“Thank you,” she said as she stood, only to find herself so very close to him her heart skipped. “I will be ready if he calls.”
For a moment, he just stared at her and then he leaned over and kissed her. Abigail was too surprised to do anything but grab hold of his coat to steady herself. It was over quickly and when he leaned back she rapidly let go of his coat. He just smiled, lightly stroked her cheek, and walked out.
Abigail just stared at the door wondering what that had been all about. Was it just a sign of friendship or was he interested in her as a man was often interested in a woman? Since he had just left her there she had no answer. Shaking her head, she decided she would not think about it for it was sure to drive her mad.
She went into the room where the women were. Only a few were left although Abigail thought it a little early to go to bed. She located Julia sitting on a small settee and sat down next to the woman. Julia had a man she called her beau so maybe she could help. Abigail was just not sure she wanted to share the tale of the kiss as it suddenly seemed to be a very private thing.
“So what did Lieutenant MacEnroy want?” Julia asked.
“He just thought I should know that the doctor at the infirmary was impressed with the work I did on Boyd’s wounded arm and might stop by to ask if I wish to help sometime.”
“You know nursing?”
“I suppose you could say I do. My father was a doctor and he was always teaching me things. After looking at the wound the doctor must have decided I could be of some help as an aide.”
“Will you say yes if he comes and asks?”
“Why wouldn’t I if he really thinks I can help?”
Julia looked torn between fascination and horror. “Well, there would be wounded men and all the mess that goes with it and some of the men may be, um, indecent at some time.”
“And I suspect that is the sort of thing that the doctor would be shielding me from. He may not even ask so no need to worry over something that might not happen. But if he thinks I can help some of the wounded soldiers, how can I refuse?”
“I guess you can’t. Oh, I must tell you that you really annoyed Mrs. Beaton by feeding the children first, especially since she could not really say anything about it.”
Julia looked so pleased that Abigail decided she must see it as a good thing. Abigail was not so sure it was but had no inclination to change what she saw as neglect. She just hoped Mrs. Beaton did not find subtle ways to make her pay for what the woman must see as disobedience.
“I hope I have not made things awkward.”
“Why did you decide to do that?”
“Because they were being treated almost as an afterthought, like the dog that needs feeding or the like. They have been deeply frightened and wounded. Little Noah lost his parents, a sister, a brother, and even his puppy. Somehow it just seemed wrong.” She sighed, leaned back, and stared up at the ceiling, which she noticed had some very elaborate plasterwork. “I just thought it wrong, that someone should take some notice of them.”
“Oh, I think they will now.”
“Why not before?”
“It clearly does not strike you, but Mrs. Beaton is a very formidable presence. We have all fallen into her habits and her ways and she has little to nothing to do with the children. She occasionally has a moment or two of fawning over the little girl, but that is all. I do not believe she likes the little boys much at all. Some have made mention of the fact that the children are ignored, but no one dares say so to her or act in any way that might offend her.”
“I suspect I will be offending her fine senses a lot then.” She smiled faintly when Julia laughed.
* * *
Matthew stepped outside and looked back at the door of the Woman’s House. Her mouth had been as soft and sweet as he had thought it would be. It was probably reckless to kiss her as he did, but he had been unable to stop thinking about her mouth and thus unable to resist the temptation to taste it when it was so close. What troubled him was that he knew now he would want another taste and more.
It was early to seek his bed, but if he was going to do some thinking whether he wanted to or not, he might as well do it while lying on his back. Under the blankets was a lot warmer than wandering outside now that winter had settled into the chilly, damp night air. He suspected his mind would wind about in circles but he could not stop it from preying on the matter of Miss Abigail Jenson.
Slapping his hat on his head and doing his coat up tightly against the cold, he started to walk back to where he had his bunk. Reminding himself that Abigail was a proper girl despite the fact that she could shoot better than most of them, deal with wounds so well her work impressed a doctor, and was plainspoken, she was not one of the girls at the saloon. He knew that reminder would not keep him away, however. He had to stop dancing around and really think of what he might want from her. One did not play love games with a girl like Abigail unless one was serious, and he was not sure just how serious he was.
Chapter Four
Looking up from her sewing, Abigail frowned as Julia slipped into the house. The woman looked extremely untidy, as if it was storming out, but a glance out the window told Abigail the weather was calm. There was a twig caught in Julia’s badly mussed hair and what appeared to be grass stains on her skirts. Considering the snow on the ground, she had to wonder where the girl had been. To her surprise, Julia snatched Abigail’s cape off the hook by the door, put it on, and walked over to sit down next to her.
“What have you been up to?” Abigail asked as she continued her sewing.
“I just went out walking with Robert.”
“Oh. It rather looked as if you fell down.” A quick glance caught the deep flush on Julia’s face.
