The Courier of Caswell Hall (24 page)

He winked at Sarah, and the two of them obeyed.

Sarah grinned as she walked beside Grayson, her hand secured in his arm. He would have to leave again, but he would return to her. Perhaps next time he would be able to steal a kiss.

They hadn’t walked far from the docks when someone shouted, “Porter!”

They both turned around.

“What is it, Zadock?” Grayson asked as the younger man approached them. He was dressed in a fancy orange-striped vest with gold buttons and green pantaloons, a bandana knotted around his neck. His black hair blended with the color of his skin.

Zadock eyed her skeptically before he spoke to his captain. “We must prepare to leave within the hour.”

Grayson looked back at her before focusing on Zadock again. “But we do not depart until morning.”

Zadock shook his head. “You must come to the shipyard at once.”

Grayson turned toward her, and she wished his comrade had the courtesy to look away. Still, he took both her hands again as he leaned down to whisper in her ear, his steady voice calming her. “We will finish our conversation at a later date.”

“I hope so.”

Louisa waved her hand. “Come along.”

“I shall be back by August first.”

She released his hands. “I shall be waiting.”

Lydia waited by her window until moments before the sun slipped behind the veil of darkness. Then she moved out into the warm night, using a simple candle instead of a lantern to light her path. Usually she visited the gazebo later at night, but apparently her guests were already acquainted with her evening strolls. If she saw the guard, she would simply say she had chosen to walk earlier tonight.

But what if the man still shadowed her through the kitchen garden? What if he found Nathan with her?

If only she could cause some sort of diversion that would be more effective than her change in evening schedule. But she didn’t know what she could do without placing anyone else in danger.

She would have to trust Nathan again tonight, trust him with her life and the lives of her family, trust that he kept his promises.

Instead of taking the path left toward the gazebo, she veered right toward the acre planted with neat rows of cabbages, leeks, parsnips, onions, potatoes, and beans. The hollyhocks, sweetbriar, and English roses in the formal garden seemed like paradise to her, but there was beauty in the kitchen garden as well, with the dark-green stalks of radishes, crimson rhubarb, and tassels of corn.

As she strolled toward the garden, the shadow of a man emerged from behind the well and moved toward her.
Nathan
. She tried to quell the panic in her chest. They were much too close to the house to speak. One of the British soldiers would surely discover them and put her and Nathan both in jeopardy.

“Na—” she began, preparing to tell him to move away.

But the man’s louder voice overtook hers. “It is a pleasure to see you this evening, Lydia.”

She closed her lips, her fingers trembling. It wasn’t Nathan there to greet her in the gardens. It was Major Reed.

And she’d almost said Nathan’s name.

“It is a pleasure to see you as well,” she said, trying to sound as if she meant it.

He walked toward her, and she saw his white ruffled shirt in the candlelight and a lump of tobacco below his lip. He didn’t look quite as powerful without his red jacket, but she knew his power among his men was great. And his anger was frightening.

After the major’s confrontation with her family, she had heard the men talking about how they’d burned down the shipyard. But there’d been no more talk of the missing food and ammunition. Should she ask him if they’d found the supplies, or would she appear too eager? And yet if she didn’t ask, he might wonder about her indifference.

Perhaps she should just run.

“What are you doing out tonight?” he inquired.

She smiled as casually as possible, attempting to calm her nerves. “Taking a stroll.”

“It is not safe for a lady to be out by herself these days.”

“Perhaps not in the countryside, but Caswell Hall is plenty safe with you and your men here.”

“I should hope so,” he said. “Any rebel who dared to step on this property wouldn’t leave alive.”

She shuddered. Nathan would be shot or hanged if he was discovered here. And if they found out who he was visiting, she might be as well.

She prayed Nathan was very far away at the moment.

The major pointed toward the walkway. “I shall stroll with you.”

The memory of his confrontation in her basement rushed back to her, and everything within her wanted to decline. But if she did, Major Reed or one of his men would continue to follow, and they would surely discover Nathan when he approached her. Perhaps if she walked beside the major, not far from the house, Nathan would stay away.

