Chapter Two

Bella

I decided to turn up for my first history class early to get a chance to see if it was the Jasper Whitlock I knew but some of the other students had beaten me to it and were talking in a group when I arrived. I joined them as I heard one of the girls mention his name,

"If I'd known a college professor could look like Jasper Whitlock I'd have signed up for more classes."

"Usually they look like geeks, especially history lecturers but he looks more like one of those gods you see on the front of classical Greek text books. I wonder if he's married."

"If not I'm available and I'm more than willing to take the job."

They all agreed and I posed my own question,

"Where is he? I missed the big entrance, are you sure you girls aren't just guy hungry?"

"Bella, as soon as you see him your tongue will drop out and your heart will skip a beat, trust us. He had to go to the office but he'll be back in a minute so get ready to drool."

"Well come on, someone tell me what he looks like." The Greek statue reference had me almost convinced, the marble skin, the stunning looks...it sounded very much like..."

"Here he is Bella, look."

As they parted so I could get a look at this Adonis I saw a too familiar profile with the same untidy dusty blond hair. I had no idea what my reaction would be to seeing another of the family again but it certainly wasn't this mixture of fear and excitement. I suddenly understood just how much I'd missed them all and also how intimidating Jasper seemed now I knew he was no longer under Alice's calming influence.

"Hello Jasper, long time no see, Alice told me you were traveling but this is the last place I expected to find you."

He turned to look at me with a so familiar face yet there was something very wrong, this wasn't the Jasper Whitlock I knew, this one had brown eyes and a tanned face.

"I'm sorry, have we met before?"

I couldn't speak at first so I just shook my head,

"Sorry, I was mistaken."

His eyes seemed to bore into mine and he looked puzzled but just smiled and I fled to my usual spot at the back of the room. What was going on? It wasn't Jasper but it was his exact human double and they shared the same name, it didn't seem possible. I didn't take in much of the lecture I was too mesmerized by his face but a couple of times I answered questions regarding the Civil War and I saw him watching me. After class he approached as I was leaving,

"Bella could I have a moment?"

"Sure."

I hung back until the others had left and then he invited me to take a seat leaning against his desk in an oh so familiar way. I'd seen Jasper take that stance at the Cullens more than once.

"You thought you knew me and you called me by name. Why?"

I shook my head trying to think of an answer that wouldn't get me locked up.

"I'm not sure, I guess you reminded me of a guy I read about."

Stupid answer Bella, well done!

"Oh? Who?"

"Ah, Major Jasper Whitlock."

He smiled broadly and I saw just how handsome Jasper would have been if he'd ever smiled like that.

"I see, well then we know the same person. Major Whitlock is my ancestor, I was named after him."

"Right."

"You know about him?"

"I wrote a paper at school about him, unsung heroes of the civil war."

"I see, I'd like to see your paper if you have a copy."

Great! How to get out of that one.

"I don't think I have one, my dad threw some old papers out, it was among those I think."

"Oh well maybe you can tell me what you learned about him, we can exchange notes. Do you have time for coffee at lunch break?"

"Ah...yes I guess so."

What a way to get yourself into a predicament Bella Swan...really good!

Lunch wasn't quite as bad as I imagined. Jasper bought me lunch and we sat in a corner while he took out a notebook and pen.

"Just for any facts you found that I missed. I'm a bit of a fanatic about The Major as you can imagine. I spent years researching him, ever since I learned he really existed. I always thought it was a myth made up by the family but then I found him in a book my grandmother left me. Major Jasper Whitlock, the youngest ever Major in the Confederate Army. Sounds great doesn't it."

"They got it wrong, he was even younger, he lied when he joined up."

He smiled at me,

"You really did your homework didn't you? I guess you know all about his command? The way he was supposed to have escorted a group of women and children to safety just before he died."

"Went missing you mean."

"Well he was posted missing presumed dead. They found a lot of unmarked graves after the war, some in that area too."

"And you think he was killed by a Union soldier?"

"Of course, don't you? If not he would have turned up back at the command post. You're not trying to tell me you think he ran? That he was a deserter?"

"Jasper a coward?"

I started laughing, the thought of the Jasper I knew as a coward was hilarious.

"Not the Jasper Whitlock I knew."

I stopped, realizing what I'd said and found him looking at me intently.

"You make it sound as if you actually knew him but then I guess if you've done enough research you do feel close to the person. I wish I'd known him, the man they say he was, a great soldier, a brave man lying in an unmarked grave, it doesn't seem quite right somehow."

"No it doesn't but there are worse ways to end up."

I thought about Jasper's time with Maria and all he'd been through over the years.

"Really? Such as?"

"I didn't mean it like that, I guess its better he died like that than suffered as a prisoner of war."

"You know, I get the impression you feel you knew him, strange as that might be. For me, well I'd like to know the truth, possibly find his body and if his press is true give him a hero's burial."

"I don't think it matters to him any more."

He didn't say anything to that just watched as I finished my roll and coffee and got up to leave before I said anything else that made him suspicious. As I turned to leave he spoke again,

"Who's Alice?"

I looked back,

"Sorry?"

"You mentioned someone called Alice when we first met, I just wondered who she was, after all you thought you knew me, you called me Jasper and you mentioned Alice."

I shrugged,

"I was wrong, it doesn't matter, I have to go."

I cursed myself for my stupidity and spent the next few weeks trying to avoid speaking to him but every lecture left me feeling more uneasy, it felt wrong watching this human version of Jasper talking about the civil war as if he knew about it. His resemblance to the Jasper I knew was uncanny and it gave me goosebumps to look at him. When he asked us to do a paper on unsung heroes of the Civil War he looked directly at me and I knew what he wanted, he wanted me to write the same paper I said I'd written for school.

Now I was in a jam, I knew something about Jasper but not nearly enough yet if I chose someone else to write about he would find it suspicious. As it was he looked at me as if I were something he wanted to dissect. In the end I did the only thing I could, I contacted Alice and explained the situation to her but my email went unread and I got no reply. Now what was I going to do? I looked him up on line but there was very little information only a couple of lines about his rise to command. There certainly wasn't enough to get a paper from. I had no choice but to write my paper on another character and I deliberately chose a Union officer this time, it gave me an excuse when asked why I'd chosen him and I knew I would be. When my paper came back I got a good mark but attached to the front was a note,

"I'm puzzled. Why didn't you write about my namesake?"

The following week he caught up with me in the same cafe and sat down opposite with a cup of coffee for me.

"You've been avoiding me Bella and you never answered my question."

"I've been busy, I have to work to pay the bills and as for the paper, I decided to see things from the other side this time. I didn't think it would be fair to rehash a paper I'd already written."

"I see, well its a shame. I was looking forward to seeing your sources, they might be different from those I found."

"Sorry, I don't remember and I have to go to work."

I scrambled from my seat as he asked another question that stopped me in my tracks,

"How did you know who I was?"

"Sorry?"

"You walked into the room and called me by name as if you knew me. It didn't register until today but you recognized my face, how? There are no photographs of Major Jasper Whitlock so how did you recognize me?"

I didn't answer I just fled but I knew I'd better have an answer when we next met or some explanation and I cursed myself for opening my mouth, Rose had been correct, I was still a danger to the Cullens or at least I could be.