“Lord Kincade…” The sound of Polly’s voice and her sharp knock at his door woke Noah to the blinding brilliance of the early morning, and he almost groaned aloud as he struggled to sit up.
“What is it, Polly?” he growled.
“A note, m’lord,” she replied hastily. “The gent who dropped it off said it was important you get it right away.”
“A note?” Noah ran a hand through his dark, tousled hair as he stared blankly at the closed door. “Just slip it under the door, Polly.”
Polly had been hoping to see him this morning, but she did as she was bid. “Yes, m’lord.”
After a moment Noah made his way to where the sealed envelope lay just within his room and bent down to pick it up. The motion aggravated the throbbing in his temples, and he returned to the bed to sit back down, tearing open the envelope and drawing out the missive within.
Lord Kincade,
Would like to meet with you at nine o’clock this morning at the Green Dragon Inn. Have important news for you.
Graves
Despite his self-inflicted state of misery, Noah felt a surge of excitement. This was the contact he’d been waiting for. Graves had told him after the first meeting that he would be in touch as soon as they’d reached an agreement. Evidently they finally had.
Hastily Noah selected fresh clothing and set about getting ready to leave. He thought of asking Matt to accompany him, but remembering their conversation of the night before, he decided against it. As ardent as Matt had been, Noah knew it might be a devastating mistake to introduce him to any of the rebels. He did not want him getting involved.
Within the hour Noah had dressed, breakfasted alone in his room, and was ready to leave for his rendezvous. As he descended the stairs, he caught sight of Polly and motioned for her to join him.
“Yes, Lord Kincade?” Her eyes were sparkling as she hurried to his side.
“I’d like you to relay a message to my brother when he arises.”
“Yes, m’lord?”
“Tell him that I was called away on business this morning and that I have a luncheon appointment with Edward Demorest at noon. I shall be returning here after lunch.”
“I’ll tell him,” she promised, staring up at him with open adoration.
“Thank you, Polly. This is for your trouble.” He handed her a coin.
“Oh, m’lord, it’s no trouble at all…” Polly was thrilled. “But thank you, just the same.”
“You’re welcome.”
Eagerly anticipating the news he was about to receive, Noah left the inn and hired a conveyance to take him the distance to the Green Dragon.
Only a few men were gathered at the Green Dragon Inn on Union Street that morning. Looking as unkempt as always, Sam Adams sat with his ardent supporter Ryan Graves, discussing what was for them the burning issue of the day-the decision to purchase the arms from Lord Kincade.
“You’re prepared to meet his price then, Ryan?” Sam asked, his interest in the matter keen. Though Sam would never take an active part in any of the unrest, he was a great orator and would be a main motivating factor behind it.
“We’re going to do our best to meet it,” Ryan answered somewhat grimly.
Sam nodded. “That’s all you can do.”
“I just hope we have enough time to raise the funds.” He looked up as the door opened and Noah entered the tavern. “Lord Kincade…”
Noah recognized Graves and Adams right away and moved purposefully in their direction.
“Good morning, gentlemen.” He shook both their hands as they stood to greet him.
“Good morning.” They were businesslike in purpose and wasted no time on pleasantries.
“I presume you have an answer for me regarding the shipment?” Noah began immediately.
“Indeed I do,” Ryan said. “And I hope you will find it acceptable.”
Noah nodded slightly as he glanced about the sparsely populated room. “Is this a safe place to discuss our dealings?”
“It is,” Adams put in with assurance. The Green Dragon had long been the central meeting place of their cause and he knew everyone in the room. It was safe.
“Go on.”
“We do not have the entire amount you’ve demanded…” Ryan began.
“Then there is no point in our continuing this discussion,” Noah said coldly as he rose to his feet. He was annoyed at having come all this way for nothing. Surely Graves could have just sent a message to that point and saved him the trip across town.
“Lord Kincade, please, sit down. I haven’t finished.”
