telegram in Rose's hand, then she reached out and took it without a word - tucking it into the apron she wore over her dress.
Rose almost cried in relief. 'Thank you! Thank you so much,' she was so grateful she flung her arms out to hug the other woman, nearly upsetting the sudsy bucket in the process. 'I can't tell you how much this means to me. Is there anything I can do for you in return? Anything at all?'
The slave stiffened at their intimate position and stepped back at once, shaking her head. 'Just let me get on with my work, missus,' she moved away to the desk where her lady's gown and boots were waiting to be sponged. 'You'll want these clean and dry before Major Belikov returns.'
Dinah completed her task without further word or encouragement, and when she left shortly after, the only sign she gave Mrs Belikov of their secret agreement was a strange, searching look from the doorway before she sealed the door firmly and hurried away.
Alone again, Rose spent the rest of that afternoon oscillating between hope and despair - hope that even now Abe might be reading her telegram, and despair at being made a pawn in James Nathan's sadistic game of revenge. The emotional toll proved exhausting, and although she tried to wait up for Dimitri to arrive home, Rose fell asleep soon after dinner - slumped forward on the writing desk with her head buried in the crook of her arm.
It was well after dark when Major Belikov finally entered the cabin.
'Dimitri?' the sleeper greeted him through bleary eyes when his hand settled on her shoulder. 'Your head - how are you feeling?' She was so glad to see her husband home safely that she forgot for a moment that this wasn't her real Dimitri, that she might need to be wary of him. A grave mistake.
'How am I feeling?' his voice was strained, but it wasn't from physical pain. He was angry - bitter-soft and dangerous. 'How do you think I'm feeling?'
Rose was suddenly wide awake as the soldier loomed over her and pulled her to her feet, trapping her in an accusing stare.
'I just spent the whole day toiling away for us - for our future - and all the while my wife was back here, rewarding my efforts by betraying me!'
'Betraying you?' the prisoner tried to hide her alarm. Forrest must have said something about her sneaking out of quarters! Damn the bastard! Damn him to hell! 'You must be confused, cowboy,' she did her best to soothe him. 'You know I love you more than anything. I'd never betray you!'
'And now I know you're lying to me too,' the man shook his head in disgust and smacked something down on the desk beside them.
Rose glanced down at the piece paper spread out for her to see, and a wave of panic almost overcame her.
Dear Dad...
She didn't have to read the rest to know what it said. It was her own handwriting, incriminating her with every word. 'I can explain,' she assured Dimitri hurriedly, realising with dismay that it must have been Dinah who'd betrayed her, not Forrest. Her last ally - gone!
'You can explain this?' Dimitri stabbed a finger at the note for emphasis. 'You can explain why you went behind my back to send a telegram to Saint's Town when you promised me only last night that you wouldn't speak of our old lives there again? You can explain why you're planning to leave here as soon as you're free to do so? I told Gale my wife was loyal to me. Well this is you proving that you're not,' the soldier didn't strike his wife in anger, but the harshness of his voice was as hurtful to Rose as if he had slapped her.
'But I am loyal to-...'
He didn't give her a chance to finish. 'And who's this friend you've got in Memphis? Someone working for the Yanks, I bet... And Dad?' Dimitri dropped his head to within a few inches of hers - eyes flicking erratically from one side of her face to the other, searching for the truth. 'The man who ruined your mother's reputation and abandoned you as a child is the shady lawyer Sheriff Peterson hired to get rid of that murdering sonofabitch Victor Dashley?... The same man who brought my family from Russia and never mentioned his connection to you in all the months we had dealings together? What the hell were you thinking inviting a snake like that back into your life?' His expression grew even darker. 'But clearly Abraham Mazur is not the only snake in his family... You, Roza. How long have you known about your father and kept the truth from me?'
Rose was so upset she wasn't sure if she wanted to cry or scream, but her fighting spirit won in the end. 'I'll tell you whatever you want to know, if you'll just let me answer you!' she almost shouted at him.
The intensity of her speech was enough to draw Dimitri out of his rage and he broke off the attack - listening, but with extreme suspicion.
