by Betty Bolte
Evelyn angled her head and frowned at her sister. "What do you mean, my worries are behind me?"
"Why, you have a home and the security of our father's fortune to provide for you and your son." Amy waved a hand in the space between them. "You need not trouble your head about where and how you'll live. It's been decided."
Surprise swept through Evelyn. "No, it has not been decided." She espied doubt on the faces of her friends. "I have no intention of living with my parents for long."
Nathaniel nodded at her. "Looks like we have something in common."
Evelyn opened her mouth to contradict his claim, but Amy cut into the conversation.
"Look, Benjamin, Mr. and Mrs. Walters are preparing to leave. We must go thank them for their wedding gift." Amy tugged on Benjamin's arm, drawing him away from the cluster of friends.
"Will you excuse us?" Benjamin addressed the group at large as he allowed Amy to pull him along behind her.
"Be off with you." Evelyn waved the three couples on their way. "We'll catch up with you later."
"Thanks again for all your help, Evelyn," Samantha said as Trent proffered his arm.
"My pleasure." Evelyn shooed them with a happy chuckle. "Go. See to your guests."
After the chattering friends had blended into the surrounding crowd, Evelyn turned back to Nathaniel. "So, Mr. Williams, will you be staying in town long?"
"I'm not sure. It depends on what Major Hanson has to say to-morrow when we meet." He peered at her, and a gentle smile emerged on his lips. "And what a certain recent widow might have to say as well. She may wish for me to dawdle in procuring my own residence."
Evelyn raised one brow at the provocative suggestion and then shook her head. She had absolutely no intention of beginning her husband hunt so soon after becoming widowed. "Do not depend on such an unlikely occurrence, Mr. Williams."
"Please, my friends all call me Nat. And I shall call you Lyn." He chuckled and folded his arms. "Since we'll be living under the same roof for a time, we may as well be friends."
Evelyn blinked at the man, astonished at the level of his audacity. Yes, he was definitely a dangerous man. Who did he think he was? No one had ever shortened her given name into such a ridiculous nickname. Time to straighten him out as to the proper form of address and thus erect a societal barrier to protect herself. One she desperately needed to erect. "You may call me Mrs. Hamilton, and I will call you Mr. Williams."
He shook his head, as though sad to correct her. "I think not. Lyn suits you exquisitely better."
Clearly, the daft man couldn't be reasoned with, intent on having his way, much like Walter, who had cowed her into doing everything to please him. But no matter what she did or how she behaved, she had never really satisfied her husband. Except maybe in having a son. A son she'd do everything in her power to protect. Squaring her shoulders, she blinked at Nathaniel. She would not travel the path of subjugation ever again.
"I have never answered to a nickname, so if you intend to be friendly, you'll respect my wishes." She snugged Jim closer to her, preparing to walk away from the charged space suddenly stretching between them.
Nathaniel smiled at her, and made the beginning of a bow before straightening, glee in his eyes. "If you insist."
"I do." The mischievous smirk on his lips did not bode well. She'd seen his type before. She would make certain he behaved properly toward her.
Her young maid appeared out of the crowd. Dressed in her best frock, the black slave soon arrived at Evelyn's side and reached out to take Jim into her arms. "Want me to carry him? Your arms must be tiring."
"Yes, thank you, Jemma." Evelyn gladly transferred the weight of her son to the girl. "He may need a clean napkin, as well."
"I'll take care of the young'un." Jemma nodded and rearranged the blanket over the wide awake boy. "You enjoy yourself, you here?"
Evelyn huffed a laugh as she fingered her skirts. "I have been, but now it's time we depart."
"Yes, miss." Jemma peered at the man beside Evelyn. "Is he coming with us?"
"It appears so. This is Nathaniel Williams." Evelyn glanced between the maid and the man. "My father invited him to stay with us for as long as he'd enjoy visiting."
"Pleased to meet you, Jemma." Nathaniel offered his crooked arm to Evelyn, an invitation to his escort, but also to touch him. "Shall we join your parents?"
