“William! I nearly forgot!” Anna gripped his arms, as the tenderness of moments before vanished in a flood of panic that consumed her face. “In town today I—”
“Oh! I’m so glad you’re here.” Kitty burst into the kitchen and rushed for the pitcher of water on the table. She snatched a cup and stopped beside William. “You must fetch Thomas immediately.”
“Fetch me for what?” Thomas entered the back door and rested his coat and hat on an empty kitchen chair.
Kitty faced him, her expression so bright ’twas as if the very sun itself were glowing from within. “Eliza is having her baby.”
~~~
William leaned his shoulder against the kitchen doorframe, chuckling inwardly at the scene that played out before him. Never had he witnessed a grown man go from fully composed to complete helplessness in a matter of seconds. Thomas’s face had gone white when Kitty related the news of Eliza’s labor, and dashed from the room as if the floor were collapsing at his heels. That was more than fourteen hours ago and even still, Thomas couldn’t stop moving.
William rocked the empty glass back and forth against his palm. “Are you sure you don’t want to try to get some rest?”
“Rest?” Thomas whirled from his place beside the window. One hand on his hair, the other at his hip, he shook his head. A muted groan drifted down from the room above. “Impossible.”
Thomas tapped his hands against his legs as he paced the room from one end to the other.
William pushed away from the door and went to the chair nearest the fire, rubbing the throb in his temple. He glanced at the clock. Midnight. Again he rubbed as the thought of a warm, cushioned bed lured his eyelids shut. He blinked hard and took a deep breath through his nose. Anna was up with the women. If she could endure the work and fatigue, then so could he. He glanced again at Thomas, feeling for the first time a small thread in the tapestry of agony that draped the shoulders of the father-to-be.
Another shout of pain filtered down through the ceiling, and Thomas spun toward Nathaniel, a taut arm extending toward the stairs. “Can you not do something?”
“And what would you suggest?” Unfazed by his friend’s outburst, Nathaniel strode to the table to pour another drink. He handed it to Thomas when he passed. “You know they insisted we remain below stairs.”
“Why?” Thomas stopped moving and his face reddened as if it took every measure of strength he possessed to comply. “I cannot bear to hear her suffer and I not be at her side to give her aid.” He rested the untouched drink on the table and marched to his perch by the window. “How can having a child possibly take so long? These hours of agony can’t be safe for her—or the child.”
“Fourteen hours is a relatively short amount of time for a woman’s first labor, Thomas,” Nathaniel said. “For some woman it can last days.”
All the color drained from Thomas’s face. “Days?”
Again, a cry came from the room above and Thomas spun, eyes so round with exasperation that the laugh in William’s chest melted in place of the desire to find some kind of comfort to offer. He rose and joined Nathaniel in front of the fire, searching for any words that might alleviate Thomas’s suffering, but Nathaniel spoke first.
“I know you’re concerned, Thomas,” he said, “but what would you have me do? Ask her to be silent so her husband can have a bit more peace?” Nathaniel tilted his head with a single raised brow that seemed to infuriate the father-to-be even more. “You seem to be in more pain than your wife.”
Eliza cried out again and Thomas’s neck corded. “You’re a doctor. Demand to be let in.”
“You’re the husband. I think that weighs far heavier.” Nathaniel sat in the chair, sipping his cider as if they had just finished a game of cards. “You seem to think I could alleviate her pain somehow. Childbirth is the most natural event in the word. Eliza will be fine.”
Thomas recoiled, his face crimson. “My mother died giving birth to me. You cannot be certain she will be fine.”
After a beat Nathaniel rose to his feet, the once relaxed expression now drawn as he went slowly to Thomas’s side. “Forgive me.” He cupped a hand to his friend’s shoulder and spoke in a tone that matched the caring in his stance. “She will be well, I promise you. Kitty knows enough to call for me if there is serious trouble.”
This time, William spoke. “I remember my mother bearing my youngest sister, Jane. She made quite a commotion, but in the end both mother and child were—”
“Thomas?”
A woman’s voice plucked them from their huddle and all three whirled toward the stairs. Kitty stood on the bottom step and tucked a thick auburn curl around her ear.
Thomas was frozen, mouth part-way open. “Well?”
Her face lit in a soft, reverent smile. “Come meet your daughter.”
“Daughter?” Thomas regained composure by increments. He shook his head, the smile on his face growing until it surpassed the one on Kitty’s. “’Tis a girl!”
“Daughters usually are.” Nathaniel chuckled at his own wit, but Thomas didn’t seem to hear. He rushed for the stairs but stopped before racing upward, his face sullen. “How is she?”
Knowing whom he specified, Kitty gripped his arm. “Your wife is healthy, Thomas. Healthy and happy.” She squeezed his shoulder and motioned up the stairs with a quick tilt of the head.
Taking them two-by-two, Thomas raced out of sight.
Kitty finished descending and Nathaniel went to her, following her to the kitchen. He wound his arm around her waist and she leaned her head against his shoulder. William grinned and turned away. ’Twas good to see them so happy. Only weeks ago he feared they might never find the joy that awaited them, but God had a way of bringing souls together. Contemplating His goodness never ceased to bring a warmth to William’s chest. A new marriage, and now—for the Watson’s—a new babe.