Noah eyed him disdainfully. “I am a busy man, sir. If you cannot meet my terms, then we have no further business to discuss. I told you in the beginning that my price was firm.”
Ryan held on to his temper with an effort. “If you will allow me to finish…”
Noah stiffly resumed his seat, wondering what else the man could have to say.
“While we have not yet raised the entire amount you’re asking, we do have a substantial portion of it. If it is agreeable to you, we would be willing to pay you half now and half when the shipment arrives.”
“How can I be sure that you will have the other half of the money by the time the materials reach port?”
“We only need a few more weeks.”
Noah considered him silently. He had had no word of any sightings of the Pride, and he estimated that it could be as long as a month before the merchant ship made landfall.
“All right.”
“I appreciate your understanding in this matter.”
“You can contact me at the Red Lion regarding delivery of the sum you indicated. I expect to hear from you within the next few days.”
“There will be no problem, I assure you.”
“Good.”
“An ale, or perhaps a glass of rum?” Ryan offered.
“Ale, please. It’s a little early for anything stronger.”
“Sam, can I get you anything?”
“No, Ryan, but I’m afraid I must leave now. I have to speak with the gentlemen who just came in. If you’ll both excuse me?” Adams left the table and crossed the room to where the two newly arrived men stood as Ryan went to get their ales.
When Ryan returned with the tankards, they spoke of inconsequential things until the sound of Sam’s sharp protest interrupted them.
“You mean they still aren’t willing to come around to our way of thinking?”
“No, Sam, I’m sorry.”
“But we told them several weeks ago how important this was… Why, we even sent out committees to impress upon them the strength of our convictions…”
“It doesn’t make any difference. They’re refusing to go along with us.”
Noah looked at Ryan questioningly. “There’s trouble?”
“It’s as we were saying at the meeting you attended. We are a nation of shopkeepers, and the British tea that is due in port soon represents a devastating attack against our own merchants. That tea cannot be allowed to come ashore and be sold only through British agents.”
“Why is Adams so upset?”
“We’ve sent out committees to the agents to try to convince them of the error of their ways and to stop the tea from being delivered, but they’ve all refused to listen. I’m afraid something terrible may happen soon if any of the tea makes port and an attempt is made to unload it.”
Noah listened intently. He was slowly coming to understand the legitimacy of the colonists’ complaints, but was still determined not to become involved. It was none of his business what the government did with the tea. He was no colonist. He had no ties to this city. He was only concerned with his own affairs, and right now they were complicated enough.
“Perhaps things will be coming to a head sooner than we think…”
“Regrettable, but it looks unavoidable.”
It was near noon when Matt made his way through the winding maze of streets that was Boston, and his expression was serious as he debated the wisdom of the decision he’d made that morning. The night just passed had been a restless one as he’d tried to sort out his feelings. As dawn had repossessed the city, he’d felt a driving need to see Faith again. Matt tried to convince himself that he was only going to find out if she’d reported the attack to the proper authorities, but in truth-a truth he was trying to avoid acknowledging-he really wanted to see her one more time.
Finally arriving at the address he knew to be Faith’s, Matt stood hesitantly before the modest wooden home. He was convinced that she despised him and he didn’t blame her, for he knew he’d been completely out of line when he’d kissed her. It had been an impulsive gesture on his part, but after the trauma she’d suffered at the hands of the soldiers, he realized that it had been the worst possible thing he could have done. He had frightened her, and that had been the last thing he’d wanted to do.
Girding himself to face her now after all this time, Matt finally, grudgingly, acknowledged to himself that he was only using the report of the attack as an excuse to see her again. Faith had been in his thoughts almost continually since she’d raced from his room that day. The fact that her memory had haunted him during the Demorests’ fancy ball last night had shown him just how much he truly cared about Faith. She had made an indelible impression on him, and he had to be with her one more time to apologize for his boldness and to ask her forgiveness. Ready at last, he approached the door and knocked, then stepped slightly back as he waited for someone to answer.
