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William finally broke the deafening silence. “You do understand that if you join in this venture you will be risking your lives?”
Thomas answered first. “Aye. But our fellow patriots are risking just as much, if not more as they wait upon the hills around the city.” He looked off, as if seeing in vision the thousands of men who even now collected at the borders around Boston. “I told you once that I felt God needed us in some other way than joining the ranks. Though I do know the time for us to fight alongside our brothers will come, I believe that our mission has now been revealed.”
William glanced to Nathaniel whose pointed gaze was upon his friend.
“Boston was my home since I was a boy,” Thomas continued. “And though I have now made Sandwich the home of my heart, I cannot forget what I owe to those who taught me the inestimable value of liberty.” He rose from the chair, stopping in front of the fire. “How can I sit back and do nothing? They helped me, and now I must help them.”
Struck speechless by the willing sacrifice of such a man, William stared, motionless. Thomas had been blackmailed and abused by the British Army—Samuel Martin had treated him as chattel. Of all men, Thomas should know well the risks he took by making such a choice, and yet his desire to help was so powerful he would place his new-found freedom in jeopardy? Did Eliza approve? Did she even know?
“What does your wife say to this decision?” The question was out before he could debate its sagacity.
Thomas glanced over his shoulder then turned back to the fire. “She believes, as I do, that the pursuit of liberty is worth every sacrifice. As for now we do not fight, but until then, we will do whatever else we can to aid this cause.”
William turned to Nathaniel. “And Kitty?” When Nathaniel didn’t answer right away, William continued. “Gentlemen, your wives could be widows at the end of this. If you are caught, they too could be considered traitors.”
Back still against the wall, Nathaniel blinked, his mouth a hard line. “They understand the risks.”
“And they accept them?”
The silent answer of fearless resolve resounded in the quiet room.
William numbed. So. This was the indomitable spirit of the American patriot. His heart broke and simultaneously mended far beyond the feeble metal it had been constructed of before. Despite their uncertain futures, these patriots—their very necks in the balance—would not retreat into the shadows. His spirit soared. Here, at long last, was the courageous brotherhood he longed to be counted amongst. Here, with the patriots, was the unyielding quest for purpo
se in which his soul yearned to unite. Freedom. ’Twas no longer their fight alone, but his as well.
He pushed up from his chair and went to the table where an oil lamp dusted its light over a tray of hasty puddings and sweet cakes. His empty belly snarled at the sight of food. He turned to Nathaniel and pointed at the table.
“Please.” Nathaniel moved from his position and gestured to the plate. “Kitty always manages to have enough food in the house to feed a small hamlet.”
William chuckled. “Kitty is welcome to continue her cooking lessons with Anna any time.”
Thomas joined him at the table and took a pudding. “She isn’t skilled in the kitchen?”
Finishing the bite in his mouth, William shrugged. “She tries, and I am grateful for her efforts.” He put the rest of the sweet cake in his mouth and finished before speaking again. “Anna is ever kind and willing, but…she lacks such basic skills I am beginning to wonder if she was ever really a housewife at all.”
“You fear she was not forthcoming?” Nathaniel neared from behind and snatched a cake from the tray.
William turned with a slight cant of the head. He tried to gather his thoughts in a way that wouldn’t produce an ill picture of his wife, but there were actions and manners he’d noticed that made him wonder. “There are certain behaviors she exhibits that do not align with those of a simple housewife.”
Thomas dotted his mouth with a cloth and took his seat once more. “Such as?”
“She—” William halted, second guessing the path upon which he prepared to tread. ’Twas precarious territory for him to explore, but his need for communication outweighed the risks. “Though willing to work, her attempts suggest she has never done a basic or menial chore in all her life.”
“She was married before, was she not?” Nathaniel joined them, brow furrowed. “Since you didn’t answer me before, I’ll ask again. Do you fear she was untruthful?”
“I cannot say.” A harsh breath passed his teeth. “Our meals have been barely edible and she…she tries too hard, as if she fears I will discover something she wishes to hide.”
“Then she has misrepresented herself,” Thomas said.
“Aye, but not in the way you think.” Though the truth settled into the fissures of his broken understanding, still, William stood his resolve. “We both have secrets. And although she may not have been a woman skilled in keeping a house, I know she was married and that she deeply loved her husband.”
The words soured his mouth. So much so, he refused to speak again. The memory of Anna’s face, soft and draped in longing as she stared at the picture from her Bible, made his chest throb. But why he cared, he couldn’t surmise. They had wed only a week before. There was time yet to learn the ways of her heart.
Then again, perhaps never learning such things would keep his own feelings locked behind the years of experience that had taught him to keep it from the warmth of feminine affection. That kind of thing only brought ruin upon everyone.
“’Tis a blessing that God gave you a woman who knows what it is to love.” Nathaniel offered a soft smile. “In time, she will see the truth of you and offer that love again.”
William’s chest squeezed like the dripping laundry he’d cleaned only hours ago. “I do not ask that she love me, only that we remain equal partners. God knows I am hardly a man without haunting phantoms.”
