Elizabeth had also fallen asleep thinking of Ben but awoke alone. She sighed involuntarily and got up to face the day. Light was shining in through the window and she knew that by now, Reverend Tallmadge had noted his son's absence and the British officers would be looking for Caleb too.
There was a soft knock on the door and Elizabeth took a deep breath before opening it. She prepared to face a redcoat but instead it was Lukas.
"Father!" she exclaimed, hugging him. Lukas shakily received her embrace and moved into the house. "I trust your trip went well."
"Yes it did, in fact," he stammered as he made his way to his chair. Elizabeth reached out to help him. "Where is Caleb?" he asked. It took everything inside of Elizabeth not to cry or to give any indication of what she was thinking.
"I haven't a clue," she replied. There was another knock on the door, though this one was more forceful.
"In the name of His Majesty King George III, I order you to open this door," came a voice from outside.
"The King?" Lukas whispered confused. He made a move to get up but Elizabeth stopped him and headed for the door. Drawing in a deep breath, she unlatched the door for a second time to allow the redcoats entrance.
"Good morning," one of them said as three officers barged into the small home. "We are here to collect Caleb Brewster."
"I haven't seen him since I retired to bed last night," Elizabeth answered.
"And what about you, old man?" another officer with beady eyes asked Lukas.
"Please sir, my father is afflicted with palsy and just arrived back in town this morning," Elizabeth pleaded.
"That doesn't mean that he doesn't know where Mr. Brewster is," the officer insisted turning and advancing on Elizabeth.
"Lieutenant Simcoe," the first officer warned. Simcoe eyed Elizabeth up and down until his gaze became uncomfortable.
"Let Mr. Brewster know that he is expected to report to the church as soon as he is able," Simcoe sneered.
"The church?" Elizabeth asked astonished and confused.
"Yes," Simcoe seemed to smirk wider. "It will serve as our new headquarters. As soon as we take out the pulpit and the pews." Elizabeth immediately thought of the Reverend and then of his sons now both serving the Continentals. She made a mental note to go visit him as soon as she could.
"I will pass along the message," she said to the redcoats as they left. Once the door was shut, she turned back to her father.
"I was only gone a few days," Lukas muttered to himself.
"They came two nights ago during the Ball," Elizabeth whispered to him taking his hands in hers. "It was quick and no one saw it coming."
"And Caleb?" Lukas asked, worried for his nephew.
"I don't know," she lied. She said a quick, silent prayer that they had gotten to Frog's Point safely. "I'm going to visit the Reverend," she told her father to which he only nodded in response.
She latched the door behind her as she left and hurried down the lane to the home of the Tallmadges. It was a quaint home but it was still a large amount nicer than her own. She knocked on the door trying desperately not to sound upset though she felt suddenly as if she were drowning. The Reverend opened the door cautiously but when he saw the young girl, he pushed the door the rest of the way quickly and let her in.
"What can I do for you?" Reverend Tallmadge asked and he offered her a seat. He sat down in the chair across from her and leaned forward to look at her squarely.
"I just came to see if what the officers said was true," Elizabeth answered honestly. "That they really took over our church."
"I'm afraid it is so, my dear," the Reverend said sadly. "I know how much you enjoyed going to church."
"I liked having somewhere to go where I felt at peace," she admitted softly. She didn't dare say aloud that it was one of the few places she could see Ben once she had left school to care for her mother and father, though she suspected that he already knew that. However, he only nodded sadly.
"And my son, Benjamin, where is he? The officers were here looking for him." Elizabeth averted his gaze. Lying to her sick father was one thing but lying to the Reverend, to Ben's father, was a much different story. "At least tell me if he's alright," he pleaded. A tear fell down Elizabeth's cheek when she thought of Ben.
"I-I don't know," she managed to squeak out.
"He loved you, too, you know," he whispered softly in an attempt to calm her. Their relationship had changed drastically in the last twenty four hours, but somehow the Reverend already knew. He took one of her hands and squeezed it as she nodded wordlessly. "Did you know that he was going to leave with Samuel?" he asked.
"No," she responded. She knew that he was always a loyal Patriot at heart but when Sam had left, Ben told her that he needed to finish his studies first. That spring he had graduated from Yale.
"Ben had all his bags packed too, but that Sunday he changed his mind. Said there were people who still needed him here." His words sparked a sudden realization in Elizabeth.
"He stayed for me," she said more to herself than to the Reverend. She remembered that day too well.
It was the day of her mother's funeral. It was April and the war was just starting. She hadn't wanted anyone to see her cry so she left the service early, sneaking out the back, and sat by the tombstones of her aunt and uncle, Caleb's parents.
She had stared at them for only a few minutes when someone else had sat down next to her. Ben had put his arm around her and pulled her into him. She cried for a time with her head on his chest before looking him square in the face.
"Are you feeling better now?" he had asked brushing his hand gently against her face. He didn't ask if she was okay or what was wrong, he asked if she felt better. Thinking back on it, she was sure that this is when she realized she was in love with him but he had always loved school first and God second so she had banished whatever feelings she had and accepted that the man holding her was her best and longest friend.
"Yes," she had replied. "Thank you." A few seconds later they had gotten up and walked back into the church together. They stood in the back, Elizabeth in front of him and his arms wrapped around her offering what support he could offer her. She was amazed at how this contact could make her feel so safe and comfortable. The next day Sam was gone.
Ben's father nodded and smiled at her. "I suppose maybe I should thank you for keeping him here for so long," he said. "I hope you know that you are just as much a daughter to me as Ben is a son." Elizabeth kept silent though she understood his meaning. She raised her head to speak when another knock was heard at the door. Elizabeth was growing weary of hearing knocking at the door.
When the Reverend opened the door, it was Simcoe and two other officers standing there.
"Were you not here already?" he asked the redcoats who pushed him aside as they entered the house. The two men started searching the room for some unknown object while Simcoe headed straight for Elizabeth.
"I'm afraid, Ms. Brewster, that you must come with me," Simcoe insisted as he forcefully grabbed her left arm and led her out of the Tallmadge home. She could hear the Reverend objecting but she had anticipated this all along.