The fatigue William had battled finally breached his bastion of persistence. Once Anna descended he would whisk her away and indulge in what little sleep he could before once again starting in the fields. A few hours of blissful slumber was better than none.
“William?”
He turned to find Anna just behind him, curls of black hair escaping the confines of her pins. Her shoulders slumped slightly and her tight expression masked an emotion that wavered beneath.
“You should be home sleeping.” She sighed, looking to the door then back to him. “Somehow I didn’t expect to see you here.”
He placed a hand at her back and led her to the door. “I couldn’t indulge in sleep knowing you were…busy.” When they came to the door, he stopped. “How are you? Were you…”
Voicing the question he yearned to ask might insult, but his curiosity refused to be gainsaid. “Have you helped with a birth before this?”
Her throat shifted. “Kitty had everything well in hand. I was simply there for support.”
William grinned and reached for her cloak. “They know we are leaving? They don’t need anything else?”
“Nay.” She pulled the fabric tight around her. “Kitty and Nathaniel will be staying the night.” She covered her mouth as she yawned then her eyes went wide. “There is something I must tell you. I—”
A knock pounded on the door only inches in front of them.
Anna jumped back and William’s muscles jerked. Who would be calling this time of night?
“Who goes there?” he asked through the wood.
“’Tis Joseph Wythe. I am looking for Nathaniel.”
Nathaniel appeared from behind, reaching around William and pulling open the door. “Joseph, what’s wrong?”
The tall man entered, his blonde hair wild under his hat, his expression hard. “We have trouble,” he bellowed.
Kitty rushed in, hushing him. “Eliza and the baby are sleeping.”
Joseph looked between Nathaniel and Kitty. “Baby?”
Nathaniel lowered his tone as he neared. “Eliza’s just given birth to a girl.”
A swift gla
nce toward the stairs then back to Nathaniel told William the man wasn’t about to postpone what he had to share on account of a newborn. But he did quiet his voice. Removing his hat, he entered, speaking with his gaze pointed. “’Twas my evening to make an exchange, and a redcoat was waiting for me. I was able to appear innocent enough, but he followed and I was forced to hide three hours.”
Nathaniel’s jaw went tight and he stared forward, his nostrils flaring. “They suspect.” He turned first to Kitty. “Darling, could you ready the bed in the spare room below for Anna? I fear this meeting is too vital to defer until morning and I shouldn’t wish her to be over tired.”
Kitty nodded, as if she understood her husband’s unexpressed need to speak to the men alone. She hurried to Anna’s side and took her arm. Anna flung only a fleeting glance to William, her face awash with exhaustion. He nodded and she turned moments before the two women entered the room behind the fireplace.
Nathaniel’s jaw ticked sharper with every second. “Someone has been slothful in their post, but I doubt ’twas one of us.” He looked up to the stairs then back to Joseph. “The patriots in Plymouth are headstrong and without much practice in stealth.”
Joseph went to the fire, lowering his voice another rung as he stared into the flames. “We must find a way to be more covert.” He tapped the hat against his thigh. “I feel the need to join the men in Boston.” With that he turned back. “I know your work is here, that the smuggling you do is every bit as helpful now, but I must fight.”
Nathaniel said nothing, only dipped his chin.
Joseph continued. “I shall not leave immediately. I will need to find someone to care for Jacob until I return.”
“Of course,” Nathaniel said. “Washington will be all too pleased to have someone as capable as you serving in the ranks.”
“You’re leaving us?” Thomas descended the stairs, all but floating, though in his face the solemn look of knowing darkened his eyes.
“Soon, aye,” Joseph said.
William stayed back, his arms crossed, considering what they must already know. “Spies cover this land, and I fear if Mr. Wythe has been nearly taken, you may all have been compromised. Attempting another exchange may be too much of a risk for any of you.”
The other three men stared in various directions, expressions at contemplative slants.
“We could simply deposit the goods and leave them to be retrieved later,” Thomas said.
“Aye.” Nathaniel stepped forward. “That way we could—”
“You’re wrong.”
The men turned to look at William. He neared, resting his palms on the back of the chair. “’Tis not the manner of your exchange that is problematic but who is executing it.”
All three sets of eyebrows dipped. William finished. “You are well known here, therefore, further attempts by any of you to conduct exchanges will be fruitless.”
Joseph transferred his weight over his feet. “Then ’tis settled. I will make my efforts useful in Boston as it seems I can be of no further service here.”
Nathaniel spoke through his teeth. “I refuse to cease this operation when so many are in need.” He paused, anger twitching at his mouth. “As I am yet unable to go with the militia, I will do what I can. Risks be hanged.”
“You will be hanged, Nathaniel, if you insist on such impetuous behavior.” Thomas neared, pointing a finger at Nathaniel’s chest, before finishing under his breath. “You’ve yet to make that weakness a strength.”
Nathaniel’s face reddened as he strained to keep his voice quiet. “You would have us surrender our mission?”
“I would have us consider what else might be done before—”
“I will do it.”
