Sunflower

"When your past catches up to you."

Her journey was a touch different from his. While she was escorted into the same house, rather than move into one of the larger rooms on the lower floor, she was taken upstairs to a bedroom and for a moment panic seized her astightly as the man's grip on her arm. Fresh tears began to spill again and she cursed herself for being so weak, so afraid. "Let the poor thing go!" A feminine voice with a fading lilt said as the door was swung wide open. On the other side of the door stood a plump older woman who had been getting ready for the day. The soldier hesitated for a heartbeat before pulling Keziah in front of him.

"This woman needs proper clothing." He emphasized his point by pulling is coat from her shoulders. The older woman didn't seem impressed. She merely raised a brow and asked for a knife to cut the ropes from her wrist. Kezoah rubbed ather wrists. They'd been rubbed raw by the ropes and she looked around quickly. The soldier left without a word, presumably he was going to report that the woman was taken care of.

Left alone with the olderwoman, all Keziah could do was shake. She had been taken from her home by the very soldiers that she would have willingly helped. Why hadthey been taken, and more importantly how had they known that William would have been there. In the scramble to the cart, the soldiers had talked about the Hessian. She assumed that meant William because Keziah was of English descent. "You poor dear. Let's have a look at ya." The older woman gingerly held Keziah's hands in her own and examined the scrapes. She frownedand looked back up at the girl. Soldiers didn't bring captive women. Well they could have and she just didn't see. Cooking for an army was quite the chore.

Her hands and knees were cleaned and bandaged and the woman helped her into a proper dress. She even helped fasten her stay and smoothed her hands over the curves of Keziah's sides. "You'd make an excellent wife. Strong hips." She mentioned. "My son is a soldier, went out a few days ago to test the Redcoats. Hasn't come back yet..."

Keziah's eyes widened a little and she looked at the woman from over her shoulder. She's heard those kinds of words before, many times in fact. Mothers were often quite critical in judging their children's intended spouses and well, her former mother-in-law was no different. Many times she had told Keziah that her son was lucky to have gotten a fine young girl like her. Of course she had been none too happy that her son had married a sixteen year old girl when he was barepy in his twentieth year.

"I...I'm sorry ma'am but I'm...married. I was captured with my husband." She quickly explained with a shaky voice. The woman sighed softly, making Keziah wonder if she was going to be called a liar. Keziah had never been good at lying. Instead the woman resumed fastening her dress and helping her tie an apron around her waist.

"What's his name?" She asked curiously.

"William." Keziah gave a faint smile. She'd always likedthe name William.

"Same name as my husband." The older woman smiled. She noticed the lack of a ring or anything to identifyher as a married woman and Keziah shrugged and said that they didn't have enough money. The woman was eiher accepting of her lies or dumber than Keziah felt. What was she thinking? Using William and a false marriage as a means of keeping herself safe wasn't right, well technically she was helping him too...

The olderwoman introduced herself as Elizabeth, making Keziah cry again. Once her tears were dry the soldier came back, knocking politely on the door and informing Keziah that the Colonel had asked to speak to her. The other woman followed down the stairs, claiming to be heading to the kitchen but it was plainto see that she was snooping. Keziah's soldier, the one who still gripped her arm, bowed briefly to the Colonel and presented Keziah. The woman who'd followed was pushed back out the door. She didn't need to be gossiping.

Keziah was genuinely happy to see William and the smile she sent his way was not fake. If he would have been killed then where did that leave her? The Colonel didn't seem impressed that this was who the Hessian deserter claimdd was his wife. He questioned her skills, asking if she was indeed a nurse like her husband had told them she was.

"I am sir." She told him, "I tended to your wounded soldiers along side my brother, I aided in the amputation of a soldier's arm, and I even stitched my husband's wounds that he received in the same skirmish that your soldier lost an arm to." Keziah really hoped that this would makethem see that both of them were okay, that they weren't British spies or anything of the sort.

"Once the fighting began he took it upon himself to go help your men and bring the wounded to safety. Unfortunately the soldier he had been helping died of his wounds and my husband had been shot." Keziah prayed that William would play along. She couldn't risk the only person that could help her get back home.

