Chapter One:

January 1, 1781

"There they go!" A man shouted.

"Felicity, hurry!" Ben whispered firmly as he led her around a corner.

Felicity began to hear dogs barking. She dared not look behind to see.

"I'm trying, but you know how petticoats are!" Felicity panted back, lifting her skirts to make as much room for her legs to run as possible. Though she was now fifteen, Felicity resented the discomfort of a gentlewoman's daily clothing as much as ever.

"Here," Ben said, turning back to extend Felicity his hand. Felicity sprinted even faster and grabbed ahold of it as soon as she was within reach. With Ben pulling her, the two might have a chance of making it back home without being spotted. Thank goodness there wasn't a full moon out that night, or their chances may have been even slimmer.

Ben looked behind them. "I don't see them, but I can hear them. And we still have a way to go before we make it back to your house!" he panicked.

Felicity thought as she ran. "I have an idea!" she said.

She pulled Ben off the road, over to a grove of large maple trees. She picked the furthest one and ran to it as fast as she could.

"Here!" Felicity whispered. "Up you go!"

"No," Ben protested. "Ladies first," he said as he knelt to the ground preparing his knee as a boost.

Felicity quickly smiled at Ben. "Very well," she said.

She stepped up onto Ben's thigh, grasped the nearest tree branches with her arms, lifted her right leg up onto another branch, and pulled herself up. After she'd climbed a bit more, she looked down to see Ben steadily climbing right behind her. Felicity let out a sigh of relief and kept moving. After making it as high as she could go, Felicity perched on one of the branches, and looked through the leaves to see the road they'd just escaped from.

Ben met her at the top just in time. As soon as he was securely seated on a branch near hers, Felicity could make out the men's shadows from the light of the lanterns they were all carrying. The barking dogs grew louder and louder, as did the men's shouts and footsteps. Felicity leaned forward and quietly moved away some leaves to get a better look. Eventually, the men arrived at about the same spot in the road where Felicity and Ben had taken their detour. From that point, the road was a straight shot into town. Had Felicity and Ben stayed on the road, they would have easily been spotted.

The men stopped. "Where do you suppose the scoundrels hid?" one man asked gruffly.

"Who knows," another voice replied, panting. "But I suppose we've made our point." The throng laughed eerily.

"I wouldn't be too sure, gentleman. All I know is that one of them had red hair—and it definitely wasn't the lad," a third voice analyzed. Felicity gasped. Ben placed his hand on hers.

"We'd best call it a night," a fourth voice chimed in. "We don't want anyone else to get suspicious."

"True," one of the men replied. "We'll meet next week as planned. Until then, God save the king!"

"God save the king!" they all shouted as they raised their fists. From there, they each said their goodbyes before going their separate ways back home.

Once he was sure everyone had gone, Ben finally broke the silence. "Lissie," he said softly.

"I know," Felicity replied in shock.

Ben looked down and swallowed hard. "We'd best go tell your father immediately," he said. Felicity nodded in reply.

Ben shifted down to a lower branch and began to make his way back to the ground. Felicity followed. As she came near the bottom branches, she made eye contact with Ben, whose arms were outstretched, signaling her to jump. She skipped the last few branches and leapt into Ben's arms. He gently set her back on the ground but kept his hands around her waist. Felicity fearfully looked up at Ben.

"Felicity, I—," Ben stopped. He cleared his throat, let go of her waist, and said, "I think we'd better hurry before anyone circles back." Ben took Felicity's hand, and the two darted back into Williamsburg. An uneasy tension settled into Felicity's stomach.

Felicity's mother thoughtfully paced in the parlor, keeping a good view of the front door through the entryway. She'd just gone up to say goodnight to Felicity but found her bedchamber empty. Mr. Merriman went to enlist Ben's assistance in finding her, but when he knocked on the door of Ben's new house, he was answered by dark windows and pure silence. It appeared no one was there at all.

"'Tis odd for Ben not to be at home at such a late hour. And where could Felicity be? Are the two of them together? Whatever could be happening?" Mrs. Merriman's thoughts raced as she twisted her handkerchief with worry.

Suddenly, a noise came from outside, startling her. As she strode over to the parlor window to get a better look, the front door burst open, letting in a strong spring breeze. Mrs. Merriman whirled around while in walked Felicity and Ben. Mrs. Merriman put her hand over her heart, exhaling a heavy breath of relief.

"Edward, come back, it's alright—they're right here! Both of them!" Mrs. Merriman called out to her husband. Mr. Merriman had just returned from Ben's house and was on his way out the back door to go out to find Felicity on his own.

"Felicity Merriman!" Mrs. Merriman shouted as she walked into the entryway. "Where have you both been?" she questioned firmly. "I hope you never have to experience the feeling of pure terror when you don't find your daughter safely in her bed at night. Do you have any idea the panic you've put us through? Why, your father was just about to spend all hours looking for you!"

"Indeed!" Mr. Merriman exclaimed as he stepped into the entryway. "Can you imagine the thoughts that were running through our heads out of fear for you both?"

"I'm so sorry," Felicity apologized, out of breath. "What a time we've had—I wondered if we'd ever make it home! Please, let us explain."

"Aye," Ben agreed. "We have a lot to say, and none of it's easy."

As Mrs. Merriman's alarm subsided, she finally had the chance to look the pair up and down. They were dirty, flushed, and mussy from head to toe. "My goodness, it certainly does look like it! I guess there's no sense in standing here and shouting for the children to hear. Come into the drawing room, I've just had Rose stoke the fire. But you certainly have a lot of explaining to do," Mrs. Merriman scolded.