Chapter 3

After they finished their meal, Matthew suggested a Sunday stroll, and Amanda agreed. She went upstairs to put on her bonnet and get a shawl in case the wind turned cold while Matthew told Tom and Molly that he was taking her out for a walk; when she came down he settled the shawl on her slender shoulders, letting his hands rest there for just a bit longer than was necessary to make sure it wouldn't slide off, and then offered her an arm.

"Shall we promenade, Madame?" he asked.

"I'd love to, Major."

At the end of her road, he asked, "Which way?"

"Let's go toward the High Street."

They crossed the High Street and soon found themselves on the same block as the Rosemont house, which was now the home of Colonel and Mrs. Harry V. Thornton.

"I'm really looking forward to meeting Colonel and Mrs. Thornton," she said as they walked toward the house.

"I think you'll like them. Shall we call?"

"On a Sunday afternoon, without notice, when they've just moved in?"

"In other words, no."

"No."

"See, I need you around to keep me in line with the social graces; otherwise, I act like the Illinois farm boy I really am."

The look she sent him made him burst out laughing. "Oh, Amanda, I do love teasing you."

They were about to walk past the Thornton house when a very distinguished man in his early fifties, his face covered in a full beard and mustache, came out the front door.

"Matthew! Major Davis! Front and center and bring the lady, young man!"

"I think you're about to meet Colonel Thornton after all," Matthew said.

"So it would seem."

Thornton came down the front steps and met them on the street, his face all smiles. Like Matthew, he was in his second-best 'undress' uniform; Matthew saluted, as courtesy required, Thornton returned the salute, and then he extended a hand to Amanda and said, "Mrs. Bishop, it's an honor. Harry V. Thornton, ma'am, at your service."

"Welcome to Georgetown, Colonel."

"Thank you. I understand you were instrumental in helping us catch some of these Secesh smugglers."

"Yes, she was," Matthew said. "Well, you won't take the credit where it's due, Amanda, so I'll do it for you."

"Are you on your way somewhere or do you have time to come in and meet my wife?" Thornton asked.

"We'd love to meet Mrs. Thornton, Colonel," Amanda said. When Matthew shot her a 'oh, now it's all right, is it?' look, she said, "We've been invited; that changes everything. You see, sir, Matthew suggested we call in, and I said it was too soon, since you've just moved in."

"Very considerate, but as you say, you're invited."

They followed him into the house, where a woman in her late forties, her blonde hair lightly streaked with gray, rose from her chair in what had been Harriet Rosemont's front parlor.

"Molly, my dear, here are Matthew Davis and the lovely Mrs. Amanda Bishop, come to call."

Molly Thornton came over to shake Matthew's hand and then, to Amanda's surprise, kissed her on both cheeks. "It is so good to meet you, my dear," she said. "I've been longing to meet the intrepid Amanda Bishop."

"Hardly that, ma'am."

"Oh, but you are, my dear, and please call me Molly; I think we are going to be good friends."

"I'd like that very much, Molly. I'm Amanda."

"Yes. Come and sit down and we will have what my mother was used to call a 'comfortable coze' while the men talk about Army things. Better yet, let me give you a tour of the house."

"I'd like that, Molly; when I was here earlier, I only saw the morning room and the schoolroom; I didn't rate the parlor. Mrs. Rosemont was very conscious of her social standing and knew exactly how to treat inferiors."

"No doubt," Molly said dryly. "And she considered just about anyone except those in her social circle her inferior, I suspect."

"Oh, yes."

Nearly an hour had passed before Matthew and Amanda left the Thorntons' house; on the way back to Amanda's house, she said, "They are lovely people, aren't they, Matthew? I'm so glad he's been reassigned to the War Department."

"Yes, he's going to be a real asset to the intelligence effort, I think."

"And she's very warm and personable, not like some senior officers' wives I've known."

"I thought you'd like her. What shall we do for the rest of the day? I don't have any socks for you to mend, we've had dinner and even coffee and cake at the Thorntons', and I'm off duty for once."

"Then suppose we go back to the house and you do something you hardly ever do – just sit, relax, read the newspaper, even doze off in your chair."

"My chair, is it now?"

"Yes."

"And what will you do?"

"Read or sew, most likely; I have to have something to do with my hands, you see, and there are several small sewing projects I have in mind."

"That sounds suspiciously like work, Amanda. What if you were to just sit, relax, read the newspaper, even doze off in your chair?" he said, quoting her own words back at her.

"I …yes, I could do that, couldn't I?"

"Yes, you can, and you should. You're making good progress toward not looking like a wraith, but more effort is needed."

"Are you saying I need to work at not working?"

"Precisely."

"Oh, Matthew, you really are the most absurd man sometimes."

"I know. It's part of my boyish charm."