"Were you men at Shiloh?" she blurted, and the young man still on the front porch gave a grim nod of his head.
"Yes, ma'am, we were. But that was a while back."
Sudden understanding was a relief. Of course. That explained it. Most of the men who participated in the reenactments were very serious about it. They lived in tents like those long-ago soldiers, ate the same kind of food, sang the same songs, and even tried to talk as the Civil War soldiers would have.
"Well," Amanda said with a smile, "you're very believable. I suppose you're on the way to reenact that Brice's Cross Roads battle I read about."
Instead of returning her smile, the young man only looked bewildered as he glanced uncertainly at the man behind Amanda. She felt a heavy hand descend upon her shoulder, and iron fingers dug into her skin.
"It would be much better if you were to go back inside with my sister," a male voice growled in her ear. "She'll fix you a cup of dandelion tea or something."
"Really," she began angrily, "I've had about enough of this nonsense-"
When his hand tightened, she reacted instinctively. Lifting her foot, she slammed her heel hard against his instep, and was rewarded with instant release and a muffled curse. A guffaw burst from one of the mounted men, but was quickly stifled. Amanda was aware of the amused stares in their direction, and her indignation swelled.
" 'Scuse me, miss," a deeply gruff voice rang out, "but what do you know of Brice's Cross Roads?"
Turning, Amanda saw that the man holding a plumed hat had ridden close to the porch. He leaned on the pommel of his saddle, fixing her with an intense gaze. She stared back, bewildered by another shock of recognition. The small dark beard, the deep-set brooding eyes-where had she seen that face before?
"I-I'm sorry?" she mumbled. "I don't know what you mean…"
"I can say the same, miss. And I'll ask you agin-what do you know of Brice's Cross Roads? Was your husband there?"
"My husband has been dead for over a year." Her words came out in a choked whisper that had nothing to do with Alan's death and everything to do with the growing suspicion that she was being confronted by some kind of weird cult
The bearded man with the plumed hat apparently misunderstood. He nodded gravely. "I'm deeply sorry for your loss, Mrs.-"
Clearing her throat, she interrupted. ' 'Look, I was referring to a battle fought there during the Civil War by Forrest and-" She jerked to a halt. Forrest. That's who this man reminded her of-the drawing she'd seen of Nathan Bedford Forrest. Blinking, she asked, "Are you supposed to be General Forrest?"
A faint smile curled the man's mouth. "At last muster, 1 was indeed thought to be named such."
She put a hand to her temple to still the steady, dull throb. "This is all so confusing-is it too much to hope that you're just looking for a place to camp for the night?"
"As a matter of fact, we are," the Forrest imitator replied in a weary tone. "But I would surely like to know how you've already heard of the battle at Brice's Cross Roads, for we're still chasin' those Yanks back toward Memphis."
Amanda ignored the suspicion that was fast becoming conviction and said instead, "There's an empty field behind the house where the barns used to be. You can camp there, but clean up your mess afterward, please."
"Excuse me, dear," the soft-voiced woman said at her elbow, "but I think you're confused. Why don't you allow me to fix you a cup of tea and we'll talk?"
"I don't want tea. I don't want to talk. And I'm not confused." Amanda fought a wave of panic. The woman named Deborah was smiling and murmuring what were obviously meant to be reassurances, and Amanda's tension mounted. Had she somehow managed to travel back in time? No, that was impossible. Time travel involved huge machines and mad scientists, or experiments gone awry, not something as normal and mundane as fainting. It just wasn't possible. Was it?
With a hand at her throat, she asked hoarsely, "What day is this?"
Deborah glanced at the man named Jesse, and he gave a terse nod of his head. Looking back at her, Deborah replied softly, "Why, it's June 12."
"And-and the year?"
Even more softly, "1864."
Amanda's head whirled, and her nausea increased. She reached out blindly for something to support herself, and Deborah took her arm as she swayed.
"Captain Jordan," the man she thought must be Forrest said in an authoritative tone, "it looks like this young lady's been recent witness to the violence of battle. Since she's prob'ly even met up with some of the fleeing Yanks, that'd explain her knowledge of our actions. Best let her rest a while."
"I didn't think of that," Deborah was murmuring as she took Amanda by the arm. "Poor thing-you must have been terrified. Tell us where your home is, and we'll try to get you there when you're rested enough."
Amanda managed to rally slightly. "Since I'm a Brandon, I-I suppose I still belong here."
"You're a Brandon?" Jesse Jordan repeated with a skeptical lift of his brows that was infuriating.
"Yes, but you're obviously not-"
Deborah said quickly, "Jesse's my brother from Memphis and not often a visitor here. I'm sorry no one properly greeted you, my dear, but we didn't know you were coming. Jamie never said anything about a relative arriving anytime soon. But you know how it is these days, with communication by post so slow and often impossible."
"That's true enough." Amanda tried to think of something to say that would make sense of a situation that was too fantastic to credit being real, but nothing came to mind. Shrugging, she said, "This is all so unexpected."
"General Forrest," Jesse growled, "I think this young woman should be questioned at length. It's my opinion she's a Yankee sympathizer."
"Yankee? Wait a minute," Amanda said, suddenly afraid she would end up in a Southern prison. "I was born in Holly Springs, even though I live in Memphis now. I'm every bit as much a Southerner as any of you, but-"
"Just a moment," Forrest interrupted. "You say you live in Memphis?"
"Yes. Why?"
He leaned forward, fixing her with a steady stare. "I'm well aware that Union General Washburn has severely restricted citizens' efforts to leave Memphis, save by his permission. How'd you manage to sneak from the city?"
Realizing she'd somehow blundered, Amanda shook her head. "I didn't sneak out at all. I… I just left."
Forrest's gaze shifted from Amanda. "Captain, your pretty relative has given me an idea. I had my doubts about your success in gaining our objective, but now I think there's a way we can do it. Join me for a discussion, while we let the ladies adjourn to the kitchen and fix us anything that resembles coffee."
The captain looked toward Deborah, who nodded and smiled. "I'll see to our guest, Jesse."
"I'm not sure I want to leave you alone with her," he said bluntly.
Amanda started to retort, but Deborah was shaking her head and saying, "If she's a Brandon, she's no threat to any of us, I assure you. I'd stake my life on that."
Jesse's wary blue gaze moved back to Amanda. "It may come down to that. I don't trust her. Holler if you need me."
"Chauvinist," Amanda muttered as Jesse grabbed a lantern and stepped off the porch. She turned to Deborah. ' 'I have no idea what to do next. This is all new to me, and I'm still trying to figure it out, so you'll have to help."
Deborah gave her a rather startled glance and did not reply as she led the way back down the candlelit hallway toward the kitchen. Or toward where the kitchen had once been. A breezeway now connected the kitchen to the main house, not the pantry she was used to.