'I only learnt that Abe was my father on my journey here to find you,' Rose defended herself. 'And he didn't abandon me, as it happens. My mother ran away and didn't tell him where she'd taken me. Abe searched after me for years after but only learned I was in Saint's Town when Alberta contacted him about Victor Dashley. He never intended to upset things by revealing his true identity - he only wanted to make sure I was safe and happy, but then you got shot and he couldn't bear to leave me suffer alone. Dad sent his friend Pavel to guide me through Indian Territory. If it wasn't for him I would never have made it to you alive.'
'I suppose that counts for something,' Dimitri granted, though his expression was still hard, 'but I still don't trust the man, and you have no business asking him to meddle in our private affairs.'
Rose bit back her frustration and tried another tack. 'But the telegram wasn't just meant for him, cowboy. You know I love you dearly, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to secure our future together, but I can't just forget the life we had before. I miss our friends - Lisa most of all. Her baby is due to arrive soon and I wish so much that I could be there to support her while Christian is away. I miss Alberta too. We might not have seen eye to eye most of the time, but she's the woman who raised me and she'll be worried at how long I've been gone. I just want to let them know we're safe... And there's your family as well,' her voice had gradually softened, appealing him to remember what they'd once had - who he once was. 'Your mother, your sisters, the babies. How can you not miss them?'
Dimitri frowned. 'Why should I miss them? As soon as the war is over I'll send for them and we'll be together soon enough.'
Rose sighed in exasperation, and the tears she'd fought so hard to keep back suddenly sprung to her eyes. 'Is there nothing you miss from home?'
The soldier saw her unshed tears and shook his head slowly - his gaze sharpening with an intensity that was almost frightening. 'There's only one thing I've missed from home, Roza, and now that I've got you here with me I'm never letting you go.'
He took a single stride towards his wife and in the next second his lips crashed down on hers with an almost bruising passion. She yelped in surprise but gradually gave in to him - the sheer relief of being at peace with him again flooding every corner of her mind until her worries were nothing more than a distant memory. When Dimitri finally pulled away, Rose clutched tightly to his neck and strained her face closer to his - reluctant for the moment to be over.
'Now that, I trust,' Dimitri's accent thickened and he chuckled softly, rewarding her with another kiss. When he pulled back this time, he stroked the back of his knuckle down his wife's jaw and lifted her chin to look at him. 'Now, is there anything else you've been keeping from me that I should know about? If you tell me now, all will be forgiven.'
The worries that had been so quick to flee only minutes ago snaked their way back into Rose's mind, and she glanced away. Should she risk telling him about her run in with Forrest? The scraps of food she'd hidden in the wood pile? Her offer to help Diniah seek refuge with the Coo'tsa? That she'd found her mother working as a brothel madam by the name of Lady Scarlett - the same woman who'd supplied Dimitri with the prostitute who looked just like Rose?
She swallowed drily and returned her eyes to meet his gaze. 'There's nothing else I'm keeping from you, cowboy. You have my word.'
Dimitri seemed satisfied with the answer at first, then a new tension lined his features. 'I want to believe you Rose, but you've already betrayed me once,' he glanced meaningfully at her message to Abe. 'So if you want to win back my trust you'll have to something to earn it this time.'
'Okay...,' Rose shifted uneasily. 'And how do I do that?'
'Loyalty,' the soldier said simply, before turning to the cabin door and barking an impatient command. 'Enter!'
Rose turned her head swiftly to see Dinah entering the room and immediately looked away again. So much for loyalty, she thought darkly. She'd offered this woman kindness, respect, even the chance of escaping her life of slavery at Fort Henry, and Dinah had gone and double-crossed her just when she'd needed her help the most.
'Come here,' Dimitri ordered the slave.
She did.
'The message my wife gave you - pick it up.'
She did.
'Throw it on the fire then return to me.'
There was a stifled, choking cry from Rose and the tiniest hiss as Abe's telegram was eaten by the flames, then Dinah returned to stand a few steps away from her master.
'Very good,' Major Belikov commended his slave coldly. 'And now we must teach Mrs Belikov an important lesson. My wife seems to think she can go behind my back and ask you for favours. Tell us, girl - where does your loyalty lie? With Mrs Belikov or with me?'
