So Rare a Gift (Daughters of His Kingdom Book 3)

by Amber Lynn Perry

  The sudden longing for his story—the truth of it—bit into her lungs, fighting for space along with her breath. “I have not given up on you, Sam. Pray, do not give up on me.”

  ~~~

  Nathaniel was waiting by the fire when William and Thomas entered. With a quick look, William glanced around. His first time at the doctor’s home matched how he would have pictured it. Well furnished, clean and warm. He removed his hat and cloak. Different from the Watson’s home. More formal, but equally inviting.

  “Good evening,” Nathaniel said, motioning to the chair that faced the fire. “Forgive me for not being able to come myself, William. Anything to report?”

  “Aye.” Thomas pulled a Windsor chair from the gaming table and spoke to Nathaniel. “William was…occupied.” He sat and turned to William. “If I had known as much, I would have left well enough alone.”

  Instant heat burst in William’s chest as he occupied the nearest chair but he kept his exterior cool. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  Nathaniel removed his arm from the mantel as a grin swooped up one side of his face. “You and Anna are becoming better acquainted?” He leaned his back against the wall next to the fireplace and crossed one ankle over the other. “I told you marriage would be good for you.”

  William answered on top of his words. “I do not recall you ever said that.”

  He shrugged with a quick tilt of the head. “If I didn’t I should have.”

  “I quite agree with Nathaniel.” Thomas rubbed his finger against the cleft in his chin. “You seem to be handling the transition with incredible ease for someone who insisted against it so emphatically at the beginning.”

  “You are all goodness and kindness, I’m sure.” William couldn’t seem to add enough sarcasm to his voice or his smile. He pulled his expression flat. “May we discuss the matters at hand?”

  “With pleasure.” Nathaniel’s eyes flashed as if William had divulged something secretive.

  Instead of challenging the implied look, William let it evaporate untouched.

  “We’ve alerted the patriots in town to be on the lookout,” Thomas said. “Though I haven’t seen any soldiers, Nathaniel believes he did.”

  “Aye,” Nathaniel answered. “From a distance, but ’twas only one of them and ’twas difficult to tell if he was a part of the regiment we saw or a remnant of the redcoats in town.”

  “I happened upon two of them.”

  Both men froze, their eyes stern.

  William sat up in his chair and went on, grateful to be freed from the suffocating conversation of moments ago. “I took Anna to the creek to hopefully stay out of sight.” He stopped, pondering the instability of his logic. It had seemed like the right thing to do at the time, but looking back… “We were discovered and one of them approached me.”

  “Were you threatened?” Thomas didn’t move, save the small twitch in his jaw.

  “Not with anything but a show of boyish bravado.”

  Nathaniel pushed away from the wall. “You put him in his place I trust.”

  “In a way of speaking.” William allowed a small laugh from his chest, remembering the encounter and suddenly flooded with compassion for the incompetent young soldier.

  “Did he say anything to you—anything that could help us?”

  “Not much.” William sighed. “But he did confirm that the information I was told in the wood is correct. They are looking for smugglers.”

  “You said there were two?” Thomas asked. “Where was the other?”

  The shock of panic he’d felt at the creek trickled over him again. How fortunate they had been that the soldiers who had found them were not like Samuel and Paul, ruthless and cold. If Anna had been so much as touched, William would have blood on his hands.

  “I’d hidden Anna among the trees, but she was found by the other soldier.” Their faces went white, and William hurried to finish before their disquiet escalated. “She was well. They simply talked with one another.” He paused, crinkling his forehead in thought. “It seems she had a brother in the army and this particular soldier reminded her of him.”

  Nathaniel and Thomas shared a quick glance, eyebrows high.

  “So they simply left without a fuss?” Thomas shook his head. “Too simple. They will keep watch here, I’m sure of it.”

  Nathaniel stayed motionless, his arms crossed over his chest, tone somber as the fire cracked beside him. “They would be foolish to weaken their numbers by stationing soldiers all the way from here to Boston. Sixty miles? Nay, too taxing upon their forces. They have enough to worry them in Boston itself.”

  William scrunched his mouth and shook his head. “I wouldn’t be so sure.”

  “Why is that?” Thomas asked.

  “You under estimate their numbers. And their tenacity.” William took a long inhale and breathed out slow. “I know all too well their desire for the complete submission of the colonists and I fear any and all measures will be taken to ensure that end.”

  Nathaniel looked down, his head wagging for a second before he looked up again. “You believe we will be surrounded by the king’s men from now until…”

  “I cannot say. But if they believe colonists are smuggling goods into the city, then they will not relent until the conspirators are apprehended.”

  This time, the look the other men exchanged made William’s spine brace. He knew their thoughts as if they’d spoken them aloud.

  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.”

  Silence enveloped them until Nathaniel spoke. “A woman would be hard pressed to find a man more worthy than you, Henry.”

  The sound of his real name made William stall. Worthy? Nay. Not when he’d accepted a new name and changed his life to cover a multitude of hazards that could endanger them both, should he be discovered. The reality he’d ignored since his wedding day bore down on him like a winter storm. His entire past, every bit of him he had to keep secret. How could he ever really be worthy of anything when the truth circled above him like a vulture, ready to pick him apart at the demise of his charade.