Concentrating on her stitchery, Faith sat by the window at the back of the house to take advantage of the brightness of the day. Her father’s death had left her mother with only a small monthly stipend, and so it was necessary for them to take in sewing in order to supplement their income and keep food on the table.
Faith had been working doubly hard lately, for she felt that she owed Lord Kincade the money for the doctor’s visit to care for her mother. Thanks to him, her mother was back to good health again and she was determined to repay him for his timely help.
She sighed as she thought of the handsome young lord who’d rescued her from a fate worse than death. He had been kind and considerate even when he’d kissed her. Mesmerized by the memory, a faraway look shadowed her eyes, and Faith paused in her work, touching a hand to the softness of her lips. Matthew Kincade had been so perfect…her knight in shining armor…
Tears stung her eyes as she realized that it was all a silly dream. Their meeting had been a quirk of destiny. They lived in two very different, very separate worlds, and they would never meet again. Irritated by her girlish fantasies, Faith began to sew again in earnest, deliberately forcing all thoughts of Matthew from her mind. It wasn’t smart to moon over things you could never have, for she understood all too well that there was much in the world beyond her reach. Usually Faith could accept that and be happy, but somehow those few hours in Matthew’s company had disturbed her serenity. She needed to completely erase even the slightest thought of him if she was ever going to be inwardly content again.
The knock at the door surprised her but did not frighten her. It was not unusual for garments to be dropped off at their little house at all hours of the day, and so she set aside her work and quickly went to answer it.
“Yes?” She opened the door wide, expecting to find someone delivering sewing, and instead was faced with Lord Matthew Kincade in the flesh. Her aquamarine eyes widened, and she swallowed convulsively as she stared up at him.
To Matt she looked more beautiful than he remembered, but when he noticed her stunned expression, his spirits fell. He immediately assumed that he’d made a big mistake in coming. She looked so shocked that he wanted to quickly put her fears to rest.
“Faith…Miss Hammond,” he quickly corrected. “I know you weren’t expecting to see me again, but I thought it was important that I come to you and apologize.”
“Apologize?” Faith blinked in confusion as she wondered why he thought he owed her an apology. She should be the one apologizing to him. He had done so much for her, and she had run away.
“I wanted to tell you that I was sorry, and I also wanted to check to make sure you were doing all right.”
“I’m fine, thanks to you, and so is Mother. Please, won’t you come in?” she invited, still trying to figure out why he was sorry. He had saved her, fed her, cared for her. He’d been wonderful!
Her unexpected invitation was more than he’d hoped for, and he quickly agreed, “I’d like that.”
Faith led the way into the small sitting room. Sparsely furnished, it contained only a threadbare sofa and chair and two mismatched tables. Faith realized it was hardly what an English nobleman was used to, but at this moment she didn’t care. He was here! She didn’t know why he had come, but she wasn’t about to question her good fortune. She was just thrilled to see him.
“Have a seat. Would you like some tea?”
“No, thank you,” he declined as he sat down on the worn but comfortable sofa. “Is your mother here? I’d like to meet her.”
“She had to go out for a little while, but I expect her back soon.” Faith knew it wasn’t quite proper to entertain a gentleman totally unchaperoned, but she couldn’t send Matthew away.
“Good. Perhaps I’ll still be here when she returns.” His cool smile was at distinct odds with his nervousness.
“Mother would like that. I’ve spoken of you and-”
“You did?” He was surprised. He had expected that she would only want to forget him.
Faith wondered why he sounded so amazed. “Of course. I told her how wonderful you were when you rescued me and how…” She suddenly realized she was revealing too much about her feelings for him, and she blushed deeply, beautifully.
Matt knew a spark of hope that maybe he’d been completely wrong about all that had happened between them. “You mean you weren’t angry with me?”
“Angry?” Her aquamarine eyes were wide and questioning. “I don’t understand. Angry about what?”
