The Blacksmith's Daughter: A Mystery of the American Revolution (23 page)

He removed his cocked hat and
frowned at the letter.
 
"Amazing.
 
Now, I've heard
spies use invisible ink, but I never thought I'd see it demonstrated.
 
Any idea what it says?"

With a cough, she fanned away smoke
and blinked at the numbers.
 
"I
only know a little of the code."
 
In fact, the names of each British commander she'd seen on Adam's key
were represented in the cipher, and Cornwallis and Rawdon were mentioned
twice.
 
Despite sweat running down her
back, she felt cold.
 
She passed the
paper close to the flame again to refresh the hidden writing.
 
"Clinton, Cornwallis, Rawdon, Cruger,
Tarleton, Ferguson —"

"Whoa, there."
 
Joshua sat back on his haunches.
 
"What the deuce has your husband fallen
into?"

She regarded him.
 
"Didn't town gossip spell it out?
 
He's part of a rebel spy ring."

"I heard it, but I didn't
believe it."
 
Joshua scowled.
 
"I thought he'd more brains.
 
You're going to have a baby.
 
And what are these spies up to?"

"I think they're trying to
kill these British officers."

He sat back on the turf
cross-legged like an Indian and laughed a few seconds, his pipe in his right
hand.
 
"Why, that's outright
crazy.
 
Suicide.
 
Each of those men has a small army of
bodyguards around him."
 
He sobered
and patted her shoulder again.
 
"Gods, Betsy.
 
You must be
worried sick.
 
Doesn't sound like you've
been helping the redcoats with your knowledge.
 
You helping the rebels, then?"

"No."

"Whom have you told?"

She studied Joshua, as comfortable
in his presence as she felt with Sarah and Lucas.
 
"A strategic few other neutrals."

"Smart woman.
 
I reckon you got me figured out."

She settled beside her uncle and
wondered what to do next.
 
Disgust
trickled into her voice.
 
"I was
forced to swear allegiance to King George to stay out of jail."

Her uncle fanned away her self-reprobation
with the wood smoke.
 
"Plenty of
folks do that to stay alive.
 
If a man
put a pistol to my head, I'd tell him whatever he wanted to hear."
 
He indicated the return address on the new
letter.
 
"Did Clark go to
Camden?"

"Yes."
 
She exhaled exasperation and anguish.
 
"He's so obsessed he cannot see that
his cohorts have grown mistrustful of him and are setting him up for
failure.
 
I tried to make him see what's
happening, but it was all for naught."
 
She snorted.
 
"I suppose
that if a man makes up his mind to do something, he'll keep after it."

"Men do think like that,
yes."

"I hate giving up.
 
I've seldom given up at anything."

He chuckled.
 
"It doesn't sound as though you're
ready to give up.
 
It sounds as though
you're going after him."

"Colonel Brown will have my
head if I leave without helping him find these spies."
 
She stared into the distance.
 
"But that hasn't stopped me from
fancying that I sneak away in the middle of the night, like Clark did.
 
Somehow, I must leave.
 
Otherwise I'll land in jail anyway."

Joshua puffed on his pipe and
smothered the fire.
 
"Write Brown a
letter and tell him something he doesn't already know, just enough to convince
him you're doing your duty to the Crown."

She exhaled, her disappointment
shaken out with a wobble of her head.
 
"He'd still have me followed."

"And your idea of night travel
is a good one.
 
Makes it more difficult
for pursuit."

"I need an escort."

"I'm yours, and two fellows
waiting on Mrs. O'Neal's front porch are prepared to ride to South Carolina
with us."

Dismay screwed up Betsy's face at
the thought of his being indiscreet.
 
"Whom else have you involved?"

"Sehoyee Yahuh and Assayceeta
Corackall."

"Creek."
 
Her dismay faded.
 
"The same warriors who rode to St. Augustine last month with
my parents?"

Joshua patted her knee and leaned
closer, in conspiracy.
 
"Write your
letter to Brown.
 
Then find yourself one
or two other neutral fellows to accompany us.
 
We shall be in excellent shape to start the journey to Camden before
dawn on the morrow."

"Joshua, I realize you're
hoping to find your brother.
 
Camden is
on the other side of South Carolina from Keowee."

"Uncle Jacques used to say,
'Sometimes a man travels to the very end of a road just to see what is
there.'"
 
Especially if he wanted
to get away from a shrewish wife for awhile?
 
Joshua had reasons aplenty for embarking upon such a journey.
 
He craned his neck around toward the house.
 
"Say, who's the handsome fellow?"

She followed his gaze to where Tom
Alexander trotted down the steps with a chair hooked beneath his arm.
 
In the open doorway, Sarah waved again.
 
"Betsy, look who stopped by for a
visit!"
 
She withdrew inside the
house.

One chair.
 
Hmm.
 
Sarah was leaving them to their conference.
 
Betsy looked from Tom's approach to the letter in her hand.
 
"I believe we've found another man for
the escort."

Chapter Eighteen

WITH A YAWN, Betsy reread the note
she'd written:

Colonel
Brown:

I have
thought back to the Moments early Saturday Morning when the Assassin held me at
Knifepoint.
 
