Chapter 2

Matthew and Amanda tried to do justice to the hearty breakfast Molly McGuire had prepared, but they were both so tired that they could only manage a few bites before they had to put their forks down and admit defeat.

"Never mind, you'll feel better after a good night's sleep," Dotty said. "Well, it's not night, but you know what I mean. Do you want your baths now?"

"Mother, I appreciate all the work Molly and McGuire put into heating all that water, but I'd probably fall asleep in the tub," Amanda admitted.

"I know I would," Matthew said. " I think the best plan is for us to just go to sleep, Dotty."

"Of course, of course. You sleep as long as you like," she said. She followed them up the stairs and into the upstairs hallway, where Matthew said good night and went to his room; Dotty followed Amanda into her room, saying, " You'll need help unhooking the back of that frock, Amanda. It's very pretty; is it new?"

"No, it was one of Molly Thornton's; she loaned it to me and all I had to do was take it in a bit in the side seams."

"That was very kind of her."

"Yes. I thought it was time I got out of blacks, and Matthew agrees."

"You mourned Jim for over a year, darling; that's plenty of time. No one who knows you would ever be so rude as to suggest that you put off your widow's weeds too soon."

"And it's still half- mourning, though I am looking forward to wearing that new gown Madame Dumont is making for me at Christmastime."

"Oh, you'll look beautiful. Not that you don't look beautiful now, of course; Matthew obviously thinks so. Turn around so I can unhook you down the back."

Amanda obliged, and as Dotty worked on the many hooks and eyes that fastened the gown in the back, she said, "In fact, I think you could go back into colors even before Christmas."

"I'm happy with these frocks, Mother. They're pretty, they're not too dull and I had an idea that I'd, well, make a sort of second debut with the wine velvet gown come December."

"Oh, of course, I understand… something special for Matthew."

"Yes, something like that."

"Amanda, when Matthew came to rent the room last month – was it only last month? Well, he said he was a friend of Major Macklin's."

"No, I think you misunderstood, Mother. He may have said he knew the unlamented major, which he did, but he never would have claimed to be a friend."

"Oh, well, that makes me feel better, because I wouldn't want Matthew to feel like he'd been betrayed by a friend."

"Set your mind at rest, Mother; they couldn't tolerate each other."

"There, I knew it! I knew Matthew was smart enough to see through Macklin's façade – even if I wasn't."

Amanda, still half unhooked, turned and embraced her mother.

"Oh, Mother, don't distress yourself. You saw what he wanted you to see; he was very good at putting on an act. If he'd worn a placard around his neck saying, "I'm a liar, a murderer and a traitor," he wouldn't have been much use to the secesh, would he?"

"No, no he wouldn't."

"Well, then, that's settled, once and for all, and you don't have any reason to feel bad, do you?"

"No, I don't. Turn around again so I can finish with those hooks."

Amanda obliged. When the frock was off, Amanda untied the tapes that held her hoops around her waist and let the cage crinoline drop to the floor so she could step out of it, leaving her clad only in her undergarments. As slender as she was, she'd chosen not to put on her whalebone corset; now Dotty said, "I'm glad you didn't put on your stays, Amanda; you really don't need them, and they would have been very uncomfortable for all those hours on the train."

"That's why I didn't put them on."

Amanda changed into a warm flannel nightgown and took her hair down, braiding it with deft fingers into a long plait she tied with a bit of ribbon from her dressing table.

"There," she said. " Now, I'm going to bed to sleep for the rest of the day, I hope."

"Good night, darling," Dotty said. "When you wake up, we'll have a good dinner for you and Matthew, and you can tell me all about to your trip to Philadelphia. Since you and Matthew will both be asleep, I think I'll go to church this morning."