Midnight Rider: Chapters 6–14

A life-size portrait of a solemn King George hung on a paneled wall above the fireplace mantel.

Hannah helped fill china bowls with summer squash and hot spinach with currants.

The other guests she did not know, except for Meg, who was chatting coquettishly with a young British officer sitting next to her.

Hannah felt her hands shake as Mrs. Gage scrutinized her with dark, intense eyes.

“I’m surprised that the Gages have condescended to have a Negro slave dining at the Province House,” Sally, a young upstairs maid, said.

“In fact, she is Mrs. Wheatley’s protégé. When she was about seven years old, Mr. Wheatley purchased her from the slave market as a maid for his wife. It was only a matter of weeks before the Wheatleys discovered her amazing talents. Why, the child was already reading and writing in English, and within sixteen months she was reading Greek and Latin classics!”

Hannah finished her meal without saying a word, and then climbed from the bench, careful not to touch Miss Lydia, who ate ravenously and seemed, for once, oblivious of her.

Mrs. Wheatley smiled benevolently at the gathered crowd and then motioned for Phillis to sit next to her.

British warships and merchant ships were forbidden to land to bring in provisions, yet the colonists were receiving ample food and supplies from secret sources outside the city.

“Yes, he is,” the General agreed curtly.

How could she speak to the governor of Massachusetts Colony with such brash, foolhardy words?

How could she speak to the governor of Massachusetts Colony with such brash, foolhardy words?

The woman gave a simpering smile at General Gage.

From now on you’ll work in the scullery and do the pans with Annie.

Mrs. Gage was seated at a table, writing on a sheet of fine stationery.

“Indeed. I will have Mrs. Dudley find suitable frocks for you.” She eyed Hannah’s work clothes.

Hannah curtsied and turned to leave the room, when she suddenly noticed a tall chest-on-chest of fine mahogany, with drawer pulls of burnished brass, standing against the wall.

Her tiny waist was pulled in tight by a corset, as was the style of the day. The bodice had sleeves that came below the elbows and were trimmed in lace.

She emptied it into a trough that carried away wastewater into an underground cistern.

She emptied it into a trough that carried away wastewater into an underground cistern.

He worries because the local ‘factions,’ as he calls the rabble-rousers here in Boston, often throw stones at carriages that have the royal crest.

I’d have a gown made, but fabrics aren’t being shipped in because of the embargo.

Then he set a tricorn hat upon her head.

“Salem, is it? They’re a bunch of rebels out in Salem,” the soldier mumbled. “General Gage had to get out of there for fear of his life!”
“I resent that, sir,” Hannah snapped in her male voice.

One puppet was obviously a British soldier, for although the distinctive red coat could not be seen in the shadow play, the familiar cocked hat perched high on his head was cleverly accentuated.

He brandished a sword and called out, “Halt! Who goes there? Before you pass, you must pay a tax.”

“Don’t fall back to sleep and be late,” Catherine admonished. “You don’t want Meg to become angry.”

“Oh, and Miss Meg requested enough food for three people.” A flash of suspicion came over the housekeeper’s face. “She said she’s ravenously hungry,” Hannah added quickly.

Hannah hadn’t realized so many questions would be asked about a simple jaunt to the Common.

Then the lieutenant said scathingly, “How dare you insult me.”

You must admit she captured your resonant and commanding voice perfectly.

So this is what Meg had in mind—a tryst with that British officer.

The horse leaped forward, his legs stretching into a long gait as if his hooves were not touching the ground at all.

“You ride like a man!” Caleb said, his voice full of admiration.
Hannah looked at him scornfully. "Is that a compliment? Not all men ride well.”

“Chester and I took a walk along the promenade, and we saw you with two young men,” Meg said in a teasing tone.

Hannah told Catherine what had transpired on the Common.

"Be on guard with that devious girl,” Catherine warned. "She’d stop at nothing to have her own way, including lying about you.”

“The British want us to stay dependent on them by punishing us with their Coercive Acts,” Caleb added. “We call them the Intolerable Acts, ’cause we ain’t gonna tolerate them!”

“He wants to keep the ’inferior people’—as he calls us ordinary folk—from meeting together and making our own laws,” Will said belligerently.

“From what I’ve heard around the stables, the general feels the real problem ain’t the common folk,” Caleb objected, “but the colonial bigwigs, like John Hancock and Sam Adams and Dr. Warren. Gage would love to get his hands on them, ’cause they stir up the common folk with their speeches.”