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scowling countenance.
    “Thank you for your prompt response. We have need of your services, gentlemen. As I already mentioned to Captain Reid, an ongoing investigation has brought certain former Confederates to our attention and we need to devise a way to ferret these animals out of hiding.”
    “Perhaps you could start at the beginning and explain what this investigation is about,” the major suggested.
    Russell nodded. “This involves the murders of several Union soldiers last May. We know this savage attack was conducted by former Confederates. Yesterday two men from the Twenty-eighth were found dead in a ditch south of town. We fear additional attacks are to come, and we need to capture these men before they have a chance to kill again.”
    “What do we have to go on?” Brandon asked.
    “Not a great deal, but one name keeps coming up. Malcolm Lowe.”
    It was the same man Brandon had been urged to befriend at the Marquardt party. He’d hoped to meet the man, but learned shortly after arriving that Lowe had been detained elsewhere. Now it seemed the man was once again causing problems.

    “I can’t believe that you are pushing for this wedding to take place so soon,” Laura said, looking at her mother in disbelief. “They’ve only just become engaged.”
    “Yes, but they are well suited,” her mother countered. “A wedding in September would do a great deal to lift everyone’s spirits.”
    Carissa looked at Laura and shook her head. “You’re just jealous. You fear if I marry first, no one will step forward to ask for your hand. But honestly, Laura, this is the frontier. There are far more men than women. Papa has said so on many occasions, and prior to the war you knew that to be true. I’m sure that someone will marry you.”
    Laura would have laughed at her sister’s comment had the subject not been so serious. “I am not jealous. I am concerned about your reputation and about your safety. You don’t know Malcolm all that well.”
    “I know him well enough to know that I love him,” Carissa said, kneeling at their mother’s feet. She looked up at their mother with adoration. “Just like you knew you loved Papa when you agreed to marry him.”
    Their mother nodded. “I knew my heart well.”
    “As do I.” Carissa cast a sly glance up to where Laura watched the scene.
    Laura took a seat beside Mother on the cream and green striped settee. “Mother, I merely suggest that September is too soon. Tongues will wag and questions of her innocence will be discussed. You surely don’t want people thinking Carissa needs to marry quickly.”
    “Pshaw. I discussed this with members of the Ladies’ Church Society. They were all in agreement. A wedding and reception—even a dance—would do the whole community good.”
    A look of smug satisfaction crossed Carissa’s face, but Laura wasn’t yet defeated. “So your thoughts on the matter are merely to promote a party atmosphere to raise spirits?”
    Their mother looked rather surprised at the question. “Of course not. I simply see no reason to delay the union of two people who are obviously in love. Where is your sense of romance, Laura?”
    “It probably fades with each passing year that she remains unmarried,” Carissa said in an almost, but not quite, sympathetic tone.
    “This isn’t about my situation,” Laura countered.
    “Exactly,” Carissa agreed. “This is about me. I think it is my duty to uplift those around me. The war is behind us, but not so the sorrows. My wedding will be like a declaration of hope and future joy. We will cast off the old and take up the new.”
    “Oh yes!” Mother agreed. “It will be glorious. We will have a grand party right here. We will decorate the lawns and set up tables outdoors. We will invite everyone to attend and serve a wonderful wedding breakfast and later host a dance. It will be a grand celebration.”
    Carissa clapped her hands in delight. “Oh, I am so happy. I shall speak immediately to