Her glowing eyes melted him and it took a moment for Thomas to find his voice. “It was my pleasure.”
“It truly was a magnificent evening,” Eliza said, “but I do believe it’s time for both Kitty and I to retire.”
“But the evening’s only just begun,” Nathaniel protested.
“Liza, must we?” Kitty spun toward her sister, holding her hand to her chest. Silent, Eliza kept her eyes to the ground, when Kitty took her arm. “I should have known. We don’t want you making yourself overtired. I guess this is goodnight, gentlemen.”
Nathaniel gave Kitty a sweeping bow as they said a quick “good-evening” before the two girls moved toward the stairs. Thomas’s gaze trailed Eliza, and just before she disappeared behind the wall, she peeked at him over the curve of her shoulder. Her eyes locked with his and she instantly looked away, stealing Thomas’s breath. Then she disappeared up the stairs.
He gripped the chair beside him to keep from floating away. His life was changing and despite his greatest efforts, he couldn’t stop it. His fascination with Eliza had mounted into an all-consuming attraction. No—desire.
He dropped into the chair, sweeping his hand up and over his head.
“You look like you want to talk,” Nathaniel said.
“Sure, I’ll talk,” Thomas replied. “I’ll talk about anything but Eliza.”
Nathaniel choked on a laugh before a somber veil enveloped his features.
“There is something I’ve been meaning to discuss with you—but not in front of the ladies.”
Chapter Eighteen
Eliza halted at the top of the stairs. Kitty stopped as well, a puzzled wrinkle on her brow.
“Aren’t you coming to bed?” Kitty asked.
Nodding, Eliza put a finger to her mouth. She brushed her hands in front of her, motioning Kitty to go to the room.
Kitty pursed her lips, waiting longer than Eliza wanted, then obeyed. “Fine. But don’t make yourself sick.”
Silent, Eliza descended a few stairs, remaining out of sight. What had Nathaniel wanted to keep from their ears? Her conscience told her it was wrong to eavesdrop, but her curious nature won the battle of wills.
“What is it?” Thomas’s voice sounded quiet and nervous.
“I know you want to stay away from town—and for good reason, but I want to tell you something I’ve been planning.”
“Planning?”
Eliza heard the rustling of feet and pressed her back firm against the wall, hoping to remain unseen. The creaking of a chair let her know someone had taken to sitting.
“The tension you felt in Boston is just as hot here.”
“I know,” Thomas said.
“There is much talk of the Tea Act, among other issues. I’ve been approached by several members of the community and they have invited me to be the leader of a group similar to your Sons of Liberty.”
Eliza strained her ears as their voices dropped in volume.
“You’ve accepted I hope?” Thomas asked.
“Indeed. The Tories in town are causing extreme tension and discord. Those of us who believe in this cause need to band together. The stakes are very great, but the consequences we will suffer if we do not oppose the Crown are too costly—not only financially but personally as well.”
Thomas’s masculine voice grew deeper. “Nothing could be of more importance.”
Eliza held her breath. What are the stakes? What are the consequences?
“I’ve been working for some time now to organize a large political rally. It’s scheduled to take place two weeks from tomorrow just before sundown.”
“Why haven’t you told me this before?” Thomas asked.
“There wasn’t much to say, knowing all the stress you’ve been under. It’s not as if you could have helped me.”
Thomas hummed in agreement.
The more Nathaniel spoke, the more strength flooded his voice. “Those of us in attendance plan to let our local leaders know where we stand on the issue of taxation. It’s going to be a peaceful gathering, but of course the militia won’t see it that way. I’ve just had word this very morning that three hundred people are expected to attend from Plymouth, and even more from Rochester and other surrounding provinces. I’m expecting upwards of eight hundred. With numbers that high, I imagine the British army will send even more of their minions to keep the peace.” Nathaniel’s voice knotted with poison.
Eliza covered her mouth to keep from gasping. Eight hundred people? Where would they fit such a crowd?