Again, all three pinned their gazes on William.
“You’re not serious.” Nathaniel didn’t ask, he stated.
“I am.” William rounded the chair and joined the circle of patriots, his shoulders straight and conviction strong. “I am unknown to the town, and though that will cause some suspicion, ’twill be minimal and allow this much needed work to continue.”
“You are mad,” Thomas said.
William stepped forward, gesturing as he spoke. “I am unmoved.” Stirred by the knowledge that his experience and skills may at last be put to use in a righteous cause, his muscles pooled with zeal. “My understanding of the British army, their practices and so forth will allow me to do what the local patriots never could.”
“’Tis suicide, William.” Nathaniel looked to Joseph then Thomas. “There are plenty of ways for this to be resolved without you risking your life on a solo undertaking. You know all too well what dreadful end awaits you if you are discovered. Your wife will be made a widow before her time.”
Pensive quiet stretched between them. William studied his boots. True. Yet…
He pulled his shoulders to their full height, buoyed by the flooding convictions within. “I am well acquainted with the risks. If my life is cut short for such a cause, so be it.”
~~~
Anna stared at the door, as if the words were poisonous air and she were inhaling it. He couldn’t possibly be serious. The small room—part guest quarters, part storage area—radiated heat from the back of the fireplace that jutted into the space. Somehow, all the same, her skin chilled.
Looking to her friend who sat at her side, Anna whispered, “Have you known of this?”
Kitty nodded slightly. “Aye.”
Resolute, calm, her answer jolted Anna to the edge of the small bed, any thought of sleep vanished. “Are you not afraid of what might happen?”
An assured, steadfast gaze overcame her and she studied the ground. When she peered up again, a kind of serenity painted her face. “We live in a time of trouble. And I cannot be one to bow to fear however I am tempted—that spirit is not of God.” She looked forward, nodding toward the door. “There will come a time when we will be called upon to act in defense of the cause we believe in. It will not be enough to merely stand by and watch others do our fighting for us.” At that, Kitty turned. “Your husband spoke those words to me not too many months ago, and I have pondered their wisdom ever since.”
“You believe them?”
Kitty nodded. “I do.”
Anna gathered her husband’s profound words but struggled to hold them. Kitty would be willing to let her husband jeopardize his life? Indeed, allowing her husband to do so ’twas the same as if she risked her life as well. Anna blinked. It seemed as if such a thing hardly affected her friend at all.
The room quiet, Anna narrowed her focus on the voices misting through the door.
“What about tonight’s goods?” Nathaniel said.
Anna looked at Kitty, but her friend stared forward, mouth tight.
“Let me take them,” William said. “Is the package cumbersome to transport?”
“Nay,” the newly familiar voice answered. “’Tis little, so as to prompt less suspicion. Simply a bag of breads and dried meat, healing herbs, and a small inner-bag of munitions—just what the ailing people are in need of. The other towns offering assistance do the same.”
The clomp of boots against the ground made Anna sit straighter.
“If I leave now, ’tis likely the redcoats are still waiting. But they will be gone by morning.”
“Aye, but the man with whom I was to meet is surely gone by now. He’s no fool.”
“If he was there at all.”
“We must determine a system to exchange at varying times and places. Inconsistency will aid in the effort to make our work appear innocuous,” William said. “Tell me who is in charge at Plymouth, and I shall deliver both the goods and the report of what has happened.”
“You will do no such thing,” Thomas said. “Are you really so ignorant to believe you wouldn’t be caught?”
“I’ve never known anyone as reckless as you, William.” Nathaniel said. “Nor so courageous. But I will not permit it.”
“Someone must—”
�
�I will do it,” Nathaniel interrupted. “I know the man in charge and my work as a physician allows for less suspicious night travel.”
The conversation in the parlor quieted and Anna turned as she felt Kitty’s gaze on her. “We must not speak of what we know.”
“Why would they wish to keep this from our knowledge?”
“’Tis not a desire to keep us uninformed. Rather, I believe they wish to keep us safe.”
Anna’s palms began to sweat, anxiety jolting through her limbs. How could William do this? She needed him. If anything were to happen…
Just then a soft knock tapped on the door. “Anna?”
It was William.
“Aye, come in.”
He opened the door cautiously, as if he wished to find her sleeping. How could she possibly sleep? She stood and Kitty did the same.
His smile broadened when his gaze fell on her, and she scolded her heart for the way it regained its hold upon him.
“Forgive us for needing to stay a bit longer.”
Kitty trailed her hand across Anna’s arm as she made her way to the door. She smiled as she looked back, leaving the two of them alone.
“I understand,” Anna said. But she didn’t.
He motioned behind him. “Mr. Wythe will escort you home. You will sleep more comfortably in your own bed. I should like to return with you, but I have other business to attend to before—”
“Other business?” She snapped her mouth shut before she could say more. Had they spoken of something she hadn’t heard? More things he wished she didn’t know? In a flood of panic, the burden she’d carried since her time at the shop surged like a storm in winter. If he knew whom she had seen in town it might change what he planned to do.
So Rare a Gift (Daughters of His Kingdom Book 3) Page 19