Forever Ashley

by Lori Copeland

  “I’m going.” Aaron pointed at Ashley. “You’re staying.”

  Leaning inside the carriage window, he captured her face between his hands and looked deeply into her eyes. “Ashley, please listen to reason. Anything could happen. I cannot take the chance that you will be harmed,” he whispered.

  “I know that anything can happen. That’s why I want to be with you.” Her voice caught in a sob. “Please, Aaron, I’m so frightened for you.”

  Her eyes filled with tears, and he kissed them away tenderly. His lips traced down her face, clinging briefly to hers before he drew away.

  “Please don’t leave me,” she whispered.

  “I don’t want to leave you, but you’ll be safer in Hancock’s care.” He kissed her one last time, then turned and started after Paul and John, who were already walking back toward Lexington.

  “Paul!” Ashley leaned out the carriage window. “Don’t let him get hurt!”

  Aaron glanced at Paul and rolled his eyes.

  “I’ll hold his hand at every corner,” Paul returned, winking at Aaron. “You can be sure of that!”

  Hancock leaned forward, patting her hand. “The battle for freedom claims many casualties, my dear.”

  Ashley’s eyes refused to leave Aaron until his tall figure disappeared over a small rise. “Although I was born in America, and I’ve enjoyed all the liberty and independence that men like you and Aaron and Paul have sacrificed their very lives for, I’m only now realizing how precious freedom is…and how precious truly loving one man can be,” she confessed.

  John nodded. “Ah, child, I wish I knew the America of which you speak.” He leaned back, smiling now as his eyes clouded with a prescient vision. “But someday, and very soon I pray, we shall declare ourselves separate from the state of Great Britain, declaring that all men possess the God-given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Only then will we be free.” He sighed. “Only then.”

  Samuel Adams, who had been quiet until now, spoke up. “’Tis a dream we shall see, John. We cannot despair.”

  The carriage lurched forward, and Ashley rested her head on the back of the seat, wondering if she would ever see Aaron again.

  As the coach rolled along, Hancock and Adams relaxed against the wall and dozed, weary from their hectic night.

  They hadn’t gone more than a mile when Ashley suddenly leaned out the window and called for the driver to stop the carriage.

  Ashley heard the driver shouting an assortment of colorful epithets as he fought to bring the coach to a stop.

  Hancock stirred sleepily, cocking one eye open. “What is it now?”

  “I need to…take a walk,” she said.

  “A walk?” Hancock’s brows raised with suspicion. “At this hour?”

  “I…um, need to take a walk,” Ashley said again, hoping that he wouldn’t press for details.

  “Oh, yes…certainly,” he muttered as the source of her distress finally dawned on him. He opened the carriage door for her.

  Ashley climbed down and picked her way carefully through the brush at the side of the road.

  As she parted the bushes, Ashley saw that Hancock and Adams had gone back to dozing and the driver had seized his opportunity to do the same. Lifting her skirts, she turned and tiptoed away.

  There wasn’t much time; she had to put as much distance between her and the carriage as she possibly could before Hancock discovered that she was gone.

  She ran faster, her breath coming in short spurts now. She had to find Aaron before he left the tavern. If anything happened to him, she couldn’t bear it.

  Holding her side with one hand, she darted out on the road, running faster as she glanced over her shoulder to see if her plan had been discovered.

  She was relieved when she saw that it hadn’t. As she disappeared over the rise, the coach was still sitting in the middle of the road, the three male occupants dozing peacefully.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Mistress Wheeler, why do I have the impression you’re not listening to me?” Aaron stood before Ashley thirty minutes later, arms crossed, staring at her crossly.

  “I know you’re upset, but I had to come. I couldn’t just sit there and let anything happen to you!”

  “Ashley, ’tis too dangerous—”

  “Aaron.” Ashley laid her hand over his mouth to still his protests. “Please, I’m here, and there’s nothing you can do about it. We’ll only be wasting time if we stand around arguing, and it won’t do any good to take me back—I’ll just run away again.”