My Terror from those
Moments was so great as to make the Event a Blur in my Memories, and I've
scarce wanted to reconsider such Peril.
 
However, it is my Duty to impart upon you such Information as I can
recall in Effort to speed your Investigation.

As I
told you, while he held me Prisoner, the Assassin did demand of me the
Destination of my Husband, and I informed him that I did not know.
 
I now recall that he referenced the Ambrose
spy Ring, labeling them "French-loving Fools."
 
He also said that their Mission was
"Stripping mighty Britain of her military Command."
 
He said Nothing else to me.
 
I trust this Information is of value to
you.
 
As my Part in the Affair has been
blessedly small, I have Nothing else to contribute.

The
Events of the past several Days have generated unwelcome and unwholesome
Publicity for me.
 
I find myself
ostracized and ridiculed by Residents of Augusta and have grown fearful of
losing my Child from the Strain.
 
Therefore, it is my Decision to venture to the Home of a Relation and
remain there in Seclusion for several Months.
 
Of necessity, I have kept my Destination secret, even from the
O'Neals.
 
If you must pursue me and
execute me en route, so be it.
 
But I
shall not endanger my Unborn by remaining here in a condition of such Disfavor.

I am
Sir

Your
humble servant

Elizabeth Sheridan nee Neely

She sealed and addressed the
note.
 
Then she placed it in full view
on the desk, blew out the candle, and reclined in her shift to take what rest
she could.
 
In five hours' time, she,
Joshua, Tom, and the two Creek warriors would set off for Camden, some 110
miles distant and four days travel through a portion of South Carolina
populated largely by Loyalists.
 
The
O'Neals' official story would be that they'd risen Sunday to find their
foster-daughter gone.

Lucas had given her his extra
musket and cartridge box.
 
Sarah had
packed trail rations.
 
In case she
needed to verify her identity with the Ambrose ring, Betsy had tucked both
letters in her pockets.
 
Then all of
them, even the Creek, had sat in the O'Neals' front room after supper and
discussed the route and its perils.

Not the least of those perils would
be the pursuit of the Rangers.
 
Rebel
leader Elijah Clarke stomping around nearby wouldn't make Brown forget that the
Ambrose spy ring had operated within his jurisdiction.
 
Plus she wasn't asking his permission to
leave.
 
She was just leaving.
 
Unless he searched for her first in Alton,
she'd have no more than eight hours lead.

Even if she made it to Camden, she
might not be able to find Clark.
 
Since
the fall of Charles Town, the military population in Camden had increased to
several thousand troops.
 
She doubted
Clark would publicize his arrival and whereabouts under those
circumstances.
 
But remaining passive in
Augusta, never venturing forth to find him, was no longer an option for her.

Had Sophie wrestled with similar
thoughts before she violated house arrest to chase after Will, her father?
 
Father.
 
Betsy tried to assemble a picture of Mathias Hale from memory, but it
had been too long since she'd seen him.
 
Before she lost herself to sleep, she wondered whether somewhere in the
chaos of South Carolina, she'd find not only her husband but her father, too.

***

Afternoon sun emerged from behind
cumulus and bathed the road in blistering waves.
 
Cicadas surged and subsided with the passage of horses, and the
scent of pine loaded the humid air.
 
"More sand and turkey oaks."
 
Tom removed his hat and swabbed a kerchief over his face.

"And South Carolinians are
butchering each other over this?"
 
Betsy's tailbone ached from twelve hours' astride and so little
sleep.
 
At least the road had taken a
turn east, placing the sun at their backs.
 
She halted Lady May beside Tom's horse on the road.

"Not over sand, no.
 
They've carried clan feuds across the
Atlantic."

"And the army has no idea how
to keep the peace."
 
Joshua reached
the top of the rise and pulled back on his horse's reins.

Betsy studied Tom.
 
"How do you know so much about these
people?"

He cocked his head.
 
"I listen to what men say in the
taverns.
 
I read every paper I can
find."

"If I'd been half that wise
when I was your age, lad, I'd be twice as smart now."
 
Joshua grinned.
 
"Take a break, shall we?"

Tom replaced hat and kerchief.
 
"How far have we come?"

"Thirty-five miles.
 
The Ninety Six road isn't far ahead."

Thirty-five miles: small wonder
Betsy's arse hurt.
 
Such a distance was
a challenge for cavalry soldiers.
 
She
regarded her uncle.
 
"Where do you
suppose the Rangers are?"

Jubilation hovered at the edges of
his smile.
 
"Since the Creek
haven't seen them today, I wager they followed our false trail and went to
Alton first."

He hadn't witnessed the fanaticism
in Adam Neville's eyes.
 
"I wager
they followed us straight away, soon as it was light," she said.

With a yawn, her uncle dismounted
and led his horse off the road.
 
"Come out of the sun for awhile.
 
Let Assayceeta Corackall catch up and give us the latest report from the
road south."

Remembering how the assassin from
Casa
de la Sangre Legítima
had tracked them through cover of trees alongside the
road, she nudged Lady May over to Joshua.
 
Tom helped her dismount.
 
"Suppose the Rangers followed us without using the road?"

"They'd be hard-pressed to
keep up in those pines without one of my cousins noticing them."