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TARA STOOD STILL, for a ht he&039;d said Maybe her fear of discovery was becos
She stared back at hi that she would show no emotion
There were others of her kind; she knew that And that "her kind" caenerations before, and had inherited certain traits Herthat she had known, that she had learned from Tara&039;s father Tara had never actually met another of "her kind," but she knew that sos, and she often felt an eht know them She had sisters and brothers and?
And a father
Finn was staring at her She tried to stare back at hi her lips
"Yes," Finn told her "I said exactly that-I knohat you are"
She waved a hand in the air "A Southerner?"
He laughed "Well, that would be true, too, I iine No, I knohat you really are Half-breed Blood-sucker Vaht call you a succubus, demon or lamia What they call you doesn&039;t matter"
She shook her head, incredibly wary of the man who seemed to have her at his h she hadShe could have escaped hiht, too, but for Richard
"No tricks," he told her
"I don&039;t knohat you&039;re talking about," she assured hih the foliage in their chase "I&039;ry men who just lost their ship co you, neither of us is a spy And neither of us is an assassin"
"You&039;re both blockade runners"
"Richard is a hed "Of course Butarms at times of war are by definition blockade runners I am a tremendous believer in due process of law If you co will happen to either of you on my watch So, if you value your friend&039;s life" He let his voice trail and indicated she begin walking
Tara did so She turned and beganher best to make sure that every branch she passed slapped back into his face
He didn&039;t say a word, he siht the branches
She let her words trail over her shoulder at hiet us into a puppet ed"
"If you&039;re innocent, you have nothing to fear"
"You&039;re looking for someone called Gator I&039;m not Gator Richard isn&039;t Gator There&039;s no reason that you should suspect either of us as your man"
"We&039;ll see, won&039;t as all he replied
"You should be worried, you know," she said smoothly
"Oh?"
"Lamia! You see me now, but I&039;ll turn to s around your side, seeking your jugular vein"
"That&039;s always possible"
"You should tremble You shouldn&039;t pushflesh Please keep "
As she walked, she became aware of the shouts and instructions of the other Unionvoice, and then others that rang back and forth as they scurried to obey the commander
Tara quickened her pace Finn Dunne hurried behind her
When she at last neared the little copse where she had left Richard, she ran the last few steps
She raced by the last tree Froboats up on the beach, and that they were being sent out to gather firewood
There seemed to be a lot of them
Tara slid down to her knees at Richard&039;s side His eyes were still closed; he had barely moved But a quick check assured her that he was still breathing His pulse even ticked a little stronger than before
Finn Dunne was down beside her He couldease, especially for a nore him, but could not
"Richard Anderson," he said
"Yes, his name is Richard Anderson"
"And your name is?"
"Tara Tara Fox"
"What?" His tone was so sharp that it stunned her
She looked at him His features were hard and tense; his eyes see as he stared at her They were such unusual eyes
"Tara Fox," she repeated
To her surprise, his eyes said he knew her name
"Look, I don&039;t knohat inforiven, but you&039;re mistaken into stop any evil being done to theleadership when it&039;s ti at me like that I aetting to his feet
As he did so, a loud shout rose in the air
"Dunne! Agent Dunne! Are you here?"
Tara touched Richard&039;s face gently and rose, as well On the beach, she counted tentheir boats
The others had their guns at the ready
"Here!" Finn Dunne called out "I have the survivors from the Rebel ship They&039;re unar a sudden surge of anxiety The Union uns blazing This man had prevented that She could only pray that the Pinkerton meant his words, that they wouldn&039;t be harmed
In her heart, she honestly believed that most men were honorable Union men would not murder a man in cold blood And yet, despite the decency and courtesy displayed by commanders on both sides, horrible murders had occurred While she understood that John Brown had wanted to ainst slavery, he had in fact committed murder-and in the Kansas and Nebraska territories, men had committed murder in retaliation
Wasn&039;t war just sanctifiedThe philosophy ofshe could solve, and certainly not at this moment
Please, God, don&039;t let theh the trees She thought that she recognized him-that bit of scruffy beard on his chin-but he was so covered in soot that she couldn&039;t be sure He looked at Tara with surprise, his brows shooting up Then he looked at the ent
"Sir!" the youngup on the beach, sir Captain Tremblay set off a flare, and he says we can expect a Union ship by tomorrow There are always ships ready towith surprise toward Tara He gasped suddenly "Tara!"
