Eight
Branch could hardly gather his wits together long enough to bow his head when John Danvers offered a blessing on their meal.
He had arrived at his farm last night after a few harrowing days of spy work, trailing someone he had been sure was a Redcoat spy to confirm his suspicions were correct, which they were.
After nearly being stabbed and shot, he had decided he needed a few days of rest. Rather than return to Philadelphia, he had sent a message to his commander with a courier, and headed to the farm.
Branch had purchased it last year, shortly before he had joined the Continental Army and left to work as a spy.
His one and only living relative, Sarah, and her husband, Nate, had also been saving their money to purchase a place.
Branch had struck a deal with them that gave them part of the acres in trade for their residence on the farm and working the land until the war was over and he was free to return home.
Nate had been harder to convince than Sarah about the arrangement being beneficial to them all, but he had finally relented.
Partly because they had been forced from their home in Boston and had been living with Nate’s two younger brothers in a small village that had seemed under constant threat when the British Army had occupied the city.
And partly because Nate had finally agreed his help on the farm would allow Branch to be gone without concerns of the land and house falling to ruins.
When Sarah had mentioned this morning they had been invited to supper at the home of John and Katherine Danvers, Branch had no idea that he had encounter Lucy and Theo.
Every time he had to leave Philadelphia, he felt as though a part of himself lingered behind because, despite his intentions otherwise, he had somehow done the unthinkable and fallen in love with Lucy.
She was everything he could have ever dreamed of finding in a woman, had he been looking for a wife, which he most certainly hadn’t been. The irony of him finding such a remarkable woman when he wasn’t seeking one wasn’t lost on him.
Regardless of his intentions, he couldn’t deny the reasons Lucy had captured his heart.
She was smart. Clever and witty. Kind and caring.
She could laugh and tease, or be serious and studious when the occasion called for it.
She was also incredibly brave, despite her obvious thoughts to the contrary.
Last week, when he had seen two Redcoat ruffians who paraded around as supposed Loyalists watching her, he had feared for her.
He was fairly certain they had no idea she had been spying for the Continental Army in her father’s shop, but he assumed their interest in her was the undeniable fact that she was a beautiful young girl and it was quite enchanting to watch her work through the shop’s front window.
Branch had been guilty of doing the same thing any number of times, although recently he had no need to hide in the shadows and watch when he was welcomed into the shop by all the members of the Carlson family.
Of course, Lucy had still acted as though his very presence was a cross she had to bear, but he could tell by the tone of her voice and the look in her eyes she was always pleased to see him.
Regrettably, it had been important for her to think he was a Loyalist to maintain his ruse in the city. However, the more time he spent with her, the more his certainty grew that she would keep the truth to herself.
Branch didn’t know it for a fact, but thought it quite likely that Theo, who was far too smart for his own good, had already figured out he was a Patriot spying on the Redcoats by pretending to be a Loyalist.
Some days, playing a role was exhausting. Of late, when the burdens pressed hard upon him, he often found his feet carrying him to a certain goldsmith’s shop, where a fetching young miss with curly brown hair and eyes like a midnight sky never failed to lighten his heart.
Branch knew he was older than she was, but Lucy seemed wise beyond her years. In truth, he felt a companionship to her that was almost familiar, like he had felt it before, which was utter nonsense because he had only met her for the first time mere weeks ago.
Nonetheless, something about Lucy had wrapped around his heart and refused to let go.
He felt things for her—wanted things with her—that he had never experienced.
Like settling down. Having children. Raising a family in the United States of America, where anything was possible with a little hope and determination.
Or so Branch liked to tell himself.
A foot connected with his shin beneath the table, and Branch opened his eyes to find he was the only one with his head still bowed.
Sarah glared at him from her seat across the table, clearly questioning if he had lost his manners somewhere between there and Philadelphia.
“This meal looks wonderful,” Branch said, smiling as he settled his napkin on his lap and looked around the table full of a variety of foods. Although it was a cold supper, intended to be merely a little something to tide them over until morning, there was enough to feed half a dozen starving men.
