Read Online Before the Scarlet Dawn by RITA GERLACH - Free Book Online Page B

wanted to help.”
    “So did I. And this is my way of doing it. I am obliged to protect you. I was much affected by the loss of that young gentleman’s wife. Understand?”
    “Yes, I understand completely. Do you not know that I have thought the same about you? I would not want you to fall prey to this either, and if I were to lose you, I do not think I could bear the pain.”
    Indeed, what would she do if something were to happen to him before they reached River Run? How would she prove to anyone who she was, that she was mistress of his estate? And he had no will as of yet. As this was too bleak to dwell on, Hayward shoved it from his mind and instead gazed at Eliza’s pretty eyes.
    She held his stare a moment. “But if Fiona falls sick, you must allow me to take care of her. If I were allowed, I would call her mother. ”
    Hayward kissed the top of her hand. “We will discuss it if it happens. Which I do not believe it will. Your servant is made of cast iron.”
    “I wish you would not refer to her as a servant, Hayward. She is my friend, and has cared for me all my life. But you are right about the stuff she is made of. I do not recall Fiona ever being sick. She has always taken care of those who are. You will still permit her to do so, won’t you?”
    He shrugged. “If she is doing some good, and the surgeon does not mind, of course I will not forbid it. But with you it is different.”
    Eliza wrapped her arms around his waist. He held her close as twilight fell and entered the cabin. Daylight faded and the sunset bathed the walls pale rose. They were alone, and the scent of her hair and the warmth of her nearness, sent his senses reeling.
    He raised her face to his and kissed her lips.

 
    9
     
     
    H igh winds brought them into the Chesapeake Bay on a balmy summer’s morning. The sun hung bright over the harbor in Annapolis and sparkled atop the water. Seabirds fluttered their wings in the breeze, darted and dove, and perched on pilings. The town, bathed in gleaming light, looked welcoming, and the clang of ships’ bells rang out amid the din of wagon wheels, horses, and people as they moved over the cobbled streets.
    Eliza stood at the ship’s rail and admired the beauty of the bay and the glory of the colonial city. The breeze lifted her hair from her face. She shut her eyes and drew in a deep breath. The ship laid anchor, and seamen climbed the rigging to furl the sails. She watched them scurry up the ropes as if God had given them the speed of lesser creatures. It caused her to smile, to see the figures contrasted against the crisp blue sky, among the outstretched wings of stark-white gulls.
    But an interruption followed, for when the ship’s crew began to unload bundles of English cloth, crates of tea, and other goods, the customs officers turned them back. Maryland would no longer receive English goods into their ports. Hayward and Fiona stood beside Eliza. Hayward addressed one
    of the officers.
    “I have been away for some time. What has happened?”
    “Lexington and Concord, sir.” The officer turned to leave.
    Hayward drew him back. “When?”
    “On the nineteenth of April. The first shots were fired as the sun rose.”
    Hayward glanced over at Eliza. She saw concern in his eyes, but his expression was emboldened. “Are we in danger?” she asked, touching his sleeve.
    “The fighting is far to the north.”
    “But you will keep to your pistol, even if we are as safe as you say?”
    He looked down at her and smiled lightly. “In England there are highwaymen. In Maryland, it is no different.”
    As they moved to the ship’s gangplank, Eliza scanned the town. The passengers the Isadora May had carried to America nudged past her, sober persons dressed in the common clothes of the working class, who carried a single sack of worldly possessions. Hayward took her hand and moved her forward with him.
    Once they were on the dock, he told her to sit alongside Fiona near a stack of barrels.