Love Not a Rebel (36 page)

St John’s Episcopal Church
Across Shockoe Creek
Outside Richmond, Virginia
March 1775

T
he debate had been endless, hot and heavy and passionate, and then, curiously, the delegates fell silent again. There was resistance, Eric thought, quietly watching the men around him, but something was taking form here today that was destined to cast the course of a nation.

Richmond, the little town founded by Colonel William Byrd II in 1733, did not boast the fine accommodations of Williamsburg. There were not so many taverns, and certainly the inns were far less numerous, and far less elegant. Yet it seemed much better to be here, at the falls of the James River, than in Williamsburg, beneath the governor’s nose.

The town itself hadn’t had a place large enough for the conclave to convene, so the delegates were meeting in the church. To the loyalists among the populace—who sensed the depth of the rebellion going on within hallowed halls
—the fact that they met in the church made the assembly an obscene one.

And despite the warnings of caution, Patrick Henry had the floor again, the West County giant, the rough but eloquent speaker who seemed to possess the ability to move mountains with the power of his words.

“It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry Peace! Peace! But there is no peace. The war is actually begun. The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!”

The tenor of his voice, the sound, the substance of words, rang and rang against the day, with startling, dizzying, almost blinding passion. Eric thought that men would leap to their feet, that they would scream and cry from the force of the emotion.

But there was silence. Men appeared stunned by the boldness and the honesty of the words.

Henry looked around the assembly, then sat.

And still his words were met by silence as they seemed to echo and echo through the church. Then slowly a few delegates rose to oppose him, but then Richard Henry Lee was on his feet, speaking up for Henry’s resolution, and then Thomas Jefferson asked for recognition. Jefferson was a damned good writer but not much of an orator. Still, when he rose, and spoke for Patrick Henry’s resolves, a peculiar eloquence touched him. Tall, with his flaming red hair neatly queued, he gestured awkwardly, but still, his words, his manner, touched many men. Eric could feel it in his own heart; he could see it in other men’s eyes.

When the gentlemen at last broke for the day, it was resolved that they would form committees.

It was resolved that troops would be raised for Virginia’s defense.

And it was known that within the next few days, the
vote would be cast for the delegates to travel to Philadelphia a second time.

Eric, leaving the church at Washington’s side, was quiet as he heard the words spoken by Patrick Henry repeated again and again. They were whispered at first, but then the whispers rose.

Two years ago they would have all claimed his words treason. But now only the staunch loyalists thought so.

“He shall go down in history,” Washington commented.

Eric grinned as they carefully moved through the early-spring muck, heading for one of the local taverns.

“I imagine he shall,” Eric agreed.

Washington stopped suddenly, leaning against a tree that had just sprouted soft green leaves. He turned and looked at Eric intently. “It will be war, you know.”

“Yes, I think it shall.”

“What will you do?”

Eric twisted his jaw, watching his own friend levelly. “I think, George, that over the years I have more than proven my loyalty to Virginia.”

“Your loyalty is not in question. But you have grave interests. I’ve spoken with many dear friends who are planning to return to England. Fairfax and Sally … they are going soon. Many friends.”

Eric nodded grimly. “I’ve spoken with a few cousins who are leaving. I’ve an appointment tonight with a distant Cameron relation. I’m selling him property I have in England and I’m buying up the land that he has bordering my own.”

“You are lucky to be able to make such arrangements.” Washington watched him intently. “What of your wife?”

Eric did not mean to stiffen so abruptly and so completely, and give away so much of himself. “I don’t know what you mean,” he said too quickly. Life had moved fast and furiously in the last few months. Momentous things were happening. He was caught in the wild winds of change, and he was eager to ride them. He had steered his mind from thoughts of Amanda by day, but she had haunted him every night, and along with the pain and the longing had come bitterness. He would never be able to
trust her. What in God’s name had she been doing, running into the night? Meeting with an influential Tory—or with a lover? Or perhaps the lover and the Tory were one and the same. His anger at her had been so great he hadn’t dared to stay with her.

She had lied about the child. She had known something about the death of Damien’s horse. She was betraying him with every breath she took.

“What do you mean, ‘What of my wife’?” he queried coldly.

“Eric, I’m your friend. It’s just that it is well known that Lady Cameron’s sympathies have not changed—”

“She is suspected of something?” Eric asked flatly.

“Eric, I do not try to offend you—”

“George, you do not offend me. But Amanda is my wife. She will support me.”

“But—”

“Or else,” Eric said, squaring his jaw stubbornly. “I will take care of her.”

“What if—”

“I will take care of her, George. You’ve my solemn vow on that. If it becomes necessary, I will see that she is removed.”

Washington looked at him, then sighed softly. “I pray, my friend, that you can. I for one could not. But come, let’s have a drink together, while we still can. I’ve a feeling that things that have so far crawled will take off with a mad gallop soon.”

Twenty minutes later they were all within the tavern at a table, he and George, Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, and a few others. An elderly gentleman, Pierre Dupree, from north of the Richmond area, had joined them. And yet, as the men drank and laughed and teased and tried to take harbor from the growing sense of tension they themselves were creating, Eric noted that Dupree was watching him and paying little attention to the true firebrands who were the root of revolution.

Dupree, white-haired, impeccably dressed in mustard breeches and crimson coat, could down his fair share of whiskey. As the others flagged and begged leave to retire
for the night, Dupree remained. Finally Washington rose, and all that remained in the dimly lit place at the table were Eric—and Dupree.

“Well, my young
ami
,” Dupree murmured, “perhaps another drink?”

