Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

T abitha could scarcely conceal her anxiety as she waited in her father’s open landau with her mother and sister for the Georgia Battalion to march onto the commons outside Savannah. Other vehicles and pedestrians crowded around. Children played with Bilbo catchers and marbles, while a few families enjoyed picnics. The mid-June afternoon sun beat down on her black hat and widow’s attire, causing sweat to trickle beneath her stays and shift. Her hair stuck to her temple. Her palmetto fan scarcely stirred a breeze.

By contrast, Temperance looked cool and fashionable in a white embroidered cotton robe à l’anglaise. Flowers and blue ribbon with a cockade on the side trimmed her straw hat.

That Mother was here was a wonder, given Father’s Loyalist views, but she and Temperance had placated him by saying Temperance could hardly attend the review alone. Ansel and his men awaited the Georgia Line at attention with the other militia across the field.

Tabitha had planned to avoid her sister as much as possible, expecting that it would be too hard to witness her joy, surrounded by her doting, handsome husband and her two little ones. Not the mention, the third one on the way. Whereas she, Tabitha, had not been granted the love of husband or child.

But ever since Temperance’s arrival the day prior, something strange had happened. Tabitha had fought tears every time she observed her sister’s tender and joyful exchanges with her husband and children. And not tears of jealousy. Tabitha’s long-held resentment melted away in light of the undeniable truth—Ansel and Temperance shared the kind of love Tabitha herself had been incapable of a decade ago.

She had done one good thing in her life when she had stepped aside for Temperance to live a happy life. That brought a surge of comfort, yes. But that did not mean Tabitha wanted her sister’s pity. The pity that Temperance’s spectacles seemed to magnify in her eyes as she watched Tabitha, revealing that someone had told her of Tabitha’s plight—and making Tabitha want to burst from the carriage and run to…where? She could not stay in Savannah, and as soon as she showed her face in St. Andrew’s Parish, Julian would demand payment in one form or another.

She had spent the night prior tossing on her too-soft feather mattress, wracking her brain for an idea. Dulcie’s words had come back to her—that God would provide what they needed, especially in hardship. And the Scripture she had read… Maybe God had not helped her because she had sat in the seat of the scornful. Been too proud to call on Him for help. And yet, when trouble came, she wanted to be like the tree planted by the water. But would God turn away from her if she only came to Him as a last recourse?

Finally, Tabitha had sat up in bed. She wouldn’t pretend to be pious by kneeling on her rug. She said aloud, “God, I’ve made a mess of things, and I have no idea what to do. If it is not too late, will You help me? If You show me the way, I will follow You.”

There had been no immediate answer, but she had not moved until her tangled thoughts unraveled and calm relaxed her limbs. She had lain back down and covered her head. For the first time in years, she felt secure, as she once had when her mother had tucked her into bed.

This morning, that newfound security had given her the strength to face the uncertain future. Besides, this was her chance to spy Edmond—if he was among the rangers. Although, if he wasn’t, she must not panic. They would have left a contingent at Fort Howe, would they not?

“He will be here.” Temperance’s low statement drew Tabitha’s attention.

“Who?”

“Your Sergeant Lassiter.”

“How do you know about him?” And how did her sister know seeing him was Tabitha’s goal?

Temperance’s glance slid to their mother.

“I told her.” The motion of Mother’s fan ceased. “You said he was willing to introduce you to the man who could log your land. All I must know is, is he a good man, this sergeant?”

“A good man? Why…” Tabitha spluttered. “The finest.” Whatever questions might remain about his background, she could swear to that much. “But why does it matter what kind of man he is?”

Mother tipped her head forward. “We might have been apart for some time, but I am still your mother. I can tell he means something to you.”

Tabitha opened and closed her mouth, then met her sister’s knowing gaze before her own skittered away. “He has helped me more than you know. Kept me from danger.” Memory of riding through the night against his warm, solid form shot a shiver through her even in the heat.

“Do you think he would still help you obtain a timber contract?” Temperance touched Tabitha’s petticoat. “And Mother said something about you opening a store at the ferry. I think that’s a wonderful idea.”

“I…yes.” If she had the money to stock a store. “I do not know if he will still help. I put him off. I was…hesitant to form an alliance with him.”

