Faithfully Yours

by Jo Ann Ferguson

  As Sebastian latched the gate behind them, Faith said, “The barn is over there by that stand of trees.”

  “I see it.”

  Again she glanced at him. Even though she knew where the barn was, she could not distinguish it from the darkness. She stared into the night, but did not see the barn’s walls until they stood within an arm’s length of them. Leading him around to where a door opened into the barn, she slid her foot over the threshold.

  “The floor is still here, I assume,” Sebastian said, the same light tone in his voice.

  “It should be. Father would not want it to fall out from under him.”

  He sprayed the area with light. Seeing something by a rickety ladder in the corner, Faith rushed to it. She picked up a mitten.

  “This belongs to one of my sisters,” she said.

  “How do you know?”

  “That red yarn you were admiring? I like to use it often in my knitting.”

  He took the mitten from her. “’Twas not the yarn I was admiring, Faith, but the fingers using it.”

  “Then allow me …” She pointed toward the ladder. “You can admire this one as you climb up to see if the girls are up there.”

  Running his finger along hers, he chuckled. “Up there? Is this your attempt to get me up into the haymow, Faith?”

  “Your fantasies are yours alone.”

  “Really?” He tipped up her chin.

  “We must find the twins.” Wishing her voice was not so unsteady, she stepped away. His teasing created images in her mind that had no right to be there.

  “You are right.” He gave her the mitten, then grasped the side of the ladder with one hand and climbed up, the light from the lantern swaying with his motions.

  She clasped her hands as she stood in the darkness. She strained to judge where he was by the sound of his footfalls and the shifting of the light through the uneven boards overhead. She heard him pause, then turn. Her heart dropped painfully. The girls must not be up there. Where else might they have gone?

  “Faith?”

  She looked up to see Sebastian peering over the side of the door to the haymow. His face was in silhouette, so the lantern must be on the floor beyond him. “Yes?”

  “Come up here.”

  “You found them?”

  “Come up here.”

  Hoping his light tone did not mean he was hoaxing her, she grasped her skirts and bunched them around her as she climbed up the ladder with some trepidation. She made sure each foot was secure on the rung before lifting the other up to the next board. As her head rose above the upper floor, she looked both ways through the dusty light that reached in a small circle around the lantern.

  She gasped when a kiss brushed her cheek. Looking up at Sebastian, who was kneeling beside the door, she said, “You should recall why we are here.”

  “I always recall as much as I can about each moment I spend with you.” He reached down and grasped her by the waist. As if she weighed no more than one of the twins, he lifted her onto the upper floor.

  “Thank you,” she said, breathless.

  “No, thank you.” His finger edged along her cheek. “’Tis a long time since I’ve had a chance to kiss a pretty lass in a haymow.”

  This man was more exasperating than any she had ever met. “Sebastian, I—”

  “Hush. You shall wake them.”

  “Wake them?”

  Sebastian came to his feet and turned her so she could see two small forms lying on the hay at the very edge of the light. He smiled. “They are asleep.”

  “Mother is going to be furious.”

  “But glad they have been found.”

  “Very glad.”

  “Can you carry one?”

  Faith hesitated, looking at the ladder. “Once we get down, yes, but—”

  “Climb down, and I will lower one to you. Then I will bring the other.”

  “Can you carry her and the lantern?”

  “Once we are down the ladder.”

  “All right.” She turned. Taking a deep breath, she knelt beside the ladder. How she hated them! She could climb to the top of the tallest tree, but she hated ladders, which wobbled when she stepped onto them.

  Sebastian slipped past her and down the ladder. He gripped it. “I have it steady, Faith.”

  Glad that he had not teased her about this peculiar fear, she edged her feet out over the doorway and wiggled her toes until she found the first rung. Slowly she settled her other foot beside it. She took another deep breath, then reached for the next lower slat. As she slipped down into the shadows pooled beneath the lantern on the floor above, some sense that had nothing to do with her eyes urged her to look straight ahead.

  She wondered if any darkness could obscure the glistening wells of Sebastian’s eyes. As she drew even with them, she realized he was standing on the other side of the ladder. Her fingers brushed against his as she took another step down. With only thin pieces of wood between her and his broad chest, she did not dare to breathe.

  “Take care,” he said as she hurried down the last two rungs to the floor.

  “You are the one who should take care. Don’t you know it can bring bad luck to be standing under a ladder?”

  He came around it and cupped her chin in his hand. His gloves were softer than his skin, but they could not restrain the fire that leaped from his fingers to her face. “So I have heard, but I must admit I found myself in a very lucky place just now. I see you put red stripes on stockings as well.”

  “You are outrageous!” She pulled back and smoothed her skirts down, but it was too late. He must have glimpsed her ankles—and how much more?—when she came down the ladder.

  “Just taking advantage of an otherwise dreary situation.”

  “Dreary? We found the twins!”

  “But you escaped from the haymow with only a single kiss and, to make the situation even more horrible, a kiss only on the cheek. A very dreary thought.”

  “Your thoughts should be solely on getting my sisters down here.”

  “You are a woman who will not be distracted.” He caressed her cheek before climbing back up the ladder.

  As Faith gripped one side of the ladder tightly, her knees seemed unstable. Resting her cheek on the rough board, she wondered how Sebastian could be so insightful most of the time and yet so wrong now. She was distracted by his touch—so much that she had to force herself to remember that Nancy and Molly could take a chill and sicken if they remained up in the haymow.

  Hearing Sebastian’s soft whisper, she held up her arms and took the little girl that he lowered through the hole. She set the groggy Molly on the floor, then did the same with Nancy. As Sebastian came down the ladder with the lantern hanging over his arm, she lifted Molly and settled her in her arms. Sebastian gathered up Nancy and followed her out of the barn.

  By the time they reached the house, the girls were awake and demanding to walk. Mother gushed her thanks before she herded the twins upstairs to be put to bed with warm stones and a cup of chicken soup. Father went to find Emery and Ezekial, and Sebastian left to call back his men.

  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.