The Rebels of Cordovia

by Linda Weaver Clarke

  “Does it have something to do with the rebels?”

  Again he shook his head. Then taking her hand in his, he gave it a squeeze and chuckled.

  “Does it have something to do with you?”

  “No more questions,” Daniel commanded as he brought her hand to his lips and gave it a kiss.

  A thrill went through Robin as his lips touched her hand. For some reason, every little touch, every little thing he said, the way he looked at her… everything seemed to make her heart flutter with joy. Warmth enveloped her as she looked into his eyes. Robin enjoyed the attention she was receiving. She had missed him so much during the past week.

  As they rode down the street, Robin noticed how he glanced at her every now and then. He would smile and then whip the reins, giving a chuckle at the same time. What was going on? As they came upon the shacks down in the valley, Robin’s brow rose curiously. She turned to Daniel and saw him staring at her.

  “Why are we here?”

  “Oh, I thought I would show you the children and what they look like.”

  “What they look like?”

  He smiled. “You’ll see.”

  They passed shack after shack and Robin’s eyes grew larger than ever. The children were walking down the road in warm clothes and their feet were not bare. They had shoes on and their hair was combed. In their hands were books. When the children saw her coming, they waved and yelled a greeting.

  Robin waved back as she asked, “What’s going on?”

  Daniel smiled. “They’re heading for school. It’s time, you know. They can’t be late.”

  “But…”

  “I know. We didn’t have enough clothes for everyone and you’re wondering how all these children have clothes and shoes and books in their hands.”

  “That’s right.”

  “Well, you know that Nathaniel is the captain of one hundred soldiers?”

  She nodded.

  “He was so upset when he went home that he told his men all about the children and their condition. Everyone was shocked and they immediately put their money together and donated clothes, shoes, and books to these children.”

  Robin was surprised at the generosity of the soldiers. She had underestimated their concern about the people. Tears of joy began welling up in her eyes and she quickly wiped them away. There were others who cared, as well.

  Daniel squeezed her hand and said, “But that’s not all. The children were told they had to go to school if they accepted the clothes and they all agreed.” When he stopped in front of Betty’s home, he said, “I think we should visit the family and see how they’re doing.”

  Robin bit her lip and said, “But…”

  He could see the concern in her eyes, so he said, “Don’t worry. Everything will be all right. We should at least check on the family and see how everyone is doing.”

  Robin shook her head. “I can’t.”

  “But you will! Right?” he said encouragingly. “We should show that we care.”

  She nodded and climbed down from the carriage.

  When they knocked, Betty answered. With a smile, she looked at Robin and said, “You’re back. I’m so glad. The children have been asking about you.”

  “They have?” asked Robin.

  “How is everything?” asked Daniel.

  “Everything is good,” said Betty. “It was tough at first, but the dear Lord blessed us. Everything is all right now.”

  Without any warning, a high-pitched scream came from the bedroom and everyone turned toward the doorway. Amy was standing in her nightgown, staring at a package in Daniel’s hand.

  “Is that my dress you promised me?”

  When he nodded, she ran toward him and gave him a hug.

  Robin was shocked. One week ago she was standing at death’s door. Now she was out of bed and running toward Daniel. Next Amy lunged into Robin’s arms and hugged her tightly.

  “I don’t have any flowers for you today, Miss Marie. But when I feel better Mama will let me go outside and play. She said I could even go to school.”

  Robin could see that she was still a bit pale but she was at least out of bed. The joy she felt was beyond anything she had ever experienced before.

  Daniel cleared his throat and said, “Do you want to try on your new dress?”

  Amy nodded as she took the package from Daniel and ran into the bedroom.

  Betty turned to Daniel and smiled. “Thank you for sending the doctor. You were a godsend.”