“As well you should be.” Mother sniffed.

Perversely, her mother’s caution made Tabitha want to accept Edmond’s offer. “Father has left me without options. But while I might discuss a partnership with Sergeant Lassiter, I would be a fool to nurture any personal regard.”

“Because of the way Lord Riley treated you?” Temperance’s dark brows knit. When Tabitha averted her face, her sister squeezed her arm. “Please do not be embarrassed. Mother and I ached for you, the way he kept you cloistered in the country. We saw the way his regard slipped—and loosened that sharp tongue of his—as the years went by.”

Heat flushed Tabitha’s face, and she pulled at her tucker. “Years I did not give him an heir.” And they had no idea what she had endured.

“’Twas no cause for him to treat you thus.” The indignation in her mother’s tone went a ways to soothing the burn in Tabitha’s chest.

“And that may have been his fault and not yours.” Temperance huffed, drawing a wide-eyed glance from Tabitha. She had never allowed herself to believe what her twin suggested—because in some strange way, that would have made things worse. To be blamed for something that was not her failing. Catching her eye, Temperance gave a somber nod. “Pray, sister, do not allow Lord Riley’s evil hold to continue even after his death. God would not want you to fear all men. I promise you, they are not all like your late husband. I want nothing more than to see you find the happiness you deserve.”

Tabitha’s throat tightened. Was God speaking even now, answering her prayer of the night before, giving her direction?

Did she deserve happiness? Had she not eloped with Lord Riley with the same selfish confidence she had approached everything back then? Had she not believed Henry adored her and she could manipulate him like a child? She’d even gone so far as to hope her sacrificial act would finally purchase her father’s approval. What a little fool she had been.

Maybe she did not deserve a second chance.

“Of course, you’re right, dear Temperance. Our Tabitha deserves happiness. I am not convinced, however, that this sergeant is worthy of her.” Mother pursed her lips and searched in the picnic hamper on the seat until she came up with a ripe strawberry. “I would like to know more of his family.”

“I had Ansel make some inquiries.” Temperance pushed her spectacles up on her nose, her gaze roving to the road where the troops would enter the field. “Sergeant Lassiter has a good reputation in the horse rangers, and he distinguished himself in Florida.”

“What?” Tabitha could not stop the word that rushed out with far too much relief. “He is well?” Her heart, which had seemed to pause in its courses, resumed beating with wild abandon.

A smile lifted Temperance’s lips. “Not only well, but I have every reason to believe he will be at the ball tonight. ’Twill be the perfect opportunity for you to speak with him.”

“I cannot go to a ball!” Tabitha spread her hands to indicate her black attire.

“As me, you can.” Her twin’s impish grin could’ve been a mirror reflection of Tabitha’s a dozen years ago.

Their mother gave a slight nod, her lips tipping upward. She approved? Marjorie Scott had once lost all patience for her daughters’ lookalike capers. The last time they had tried to pull one over on her, Tabitha had forfeited social privileges for a month.

“But surely, you wish to dance with your husband,” Tabitha said. And he would not wish to dance with her. ’Twas embarrassing to recall how she had once laid her cap for him.

The roll of a snare drum competed for her attention. The First Georgia Regiment marched their way from Fort Halifax.

“A lovely thought, but not so appealing when one considers that my morning sickness shows up at night. Captain Anderson would not thank me if I cast up my accounts all over his polished boots.” Temperance laughed lightly. “But he does need to put in an appearance. Only long enough for him to pay his respects to his superiors and allow you a moment to see your sergeant.”

Her sergeant. She had sent him away so coldly when last they met that she could not be certain he would even be civil to her, much less desire any further connection. Could she set aside her pride to find out? Should she?

Tabitha stared at the three regiments marching her way, most of them in the hunting shirts of frontiersmen, as formal uniforms had yet to be adopted save for some officers at dress occasions. Where were the rangers?

Temperance nudged her. “You were the one who loved dancing, anyway. I always wished I could be more like you when it came to the social graces.”

“I do not socialize now.” Her stiff lips conspired to keep the truth in. “Why are you doing this for me?” Once upon a time, Temperance had resented Tabitha almost as much as Tabitha had resented her, just for different reasons.

