It had been a joy and relief like none William had ever felt to have Keziah throw her arms around his middle.  He wrapped his around her upper arms, pulling her tightly to him for a long moment.  He looked past her to the man emerging from the barn with a pitch fork in both hands and knew it must be her and Samuel's father, Edward.  The man's expression was hard to read: a stranger for whom his daughter obviously had feelings was clutching that daughter to him in a way a stranger [i]not[/i] wed to her shouldn't.  What was there not to understand and be able to read, right?

..........

William had been unusually quiet since arriving at the farm, answering questions directly but without the considerable additional information he had available to him.  At one point after they'd had dinner and Edward offered to put William's escort up in the barn, the [i]Hessian[/i] who now consistently wore a Massachusetts Militia uniform asked the home owner if he could have a moment alone with the man's daughter.  Edward scrutinized William for a moment, then turned without a word and went out to check on the stock animals.

William sat on a stool facing Keziah as she fed the baby goat's milk from a bottle.  He told her what she already knew, that the baby was beautiful and lucky to have Keziah, then went quiet for a moment before explaining the two weeks that had just passed ... and the days that were to come.

"The Second Massachusetts was reinforced, and pushed further up into Boston Proper," he began.  "The fighting ... it went on for, what, eight ... nine days."  He hesitated, letting his gaze fall to the plank floor.  "It was ... it was horrific, Keziah. The Redcoats put up a fierce battle ... because they didn't want to lose the city ... and because they really had no where to go."  

Commonly taught history had claimed that the British commander William Howe had only withdrawn when he found the British position in Boston as indefensible.  But later research -- including a treasure trove of letters found hidden away in the archives of a London library -- would show that Howe had been trying to leave for months; and that it had been a lack of boats and foul weather that had delayed withdrawal to March 17 1776, yet [i]months[/i] away from this day.

"They -- the Redcoats -- they were running out of powder and shot," William continued, "and they'd lost most of their cannons.  So.."  He drew a deep breath, recalling the sight that would never leave his memory.  "So ... to keep the Militias at bay ... Keziah, they burned the city."  He hesitated again, trying not to frighten her because he knew her thoughts would be on Samuel.  "Boston ... it's gone.  Oh, I don't think they meant to burn the whole thing down.  They'd set some buildings on fire near the front lines ... fed them with anything that would burn and cause choking smoke.  But ... a wind ... a wind came up ... and drove the flames south.  By the time the weather changed and the rain helped put it down..."

He stopped there, unable to continue explaining that not only had more than 50 percent of Boston's buildings been destroyed, with half of the remaining structures significantly damages; but the civilian population had been seriously [i]damaged[/i], too.  In his never ending search for Samuel and Elizabeth, William had found charred bodies all about himself and even more that had simply succumb to the smoke that had laid low in the city due to a temperature inversion.  Even the Militia had withdraw toward the Bottleneck, only returning after the fires had abated.

William reached over to take one of Keziah's hands, telling her in a whisper, "I'm sorry, but ... I can't imagine that Samuel survived that.  Or ... or he'd be here ... with you, and his child."

He felt his own eyes beginning to well up, tears specifically meant for Keziah.  He let her react to the news and to his thoughts about her brother before gripping her hand a bit tighter -- an attention getting embrace -- and looking her directly in the eyes.  With a sincere, deep felt tone, William said, "Rose-Anne needs a mother ... not just an aunt.  And..." 

He hesitated a moment, a chill rushing up his spine as he thought [i]Are you really going to do this, playa'?  This isn't you![/i]  He smiled, still shocked that he'd been contemplating this on the long walk from Boston to Lexington.  "And Rose-Anne needs a father."  

He hesitated, waiting for Keziah's brain to begin its own contemplation.  He smiled, chuckling short and sharp about how a liberated woman of the 21st century would react to the way he was about to use the word [i]need[/i].  Hell, William would likely get punched in the face by such a modern woman, who would then tell him to go find a job that paid as well as her own did.  William slid off the stool to one knee, saying, "And you need a husband."