His mere propinquity set her heart racing. To lay her hand on his muscular arm would invite an undesired response. Well, actually a much longed for action which would yield most certainly a desired response. One she could not permit herself to experience. She must tread carefully, and see he did as well. "As long as you remember you are a guest in our house, I will treat you with respect and deference." She had promises to keep, ones made to herself and to her son. Nothing would sway her from her mission. Not even tempting lips and an endearing smile. "I ask you to do the same."
"You have nothing to fear from me." He inclined his head and grinned at her when she gingerly rested the tips of her fingers on the heavy fabric of his coat sleeve.
The light yet electric touch of his arm, even through the sleeve, evoked a tiny gasp from deep inside her. Propriety kept her hand in place as they stepped off, making a path through the crowded rooms. They paused in an antechamber to don their warm cloaks and hats, avoiding further contact until he again crooked his arm. After pulling on her gloves, she reluctantly accepted.
As they approached her parents at the open front door, he glanced down at her. "I shall be on my very best behavior, Lyn."
She gaped at him. The challenge in his expression made her snap her mouth closed as they passed through the door and out onto the street. Her parents climbed into the conveyance as Nathaniel escorted her toward the vehicle. She would refuse to speak to him if he continued to press her in such an improper manner. The corded muscles in his arm flexed beneath her fingers before he took her hand and helped her up into the waiting carriage.
She gathered her long skirts close as she sat on the cushioned bench seat, and then stifled a gasp when Nathaniel squeezed in beside her, Jemma and Jim on his other side. His leg rested against hers, hidden beneath the flap of his coat and her own voluminous skirts. With her parents sitting directly in front of her, she dared not draw attention to his impropriety. She pressed her lips together to keep from chastising him. Oh, she wished she'd been wrong, but she'd been so very right. He was indeed dangerous on all counts.
Chapter 2
Spirits flowed freely, both the ale and the mood, in McCrady's Tavern the next day. Nathaniel perused the men and ladies crowded into the popular gathering spot, before returning his gaze to rest on his companions. Benjamin and Frank conversed with easy familiarity, the result no doubt of a long friendship. They'd agreed to join him for a drink and a discussion regarding his troublingly uncertain future.
"I'm sorry to hear of the loss of your family and property." Frank dragged his chin side to side, a slow acknowledgement of what Nathaniel had come to think of as his personal tragedy. "My sympathies to you."
"I appreciate it." Nathaniel's grief over losing his wife during the bloody war echoed in his chest, a throbbing underlying each beat of his heart.
He'd returned home the November past only to find the house charred ruins, his pretty but sometimes bitter wife buried nearby beneath a crude wooden cross. A neighbor had relayed to him the horrible details of the devastating attack by loyalists six months before the war ended. The neighbor hadn't known where Nathaniel was, so stepped in to handle matters in his stead. He'd thanked the man for his efforts but found he couldn't stay on the property. He decided to follow through on the dream he'd shared with his wife, of moving to the frontier with all its potential. He turned over the deed to the property in exchange for the little gold specie his helpful neighbor possessed and rode away.
"I must forge ahead. Start anew somewhere." He toyed with the curved handle of the pewter mug he clasped with both hands.
"Why not in Charlestow
n?" Benjamin tapped his ale mug to Nathaniel's. "The new and improved city of Charlestown would welcome an industrious man such as you."
"Yes, we've much to offer and more to come." Frank also touched his mug to Nathaniel's. "What did you have in mind?"
The question of the year. He'd pondered possibilities with no resolution. "I'm open to suggestions, though I've considered perhaps a surveying job."
"Dangerous work, that." Benjamin savored several long swallows, then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Out in the wilderness with the bears and wolves to contend with."
"I enjoyed being away from town while in the militia, sleeping under the stars." The diversity of the others eating and drinking at the many tables suggested a lively and varied population. Could he live in a city, even an interesting and bustling port city such as Charlestown? He'd never done so, or at least not for more than a few days. Adapting to the inherent sights and smells proved challenging.
