Faithfully Yours (8 page)

Faith stood alone in the foyer and sighed. Going to sit in the dining room, she lifted a spoon out of her soup bowl, then lowered it. Her stomach roiled with too many untested emotions for her to be able to eat. She turned and stared at the fire on the hearth that shared a chimney with the kitchen hearth.

Stamping feet in the foyer tore her attention from the flames, and she blinked, wondering if she had fallen asleep. She came to her feet as Sebastian entered the room.

“Did you find all your men?” she asked.

“Yes, and I sent them to the tavern by the crossroads to get something warm after their cold search.” He held his hands out to the fire. “If it would storm, this dampness might fall out of the air. It is worse than the cold.”

“Thank you for helping us find the twins.”

“They are adventurous.”

She laughed. “You are kind to pick that term instead of troublesome, as Mother often describes them.”

“When I was young, I found the constraints set by adults definitely an impairment to the plans devised by me and my sisters and brothers.” He slipped his arm around her shoulders.

Shrugging it off, she said, “Do not do that!”

“Why?” His eyes narrowed. “Or are you not going to answer that question, either? Does the fact that I serve His Majesty in his army mean you cannot be friendly to me?”

“Friendly, yes, but not—”

“Not this?”

He placed his hand at her nape and brought her mouth under his. The sweet texture of his lips filled her mind as his arm around her waist pressed her closer against him. The reality of being in his arms was more thrilling than any daydream. Although she knew she should halt him, her hand did not rise to slap his face at his impertinence. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

Slowly he lifted his lips from hers, and she opened her eyes to look up at his roughly drawn face. No warnings rang through her head to alert her to the danger of being in his arms. All she could think of was the enticing sensation of his lips over hers.

“I have wanted to do that since the moment I saw you on the road,” he whispered.

“Really?”

He chuckled at her breathlessness. “Yes, really.”

He pressed his mouth to hers again. She sighed with eager passion as his hands moved along her back, warm through her simple dress. No longer content to taste her mouth, he placed fiery kisses on her cheeks, her forehead, the tip of her nose. Her whole body quivered as his tongue explored her neck.

Looking up at him, she discovered that her pleasure with his kisses was shared, for there was a gentleness in his smile that she had not seen before. She pushed back a recalcitrant strand of ebony hair from his forehead and delighted in the warmth within her at such a simple touch. The magic of being in his arms was seductive and alarming, but she could not fight the enticement. She guided his mouth back toward hers.

“Sweet one,” he whispered close to her ear, “is this a sample of that wondrous colonial hospitality I have heard so much about?”

Faith's face became pale, then red. She pushed herself away from Sebastian, who had lured her into forgetting that she should not trust any British soldier.

“How dare you?” she asked in a strained whisper. She had been enjoying his kisses, and he had been using her. It was her fault.

Sebastian's hands on her shoulders became a caress down her arms. Desire brightened his eyes as his fingers traced the length of her arms. Although she knew it was wrong, she could not stop him from touching her. She wanted his touch.

“How dare I what, Faith?” he asked. “How dare I kiss you, or how dare I remind you that you have just broken a vow to yourself?”

“A vow?”

“The one you made to hate every man who wears a British uniform.”

“How did you know … Why don't you leave me alone?”

“I will if you wish it.” He brushed her lips. “Tell me, sweet one, that you want me to leave you alone, and I shall.”

“I don't believe you.”

His eyes twinkled. “Maybe you would be more likely to believe me if I said I shall
try
to leave you alone.” He lifted a strand of her hair. “A difficult task when you are so tempting.”

“So I have seen from your fellow soldiers, who have tried to kiss and paw me without my permission.”

“If I were to ask for your permission, would you give it?”

“Faith?” Her mother's voice came from the stairs.

“I must go,” she said. “Mother needs me.”

“She is not the only one, sweet one.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her, hard, as if he wanted to imprint the pattern of his skin upon hers.