"When your past catches up to you."

Never before had she been so afraid. Not when she uad seen her mother dead, the baby beside her, or when she lost her first young patient during the birthing process. Those she could handle, hide her tears until she was alone. But now her cheeks were stained with them and no matter how hardshe wiped at her face, they never stopped. Keziah had taken William's advice to run and almost been to freedom when one of the militia men in civilian clothes had tackled her down into the packed dirt road. The soldiers that stormed into her house had likely taken what valuables she had, and theone armed soldier too. She thought of him briefly and she frowned. He could die if he didn't rest and take it easy while he recovered.

Keziah was quietas the cart continued along the road. Much like the man next to her, she was bound and gagged, likely to keep her from screaming. She inched closer to William, despite it not being particularly appropriate. He was a stranger and she was still in her nightgown. When the soldiers had broke intoher home they hadn't given her any time to get dressed. Her nightgown was stained with dirt and a bit of blood from her scraped hands and knees. When she seen that he was stirring, Keziah raised her bound hands towards him, more to check his head than anything else. They hadn't hit her, she was smaller than they were and holding her down to tie her up had been fairly easy. It was fast approaching dawn when they arrived at the camp. Soldiers on watch guarsed the perimeter and tents lined the area surrounding a small house. No doubt that was where whoever had orchestrated this would be.

The cart stopped just short of a small barn and they were unloaded. She was aware of the looks the soldiers were giving her. Some looked at her with pity in their eyes, others had another look in their eyes that made the bad kind of shivers run down her back. They were each held by two soldiers, the ones holding Keziah mentioned that they would find her more suitable clothing. In response she just grunted and was led to what could have beeb a cellar. They wrre forced inside. The cellar had been barred off on one side, giving her an idea that they were in prison now.

The soldiers debated amongst themselves for a bit before deciding that Keziah was better off on the other side of the cell. They had assumed that despite having found William on the ground, that he and Keziah knew each other. Well veyond just knowing each other's names that is. They were kind enough to untie their gags and give them water. "Once we get things sorted out you'll be moved to more comfortable accommodations." The soldier promised her. That promise came sooner than she expected when another man, one of higher rank, came into the cellar and asked to bring the woman.

Keziah didn't want to go with them. She barely knew William but at least she felt comfortable with him. Perhaps it was because Samuel - the thought of her brother made her cry again. The high ranked soldier would have gathered her up into a huf had it been appropriate to do so. With one final glance at William, she was lead away.

The soldier sighed. "We are to question you as well. You were in the company of a Hessian soldier and..." he didn't want to be cruel but... "He could have let his guard down around you because youare a woman." He had the decency to give her his overcoat to drape around her shoulders. It smelled of sweat and smoke and it made her head spin.

"Don't....Don't kill him please." She whimpered.

The soldier shook his head. "Not my call to make."

"When your past catches up to you."

Her blood ran cold when he told her there was going to be a massacre. There were good people here, even if they supported the wrong side. It was a lot to take in. She had grown a little pale as he explained his plan. She disagreed with it. "And do what? Sit and let them boss us around because they have a crown on their side?" Keziah would rather take her chances than do what he proposed. She knew that the soldiers were fighting for what they thought was right...but it felt so wrong to her.

This made her wonder if he did support the British. Her hands shook a little and she took a step back from him. She leaned against the side of her home and took a deep breath. "They will take my brother to work as a field doctor and I will stay to tend to heir wounded from these skirmishes. I am a midwife. I'm not equipped to handle much other cases." Her lack of a formal education had more to do with he fact that a woman being in a traditionally male job was...well it wasn't good. She couldn't go to college or anything. She only had what she learned from the job. Keziah felt like crying. The idea that her big brother could be sent to the front lines to help the soldiers was frightening.

She didn't want Samuel to leave her too. Their mother had died some years ago, before Keziah had ever married. Her mother had been giving birth but her bleeding never stopped. Keziah could remember quite vividly that the sheets around and under her mother had been turned red, even the sheet used to cover her modesty. The baby hadn't made it. Poor thing had been blue and cold by the time they had been allowed to grieve over the bodies. It had been a little boy and that hurt Keziah deeply. He would have been a perfect little brother.