Nathaniel continued. “The rally will begin just before sundown. Wythe will be helping me lead the crowd to the courthouse. Do you know Joseph Wythe?”
More shuffling sounds echoed into the staircase and Eliza stiffened.
“No,” Thomas said.
“You’d like him. Strong as an ox and, like you and I, he’d be willing to give his life for this cause. His brother Cyprian owns Newcomb Tavern. Hateful man.”
“You mean Tory Tavern?” Thomas asked, with piqued interest in his tone.
“The very same. He’s given Joseph his fair share of trials, God knows. At any rate, we’ll meet at the south end of town, and God willing, within a few hours we’ll have this county acting in the name of the people—not the king.”
Eliza recognized Thomas’s heavy sigh through the silence. “Sounds like quite an affair. I wish more than anything that I could attend with you, help you in some way, but I need to think about the safety of Eliza and Kitty.”
“I know. I tell you not to ask for your attendance, but to caution you. There are already a larger number of Redcoats in the city, and I petition you to use even greater caution.”
“How can I possibly use greater caution, I already stay here as it is—”
“I know, but I have a grinding feeling that somehow something will go wrong and you’ll be caught. Just be careful.”
“Of course,” Thomas said.
“I will continue to check on all of you regularly, as I have been, and help you with what you need. But as the rally draws near you must not—must not—come to town.”
“I won’t.” Thomas answered with a small laugh. “Don’t worry.”
The chairs squeaked again and footsteps moved around the room. “I’ll get on my way,” Nathaniel said. “Since the girls don’t know to whom the praise must honestly be directed, let me thank you, Thomas, for a most satisfying and shall I say, enlightening evening.”
The blood in Eliza’s arms and legs surged faster. This whole celebration had indeed been Thomas’s doing all along?
The door opened and she imagined Nathaniel putting his hat over his head as he walked out the door.
“I couldn’t have done it without you, old friend. And thank you for keeping my secret.” Thomas replied.
“I always keep your secrets, Thomas.”
The door closed and the lock flipped in place.
Eliza looked up to the room she shared with Kitty. The candle still glowed, but she heard no movement. Kitty must already be out of her gown and readying for bed. Eliza’s curiosity and desire to speak with Thomas pooled in her legs and before any sense of reason could stop her, she emerged from her safe spot in the stairway into the dimly lit main room.
“Thomas?”
Thomas straightened from his crouched position by the fire.
“Eliza. I thought you’d retired for the evening?” The shadows from the fire caressed his chiseled face. His enchanting eyes reached out and drew her to him.
“I did, but . . .” She didn’t want to admit to listening in on their conversation but she had to thank him. The words she’d tried to hold back stumbled out of her mouth. “Why didn’t you want us to know this was all your doing?”
Thomas folded his arms around his muscular chest gifting her with a teasing half-smile. “You were eavesdropping.”
Eliza’s face heated. She licked her lips and lowered her gaze to the floor.
“Forgive me,” she said gathering enough courage to
look at him.
Eyes twinkling, Thomas’s lips rose and his shoulders straightened. “I have nothing to say that you cannot hear, Eliza.”
He motioned for her to join him in front of the fireplace. Her heart leapt to her throat and she stopped breathing. If she went anywhere near him, she feared the remaining waters in her reservoir of resistance would run dry.
His hand remained outstretched but she couldn’t move. “I’ll explain to you, if you come stand by the fire. It’s warmer over here.”
It’s true. It is warmer over there. That was her only reason for failing to listen to the warning that thundered in her ears—wasn’t it?
Eliza neared and stationed herself by the fire, a safe distance from him. Thomas placed one hand on the mantel, and the other behind his back as he stared into the flames.
“I’ve put you and your sister through so much, Eliza. I wanted to do something for you—something as a way to thank you for your temperance, but I didn’t want you to think you must repay me for any of it.” He paused and turned to face her. “When it comes time for you to go, I want you to keep these gowns and the others. It’s my penance, I suppose.”
