Free War of Hearts, A Historical Romance by Lynn Hubbard Page A

grimly.
    Sarah frowned; this was the only
conversation the two men had where they agreed on something. The
fact that they both supported hanging spies made her a bit
wary.
    The smell of burnt wood filled her head and
she was brought back to reality. Movement caught her eye and she
watched some children playing hide & seek amongst the ruined
buildings.
    The ease at which these children accepted
their fate was heartbreaking. Well, she was no child and confidant
or not, she would still do whatever she could to further her cause.
She owed it to Silas.
    Her eyes rose to the cloud spotted sky as
she made her vow. The beauty of it surprised her. Except for all
the death & destruction, it was quite a lovely day.
    She could sense the change in the air and
knew they were close to the shore. She sat up, eager to see the
ships and to distance herself from these ghastly men.
    She was not disappointed; the port was
filled with large ships. Even with their sails down they were
majestic. Men were milling about loading and unloading crates,
feeding the British, keeping them strong.
    Doubt flickered in her chest for an instant.
Doubt that her threadbare, rag tag group of men could take on this
force and win. Then she quickly stamped it out. They had something
much more important than bought goods, they had heart.
    Putting on her best smile, she turned to
Tristan, “Which one is the Sea Maiden ?”
    Tristan stepped toward her, placing his hand
on the small of her back. he guided her to face the proper
direction. “See the ship with the blue flag flying? That’s her. You
want to go aboard?”
    “I’d love to.”
    “We would love to,” Randall added.
    Tristan led them over the dunes and down to
the beach. He shouted orders to a group of men who were apparently
part of his crew. Acquiring a rowboat, he grasped Sarah’s hand,
helping her step into the wobbly craft. Sarah’s heart was
fluttering. She wasn’t scared of the water; she had been swimming
since she was a child.
    Her father had taught her and rated her
skill level from Tadpole to Fish. No it wasn’t the water, it was
her mission. She looked around and memorized the view. Soundlessly
she counted the ships in port as well as the ones at dock.
    The Sea Maiden was a large frigate
but appeared small next to the British warships. Her vision was
blocked as Randall awkwardly stepped into the boat and sat next to
her. Tristan sat across from them and used an oar to push them off.
Once they were away he set the oars and methodically rotated them
to move the small boat.
    Sarah’s eyes were drawn to Tristan while he
effortlessly rowed. She could see his arm muscles rippling under
his shirt with each powerful stroke. Those same arms had been
wrapped around her last night and she yearned to repeat the
experience.
    Sarah unconsciously licked her lips, tasting
the salt from the sea spray. Her eyes met his and she reluctantly
looked away. Randall was awfully quiet and she was amused to see he
was slightly pale. Before long they were at the Maiden . The
wooden hull loomed over them and a knotted rope ladder was tossed
over the side. Randall lurched for it and began climbing without a
word.
    Tristan chuckled, turning to Sarah. “I guess
you’re next.”
    Sarah stood to climb and looked down at her
skirt. She eyed Tristan speculatively, “Can I trust you not to look
at my knickers.”
    His eyes sparkled as he replied, “It would
be rather hard to hold the boat and ladder steady with my eyes
closed.”
    Sarah turned her back to him, leaning over
to tie the back hem of her skirt to the front; creating a makeshift
pair of trousers. She grabbed the ladder and started to climb,
gritting her teeth as she felt the rough rope burning into her
palms. She stopped about half way, tired from her exertion and
dizzy from the swaying ship & sea. She took a deep breath
before continuing. Looking up she saw the deck hands peering down
at her with interest.
    This might upset some women, but marching
with an