Frank snorted and tapped a finger against his mug. "Not something I can relate to. I'd much rather be in a comfortable home or, even better, on a ship sailing to distant lands."
"My precise meaning, Frank." Nathaniel spun the mug with deliberate movements. "The frontier beckons to me. I'm waiting for the payment from Congress to move west."
"The debt may not be paid, from the rumors I've heard." Benjamin's gaze put truth to the gossip. "Congress lacks the funds to make good on their promise to the soldiers."
"Damnation. I'd counted on the payment." Nathaniel sighed and drank from his mug, fighting a sinking of his spirits along with his prospects. Congress had enlisted thousands of men on the promise of a yearly salary until the war ended, and then a pension for life of half the annual salary. Such funds served as the mythical foundation of his future, one he couldn't see clearly and now had no means with which to pursue. He studied his new friends. "I suppose I'll need to find work, if that's the case. Any ideas?"
"You and every other soldier returning home are seeking employment. With so many men flooding back into town, work is hard to come by." Frank looked around the room, his gaze lighting briefly on the other patrons before returning to rest on Nathaniel. "I could use some help at the print shop running the press, if you're so inclined."
A printing press? Could anything be less interesting? Still, he'd not turn away any opportunity, however tedious. "Doing what precisely?"
"Setting the type for various printed materials." Frank grimaced with each word spoken. "A task I'd readily hand over to someone more adept."
"For how long?" Did he say tedious? Setting type equaled monotony of a kind most appalling. Simple enough work, though. He'd do anything to fund his most beloved dream of moving away from the painful memories he associated with the coast. "What about payment?"
"I'm thinking six months, while Emily and I take the journey I'd promised her. We've been talking of going to France in the next few months. As for payment..." Frank waggled a hand in the air above the scarred wood table. "We can work out an appropriate wage if you're interested."
Six months of his life spent in a shop. He sipped his drink, contemplating the ramifications of agreeing with the offer. One advantage would be the accumulation of money toward purchasing his own property wherever he chose to settle. He'd also have the wherewithal to pay back the dentist for his excellent work replacing his two missing front teeth with new ones fashioned from ivory. Perhaps the most tempting reason to accept was proximity to Evelyn, the enchantress who soothed the grief thrumming inside with a gentle smile and a lighthearted laugh. She attracted him with her beauty, her wit, and her intelligence. And something else, something... more he couldn't describe. With time he hoped to discover the enthralling attribute.
"Take it, man." Benjamin grinned and punched Frank on the shoulder. "He's earned the reward of a trip abroad after all his sacrifices during the revolution."
Nathaniel lifted his mug and drank, delaying a response. If the work enabled him to follow his dream, then the time would be well spent. He envisioned a fine home and acres upon acres of cotton and tobacco. He imagined Evelyn tending his hearth and garden, while young Jim grew into a fine lad to help him run the place. A dream, surely, but one he felt certain he could bring to pass.
"Very well, I accept." Nathaniel shrugged and tapped a finger against the pewter vessel. "Tell me more about what you'd expect me to do while you're traveling with your wife."
Nathaniel listened to Frank's description of the work involved. Since the British had embarked their troop ships for England the month previous, Frank had received more and more business in the forms of pamphlets, announcements, even books of poetry and romances. He asked a few questions now and again, but mostly listened. The more Frank talked, the more he wondered why exactly he'd agreed.
The door opened, sunlight and fresh air filtering into the dimly lit interior. Glancing up, he grinned as Evelyn and Amy crossed the threshold and paused. He smiled even more broadly when Evelyn's gaze met his. He rose, knocking lightly on the table as he did. "We have company, gentlemen."
Benjamin and Frank also stood to drag a couple more chairs over to the table. Nathaniel motioned for the ladies to join them. Amy's answering smile and Evelyn's more cautious nod preceded their crossing the room to where the men waited. Evelyn's graceful sway to her hips as she approached entranced him until he forced his gaze up to her regard. Flustered by her smirk, he busied himself with pulling out the chair and assisting her to settle onto the hard surface.
