Felicity sat in by the little brook where she and Henry used to ride to for picnics writing a letter to Ben. Realistically she knew he would probably never receive the letter, but just the simple act of writing helped her feel closer to him. Signing her name with a final flourish, she smiled and laid back dreaming of the day when Ben cam home.
"You will get freckles if you do not mind your hat." A familiar voice broke her dreaming.
"Henry!" she sat up abruptly and folded the letter quickly. She brushed herself off so as to make herself look presentable. "Tis most improper to sneak up on a lady," Felicity scolded.
Henry smiled at the words and then turned away from her to skip a stone across the water. "Writing a letter to your beloved?" he asked over his shoulder. Felicity did not answer; they both knew the answer. "I wish you would look like that while thinking of me." He said and caused another stone to dance across the water.
"Henry," Felicity began, "You know I am dreadfully sorry about the way things turned out. I truly do care for you, but I promised my heart long ago to Ben. I am so so sorry about hurting you, you made me so happy, you made me laugh. I really did care for you, please believe that, and I hope someday you won't hate me anymore."
Henry looked into her sad eyes, he could see she was truly sorry but he was not ready to forgive her. "You hurt me Felicity Merriman, you betrayed me. You also betrayed your Benjamin, have you thought about that? What will he say when he finds out that you courted another? That your lips rested on another, that while he was there lying deprived and beaten in a dark jail cell you had found happiness with another. "
"Stop it!" Felicity got up so she was almost at eye level with Henry, she could not abide having him tower over her. "Stop it! I have told you I am sorry for what I have done. That I did not mean to hurt you but you! You are deliberately trying to hurt me now! I thought you to be a gentleman, but now I see you are nothing like a man I would sit fit to hold my affections. You may blame Ben for stealing my heart, but you, you yourself have lost my friendship." She stormed off back to her house. Henry let her go and threw a few rocks into the brook. He watched the ripples for a few minutes and then turned to see Felicity's figure getting smaller and smaller. Throwing the last rock in he turned to chase after her.
"Felicity! Wait!" he called as he ran toward her.
"What would you like?" she stopped in her tracks and turned to face him running towards her.
"You love this Patriot apprentice who fights for liberty?" he questioned.
"Yes," she said in exasperation, "I love this Patriot apprentice who fights for what he believes in." she emphasized the last part.
Henry lowered his head, "You hold that against me then?"
"You believe in liberty but you are not willing to fight for it? How much is it worth to you then? You might as well question why we breathe. If we stop breathing, we'll die. If we stop fighting for what we believe in, the world will die."
Henry paused for a moment, "Felicity, I am going to make myself worthy of you."
"Henry, please, find yourself someone else! I do not love you!" She pleaded in exasperation.
"The Continentals are in Yorktown, I am going to join them. You will see Felicity Merriman, I will make you see!" and he ran off, leaving a bewildered Felicity.