by Jerri Hines
Upon his declaration, Jonathan burst out into laughter and immediately regretted it. Lanson stood with resolute face. Jonathan stared at him. “I'm sorry, Lanson. You're serious?”
“Extremely so. I have never asked a lady to marry me before, and, for God knows what reason, she seems willing. Her father has given his blessing to the union, but it's important for Lydia to have yours.” Lanson walked around the couch, turned and faced Jonathan, who sat silently.
“Lydia has a special bond with your son. I believe it's her intention to keep him for you during the time you're away. And she is committed to that. If you find fault with me, helping raise your boy, I'll withdraw my proposal.”
Jonathan waved his hand to stop Lanson from going on. “Please, enough. You know Lydia is only a Corbett by marriage and in that she isn't prone to the impulsive behavior of some of us Corbett's. I have always found her to be sensible. My brother loved and adored her. I have known her for as long as I can remember and love her as a sister. I only wish her happiness. As for my son, I know no other I would entrust him to, having already shown the ability to do so.”
Jonathan stood and extended his hand to Lanson. “It's I who am honored you would undertake such.”
Lanson, accepted his hand in obvious relief.
* * * *
Gratification mixed with an obscure sense of apprehension. Jonathan attended the simple ceremony held within the drawing room. Only Lydia's parents, little William and Jonathan attended on this Christmas Eve. With all that had happened it was thought best to keep the ceremony quiet instead of having the couple wait longer. War had given everyone a real sense that there are times one has to take for they may never happen again.
William thought it the grandest of things, for all the people he loved most were there. There had been no repercussions from his mother's death for the poor little one hardly knew her. Immediately after the pastor pronounced them husband and wife, William wiggled out of his father's arms and raced over to Lydia as fast as his little legs would carry him.
A nice picture. Lydia held William with Lanson by her side. The idea of their marriage had worn well with Jonathan after his initial shock. Looking upon them, from their manner, they seemed satisfied with their arrangement. Jonathan quietly withdrew from the happy occasion into his father's study. Most had been left as his father had it when he was alive.
Looking out the window, this Christmas would hold no snow, but frigid temperatures. Guilt surfaced, for he knew his unit was out amongst this weather. A sound from behind made him turn, he found Lydia standing with a sword in her hand.
“I'm glad to have found you alone, Jonathan,” she said softly. As she handed the sword to him, he immediately recognized the object. “I have been waiting until Christmas.”
The sword his father had given him before his departure. He had presumed it lost, having left it in Philadelphia.
“I wouldn't have left it. I knew well its importance. In honesty, I remember very distinctly William being jealous of you getting the sword. Your father was very proud of you, you know. We all were, and are. You're very dear to me, Jonathan. We'll well look after William as our own.”
Jonathan, his eyes still upon the sword, said quietly, “I have no doubt.” Looking upward toward her, he added. “William would have only wanted your happiness.”
Lydia's eyes warmed with the mention of his name, “I'll never love another as I loved him. A part of me died when he did. At one time, I didn't believe I had the strength to go on. Every morning I awoke and at night I slept with my dreams for that was all I had. Then you sent for me,” she paused. “It'll take time, Jonathan. Give all time.”
His expression contorted, and he fought to hide the pain. “It's different for you, Lydia. You were well loved. Yes, he was taken from you cruelly, but—”
Lydia stopped him. “I didn't say it was easy. There are things we all have to deal with, but know you'll always have a home with us. You're well loved also. A son that adores you, don't forget that. I promise he'll know you well. And now we have found Hannah. She'll need our prayers. You have a lot of people depending upon you.”
Jonathan fell silent for a moment. “I have seen Gabriel a few times since he deserted her. Once if they hadn't pulled me off him, I believe I would have killed him.”
“He's not worth the energy you waste upon him, Jonathan. Peter said he was also guilty of keeping Hannah within New York.”
“But you know as well as I, Gabriel sold her out,” Jonathan said, grimacing.
