in no way matched the woman before him.
“I was told that if I fled my rebel master and joined with the Crown I’d have my freedom,” she said. “There was no mention of bartering my body for the privilege. I will work, but not on my back. If you think I escaped just to be ravished by some bloody English bastard, you are mistaken, sir.”
“Come now, girl,” the man crooned, his voice placating. “Don’t act as if you’re stranger to a good tupping. I said I’d give you a bit of coin, what more do you want?”
“So romantic, you Brits,” she sneered. “Is that how your father wooed your mother before he rutted with her, then?”
“You disrespectful bitch, I’ll—” the man grabbed for her. Elijah didn’t know if the Redcoat saw the flash of the knife but he surely felt its point as the woman drove it into his sternum. The Englishman’s face went white with shock and he clasped the knife with both hands, tumbling to his knees before he could pull it free. The woman called Kate stood over him and watched, her face expressionless.
She didn’t even flinch , Elijah thought. As if she had heard him, she suddenly began to shake. It was cold, but not cold enough to produce the full body tremors that wracked the woman as she pulled her cloak close and stared at the dead man at her feet.
Elijah knew he should stay where he was and wait for this morbid tableau to come to its logical conclusion, with the woman fleeing into the night.
Bloody hell , he thought as he pulled himself from the ditch and started for her. His mother had always said that his heart was bigger than his brain.
He stepped on a branch as he approached, and the noise startled her. The clouds had passed and wan moonlight illuminated her gaze as she turned to face him. Her eyes were filled with a fear that made his heart constrict. It made no sense, given the harsh words and deadly action he had just witnessed, but in that moment she seemed like something fragile that should be held gently. A newly bloomed rose whose delicate petals might fall away at the slightest touch, despite her sharp thorns.
“Are you alright?” He walked toward her with hands raised. Dealing with skittish animals was his job, and the woman before him was not so different from a wild mare—one wrong move and she would bolt. He knew that he must proceed with caution, lest he frighten her. Her gaze flitted over his body, which he knew was a weapon in itself. A lifetime of plowing and planting and picking had seen to that.
She took a step back.
“I mean you no harm,” he said. “I saw what the bastard was attempting and he deserved what he got.”
She was still trembling, although her dark gaze was bright and sharp.
“Most of them aren’t like that,” she said, as if she needed to explain herself. “Most of the soldiers ignore me, unless they need me to do their wash or mend their uniforms. It was such a relief, after…after everything else. But this one, he fixed his attentions on me and he wouldn’t look away. I couldn’t let it happen again. It will not happen again.”
There was something entrancing in the warm tone of her voice. Her voice was quiet now, nearly carried away by the winds chasing the clouds through the night sky, but there was no mistaking the strength that undergirded her words.
Elijah walked over to the fallen man and began searching him. He’d gotten barely anything from the Regular in the ditch, but this man had a fine musket and an even finer revolver, plus a small satchel of coins. He took the weapons and tossed the coin purse to Kate. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she didn’t seem pleased. It was only then that Elijah realized that he wanted to please her.
“I’m going to find my regiment now, if you want to come with me,” he said. “The Loyalists scattered us, but I’m sure we’re regrouping somewhere.”
“You’re fighting with the Continentals, then?” she asked. “Are you daft?”
Surprise
“I was told that if I fled my rebel master and joined with the Crown I’d have my freedom,” she said. “There was no mention of bartering my body for the privilege. I will work, but not on my back. If you think I escaped just to be ravished by some bloody English bastard, you are mistaken, sir.”
“Come now, girl,” the man crooned, his voice placating. “Don’t act as if you’re stranger to a good tupping. I said I’d give you a bit of coin, what more do you want?”
“So romantic, you Brits,” she sneered. “Is that how your father wooed your mother before he rutted with her, then?”
“You disrespectful bitch, I’ll—” the man grabbed for her. Elijah didn’t know if the Redcoat saw the flash of the knife but he surely felt its point as the woman drove it into his sternum. The Englishman’s face went white with shock and he clasped the knife with both hands, tumbling to his knees before he could pull it free. The woman called Kate stood over him and watched, her face expressionless.
She didn’t even flinch , Elijah thought. As if she had heard him, she suddenly began to shake. It was cold, but not cold enough to produce the full body tremors that wracked the woman as she pulled her cloak close and stared at the dead man at her feet.
Elijah knew he should stay where he was and wait for this morbid tableau to come to its logical conclusion, with the woman fleeing into the night.
Bloody hell , he thought as he pulled himself from the ditch and started for her. His mother had always said that his heart was bigger than his brain.
He stepped on a branch as he approached, and the noise startled her. The clouds had passed and wan moonlight illuminated her gaze as she turned to face him. Her eyes were filled with a fear that made his heart constrict. It made no sense, given the harsh words and deadly action he had just witnessed, but in that moment she seemed like something fragile that should be held gently. A newly bloomed rose whose delicate petals might fall away at the slightest touch, despite her sharp thorns.
“Are you alright?” He walked toward her with hands raised. Dealing with skittish animals was his job, and the woman before him was not so different from a wild mare—one wrong move and she would bolt. He knew that he must proceed with caution, lest he frighten her. Her gaze flitted over his body, which he knew was a weapon in itself. A lifetime of plowing and planting and picking had seen to that.
She took a step back.
“I mean you no harm,” he said. “I saw what the bastard was attempting and he deserved what he got.”
She was still trembling, although her dark gaze was bright and sharp.
“Most of them aren’t like that,” she said, as if she needed to explain herself. “Most of the soldiers ignore me, unless they need me to do their wash or mend their uniforms. It was such a relief, after…after everything else. But this one, he fixed his attentions on me and he wouldn’t look away. I couldn’t let it happen again. It will not happen again.”
There was something entrancing in the warm tone of her voice. Her voice was quiet now, nearly carried away by the winds chasing the clouds through the night sky, but there was no mistaking the strength that undergirded her words.
Elijah walked over to the fallen man and began searching him. He’d gotten barely anything from the Regular in the ditch, but this man had a fine musket and an even finer revolver, plus a small satchel of coins. He took the weapons and tossed the coin purse to Kate. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she didn’t seem pleased. It was only then that Elijah realized that he wanted to please her.
“I’m going to find my regiment now, if you want to come with me,” he said. “The Loyalists scattered us, but I’m sure we’re regrouping somewhere.”
“You’re fighting with the Continentals, then?” she asked. “Are you daft?”
Surprise
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