CHAPTER NINETEEN

"Come on Lissie, can't I ride Penny?" Polly begged her sister.

"You aren't yet tall enough," Felicity answered. Felicity and Polly had just come back from a riding lesson, and were stabling Old Bess.

"When will I grow taller?" Polly asked.

"I don't know," Felicity shrugged. Polly looked so disappointed. Felicity reached into the pocket of her riding habit and pulled out a piece of rock candy. She pressed it into Polly's hand. "Eat this," she said.

"Nan says that candy rots your teeth," Polly chipped.

"Don't bother listening to Nan," Felicity said. "You'll live a solemn, miserable, life. Now run along."

Polly took her candy and left, Felicity began brushing Penny's coat.

"Where there are horses, there's Felicity Merriman," a voice said.

"Andy," Felicity said very surprised. "What brings you here?"

"You do," Andy replied. "This is for you." He handed her the box of chocolates.

"Thank you," Felicity stammered. "Polly and William will enjoy it immensely."

"Felicity they are for you. You love chocolate," Andy whined.

"Aye," agreed Felicity. "But I do not like chocolate from men who do not court me properly, and take me for a fool."

"Lissie please," Andy taunted. "Give me another chance." He fell at her feet, kneeling in a begging position.

"I'm not your Lissie," Felicity retorted. "Get up. You look ridiculous!"

Andy couldn't help smiling. He loved Felicity's feistiness. He thought she looked amazing in that dark green riding habit. Her eyes had never looked greener.

"What if I did talk to your father?" Andy asked. "Then would you let me court you?"

"No," Felicity replied briskly as she went back to brushing Penny. "You had your chance with me, you dawdled along too long. I am being courted by someone else now, someone I like very much."

"A man by the name of Mr. Davidson?" Andy asked. "You know Felicity you are not married to him, you can still court other gentlemen."

"I don't hardly consider you a gentleman Doctor Matthews," Felicity exclaimed. "Oh wait, that isn't even your real name. Nobody knows who you really are."

Andy gave Penny a very uneasy look. He stepped forward, and put both of his hands on Felicity's shoulders.

"Let's run away Lissie," he said. "We'll go down to Charles Towne. You can bring your horse. I have a huge home there, with plenty of room for horse riding."

"Andy no," said Felicity. "I'm not going to run away with you. I don't love you anymore."

"Well you loved me three months ago," Andy retorted.

"Andy you really hurt me," said Felicity. "You made it more than clear that your little secrets or whatever you're hiding meant more to you than my dignity. To this day I don't even know why you refused to ask my father permission to court me. I felt like you had some big, awful, secret, that's going to bring you down, and you want me to go down with it."

They were silent. Andy gave Penny another look and sighed. He kicked over an empty pail.

"It's not fair," he said softly. "All my life I have been trying to run and forget my past. The past that has always haunted me, and now it has cost me you."

"Perhaps," Felicity shrugged. "But you can't very well expect somebody to love you when they don't even really know who you are."

Andy reached up and stroked Penny's long silky mane. He sighed loudly.

"Very well. Seems that I have lost you anyway to the Davidson lad. You know that property I mentioned to you? The property that brought me back to Virginia in the first place."

"Is there really any property?" Felicity asked.

"Oh yes," Andy replied. "I have been trying for months now to get it titled to me, but since I was born a bastard, that doesn't seem to be happening. My Father, if you could call him that, has been sick for a while. I'd like to inherit the property, it's beautiful on the edge of town, plenty of room for riding horses." He stopped and looked at Penny again. "All he has to do is sign a paper declaring that he is indeed my father, and I am his only son, and heir to the property, but the old rat won't do it."

"I'm sorry," Felicity replied.

"So now you understand why I changed my name and could never court or marry you," said Andy. "No man is going to let their daughter marry declared bastard."

"I understand," said Felicity. It was rather sad, Andy having to go through his whole life with a stigma attached to him. A stigma that was his parents' doing. "You became a doctor though," she added.

"Just by sheer luck, and a little trouble," Andy replied. "As a kid I got into trouble all the time, and for once it actually helped me. You see my mother was some barmaid, and my father refused to acknowledge me as his own. When I was nine my mother got tired of trying to convince my father to help support me, and she already had a hefty debt to the community for my care. She sold me as a servant to pay off her debt, and she ran off and married some other fool. She always hated me because I pretty much ruined her life. Anyway, I had to go on this boat and sail down to South Carolina. I worked in the shipyard, unloading and delivering heavy cargos from the boats. It is in the shipyards where I learned card and dice games, and got into gambling. Anyway I got caught stealing and the man I worked for decided I was more trouble than I was worth. He never did like me anyway, and I despised him the creep. He turned me out on the street where I lived on my own for about three months. I would try and win money playing the gambling games I had learned back in the shipyard. I then fell very sick. I didn't know what was wrong with me, I just knew that I felt awful all of the time. I took what little money I had and went to the office of the town doctor.

He was nicer than anyone had ever been to me in my life. He not only helped me get better, but when I was better he let me work off my debt that I owed him by assisting him in his work. At the time more and more people were coming to Charles Towne, and he was the only doctor. He taught me everything I know. He was quiet man, very antisocial. He had no friends, no girl. I think he didn't mind my company, because he let me stay with him, and when I was old enough he worked out an apprenticeship agreement with me. That's pretty much my story."

After a period of silence, as everything that Andy said sunk in, Felicity finally said

"You never did tell me what your real name is."

Andy sighed. He knew this would be the final nail in the coffin.

"Nye," he replied. "Andrew Nye."

"Nye/" Felicity shrieked. "Like in Jiggy Nye?"

"Afraid so," Andy murmured. "That property is where his stupid tannery is. The place is an eyesore. I'd love to tear it down, and build a nice house. I was getting so much business from men in Virginia I was going to open a second gaming house. I am nothing like him Feliicty. I hate the old coot."

"I know," Felicity replied. They were silent, both in a surreal, pensive, mood. Felicity was shocked that she had kissed Jiggy Nye's son.

"So is this good-bye?" Andy asked.

Felicity nodded.

"It has nothing to do with what you have just told me. I think I understand you better," she said. "I wish you had told me earlier. You deserve to be loved Andy, and I do not love you, I love somebody else. I am being honest, really."

Andy looked down at his boots and nodded. He kissed Felicity on the hand.

"You were the only girl for me Felicity Merriman, and I do love you."

As he began to walk away, Felicity had to lighten the mood a little bit. Things were much too intense.

"Andy," she called. He turned around. "His name can't really Jiggy Nye?" She asked. "What's his real name?"

Andy smiled.

"Jeremiah," he said. "Mother once told me they called him Jiggy because he used to be quite a the dancer."

"Oh," was all Felicity could say. And like that Andy was gone, or so she thought.