Major Reed offered her his arm, and reluctantly she took it. When he patted her hand, the candlelight flickered on its pewter stick. She cringed. If he tried to harm her, she would scream. His men, she was certain, weren’t far away this time.

“Your family’s hospitality has been most appreciated,” he said as they walked past the rows of vegetables.

She didn’t want to engage the man in casual conversation, but then she realized she must keep him talking to warn Nathan that she had an escort.

“How do you like Virginia?” she asked, her voice a bit louder than normal.

“I like it very well,” he replied. “So much so that when the king regains control, I intend to stay here.”

“Indeed?” If the Americans won their country, there would be no welcome for any of the King’s Men.

“The king, I believe, will grant me a governorship.” He paused to spit tobacco juice onto the melon plants. “I am going to ask him for Virginia.”

She couldn’t imagine this man as a replacement for Thomas Jefferson, but if the British won, she was beginning to realize that the colonies would no longer be a home for her.

“The king must be quite grateful to have you as such a loyal subject,” she replied, determined to keep him talking.

“Aye, I will be forever loyal.” He stopped walking and turned toward her. “And I will need a good, loyal wife to help me in this endeavor.”

She held her candle in front of her, the fire a small barrier between her and this man she disdained. He thought she was betrothed to Seth and yet he disregarded it.

He looked quite serious. “I have spoken with Lord Caswell, and he agrees that you and I would make a formidable partnership to lead this colony under the king.”

“I—” she said, stumbling over her words. She did not want to anger him, but she refused to let him entertain the idea of matrimony. “I cannot marry you.”

“But your father said—”

“Major!” an officer yelled, and she turned to see the man running toward them. Relief at the interruption washed over her.

Captain Moore bent over, his hands on his knees, as he heaved deep breaths.

“What is it?” Major Reed demanded.

“Someone has released all the horses,” Captain Moore said. “The stable hand is frantic, trying to round them up on foot.”

Lydia pressed her lips together. Had Nathan spooked their horses?

Major Reed waved his hand, dismissing him. “Help him retrieve the horses.”

“We cannot find them in the darkness.”

“Imbeciles,” the major muttered. “I must escort Miss Caswell back to the house, and then I shall assist you.”

Captain Moore glanced her way. “I can escort her.”

How was this out-of-breath man supposed to protect her from any harm?

“Please do not concern yourself with me,” Lydia said as demurely as possible. “I have no need of an escort back to the house.”

“No—” Major Reed began, but then another of his men interrupted him.

“I am sorry, sir, but there is a fire in the washhouse.”

Major Reed scanned the gardens behind Lydia. “Someone is toying with us.”

Lydia clutched her candle, her eyes wide. “You must stop them,” she begged. “We need our horses.”

“It would not be pru—”

She stopped him. “Please, go!”

And so he spit out his tobacco and ran, both officers rushing behind him. In that moment, it seemed as if they had all forgotten about her.

As she lowered her candle to her side, relief flooded over her. She took a deep breath and continued her stroll toward the river, hoping Nathan would find her before the men returned.

She meandered down the path, crossing by the stalks of corn, when someone blew out her candle. It dropped to the ground.

“Come with me,” Nathan whispered, taking her hand. Then he pulled her into the narrow rows of corn.

She trembled. “They are searching for you.”

He held her hand a moment longer before he slowly released her fingers. He leaned down to speak into her ear. “They will not find me.”

The cornstalks towered around them, shielding them from the house and Major Reed. Nathan’s face was inches above hers, and in the starlight, she could see the intensity in his eyes. She trembled again, but she did not know if it was because of fear or because of the way Nathan was gazing at her.

Her voice quivered when she spoke. “Did you have to burn our washhouse?”

“It was only a small fire.” The warmth of his breath as he again whispered in her ear made her feel faint. “Your message saved our supplies.”

“But not the shipyard.”