"This...I need to talk to my brother about this." She said quietly as she stood up, "we better get inside before he thinks something is going on." She just needed time to process this knowledge. Before turning to go inside, Keziah took a long glance around as if she wanted to capture how the houses were. She could picture them burning, people screaming and crying...Before she could think too much more, the woman headed inside.

Samuel was waiting, arms crossed and ready to tear William a new one, but his soter rushed forward and wrapped her arms arou d him and buried her face into his clothes. Samuel looked down at her with a slight frown but he returned the tight grip and he smoothed a hand over her hair. They stayed like that for quite some time.

He pulled away first and looked at his wife. Elizabeth was sitting across the room with a concerned look plastered across her face. He just gave her a shrug, a small promise that he'd tell her what was going on. Samuel looked back at William. "You keep Keziah safe, you hear me?" He was doing something that many would fi d wrong - putting the life of his sister in somebody else's hands. Keziah would be safe, hopefully. Samuel pressed a kiss to the top of Keziah's head and promised that he'd be by tomorrow. He wanted to formulate an escape plan. Keziah would have brought it up now had she not been so worried.

She stood in the doorway, waving goodbye to her brother and his wife as they walked arm in arm with a lantern held out in front of them. She stayed in the door u til she couldn't see them or their lantern anymore.

"When your past catches up to you."

By sundown things had settled slightly. There was still the occasional soldier who was comin to check on their brother in arms, but Keziah knew it had more to do with them scoping out her modest house for supplies. They might have been on the same side but they still took as much as the British. Of course many were happy to hand over their belongings if it meant they could be free. She had finished with he dishes a little while ago and was working on a small square cloth that she was embroidering. The Private was awake and talking with Samuel.

"You seem nervous." Elizabeth caught Keziah off guard and she looked up sharply at the pregnant woman. The spitfire woman was alsoone ofthe bbiggest worry wartsthat Elizabeth knew.

"A little. William..." she glanced around to check if either men were listening, "there's something about him that feels...wrong. I don't think he's a bad person but..." Keziah didn't know what it was but it was bothering her as to why the man was so strange. Samuel had told her that apparently William was a Hessian soldier, a deserter. He never told her of the upcoming massacre nor did he tell her ofhow he had actually met the man.

The blonde woman listened quietly, reaching out and grabbing one of Keziah's hands tightly. The young widow was going to worry herself sick. "You need to stop worrying so much." Elizabeth couldn't trust the man as far as she could throw him but she had to admit that Keziah's worries were shared. Samuel seemed worried too, even more han his sister. After talking for a little while Keziah got up and put her embroidery on the oak table before she approached William. She wanted answers, anything that could help her with this situation.

Just as she'd been about to oull the man aside, her brother spoke up. "There is the issue of where he will sleep." He gave William a pointed look.

Keziah sighed and brushed some of her hair back. "He can sleep out here. I need someone to keep an eye on him." She gestured to the sleeping man - John, as he'd told them. She knew that Samuel was hinting that they shouldn't sleep in the same room. She was a bit fed up that her brother was treating them this way. William was a stranger in need of help, Keziah was a helpful woman. Yes, he was handsome but she liked to get to know men first.
With hat settled, she grabbed William's wrist and pulled to get him to followher outside. SSamuel was yelling for her to get back inside but she ignored him.

"I want answers." She demanded. "There's something that you aren't telling me." It was dark but that didn't stop her from glaring. The window to her home provided dim light but Sam's shadow took up most of the window itself. No doubt he was going to rant when they go back inside.

"If you are to stay under my roof I need to know what you told my brother. Sam doesn't get that worried over nothing."

"When your past catches up to you."

Samuel had been about to tell William to get out when the man had changed the topic to something that apparently was going to happen. His brows furrowed and creases formed on his forehead, making him appear much older than his thirty one years. The thought that he could lose his forming family with Elizabeth and his only surviving sibling made his heart heavy. He'd only been married to Elizabeth for a handful of years but they'd known each other for much longer...and he'd basically helped raise Keziah. The lines between brother and father had been blurred. He'd been old enough to see her grow up and fully understand that the sweet little ten year old of yesterday had turned into a feisty twenty year old in what seemed like the blink of an eye.

