Ben arrived at the Brewster home early the next morning. He felt a familiar fluttering in his stomach which intensified when the beautiful woman in his thoughts opened the door to allow him entry. She smiled warmly at him. Her long, curly brown hair cascaded around her shoulders since she hadn't yet had the time to pin it up.
"Benny Boy, what are you doing here?" Caleb greeted his friend and ushered him into the parlor. The Brewster house wasn't a large house nor was it extravagant by any means but Ben had always liked that about it. The air grew thick with tension as Ben remembered why he had made such haste to arrive at dawn.
"I have news," he said gravely making both Caleb and Elizabeth turn to look at him. "Perhaps you should wait in the other room," he addressed Elizabeth. "This is not meant for delicate ears." Elizabeth met his eyes with a steely gaze.
"What good would it do?" she asked in response. "I'll only listen from the doorway." Caleb couldn't stifle the chuckle that erupted from him.
"Well she is my cousin, now ain't she?" Ben smirked slightly as well and nodded turning to the both of them standing in the living room.
"They are requesting that all able bodied men in Setauket that do not have wives or farms to tend to enlist in his Majesty's Militia." A look of understanding passed between Caleb and Ben. Elizabeth knew as well that both men were now to be enlisted in a cause they hated.
"How long do you have?" Elizabeth asked.
"Until noon tomorrow," Ben answered unable to look at her.
"Then you must go," Elizabeth said plainly. Now both men were looking at her as if she had lost her mind. She ignored their looks and continued. "There is a camp of Continentals across the bay at Frog's Point. I'm sure they will be happy for more recruits. You should leave this evening under cover of night."
Having said this, she hastily turned away from them and left the room. She told herself that she was going upstairs to pack Caleb's things but in reality, but she knew that she just couldn't bear looking at Ben.
"Blimey," Caleb swore under his breath. "Elizabeth is right. We ain't really got a choice do we?"
"No, I suppose not," Ben responded looking off in the direction that Elizabeth had gone.
"Go talk to her," Caleb prompted and Ben nodded as he raced up the damp, wooden stairs.
Elizabeth stood in the doorway of Caleb's bedroom staring into his room as if he were already gone. She was leaning against the door post with her arms folded across her chest. Ben tried but couldn't find anything to say to her. He was leaving just a day after they had finally realized their feelings for one another.
"You have to go," she whispered almost inaudibly. "You can't stay here and you certainly can't join the Royal Army."
"Elizabeth," he started taking his hand and resting it on her arm. He continued to move toward her and before he had time to think better of it, he had pulled her into his chest, wrapping his arms firmly around her frame. He pulled back enough to take her face in his hands. He kissed her forehead several times before he spoke again. "I don't have to go. I don't have to leave you." Ben kissed her cheeks next and forehead again. She finally wrapped her own arms around Ben's waist.
"No," she said as she pulled away to look into his face. "I will not see you fight for the enemy." She reached up to softly place her hands on his face. "I love you, Benjamin Tallmadge. I suspect I have all my life."
Ben looked surprised only for a moment before he pulled her to him again and kissed her passionately. Once again they found themselves pressed up against a wall pulling at each other, trying to occupy the same space, the same air. His tongue flicked across her lips and she gasped slightly, allowing his tongue to enter into her mouth. Strongly and possessively he kissed her until both of their lungs burned for oxygen.
They pulled apart and he rested his forehead against hers. They stood for a few seconds breathing the same air.
"I love you, Elizabeth Brewster, more than you know," he whispered.
"Then it's settled," she said to him. "You must leave tonight; join the Continentals and fight. Win this war." She stroked his face. "I will wait for you as long as I can." She kissed him softly. "I love you and when this war is over, I will see you again." She kissed him more soundly this time but only lingered a short time before nuzzling her head into his neck. He hugged her to him again.
"There will not be a day when I do not think of you," he whispered. "My Love," he added smiling at how easy it was for him to call her that. Tears glistened in Elizabeth's eyes and she willed them not to fall. She finally pulled from his embrace and headed back downstairs to return to Caleb. To her relief, Caleb said nothing of the prolonged absence of both herself and Ben.
"We need to come up with a plan," she said to them both.
"And tell Abraham and Anna," Caleb added.
"No," she refuted. "They cannot know about this. Neither can my father nor the Reverend. When you two leave, they will question any known acquaintances. They will want to know how long you two have been traitors and such things. It will be extensive and so the less they know, the better." Ben looked astonished. He hadn't thought of what would happen after they left. He shuddered to think what Elizabeth would go through when they turned tail and escaped. Caleb only nodded.