“Peter told me. But, Jonathan, I believe there are purposes. I firmly believe Gabriel would have never been able to make Hannah happy. He loves himself too much,” Lydia said calmly.
“He's a great source of irritation to me, though. He's moving up rapidly within ranks. Washington favors him because he believes Gabriel saved him. The bastard doesn't battle but hides behind people,” Jonathan spurred forth his hatred. “How could he leave her such? I should have done more, but I never thought he would walk away. Lydia, he turned his back upon her. But what kind of man am I? To have a wife as such and then leave his sister in a hell hole.”
“You're a good man, Jonathan,” Lydia squeezed his hand. “I would never have believed such with Gabriel, but his day will come. Trust me. At one point in time we all have to answer for our deeds.”
Lanson sauntered in with a wide smile.
“There you are. I wondered where my lovely bride ran off too.” He placed his arm around her as she looked up at him lovingly. Jonathan seized the moment to escape and left the two alone.
With his sword in hand, Jonathan walked back into the sitting room with Lydia's father. William climbed over the arm of the couch and jumped toward his father. Responding, Jonathan barely caught the young lad, halting the impending crash. The sword dropped. William tried to pick it up, dragging it a step or two, before he fell over it. Jonathan tried to pick it up.
“Mine,” Little William said clearly and loudly.
“I guess so,” Jonathan replied watching his son’s actions. The next few minutes, Jonathan spent in a lesson of sorts, negotiating the word mine in order to accomplish his objective, hanging the object above the fireplace. Jonathan gained valuable insight in patience as he experienced his son's stubborn nature.
Using strategy Washington himself would be proud of, Jonathan stood back to admire the sword from afar. Little William stood by his father.
“I like it there. Don’t you, son?” Jonathan asked, looking down at the little one. Little William, his lips pressed together as was Jonathan's manner when he thought, nodded. And there Father and son stood together in agreement, the sword hung in a place of honor.
Chapter Fourteen
SETAUKET
The snow fell at a hard clip. Giles Cooper, happy his trip was almost complete, pulled his reigns back on his horse. If Tallmadge had his way, he’d be travelling often, but not until the weather broke. He was looking forward to a rest.
Ever since the British invaded and occupied his hometown of Setauket, Giles had been working endlessly for the cause. Now his childhood friend had integrated him within a network as the courier between New York and Setauket. Communications were hard enough to obtain, transporting them efficiently were more so.
When Washington had spoken to Major Benjamin Tallmadge to head up this New York intelligence, Tallmadge had been committed to creating an effective network. He hand picked each, calling on his childhood friends. He chose only the ones who held the furor and commitment to their new country. Living within the constant danger of discovery and the consequences of such, none other would do.
Rupert Arnett, hailed from a prominent family in Setauket, headed the New York end. Rupert posed as a Tory merchant in partnership with one James Rivington. Between the two they operated a general merchandise store and coffee shop. Rupert, also, wrote and edited for a Tory newspaper in which Rivington ran.
Tallmadge’s plan consisted of Arnett supplying the information; Giles would drop by
Rupert's store to buy goods and transfer letters; Abraham Woodhull, whom Giles well liked, but found him to be a nervous, sickly sort, would collect and evaluate the reports from all sources. Abraham, a farmer who housed British soldiers within his home, maintained sending the dispatches across the Sound by Caleb Brewster, who well knew the shorelines along Devil's Belt.
Giles, himself, had come from a poor, but proud family. His father had taught him the value of hard work.
His father had been a man of few words, but wanted desperately for Giles to be educated, but after his death there had been no money for an education. Giles had worked from that day on. Giles had been on his own since the age of fifteen. Giles' older sister, Martha, had, at the time, lived across the Sound in Fairfield, Connecticut, having married a farmer. Twelve years separated him and his sibling. When his mother died, Martha had offered him a home. Instead, Giles chose to go off this his friend, Caleb Brewster, in a venture on the sea. Giles hated being poor and vowed never to be such.
