Embrace of the Enemy (Winds of Betrayal) (26 page)

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.