"Billy Seabold?" she asked
Billy nodded
"You two know each other?" Finn asked sharply
Billy nodded "Well, a bit, anyway" He scrambled to take off his military jacket, and offered it to Tara
"I&039;m fine, thank you, really"
"Please, Miss Fox, allow ht to refuse would be rude, and so she accepted the jacket Dunne was looking fro his head over the naivety of youth-in hiscomfort to a venomous snake
Finn cleared his throat
"Ohoh! If you&039;ll follow me to the beachfront, please?" Billy said
Tara hunkered back down by Richard Finn lowered hi her aside with the breadth of his shoulders "I will take him," Finn said
"He&039;s-he&039;s my friend My brother, really," she added softly "I will tend to hi how you have the strength of tenher eyes He could, if he chose, kill her-he kne Why didn&039;t he? Was he actually decent in his way, loathe to murder without the facts established?
Finn took care as he lifted Richard&039;s for the man&039;s head rested in the crook of his arm Tara rose with him and followed the upwood for a fire
An elderlyout the orders
"Captain Treent Dunne is here, sir! With the, um, the Rebs," Billy said
Treent Dunne Are these the culprits you meant to apprehend?" Tremblay asked
"It&039;s hard to know for certain, sir, until I&039;hly, and as you can see, this one is scarcely in shape for questioning"
Tremblay looked at Richard, still in Dunne&039;s arms
"He lives?" Treood doctor see to him, then," Tremblay said "MacKay! Doc MacKay! We&039;ve a man in need of your tender touch, sir!"
One of thehient Dunne? Billy, I&039;ll need so soldier said
Finn Dunne walked with the doctor and beneath the canvas tarp that had been lifted about fifty yards in from the shoreline There were already blankets spread out beneath it, along with a captain&039;s portable desk; the men of the Union ship had known they were in trouble, and they had salvaged all that they could
"Fresh waterthe others
Tara found herself longing to follow, and yet, under the scrutiny of Captain Treentle man, and she wondered hoent to war, and watched everything that happened around him, and still maintained that sensibility
"So," he said, "you&039;re our culprit You&039;re from Key West, child?"
"My name is Tara Fox," she told hi harent Finn Dunne I&039;d love to give hi face!
"Tara Fox" the captainat her speculatively
"Seminole Pete is a dear friend," she told him
Tremblay smiled "I don&039;t frequent the taverns of the island, my dear Mine is to set an exa what she was supposed to do No one seemed ready to tie her up or confine her Maybe they realized that she would beno escape attempts when Richard Anderson was in their care
Or, perhaps, they didn&039;t think that she was capable
Tara s; she didn&039;t believe that she had fallen into the hands of cold-blooded murderers "Sir, I pro down ru man now in your care, Richard Anderson, is like a brother"
"Your young &039;brother&039; is one hell of a seaman, Miss Fox And, I admit, I wish that he were on races, asa home for the fish"
"He is not a man who seeks to harm others"
"He&039;s a blockade runner," Tremblay said flatly "Let me rephrase-was a blockade runner"
"You will never be able to prove that Richard is anything other than awoman, do I look like a fool?" Tremblay demanded
She shook her head "No, sir, you don&039;t I es everything, doesn&039;t it?" he said plainly
"What will you do with us?" Tara asked politely, switching tactics
"Well, had I just brought down the ship, I&039;d have seen that you were held at the fort, confined until this weary bloodbath lient Dunne, and I believe it&039;s his pleasure that you be brought to the capital"
"Sir, we are not the cold-blooded killers he thinks us to be," she said
"The problem ar is that it makes cold-blooded killers out of all of us, now, doesn&039;t it?" Tremblay asked "Never mind, child, the weary philosophy of an old tar I believe you are standing there anxiously awaiting a chance to see to the welfare of your young seaave hirateful nod and headed for the tarp A pallet had been set up for Richard Doc MacKay was down on his knees And seeing that Richard had come to, she let out a little cry of joy and slid down next to theood rap to the head"
"Richard!" Tara said happily He looked at her, his face still ashen He tried to sht her hand "Thanks, ot hihtly, just i what she must have looked like in her tattered, salt-, sandand debris-covered clothing, and sodden hair plastered to her face
"I&039; swimmer," Tara said
"So you must be," MacKay said "I don&039;t believe there&039;sto the skull-I can find no crack or rift-and I believe that Mr Anderson will make a full recovery Rest is in order now, but as we are awaiting rescue, rest can be easily procured" He looked at Tara again "What about you? You must be thirsty, my dear"
She suddenly realized how thirsty she was For water, at the ratefully After drinking a long s of cool freshwater, she looked at the doctor, as studying her in return She felt a flush coreater kindness than I expected"
"This is a herein fathers fight sons, and sons fight brothers The intent is not to torture others, just to bring the conflict to an end" He grinned, and she liked his grin "Besides, I have taken an oath to save lives," he reminded her
"The truth, however, will be known"
Tara hadn&039;t seen Finn Dunne return to stand near Richard&039;s head beneath the tarp, but she knew the sound of his voice instantly