  Daniel shrugged. “You’re welcome, but I didn’t do much. It was my father who did it all. When he told his doctor about Amy, the doc said he was too busy to go to the slums. So father threatened him. If he didn’t help you, he would stop going to him all together and spread the word how incompetent he was. That did it, I suppose. It didn’t take much to stir fear into his heart.”

  Robin laughed. “I love your father.”

  He smiled. “I was worried about Amy, so every day I checked with the doctor to find out what I could. This is her first day out of bed, so I thought it was time to celebrate.”

  After a few moments, Amy came waltzing out in a beautiful flower print dress. She was beaming, as she said, “I can’t wear this to school. It’s too nice. I’ll wear the others the soldiers bought for me. I’ll wear this one to church.”

  When their visit was over, Betty hugged them both, thanked Daniel once again, and waved goodbye.

  After helping Robin into the carriage, Daniel whipped the reins and headed back to the Bakery.

  “That was the best surprise ever! And the clothes and books for the children? Wow!” said Robin. “Thanks for sharing this with me. You are so sweet.”

  Daniel grinned. When he had found out what Nathaniel had done, he couldn’t wait to see the surprised look on her face. He especially loved her excitement when she saw Amy. He knew that she didn’t have much hope for the little girl, so he was elated when he found out she was all right. He just had to show Robin the good news.

  All the way back to town, she was chattering away about everything she saw. Daniel chuckled and listened to what she had to say. With all the excitement, Robin reached over and impulsively kissed his cheek.

  Surprised, he grinned from ear to ear and said, “I should surprise you more often.”

  As they pulled up to the Bakery, Robin sighed and said, “Let’s not go in yet. Let’s just sit here a moment.”

  He nodded in agreement.

  They sat in the carriage looking around, noticing the beauty before them. As they watched the fountain and listened to the water rhythmically falling to the next level, they noticed two young lovers sitting on a bench talking, laughing, and flirting. They seemed so much in love.

  Robin nudged Daniel and pointed at them as the boy leaned over and whispered in her ear. After a few moments, the couple stood and slowly walked down the street, holding hands and talking as they went.

  To Daniel’s great surprise, the sheriff of Charlottesville, whom he believed to be a crooked and dishonest man, rode his horse beside the couple and climbed down. He noticed how the sheriff became belligerent. The boy was angry and shook his head. When the sheriff tried to grab his arm, the young man jumped back. They began yelling at one another and the sheriff finally pulled a musket from his waist and pointed it at the boy.

  Instantly, Daniel was on his feet, running toward the couple. When he arrived, he said jokingly, “Whoa, it looks like you have a real criminal on your hands, Sheriff. Did this young man rob the bakery or something?”

  The sheriff turned toward Daniel and huffed. “He kidnapped this young woman.”

  Instantly the arguments began once again.

  “I did not,” exclaimed the boy. “It’s a lie.”

  “No one has kidnapped me,” said the girl adamantly.

  “I have a signed warrant from your father. I’m taking him in and he’ll be prosecuted.”

  Daniel had heard about the sheriff’s illegal trials. This boy could be in jail for months, if
not worse, according to the bribery he was receiving.

  Daniel quickly came up with an idea. He looked at the musket and asked, “Do you know how to load that thing? You haven’t had muskets available here for years. I’m from a country where muskets are plentiful and I learned a thing or two about them. Did you place the patch in first or the ball first before the powder?”

  “What?” asked the sheriff.

  “Well, I don’t want to alarm you, but I don’t want you to get your head blown off. You don’t want to do it wrong or…” He shook his head mournfully. “Is this your first time to load and fire a musket?”

  The sheriff nodded. “Yes. We were just given some to defend ourselves. I know what I’m doing.”

  Daniel nodded. “I see. So you’re defending yourself at this moment. How much powder did you put in?”

  “Dunno.”

  Daniel shook his head and said, “It’s a good thing I came along when I did. You would have blown your head clean off.” He extended his hand to the sheriff. “Let me check it out and see if it’s safe.” When the sheriff looked at him with a suspicious look, Daniel added, “Why would I lie to you? My father is a nobleman and is known all over Georgetown.”