The black woman darted an anxious, sideways glance to the lady at her master's side then returned her eyes to the ground. 'With you, sir.'
Dimitri nodded once, vindicated, and shifted his attention back to Rose - grim and expectant. 'That is loyalty, Roza, and until you start showing me real loyalty, I can't truly trust you. Dinah, the medical bag.'
Dinah scurried to retrieve it, flinching when Major Belikov snatched it from her hands.
'Now get out,' he commanded her. 'The rest of this lesson is between my wife and me.'
She fled, leaving Mrs Belikov alone with the soldier as he opened the medical satchel and reached for a fresh vial of morphine.
'You don't have to do this, cowboy,' Rose pleaded as she watched him prepare the syringe. 'Just give me another chance to prove myself to you. You can trust me. I promise.'
Dimitri brought the needle to her neck and paused, a flash of hurt darkening his chocolate-brown eyes. 'I only wish I could, Roza,' he whispered, then metal bit into flesh and his face faded from view.
All that followed was a haze.
The days were long and lonely. Dinah came and went in silence; sometimes bringing food, sometimes fresh clothing, one time a taunting note from Forrest informing Mrs Belikov that her husband had killed two more Yankee scouts captured north-west of Fort Heiman. She threw that in the fire before she'd finished reading it. Rose tried to distract herself with happy memories of home, but her desperate desire to escape Fort Henry gradually dimmed until all she looked forward to was nightfall, when Dimitri would return. She didn't fear him now. She only feared that he would be killed in battle and never return to her - after all she'd been through to be by his side, it was a future she could not bear to contemplate.
But the nights were so much better. Waking to the scrape of the door opening and the refreshing kiss of icy-fresh of air against her skin. Heavy footfalls crossing the room and the creak of the wooden stool as Dimitri sat to remove his boots. The anticipation as he stripped from his uniform, and the overwhelming sense of relief when he finally sank into the bed beside her with a muttered 'Roza'. He would entertain her with stories about the progress to Fort Heiman, his frequent arguments with Forrest, and news of the Northern armies' movements - chastising her occasionally when she spoke of home, and cajoling her to commit her complete loyalty to him and the South. There was a growing passion between them the more compliant she became to his wishes, and after a time it was a sigh of relief - not a whimper of fear - that fell from Rose's lips when her husband pressed the silver needle to her neck to help her sleep.
The world outside grew louder. Another two thousand troops had been called to man Fort Henry and Fort Heiman, and the sound of their preparations for war bled through the walls of Rose's cabin and pounded at her morphine-fogged mind. The captive didn't take much interest in the changes unfolding outside her prison cell, but her Russian jailor was growing more paranoid by the day.
'You have to promise me you won't leave the cabin,' Dimitri urged her one night as she lay beneath the blanket in his arms, limp and sated. 'The soldiers are growing restless. They sense that battle is about to break, and even with the doves from Paris working around the clock there aren't enough women to comfort them. If the men find you out of quarters, not even Gale's protection will keep you safe.'
Rose shook her head lazily and stroked the lines from his forehead. 'You don't have to worry about me, cowboy. I have no plans of leaving.' In truth, she was so weak by now she couldn't have left if she'd wanted to.
More days passed - a couple or a hundred, it was impossible to tell - until one night, without warning, the predictable pattern of life at Fort Henry changed.
'Roza,' Dimitri whispered her name like he did every time he came to her, but tonight he didn't settle in by her side or bring the syringe that she'd come to rely on for sleep.
'What are you doing?' she asked, confused and a little irritable at the change of routine.
'There's something I have to tell you. We're going out,' he pulled her to her feet and there was a light in his eyes that made him seem more like his old self again.
'Out? You mean we're escaping?' Rose looked up at him in surprise and cracked a woozy grin. 'I never thought you'd agree. So are you going to shoot Forrest, or am I?'
Dimitri was not amused. 'Not that out. Just outside - somewhere more private. Come on,' he practically dragged her across the room.
Somewhere more private than alone in their own bed? What could he have to tell her that needed more privacy than that? Rose was so focused on pondering his meaning that she lost her footing as Dimitri guided her through the doorway. Her knees gave out beneath her weight at the slight change in balance, and with her muscles too weak to right her she simply buckled to the ground.