He had returned from the sea four years later. He bought an old tavern, which had been in dour need of renovations and repairs, but Giles had never been afraid of hard work. Day in and out, he poured himself into his business. Now, he, not only owned the tavern, but the general store. Martha, after the unexpected death of her husband falling off his barn, had returned home and helped Giles with his businesses.
Giles rode hard, but his mind was never far from the one at home. Hannah had returned with him as the network arranged. The British wanted only the child within British occupied territory. Rupert had offered his family's home, but Hannah, her health precarious at best, had clung to Giles. No one had the heart to tell Hannah she wouldn't be able to go back to Williamsburg for a while.
Giles’ anger toward Rupert had diminished when his long time friend devised a plan which landed Hannah in her present situation. Subtly, Rupert talked with Andre at a dinner party. He reminded Andre of his home within British occupation, far enough away from New York. He had gone so far as to invite Andre for a visit. Andre had bitten. Andre had sought out Rupert after the negotiations. And in the end satisfying to everyone, except....
Hannah had gone into Setauket under the identity of the widow of his cousin who died in the Battle of Brandywine. Having no other family and being concerned for her, the Cooper's opened their home. As soon as her health permitted, Giles had brought her into the countryside.
Martha had instantly mothered Hannah. She well knew the cover they had given Hannah wasn't true, but she had faith in her brother and had learned long ago not to question. All he told her was Hannah had endured much. The midwife in New York hadn't held much hope for a healthy delivery, and they all worried.
Reverend Brown offered advice as they left. “You have a bond with her, to take care of her I don't have to tell you, but to take care of both of you, I do. Have faith. You know what she has been through and what she has done.”
Giles hadn't responded, but understood his meaning. Not that he didn't feel that way. His thoughts were constantly upon her from the night he had met her. Rupert had called him obsessed, but he had been driven to find her again.
He had promised her he would take her out of New York. He had supported her and she had leaned upon him. But he questioned if she would accept what he had to offer. She had been living in a manner a far cry from his tavern.
She seemed to recover to a certain extent. She regained her coloring and strength after a few weeks; her eyes, though, still held within a deep sadness. He worried about her walks, for she liked to go far. At most times he could find her sitting along the shoreline. And when the news came in of the Americans victory in Saratoga, he had found her there.
After his long journey from New York, he walked down the lane, knowing where she would be. She sat still staring out toward the waves crashing along the shorelines. The wind blowing her hair; her eyes closed as if willing herself to fly.
“You shouldn't stay out so long. The weather is growing colder, Hannah. Martha said you have been gone for most of the afternoon,” he said, coming up behind her.
She smiled up at him as he took a seat beside her. “Martha won't let me help her. I can't lie around all day and do nothing. The air feels so refreshing and it makes me feel free to do so. I haven't been able to do so in so long. Please don't take it from me.”
“No, I wouldn't do that. I’ll find you something you can do,” Giles offered. “You seem to like to be kept busy.”
She nodded.
He could have added, so you don’t have time to think. He studied her.
She bit her lower lip. “I’ll walk back with you.”
“First, I have news and I wanted to tell you first,” he said a broad grin upon his face. “It’s best that I don’t try to tell you in front of others. The news from the North couldn’t have been better. We have won, decisively. Burgoyne has been soundly defeated. I know that you have struggled with all, but we have hope. Hope that all we have done, you have done is not in vain.”
For the first time her face illuminated. Tears swelled within her eyes. “It’s good news, Hannah.”
She smiled as she wiped back her eyes. “I know,” she whispered. “It’s just it wasn’t often I have gotten news as such. I didn’t realize at the time the pressure I was under, striving to obtain information, handing it over and at most times, never knowing if it helped or was needed.”
“You have done much good, Hannah. You should know that if nothing else,” Giles said. He looked into her eyes. “Unfortunately, it was the reason that they left you within for so long, too long.”