The candle burned low upon their table. Slumped back in his chair, Eric grinned, feeling lighter than he had for some time. “Monsieur Dupree, you have studied me so seriously. You have waited for so long. Why?”

The old man offered him a Gaelic shrug. “Curious, monsieur. And with no right to be so.”

“Curious?” Surprised, Eric raised his pewter tankard and downed a long swallow of whiskey. “I admit to being baffled, monsieur. Tell me, what is it you wish to know?”

“I don’t wish to offend you.”

Eric smiled. “Don’t offend me, sir, merely speak.”

Dupree inhaled deeply. “Perhaps I can be of service to you, and that is what really draws me.”

“Then I am grateful. Please, tell me what this is all about.”

Dupree plunged in then, quickly and somberly, his words so soft that they did not carry in the empty room. “I understand that Amanda Sterling is now Lady Cameron.”

Eric’s reaction was instantaneous. Again he felt the stiffening of his muscles, the razor pain that touched him. The loneliness, the bitterness. He wanted his wife. He wanted her with him, beneath him, crying out softly in hunger and need. He wanted to strike her and walk away from her.

“She is my wife.” He did not realize that his eyes had narrowed darkly, that any semblance of a smile had fled his features, that his words came out in a growl. “If you’ve something to say, then do so, for I tire and I lose my patience quickly!”

“It is a delicate matter—”

“Delicate be damned. If you would speak, do so. If not, leave me in peace!”

“There is a story—”

“Then tell it!”

Dupree had hesitated, but the man was no coward. He
did not balk at Eric’s anger, but plunged in quickly. “Years and years ago I knew her mother.”

“My wife’s mother?”

“Yes. She was beautiful. So beautiful. Light and elegant, with the sun in her eyes, in her words, in her every movement. She was passion, she was energy, she was vitality! Remembering her gives me back my youth. She was so alive.”

Like Amanda, Eric thought. Always the flames in her eyes, the heat in her soul, the passion for life itself.

“Go on.” Again, the short words came as a growl.

Pierre Dupree moved closer. “I came to Williamsburg often in those days. I was a Frenchman born on Virginia soil, loyal to the King of England. But when I knew that Acadians were arriving in Williamsburg, desperate for homes, I had to come. I had to help those men who spoke my language. You understand?”

Eric merely nodded. Dupree went on. “I was Lenore’s friend. She trusted me. She—she came to me for advice.”

“About what?” Eric demanded.

“Well, she was kindness itself, you must remember. She saw the suffering; she saw the loss and confusion of the people. When the ships came laden with the exiled Acadians, Lenore demanded that her husband take some of them on. Perhaps it was not so great a kindness. I’m assuming you know Nigel Sterling.”

Again Eric nodded gravely, saying nothing, giving nothing. Dupree did not need his approval. He continued. “She never should have married him. Never. Sterling was always everything pompous and cruel in a man, despite his property, despite his title, despite his claim to wealth. He coveted glory, and greater titles, at the expense of all else. He did not deserve a woman like Lenore.”

“Pray, sir! The good woman is long dead and buried. And freed from Nigel Sterling. So of what do you prattle?”

“She came to me, sir, because she was going to bear a child. A child who did not belong to Nigel Sterling, but to a handsome young Frenchman. To an Acadian, that is, sir. To the man Sterling had taken on as hired help.”

Eric inhaled sharply, watching the man ever more intently.

Dupree saw that his words had sunk home. “She was in love. Deeply in love. Oh, it is easy to imagine. There was Sterling, hard, unbending—cruel. And there was the handsome Frenchman with light eyes and ebony hair and the kindest touch upon her! He loved her, I am certain. Who could not love Lenore? And yet when she came to me, I saw nothing of love and everything of scandal. I told her that she must not sin again, that she must give Sterling the child as his very own son or daughter, that for her sake—and for the very life of her lover!—she must never let Sterling know.” He sighed, shaking his head. “I was so very wrong! She should have fled with the Frenchman, she should have run to New Orleans with him. She might have found happiness. Instead …”

“Instead! What the hell happened, Dupree? Damn you, man, finish this thing now that you have started!”

“I know nothing for fact,” Dupree said regretfully, looking into his whiskey. “All I know is what was whispered of the Acadians. Sterling discovered her. He damned her, he fought with her. She tumbled down the stairway and was delivered too soon of her daughter. And as she lay abed, dying, bleeding to death, he swore to her that he would kill her lover. And he promised her that he would use her daughter and see that she paid for every sin her mother had ever committed. And when Lenore lay dead at last, he found the young Frenchman and beat him to death and buried him in some unmarked grave.”

“My God,” Eric breathed at last. He didn’t want to believe the man’s words. The accusations were too horrid.

But he could not disbelieve him. He had seen Nigel Sterling with his daughter. He had seen how he had treated her.

Did that mean that he had committed murder, though? Would he sink so very low?

His heart lurched suddenly, seeming to tear, to split as-sunder. God! He wanted to believe in her. He wanted to love her, to give her everything. What hold did Sterling have upon her?

He wanted her. He wanted her then to hold and cradle and keep and assure. He wanted to make certain that no one could hurt her again. That Nigel Sterling could never again reach her.

He jolted up suddenly, thinking of his own man, Jacques Bisset.

Jacques—who had seen Nigel and who had flown into a raving fury, determined to kill the man.…

Jacques, who had been found when Eric had been just a boy. Found on the roadside, barely alive, unconscious, barely breathing. Jacques, who had never known who he was, or from where he had come. All that he had known was that he was a Frenchman. Striking, with laughing dark eyes, fine features, full, sensual lips …