“Soon we will have enough men to fight them.” He moved his head back to study her face. “Lydia—”

When Seth proposed long ago, she had felt an obligation to marry. With Major Reed, she felt only fear. But here with Nathan, hiding in the garden, she felt something else. Longing, perhaps. And—love.

She was falling in love with a Patriot spy.

She searched his eyes and wondered at the admiration she saw in them. “Yes?”

“I—” Someone shouted in the distance, and her heart quickened. “We must hurry.”

He reached for her hand again, and this time he placed some sort of package in it. She clutched it to her chest. “You must write me in secret now, in case your letters are found.”

“But how—?”

He spoke quickly. “There is a letter in this booklet that explains what you must do next. Memorize it tonight and then burn the instructions.”

She nodded. “I shall.” She wanted to stay hidden here with him forever, but it wasn’t safe for them to linger. “You must go,” she insisted.

His fingers brushed over her hand again. “Lydia, I—”

Voices in the garden interrupted him. The men seemed to be coming closer.

She pushed his arm. “Go.”

He leaned toward her again, and for one moment, she thought he was going to kiss her lips. She froze at his nearness, not knowing what she should do. But then he kissed her cheek, and she inhaled sharply, the sound of it like a cannon blast in the night.

He met her eyes one last time and then turned. In seconds, he had vanished into the stalks behind him.

She lifted her hand to her face, the touch of his lips searing her skin. Her feet seemed planted into the dirt as her mind warred against her heart.

She ought not feel this way about Nathan. He had likely kissed her in gratitude for her work as a courier and a spy. Still, she should be drowning with guilt for deceiving her family, their king, the man she once planned to marry.

But she didn’t feel guilty at all.

The stalks rustled to her left and she heard the voices of the men again as they searched through them. She tucked the small package down the front of her gown and stepped back out into the gardens. Her head lifted high, she strolled toward the house.

Captain Moore stopped her. “I thought you had already returned.”

“I decided to finish my walk,” she said with a shrug. “There did not seem to be any danger in the gardens.”

His eyes narrowed. “Did you see anyone?”

“Indeed,” she said with a nod. “Your men seem to be everywhere.”

His gaze traveled over her shoulder, scanning the gardens, and then he looked back at her hands. “Where is your candle?”

She looked down at her hands as if they had swallowed the holder and flame. “I must have dropped it.”

“That was quite careless of you, Miss Caswell.” The skepticism was potent in his voice.

“I suppose it was.”

She wanted to run. The captain was right; she had been careless.

Holding her composure as steady as possible, she walked up the stairs and into the house before she climbed up to the third floor. Then she stepped out on the small patio overlooking the gardens. Outside were clusters of lantern light moving quickly over the lawn, but if they hadn’t found Nathan yet, she doubted they would.

Wherever he hid, she hoped he would burrow down until they stopped searching. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing him.

Daylight lingered far into the evenings as the summer progressed. The long nights reminded Lydia of a child staying up as late as possible to play in the colorful gardens and fruit trees before finally slipping to sleep over the horizon. She had no information to deliver to Nathan, but she still walked every night at dusk to check for a ribbon in the gazebo.

Each night she was disappointed at the absence of the ribbon, but she prayed as she walked, asking God to keep Nathan safe wherever he was. And she prayed that Grayson was still alive and would return to them one day.

Ever since she refused his proposal of marriage last week, Major Reed had ignored her, and the officers no longer spoke of anything significant in front of her family. But when the time came for her to listen, she was prepared. She’d hidden the small bottle of ink Nathan gave her by stitching it into the cushion of her window seat. In his letter to her, Nathan had said the ink was invisible.

Outside her bedchamber, Lydia heard Hannah’s laughter echo down the hall, filtering into Lydia’s room along with music from the hall below. Lydia opened her door and saw the major looking down upon Hannah as if she were a sweet cake prepared just for him.

Hannah ignored Lydia’s presence, continuing to laugh as if she were aged five instead of fifteen. The major turned toward Lydia, satisfaction flickering in his eyes.