Faithfully Yours by Jo Ann Ferguson Read Free Book Online Page A

would gladly excuse both of you,” she retorted coldly, “if you will relinquish your hold on my hair.”
    â€œI will.” His voice dropped to a near whisper as he tucked her hair back beneath her hood while he drew it up over her head. “Reluctantly.”
    Again that enticing commotion rumbled through her. Spinning on her heel, she went back toward the house. She did not run, although she wanted to. She would not give Major Kendrick the satisfaction of seeing her flee like a naughty child.
    Satisfaction … Her fingers trembled as they settled on the latch. She looked back. His gaze captured hers once again, as if they stood face-to-face. Only when Lieutenant Osborne leaned toward him, speaking rapidly, did he look away. She threw the door open and went into the kitchen.
    â€œWhere did you run from?” asked Mother as she drew a pot out of the hearth.
    â€œRun?”
    â€œYou are panting as if you have run all the way from the crossroads.” She smiled and shook her head. “Sometimes, I despair at the idea that you will ever set aside your hoyden ways. You are a woman grown now, not a lass.”
    Faith bit back her laugh because it was tainted with hysteria. Mother must have no idea why she was so breathless. Busy at the hearth, she would not have noticed what was happening by the kitchen garden.
    When her mother added that Molly and Nancy were waiting for their embroidery lesson, Faith nodded and hurried out of the kitchen. Most days, she sought any excuse not to give her two rambunctious sisters their lesson. Today, staying inside and focusing on tiny stitches seemed the perfect escape from Major Kendrick. It would only be temporary, but she hoped it would be enough.
    â€œBunny tried to hop right away,” one twin said.
    The other refused to be left out of the conversation. “But we caught him.”
    â€œWe put him back in his cage,” added the first.
    The other followed quickly with, “But we were careful. We must be careful with little animals. Right, Molly?”
    Sebastian smiled as he noted again that Molly was wearing the apron with the pink flowers embroidered on it. Nancy’s apron was decorated with blue ones. As they chattered about the rabbit they had found and nursed back to health, he asked questions each time one of them faltered. That kept them talking and gave him the excuse to remain here by the hearth, where Faith was knitting. The twins were kneeling beside her, except when they jumped to their feet with excitement. Then their mother would hush them and continue to read aloud to her husband and sons from a thick book.
    He had to admit he had not heard a single word Mistress Cromwell had read, although the way she continuously changed her voice for each character caught his ear. Cromwell seemed enrapt, and his sons were sitting on stools beside him, heeding each phrase closely. Faith appeared to be listening, too, but he suspected she was not.
    Wanting to chuckle, he did not. He also bit back his accusation that he was only copying her behavior at the table, when she had tried to keep him from speaking to her by using the twins’ enthusiasm. His goal was different, however. He wanted to speak with her, but not on the topics of rabbits or war or the weather.
    â€œTime for bed, girls,” Mistress Cromwell said, closing her book and setting it on the table beside her chair. She came to her feet. “I shall tuck you in myself, for I fear you were too slow to bed last night. Emery and Ezekial, you should come along soon, as well. If you want to wash before bed, the water is still warm.”
    Sebastian smiled when the boys exchanged a glance that suggested that cleaning up before going to bed was not important to them. As the little girls scampered out of the room, he watched Faith’s fingers manipulate the knitting needles. The fanciful pattern of the nearly finished glove emerging from them included stripes of red among the