Felicity allowed the tears to flow as she rode. She rode fast until reached her secret meadow, where she dismounted and collapsed by the edge of the pond and succumbed to her sobs. It had been a long time since she allowed herself to feel this emotional, and much longer since she had last cried. So many feelings were overwhelming her right now. She felt angry, betrayed, and sad all over again.

She wondered as to why she was crying instead of rejoicing in the fact that Ben was alive. She had never allowed herself to shed a tear or feel sad about Ben's death. She was very good at suppressing her emotions then. But now it was like every single emotion that she had not allowed herself to feel for this boy were all flooding out at the same time. How foolish, I am being, she thought. crying like this when I should be shedding tears of joy instead. She recalled the stunned look on Ben's face when she ran away from him, and felt even more foolish. What must he be thinking?

Then anger flooded over her. If he was alive this whole time he very well should have written me!

She gave herself several moments to gather herself before mounting Penny again and heading back towards the stables.

She didn't expect anyone to be in the stables when she returned and dismounted Penny, so she was startled to hear Ben say her name. She turned around to find him staring at her, trying to find words to say.

"Oh, Ben!" she exclaimed before throwing her arms around him. "I'm so sorry! Please forgive me for reacting the way that I did. We all thought you were dead!" She looked up at his face. "Ben, I'm confused. Your family knew nothing of your whereabouts, or if you were still alive. Why didn't you write?"

Ben looked at her with sad eyes. "Felicity, I am truly sorry to have caused you pain. Your whole family deserves to know the truth, and I promise to explain everything. I need to speak with your father first about finishing my contract. I promised him that I would, and I intend to."

"Of course. I am so glad you're alive, Ben!" She gave him another hug before walking to the house with him.

~*~*~*~

Ben was received with warmth by the Merriman's, and Edward Merriman agreed to finish Ben's contract. The whole family was very eager and impatient to hear of his story at dinner, so Ben began.

"The first thing I remember is waking with a terrible headache in a cot. I had no idea where I was or how I had gotten there. A nurse came and attended to me, and informed me that I had a serious head wound. I had no recollection of ever obtaining the wound, or of anything of my past. I was asked if my family knew of my injuries, but I couldn't answer her. She was very compassionate and attended to me the best that she could. I learned that although my wound was severe, that I would recover.

"My health gradually returned to me, but my memories did not. But thanks to the other Privates in my troop, I found out that my name was Ben Davidson and that I was fighting under General Anthony Wayne for American independence. Apparently, I had not told any of them much about my past, so they could not tell me anything of my family. There was a gentleman by the name of Samuel that they told me I confided in, but I was informed that he had passed away from a wound to the chest not long after I was wounded.

"My attempts to try to remember anything of my past had failed, so I stopped trying. But my knowledge and opinions of the war were certain, so I continued to re-enlist and fight."

"What happened that helped you get your memories back?" Nan asked.

"I had begun to lose hope. I thought I may never gain my memory back. And my fellow soldiers did not have a positive outlook either; they said it was highly unlikely since I had gone for so long without any spark of a memory. But about a year ago, I had a dream of my family. When I awoke, I knew that it was more than a dream, it was a memory. I did not have another dream until a month later. After that, my memories gradually start to return, in flashes. Some details are still a little foggy."

"Do you remember how you had received your head wound?" Mrs. Merriman asked.

"I remember feeling a combination of alarm and fear while fighting, but I couldn't tell what had happened. I blacked out, and the next thing I remember was waking up with a bandage around my head."

There were several other questions asked by the Merriman's, and Ben did his best to answer them all. But it was clear that there were still a few details in his mind that were foggy. Edward Merriman couldn't help but notice how many times Ben glanced at his eldest daughter. Felicity had indeed grown to be a very becoming young woman, and regarded by many as the prettiest girl in town. Felicity did not seem to notice.