Julia longed to go home to Philadelphia with Congressman Rhodes. But knowing that the doctor would celebrate her departure made her all the more determined to stay. Besides, she couldn’t quit now after the other nurses had just risked their own positions to stand up for her.
“Shall I talk to the Acting Surgeon on your behalf?” Rhodes persisted. “See if I can get you some time off?”
“No, no,” she said quickly. “Getting time off won’t be a problem.” Coming back would be. If she left now, the doctor would never let her through the door again. “Give me time to think about it. I’ll let you know.”
Rhodes opened his mouth as though he might argue with her, then seemed to change his mind. “As you wish, my dear. In the meantime, Mrs. Rhodes insists that you come for dinner on Saturday, and I’m afraid she won’t take no for an answer. She is so eager to see you again.”
“I’d be very happy to come.”
“Splendid. I’ll send a carriage to fetch you at six. Your father told me where you’re staying.”
Her father. Julia’s suspicions had been correct. He was the source of this new campaign to pressure her.
“Tell Mrs. Rhodes I look forward to seeing her.”
On the evening of the dinner at the congressman’s house, Julia dug down to the bottom of her trunk and pulled out the only party gown she’d brought to Washington—and discovered that it was wrinkled beyond wearing. At home she would have given it to the servants to freshen up, but Julia didn’t have any servants. She recalled, yet again, Nathaniel Greene’s accusation that she couldn’t do a thing for herself and hurried downstairs to borrow an iron from the landlady.
The cook was preparing dinner on a blazing hot stove, so Julia worked gingerly, remembering how she had burned a hole in one of the bed sheets with an iron that was too hot. Loretta and Belle had taught her how to test the irons by spitting on her finger and touching it to the metal, and she took care to do this. But the process was long and tedious. The skirt of her gown had yards and yards of fabric in it, and the space she’d been given to work in the hot kitchen was cramped.
When the dress finally looked presentable, Julia raced upstairs again and begged the girl who lived in the room next door for help with her corset laces and hoops. Ironing had taken so long that Julia had to hurry with her hair—and the steamy kitchen had made it so curly it was nearly impossible to tame. Every time she brushed it back to pin into a bun, more loose curls would spring free and fall around her face. There wasn’t time to fix it. She heard the congressman’s carriage arrive.
Julia glanced in the mirror and saw that she didn’t need rouge. Her cheeks were still rosy from working in the hot kitchen. She stuffed her feet into her dainty evening slippers and found they barely fit after spending so much time on her feet at work. She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled to calm herself, then gathered her cloak and purse.
The landlady and all the boardinghouse girls were preparing to sit down for dinner when Julia descended the stairs. They stared at her, openmouthed.
“You look beautiful,” one of them said in awe. “Like a princess in a fairy tale.”
“Thank you.” As the coachman helped Julia with her coat, she saw in the hall mirror that it was the truth. In her gown of pale green silk, which draped flatteringly around her shoulders and bosom, she was a different woman from the prim nurse in the highcollared mud-brown dress.
When she arrived at the congressman’s house it was like entering another universe, worlds away from the dismal hospital and boardinghouse. His home was awash in glimmering candlelight and the sweet aroma of fine food and wine. Soft piano music blended with the distant sounds of laughter and tinkling china and the ring of fine crystal and silver.
“You look lovely, my dear. Simply lovely,” the congressman said in greeting.
Mrs. Rhodes embraced her and kissed her cheek. “Julia, it’s so good to see you again.” A liveried butler took her cloak.
Julia wondered if this was how explorers felt when they returned to civilization after spending months in the wilderness. She was immediately drawn back to her familiar world, to the warmth and music and laughter, like a bird to her beloved nest. She didn’t care what Mrs. Rhodes’ motive was for inviting her, she was simply grateful to be back. Indeed, why had she ever left?