“I can understand why you do not want to come back here. I see you are not the same person. If I am not wrong, your values and loyalties have shifted.”

“You…are not wrong.” Tabitha glanced at her mother. Was this her doing? Because surely, perceptive as she was, Temperance could not have surmised so much from a couple of meals and an afternoon of knitting soldiers’ stockings together.

“I owe you more than I can ever repay, Tabitha.” Temperance’s gloved hand slid over to grasp hers. “You sacrificed so much for me. I will do anything I can to help you. Ansel and I will support you, as will our mother, though as you know, we are not particularly well off since we choose not to own slaves. But you always have a home with us, should you need it.”

“Thank you.” Tabitha dipped her head. “I now see what it is to live under a harsh master, and I understand your case for freedom. But I would not accept a handout…or a home with you, unless all other options had been exhausted.” Hopefully, her sister would take that not as an insult but as the bid for independence it was.

Temperance nodded. “As I suspected. So, if you care for this sergeant, if you see him in your future, the least I can do is send you to the ball in my place. Consider it our last switcharoo.” The glimmer came back into her eyes.

Tabitha swallowed a knot of hot tears.

“She is right. You are not alone.” Mother leaned forward to caress Tabitha’s arm. “There is something I could never tell you before that I must now. I wanted this opportunity, the three of us together, to make things right between us. Between the two of you.”

Tabitha shifted, unaccustomed to their affection, leery of what might come next. “What is it?”

“While it is true that your sister wrote some of the Townsman letters that threatened those suspected of enforcing the Stamp Act, she did so as an example for the Liberty Boys. She never meant them to be delivered to the recipients.” Fiddling with her sheer cotton tucker, Mother let out a sigh. “I did that.”

“You…what?” Tabitha blinked in the too-bright light.

“Your sister’s maid was afraid for her and brought the letters to me.” Mother patted Temperance’s petticoat, and Temperance nodded. “Little did she know, I was a secret supporter of the Patriot cause. I sent them to your cousin Frankie, and he delivered them thinking that was what she wanted. So it was my fault when suspicions turned on the two of you girls.”

Tabitha lifted her hand to her temple. The bright fife notes of “Yankee Doodle” pierced her head like needles through a pincushion. “Why are you telling me this now?”

“Because you also support the cause of freedom now. And I want you to be free. As I have not been. As you have not been. And that was partly my fault.”

Tabitha shook her head. Here she had blamed her sister all these years, never knowing it was her mother’s action that had set the events in motion which led to Tabitha taking the blame to clear her sister’s name. And indirectly, to her disastrous marriage. “I do not know what to say.”

“Say you can forgive us.” Temperance squeezed her hand, her face earnest. “And say you will go to the ball tonight.”

Tabitha licked her dry lips as she looked between the two women she had thought cared nothing about her. Her lungs expanded with a deep, hopeful breath. They were right that she wouldn’t want charity, especially not Ansel’s. And her mother could not help her financially without running afoul of Father. There was one man who could. Her gaze sought him out among the Georgia Regiment of Horse that followed the continental foot soldiers.

There! Tabitha gasped. There he was, sitting proud and tall on Maximus. And Dougal was beside him. God had spared him. Would Edmond give her a second chance? One way to find out.

She blinked tears from her eyes and nodded at her mother and sister. “Yes.”

H ow had he gotten from the tangled wilds of Florida to here? Edmond stood stiffly beneath the many iron candelabras of Savannah’s public long room as the notes of flute, violin, and viola swirled around him. Dancers sacheted past, stirring air heavy with beeswax and floral perfume. Edmond pulled on the scratchy red wool facing of the collar of his new blue coat, which he wore with buff breeches and red sash. He had avoided asking anyone to dance. Even if he knew the steps, he would be sure to tread on the ladies’ slippers in his Hessian boots, not broken in as yet.

But when the tune ended and something called an Indian Queen was announced, Captain Josh Weldon’s blond, blue-eyed wife gave a wistful cry at his elbow. “Oh, that is one of my favorites.”

“You know I cannot dance, sweetheart.” The man Edmond had saved at Thomas Creek, then a lieutenant, lifted his arm in its sling. “But perhaps the lieutenant will.”

