January, 1775
Katherine was surprised to see her father standing by the back door, pulling on his coat.
"Morning, Pa. You going out?"
"Mm," George muttered, throwing his scarf about his neck. "Going to till the farm. Spring's coming and the farm needs to be ready for the new harvest."
"Are you up to it? I could help you if you need it."
George shook his head. "No. You stay in the house. I'll handle it."
"Okay," Katherine replied. "I'll make breakfast. You'll need a break. I don't want you getting hurt, Pa."
"I'll be fine, Kitty. I promise."
With that, George shuffled out of the door, bracing against the blustery, January wind.
Every little sound had Katherine on high alert, but her father made it back inside without incident for breakfast.
"I made you some tea. Thought you'd be cold."
"You're such a thoughful girl," George mused as Katherine joined him at the table. "I can't think of a man who wouldn't want you."
Katherine gasped. "Stop it, Pa! You're just trying to get me married off to that silly Davy boy!"
"I'm just trying to let it be known that you have suitors. You should really give him a chance. He's a nice boy..." said the old man, sipping his tea.
"He's an idiot, Pa. He don't know nothing," Katherine retorted.
"Well, what about the Johnston boy?"
"Willie Johnston? That blockhead? No thank you!"
George sighed. "Honey, at this point, it's going to be very hard to have you married. I would like to see you at least have one child in my lifetime."
"Pa, I know you don't have much time left," Katherine said, placing a hand on top of her father's. "I can't just get married to them, no matter how much they may like me. They're not my type, Pa."
George took the silence to pick some food off of his plate.
"Pa, can you tell me how you met Ma?" asked Katherine.
"I've told you this story so many times, Kitty," George said.
"I know, but I like hearing it. It's such a sweet story."
George laughed at his daughter's inquisitiveness.
"When I was 14, your grandmother sent me to the store to pick up some meat for her. She used to tell me, 'If you have a pound left, you can buy yourself a bag of candy'. I went to the shop, but the keep wasn't there. His daughter was at the till that day."
He sighed wistfully. "Your mother was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. I was tongue tied the minute I saw her. Damn near forgot my own name. I bought the meat and a bag of candy, but I couldn't eat it. Not when the girl behind the counter was sweeter than any candy in the world." George laughed. "That was a bad present."
"The candy?" Katherine asked.
"Sure was. I kept that candy for a week, trying to find the prettiest ribbon to tie onto that thing and give it to her. And the note! What was I thinking? 'From the man of your dreams'?"
"Well, obviously, Ma liked it."
George finished his tea. "Yes. I was insecure. Those other boys were giving her better and more expensive things. I couldn't afford none of that fancy stuff. Why would she pick me over them? I was a poor farm boy, couldn't buy her nothing or take her nowhere. But, she loved this farm boy with all her heart. I couldn't buy her a ring, but she was thrilled to be marrying me. Your mother was my everything, Kitty. The day we got married and the day we had you was the happiest days of my life. I lost a piece of my heart when she died."
Katherine smiled. "I know, Pa." She stood up, spinning around in the kitchen. "I wish that some handsome gentleman would come and sweep me off my feet. I want a love like you and Ma had."
"I'm sure you'll find that one day, Kitty. If you speak it, it'll come true," George said. He rose slowly from his chair.
"Yeah, I'll find it...if you stop trying to marry me off to Sam Davy!" Katherine laughed.
George smiled. "I can't promise you nothing."
A knock on the door broke the festivites.
"Who in the hell could that be?"
"Be careful, Pa," Katherine whined, following her father to the door.
He opened it, coming face-to-face with five men in red coats.
"May I help you gentlemen?" George asked.
"Yes. Are you the owner of this land?" inquired one of the men.
"I sure am. What of it?"
"We'd like to speak to you." He looked at the girl. "Alone."
"Pa..." Katherine whispered, grabbing her father's shirt tails.
"Don't worry, Kitty. This won't take long." George ushered the men inside. "Let's speak out back."