The congressman tucked Julia’s hand beneath his arm as he led her toward the party. “Come, my dear. There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”
She walked with him into the drawing room, exulting in the feel of her billowing hoops and whispering petticoats. There were several other guests in the elegant room, most of them mature couples her parents’ age. But Mr. Rhodes led her to a young man in his mid-twenties, lounging against the fireplace. He gaped at Julia as she approached, wearing a look of surprise on his face that surely matched her own. It had never occurred to her that the congressman would conspire to play matchmaker. She was so astonished she nearly laughed out loud.
“Julia Hoffman, I’d like you to meet Hiram Stone.”
“I’m delighted,” Hiram said, beaming.
“The pleasure is mine.”
He was a very attractive man with light brown hair and a neatly groomed mustache. She watched him bend to set his glass on an end table and saw grace and strength in his tall body. Broad shoulders filled his expensive, hand-tailored suit. But what drew Julia to him irresistibly was his easy smile. Laugh lines curved naturally from the corners of his blue eyes as if his cheerful good nature was habitual. After spending the last few months with a scowling, disheveled doctor and desperately ill patients, it was a refreshing change to be with a man who was healthy and happy.
“Hiram is a graduate of Yale, my alma mater,” Congressman Rhodes said. “He was a first-rate oarsman on their championship crew team.”
“Congratulations,” she said. That explained his athletic build.
“Julia is the daughter of a dear friend of mine in Philadelphia— Judge Philip Hoffman. Since you’re both new to Washington City, I thought you might have something in common.”
Hiram hadn’t taken his eyes off Julia since she’d entered the room. She remembered Dr. McGrath’s crude words about the effect she had on men and couldn’t stop the heat from rushing to her face. But Hiram was a gentleman, unlike the boorish doctor, and she saw only admiration in his eyes. And surprise. When he’d come alone to the dinner party, he’d likely never imagined that his blind date would be so pretty.
“Now, if you’ll please excuse me,” the congressman said, “there’s someone I must see.” He patted Julia’s hand and hurried away to greet another guest.
“He plays the role of Cupid rather well, wouldn’t you say?” Hiram asked with a grin.
Julia couldn’t help smiling in return. “All he lacks is a bow and a quiver of arrows.”
“They’re serving punch over there. Shall we get some?” Hiram took Julia’s elbow as they crossed to a table with punch and hors d’oeuvres. She couldn’t help brushing against him in the crowded room, and the excitement she felt was new and altogether thrilling— so much so that she struggled to make polite conversation.
“What brings you to Washington, Mr. Stone?”
“It’s Hiram. And may I call you Julia?”
“Please do.”
“I’m here on business. My family owns a manufacturing firm in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and I’ve come to negotiate a military contract with the army.”
Julia knew she should show interest in his work and inquire about the nature of his factory, but curiosity overruled her manners at the mention of Hiram’s home state. Dr. McGrath was from Connecticut, too. If she could learn the truth about his mysterious past, perhaps she could use it as ammunition against him. The doctor would never be able to bully her or intimidate her again.
“I’m working for a physician from Connecticut,” she said. “New Haven, in fact. Isn’t that where Yale University is? I wonder if you’ve heard of him by any chance—Dr. James McGrath?”
“Sor
ry, I can’t say that I have. But New Haven is a good-sized city,” he said, smiling, “and I’ve managed to stay healthy enough to avoid doctors. Congressman Rhodes told me earlier that you did nursing work in a military hospital. What made you decide on such an unusual pursuit?”
For a long moment, Julia couldn’t recall the reason. Then she thought of Nathaniel Greene and the unflattering words she’d overheard him saying in this very house. “I guess it all started at Bull Run,” she finally replied. “My uncle and I rode out to watch the battle with Congressman Rhodes. The preparations that the army had made for all the wounded soldiers proved horribly inadequate …and I wanted to help.”
“So you’re not only lovely, you’re kindhearted, as well. I like that.”
“Tell me about your work.”
