Again, William found himself wondering just how much information he could give and just how much he could hold back, without appearing as though he was doing to much of the latter. Kezia was no young, dumb country girl: she was sharp, well informed, and deductive. William was going to have a hard time keeping his true nature from her; and any lies that he told her could not be too far from the truth or she would simply never believe them. And he needed Keziah and, in turn, Samuel to believe that he could be trusted or he just might as well step out in front of a Redcoat bayonet and get this madness over with now.

Still, he couldn't simply tell her [i]Hey, I'm from the future, two hundred years from now. By the way, you won the war, the UK lost most of its Empire, and America is now one of the most powerful countries in the world.  Oh, and did you hear about The Bomb?[/i]

Still, he had to tell her something, so he began with, “I was telling you the truth, I am a Hessian deserter, but ... I told Samuel more than I told you. Before I left my unit, before you found me and fix me up … which, by the way, I still don't think I've said thank you for.” 

He gave her a bit of a bow as he thought might be appropriate for the era, smiled, and said, “Thank you, Keziah.”

He let her respond and then returned to his tale.  “Before I left the unit we got orders.”  His expression hardened with worry and it was obvious in his face that he was hesitant to tell his hostess what lay ahead. “The British suspect everyone. Even those who claim to be loyal. Even those who have fought with them against the rebels, what you think of as the Patriots. They can't afford to have a spy amongst them, so the British -- with my unit helping them -- are going to clear out the Boston Bottleneck.” 

He stepped just a bit closer to her, which probably did not go unnoticed by Samuel, who William new was standing in the window watching them. He told her, “Keziah, the British are going to raze all of the buildings in the Bottleneck. When they get done there will be nothing left. Anyone living here will be taken into custody and their loyalty judged. I did not discuss this with your brother, but I think I have a plan. You and Samuel are known a doctor and a nurse. You will be of great benefit to the British during The Siege, during the occupation of Boston.  You must work with them. You must make it clear to them that you are loyalists.”