Mrs. Lincoln's Dilemma

By Janet Dawson

Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of the sixteenth president, is the First Lady of a nation embroiled in the Civil War. She’s also a savvy political wife in wartime Washington. 

In this short story, the First Lady uses her powers of observation and the help of two White House employees to sort out crimes – including murder – and bring the perpetrators to justice.
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Janet Dawson
• Release date: Jan 8, 2017
• ISBN: 9781944153045

Book preview

By Janet Dawson

©1999 Janet Dawson.

Cover by Julia Turner. Photo used under Creative Commons from orchidgalore.

Mrs. Lincoln’s Dilemma originally appeared in the anthology The First Lady Murders.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

The soft yellow glow of the lamplight turned Mrs. Lincoln’s white silk gown to a mellow cream color. The light also hid the shadows and the tiny wrinkles on her face as well. She vowed it took ten years off her age.

Her blue eyes sparkled. Tonight she wore pearls in her ears and at her throat, and several white camellias pinned in her light-brown hair. As she moved among the guests gathered in the East Room of the White House that evening in November of 1861, smiling and nodding, she felt as though she were still the Lexington belle who, with wit and vivacity, charmed her way through Springfield, Illinois over twenty years ago. Back then she’d caught the eye of many young bachelors, including a tall gangling lawyer named Abraham Lincoln.

Mrs. Lincoln swept regally past a cluster of cabinet wives. All of them, to her critical eyes, looked drab and dowdy. The Washington wags criticized her constantly, on everything from her involvement in politics to her extravagance and her manner of dressing. How dare a woman of Mrs. Lincoln’s age bare her shoulders and décolletage, they clucked like a chicken house full of old hens. How dare she wear white, which was considered suitable only for a young woman.

She’d been told they called her The Illinois Reine because of her fashionable and lavish dress. Well, let them talk. The First Lady of the United States should look as elegant as General McClellan over there, resplendent as a peacock in his dress uniform.

She knew the gossip