The large man in front stopped another. "Watch the girl."
As she tried to follow her father out the back door, the guard thrust a hand in front of her.
"You're not going to hurt my Pa, are you?" she asked.
"I don't know what will happen if your father doesn't cooperate," he replied.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
The guard didn't reply any further, leaving Katherine to wonder if her father would be okay.
"Now, what are you here for?" George asked.
One of the men brandished a letter.
"We have orders from the Crown to take this land. If you do not comply, we cannot assure you of what will happen."
"That's not happening," George said bluntly. "I've gone through hell and back for this farm! I started a family and raised my daughter here and now you're going to displace us from the place we call home, simply because some big wig on his throne told you to take it for his meaningless war?"
A Redcoat viciously jammed the butt of his musket into George's stomach, knocking the wind out of the man and sending him to the dirt.
"I told you; we could not account for what would happen if you did not comply," said the general. "If you know what's good for you, you'll pack up and leave this place."
"I'll never leave my farm!" George cried indignantly.
The general landed a punishing kick to the old man's back.
"Well, then we'll kill you!"
The guard held the struggling girl about the waist as she kicked and fought to help her father.
"Pa! They're hurting him! Stop it! Let me go, you brute!"
"Hold the girl! Or we'll kill her too!"
"Don't you touch my daughter! If you touch her, I swear, I'll grind your asses and feed them to my pigs!"
Another kick shut the old man up.
"Like to see you try it, old man!"
No matter how hard as she fought, the guard wouldn't release her.
"Hey...she's kind of pretty," said the guard, teasingly. Katherine could feel bile rising in her throat as they lewdly ooh'ed and ah'ed and touched her.
"Yeah.." replied another. "I'd reckon she'd be pretty tight! Girls like this come a dime a dozen!"
George scrambled to a sitting position, met with the barrel of a gun at his throat.
"You dirty bastards! Don't you harm my child!" he wheezed.
Fed up with being restrained, Katherine sank her teeth into the guard's arm. He dropped her immediately, howling in pain.
"You filthy wench!" he cried, slapping her as hard as he could.
The force of the hit sent her careening across the dirt. Katherine crawled to her knees, putting her arms around her father. A gun was pointed in her face.
"I ought to kill you for that stunt, bitch."
The guard cocked his gun, Katherine closing her eyes.
"They'll kill us for sure! We're dead! All over a plot of land!"
What she felt next wasn't the force of a bullet ripping through her chest. Instead, it was something wet, like water. When she opened her eyes, she was surprised to see that neither she nor her father was dead and that the liquid wasn't water.
"Blood?"
The general lay motionless in front of the girl and her injured father, an arrow stuck in his back.
"Pa?" Katherine sobbed, wiping her father's face."You alright?"
"I'm fine," George coughed. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Pa. A little sore, but I'm okay."
"Are you both alright?" asked a mysterious voice.
Katherine looked up to see a man, his face hidden by a white hood. He knelt down to her, letting her get a good look at his face.
"A Native?"
"D-did you save us?" she asked.
"Those men were accosting you. I did what I had to."
Katherine smiled tearfully. "Thank you. Those men were going to kill my Pa. They were going to kill me too."
George sat up in his daughter's arms.
"Thank you, stranger. Those men wanted my land for the Crown and was willing to kill me and my child to take it. We are forever thankful."
The stranger merely listened as the old man rambled on.
"We don't have anything of value to give you in return but our gratitude."
The hooded man shook his head. "I ask for nothing but your assistance."
"Our assistance?" asked Katherine.
"There is a homestead near the manor where I stay. It could use rations and you could use medical attention and safe lodging. This place has not been safe for many to stay," explained the stranger.
George extended his hand, grasping the man's weakly. "Thank you so much. No one has ever extended such kindness to us. If only more people were like you, this place would be so much safer. We will go."
The man nodded and stood, Katherine's eyes trained on the mysterious stranger. He left as quickly as he came, but if she stayed at his homestead, maybe she would get a chance to see her mysterious savior again.