When William gave an explanation as to hos he'd known this was going to happen, Samuel was skeptical. His father-in-law was from Germany, even had the thick accent despite having lived in the colonies for most of his life. Even Elizabeth had a slight accent that warped her w's into v's, ut it was certainly less pronounced than her father's. William had no such accent but he hadto give the man the benefit of the doubt. Any possibility of a threat against those he held dear was taken quite seriously by Samuel. That's why he'd brought his sister to Boston where he coukd keep an eye on her.

A man out in he countryside wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of a grieving widow because neighbors were scarce. But here in the city there was always someone out in the streets. Samuel sighed,crossing his arms ofer his chest. "If what you are saying is true...then we're doomed. There's no way out of Boston other than the harbor and I doubt the Redcoats would let us depart peacefully." They werein a real pickle here. Samuel bit the inside of his lip as he thouht of the possibilities. It seemed far fetched that he'd cook this up just to stay with a single woman.

"We have to stay here. My sister won't abandon her home so easily and my wife is heavily pregnant." Traveling in her condition wasn't the best course of action. Samuel didn't want to risk her or the baby if this threat proved to be unnecessary. After much internal deliberation he came to the conclusion that his sister was safer with a stranger than on her own.

"You may stay with my sister, but any foul actions to or against her will result in you being on your own." Samuel said. He didn't think the man was from around here and he couldn't really come to terms with how he'd seen the man appear from nowhere just as the skirmish was beginning. All Samuel knew was that he man hadn't been there one second then the next he was standing there. "I would much rather have someone here to protect her. Some of the soldiers have taken a liking to watching her when she's outside." Keziah either pretended that she didn't feel their gazes on her or she just really didn't know. Mousy or not, she was still a woman and some men felt thay was enough to hold some measure of authority over her.

Keziah finished helping Elizabeth with her hair and she followed after the pregnant woman, telling her a story of back when Samuel was an awkward teenager who liked to carry his little sister around. The story made Elizabeth laugh and Samuel smiled bashfully. He could tell Keziah here in a little while about the new arrangement.

"When your past catches up to you."

The disappointment didn't go unnoticed by Samuel. His brows furrowed and he frowned, glancing at his sister briefly. "No. This is my sister's home." As a widow she had a bit more freedom. She could live where she pleased, have a job to support herself and generally get by without a husband. That was why her family was angry when he man she had been courting had shown his true colors. She would have been a married woman again, and thus safe. When it was hinted that she needed someone to make sure she was safe, Samuel still had to object to William being the one to stay.

Keziah resented the idea entirely. She didn't need to be protected. She'd been doing fine on her own for five years, well three technically. She had moved back in to care for her sickly mother. After her husband's death she needed tp be kept close to family, people who could assure her that things would be alright, and that God was keeping him safe. Her eyes flickered to William and she frowned a bit whe he movedto the door. Honestly he should stay because....he was wounded, yes, that was why he needed to stay - not because she needed protecting. Oh who was she kidding? There was something about the man that had her curious. She just needed some time to figure out what it was.

Once their guest was gone, Samuel and Keziah began to argue. Their patient on the table was out cold, a screaming match wouldn't wakehim. Their arguing got loud enough that the heavily pregnant Elizabeth came waddling between them. Sam had over a foot of height on his sister but she stood up to him like a man woild. Elizabeth demanded that they stop and they did, if only to please her. Samuel went to check on the patient and Keziah busied herself with checking dinner and getting bowls out. They ignored each other until the soldiers came back. Keziah didn't want to move the man, he could stay for a few days because he'd need someone to tend to him, but Sam thouht it was best if he went home to his family. They needed to be close in case he didn't make it. The soldiers hgave quick thanks when she handed them bowls as well. She was a woman of her word after all.