“You bought these gowns as well?” Eliza breathed. “Thomas, they must have cost you a fortune.”
“Not in the least.”
He moved forward and Eliza’s stomach flipped upside down. She moved back a step, afraid of what she might do if he stood any closer.
Thomas must have seen the apprehension in her eyes, for his face softened and a tiny smile lifted his lips. “And even if I had spent a fortune, Eliza, I would have considered it an honor to do so.”
“We will repay you.”
“You won’t.”
“We must!”
He took a step closer, his hungry eyes flowing over her.
As if propelled by invisible cords, she too began closing the distance between them. She willed him to reach out, pull her into his arms and kiss her like he’d done an eternity ago.
Then without warning, the hungry look disappeared and he backed away once again, staring into the flames as if nothing had happened.
Eliza studied the ground, her heart cold. The distance between became a cavern where her emotions echoed off the lonely, towering walls. Maybe he really didn’t care. Maybe she’d imagined it all because she wanted it to be so. Maybe the emotions she’d felt between them during their reading had been an act all along.
“Eliza,” Thomas said, “I’ve only ever done what I thought was best—though perhaps not what your father would have done. When the danger is past, I’ll return you and your sister to Boston. I promise.”
It is clear, then. He doesn’t want me.
Eliza swallowed the hurt and blinked back a wave of tears. It made sense she would go back to Boston. They weren’t really attached to each other anyway. This wasn’t her real home. He didn’t want to be shackled with two women for the rest of his life. He’d done his duty in caring for her and Kitty, and nothing more should be expected.
But why did such a thing have to be so painful?
The light in Eliza’s sparkling complexion dimmed and Thomas’s muscles tensed. He hadn’t meant to hurt her. He’d seen the way she looked at him, with the same desire that burned in his chest, but he had to stay focused on what God had asked him to do. He had to ignore his desire for her, and teach her what she wanted and needed to know.
Releasing a weighted breath, Thomas shifted his weight and caught a glimpse of Robert’s book on the table between the chairs. His throat thickened. What a noble man Robert had been. If only Thomas could help Eliza to see that Robert truly did everything for the welfare of his daughters.
He picked up the book, turning it over in his hands. “My father was a hard man.”
Eliza pulled back, her brows pushing down. As if unsure what to do or say, she backed into the nearest chair and knit her fingers in her lap.
Thomas faced the fire and rested his palm on the smooth wood in front of him.
“I had an older brother, Michael. He was my father’s pride and joy. Father doted on him, and loved him powerfully, but he saw me differently. Mother died bringing me into this world and Father blamed me for her death every day of my life. When I was a young boy he simply ignored me, pretended I didn’t exist. The three of us came to America when I was only four years old and Father opened his printing press. As we matured, Michael said he wanted to grow up and inherit Father’s business, and of course Father was thrilled, but I knew Michael cared nothing about the trade. Not like I did. I enjoyed the press, found satisfaction in the work. I felt it in my blood. We both helped in the shop, but Father hardly even recognized my presence. Whenever Father finally did speak to me he reminded me of how worthless I was—telling me I would never do anyone any good—that I was responsible for Mother’s death. He already had a son that filled his every dream, what did he need me for? Of course, I did my best to please him. I studied and worked to make myself strong both in mind and body to show him I really could do all the things he claimed I couldn’t. I worked hard to show him how much I excelled at the profession, but he never noticed a thing. Nothing except Michael.”
Realizing he’d been talking for some time, Thomas stopped and flung a quick glance at Eliza. Her wide eyes and attentive stare reached out, stroking his stiff muscles. He hadn’t talked about all of this with anyone—not even Nathaniel knew about his mother. Somehow Eliza made it easy to open even the most tender wounds of the past.