  With a nod, the sheriff handed over the musket.

  “Hmmm,” said Daniel as he looked at it. He pretended to check it out and then pointed it toward the trees above. “Hmmm,” he said again. “This doesn’t look good.”

  Then he squeezed the trigger and the gun went off. Smoke billowed into the air. The blast was so loud that the sheriff’s horse jumped and took off down the road.

  While the sheriff was in shock, Daniel motioned to the couple to run. Instantly, the boy grabbed the girl’s hand and took off down the street.

  “Wow, this has a real kick,” said Daniel. “I think you overloaded it with too much powder, Sheriff. It’s a good thing I checked it or your face would have been blackened.”

  When the sheriff realized his prisoner was running away, he took off after them.

  Robin was watching and listening to the whole conversation with great humor. She had a tough time holding back her laughter. When the lovers took off down the street, she whipped the reins and the horse and carriage took off after them.

  As she got closer, Robin yelled to the couple, “Hop in! Fast! He’s catching up.”

  They hopped into the carriage and Robin took off with great speed down the street and out of sight.

  The sheriff watched the carriage disappear and then meandered back to Daniel.

  Daniel grinned and said, “You don’t know much about muskets, sir. If you want me to teach you, I can. You put an awful lot of powder in this thing.”

  Without another word, the sheriff grabbed the musket from Daniel’s hand, swore under his breath, and took off after his horse.

  Daniel grinned as he walked toward the Bakery.

  When he entered, Andrew asked, “What was that all about?”

  “The sheriff doesn’t know how to handle a musket.” He chuckled. “Well, I guess I’ll be staying around here for a while until Marie gets back with my carriage.”

  Chapter 17

  Robin pulled the carriage up to her home and invited the young people to follow her. After her mother served them each a glass of water and introductions were made, they sat around the kitchen table talking.

  “I’m Marie,” she told them. “So what was that all about?”

  The young man smiled. “Thank you so much for helping us. I’m Martin and this is Patience. She is exactly what her name says, so very patient. But I’ve lost all mine. I can’t live like this anymore, hiding and having to meet secretly. Why can’t he just leave us alone?”

  “Who?”

  “Her father. He actually sent the sheriff after me this time.”

  “What?” said Marie in astonishment.

  Martin frowned. “He doesn’t approve of me. Our opinions differ. He supports the king and I don’t. I think what the rebels are doing is great but I wouldn’t tell him that.” He shook his head with frustration. “But that’s not all. I’m not wealthy like he is. He says I don’t make enough money to support his daughter. But I’m doing just fine. He has someone in mind for her to marry but we’re in love. We can’t live apart any longer. Every chance we get we arrange a secret meeting and hope he doesn’t notice she’s gone. We’re tired of sneaking around but what can we do?”

  Marie nodded. She understood their dilemma. There was only one solution. “Marry her! That’s the only way to have her legally.”

  Patience turned to Martin and smiled. “That’s the only way, sweetheart. Papa can’t keep us apart any longer if you marry me.”

  “Would you? Under these circumstances? Without the blessing of your parents?” asked Martin.

  She nodded.

  “I wouldn’t be able to give you the type of home you’re used to. Would you be willing to give all of that up?”

  She smiled and pressed her hand to his cheek. “Of course, Martin. I don’t care about anything but you. Money is nothing to me.”

  Robin noticed the joy that spread over his face when Patience touched him affectionately. The words she said brought an even brighter glow to his countenance.

  “Then let’s go,” he said resolutely. “If I marry you today, then there’s nothing your father can do. We’ll send a message to your parents afterward, announcing our marriage so they won’t worry about you because you won’t be returning home. Then we’ll disappear for a week. That way he can get used to the idea before we see him again. What do you say?”