Hiram spent the next few minutes explaining how his family’s business planned to convert to wartime production once he succeeded in winning the army contract he’d come to negotiate. But Julia found nothing arrogant or boastful in his nature. She thoroughly enjoyed his company and his conversation, and when dinner was finally announced, she was pleased to learn that they’d been placed alongside each other at the dining table. He escorted her to the room and helped with her chair.
To Julia, it seemed as if years had passed since she’d enjoyed such a feast, and she had to remind herself not to bolt down her food the way everyone did at the boardinghouse. She’d learned after her first few meals there that if she didn’t reach and grab and gulp the stingy portions the way the other girls did, she would leave the table hungry.
As they dined, Hiram proved adept at lively conversation. He was graciously polite and careful to include the other dinner guests seated near him, but he gave Julia the greatest portion of his attention. Most of the table talk centered on the war—the naval battle last month between the U.S.S. Monitor and the Confederate ironclad Virginia, near Norfolk, and the horrific battle that had taken place on April 6 at Shiloh, Tennessee. Then the conversation shifted to General McClellan and his current campaign to march up the Virginia peninsula and attack the Confederate capital of Richmond. Hiram was such an attentive companion, Julia found herself confiding in him.
“To be honest, I’m quite worried about what might happen when the army reaches Richmond. My mother was born and raised there, and I still have relatives in the city. My cousin Caroline is my age.”
He briefly pressed her hand, his brow furrowed with concern.“How inconsiderate of me to gloat over Richmond’s imminent capture. How easily one forgets that our enemies in this cursed war are our own countrymen. Tell me, do you think your family will be able to evacuate safely?”
“I don’t know. There’s no longer any mail service to the Confederate states. Another cousin of mine is in Richmond, as well. But Robert is a Union lieutenant being held captive in Libby Prison.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“We’re praying for McClellan’s success so that Robert will be released soon. But also that the battle will spare the innocent civilians.”
“It’s no wonder you have such a keen interest in this war. Now you must tell me about your work as a nurse.”
Julia tried to make nursing sound glamorous as she described it to Hiram, but she was aware of her own disillusionment and the fact that Dr. McGrath didn’t want her there. In truth, she was enjoying this evening so much that she didn’t care if she ever went back to the hospital again.
“Nursing helps me feel as though I’m doing something useful for my country and for all our brave soldiers,” she finished. “Although I can’t honestly say that I’ve enjoyed working with our hospital’s surgeon. He drinks overmuch, and he makes everyone’s life quite miserable.”
“You say this physician is from Connecticut?”
“Yes. The reason I asked you about him earlier is because there are all sorts of rumors flying around the hospital about how he’s running away from a sordid past. One version is that he got drunk and caused the death of a wealthy patient. Some say he even spent time in prison for it.”
“Wait a minute …what was his name again?”
“McGrath. Dr. James McGrath.”
“I’m not sure if he’s your man, but there was a big scandal in all the New Haven newspapers about two years ago—the year I graduated from Yale, in fact. It seems to me that it involved a drunken doctor and his very wealthy patient. I wonder if that might be the same incident.”
Julia stopped eating. She thought she might burst with curiosity. “What happened?”
“Well, a wealthy financier was shot to death, I believe. His doctor had been drinking with him that evening and was found at the scene with the dead man, holding the gun. They had been overheard arguing. The authorities arrested the doctor for murder.”
“So he did spend time in prison. One of the nurses heard that he had.”
“A friend of mine was reading law at Yale at the time, and he was very interested in attending the trial. Judging from all the news reports, it promised to be sensational. But I graduated and returned to Bridgeport before the case came to trial. I’m sorry to say, I’ve no idea how it turned out.”
Julia had no trouble imagining the ill-tempered James McGrath committing murder. But since he was here inWashington, she wondered how he’d gotten away with it. “If it is the same doctor,” she said, “it’s no wonder he left town and hasn’t gone back. It’s a pity that we’re stuck with him.”