Her knees trembled as she went to answer her mother. She helped Mother tend to the little girls, who were babbling on and on about the ghost they had followed into the barn. Molly believed it was a long-dead Lenape. Nancy argued it was a pirate who had sailed up the creek. Finally, the two little girls were settled for the night.

Faith got ready for bed, as well. Although she was exhausted, she could not fall asleep. Her body remained too enrapt with memories of the succulent sensations within Sebastian's arms, while her mind was caught up in guilt about allowing him to hold her.

Alone in the darkness, watching the shadows move as starlight played through the branches beyond her window, she gave the luscious recollections free rein. She wrapped them around her, to savor in her dreams. Never again must she allow herself to enjoy them any other way.

Not when being in his arms risked everything she loved.

Five

“When are they leaving?”

Faith sat on the stool and watched Tom Rooke pace. As he turned toward her, she said, “I wish I could give you a date, but Major Kendrick seems determined to stay here until he completes his mission.”

“To find us?”

“Partly.” She frowned. “Tom, you said his name means something to you. Will you tell me what?”

“It means that the British army is determined to crush what is left of the rebels. Kendrick has earned a reputation for completing his missions, no matter what.” He paused and smiled coldly. “And no matter who is in his way. I hear he has a titled father that he is determined to impress, so he will do what he can to be named a hero.”

Tom lambasted the British army and their interference in Chester County, but she heard nothing more. She could not rid herself of the image of Sebastian's face when she had taunted him for caring about being a hero. He had reacted with a fervor that had not vanished … until he kissed her.

Leaving the supplies with Tom, Faith hurried home. Rain followed her into the house. Cleaning up the wet floor and helping her mother with other chores kept her so busy that she did not have a chance to think about Tom's words until she was getting ready for bed.

She went to the room's one window and looked out onto the moonswept ground in front of the barns. A few leaves still wiggled in the wind, looking as if they were trying to escape from being blown against the buildings.

Listening to Tom would be wise. She trusted him as an ally, although she suspected he had other allies that she would want nothing to do with. She should trust his opinion of Sebastian, as well. Yet, even though she had witnessed Sebastian's obvious fury at her remark about his being a hero, she could not forget how gentle his strong arms had been when he brought his mouth to her.

She touched her lips with her fingertips, as he had. She had never imagined a kiss could be like that. When she and Wade had tried a kiss, so he would be prepared to kiss Lillian when he asked her to marry him, they had ended up giggling like Molly and Nancy.

With a sigh, she went back to her bed. There were no answers waiting for her in the barnyard. Stretching her toes toward the wrapped stones at the foot of her bed, she hoped their heat would ease the chill that had begun with Tom's words.

Moans rumbled from beyond the door. Gut-deep moans that resounded like thunder in the night.

Faith sat up and tried to see through the darkness. Clutching her blanket to her chest, she glanced toward the door. What was that?

The moans came again.

She pushed herself to her feet and grabbed her wrapper. Pulling it on, she threw open the door, taking care that it did not bang on the wall and wake her sisters. She rushed along the hallway. She faltered when she realized the sound came from the first floor. Had someone been injured? Father did not allow drunkenness in the house, but one of the British soldiers might have become intoxicated and hurt himself.

She went to the parlor door. Looking in, she saw Sebastian asleep on the settle, his long legs hanging over one end. Why was he sleeping on the high-back bench instead of in his room? He was thrashing, caught up in a jumble of the covers. His low moans became words.

“Leonora, you cannot marry him! Leonora, listen to me. You know the truth. You are
my
Leonora.”

Faith drew back as her eyes filled with unexpected tears. He was speaking of another woman with brokenhearted desperation. But he had kissed
her
! She leaned her face against her arm on the frame of the door. She should have remembered she couldn't trust any man in that uniform.

Sebastian reached for his sword as hushed footsteps intruded into his sleep. Good! He wanted to escape from this memory that refused to be forgotten.