  “Where is Hancock?”

  “He was sleeping last time I saw him.”

  “Sleeping!”

  Paul sighed. “She speaks the truth, Aaron. If we return her to Hancock, we lose yet more valuable time.”

  “Paul, I don’t like it.”

  Turning Aaron and Paul toward the tavern, Ashley hooked her arms through theirs and set them to walking. “Look at it this way, guys. There are a lot of things I don’t like.” She smiled up at the two men brightly. “We’ll just all have to learn to be more flexible.”

  ****

  The morning sun was a fiery red ball in the eastern sky by the time Ashley, Aaron, Paul, and John Lowell approached Lexington. The morning air had a chill to it, causing Ashley to huddle deeper into the coat Aaron had lent her.

  She drew closer to Aaron’s side as she noticed that the men were keeping a close eye out for British soldiers.

  As they neared town, they had taken to the ditches and underbrush each time they heard someone approaching, only to see a farmer striding down the road with his muzzle loader over his shoulder.

  “’Tis obvious the town has been alarmed,” Paul whispered as they crouched in a ditch waiting for the latest traveler to pass. “We must proceed to the green where the militia meets. There we can observe what is transpiring.”

  The four continued on, creeping between houses and down alleyways until Lexington Green was in sight.

  Crouching behind a thorny bush, they watched as a young boy slung the strap of a drum over his shoulder and beat a roll. Fifty to sixty militiamen gathered in formation, wearing a variety of ragtag uniforms. Each man’s face was stamped with firm determination. Ashley shook her head sadly as she watched the preparations for battle, knowing that many of them would never see the end of this day.

  After brief instructions, the commander called out, “Dismissed. But stay within call of the drum and at the ready!”

  The air was thick with anxiety. Ashley’s heart beat like a trip-hammer as she watched young farmers becoming soldiers to fight for a conviction they felt was precious enough for which to risk their lives—freedom.

  The group broke up slowly, many walking across the green to a tavern adjoining the common to await further orders.

  “’Tis a stroke of good luck that Captain Parker leads them,” Paul murmured.

  After slipping from the bushes, Paul hurried to the captain. The two men shook hands, then began to converse in quiet undertones.

  Suddenly a man ran up to Captain Parker, gesturing excitedly down the road. Captain Parker listened, his features tightening as he tried to follow the man’s rapid, anxious discourse.

  “How far, Thaddeus?”

  “Within a mile, sir. I saw them with mine own eyes!” A moment later Paul hurried back to Aaron, Ashley, and John. “Bowman has been out on the road. He says the British troops are within a mile.”

  Aaron’s jaw grew firm. “I want Ashley at the tavern, where she’ll be protected.”

  “Be quick about it.” Paul crawled off, looking for a better vantage point to observe the British when they entered town.

  “No.” Ashley’s hand gripped Aaron’s arm. “I want to stay with you.”

  “This time there’ll be no argument,” Aaron said shortly. “The British are within minutes of here. There will be a battle, and I will not allow you to remain in danger.” Ashley couldn’t deny that she was concerned. She was about to be caught up in a
war, a very bloody, brutal war between men who had once been countrymen but who now were at odds on an issue that they felt could be resolved in no other way.

  Blood would be spilled today. Men would die—please God, not Aaron. She wanted to cry out and stop the madness, but she knew her efforts would be useless. She was powerless to prevent the battle about to take place.

  The bushes parted, and Paul returned. He extended his hand to Aaron. “I take my leave now. The British are nearly upon us.”

  “Be careful, Paul,” Aaron responded solemnly.

  “And you too, my good friend. His hand upon us this day.” The two men shook hands.

  Revere turned to Ashley. “And you, young lady. You’ve been an education.” A faint smile curved his lips. “In many ways, you’re like my Rachel. She would never have stayed behind—had it not been for the children.”

  “Oh, Paul.” Ashley went into his arms, giving him a warm hug. “I’ve never appreciated you enough.”

