Ok, so sorry for making Robert die and everything, but that's what happened, so I couldn't NOT do it, you know?

Susannah POV

No. It couldn't be. My brother could not be dead. I hadn't spoken to him for months, and I didn't know if he had known I was alive, because my parents had not. When I first showed up, they looked at me as though I was a ghost. I had always just assumed that Robert would make it out of the war. He could always find his way out of anything. He was my big brother; the only one who I felt ever truly cared for me in my immediate family.

Poor Annie. My dear sister in law had only been married to Robert a short time, yet she loved him more than air. She had been hit especially hard by his death. She planned to move to Europe to live with her sister.

They offered to bring his body to us, but my father said this, "We would not have his body removed from where it lies surrounded by his brave and devoted soldiers...We can imagine no holier place than that in which he lies, among his brave and devoted followers, nor wish for him better company – what a body-guard he has!*"

I, myself, was devastated. Not only did my brother perish, but also Cabot. He had been my friend, and I would always love him, although not the same way as I loved William, who helped me through so much during this time. He understood my relationship with my brother and comforted me when I was sad. What I hadn't realized was that he was sad too, because while we were spending so much time with my family, his did not think he was alive. His brother knew the truth, but for William's safety as a spy, the rest of his family had been told he was killed.

He decided to go and visit his family in two days time. I didn't know what I was going to do without him until my mother took me aside and basically forced me to go with him. She knew I loved him. My family hadn't grieved for a very long time; we knew that Robert wouldn't have wanted us to. After a few goodbyes to my family, I set off with him towards his home in a small wagon with a few horses. He lived in a small town twenty miles off from Boston.

He seemed nervous to see his family. "Is something wrong?" I asked him. "Well, my parents think that I've been dead for over a year and I had a… disagreement with them the day before I left for the army, so I'm not sure how they are going to react." I knew that they thought him to be dead and now I was curious to what they had fought about, so I asked him. He looked uncomfortable and slowly replied, "My parents wanted me to marry. Particularly to a local girl named Emma Greene. Her mother and my mother were good friends. I did not fancy her and our parents were close to forcing us into marriage. As far as I know, she did not have feelings for me. I was eighteen and wanted to go off and grow up before I got married. I was so upset that I ran off and joined the army to be with my brother."

It was clear as day that he felt odd telling me this, although I rejoiced in the fact that he joined the army, or else I would not have met him. After telling me his problems, we went for a while in general silence until one of the wheels from our wagon hit a bump causing me to fall into William's arms. The horses had stopped and I slowly looked up into his eyes as he looked at me. He leaned down and kissed my cheek softly. When I sat back up, I knew I was blushing. Only a few minutes later William slowed the horses to a stop in front of a huge house about ten miles outside of Boston. We had arrived at his home.

William POV

I stopped us in front of my home. My mother came out to see who we were, "Excuse me, do you need anything?" she asked. "Mother. It's me." I said. Her face had new creases and she looked as though she had aged many years. I could not help but feeling that this was partly my fault.

She squinted at me and examined my blue uniform until a look of realization came over her face. "William? We thought you were dead." I embraced her and she started to cry. She led me inside to the parlor and called for my father. "Andrew! Andrew! Come here!" Susannah had followed us inside and stood quietly near the door.

My father had been working, as always, and sounded annoyed, "What is it Amelia?" He walked in and saw me. "Father," I said. He looked at me, "William! What is the meaning of this? We thought you were dead! And who is this?" he asked, pointing at Susannah. I answered all of their questions and explained to them that I had become a spy and had to tell them I was dead to protect myself. I told them how I had met Susannah and who she was.

After chiding me on lying to them, they told how happy they were that I returned to tell them the truth. My mother and father seemed to like Susannah, which was a good thing in my opinion. It was a very good thing.

Later, in the evening, my father had brought me aside and told me that Emma Greene was now Emma Stanley and lived in Philadelphia. "William," he added, "I'd like you to know that I never wanted you two to marry, and I'm glad you didn't, otherwise you would have never serviced your country in the way that you did. I'm proud of you." I was relieved at his statement, and felt good that Emma was no longer a problem.

Susannah enjoyed seeing my home and the small town around it. I felt very attached to her and she grew more beautiful to me every day. Her laugh was the sweetest sound, and I loved how she wasn't afraid to speak her mind and participate in conversations with deeply rooted topics. She and my mother got along very well and enjoyed talking with each other. Every once in a while, Susannah would cry, thinking about her brother. My mother and I did the best we could to comfort her, and by the time September rolled around, she seldom cried. Even when she cried, she was still too wonderful to be real.

*This was written from Frank Shaw, Robert's father, in a letter to Lincoln Stone, the regimental surgeon.