Had it not been for the expectation in his voice and the hopeful expression Mrs. Weldon turned on him, Edmond would have continued searching the men nearby for the officer in question. But oh…the officer was him. He stiffened. “I’m sorry, but I do not know the steps.”

“’Tis just a country dance. I will teach you as we go.” Mrs. Weldon’s pointed chin tipped up with a smile.

Nothing sounded more terrifying. But Edmond could hardly refuse, especially after Weldon had insisted on Edmond’s promotion, the tailor’s commission for his dress uniform, and his appearance at the officers’ ball tonight. One dance. God help him. He held out his arm. “’Twould be my honor, ma’am.”

Mrs. Weldon talked him through the steps as couples assembled in long lines of women facing men. She even illustrated the harder moves. Edmond was still puzzling over the bit where he was expected to hop on one foot at a time while extending the other, knee bent, when the music began.

He managed to get through two rotations, working their way down the line without a major incident, though he felt more like a dancing elephant than the red-heeled dandies who made it look so easy. And then he made his diagonal approach to a new lady, one so stunning in a royal-blue gown with dark ringlets spilling onto one shoulder from an elegantly mounded style that he shuffled and started off on the wrong foot.

“Edmond?” The woman sounded as stunned as he was.

He looked a second time at her face. “Tabitha?” He froze, forgetting to twirl, and would have let the dance go on without them had she not grabbed both his hands and maneuvered them in a turn. “What are you doing here?” Why was she not at home with Dulcie and Cyrus? Had something happened to force her to leave?

“’Twould seem I am celebrating your promotion…unless I mistake the meaning of this uniform.” The comment came out breathless.

“No mistake.” But who was she with?

Mrs. Weldon came forward, beaming, to dance with Tabitha’s partner, a tall militia officer who wore his brown hair unpowdered in a smooth queue—and whose sharp gaze assessed Edmond right back when the four of them made a star together, turning right, then left.

That done, Tabitha passed behind Edmond, back to back. “I was so thankful to see you at the review today. So afraid that…” The chain with their partners took them away from each other. She managed to speak again as she whizzed by. “Meet me after?”

Edmond gave a quick nod, but his head spun. She had feared for him? Thought of him? And now she wanted to speak to him. Would her partner allow her? Judging from the way he escorted her from the floor a few minutes later, a protective hand at her back, and took her to a corner near the open French doors as though he meant to sequester her all to himself, ’twasn’t likely. But after Edmond returned a grateful and flushed Mrs. Weldon to her husband, Tabitha’s eyes flashed something his way. Pleading?

Could it be? Tabitha’s father had pushed her into an unwanted alliance before. Had the man already found a replacement for her dead husband? At least he had picked a Patriot this time. Though the notion sat like a boulder in Edmond’s middle.

Edmond squared his shoulders, excusing himself to the Weldons. He made his way across the polished wood floor before another dance could obscure it. Stopped and bowed before Tabitha and her escort. “’Tis a pleasure to see you here tonight, Mrs. Gage.”

“And you, Sergeant…” She fumbled, clearly uncertain of his new rank.

“Lieutenant.” He could hardly believe it himself. He couldn’t wait to tell his mother, especially because the promotion came with a raise in pay.

Tabitha’s lips pursed over a smile, as though she might even be proud of him. “Lieutenant Lassiter.” She indicated the man beside her. “This is my brother-in-law, Captain Ansel Anderson. Ansel, this is… was the sergeant I spoke of, Edmond Lassiter.”

Her brother-in-law. Edmond relaxed and extended his hand.

The man shook it. “An honor. And congratulations on your promotion. From what I hear, ’twas by God’s own mercy any of you rangers made it from the swamp. Eighteen of you, did I hear?”

“Thank you, sir. Yes. You heard correctly.” Edmond glanced at Tabitha, who produced a silk fan and swayed it before her rosy face. The movement wafted that memorable scent of lemon from her hair, and his stomach muscles clenched.

Her wide eyes had latched onto him. “What happened, Edmond? We heard you were ambushed.”