“Yes, I don’t suppose he could ever practice medicine in the same city after a scandal such as that. Even if he was never convicted, his reputation would be tarnished. People would always point fingers and wonder, ‘Was he really guilty, after all?’ And they might be afraid to consult him because the suspicion would always be there. Yes, it makes sense that he would leave town.”
“You don’t recall his name?”
“No, I’m sorry. It was at least two years ago. I can ask my lawyer friend if you’d like. He might recall the name.”
“Yes, thank you. I’d appreciate that.”
After dinner, the men retired to the congressman’s study for their brandy and cigars. Julia joined the women in the parlor for coffee. When the entire dinner party assembled in the drawing room again, Mrs. Rhodes asked Julia to play a piece on the piano for everyone. She could hardly refuse after enjoying the Rhodes’ hospitality, even though Julia hadn’t been near a piano in months. Years of lessons and hours of practice came back to her quickly though, and she played a simple piece from memory.
Hiram was at her side the moment she finished. “You are very talented, Julia. That was lovely.”
“Thank you, but it was really nothing much.”
When another guest played a waltz, Hiram asked Julia to dance with him. “I am completely enamored with you,” he said as he held her in his arms. “To be quite honest, after everything I’d heard about you beforehand, I’d formed an entirely different opinion of you. But I’m pleased to discover that you’re not at all what I had expected.”
The knowledge that she’d been a topic of discussion irritated Julia. But Hiram was such a jovial, charming companion she shrugged her annoyance aside. “What did you expect me to be like?” she asked.
He laughed. “Please don’t be angry, but I thought you must be a radical suffragette or a social reformer …or else a homely old spinster who couldn’t find a man and was trying to prove she didn’t need one.”
“In that case, you were very brave to agree to have dinner with me.”
“I’m so glad I did. You are a beautiful, fascinating woman, Julia. May I ask …are you doing this—working as a nurse—to shock your family? Or perhaps to escape a bad situation at home? A love interest gone awry?”
Again she thought of Nathaniel. “Not at all,” she said. “I’m here to serve my country, just like thousands of other Americans.”
“But surely such menial work should be left to a different class of women, don’t you think? You should be presiding over a home such as this one, serving your country throu
gh respectable charity work. That’s the life you were raised for in Philadelphia, wasn’t it?”
“Yes …but…”
“Then why aren’t you there?”
Hiram was holding her closely as they waltzed, his warm, smiling eyes gazing into hers. Julia felt so confused she couldn’t reply. Then the music ended, and he released her. Congressman Rhodes bustled over to speak with them.
“It’s so nice to see you two young people getting on so well. Say, Hiram, would you be willing to see Julia home? And would that be all right with you, my dear?”
They agreed. Julia felt drawn to Hiram, in spite of her growing uncertainty and confusion. They ate dessert and talked some more, and when the dinner party ended, he escorted her outside to his brougham. It had begun to rain, and the sound of it drumming on the carriage roof and splashing beneath the wheels made Julia feel snug and protected as she nestled beside him. He took her hand.
“I would like to court you, Julia, if you would allow me to. I must admit that I’m absolutely smitten by you. Might you be willing to give up your hospital work and your disagreeable doctor and see me again?”
“Why does seeing you depend on my quitting?”
“Well, it would be very awkward otherwise, don’t you see? I have my family’s good name and social standing to consider. In spite of your own impeccable background, I cannot undertake a serious relationship with a woman who’s engaged in such menial, common work.”
Julia slipped her hand from between his, keenly aware of her chapped skin and torn cuticles.
“And then there’s the very serious matter of your reputation,” Hiram continued. “Surely you realize that it’s unseemly for a beautiful, young, unmarried woman like yourself to be exposed to the company of the coarsest sort of men, day after day.”
“I would hope that a serious suitor would trust me and would defend my reputation. That he’d know that my moral principles are virtuous and my motives are charitable.”