Cora finished reading the letter, returned it to its envelope and attempted to continue eating her breakfast. Alice, who was busy chattering about the engagements she had for the day, did not immediately notice anything amiss.
"We shall be visiting the milliner's today. Miss Maddox informed us that a whole new shipment of ribbons and hats has arrived from England. You know my blue hat was ruined during that rainstorm last month."
Cora murmured something but offered no additional comment.
"Cora?" Said Alice after a long moment of silence. "Is something the matter?"
"No, why would you say that?"
"You've gone all pale and your hands are trembling." Cora looked down and realized it was true. "Did you receive bad news?" Alice asked, glancing at the letter.
"No, it is not bad news, quite the contrary." Suddenly, the walls seemed to oppress her and Cora felt she could not breathe. "I think I shall take my walk now."
Alice stared at her. "But you've hardly touched your breakfast!"
"I haven't any appetite. I'll be back by the time you return of your shopping and then you can tell me all about it."
Cora put on a shawl and hat and stepped outside. The day was cool and fresh despite summer being almost upon them. She strolled down the street making her way through the usual morning crowd of street vendors, businessmen, soldiers and small groups of women on their daily errands, but the young woman felt she was drifting in the midst of so much activity, never quite joining in. She had not felt like that in a long while.
"I would ask, my dearest Cora, if you would grant me the honor of becoming my wife?"
Her eyes stung with repressed tears. She did not want to be coaxed into a marriage she did not want. What Cora truly desired was to quell the yearning that rested in her heart, she longed for love and passion and she knew she would never find it in Duncan. It was not a matter of whether he loved her, but whether he saw and understood her for what she was, and she feared that was something he could never do.
When Cora returned home close to midday, she was surprised to find a carriage waiting at the entrance of their home. The driver wore a military uniform and tied to the back of the vehicle she saw a familiar, black horse. "Orion!" She entered the house and ran up the steps, ripping the hat from her head.
She went into the front parlor and saw their arrival was already there, sitting comfortably in a chair beside Alice.
"Papa!" She cried out with joy.
"And here's my eldest girl," the old man exclaimed, standing up and opening his arms to her. "I was just asking your sister where you'd gotten to."
"I was out taking a walk," she said as she stepped into his embrace.
"Well and good," He answered.
Cora held her father tightly and closed her eyes, allowing the familiarity of his presence to wash away her anxieties. He smelled like he always did, of gunpowder and pipe tobacco, though now she detected an added undertone of wood and fresh greenery.
"You should have written," she said, drawing away. "We could have had everything ready to welcome you."
"I thought about it," the Colonel said, reclaiming his seat. "But I wasn't entirely sure that I would be coming all the way to Boston."
"Shall you not stay long, then?" asked Alice, pulling a low stool closer to her father and sitting down on it.
"A few days, nothing more, he replied. "I've been reassigned to a new post at Fort William Henry, but I had to come to inspect some of the new troops and receive my orders."
"Oh." Alice's face was a mask of disappointment. "A week is not nearly enough when we've not seen you in months."
George Munro gave his youngest daughter a gentle look. "I know, my girl, but we have the end of summer to look forward to. You will be in Albany within the month and we'll have plenty of time together then."
That night, Cora went to her father's chamber and opened the door. The room was dark save for the chimney fire. It was an old soldier habit of George Munro's to stare at the flames while smoking a pipe before going to bed. The light flickered and danced over his features and the sight reminded Cora just how old her father truly was.
His black hair had begun to lighten, turning to a dark gray, and the lines on his face had deepened showing creases that had not been there before. Cora also noted his cheekbones were rather sunken and his clothes fit him loosely. It was the war; it always was. Even the strongest men would suddenly grow old after a year enduring the hardships of battling in the front, and her father had been in the military for a long time.
She knocked softly and the Colonel turned around with a smile. "Ah, Cora, I see you've come to share a small nightcap with your old father."
He referred to the bottle of whiskey and two glasses she carried. Cora put the tray down on a side table and poured a drink for them both, making sure her own was a smaller measure than her father's. Aunt Beatrice would have keeled over and died if she'd ever discovered Cora had developed a taste for whiskey at the tender age of twelve. Her father would sometimes drink a glass before going to bed and one day she had asked him if she could try it. The Colonel had dismissed it as a child's whim and offered her a taste. Young as she was, Cora had taken the brunt of the drink and in time, learned to savor it as much as her father did.
The Colonel sampled his drink and studied his daughter with care. Throughout dinner Cora had been unusually quiet, letting Alice relate all they'd done since they'd last seen him. "I may be wrong," he said. "But I believe there is something bothering you, Cora. Would you care to tell your old father about it?"
She glanced at him and blushed at the knowing look he gave her. She wasn't exactly sure where to begin but decided to go straight to the main point. "I have received a proposal, Papa."
The Colonel's eyebrows shot up with surprise. One of the many things that had constantly worried him throughout the past two years was to see his daughters settled. He feared that one day he might be caught on the wrong end of a skirmish and end up with a bullet or an arrow through his chest leaving them with an uncertain future. "From whom?"
"Major Duncan Heyward."
"Ah, yes. I recall you mentioned him, though I didn't know you'd become this close."
"We haven't, not truly." The frustration that had built up inside throughout the day burst forth from Cora, and suddenly she was crying.
The Colonel was surprised at this and immediately reached for her. "But what's this? This isn't like you, lass!"
George Munro had always seen his eldest daughter as a strong woman who knew her mind, but to have her dissolve into tears over a simple matter like a proposal truly perplexed him. This was behavior he expected from Alice, who was sweet and tender-hearted like her mother, but never from Cora, who took after himself.
"My girl," he said in a soothing tone. "You know how important it is for me to see you and your sister settled into a family. I would have expected this news to give you pleasure, but instead, I find the opposite. Is marriage such an awful thing as that?"
"No…" Cora sniffed and allowed for a moment to pass so she could compose herself. "I don't find the idea of marriage hateful, but the truth is… I don't love him."
The Colonel's surprise increased. Cora had managed her love interests with a mastery few women ever had. She was not flirtatious nor did she collect conquests. Instead, she held her suitors up against a high set of standards and dismissed them accordingly. When she first spoke about Duncan Heyward, George Munro had thought she had finally found a man she approved of. The Colonel had briefly met Major Heyward before departing for the colonies and he had found him to be the type of young man he would like to see either one of his daughters attached to, though they were not acquainted with him at the time.
"Cora," he began in a conciliating tone, but she interrupted him.
"Please, Papa. I have not behaved incorrectly. When Duncan and I parted in England, I made it clear we were only friends. And if I began writing to him it was only out of politeness and because you deemed it proper."
The Colonel could not help giving out a small chuckle. "Ah, child. No man pursues a lady with such tenacity if he does not have marriage in his mind; mere friendship between men and women is not something common in our society."
Cora felt a wave of heat fill her insides and was ashamed at the naïveté of her thoughts. There had been few times in her life when Cora had truly felt the absence of her mother, but at that moment she needed her more than ever before.
"What would you have me do?" she asked in a whisper, holding back more tears.
"I would have you do nothing other than what brings you joy, my girl. He answered softly. "But, you should consider Heyward, I am certain he will do everything in his power to make you happy."
"Did he say when he expected your answer?"
Cora let out a shuddering sigh. "Duncan is coming to America himself. His regiment has been called on for reinforcements, and he should already be on his way. He mentioned he would speak to you on the matter before I gave him my answer."
"Then you still have time to think," the Colonel said. "Sleep on it, lass, and don't rush to set your mind against him. You do not know what plans fate has for your future."