The Loyal Heart Read Online Free PDF Page A

in battle. They’d all done things in captivity they’d never imagined they would do before they’d donned a uniform.
    Visibly uncomfortable with his silence, the housekeeper spoke a little faster. “I mean, six months before General Lee signed that treaty, well, things were already a foregone conclusion. No Yankee cared about what a Confederate lieutenant had to say. And especially not one locked up on an island.” She looked at him worriedly. Practically begging him to reassure her. “Don’tcha think?”
    She was wrong, of course. Their enemy had cared about everything they knew. Then there were guards who cared about nothing other than recriminations.
    Though they were treated with a light hand compared to the atrocities of Andersonville or even in some of the other Union prisons, their guards hadn’t been especially kind to them. Why, once word got out about the horrors of the treatment in the Confederate prisons, their rations had been cut in half. Hunger and cold had been constant companions.
    Robert now knew any confinement was debilitating. “I couldn’t begin to guess.”
    She waved an impatient hand. “Whatever the reason, it would help Mrs. Markham if you kept the gossip you hear to yourself. I promise, nothing you could say will sway the gossipmongers, and it ain’t anything she hasn’t heard before.”
    “Understood.”
    Her face cleared then, seeming to come to a decision. “We’re pleased you’re here, whatever the reason, Mr. Truax. We serve supper at six and breakfast at seven. Don’t be late.”
    “No, ma’am.”
    “Charmer,” Robert heard her say under her breath as she walked out of the room.
    The moment the door closed behind her, he strode to the desk, found a letterhead, envelope, ink, and quill, and sat down to collect his thoughts. Though he would have preferred to simply telegraph his progress, he couldn’t risk anyone discovering his real mission. His job was to get to know Phillip Markham’s widow, ascertain how she was truly doing after her husband’s death, and make whatever changes he could to ease her life. Then he was to leave and go on about his life—unless Monroe summoned him for another assignment.
    This duty had seemed so easy when he learned its details from their former captain. His mission had felt cut-and-dried. He’d been certain he would have been able to remain carefully distant, even if she had known from the beginning that he served with Phillip. He’d imagined he would feel nothing more than pity for her. After all, she was merely one of hundreds—if not thousands—of women struggling to reconfigure their lives without husbands by their sides.
    But from the moment she’d entered the room and he’d caught sight of her beauty and heard her slow drawl, he’d been mesmerized. Then he’d noticed that her eyes were a curious shade of blue—almost lavender in color. And that they were framed by dark circles, illustrating her lack of sleep and an abundance of worry and stress. His heart had been lost.
    Miranda Markham was a woman in need of a savior. And though he was no heavenly angel, he was determined to do what he could to make her life easier. The first step in making that happen was to gain her trust. A tall order when he was beginning with a lie.
    With bold strokes, Robert wrote that he had arrived, made contact, and would be in touch with an update soon.
    For the first time since he’d come to terms with the outcome of the war, Robert had a new goal, a reason to step out into society, and, for once, to look forward to another day.

    “He’s a right one, he is,” Winnie declared when she stepped inside the kitchen. “At least six feet of muscle and brawn, all wrapped up in a handsome package.”
    Belle Harden glanced up from the pot of chowder she was stirring. “Who is?”
    “Our new boarder,” Winnie said as she trotted into the room, looking much like a pigeon. She was round and gray haired. By turns sharp and nurturing. Belle had