'Oh, Roza,' the man tutted - partly annoyed, partly in sympathy - then scooped her up into his arms and carried her like a child.
For a camp of over four thousand people, the night was eerily quiet. The troops were out of sight - closeted six to a tent and huddled together like sardines to stave off the January cold. For the first time since Rose arrived at Fort Henry the clouds had lifted, and she looked up at the sky in wonder as they moved toward the river - taking in the beauteous array of stars winking brightly above them and the fingernail moon that shone like a sleepy eye, watching over their way.
'Are we going see General Gale?' Rose peered out into the distance, discerning the solid outline of Fort Henry's battlements beyond the slough.
'Yes, where are you going?' another voice called sharply from behind them, and Major Belikov reacted in less than a second - dropping Rose from his arms and shoving her behind him to shield her from whatever foe was stalking them.
'You!' Dimitri scowled tightly, seeing Lieutenant Colonel Forrest advancing toward them on foot, his revolver drawn.
'I thought we agreed the Yankee spy should keep to her quarters,' Forrest challenged, waving the pistol in warning when Dimitri went to reach for his own gun, 'so why have you brought her out here in the dead of night? Treachery, no doubt. You remember the price for treason Gale promised you both,' he ranged closer - blue eyes glowing silver in the moonlight - until the muzzle of his Smith & Wesson jabbed against Major Belikov's chest. 'Explain your actions, dog, or I'll march you over to the General tent right now and you can make your confession to him... You know, I think I'll order the firing squad to execute you one at at time tomorrow,' he cocked the revolver to taunt him. 'We'll do your wife first so you can watch, then-'
Dimitri's arm shot out swiftly in retaliation, but Forrest anticipated the move and a cruel smile twisted his lips as he pulled the trigger.
There was a click and Rose shrieked in horror, expecting Dimitri to crumple, but nothing happened. Nobody moved. The only change was a strange hissing sound she couldn't place. Desperate to understand what was happening, Rose peeked around from behind her husband's elbow and saw Forrest's face distorted with pain. But why? Her eyes slid downward then widened. The Lieutenant Colonel had pulled the trigger, but Dimitri's thumb was wedged in the gap between the hammer and the frame of the gun, preventing the bullet from firing. Meanwhile, Major Belikov's left hand was wrapped over Forrest's right, crushing down on the tender point at the base of his thumb and making the older man hiss in pain - his trigger finger spasming and useless.
'You will do nothing to Mrs Belikov,' Dimitri warned softly, squeezing even tighter and smiling when he heard his superior grunt. 'And I don't have to explain myself to you or anyone else. Gale trusts me. Why should he care if I want to take a quiet walk with my wife?'
Forrest clawed at Dimitri's fingers with his free hand, struggling to extract himself from the Russian's vice-like grip. 'He will care when I tell him you attacked a superior officer! If there's one thing Gale values besides winning the war, it's keeping his troops in order. He'll have your balls for this, mongrel!'
'You'd really tell Gale you let yourself be bested by a lower-ranked soldier?' Major Belikov shook his head in disdain. 'I know the kind of man you are, James Nathan Forrest,' he said the name like it left a sour taste in his mouth. 'You love power, control. You'd never lower yourself in front of the General and admit how weak you truly are.'
'Weak?! Nobody calls me weak!' Forrest's fury boiled over and he changed tactics, making a swing at Dimitri's jaw with his left hand.
It was the excuse Major Belikov was looking for. Knocking the gun from Forrest's grip, he blocked the officer's awkward attack and reciprocated with a single punch to the face. Blood spattered from the man's broken nose and Forrest clutched his face with a cry of pain and rage. Every part of him thirsted for a fight, but he was already injured, unarmed and alone.
'You'll die for that, dog,' he hissed, wiping the blood from his chin with the back of his sleeve, one hand still pinching his nose. 'Some advice. Watch your back from now on, because when I come for you I will show no mercy.'
