15
“Ladies and gentlemen,” exclaimed Colonel Peter Gansevoort. “We have come here tonight to honor two guests who currently are at residence in this fort, and those people are: Skenandoah, The Deer, and Miss Abagail Densbury, who both braved the wilds of the Oneida woods on foot in order to bring us the first news of the Battle of Oriskany. Had it not been for these two people, the siege might have continued until we might have been forced to surrender. And so, because of their courageousness, we honor them tonight.”
There was a round of applause, and Abagail was certain her face filled with color.
“And now,” announced Colonel Gansevoort, “Skenandoah and Miss Densbury will lead us in the first dance of the night.”
So saying, Colonel Gansevoort waved the two of them onto the dance floor.
Skenan stood up first, offering his arm to Abagail, and as soon as she placed her hand upon his coat, she felt his arm contract beneath her touch, as though he welcomed it. But, neither mentioned the incident. Instead, they stepped out of the sidelines and onto the ballroom floor.
Aware of every eye being upon them, Abagail felt her knees buckle. But, as soon as the music began, they faced one another. Skenan bowed to her and she curtsied to him, and then they began the same steps of the minuet they had practiced for these past three days. Bring hands together, step together, then back; step to the side and back. Turning, they joined hands in front of their bodies, and, arm and arm, they stepped forward, then, letting go of each other’s hands, they stepped back into place.
Other couples who knew this particular dance soon joined them on the ballroom floor, and soon two lines facing each other were formed. Step together, step apart, join hands and promenade forward. Step together, join hands, face partner and bring joined hands upward. Glance into the eyes of one’s partner.
Step apart. Step together. Join hands, glance up at each other, look into each other’s eyes once more.
Longingly, she stared up at Skenan. Did she see love there in his glance at her? Did he share her affection? No, it couldn’t be, and yet she thought that perhaps…
She looked up at him again as they came together in a handhold causing them to step up close together. Did he love her? Or was the affection she witnessed in his eyes the amusing glance of a brother to his sister?
The music ended rather suddenly for Abagail, since she wished to share a touch with him. But, she couldn’t continue the dance when the music had ceased. And so, placing her hand on Skenan’s arm, she walked beside him as he escorted her back toward the crowd of people standing on the side of the dance floor. But, she had no more than faced forward when a young soldier, looking handsome in his Continental uniform, trod up to her and asked her for the next dance.
Abagail didn’t really wish to dance with anyone else but Skenan, and so she looked up at him as though she were seeking his permission; when he inclined his head, she reluctantly accepted the dance. However, as soon as the one dance was done and the young man had walked her to the side of the room, another young man strode toward her and asked for her hand in the dance.
And so, in this way, the night progressed as one young man after another asked Abagail to dance. Now and again, she caught Skenan’s glance—he who was watching her from the side of the dance floor. During these times, she smiled at him, but he never returned the gesture. Instead, he stood apart from the others, not dancing with another, but watching her.
At last, the orchestra announced a break, and Abagail rejoined Skenan.
Perhaps because most of the women in the fort were married, she was one of the few young women available to dance with these officers, and possibly because of the exquisite way in which she was dressed, none of these gentlemen realized she was a common indentured servant.
The room was hot, and as she fanned her face with her gloves, she said, “I can’t remember ever being so much in the center of attention.”
He responded, saying, “I am happy for you. You deserve to be looked upon in a good light by these people.”
“Perhaps,” she said, “it is the way I am dressed. I look like a lady of influence dressed as I am. But, if I were to don my usual clothing, I doubt any special notice would be taken of me.”
“Then, they would be blind.”
“It is kind of you to say this to me.”
“It is not kind. It is the truth. If they could not see behind the rags of your clothing before this night when you are now dressed so beautifully, they are blind.”
Abagail turned toward Skenan and said, “Mr. Skenan, our conversation reminds me about a matter of some delicacy, and I find I must ask your advice. Would you be kind enough to walk with me outside during this break?”
“Of course I will,” he said, bowing and then placing her hand upon his arm. Turning, they stepped out of the ballroom. “Where shall we go?”
She hesitated only a moment before she said, “To the southeast bastion, I think.”
“Ah, our own private dance floor,” commented Skenan.
“Yes.”
