Lavender Lies (Historical Romance) Read Online Free Page A
Author: Constance O'Banyon
Tags: Fiction, adventure, Romance, Historical, Adult, Action, Mission, Temptation, 18th Century, enchanted, american revolution, Embrace, Deceased, englishman, Colonies, Patriotic, LAVENDER LIES, Jail Cell, Brother's Disgrace, Colonial Wench, Female Spy, Rendezvous, American Agent, Code Name, Swallow
"I hope to see you again under different circumstances."
Before Lavender could reply, he had turned to Nicodemus. "I would suggest that the two of you leave immediately. It is not wise to linger any longer."
"We will do that, Captain," Nicodemus answered, taking Lavender's arm and leading her toward the door.
Brainard Thruston's voice reached them before they stepped out into the swirling snowstorm. "Merry Christmas, Miss Daymond. We shall meet again."
After the door had closed behind Lavender and Nicodemus, Brainard Thruston turned to Angus McCree. "I think that girl would make a good messenger if she lost her nervousness. I watched her tonight, and I believe she would have died before she would ever have relinquished the documents to the wrong person. Did you see how angelic she looked? She would be perfect, because no one would ever suspect someone who looks like her of being a spy."
"Her pa would never allow it," Angus reminded Brainard. "You had better step easy."
Brainard threw his head back and laughed. "Her pa will never have to know. I will appeal to Miss Daymond's love for her father and brother."
"That hardly seems fair, Captain. She ain't more than a little girl."
"What is ever fair in war, Angus? We all do what we must to win."
"I still say leave her be. I know Samuel Daymond. He will kill you if anything happens to her. He might have sent her into danger tonight, but he wouldn't allow anyone else to do the same."
On the ride back to Williamsburg, Lavender felt an urgency to be with her father. She prayed he was still alive—he just had to be.
As the snowflakes continued to drift earthward, and heavy drifts piled up in the road, Lavender's mount carried her homeward. In her mind she relived the events as they had happened at the Swan Tavern, and she began to experience the first true stirring of patriotism in her soul. She had done something tonight to strike a blow against tyranny.
Suddenly she was no longer weary but felt invigorated, and wished she could do more to help the United States of America gain its freedom from England! She doubted it would be possible while she was subject to Aunt Amelia's damnation.
Brainard Thruston's handsome face flashed through her mind. He had saved her life tonight. She wondered if she would ever see him again.
2
South Carolina, 1780
Wind-driven rain pelted against the windows of the Fife and Drum Inn with a force that rattled the old building to the very foundation. The two-story, boxlike structure that served as a coach stop between Charlotte and Salisbury was deserted but for two men who sat at a corner table talking in lowered voices. One man was a British colonel hiding his rank beneath the clothing of a humble tradesman, while the other gentleman was huddled beneath the folds of a stylish black cloak.
Colonel Grimsley, a man of fifty with powdered hair and clear gray eyes, looked over his shoulder to make sure the landlord was not near enough to overhear their conversation. "Tell me again what the note said," he urged the second man.
His companion, a thin-faced man named Cleave Wilson, leaned in closer. "As I told you before, the note was from the Duke of Mannington. He told me to get in touch with you and that we should meet him here at nine to discuss a matter of extreme importance. The note said we were to practice extreme caution and we are not to reveal our identities to anyone."
Colonel Grimsley glanced at the wall clock, then removed his pocket watch to check the time. "It is but ten minutes until the appointed hour."
Cleave Wilson stared into the face of his companion, noting the colonel's long, aquiline nose and his heavy eyebrows, guessing that both men were of the same age. While they were from different classes, and would never have crossed each other's paths back in England, the war and a common cause had united them. Grimsley's family was in trade, and he had worked his way up the ranks in the military, while
Before Lavender could reply, he had turned to Nicodemus. "I would suggest that the two of you leave immediately. It is not wise to linger any longer."
"We will do that, Captain," Nicodemus answered, taking Lavender's arm and leading her toward the door.
Brainard Thruston's voice reached them before they stepped out into the swirling snowstorm. "Merry Christmas, Miss Daymond. We shall meet again."
After the door had closed behind Lavender and Nicodemus, Brainard Thruston turned to Angus McCree. "I think that girl would make a good messenger if she lost her nervousness. I watched her tonight, and I believe she would have died before she would ever have relinquished the documents to the wrong person. Did you see how angelic she looked? She would be perfect, because no one would ever suspect someone who looks like her of being a spy."
"Her pa would never allow it," Angus reminded Brainard. "You had better step easy."
Brainard threw his head back and laughed. "Her pa will never have to know. I will appeal to Miss Daymond's love for her father and brother."
"That hardly seems fair, Captain. She ain't more than a little girl."
"What is ever fair in war, Angus? We all do what we must to win."
"I still say leave her be. I know Samuel Daymond. He will kill you if anything happens to her. He might have sent her into danger tonight, but he wouldn't allow anyone else to do the same."
On the ride back to Williamsburg, Lavender felt an urgency to be with her father. She prayed he was still alive—he just had to be.
As the snowflakes continued to drift earthward, and heavy drifts piled up in the road, Lavender's mount carried her homeward. In her mind she relived the events as they had happened at the Swan Tavern, and she began to experience the first true stirring of patriotism in her soul. She had done something tonight to strike a blow against tyranny.
Suddenly she was no longer weary but felt invigorated, and wished she could do more to help the United States of America gain its freedom from England! She doubted it would be possible while she was subject to Aunt Amelia's damnation.
Brainard Thruston's handsome face flashed through her mind. He had saved her life tonight. She wondered if she would ever see him again.
2
South Carolina, 1780
Wind-driven rain pelted against the windows of the Fife and Drum Inn with a force that rattled the old building to the very foundation. The two-story, boxlike structure that served as a coach stop between Charlotte and Salisbury was deserted but for two men who sat at a corner table talking in lowered voices. One man was a British colonel hiding his rank beneath the clothing of a humble tradesman, while the other gentleman was huddled beneath the folds of a stylish black cloak.
Colonel Grimsley, a man of fifty with powdered hair and clear gray eyes, looked over his shoulder to make sure the landlord was not near enough to overhear their conversation. "Tell me again what the note said," he urged the second man.
His companion, a thin-faced man named Cleave Wilson, leaned in closer. "As I told you before, the note was from the Duke of Mannington. He told me to get in touch with you and that we should meet him here at nine to discuss a matter of extreme importance. The note said we were to practice extreme caution and we are not to reveal our identities to anyone."
Colonel Grimsley glanced at the wall clock, then removed his pocket watch to check the time. "It is but ten minutes until the appointed hour."
Cleave Wilson stared into the face of his companion, noting the colonel's long, aquiline nose and his heavy eyebrows, guessing that both men were of the same age. While they were from different classes, and would never have crossed each other's paths back in England, the war and a common cause had united them. Grimsley's family was in trade, and he had worked his way up the ranks in the military, while
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