Read Online Shadow of Dawn by Debra Diaz - Free Book Online

herself!
     
    She sat down on one of the benches and looked
up at the sky. Hues of purple and scarlet streaked the deepening
blue, while the fading rays of the sun bathed everything in a
roseate glow. The vast, painted canopy of the sky seemed to spread
to the edge of the world. Beneath it she felt lost and
insignificant.
     
    She thought, bewildered, What is wrong with
me?
    She should be inside, mingling with the
guests, sharing in the happiness of Delia and Marcus, but the very
thought of having to appear happy and vivacious made her sick at
her stomach. Maybe she felt lonely because Delia’s marriage meant
their close relationship would be coming to an end. She had seen it
before…friends got married and moved away, babies were born, and
suddenly there was little time for old friends.
     
    Maybe she hadn’t yet accepted what had
happened to Andrew. Certainly it had been a shock, and would
require a period of adjustment. Or maybe…
     
    She heard footsteps approaching. She dabbed
swiftly at her eyes, hoping whoever it was would go away.
     
    “Mrs. Kelly?”
     
    Her heart sank down to her toes. She half
turned and looked up at Clayton. “Yes?”
     
    He had put his coat back on and now stood
looking at her with concern. “Is anything wrong?”
     
    “No. It…it got stuffy in the house.”
     
    With a pang of alarm she noticed her nose was
beginning to run. She sniffed and turned slightly away. Clayton
stepped forward and wordlessly handed her a handkerchief.
     
    “Thank you, Mr. Pierce.”
     
    “Is there anything I can do?”
     
    “No, thank you.”
     
    “At least let me escort you back inside.
Would you like me to take you home?”
     
    “No,” she said, more sharply than she
intended. “I mean, I really should be inside. I only meant to stay
out here for a moment.”
     
    He did not reply and she felt he was reading
her mind and discovering the exact nature of her malady, which was
certainly more than she was able to do herself. She tried to think
of something to say.
     
    “Are you a friend of Marcus’? I confess I was
surprised to see you here tonight, Mr. Pierce.”
     
    “Please call me Clayton. No, I don’t know
either the bride or the groom. I’m acquainted with Miss Delia’s
brother. He has some training in photography and has assisted me
once or twice. He suggested hiring me for the wedding. There seems
to be a shortage of photographers these days.”
    “Oh,” she said. “I suppose many of them have
joined the army.”
     
    He ambled slowly around the little area of
flowers, his hands in his pockets. “I take it, from what you said
the other night, that you think I should be in uniform…fighting
battles rather than just writing about them.”
     
    She felt her cheeks grow warm. “I’m sorry if
I offended you, Mr. Pierce—I mean, Clayton. I’m sure you do risk
your life being with the soldiers on the battlefields. And at least
you’re preserving something for history in your articles and
photographs.”
     
    “I don’t think people will particularly enjoy
looking at some of those photographs. If anything, maybe future
generations will be touched by the reality, by the horror of war.
This war should never have started.”
     
    She sat up straighter, staring at him. “What
do you mean? How can you say that after everything they said about
us, calling us seditionists and saying we should be
exterminated—”
     
    “That’s just it,” he said softly, looking up
at the sky. “I’m afraid we will be exterminated. Do you realize the
North has three, perhaps four times as many men, more ammunition,
more food, more everything?”
     
    “What does that matter? I agree that war is a
terrible thing, but it would have been cowardly to back down after
they’d insulted us, and after Mr. Lincoln sent troops out to
subjugate us.”
     
    He turned toward her with a low laugh. “You
are a true daughter of the South.”
     
    “And pray tell me, sir, if you are a true
son, or an illicit