“I came here today to apologize for upsetting you the way I did…”
“Upsetting me?” Her puzzlement was real as she drank in the glorious sight of him. He was every bit as gorgeous as she’d remembered him to be…tall and broad-shouldered with black hair and the most extraordinary blue eyes she’d ever seen. Faith was having difficulty keeping her expression from reflecting her joy at seeing him again.
Matt had known this wasn’t going to be easy, and it wasn’t. “I shouldn’t have taken advantage of you as I did.”
“How could you think you’d taken advantage of me? You were the one who saved me.”
“I shouldn’t have kissed you, Faith. I should have realized how the whole ordeal had upset you. After all that had happened to you, it was outrageous of me to be so forward. I only hope you’ll accept my apology and forgive me for my momentary indiscretion. It won’t happen again,” he assured her.
Faith was torn between laughing and crying. He thought she had run from him because he had kissed her and she’d hated it! Inwardly she smiled. She hadn’t run from him because she’d hated his kiss; she had run from him because she’d loved it. But then he was also saying, most seriously, that the kiss would never happen again, and her heart lurched at the thought. Faith knew realistically that there could be no future for them, but she also knew that she wanted to kiss Matthew Kincade. It had been the most exciting moment of her young life, and if she could, she wanted to repeat it. Her only problem was…how? If Matthew was not interested in kissing her again, then there was no hope. She certainly couldn’t very well throw herself at him.
Faith understood with agonizing pain that it was wonderful that he’d come to apologize for something he had thought he’d done wrong, but in reality nothing had changed. Matthew Kincade was a titled aristocrat, and she was a lowly seamstress relying on her own handiwork to support herself.
“Lord Kincade…”
“Please, Faith.” His gaze darkened as he reached out to take her hand. “Call me Matthew.”
The touch of his hand on hers was electric. Startled by the sensations that flooded through her, she looked up, her eyes unexpectedly meeting his.
“Matthew, I…” She started to speak, but something in his expression stopped her and she held her breath in painful expectation as he bent slowly to her.
Matt was caught completely off guard by his reaction to the simple touch of her hand. Fiery excitement pulsed through his veins, and he was nearly overwhelmed by the need to take her in his arms. Faith was so lovely, every bit as beautiful as he remembered, and he longed to crush her to him, to keep her safe, forever. It was a new, powerful emotion for Matt, and he almost gave in to the desire to hold her. Only a sudden stroke of common sense stopped him from repeating his earlier mistake with her, and he drew back abruptly, shaking himself mentally as he released her hand.
The breathtaking moment of intimacy they’d shared was lost, shattered into jagged shards of disappointment, and Faith felt chilled by the change in him. Shifting slightly farther back on the sofa, she distanced herself from him. “Your apology is accepted, although there really was no need.”
Matt was relieved at her response, but he, too, sensed the change in the mood between them. Not knowing what else to say, he hurried to ask her about her dealings with the authorities.
“There is one other thing I need to ask you about.” In truth, there were a million things he wanted to know about her, but Matt knew he had to go slowly and win her trust before he could hope that anything else could develop between them. His gaze dropped to her lips, and he wondered if they had really been as soft and exciting as he’d remembered from the brief kiss they shared.
Faith could not imagine what he was leading up to. “Yes?”
“Did you follow through on the report to the authorities regarding the attack?” Matt directed his attention away from her loveliness and back to thoughts of his original purpose in coming here. He had to find out if the report of her assault had been dealt with fairly or if it had been disregarded as inconsequential.
“I did,” she told him, and then added tersely, “although it was really pointless.”
He frowned at her statement. “Why do you say that? You would have been able to identify your assailants, wouldn’t you?”
“Possibly, but in the end it wouldn’t have made any difference.” Her tone was flat in resignation.
“Now I’m the one who doesn’t understand.” Matt scowled as he recognized that his worst fears about the soldiers’ presence and the loyalists’ attitudes were coming true.
“No matter if I could identify them or not, the two soldiers would never be brought to justice.” Faith unknowingly affirmed his suspicions and, as she spoke, was unable to keep the bitterness from her voice.
