Chapter Eighteen: My Betrayal
I awoke the day after Abigail gave birth with nothing to do. Abigail and Peter had kindly requested that they have a couple of days to adjust to their new family life, and so I was left alone, once again, in my room. I flipped through the book William had given me, as I had done so many times before, still not really reading it. I paced through my room and looked out the windows. There was now a thick layer of frost on the ground and tiny snowflakes flying with the breeze. The cold that was so evident outside was, fortunately, not quite as present in the mansion, though it was cooler than it had been in October.
That afternoon, after falling asleep on my bed, I awoke to the sounds of several horses moving in. I went to my window, through which I could see the pathway in front of the mansion. There was a large company of men moving in. They were Dragoons and I anxiously searched their faces for William.
Before I had a chance to find him, I heard a knock on my door. I quickly patted down my hair and smoothed my skirts.
"Come in," I called, once I had determined that I looked appropriate.
A young servant boy, whom I judged to be about seven, walked into the room, clutching a piece of parchment.
"A man in the bushes told me to give this to you," he said, shyly. He thrust his arm out straight, giving me the letter.
"Thank you," I said, taking it curiously. I opened it quickly and recognized Nathan's messy scrawl. Before the boy had a chance to leave, I called him back. I looked around my room for something to give him, but found nothing that a small boy would want. Finally, I simply said, "Do you think you could keep this letter a secret? And don't tell anyone about the man in the bushes, either?"
He nodded, his head bobbing up and down furiously. "No," he said. "I won't tell anyone. I never had a secret before!" He grinned at me, and I patted his head of somewhat messy, matted blonde hair.
"Very well then," I said, as though I had just decided something quite important. "What is your name?"
"My name is Elliot," he told me, proudly.
"Well then, Elliot," I said, smiling at him. "This will be out personal secret."
"Alright," he said. "Goodbye!" Then he scooted out of the room, happily.
I thought of my sister, Margaret, who was little older than Elliot. Had she known of a secret letter, I was quite sure she would have forgotten it in little over a day. This eased my mind a little, and I settled down on my bed to read the letter.
It read:
"Dear Charlotte,
I am writing to remind you of our agreement to meet in one month's time in the bushes where I first spoke to you. I will be there at midnight in one week. Please do not linger in your coming; I cannot be seen. I hope that you are well, and that you have found some useful information for our cause.
Love, your brother,
Nathan"
I felt my stomach flutter as I read the letter. I had nearly forgotten of my agreement with my brother. In truth, I had no intention of leaving the mansion, or William. I did not know what to do.
I heard a second knocking at my door. "Charlotte! It's me!"
I quickly stuffed the letter from Nathan under my pillow. My heart leapt at the mere sound of William's voice, and thoughts of my brother fleeted. I hurried to the door and let him in.
"I'm so glad you're back!" I said, happily. "I've missed you."
"I missed you as well," he said, walking into my room.
"You may shut the door," I said, seeing that he had left it wide open.
"It wouldn't be appropriate," he said, his cheeks turning crimson.
I walked to the door and shut it quietly. "It's alright," I told him. "No one knows you're here."
"Very well, Charlotte," he said, walking to my bed. He sat down on the edge of it and I joined him.
"Are your men well?" I asked, carefully avoiding the subject of the raids. I had resolved just after beginning to court William, that we would avoid discussing matters of a political nature.
"Yes," he said. "They did surprising well this time out. One man, a private, sprained his arm, but he'll be fine."
"How did he sprain his arm?" I asked, curiously.
"Fell of his horse, the idiot," said William, rolling his eyes.
"I remember a certain colonel falling off his horse once," I said, remembering the incident in our first camp.
Once again, William's cheeks turned slightly crimson. "Yes, I suppose you're right."
I smiled and William wrapped an arm around my waist. He leaned in and kissed me, quite passionately. Now I was the one who was blushing. Somewhat hesitantly, I kissed him back. It felt so good, and before I knew it, we were lying back on my bed. Suddenly, realizing where things were going, I pulled away.
"William, no," I said, sitting up once again.
He nodded. "I'm sorry," he said.
I nodded. "It's alright."
William lay down on his side, stretching his arms towards the head of my bed. One hand made its way under my pillow, and before I could stop him, the expression on his face changed. He pulled out the letter from my brother.
"What's this?" he asked me, eyeing it suspiciously.
I grabbed for it. "It's nothing," I said hurriedly. "It's a diary entry."
He didn't give it back, but instead unfolded it.
"William, give it back," I demanded harshly.
I watched as he read it, his expression transforming back into the hard angry one that I had seen the night I was captured.
He looked up at me, his face contorted in a mixture of rage and hurt. "Is this what we've been doing? You pretend to love me so that you can get information?"
"No, William, I do love you," I said. It was the first time I had said it, but it was certainly not the way I had imagined it would be.
"What information have you gathered then?" he asked me, bitterly.
"None!" I cried. "William, I wasn't going to leave with him! I haven't been gathering any information, I just had to give my brother a reason why I was staying! He wanted me to leave!"
William raised a hand and slapped me.
"Do not lie to me!" he yelled.
"I'm not!" I sobbed, holding my face where I could feel the stinging imprint of William's large hands.
"I can't believe this!" said William, getting up and pacing my room. "How could you do this? How could you betray me like this?"
"William, please, you have to believe me!" I said, now standing as well. For some reason it made me feel more secure, although William was at least six feet tall, and I barely more than five feet.
He shook his head, looking from the letter to me, over and over. Finally, he said, "I am going to keep this. I am not going to report you, or show it to anyone. But I will promise you this much, there will be someone guarding your door all night one week from today!"
"Please, William!" I tried to plead with him once again.
"No, Charlotte!" he said. "I trusted you!" Shaking his head once again, he left my room.
I went back to my bed, feeling my knees buckle. I lay down on my bed where just minutes ago William and I had kissed so passionately. I sobbed, and prayed to God that William would forgive me.