  Patience jumped to her feet and clapped her hands together with joy. Then tugging at his hand, she said, “Let’s go.”

  As they walked to the door, he turned to Robin and said, “Thank you. We really appreciate it. I wish there were more people in the world like you and that man who distracted the sheriff for us. He was really something.”

  Robin stood at the doorway as she watched the couple walk hand in hand down the road. They were so much in love. She looked at the large oak tree and smiled. Her mind strayed back to Daniel and the way he had taken her in his arms behind that tree. She sighed as the memory willingly came back to her. His kisses were like nectar and the feel of his arms around her, pressing her against his chest, was like a dream. She felt so safe in his arms. His kisses made her knees weaken and her mind went completely blank. All she could think about was the attention she was receiving and the effects his kisses were having on her.

  Every time he ran his hand up her back as he kissed her, it had created a warm sensation that spread through her, causing feelings within her that she had never experienced before. Daniel’s kisses were passionate and wonderful.

  Robin knew she was in love with him. There was no doubt about it. But how did Daniel feel? He said that she fascinated him. Was that all? Was she just a fascination to him? Not all women walked around in leggings, outshooting most any man at archery, and was the leader of a group of rebels. Perhaps that was what fascinated him. She frowned. Fascination was different than being in love.

  As she remembered, Daniel also mentioned that he was enamored with her. That wasn’t so bad. To be enamored of a person was nice. That was pretty close to love, wasn’t it?

  Robin sighed, wishing he would tell her exactly how he felt about her. She quickly awoke from her daydreams and exclaimed, “Daniel! I completely forgot.”

  He had been waiting for her return for over an hour. She quickly dashed out the door toward the carriage.

  ***

  After Robin returned to the Bakery, Daniel asked her to come to Georgetown with him. His father had a bit of information about one of the servants of Edmund. He, too, had been asking questions and was trying to help. Apparently, the woman didn’t live too far from his home.

  “Personally,” said Daniel. “I think my father really likes you. You’re fun to talk to. He told me: ‘Bring Robin Marie along because she can help question the woman.’”

  She smiled. “He’s so swee
t.”

  Daniel shrugged. “Besides, I know he admires you. When he found out that you were Robin, the founder of Robin’s Rebels, he couldn’t stop talking about you.”

  Robin laughed and agreed to go with him. All the way to Georgetown, she had been quiet, contemplating her feelings for Daniel and wondering how he really felt about her. Every time he kissed her, he was stirring feelings within her that were new to her and she wanted to find out how he felt about her. She wasn’t very good at hiding her feelings and couldn’t keep quiet any longer. She needed to say something.

  When they finally arrived, Daniel said, “You’ve been quiet this whole trip. Is something bothering you?”

  As he helped her down from the carriage, Robin nodded. “Yes, but I’m not sure how to begin.”

  He smiled as he stood in front of her. “I’m listening.”

  “Well, I was wondering…” She hesitated. “I…uhm…you see…”

  He laughed. “Does it have something to do with me or the rebels?”

  She swallowed. “Actually, it has something to do with us.”

  “Oh, I see,” he said with a knowing look in his eyes.

  “It’s about what you said to me the other day. You said you were fascinated with me.”

  “Uh-huh. That’s right.”

  She nervously bit her lip. Was that his only response? Wasn’t he going to explain himself? Without another thought for propriety, she blurted out, “Why did you kiss me?”

  Daniel chuckled. “Why?” he repeated.

  She nodded.

  “Because it’s fun,” he said teasingly.

  Robin slapped his arm and said soberly, “I’m serious. Why?”

  He suppressed a smile and licked his lips. “Well… because I like you.”

  Seeing the humor in his eyes, she shook her head and said, “You’re not understanding what I’m trying to say, Daniel. When you kiss me, does it cause your heart to beat almost out of control? Do you feel as if you’re floating above ground and don’t want to come back down again?”

  He laughed. “Of course. What are you trying to say, Robin Marie?”