Dimitri stared at him coldly, knowing that he'd won - for tonight at least. 'You seem to have dropped your gun, sir,' he set his boot down on the discarded revolver and pushed it deeper into the mud. 'I think you'll find it difficult to kill me without it, so why don't you run along now and clean up your weapon - and your face. Mrs Belikov?' Dimitri turned his back on the cursing Forrest and lifted his wife into his arms once more. 'I believe we were going out.'
The river was so breathtaking that Rose almost cried when she saw the dark expanse of water shifting and sparkling under the pale starlight. 'It's beautiful,' she looked up at Dimitri, eyes shining with gratefulness.
'Perhaps, but that's not what I came to show you,' he smiled at her enthusiasm.
'Then what?' Rose asked curiously.
Her question was answered as a dark shape advanced from the western bank of the river. A ferry.
'Two to cross,' Major Belikov informed the soldier who disembarked to greet them. 'We will be returning in an hour.'
'The lady too?' the man clarified dubiously. 'Under whose orders, sir?'
'Mine,' Dimitri pushed past him and boarded the vessel, carrying Rose along with him.
They'd crossed the river in ten minutes, and after a steep trek uphill Major Belikov set his wife onto her feet - spreading out his greatcoat on the grass for them to sit upon. 'This is the South,' he whispered reverently. 'This is what we'll be fighting for.'
Rose allowed a moment for her eyes to focus in the darkness, and her heart fluttered with nervous excitement as she took in her first proper view of the world beyond her prison. They were seated on a sweeping, wooded hillside only a short distance from the half-constructed battlements of Fort Heiman. From their high vantage point Rose could easily make out the silver ribbon of the Tennessee River - curving away to the Kentucky border in the north and to the city of Memphis in the south. Just below them on the eastern riverbank of the Tennessee the tents of Fort Henry smoked like pale ti-pi's, and along the water's edge stone fortifications loomed up black and imposing as if rising from the river itself. Beyond that was a second wriggling line that might have been another river, and a cluster of lights further toward the horizon suggested a fort or perhaps a town in the distance.
'Imagine how far you could see on a clear day,' Rose breathed in wonder.
'Half a hundred miles at least,' Dimitri answered, eyes seeking out the sprinkling of lights to the east. 'That's Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River,' he indicated to a spot along the wiggling silver line that passed behind Fort Henry, 'and see beyond that? Clarkesville, on the Memphis railroad - staunch supporters for the South and a key transportation asset to our cause.'
'And what lies that way?' Rose scanned around to the north and spied a flicker of light downstream, idly wondering if she was looking at a Union town in Kentucky.
'Nothing that need worry us,' her husband guided her head further to the left and pointed out the course of the Tennessee River. 'When the Yankees advance they'll sail from Cairo in force, bringing a whole fleet of gunboats to attack our forts and towns before their ground-troops move in to occupy as much Confederate land as they can. Our side might be smaller in numbers, but we're stronger and smarter, and Ulysses S. Grant won't even know what's hit him when he discovers the surprise we've prepared for his men.'
Rose wasn't keen on the idea of being attacked by gunboats and ground-troops, but she didn't think she liked the sound of Dimitri's 'surprise' either. 'And that is?'
'We mined the river with torpedoes,' he explained proudly. 'As soon as Grant rounds that bend and sails down the main shipping channel his fleet will be blown to pieces. Our boys won't even have to face an artillery attack. All we'll be doing is fishing prisoners of war out of the water, and shooting the ones who try to run away.'
Rose looked away from the river quickly - the once-beautiful vista now marred by the cruel reality of war. 'They won't even stand a chance,' she whispered, her mind unconsciously recalling the face of a Union soldier she'd half-forgotten. Hans Croft - Alberta's husband. What if it was him on one of those boats, drowned or burned before he even got a chance to fight for the freedom he believed in? How could she wish that fate on anyone?
'Don't feel sorry for them, Roza,' Dimitri chastised more gently than she expected, drawing her face back to him. 'This is war. Somebody has to lose, and if it's a choice between us dying or them, I choose them every time. I'd gladly stand here and watch a dozen Yankee ships go down if it meant keeping you safe. You know that, don't you?'
It would have been romantic, if he hadn't just been casually condoning the deaths of thousands of men. 'I know that,' Rose answered tightly. A headache that she hadn't noticed until now suddenly gripped her temples and she closed her eyes, wishing that the whole world would just go away. If only Dimitri had brought the medical bag up here she could have some morphine and sleep in his arms on the way back home.
