Chapter 18 June 1774
"What do you think of these Acts?" Thomas and I were walking Griffin's Wharf, where only a few months ago I had walked in the moonlight intent upon defying King George and his tax on tea. The once-busy harbor of Boston was now deserted, with the exception of a few English ships, menacing us from their position on the glassy water.
"I think King George is struggling to regain control of his colonies," Thomas replied, smiling at me with that opening of his lips I loved so well. "He needs to make an example of someone, and who better than the rabble who seems to be putting up the biggest ruckus over here." Anger still boiled in my veins as I thought of the Intolerable Acts King George had passed in response to the tea party, closing our harbor until the tea was paid for. Even worse, we were not allowed to hold town meetings, and were forced to house soldiers in our own homes. It was difficult for me to refer to them as soldiers, but I knew that "bloodybacks" was too disrespectful to be uttered by a girl of seventeen.
Seventeen! My, I had grown! Everyone seemed to notice it: Mama, Charles, even Meg had ceased treating me as so much of a child. I did not know if any of these boded well: Mama was increasing her efforts to marry me off to an influential Loyalist, Charles was becoming more and more worried about our charade with Miss Mather, and Meg…I felt as if Meg was an inch away from discovering everything.
I looked out over the harbor, and was filled with a sudden, tired sadness. My fight against all society constraining me, against Mama and the rest of my family, represented our fight against our King, and our country. Would we ever win our freedom? We were small colonies who still relied so much on Europe for food and goods, still so much little children, growing and learning and struggling to live independently and be recognized as adults. "How long can we continue to live like this?" I turned to look at Thomas, into his blue eyes, still clear and alive with hope and determination.
He took my hand in his, and looked into the distance across the wharf. "Whatever this is," he replied, "It won't continue for long. We're becoming more and more angry, and King George becomes more and more desperate. Right now, we're defying him, yes, but it's little scrimmages, hit and run. Something must happen."
"But what?"
Thomas looked at me, and his lips spread into a slight, tender smile. "We'll have to fight," he said.
"I want to fight, I want to help us win," I said.
"Oh Abby, of course you do," he said, and put a hand on my cheek. Then he laughed. "But you'll be hard put convincing Charles to let you."
"Would you let me?"
The smile immediately vanished from his face, and the muscles in his jaw tensed. For the first time, I saw weariness in his blue eyes. "No," he said. We walked back to Charles' place in silence. He placed a soft kiss on my cheek before leaving. I avoided his eyes, and watched his back move further from me after he turned away.