Branch helped himself to sliced beef and cheese, and a serving of the slaw made of shredded cabbage, of which he was not fond, but didn’t want to appear rude.
Sarah had brought bread made from rye, cornmeal, and molasses, that was steamed instead of baked. It was something they had often enjoyed in Boston, and she had mentioned making it for the meal this evening.
Nate and John talked about farming while Branch quietly ate. Lucy sat on one side of him and Theo on the other, with Katherine at the end of the table and John at the head.
Branch was grateful for the machinations put in play that ended with him seated by Lucy. Her fragrance of nutmeg and roses was an enchanting combination, because it smelled feminine and also of home.
Wiggling beside him drew his gaze around to Theo, who was eating his meal quietly, but with a hearty appetite. The lad was full of restlessness that, according to Lucy, only quieted when he was asleep.
“Did you find any interesting bugs today, Theo?” Branch asked, leaning close to the boy.
Theo glanced up at him and smiled. The child’s hair was standing up every which way, as though it had never made an acquaintance with a comb, and his nose was slightly red on the end from so much time out in the sun, but his pleasure at being at the farm was unmistakable.
And why wouldn’t Theo enjoy being there? Any active boy would likely prefer the adventures of farm life to being stuck in a shop in town where his outdoor activities were limited to working in their small garden or accompanying his mother or sister to the market.
It was a shame Theo couldn’t remain at the farm.
Branch had a notion the boy would thrive here.
Lucy had once mentioned Theo wanted to be a soldier or a farmer, depending on the day.
Branch had no doubt the full measure of being on the farm would tip the scales toward the profession of the child’s grandfather in short order.
“Grandpapa and I found a …” Theo paused, as though he searched his thoughts for the word. He scrunched up his face and looked skyward, then finally turned his gaze to Branch. “What do you call it when something, like a bug, is dead, and the body is left behind?”
“A carcass?”
“Yes! That’s it! Grandpapa and I found a carcass of a bug.
It was enormous with a black body, and red eyeballs, and orange wings.
Grandpapa said they made a terrible lot of noise for the whole month of June, but then they disappeared.
He said the last time he remembers seeing them, Lucy was a baby.
When we found it, I picked it up, and it looked like this.
” Theo rolled his eyes back in his head, stuck his tongue out the side of his mouth, and flung his arms akimbo as he slumped in his chair.
Branch couldn’t help but laugh, causing Lucy to look at him and then at Theo.
“Theodore! That is not at all proper for the dinner table,” she said in a tone heavy with disapproval, although Branch saw humor in her eyes.
“Aw, Luce! I was just telling Branch about finding that ol’ bug.” Theo looked down at his plate, clearly unhappy at being taken to task for his theatrics.
Branch knew that feeling well, so he patted Theo’s shoulder and winked when the boy looked up at him.
Theo’s good humor and appetite were quickly restored, and conversation around the table resumed.
When everyone had eaten their fill, Lucy rose and retrieved a large plate that had been set to the side.
Branch was certain he couldn’t eat another bite until he realized it was a tansey pudding, as Sarah always called them.
Instead of serving it with cream, though, Lucy sprinkled sugar and a little nutmeg over the top before she cut it into wedges, like a pie, and served it.
Branch cut into his with enthusiasm and finished it before Theo had taken two bites.
“Would you like more?” Lucy asked with a raised brow, looking at him with a knowing smile. She seemed to be aware of his sweet tooth.
“I would. It was delicious.” Branch held his plate out to her, and she slid another slice onto it.
“Lucy made it,” Katherine volunteered, smiling at Branch in a way that might have made him nervous if he hadn’t already realized she was quite interested in seeing if something developed between him and Lucy.
He hoped she wouldn’t be terribly disappointed when nothing did. At least not now. Lucy was still so young, and Branch was deeply involved in the war. He had no time for proper courting or caring for a wife.
Perhaps in time, he and Lucy might come to an agreement, but it wouldn’t be any time soon.
Branch leaned back and drew in a deep breath, his nose filling with Lucy’s soft scent.
Then again, putting off happiness when he could die any day didn’t seem particularly wise either.