Her husband saw she was fading fast and he knew he had to speak up now if he intended to tell Rose the real reason he'd brought her here. 'Lie with me, Roza,' he eased himself onto his back and pulled her down after him, one arm supporting her neck like a pillow as they looked up at the stars together. 'There's something I have to tell you. Something important, but you have to keep it a secret.'
Rose thought back vaguely to a similar conversation she'd had with Dinah. That conversation had not ended well. 'I can keep a secret,' she nodded sleepily.
'Stay awake,' Dimitri warned, shifting his arm under her head to make sure he had her attention. 'You need to hear this.'
'Of course,' Rose agreed, turning slowly onto her side so she was facing him. 'What is it, cowboy?'
The man snaked his other arm over the top of her, caging her close and looking straight into his beloved's eyes. 'When you first came to Fort Henry, Forrest questioned your loyalty to the South. You've always claimed you aren't a Yankee spy, but things haven't been right between us since you tried to send that letter to your father. Since you planned to run away from me.'
Rose attempted to deny the charge, but he shushed her. 'I know you've tried to please me lately, but keeping my wife locked up in our quarters because I don't know if I can trust her... that's not the life I want for us. We need a way to prove to Forrest and Gale - for once and for all - that you are truly loyal to me and the Confederacy. Only then can we stand together proudly as man and wife, and claim the future we've both been dreaming of.'
'But how?' Mrs Belikov asked, her forehead lined with concern. 'Gale might believe I am supportive of you and your cause, but Forrest would never change his mind. Definitely not after what happened tonight,' she said darkly. Or after what happened that time in Forrest's cabin, she added silently to herself, shuddering when she remembered the threats he'd made after she bit his finger.
Dimitri wrapped his arms more tightly around his wife, thinking she was cold. 'Then we'll give him evidence of your loyalty that he can't deny,' he pressed his lips to her hair. 'If Forrest wants to call you a spy, then you're going to be a spy, Rose. You're going to be a spy for us.'
.
Author's Note:
Well, that was a little more 'trick' than 'treat' :O I dearly wanted to break Rose out of Fort Henry in this chapter, but I got to 10K words and realised it would have to wait until Chapter 15 (I promise she'll be free & on her physical/spiritual/emotional healing journey by the end of next chapter - phew!).
Forrest - ack! Did anyone guess he was the baddie from Book 1? I only put 2 small clues in the previous chapters because I hoped to shock the pants off you. The strigoi were utterly horrifying to the dhampir/moroi in VA, so I wanted to make L.C. James Nathan Forrest as contemptible as possible.
Dinah - I've loved hearing your theories about this character. My Dinah plays a more important role than Inna in the original books. I want to portray her as more than just a simpering, subservient slave - but how do you feel about her by the end of this chapter?
Fate - I didn't plan the Pavel/Susana spirit dream until the second it came out on the page - thankfully fate was taking care of things for me. Incidentally, since studying about Curanderismo I've downloaded a moon phase app on my phone. When a significant event happens in my life I check the app, and so often it will be a full moon or a new moon. It is humbling to see our lives are underscored by patterns, rhythms and connections that we aren't even aware of.
Cherry - Forrest referred to Rose as Dimitri's 'cherry' - a derogatory, sexualised term for a young woman in this era. (I wonder if this might be the origin of the phrase to pop one's cherry?!)
Uncle Milton - I wanted to give Forrest's uncle a name. It's only a passing reference, but I found a great dodgy historical character called John Milton Elliot who fit the bill perfectly.
The Forts - I hope the descriptions gave you a sense of what the world would have looked/felt like for Rose. The use of underwater torpedoes was a new and horrific battle strategy used in the Civil War - you'll get to find out the success or failure of this tactic in the next chapter.
Ch15 Posting Date: This one's a mystery. I'd like to say next full moon, but work is crazy busy at this time of year. To be realistic, I'm hoping to get 1 more chapter posted before Christmas, then maybe a couple more on the school holidays. If you leave a review to this chapter, I'll send you a posting update & preview when I'm close to publishing :)