  “Nonsense. If what you say is true, then you know that our efforts will not be in vain.” Squeezing her hand, he smiled. “Take care, little one.” Turning to John, he said quietly, “It is time we retrieved Hancock’s papers and were on our way.” Giving Ashley’s hand another quick squeeze, he nodded gravely to Aaron, and then he was gone.

  Aaron’s features were grim as he watched Paul and John make their way across the green. “Ah, would that I could see the future,” he said softly.

  “Paul will be fine,” Ashley murmured. “He will return to his family and finish out his days in his silversmith shop, raise his children, and enjoy his many grandchildren.”

  Aaron turned, a ray of hope lighting his eyes. “This is certain?”

  Ashley smiled. “It is certain.”

  Reaching for her hand, he said, “Come. We must get you safely away from the common.”

  This time Ashley didn’t argue with him. Until now she’d been fairly certain of what was happening or what was about to happen. But now, she wasn’t so confident. Nothing was certain, she realized, and that frightened her.

  Within minutes, Aaron had escorted Ashley into the tavern and secured a room.

  They mounted the stairs quietly, each absorbed in thought. As they entered the room, Ashley went immediately to the window that overlooked the green. If she could endure it, she planned to watch the battle. She didn’t want to be a witness to the upheaval, for she suspected that Aaron would be in the thick of it, but she would have to know that he was safe.

  Ashley turned from the window as she heard the door close and the bolt slip into the lock. Aaron stood in the middle of the room, gazing at her.

  A sob caught in her throat as she realized how easily she could lose him now. “Oh, Aaron, I’m so frightened,” she whispered.

  “I know.”

  “If this is a dream, I want it to be over, and for you to be safe.”

  “But it isn’t a dream. What’s about to happen is very real.”

  “If I could wish you away—”

  “I would not go. I have a commitment to this cause.”

  “But what if I never see you again?” She swallowed back tears.

  His eyes met hers, and Ashley died a thousand deaths. She had callously cast so many men aside in her life. How could this man—this handsome, magnificent figment of her imagination—have captured her heart so effortlessly?

  “Then you must remember that I have loved you dearly.”

  The terrible, lonely ache in her heart told her that her time with him was growing very short.

  After crossing the room, he drew her into his arms and rested his chin on top of her head. Ashley sighed and closed her eyes, wondering how she would live without him. “I’m so afraid.”

  “There is no need for fear. You will not be harmed.”

  “I wish—”

  “Shhhh,” he cautioned. “We have only this moment. Let us not spoil it with tears and regrets.”

  “I can’t help it. I wish I knew what was happening to me…I don’t want to lose you.” She sobbed. “For the first time in my life, I’m in love, and I’m going to lose you.”

  He smiled, holding her closer. “Are you saying, Ashley Wheeler, that if it were possible, you would be my wife?”

  “Oh, Aaron, yes—yes!” Though this dream could end at any moment, sending her careening back to her real life, knowing he wanted to marry her meant everything.

  “And you would be willing to set aside a day that we would marry?” he whispered, his breath fanning her hair softly.

  Tears slipped down her cheeks as her arms crept about his waist tighter. “Yes, I would marry you any day, anywhere, anytime you’d want.”

  His mouth inched lower, his breath barely a whisper against hers. “And if it were possible, we would not delay a moment, my love.”

  Her breath came quickly now as his mouth lowered to taste her lips. Longing seared through her as their mouths slowly came together. Ashley pressed closer, aware of the flash of blinding heat his touch aroused in her. For the first time in her life, she wanted to give rather than take. But, as fate would have it, the man whom she would capture with her love was already a prisoner of time.

  Passion flared to the surface as the kiss deepened. Time was so short, and Ashley had so much she longed to share with him.

  Then sounds of impending battle drifted through the window to them.

  “I must go. The British will be here in minutes, and my services will be needed,” he murmured.

  Ashley suddenly realized that Aaron wouldn’t be carrying a gun in the battle; he would be a field surgeon in the thick of the battle without protection. Another sob escaped her, and once it had, others followed until she buried her face in his chest and wept openly.

