The Better Angels: Hearts Touched by Fire, Book 4

eat, saving more for the wounded, as well as work a heavy load. Makes me wonder whatever drove Madame Dix to push to get you involved.”
Ada swallowed and savored the honey coating it left in her mouth. “She is not a madame, Will.”
He cocked his head, brow raised. “Isn’t she? I heard she requires ladies to be elderly, plain looking and dull.”
She shot him a look. He thought she was old?
He caught it. “Oh, don’t get your feathers ruffled. You are well below her elderly rate of thirty…She must be getting desperate. Or, knowing you, you pushed her.”
How could she tell him she’d tried to get on as a surgeon, or even a hospital steward, only to have the Secretary of War direct her down to Miss Dix’s room for recruiting women nurses? She knew she was eight years shy of the thirty mark, but her determination and her medical training persuaded the woman to relent and let her go. Of course, there were several younger ladies allowed to go as well. Will was correct. After close to three years of bloodshed, the need for nurses grew.
“I persuaded her that my skills were slightly more involved than simple household ailments.” She shrugged, gobbling down the last bite. “Where did you get the honey? The medical stores held none for consumption.”
Will’s lips thinned when he rolled them in and glanced away. “It is possible that I, too, may have a few tricks up my sleeve.”
She frowned but he said no more. Eventually, she’d find out, because he always shared with her. Her mind scrambled with ideas. He had a sweet tooth but honey also held a good potential to ward off infections if the wound was laced with it. Every housewife would use it. Question she had was, there was war all around them. Had he hidden this all along? She opened her mouth to ask when he promptly shut her down.
“So, let me take a gander here, and please, correct me if I’m mistaken, but,” he started. “You diving into work makes one wonder if you received a note from home, or,” he paused. “That vermin in the west.”
Revived and now irritated, she stood, straightening her skirts. “Will, not now.”
He snarled, “I knew it! Ada, what is it going to take for you to realize he’s an outrageous liar and no good?”
Anger flared inside her, her blood in flames. “How dare you! You have no reason to give us half a thought.”
“I beg your pardon,” he shot back, the words dripping in sarcasm. “Why are you here, Ada? This isn’t a place for a lady, nor for one love-struck on a jack—”
“Doctor, I would stop, here, and now, while we’re are still on speaking terms,” she seethed back. She inhaled deeply, trying to control her breathing and saw he, too, panted, his face red with anger. “What would you have me do, Will? Go home?”
He calmed. She saw the rigid stance relax. “Yes. There is nothing more than blood and war here. Not a place for a proper lady.”
Ada shook her head. She’d heard that for years. Particularly in medical school. “We both know I’m needed here.”
With a step toward her, Will took her hands, his face contorted. “So do the women and children at home. Did you think they would fair well without medical aid? People are sick at home, too.”
The familiar argument. Women doctors resigned to only seeing women and children. She thought Will saw the bigger portrait of this conflict. Now, she knew better.
“Will, I am here to help. Those soldiers, those men, need help in ways that surpass all you and the other surgeons can handle. Dorothea Dix saw that, and for that, she has helped the army medical staff beyond their recognition.” She bit her lower lip, the next few words a sting she had to endure. “Perhaps Richard is part of the reason I joined, but frankly, I can also put that blame on you, too. They need help, and in the worst way. I’ll stay, until it is done.” Or I perish, she thought abysmally. Nurses received low wages, were provided no provisions and pushed to give part of their earnings to care for the sick. But she was determined to survive.
It was that moment, when their heated argument cooled, that another officer entered.
“Excuse me, Surgeon Leonard, Nurse Lorrance.”
Instantly, Will released her hands and she quickly pulled them back. It was Major Surgeon Jonathan Letterman. Ada gulped.
Letterman gave them a stern look. “I understand we’ve had a heated discussion, or so I was told. As to the truth or not, I cannot have that between my nurses and surgeons. We are all under pressure to care for these wounded souls, so tempers can be short. Among my surgeons, I expect protocol of an officer. Among my nurses,” he eyed her. “I expect gentility, fortitude and duty. Are we clear on that understanding?”
She bit her tongue from arguing she was more than qualified to aid beyond bedpans, wound cleansing and fever reduction and nodded. Will murmured, “Yes, sir.”
Letterman walked past them, toward the back of the walled hospital tent. “We are moving our facilities back, toward another farmstead. The main house is sufficient for better surgical conditions and the upper floors, along with the outlying buildings should suit our operations well.” He spun on his heel. “General Meade is pushing another assault on the morrow, so we need to move supplies and as many patients as we can, as our position is precarious here.”
“Yes, Major,” they both answered.
“And keep your ‘discussions’ to a minimum. The last thing I need right now is to remove either of you as the Union needs your assistance in the worst way.” He gave them a curt nod. Ada could see the smile he fought to hide. As if they were children in the pantry and he caught them with the cookies in hand. “Get to work. Dawn will arrive shortly.”
After Letterman left, Will gave her a glance. His