  “But the two of you have kissed. That should reveal something of how she feels.” Thomas’s statement smacked William back to the moment.

  Like a boy in school who’d been caught daydreaming, William stumbled for a reply. “Well…no…we were—”

  “Come now, you can’t tell me you haven’t kissed her yet?” Nathaniel’s sharp laugh bit the air. He shook his head, a look of disapproval in his face. “For shame, William.”

  Thomas waved his hand in the air. “Nay, I saw you when I came in, you were—”

  “We were about to if you hadn’t burst in the room.” The pent-up frustration shot like steam from a kettle. “And may we cease this conversation? I’d rather not discuss my marital struggles with men who clearly have little more experience than I.”

  Nathaniel nodded, his hands in his pockets. “I understand.” His solemn look lasted only a second. “But rest assured we will be asking until we are sure you have made her your wife in all respects.”

  He wouldn’t.

  The smile on his face said he would.

  William bristled. “Don’t do it, Nathaniel.”

  “I should not.” Nathaniel chuckled as he spoke. “But the look of puerile embarrassment on your face when I do mention it is worth every moment I risk feeling your fist against my jaw.”

  That comment signaled the end of their evening. William gave a quick nod then spun toward the door.

  Thomas was right behind him, his hand on his shoulder. He whispered in William’s ear. “Now would be a good time to return home and finish where you were so rudely interrupted. She cares for you, that much is obvious.”

  William whirled. Thomas fought a smile that urged for release, one his eyes were all too willing to share.

  Battling the irritation that scratched his stomach, William snatched his hat and flung open the door.

  He didn’t even turn around to see their looks of triumph. He could feel them burning into his back as he walked from the house. They’d switched conversations so easily it made his head spin. One moment they were discussing matters of supreme importance and the next, prodding him toward matrimonial bliss as if it were the most natural transition. The cool evening air soothed his burning skin. Had they so little regard for their own safety that they would push aside their pressing matters to discuss what had happened—or what hadn’t happened—with Anna?

  “William!” Nathaniel called.

  He stopped but didn’t turn until his friend was at his side. William answered with lifted eyebrows only.

  Nathaniel lowered his voice. “We’ll be making our first exchange tomorrow night.”

  “Where?”

  Nathaniel’s eyes darkened. “You are not to be part of this.”

  “You knew I would want to help or you wouldn’t have spoken to me.”

  Turning back to Thomas, Nathaniel gave a slow nod and a smile opened Thomas’s face before he slipped back into the house.

  He lowered his voice to a thin whisper as if the leaves on the trees were keeping watch. “We will hold you back from taking part in the exchanges. For now. We will need you later, should the rest of us be suspected. ’Tis not a matter of if, but when.”

  William nodded, a sudden buzz shooting through his limbs. “I will be ready at a moment’s notice.”

  Nathaniel pivoted away then stopped and cupped William on the shoulder once more. “You’re a true patriot now, Henry.”

  “William,” he corrected. A familiar longing at the sound of his old name flickered then dimmed. “I am Henry no longer.”

  Nathaniel dropped his arm, his gaze firm. “Henry was a good man.”

  “I hope William is a better one.”

  With a smile and a nod, Nathaniel turned and started toward the house. “He already is.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  The disguise was easy to obtain, the horse equally so.

  Sitting astride his mount, garbed in a pair of homespun breeches, a linen shirt, and heavy greatcoat, Paul’s posture relaxed as he shifted his cocked hat. The scruff he’
d grown around his jaw may be out of fashion, but it hid his face and made him appear more rugged, as he wished. No longer a soldier in the king’s army. Nay. A liberty-loving patriot traveling up from the south to lend his efforts to the cause.

  The breeze beat against the front of him as if it wished to bend Paul’s inflexible resolve. A burst of fire lit through him. Nothing could stay him from his goal. Donaldson would be found. Of that there was no question.

  He glanced down the road, loosening his hold on the reins. After days of travel he was now less than sixty miles from Boston, an easy three day’s travel—two if he pressed it. If he knew anything of Donaldson—and he knew much—he knew the man had nowhere to go, nothing to do but assimilate in the patriot army. Since Donaldson was such a seasoned soldier, it would be easy to distinguish him amongst the sea of New Englanders who couldn’t tell one end of a musket from the other.

  He glanced at the sky and gauged the remaining hours of sunlight. Five hours? Six? The need to increase his pace pitted in his stomach, but he resisted and swallowed away the ever-present frustration that Barrik was nowhere to be found. Paul groaned at the memory of finding the tavern in Providence well patronized, but with no sight of his cohort. Had the woman traveled there as she’d said she would, or abandoned her quest? Had Barrik found her to his liking and taken her back to the mysterious mountains from which he hailed? Paul gnawed on the inside of his cheek. Perhaps. It mattered little, though his pride dented at the thought of it. He should never have invested his energy in the thought of someone else doing the job that was truly all his own.

  As the sun rose to the center of the sky, the air warmed and he stopped at the side of the road to remove his cloak and stretch the ache from his back. He reached for the small wooden canteen and leaned his head back, coating his parched throat. Wiping his sleeve against his mouth, he halted and whirled as the sounds of voices mingled with the rustle of leaves.