They strode, then, across the grounds of the fort toward the southeast bastion, and they began to climb the stairs, she positioning herself behind him as had been their practice when they had been scouting through the woods; she even held on to his jacket. As soon as they had climbed the steps leading up to the bastion and had stepped into the room, Abagail tapped Skenan on the shoulder. When he turned toward her, she said, “What I have to ask you is, perhaps, delicate. But, you are the closest thing I have for a brother, and I need some brotherly advice. Do you mind?”
“Of course I do not mind,” Skenan answered. “What is it?”
Oddly, although she had asked him to bring her here, where she knew they would be alone, she hesitated to speak, feeling suddenly shy. Perhaps it was because she hoped to discover Skenan’s true feelings for her, but not in a direct way. And so, breathing in deeply for courage, she said, “Please forgive me, but I need your advice about men.”
Nervously, she glanced up at him, but he didn’t appear startled or condescending, and so she blurted out all at once, “Tonight, more than one gentleman made me aware he would be interested in getting to know me better. But, I have no experience with men, and I am a stranger to romance. And so, I seek your advice.”
There, she’d said it.
But, Skenan nodded as if this were a common question women asked of him. All he said, though, was, “I will be glad to help you, if I can.”
Again, she took in a breath, then asked, “How do I know, Skenan?”
“Know what?” he asked.
She bit her lip, hesitating before asking, “How do I know if a man is the right man for me? I have no experience in these kinds of matters, and I am overwhelmed with so many gentlemen asking to see more of me. I mean, after all, seeing a man is, I assume, what is done to see if he is the one I might like to marry. Am I right?”
“I believe so,” he answered.
“Skenan, would it be too much for me to ask you to…ah…pretend for me, please, that you are in love with me?”
“Pretend?”
“Yes, only a pretense. But, please, if you could pretend to love me, how is it you might show me? I mean, what might you do to make me aware you might favor me?”
He didn’t answer at once, and Abagail felt as though she might likely faint if he didn’t speak up soon.
But, at last, he said, “Well, let me think about this for a moment. I think, if I loved you, of course I would hold you next to me in a tree, bringing comfort to you even though some wild dogs were at your heels. And, I think, if I loved you, I would fight a bear threatening you with no thought as to what the bear might do to me.
“Indeed,” he continued, “if I loved you, I would take you to a cave, where I would treat your wounds and I would go into a pine forest to find the softest pine boughs for you to rest on for your bed, regardless of there possibly being enemy scouts present in those woods. And, if I loved you, I would give you my shirt to keep you warm in a cold cave and I would even cook for you. But, most of all, if I loved you, I would ask you to become part of my family, even if it were to be the part of my sister. If I loved you, this is what I might do.”
Abagail gasped, tears beginning to blur her eyes, and she murmured, “But, Skenan, you have done all these things for me.”
He didn’t say a word. He simply smiled at her.
“Skenan, does…does…this mean…do…do you love me?”
He laughed, and when he glanced down at her, as she met his gaze a feeling of joy swept over her. Still grinning, he said, “Of course I love you. I have loved you for many, many days now.”
And then, bending down toward her, slowly he brought his lips to hers in a sweet kiss. But, when she moaned, he kissed her again, then again and again. Raising his head up, he brought his forehead to hers and he said, “And, now I have a question for you. One I can ask only of you. Miss Abagail, will you join your life with mine?”
She whispered, “Do…do you mean, will I marry you?”
“Yes, this is exactly what I am asking you. Miss Abagail, do you not already know how much I love you? If not, let me tell you again and again and for the rest of our lives. I love you. I love you. I love you, and I wish to keep you by my side from now and until, in body, we can no longer be together. I admit now that this is what I wished to tell you days ago when we were in the cave, but I dared not ask you then, being afraid I would scare you away from me.”
Abagail didn’t answer him in words. Instead, she threw herself into his arms.
“Yes,” she said. “Yes, yes, yes and yes again! I love you so much, Skenan, and when you were gone for several days here recently and I didn’t know why you had gone or where, I realized I never wished to ever be parted from you. But, you must realize I do not know how to be your wife properly. I know nothing of your people. Perhaps”—she glanced shyly up at him—“you could teach me?”
“It will be my pleasure, you sweet, darling woman of mine.” And, then he kissed her again, once, and then over and over, as if to seal their pledge.