She’d collected the passes from Major Lee, found Dooley at his home, and as soon as Young found out what she wanted, his eyes had brightened. He had produced three fast horses and stopped by Belle Maison long enough for her to change clothes and get Blackie. As dawn broke, they rode out, each leading a horse with a long tether. It was her clothes, Pet discovered, that caused the trouble. She wore a well-worn pair of light tan overalls, a light blue cotton shirt and a pair of fine riding boots. She had another outfit much the same in the bedroll slung behind her saddle. It was the sort of clothing she had worn when riding around Belle Maison, but her slim figure had blossomed in the past year, so that the first two men they passed on the road gave her some bold looks, and one of them called out a crude remark. Dooley had wanted to go back and teach them proper manners, but she had urged, “We don’t have time, Dooley.” All day long they kept up a hard pace, and by night they were camped beside the York River, west of Williamsburg.
