Brianna forced herself to laugh lightly. “Oh, sir! Meet Robert Powell, Luke’s friend, and my dear cousin.”
The lord mayor raised a white eyebrow. “Cousin?”
“Ah, don’t perplex the man further, Brianna!” Robert said, bowing slightly to the lord mayor. “Our mothers were cousins, sir. Brianna spent part of her childhood in my household.”
“And—” Brianna hesitated. She knew she must speak, and convincingly, and yet she couldn’t. It would be so easy to wait for Sloan to come back. To sail away with him, and forget all that she knew about right and wrong. But she could not. He was married; he had a wife, before God. He could never love her completely, and in time the pain of it would tear them apart, and she would hold nothing. Before God, she would be an adulteress, and willingly so.
“Oh, dear sir!” she exclaimed to the lord mayor. “You must explain to Lord Treveryan for me that I have found my family, and that I am going with Robert to join my own kin.”
“Brianna—” Robert began, and she didn’t know what he was about to say, so she discreetly stamped on his foot, cutting him off.
“Will you do that for me, please?” Brianna finished.
“Well, I—I—” the lord mayor stuttered, his cheeks turning red, and Brianna was sorry that she did not dare meet Sloan again herself.
“He will be most pleased to hear that things have worked out so well!” she lied.
Luke stepped into the conversation, believing her every word. Perhaps his heart was so staunchly Puritan, so trusting in goodness and the truth, that he didn’t think to doubt the situation. He was, perhaps, such a man as to consider it unthinkable that she had spent her voyage as the Lord Treveryan’s mistress.
“Praise God!” said Luke, smiling as if a miracle had indeed occurred. “That you have sought your kin, and found them here in our midst!”
“Amen!” Robert said, and suddenly all Brianna wanted to do was leave the tavern before Sloan could walk back in. If she saw him again, she would never be able to leave him.
“Robert, forgive me. I’m feeling a little faint.…”
“Ah, poor child! Come to the bench, I’ll call for water and salts.”
“No, no!” she pleaded, lifting a hand. “If I could but have some fresh air…”
“Of course, of course!” Robert bowed slightly to all assembled, then, gripping her elbow, hurried her outside the tavern.
“Do you wish to sit?” he queried gently. “What shall I do?”
She smiled wanly. “Get me out of here, quickly, Robert, please.”
“But should you walk—”
“Yes, oh, please take me home. I do not wish to disturb your business, but I am desperate! I cannot stay here.”
She would never know quite what he understood at that moment, but he tarried no longer. They hurried across the road to the small stable where his horse was lodged, and he apologized that they must ride together, for he had no other. Brianna assured him that it didn’t matter in the least. Finally, when she was mounted behind him, she pressed her face against his back, willing herself not to cry out, not to jump from the horse and race back to Sloan.
As they rode he told her about the family. There had been many births over the years and there were babies always about the house, to his mother’s delight. Then he started saying something about the Colonies, but she didn’t hear. With each tired plod of the old workhorse’s hooves, she realized that they were going farther and farther away. She could no longer smell the sea, nor hear any sound of waves or surf. Each of those hoofbeats kept time with the dull thud of her heart; she was leaving Sloan, she was leaving him, when he was all that she loved in the world.
“Ah, Brianna, despite the problems, it is a new world. A wonderful new world. Far away. A man may hold all the land he craves, and all his neighbors are of like persuasion! Think of it! It is a special place for God’s chosen.…”
She didn’t know what he was saying, although she fully heard the drone of his voice. It meant nothing. Nothing at all.
Suddenly, in the haven of a green forest cove, she burst into tears.
Robert drew the horse quickly to a halt and slid from the saddle. Vaguely she felt his arms, the slimness of him, and the rattle in his chest, and fearing for him was perhaps the best thing for her at that moment. She stiffened, determined not to lean, and she tried to wipe the tears quickly from her cheeks.
“Brianna, what is it?”
“Oh, you’re not well.”
“I’m fine! I’m fine!” He told her impatiently, and, his arm set about her shoulders, he walked her to a spot of rich and splendid green beneath a gnarled oak, and pressed her to sit. He disappeared, and was back, offering her water. She took a sip, then leaned back against the tree, staring upward to the sky. The leaves played over the fall of sunlight, one minute shadowing, the next breaking apart to allow a dazzle of golden light through.
At last she looked at her cousin and she felt ridiculous, for she was trying to smile while great liquid drops which she could not prevent fell from her eyes and dampened her cheeks.