He nodded and told briefly of the attack, mincing his words in light of their festive surroundings. The war cries and blood and panic seemed like a lurid dream set against this glittering celebration. And Tabitha seemed like a different person. Surely, she could not be the same woman who had labored up to her elbows in blood after the attacks on Fort McIntosh and Howe. His voice lost momentum as he concluded his tale. “We beat our way through the bog for days until we found a local who directed us to Amelia Island, where we joined up with Colonel Elbert. We reached Fort Howe on June ninth. I wanted to come to see you, but…”

“But you were no doubt ordered here,” Captain Anderson supplied.

“Exactly.” Edmond chanced another glance at Tabitha. Something was different about her, besides her elegant appearance. “What brings you to Savannah?”

She fluttered a glance at her brother-in-law. “Ansel, perhaps you would get us all some punch? We can wait for you just outside the door there, where we might find a breeze.”

He tucked one hand behind his back and gave a brief, stiff bow. After slanting Edmond a warning look, he pivoted for the refreshment table.

“I do not think he likes me very much.” Edmond chuckled as he offered Tabitha his arm.

“I doubt that is it.” Her fingers came to rest above his elbow, and he led her outside. Not much breeze to be had, just the cloying scent of roses and jasmine. Lightning bugs flashed here and there among the periphery of the garden, where couples strolled tabby pathways or murmured among the boxwoods. The splash of water from a nearby fountain almost covered low, sensual laughter. “I’m afraid my sister put him in a difficult position tonight—that of playing guardian to me while I came in her place. We are letting people think I am she.”

“But why?” On the terrace just beyond the room, Edmond turned to her.

“So I could see you.”

Tabitha’s blunt honesty brought him up short. “I’m sorry. I fail to understand. When last we met, you seemed determined to go your own way.”

Her lips pressed together a moment. “Something I have always done, and it has never worked out well for me. You asked why I came to Savannah. I went first to Darien, to convince Jack McMullan to work for me.”

“Oh?” Edmond’s brows shot up. “And how did that go?”

“Just as you predicated. He would not even meet with me. So then I came here in hopes of persuading my father to back me.”

Edmond spluttered. “Tabitha, why would you do that? Did you not tell me how your father hurt you in the past? Why would you put yourself back in his hands?” And why her father rather than him?

She sighed and dropped her arm to her side. “Because I had no other hands to go to.” When his brows pulled down, she glanced at him, then away. “Or so I thought. According to Dulcie’s father, Julian Jackson had been to visit, and he intended to demand an answer by the end of the month.”

Edmond’s chest rumbled with a growl. “But that is already past.”

“I know. I left before he could call again. I tried to convince my father, without revealing my true circumstances, that investing in timbering was in his best interest. But the truth has all come out, and I’m afraid his answer to my dilemma is the same as the Jacksons’.” She pressed her fan against her dress and would not meet his gaze.

Her father would marry her to that…that scoundrel? “Oh, Tabitha. I am sorry.” Edmond reached for her gloved hand and gave it a squeeze.

Her eyes swept up to his, a spark of hope igniting there. “I do not think it was all for naught. I believe I might have finally learned my lesson about running ahead of God.”

“You did?” Edmond bent toward her. Tabitha’s resistance to things of faith had stirred his concern—and an awareness of exactly how far he had strayed himself. That she had found peace with God renewed Edmond’s desire for a partnership.

She nodded. “Then today, my mother and sister…they set some things straight about the past…and expressed their support for me. My mother is a Patriot, Edmond.”

He smiled and cocked his head. “So maybe you were meant to come to Savannah, just not for the reason you thought.”

“Exactly. It was they who told me to come tonight. Because I had told them about you.”

He drew a soft, quick breath. “You did? What…did you say?”

“That you were a good man, one I should have trusted more. If you are still willing to help me…” Her gaze searched his. “Although…I do still have some questions, about your reasons.”

“I can understand that.” Edmond raised her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss on the back of her gloved fingers. He would never have dreamed Tabitha would come to him, her manner so changed. Her risk necessitated his. “I shall attempt to answer them, and I would be honored to accompany you back to Darien.”

Her lashes fluttered. “To see Mr. McMullan?”

“Yes. But first, there is someone else I would like you to meet.” It was time he did as Dougal had bid him and trusted her with a little more of who he was.