“Don’t make excuses for me, Giles. I was responsible, I assure you,” she said as she looked away once more. “I wanted to. And if I admitted it, it excited me at times. They call it a game for a reason. There were times when what I did became too easy. But I lost a part of myself, the game so consumed me. I would have betrayed anyone for information and did. In the end, I have to live with the choices I made.”
“You are too hard on yourself, Hannah,” Giles responded. “You did what you had to do.”
She shook her head. “I try to tell myself that, Giles. By God, I wish it so,” she answered. She swallowed. “You know the hardest thing for me?”
She hadn’t looked for a response. “I have always known I could defend myself if the call arose and have done so when the time came. Twice, I have taken a life of another. And in good conscience I don’t regret the decision. I didn’t have another option, but one haunts me. One that I didn’t place a bullet into, but might as well have. How do you live with the knowledge that a good man died because he trusted me?”
Silence ensued. She placed trembling fingers over her mouth. He reached for her hand. “I don’t know what you have gone through, but know you’re not alone, Hannah. Everything for you at the moment may seem bleak, but as with every night, the sun rises in the morning.”
He had sat with her for a long while, talking, excited with news of the victory. He listened to her talk of her home and family she had left behind. He had let her, for that day the tears were pushed away with hope.
Giles realized that Martha had made an effort to make Hannah feel part of the household. After a few attempts within the kitchen, Martha suggested to Giles that perhaps Hannah was better suited for the general store. Giles hadn’t wanted to hurt Hannah's feelings, but he had to agree that Hannah lacked the skills needed to cook. Besides Hannah felt more comfortable helping in the general store with Balith and Elijah Johnson, the couple that ran the store for Giles. In this, she fell in nicely.
Christmas had been one of the most pleasant he could remember. The Beckett’s had invited all over. Hannah had developed a friendship with the wife, Alice, an opinionated woman, who also had the fire of liberty running deep within her blood. Her husband, Judge Seilah Beckett, was an ardent Patriot with a habitual habit of opening his mouth at the most inopportune moment. They lived along the shoreline with their large family in a fairly large estate.
Hannah had brought over an apple tansy. Martha thought of accidentally leaving it behind for she didn’t want Hannah embarrassed, but to both Giles and Martha’s surprise the dessert tasted delicious.
“Now this is cooking!” Judge Beckett declared. “You must have her cooking all the time, Austin.”
“No, not really,” Giles uttered having it slip out of his mouth before he thought. Hannah burst into laughter.
“I’m afraid, Judge, it’s my one and only dish. They have barred me from the kitchen otherwise,” she smiled.
“Oh, we would never,” Martha said in a soft timid voice. Giles realized his sister was afraid of hurting Hannah's feelings.
“If my brothers had been here, they would have put doorstops to keep my presence from the kitchen. I’m afraid I wasn’t especially good with my domestic skills. I much preferred the outdoors,” Hannah’s eyes sparkled, as Giles had never seen. Her manner relaxed talking of her family.
The Beckett’s children ran in and out, laughing and carrying on. The fire blazed, songs sung. Drinks toasted to a new nation.
“To the New Year and the hope we run the God Damn Redcoats off our land!” Judge Beckett toasted.
“Seilah, watch your tongue. You don’t know whose listening. I live in fear they’ll come and arrest you,” Alice reprimanded her husband.
“It’s just the Cooper’s, Alice. Relax,” Judge Beckett chuckled. “You worry too much, Alice.”
And Christmas passed pleasantly.
Giles studied Hannah, who seemed determined to work through all before her. If she still had dreams that woke her, she hadn’t awakened him or Martha. He had hopes that it was a good sign. She hadn’t much longer with her confinement, which in itself was a source of worry for Giles.
When he returned from his last trip, he brought the first letter from her brother. He hadn’t gotten much reaction from her except it was good to have heard from him. He wondered though what had been said.
