Except—therewassomething else. A deafening noise and intense heat.
I slowly lifted my gaze to stare at the wall directly in front of my canopied bed.
What happened after I said good-bye to Dorothy? It didn’t make sense. I never had trouble remembering one day after the next.
I racked my brain, trying to understand. I could recall people sitting around the television, talking about the airplanes being an act of terrorism, comparing it to Pearl Harbor.
The air fled my lungs as I put it all together. Were there more hijacked airplanes? Had one of them crashed into the Pentagon? My father worked near the Department of Defense—could the terrorists have targeted the building? And if so, how many other planes had been hijacked? How many other attacks had occurred?
I placed both of my hands over my mouth, trying hard to put the pieces together.
Had the Pentagon been hit?
Had I died?
There was no way of knowing until I went through the cycle of days again, just like I had done after the Battle of Bull Run. If I didn’t wake up in 2001, then I would know.
It seemed inconceivable. It couldn’t possibly be true. Maybe I’d just been knocked unconscious. Yet the searing pain and heat ... it had felt like it went right through me before everything went black.
A light knock sounded at my door before Saphira entered.The soft smile on her face faltered, and she frowned. “Is something wrong?”
Slowly, I lowered my hands and shook my head. I could not let my fear and uncertainty taint today. I had so much to do, and I didn’t want to worry Papa or hinder our dinner party plans. There had to be an explanation for what happened in 2001.
“Everything is fine,” I told Saphira, forcing myself to smile.
But as I went about my day, the heaviness refused to lift. I’d never felt like this before, like something was terribly wrong. I was unsettled. Whenever I thought about the sudden end to my day yesterday and what it could mean, panic squeezed my heart. I had to remind myself that nothing was lost—not yet—and that I wouldn’t know what had happened for two more days. I had to get through today and tomorrow before my questions could be answered, so it didn’t pay to worry about it now.
When Papa finally returned home to dress for the dinner party, I had been able to distract myself enough to set my concerns aside.
“Good evening, Margaret,” he said as he found me in the dining room, making sure the table was set to my specifications. I loved the order and precision of a well-set table, just like the order and precision of an operating room. “You look lovely.” He kissed my cheek.
I was wearing the dark-green silk gown he favored, with wide hoops. The neckline dropped off the shoulders, and small sleeves complemented my thin arms. Saphira had styled my hair parted down the middle in a low chignon. She’d tucked one of my mother’s emerald-studded hair combs in the back, matching my long emerald earrings, and I wore a pair of black lace gloves.
“Good evening, Papa,” I said as I accepted his kiss. “How was your day?”
His eyes sparkled with interest. “Rose Greenhow was arrested!”
“What?” I straightened, frowning. “What do you mean?”
“It has become increasingly evident that we lost the Battle of Bull Run because our enemies knew of our plans.”
“Yes, I know.”
“President Lincoln hired Allan Pinkerton and his men to watch for spies when he first came to Washington. Mr. Pinkerton confirmed that the Southern spy was sending information to the Confederates in Richmond, so he put his men on the case. They have been working night and day to locate the spy, and they’ve found her!”
“Rose Greenhow is a spy?”
“Pinkerton’s agents traced leaked information to her house. And while searching her home, they found evidence that she tried to burn, including scraps of coded messages and reports she was preparing for her handler. She also had maps of Washington’s fortifications and military movements.”
My eyes grew wider with each bit of evidence.
“The worst part,” he said, dropping his voice, “is that Pinkerton’s men found numerous love letters from Henry Wilson among Mrs. Greenhow’s personal papers.”
“Senator Wilson?” I blinked several times. “He was really having an affair with Rose?”
“That’s how it appears. He probably inadvertently gave her information about Bull Run, which she leaked to Richmond. It sounds like she might have been having liaisons with several men throughout the government, possibly even someone in the War Department.”
My heart felt like it stopped beating. I had suspected as much, but it still shocked me. “The War Department?”