Light from a hearth flickered dimly over him, surprising him. He had become accustomed to waking to find himself wrapped in a warm blanket of night. The seasons had flowed on, and now winter was coming here in Pennsylvania, so far from Kendrick Court.

Sweat trickled in an icy river down his back and across his brow. He moaned as memory flared once more, unbidden. As if he stood in Kendrick Court's chapel once again, he saw Leonora pledging her life to his brother Raymond. She turned to look at Sebastian as she repeated her vows, and her eyes glittered with triumph. And why not? She had led Sebastian on a merry chase, letting him pursue her until she somehow claimed his heart. Her favors had tantalized him and entrapped him in her labyrinth of lies. Too late, he had learned she was using him to capture his brother's eye. Then she had wed Raymond to gain the title she lusted for more than she ever had for Sebastian.

He had fought to keep his face blank as Leonora walked along the church aisle past him on Raymond's arm. Pausing, she whispered, “Dear younger brother.” Her kiss on his cheek had been as humiliating as her words.

That image remained even after his brother's accidental death less than two months later and Leonora's attempts to woo Sebastian again. When he had purchased this commission to escape her greedy fingers, she had turned her attention to another. His father had been furious, because Leonora's dowry went with her.

Sebastian watched lovely, voluptuous Leonora vanish into the mists of his dream. Let the covetous brunette wed someone else! Sebastian did not need her or her dowry, which would have allowed his father to gamble heavily for years to come. He would make his father proud of him here in America. At least, that had been his plan when he came here to take up arms against the rebels.

And Gaylord had followed him, as his younger brother had since he took his first steps. Pain sliced through him. Gaylord, who had cried when his horse slipped and broke its leg and had to be destroyed. Gaylord was no soldier, but he had come with Sebastian.

He groaned again.

“Are you ill?”

Faith's voice! It was taut with anger.

Sebastian grimaced. What was she doing here, and why did her question have the tone that her voice assumed whenever she was furious?

“'Tis nothing but a night vision,” he replied as he saw her among the shadows beyond the glow of the low fire.

“Then I bid you good night.”

He came to his feet. His eyes widened when he admired Faith in the doorway, her auburn hair ablaze with the light from the hearth. She wore a simple white wrapper over her unbleached nightgown, and he was treated to a view of her captivating curves that had been hidden beneath her wide-skirted dress. Before she could move, he captured her fingers, stroking them gently.

He released them with a silent curse. Was he condemned to repeat his foolishness over and over through all the rest of his days? He had learned the faithlessness of women when Leonora chose his brother over him. He scowled into the darkness. When he proved his valor on the field of battle, she would regret her choice.

“Can you sleep easily now?” she asked.

He intended to say yes, but as he looked at her hair glowing like a ruddy star on the darkest night, he said, “Sit with me awhile, Faith.”

“It is late.”

“I have been here at your father's house for nearly a week, and yet I know so little about you.”

“The rest of the household is asleep. We should be quiet and seek our beds, as well.”

“A few minutes stolen from the middle of the night should make no difference.”

Faith wanted to argue that he might be well-rested, but she had spent the day tending to the animals in the field, as well as making their meals and assisting Mother … and taking supplies to Tom Rooke. But she sat on a chair next to where he lowered himself to the settle and asked, “Of what do you wish to speak?”

“I am not sure.” Astonishment filled his voice, and she guessed he had not thought she would stay.

“You might start with why you are here instead of in the room Father made available to you.”

He chuckled. “That is answered simply. When I came in after giving my men their orders for the morrow, I intended to sit for a few minutes and enjoy this warmth before going upstairs. Needless to say, I fell asleep right here.”

“If you are so tired, you should seek your bed.”

“But I am not tired any longer. My nap took care of that.”

Faith hesitated, then said, “In spite of what you said, you know much about this family, for you have had an excellent chance to observe us for the past week. I know very little about you.”