“Are you saying that even if you had been able to positively identify the men who attacked you, nothing would be done about it?”
Faith gave a curt nod as she met his piercing blue gaze. “Mother and I dealt with them once before…”
“Something like this has happened to you before?” Matt was astounded.
“Not to me,” she explained slowly, glancing down at her hands folded in her lap, “to my father. He was killed by a British regular several years ago.”
“What happened?”
“Have you heard anyone talk of what is commonly called the Boston Massacre?” Faith asked.
“No, I’m afraid I haven’t,” he admitted.
“Well, several years ago there was a confrontation between a group of unarmed colonists and some British soldiers. The soldiers fired into the crowd and several men were killed. It was terrible…”
“Were the soldiers prosecuted?”
Faith sighed as she remembered all the pain and confusion of the time. “Oh yes, they were tried, but nothing happened. They were let go…and they had committed murder! Don’t you see! I knew even as I was reporting it that those two soldiers would never be punished for what they did to me. I only did it because you had insisted.”
“And you’ve heard nothing?”
“No one cares.” She shook her head. “I’m only a simple colonial without influence. It’s been this way for a long time, and I don’t suppose things will ever get any better.” Faith sighed, “At least, not unless Sam Adams has his way.”
“Sam Adams?”
“He’s one of the most outspoken colonists opposing British rule. He thinks the colonies deserve independence, and frankly, I’m to the point of agreeing with him.”
“You mean you support the rebels?”
Her eyes were flashing with an inner fire as she looked up at him. Faith knew he was a nobleman, but at this moment it didn’t matter. “Yes, and sometimes I wish I was a man so I could join them.”
While it was true that Matt was astonished by her declaration, all that she’d related to him had only reinforced his own disgust with the way things were being handled here in the colonies. The discovery that her father had been killed in cold blood by the British soldiers only hastened his complete conversion from loyal British subject to supporter of the colonists’ grievances.
“Parliament has been taxing us unfairly for ages,” Faith was saying. “The injustice of it all was one of the reasons why my father died. He’d been so infuriated by the abuses that he began attending the dissidents’ rallies. One thing led to another…” Her voice faded off. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gone into all of this. I’m certain as a member of the aristocracy, you’re in complete disagreement with all I’ve said.” She felt a moment of uncertainty, wondering how he was going to react to her outburst.
“On the contrary, Faith,” Matt told her gently. “I admit when I arrived here in Boston a short time ago I was not aware of the injustices being perpetrated here, but since then I’ve become more involved. I find that I’m quite in agreement with you.”
“You are?” She was taken by surprise by his answer.
Matthew nodded. “The handling of your situation, for instance, is shameful, but from all I’ve learned, it seems that it’s not uncommon for such matters to be ignored. This time, however, is going to be different, for I intend to do something about it!”
“Matthew! No! You can’t!”
“What do you mean?”
“It will only make matters worse! Please, just let it go. For my sake, please…”
“But when I think of what might have happened to you if I hadn’t come along when I did.” He was earnest.
“I know, and to this day I thank God for your help,” Faith told him with open honesty.
“Faith…I’m so glad I was there that night.”
“I am, too.”
Her eyes shone with a brilliance that mesmerized him and overruled his vows not to press her. Later he would remember this moment and wonder why she hadn’t resisted. Now he only knew the need to hold her close and soothe away all her fears.
Faith was thrilled that he wanted to hold her, and she couldn’t suppress a shiver of delight as she went into his arms. He was so strong and solid that she felt she would be safe as long as she was with him. It happened then… Matthew kissed her. A sweet-soft exploration that was every bit as glorious as she’d remembered. This time, she didn’t want it to ever end.
The willing surrender of her lips filled Matt with a driving need to deepen the kiss, and he possessed her mouth fully, his tongue searching out and dueling excitedly with hers. When she responded to his kiss and met him fully in that flaming exchange, he crushed her to his chest, relishing the feel of her breasts pressed tightly to him.