"Tonight, we will have to steal a boat from the docks. We can meet there at midnight," Ben offered.
"No, it'd be too suspicious. Suppose someone'd see ya sneakin' out," Caleb replied. "This house is much closer to the dock and with my uncle being gone, we can even shack you up for the night." Now it was Ben's turn to nod.
"I will set three places for supper then," Elizabeth decided. "Tell your father what you must and meet us here. Then we can wait until dusk for you to set out. It will give you plenty of time until they look to enroll you tomorrow." Ben looked to her.
"What about you, then? Surely they will think that you were a part of this."
"You just leave that to me," she responded confidently. Though she did not yet know what she would say, Caleb and Ben's lives were in her hands and she knew that she had to be good to escape the redcoats' notice.
Dinner that night was a quiet one, though the Brewsters had a guest for the first time since Lukas had left for a few days respite. Elizabeth pondered for a moment how her father might take Caleb's desertion. Caleb thought a similar thing though he knew that his uncle would be in good hands with Elizabeth.
Ben could only think about Elizabeth. He observed her, lost in thought. To anyone else she would have appeared to be eating delicately but Ben knew her better and knew that she wasn't actually eating at all. He wished he could soothe her worries but it would be impossible to soothe her worries when he had so many of his own.
After dinner, Elizabeth escorted Ben to the guest room. It was small and dark but they both knew that no one would be sleeping tonight. As they were making the bed, Caleb came in to wish them a good night. The plan was to head towards the docks when night was its darkest, which would be at midnight. For the next few hours; however, there was nothing to do but wait.
Elizabeth smoothed out the last corner of the sheets and turned to leave but Ben caught her arm. He could no longer handle her silence or her worried looks. He wanted to see her smile at least one more time before he left.
So he took her small face in his warm hands and kissed her forehead. She covered his hands with her own and closed her eyes. He next kissed her cheeks and her eyes. He kissed her nose and along her jawline before he finally pressed his lips to hers. It wasn't heavy or forceful; instead it was soft and gentle. He took his time savoring the taste of her and the feeling of her skin in his hands.
He slowly backed her up until they fell onto the freshly made bed. Without ceasing in their kisses, they arranged themselves with him lying almost completely on top of her.
He stopped kissing her and used the arm he wasn't using to prop himself up and pulled her waist even closer to him. He knew where all of his thoughts were leading him. He worried this was too much for Elizabeth.
"Maybe we should stop," he suggested breathlessly running his hand through her hair. She looked back at him without hesitation.
"We don't have to," she whispered suggestively. She nimbly loosened the buttons on his vest and the tie around his neck.
"Are you sure?" Ben asked a final time. He didn't want his anticipation to show.
"Yes," Elizabeth whispered as she reconnected their lips.
They laid for what seemed like hours afterward next to each other beneath the sheets on the guest bed. Ben drew his hand up and down her naked form, staring at her face all the while. His heart swelled to see her lying in his arms, at peace with her eyes closed and a content smile on her face. He stopped his hand to cup her face in it. Her eyes opened and she looked him in the eyes lovingly.
"How much longer do we have?" she asked as she stretched and placed her own hand to his face. She lay back down and Ben rolled back on top of her, bracing his weight on his elbows. He leaned down and kissed her sweetly.
Then there were three knocks on the door. It was Caleb come to get Ben. Elizabeth's smile faltered slightly and Ben kissed her one last time before getting up. He quickly dressed and headed out to meet Caleb. Elizabeth dressed and followed only a minute behind, careful to conceal where she had come from.
At the door Caleb stopped and turned to his cousin. She might as well have been his sister for they had lived together under his uncle's roof even before his parents had died.
"I guess this is good-bye," he said to Elizabeth. She flung her arms around him and held him fast.
"Not for long," she whispered, "and stay safe".
"Are ya kiddin'?" Caleb asked looking at her. "I have to keep this skinny bastard from getting 'imself killed!" Elizabeth smiled but could not bring herself to laugh at her cousin's jest.
She turned then to look at Ben. He looked to be analyzing her every movement, trying to memorize her very essence. She kissed him soundly and, phased as he was with her forwardness, he pulled her close and relished their last few seconds together.
Elizabeth stepped back and away from the two men soon to be continentals. She willed herself not to cry as she watched them sneak away into the night. Once they were out of sight, she closed the door and wept bitterly, praying that above all else, they be returned to her safely.