Kaylee woke the next morning to the sound of a woman crying. She dressed and followed the weeping to her front lawn where two Continentals held her childhood friend, Matthew, to his knees before Ben. The boy's mother was on her knees, beseeching, reaching out with tears streaming down her face, pleading for mercy on his behalf.
"He is just a child! Please, he would never commit an act of treason."
Emotionless, Ben ordered the woman away and the boy to be locked in the carriage house until further notice. Ben's face did not soften until he turned and spotted Kaylee, cowering behind a column, her reflection one that feared him. A pain lanced his chest. That divine girl was the last person he wanted to fear him.
That evening Kaylee stirred a pot of stew while listening to Amy and Mattie's conversation.
"The rebels will hang him," Mattie said in a low voice.
"I do not believe the boy is guilty. He is too simple-minded to knowingly ferry letters to the British Troops. I think someone set him up."
"And we both know who that someone is!"
"Who?" Kaylee butted in.
"Never you mind, child. Now go and serve them soldiers some bread before they start hollowing," Mattie scolded her.
"They are not animals, you know." Kaylee recoiled, buttering a tray of warm bread.
Amy slapped a serving spoon against a bowl, the piercing sound echoing her disappointed in Kaylee's defense of the men who had taken over her home. "You tell that to young Matthew, who is to have his neck broken come dawn!"
Tears blooming, Kaylee snatched the tray and abandoned the kitchen.
"It is not my place to say so, but I am going to anyways, Mrs. Fabray. You should not say such things to little Kaylee. It frightens her. She is not like us. She bears a fragile soul."
Amy placed her hand to the servant, who had grown into her best friend through the years, and said, "she needs to be frightened of them. They are our enemy and given the chance, they would hurt Kaylee as well, fragile soul or not."
Dinner was served in silence and afterwards, the men withdrew to the parlor for brandy. It was late before the men indulged their fill. Kaylee listened as the soldiers made their way to their bedrooms.
Ben entered and locked his door. He sighed with weariness as he peeled his coat off and tossed it into the chair beside the fire. The room was warm and cozy. The rain outside even flow ensured a tranquil sleep and he needed it. Matthew was playing heavily on his mind.
"Major Tallmadge…"
Ben was in the process of kicking off his boots when he turned to find a lurking Kaylee, dressed in only a shift, revealing herself from a darkened corner. She was beautiful, so alluring with the translucent material clinging to her blooming breasts, licked by the flickers from the hearth. It was well-known what a woman offered if she stole away to wait for a man in their bedroom, but from the purity gleaming in Kaylee's eyes, that was not her intent. A lesser man would have thrown the little naive vixen to the floor and taught her a lesson she would never forget.
"Kaylee! What are you doing in my room this late? How did you get in here? I keep my door locked."
She flinched at the anger lacing his tone and stepped forward, not realizing that her position in front of the hearth exposed the voluptuous contour of body; nipples, curves, and a tiny heart-shaped mound. "I am sorry, but I need to speak to you where ears can not hear. I used the balcony door as our rooms share a balcony. Will you please hear me out?" she pleaded with pouty lips, knowing most men would refuse to hear what a woman had to say, especially one stuck between childhood and womanhood.
Ben glanced past the trembling girl to the door leading the balcony. He had wondered whose room was beside his. Learning that it belonged to Kaylee warmed him.
Boots shed, he approached her slowly with feline-like grace. She retreated a step, fear flickering in her opals. "I am not going to harm you, Kaylee. Sit with me." He took her arm, warm and soft against his fingertips, and led her to a chaise searing in front of the fire.
She obeyed, taking a seat beside him on the chaise, overly close so that wandering ears in passing could not hear.
She smelled of honey, the delicious scent stirring his loins. His mouth watered, yearning to smell and taste something else on her. "Tell me," he uttered, his voice straining as if it was hard to be close to her.
He watched her kiss-provoking lips quiver as she spoke. "You plan on executing an innocent boy. Matthew is not guilty."
"How do you know this?" He focused on her lush lips, longing to sample them. The were exceedingly full, perfect for sucking cock. The thought of the dainty temptress on her knees taking his hard-diving cock down her throat sired a sensation to ripple through his shaft.
"I've known him my whole life and he is not a traitor, sir," she cooed in a voice as sweet as honey.
"Kaylee, I need more than your word." She was too naive for her own good. She had no idea how much danger she had darted into.
She glanced away. Ben captured her chin and gently forced her to peer up at him. "I need more, Kaylee."
"If I tell you, will you give me away?"
"You can trust me," he replied, stroking the hollow of her cheek with his index finger, unable to resist any longer. She was as soft and silky as she looked.
"How can I trust you if you do not trust me?"
He smirked. She had him there. She was a smart girl veiled beneath intoxicating beauty, and a healthy mind was something he admired in the opposite sex. "Well, you have to decide which is more important to you."
She bit her lip in deep thought. After a few hesitant minutes, she leaned close to Ben's ear and whispered, her warm breath licking his flesh. "His father is a Troy and he uses Matthew to ferry the letters on the pretense of delivering wool. Matthew doesn't know because the letters are coded. He thinks he carries work orders. He cannot read. He was kicked in the head as a child and has been simple ever since."
Taken aback, Ben squinted his eyes, now suspicious. Just how much did this little girl know? "How do you know this?"
"Matthew and I used to meet by the river and swim on his way to town. I have seen the letters. Photographic memory, remember? Well, the orders looked strange and so I wrote them, and in the process, I discovered the code."
"You realize that I will hang Matthew's father?" He cocked an eyebrow.
"But you will free Matthew?"
"You have my word and my word is something you can take for granted."
She stood and collected his large hand into her small one. "Thank you, Major. Matthew's father is not a good man. He is known for rough hands."
Ben nodded. He remembered spotting the bruises on Matthew's mother's cheeks. He expected as much. It will be a pleasure to watch such a brute dangle.
"Please, sir, you cannot tell anyone that I told you. I will be in so much trouble!" her fragile voice mocked a whimper.
"From who? Why would you be in trouble for turning in treason?"
"Please, Major Tallmadge, no one can know it was me." She tightened her grip on his hand. He could feel the desperation flowing within. There was more than she was willing to give him now. Not wanting to pressure her, he made a mental note to investigate on the sly.
She was too irresistible to deny. "My lips are sealed," he promised, like putty in her manipulative hands.
"Thank you so much!" She looked as if she was about to impulsively hug him, but then realized the wantonness of such action. She smiled, embarrassed, with cheeks aflame and turned to leave.
"Goodnight, Kaylee." He watched her slip outside into the cold and fade into the night. After she was out of sight, relief washed over his reflection, thankful that he did not have to order the hanging of such a young boy. Tonight he would slumber with a clear conscience, thanks to Kaylee. Tomorrow he would get started on just how many traitors lived in the county and a plan to root them out.
Notes:
I am not sure if a Major had the authority to actually execute a civilian for treason without trial. That may be a power conserved when dealing with military members only. IDK
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