“As Michael got older he formed a blinding attachment to strong drink and women. One day Father found him face down in a puddle of mud behind the press. After Michael died, my father took to drinking and increased his hatred toward me as if somehow I had been responsible for Michael’s death as well as Mother’s. He stopped working the press completely and that’s when I took it over. He died only a year later, in ‘67.”
Eliza’s heavenly eyes swam with tears and her voice sounded thick. “Thomas, I’m so sorry.”
Thomas stood straighter, as if an anvil had been lifted from his back. “Eliza, my father never acted as a caring, concerned parent.” Quickly moving to the chair beside her, he took her hand in his. “But when Robert—when your father took me under his wing—I knew a parent’s love for the first time. I felt what it must be like to have someone care for you so much they would risk everything for you.”
Slowly, Eliza’s face softened and her mouth opened as if her understanding had cleared.
Thomas carefully chose how to continue. “Your Father was the bravest, most caring man I’ve ever known, Eliza. And I know that everything he did, he did with you and Kitty in mind. He loved liberty and he understood the importance of rallying for such a vital cause. I’m sure you long to know more about him and what he did, and if I hadn’t been such a selfish fool, I would have seen that long ago.”
With eyes shimmering from the glow of the fire, Eliza scooted forward and gripped his hand tighter. “I do, Thomas. I want so desperately to know.” Suddenly she stood, pulling Thomas to stand in front of her. It took all his strength not to pull her forward and kiss her right there. If only she knew how completely bewitching she was. Her innocence and caring was enough to make any man turn mad.
A smile lit her face. “I’ve wanted to ask you this very thing so many times, but since the accident, and my recovery, and . . . after what happened a few weeks ago between us, I suppose I’ve not had much opportunity until now.”
The way her lips moved when she spoke, the way her chest pushed up and down as she breathed, acted like an opiate in his blood. All he could think about was the imprint of her body against his, the scent of her hair and the taste of her sweet lips. She had no idea what she was doing to him. He cleared his throat and focused on communicating. “I admit, I should have seen your need for it long before now, forgive me. God placed you in my life so I could help you find what you are searching for.” Unable to stop, Thomas moved closer, shrinking the distance between them.
“I belie
ve you’re right.” Eliza stared at him, her eyes never leaving his.
Her cheeks flushed dark pink and her breathing turned rapid. Placing her delicate fingers on his bicep she slid her other hand up his chest. She parted her lips and her eyes closed. She was his for the taking! Thomas smoothed his hands around her warm waist and leaned so close he could feel her breath on his mouth.
What am I doing? Thomas crunched his eyes shut. How can I take such advantage of her? She needs me as a friend, as someone she can trust. This can only make things more difficult between us.
It took every thread of strength to curb the roaring hunger in his chest. Thomas pulled away, trying not to groan from the sheer pain of it. Eliza’s eyes slowly blinked open, and the pain he saw there sawed his heart in pieces.
He turned away. Please forgive me, Eliza. Forgive me.
The heat from moments ago turned to ice. Eliza wrapped her arms around her chest as an uneasy quiet settled in the glowing room. How she wished she’d never come back down! Oh, why did she have to open her heart to him?
Wisdom told her to march upstairs and forget it. She should shut the window to his affection and build a wall high enough to keep him out forever.
But she couldn’t. Somehow she couldn’t even find the strength to make her feet unlock from their position on the floor.
Chewing on her lip, Eliza stewed. Well, if she couldn’t escape, she might as well say something. Eliza kept her voice low to cover any remaining quiver. “I overheard Nathaniel tell of the political rally.”
Thomas peered at her from over his shoulder. “You overheard a lot.” A sliver of mirth rippled his voice as one brow tilted up.
Eliza’s spine straightened as she tried to forget the pain of moments ago. “I know you said it would be dangerous to attend, but I can’t help my curiosity. If my father can risk what he did surely we can also. I know how much you want to be a part of it as well, and I believe we must be. God protected Father, and I know He’ll do the same for us.”
So Fair a Lady (Daughters of His Kingdom Book 1) Page 19