They all turned to the strange man, the soldiers whispering that he was crazy. Keziah on the other hand wanted to know what he was getting at. It would surely be something new. She set a pot to boil over the open fire and she waited, going to check on Elizabeth in the mean time. Elizabeth had gone into the bedroom, furious at her husband and his sister.

"I do not know why you and Samuel had to argue. He is a stranger. We know nothing of him." Elizabeth said, trying to roll over to face Keziah. The other woman sighed softly and sat nextto her on the bed.

"He is injured. He can stay here." Keziah pointed out. Samuel had ignored this part of her argument. He knew that it was a valid reason, even if it was only a flesh wound. Keziah was a very good nurse, caring almost to the point of fault. She had once taken in a young boy who'd fallen ill when his family couldn't afford his treatments. He got better and moved back home a few months later. However, he died the following year in an accident. Keziah had grown quite fond of the boy, thinking of him as a brother of sorts. Samuel had gotten angry when she grieved for the boy like she had her husband.

They talked for a little while longer. It became apparent that Elizabeth held her husband's views but knew nothing was going to stop Keziah. The brunette returned to the main room and pulled the water off the fire and cooled it. She listened to William talk. They changed bandages once a day or every other day depending on the severity of the injury or their supplies. Sometimes they'd boil the bandages and reapply them but that was time consuming and it often meant that wounds were left uncovered for long stretches as the bandages were dried.
Keziah watched in interest, Samuel did too.

"See brother, he is useful...and I might need help changing in his bandages." Keziah said softly. She already argued that William was injured but Samuel didn't care.

The soliders left after another bowl of soup each. Things fell quite as Samuel weighed his options. Keziah had gone to help Elizabeth with her hair so she and Samuel could journey home. The sun was beginning to dip beyond the horizon and soon they'd need a lantern in order to find their way home. Samuel just watched William, studying him in detail. "My sister seems to think that you can be useful." He said. Samuel didn't mean to be rude but he couldn't allow this man to be left in a home with his sister, unsupervised. He'd feel bad if they took Keziah's bed (again).
"Why should you be allowed to stay here? We know nothing of your intentions oe who you are...where you came from."

"When your past catches up to you."

Samuel should have been doing this operation in a chair rather than a table but with the man in his current state, screaming and kicking his legs, sitting in a chair would be impossible. Keziah handed him the amputation knife once a large strip of cloth was tied around his arm just below a tightly wrapped leather belt. The leather belt was acting as a tourniquet, cutting as much blood suppky off as possible, and the strip of cloth was a guide for Samuel's knife. The amputation knife was quite beautiful if one could look past it's use; thirteen inches long with a slihtly backwards curving blade that could flow with the shapes of the body easier than a straight bladed knife.

He made the initial cut an inch or two above the elbow and once he'd cut through enough muscle and skin, he forced the knife between the skin and muscle, essentially skinning the man. This flap of skin was then rolled back out of the way. Keziah had grabbed a few little instruments that looked like a small hook, some thread and a few large needles. They were within arms reach and once Samuel had cut through the muscle she helped steady the wounded man's arm as her brother began sawing through the bone with an equally beautiful bone saw.

Once the arm was discarded onto the floor beneath the table, Keziah grabbed the needle and thread as her brother loosened the tourniquet and blood started to come from the severed artierues and veins. She quickly worked at sewing the vessels closed, using the small hook to push bits of his meat away so she could see clearly. Samuel didn't object to his sister helping in this manner. Her eyes were better than his and years orpf learning to sew had given her an edge that he didn't have. Once the vessels were tied off and the skin was moved back into place and sewn closed by Keziah (in a manner that should the man bleed again they could easily take the stitches out). A pledget was applied and the stump dressed. They left the man on the table, hoping he'd make it to the morning. If he did they could move him then.

Samuel said nothing as he asked his hands in the basin. His sister was staring at the bandaged stump with a worried look. The other men just looked tired. "Supper should be ready soon. You gentlemen are welcome to stay." She offered. Keziah washed her hands after her brother, trying to get his blood from under her nails.

