One Wore Blue by Heather Graham Read Free Book Online Page A

again.
    Jesse Cameron was back in her life. He’d ridden in just when she needed him most. He could have captured the man, except that he had thrown himself upon her to save her from a deadly fall.
    In his dark clothing, he blended into the foliage, even as the sun unerringly began to rise. She heard rustling and knew that he had found his way back up the cliff. But she was certain, as he had been, that the man was long gone. The cliff rose all the way to Jefferson’s Rock, where Thomas Jefferson had surveyed the area, and on to the cemetery; it was hard, rugged ground. But there were numerous other ways down, and even a stranger to the area would have found them by now.
    She felt her cheeks grow warm, and she pressed her hands to them tightly. Jesse. He shouldn’t have been there, but he was. He lacked Anthony’s manners, perhaps, but manners weren’t necessary to save her life.
    She turned and quickly hurried back toward the house. Lacey was waiting for her by the back door. “Kiernan! Oh, thank heaven! What happened? Who was that man in the yard? Why, I almost came out with the rolling pin, except that you were on top of him and you seemed to know him. Really, Kiernan, that wasn’t at all proper behavior if you did know him—or if you didn’t,” Lacey mused worriedly. “But then, what difference does it make? You’re back here, and you’re safe—and you do know him, don’t you, dear?”
    “Yes. Oh, Lacey, something very big is going on. Youknow him too. It was Jesse—Jesse Cameron, one of our neighbors back home.”
    “What’s he doing here?”
    “An alarm went on via the night train. He didn’t explain everything. Some general sent faim here. There will be troops soon.”
    “But why?” Lacey began. “Oh dear, yes! He’s a doctor, isn’t he? Still serving in the military. Oh, my goodness!” She stared at the Colt in Kiernan’s hand. “Can’t we put that thing away somewhere?”
    “I think I’d like to have it close.”
    “Those men aren’t coming back,” Lacey said with confidence.
    “How can you be sure?”
    “Come with me.” Lacey led Kiernan through the house to the front, where the shattered glass still lay before the door. “Look,” Lacey said, pointing through the door.
    Kiernan looked down the street. A crowd had gathered outside the arsenal buildings now. Armed men were milling in the streets. Someone was in charge, and shouting was going on.
    “It’s all out in the open now,” Lacey murmured.
    Kiernan heard footsteps on the wooden sidewalk to their right and swung around quickly. One of Lacey’s neighbors, Mr. Tomlin, was hurrying along. He carried a rifle and was speaking to his sixteen-year-old, Eban, who followed behind him. “Give me some more o’ them nails, boy.” He stopped in front of Lacey and Kiernan. “Don’t that beat all, ladies? We produce guns here, and just when you want it, there ain’t no ammunition to be bought. But heck, that’s all right. We’ll nail ’em just the same, eh?” He winked at Kiernan, and she saw that he was loading his rifle with nails.
    “Mr. Tomlin,” she murmured, “what are you doing?”
    “There’s a rebellion in the streets, Miss Mackay, ain’t you seen?” He stared at her for the first time and saw her torn and ragged gown and the tufts of grass that stuck to her hair. “Bejesu, Miss Mackay, are you all right?”
    Kiernan nodded as Lacey answered for her.
    “She’s fine now! But she wasn’t so terribly fine an hour ago!”
    “They tried to take you! They tried to take you too!” Eban Tomlin said, staring at Kiernan with awe.
    “Who else did they try to take?” Kiernan demanded tensely.
    “Try? Why, they got all kinds of people. They got the mayor! And the master armorer. And they even rode five miles out and got Colonel Lewis Washington, George Washington’s kin! They say as how Colonel Lewis had things belonging to George, and John Brown wanted those things,” Eban said excitedly. “’Course, Brown