  “Please, ’tis impossible for me to leave you this way. Send me off with your kiss, not your tears.”

  Ashley clasped his face between her hands and pulled it back down to hers, pressing her lips against his. The sweetness of goodbye in their kiss made her want to cling to him all the more.

  “I don’t want to live without you, Aaron Kenneman,” she whispered.

  “You will forever be in my heart, my love.”

  After tilting her face up to his for one last kiss, Aaron turned and walked to the door. Over his shoulder, he sent her a smile that melted her heart. A moment later, the door closed, and she was alone. Dropping onto the bed, she listened to the scrape of his boots descending the stairway.

  A moment later, she rose and crossed to the window to watch the scurry of activity in the common below. Her hands clasped together in an unconscious posture of prayer as her eyes searched for Aaron.

  From her vantage point, she could hear Captain Parker ordering the drummer to beat to arms. Militiamen began pouring out of the tavern and assembled on the green, forming lines that reached from the meetinghouse toward the south.

  Ashley counted approximately seventy men by this time, all hurrying to take up arms.

  Suddenly the sound of the drumbeat quickened. The men in the common turned to see a line of British regulars marching toward them in brisk formation.

  When the regulars were within sound of the militiamen they halted, charged their guns, and doubled ranks. Ashley held her breath as she watched. Knowing that the ultimate victory would belong to the colonists failed to diminish her fear.

  The British began to march in a quick-step toward the green as Captain Parker sang out his order.

  “Stand your ground! Don’t molest the regulars unless they meddle with us!”

  Ashley’s hands came to her mouth as the drama began to unfold. Her eyes searched desperately for Aaron, but she failed to locate him anywhere.

  The British troops marched straight toward the colonists. A shout went up, and the regulars paused. The commanding officer advanced a few yards out front, yelling, “Disperse, you cursed rebels! You dogs! Run!” Raising his pistol, he shouted, “Rush on, my boys!” A shot rang out, reverberating throughout the countryside.

&nb
sp; The Americans stood at attention, waiting. Silence hung thick in the air as the British troops started forward again.

  “We be hopelessly outnumbered,” militiaman Ebenezer Munroe murmured to the man standing to his left.

  “Aye, this day we die for our country,” Corporal John Munroe returned gravely. Both men took aim at the main body of the troops and opened fire.

  As a spirited volley of fire was exchanged, Ashley saw Paul and John dart from the main floor of the tavern carrying the trunk of papers Hancock had left behind. Smoke was heavy now as the two men slackened their pace to saunter casually through the American lines with the trunk.

  Once clear of the militiamen, they broke into a run as a volley of gunfire echoed across the green.

  “Who’s firing?” John shouted.

  “I don’t know, and I don’t plan to take the time to ask!” Paul exclaimed. Ducking low to the ground, the two ran on.

  Ashley closed her eyes, praying for their safety as she listened to the rapid succession of guns firing back and forth.

  “They’re firing nothing but powder!” John Munroe shouted.

  “Are you sure?” Ebenezer shouted back.

  “No—they’re firing more than powder!” John amended sourly as he lifted his arm to survey the blood on it a moment later. “I’ll give them the guts of my gun!”

  Ashley watched as the colonists attempted to hold their ground although they were taking British fire and falling. Some retreated up the north road and were pursued by a British officer on horseback. As he rode after them, Ashley could hear him yelling over the sound of musket fire, “Stop, or you will die!”

  One colonist sprang over a pair of bars and made a stand, firing his gun. The British officer wheeled his horse and returned to the main group to rejoin the fray.

  By now the smoke of battle was so thick that Ashley could see only the heads of the British horses. Her eyes searched in vain for any sign of Aaron, but she failed to find one. Oh, please, she prayed. Don’t let him be lying wounded somewhere.

  The volley of fire continued from the regulars, and Ashley recoiled. Some of the colonists fell back a few feet to reload. She saw one at the edge of the battle reload and fire, and then a shot from the British regulars hit his gun barrel and broke it in two.