"Thank you for your help." Samuel said to William. The man didn't have to help them. "You are welcome to stay with my wife and I tonight. Our home is a short journey away." They'd only been visiting Keziah when the skirmish had happened. He really didn't want a strange man staying here with his sister. His wife slept next to him so he'd know this man wouldn't do anything to her.

Keziah listened quietly to her brother speak to William, but her attention was on the man who was now missing an arm. The other men had since left in orderto deliver the good news.

"When your past catches up to you."

It was safe to say that when Keziah was angry she'd give the cold shoulder and silent treatment. It'd been her fiery personality that had drawn her husband in, and it wasthat same personality that comforted some women during childbirth when their husbands got upset. She wasn't afraid to tell them to leave the room. Once back inside she was stirring the stew, knowing that she'd have to make a little something extra to help fill more bellies. That was fine though, she liked to cook and it had been some time since she'd made anything sweet.

Keziah often kept jars of preserved plumbs within arms reach. She loved them. She took a few jars and placed them on the oak table before rifling around for a big bowl. Need to get more plumbs, she thought. William's question made her stop what she was doing. Why did he need a gun so badly? Didn't he see what they had done to the men outside? Her heart picked up its pace a little and her brows furrowed. "Samuel just brought you. No gun. Didn't even speak of one but that was because my brother was trying to get to safety." He could get mad. He could rant and rave but honestly she wouldn't care. Her brother's life was worth more than a rifle.

"What's with all the panic?" A soft feminine voice made Keziah whip around. Elizabeth came hobbling out of the room , mostly because she was tired of laying in bed. Elizabeth paused when she seen the man. Why was he dressed that way? Elizabeth's family was a well off German-American one. She'd seen similar uniforms, like the one her grandfather had worn during his time as a soldier. Her father still had it actually.

"It's okay, Lizzie." Keziah smiled, she was trying to make this situation better, "This was the man I told you about. He was just going to lay down again." She stressed that he needed to lay down. Elizabeth didn't need to be worried. She was nine months along and the baby would come any day now. Elizabeth put her hand on her belly and hobbled to the chair, a little self conscious that a strange man was seeing her with her hair unbound. She watched as Keziah went back to making dessert, and she didn't miss the way her sister-in-law ignored the man. Oh...he had made her mad. It was quite comical when she did that to Samuel, as she could often go for days ignoring her brother.

Speaking of which...Samuel wasn't going to be happy that Elizabeth was up. After a little while longer, Keziah introduced the pale haired woman. "And this beautiful creature is my sister, Elizabeth. Sam's wife." Elizabeth was a beautiful woman and when they went to the market together here was no shortage of men who stared at her as they passed.

Whem0n Samuel did come back it was for his bag of surgical equipment in the bedroom. "Amputation. Hand me that chunk ofleather would you?" He was pissed off the his wife was up and about when she should be resting but right now he had more pressing matters to attend to. "They'll be bringing him here. Giving him his last rites first." He casually asked William to stand aside and Keziah to come and help prepare the table. A white sheet was placed over it and she placed the leather strip onto the edge of the table.

The leather had well worn indents from various people biting onto it over the years. The man was brought in, pale and confused. Samuel took out the proper knives and bone saws and got to work, cutting the man's arm just above the elbow. Even with the leather strip in his mouth he still screamed. Elizabeth had sincegone into the bedroom and Keziah was helping her brother.

"When your past catches up to you."

Samuel had been sewing a man's arm closed. He was a tough one, that was for sure, or he was in shock. At this point Samuel was seeing more and more men with blank eyes these days. Sometimes gossip would go around that the men tried to strangle their wivesat night after a nightmare, or they'd start screaming and crying. Sometimes they just didn't respond at all. He snipped the thread and gave the man a weary smile. "Remember to keep it clean and you'll get to keep your arm." He warned. He was about to move onto his next patient, a man with a severely swollen arm that looked like it possibly might end in amputation but yelling caught his attention.

"Damn!" He muttered, leaving the injured men to go save whoever that was that hehad saved earlier. Keziah would kill him if he let this man get shot (again.) Samuel jogged over, putting his hand on the man with the gun. "Easy there. He's a friend from up north. Stole some dead man's clothes." He hoped the lie was convincing enough. If not then the usually gentle and mild manner doctor could be rather.,.persuasive. Or he could let his sister deal with them. They wouldn't know what to think of the five foot nothing Keziah as she berated them.