"I'm glad to be indoors again." Amy shivered in her seat beside Benjamin, her gaze bouncing from one face to another.
"The wind picked up so that it howls down the street." Evelyn relaxed against the chair back. "Though even that didn't deter folks from crowding the lanes and alleys."
Benjamin chuckled as he attracted the barkeeper's attention with a wave of his hand. "The relief in town is keen. I imagine some time will pass before the celebrations subside."
"Where is Emily?" Frank cocked his head at Amy, his brow furrowed. "I thought she'd be with you."
"She stopped at her shop to check on its progress." Amy shrugged with a smile. "Tom Elfe was having some difficulty with the design of the cabinetry. He's not as talented as his pa used to be, but he'll manage. She'll be along."
Frank nodded and lifted his mug. Nathaniel mimicked his movements while tracking Evelyn's. She watched her companions with a puzzled expression, as though not quite understanding their conversation or actions but amused in spite of her confusion. He recalled that she had been isolated in the country for several years, kept away from her family and friends by her deceased husband. Why the man hid his wife from everyone remained a mystery.
Her beauty and social graces made her special. More than the superficial aspects, though, her quiet intellect spoke to Nathaniel in ways unlike any one else. Despite the reality that they'd formally met a few days before, he wanted to protect her, prevent any harm or hurt. There existed only one problem with his intent. He couldn't pursue his desire to court her until he established his plan and a means to support a new wife. Until then, he'd not entangle their futures in any way. It simply wouldn't be fair to her. He studied her for several moments until she aimed her gaze at him. He blinked and sipped his drink, the pungent hops sweetly bitter on his tongue. But damn, he'd love to pursue her as a real contender to be her beau.
"Nathaniel, my mother asked me to inquire whether you will need a personal servant while you're staying with us." Evelyn sat up straight and clasped her hands in her lap.
"No, I can manage for a time on my own." He detected uncertainty in her steady gaze and smiled to reassure her. He was rewarded with the gentle lift of her tempting lips, the smile he ill-advisedly loved to distraction. "But please convey my appreciation for her thoughtfulness when you see her next."
"I will. I believe she'll be relieved, to be honest." Evelyn wrapped her fingers around the stem of the crystal glass, lifting the wine toward her enticing mouth.
Nathaniel looked
away from Evelyn to calm the reaction in his midriff. Every act and smile evoked pleasure in his chest. Such a lovely woman. He could gaze upon her features forever, but the timing of his infatuation proved inconvenient for them both.
"Because of the want of slaves in town?" Amy asked.
"We lost several to the departing British ships and haven't yet been able to replace them from the plantation." Evelyn sipped the garnet fluid and then set her glass on the table.
"Your family is not the only one facing such a problem." Frank nodded slowly as he glanced around the group. "I understand a ship is due soon which brings hundreds of indentured servants and slaves."
Benjamin set his mug on the white linen dressed table. "A temporary solution but at least some help is on the way."
"Why not hire some of the returning militia to work instead of buying a person, indentured or slave?" Nathaniel had never liked the idea of buying servants.
He'd chosen to only hire those who had the right to choose where they worked and for whom. But his needs were small. He appreciated the dilemma planters faced. The thousands of acres of crops to be sowed and harvested each year required many hands. Far cheaper to buy the slave than to pay wages, thus making the crops vastly more profitable. But at what cost in humanity?
"Many of the men seek employment, while others have elected to be an artisan or tradesman." Amy tapped a manicured finger on the tablecloth. "My cousins, for example, are considering their options as well."
"The Sullivan brothers could turn water into wine with their talents." Frank gripped his mug with one hand, sliding it closer to him. "When they team together, they can do most anything."
"You're correct, my friend." Benjamin huffed a laugh. "It's best to keep an eye on them and invest in whatever they do."
"Of whom do you speak?" Nathaniel asked.