“Faith…” Matt was breathing heavily as he broke off the kiss and moved slightly apart from her to steady himself. Though not as worldly as his brother, Matt was not without experience. He knew better than to allow himself the ecstasy of having her in his arms. The way he was feeling, things could easily get out of hand too quickly.
Faith had been totally lost in the rapture of his embrace. She was hurt when he stopped kissing her, and she wondered if she had done something to offend him. Had she responded too fully? Had she acted the wanton? A dull flush of embarrassment stained her cheeks as she worried over her actions, and she looked up quickly when Matt gently reached out and cupped her cheek with a warm hand.
“There’s no need to be ashamed, Faith. I feel it, too.” His voice was gruff as his gaze met hers.
“You do?” she whispered in surprise as she saw the flame of passion he was keeping carefully under control reflected in his eyes. A shiver of expectancy quivered through her as she tried to imagine what it would be like to be possessed by him. Faith wanted Matthew Kincade more than she’d wanted anything in her entire life.
“I do. I have from the first,” he admitted rather ruefully as he gave her a lopsided grin, “but I stayed away from you until now because I thought you hated me…”
“Hated you?” This stunned Faith. “I could never hate you, Matthew.”
“That’s good to know now. When you ran from the inn that morning after I’d kissed you, it was the only conclusion I could come to.”
She suddenly wanted him to know the full truth. “I ran away that day because I was afraid.”
“I know. I frightened you. I never should have-”
“No!” she interrupted him sharply, and he glanced at her curiously. “I wasn’t afraid of you.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I was afraid of what I was feeling.” It was difficult for her to blurt out her innermost feelings, but she knew she had to explain. “You had been so kind, and then when you kissed me…” She sighed. “It was almost a dream come true.”
“So why did you run from me?” Matt was totally confused now.
“I ran because I knew there could be nothing between us. You’re a titled gentleman and I’m-”
“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met,” he finished ardently.
Without another word, Matt brought her back into his embrace. His very touch was her heaven, and she melted lovingly against the hard width of his chest. They both silently marveled at how right it felt to be wrapped in each other’s arms.
The exquisite scent that was Faith, a delicate essence of roses and spice, surrounded Matt, stoking his already fiery desire, and he fought against surrendering to the mindless ecstasy that threatened. It would have been easy to give in to the power of his passion, but Matt knew he would have no peace if he actually made love to her now. If he abused this fragile closeness they’d established, he would be little better than the soldiers who’d so callously tried to abuse her. Slowly and with infinite care he set her from him, caressing the softness of her cheek with a tender touch.
“Faith, I’ve never had a woman complain about my title before,” he told her wryly.
“I wasn’t complaining,” Faith said hastily. “It’s just that we’re from such different backgrounds. I couldn’t believe that you really…”
“That I really cared for you?” At her nod, he answered huskily, “Well, believe it. You’ve haunted my thoughts since you disappeared from my room that morning. Faith…”
Their lips met in a soft, tentative kiss, but Matt hesitated to take her into his arms. When at last they drew apart, he stood taking her hand and pulling her up to him.
“I’d better leave now.” Matt smiled faintly down at her.
“Do you have to?” Faith wanted him to stay with her forever.
Logically he knew it was the only way, but his heart and body longed to stay with her, to hold her and love her.
“I’m afraid so.”
“Would you like to come to dinner one night? I know Mother would be happy to have you.”
“I’d love to, thank you.”
His acceptance brought a lighthearted smile to her face, and Matt realized then that he had never seen her happy before. It filled him with an unexpected warmth.
“Would tomorrow night be all right?”
“Tomorrow night would be wonderful,” he assured her as he started to leave. “Until then?”
Faith watched until he had disappeared out of sight down the street before going back inside. Once she was alone, she hugged herself excitedly. Matthew had come to her! He had kissed her and told her that he wanted to see her again! Faith couldn’t wait for her mother to return so she could tell her all that had happened. She was so filled with joy that she almost danced as she made her way back to the rigors of her sewing, the task no longer seeming so wearisome.