Free Savage Deception (Liberty's Ladies) by Lynette Vinet

learn about the supply wagon. We’re running pretty low on things now.”
    Diana knew it must be quite hard for Marion and his men as they fought and lived in the wilderness. On such nights as this when the cold winds blew in from the Atlantic, she slept in a bed with a roof over her head while Clay and other patriots were lucky to have a warm blanket for protection from the elements. She felt guilty and it must have shown, for Clay grinned again at her.
    “My mother and sisters loved the gowns you gave them after our house burned. They’re real grateful.”
    “I bet if they knew the clothes were mine, Clay, they’d burn them rather than wear anything a loyalist owned.”
    “Now, don’t be so touchy. I couldn’t tell them where the gowns came from. I know you’re a patriot and so does Colonel Marion. After this war is won, everyone else will know it, too. Sometimes people just have to do things they don’t like to get the job done. Just be grateful that Briarhaven is still intact.”
    Diana was grateful, more than grateful, and that was the trouble. Whereas her neighbors, the Sinclairs, were without a home now, she still had hers. She couldn’t help but feel doubly guilty when she recalled Farnsworth telling her that the Sinclair house had been chosen to be his headquarters but that Rawdon had insisted he use Briarhaven instead. If things had been different, the Sinclair ladies might have been forced to give her their hand-me-downs.
    “Are your mother and sisters well?” she asked Clay.
    Clay nodded. “Colonel Marion found a safe place for them to live. They’re doing fine.”
    She started to tell Clay farewell when he startled her by pulling her against his broad chest and kissing her full on the lips. The kiss was brief, and when Diana’s initial shock lessened she saw that Clay was blushing like a schoolboy, which was exactly what Diana had considered him to be until now. But she suddenly realized that Clay was eighteen and no longer resembled the scrawny lad she remembered, having grown into a muscular and rugged looking young man from his time in the swamps. It was apparent from the way he looked at her that he didn’t consider himself anything but a man.
    “I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time, Diana. I’m sorry if I’ve startled you, but I’m not sorry I kissed you. I love you and want to marry you when the war’s over. I know I’m a little younger than you, but I’d make you a good husband, better than that bastard Kingsley. I swear I would.”
    Such an honest admission touched her. Clay Sinclair was a gentle and decent person, and she genuinely liked him and didn’t want to hurt him. Yet she couldn’t help reddening at the realization that somehow Clay had learned about Kingsley’s abuse of her. Evidently one of the servants at Briarhaven had spread the word. She wondered how many other people had known. She felt suddenly stripped of her pride.
    “I can’t marry you,” she said more harshly than she intended.
    Clay’s face seemed to fall, and she realized how she must sound to him, how she hurt him.
    “It isn’t that I don’t care for you,” she amended gently, holding his fingers, stiff with cold. “I’m very fond of you, but I won’t marry — ever again. I appreciate that you care about me, but please find someone more deserving of your affection.”
    She thought he was about to deny what she said, but he placed her hand to his mouth and kissed it. “If you ever need me for anything, Diana, all you have to do is ask.”
    “That means a great deal to me.”
    He flashed her a smile and turned away. She watched for a few seconds, and then Clay vanished into the misty swamp.

5
     
    When Diana reached Charlestown nearly three days later, she found that the beautiful city she remembered from her childhood had changed during the British occupation. Many of the grand and gracious homes stood empty and in need of repair from the American and British shellings; homeless