"There you are!" Speak of the devil...

Keziah came walking quickly towards them, skirts bunched up slightly in her hands so she wouldn't trip over them. She could ignore the blood and groans of the dying. The sight was horrific but so was watching a young mother bleed to death while she cried for her baby. Her green eyes were narrowed and focused on the man. "I told you to stay put!" Samuel was amazed that the gun didn't phase his sister nor the looks some men were giving her. Her little frilly white cap was gone and her braid hung freely down her back. Clearly she had taken it off and tossed it the moment she found the man missing.

"Get back inside, sister." Samuel said, using a harsh tone. No doubt these men would either laugh or ignore her but they couldn't ignore Samuel. He was tall foe the times, standing around 6'2".

Keziah ignored him and looked towards the gun aimed at William. "Sir, if you would be so kind as to stop aiming the gun at our dear friend William, I will help patch your men and provide supper. We have more than enough stew to go around..." The promise of food was usually what she used when these skirmishes got too close to her home, and it was the least she could do to aid the cause. Some women knitted socks for soldiers, some became spies oreven dressed as soldiers themselves (or so the rumors went), but she cooked for them.

Her brother was confused. When did she catch the man's name? Samuel sighed softly at her proposition. He didn't want the soldiers getting the wrong impression here. Keziah might have been on the plain side but she was still a woman, and some of these men could try to force themselves on her.

"When your past catches up to you."

"Keziah Wilkinson." She told him simply when asked for his name. Keziah nearly cut her fingers when he asked for her husband's name. Oh dear. She didn't look like a spitting image of her brother but they did have the same shape of eyes and when they both smiled each had dimpled cheeks. She began to laugh when she recovered from her shock. Her knife lay forgotten on the oak table and the half peeled potato along side it. The woman wiped her eyes free of the tears that came from laughing so hard.

"That was my brother Samuel. Samuel Black." Their differences in surnames was due to the fact that Keziah was a widow. She had married dreadfully young and her husband had died of illness just months into their marriage. That was why she had moved to Boston with her brother and his wife. She needed that fresh start and in Boston no one knew she'd married at sixteen. It wasn't like many men would care, so long as she could still do her duties as a wife and maintain a home. The man she had been courting was rather excited that he wouldn't have to teachher anything.

She sighed quietly and rinsed her hands free of the starches from the potato. "He's older, mind you." She added, meaning to be friendly. Keziah was aware of how tired she looked. This war was draining everyone and she spent many nights wishing that things were different. Keziah resumed peeling and cutting tye vegetables before loading them into a kettle with diced up beef and what little spices she had. "I will need to go check on my sister. Stay on the table if you know what's good for you." It was an empty threat punctuated with a dimpked smile. She was joking but only slightly. She didn't want him up and about, even if his wound wasn't serious. He'd been through a lot over the past few hours.

Clean up was easy. She dumped the scraps into a sack to take outside later and put into her garden. Dishes could wait until she could get a bit more water. After finishing with wiping the oak table with a dry scrap of cloth, she excused herself to go check on Elizabeth. Her sister-in-law was beautiful. Pale skinned with delicate features, wide dark blue eyes and almost silvery blonde hair. Her brother was certainly a lucky man. Elizabeth was happy to see Keziah. The two were quite close in age and often times it really felt like they were sisters. Elizabeth wasn't surprised to hear that Samuel was gone. He was a good man with a good heart. However, she was surprised to learn about the man o he table.

"Are you sure that this is a good idea?" Elizabeth asked. She was of the upper class, until she married simple Samuel Black anyways. She'd been taught that strange men were ones that a woman of her upbringing shouldn't associate with. Keziah had no such upbringing. Her father had been a sailor, retired now, and he dabbled in all sorts of trades. There had never been any time for the finer things in life she he was too busy teaching Samuel the proper way to tie a knot or telling his daughter stories of his travels, much to her mother's displeasure.

"Samuel will be back soon." Keziah promised.