355: The Women of Washington's Secret Spy Ring

Chapter 1

Meg quickly comprised a message to her father, imploring him to find a safer place for her to reside, preferably with a family aligned with their own cause.

A few days later, Mrs. De Hart and Meg were sewing in the living room when they heard a horse approaching. They exchanged looks of alarm as someone knocked roughly on the front door.

"Yes?" Mrs. De Hart asked warily when she opened it.

"I'm looking for a Miss Moncrieffe," a gruff voice stated.

"For what purpose?" Mrs. De Hart inquired.

"I am Major Burr, aide de camp for General Putnam. He has sent for Miss Moncrieffe on orders of Captain Moncrieffe."

"Father got my letter!" Meg exclaimed as she walked to the door. Major Burr looked to be around twenty years or so. His facial features were even and lean but for his cheeks, which still held a boyish roundness to them. He wore the navy blue uniform of the patriots, his dark hair tucked under a tri-corner hat. His eyes, black as pitch, fixed on her as he bowed. "Miss Moncrieffe?"

Meg curtsied before offering her hand. "Indeed." His skin was softer than his appearance, bronzed by many months spent outdoors, would have avowed.

His hand freed of Meg's, he put both arms behind his back and drew his legs together. "I am to convey you to General Putnam's residence in York City."

"York City!" Mrs. De Hart repeated. "In the midst of the fighting?"

"I will make sure Miss Moncrieffe is safe at all times," Major Burr replied.

Putnam was a rebel, but at least she would be under the protection of a general, Meg surmised. Her relief at being sent for was being quickly eclipsed by exhilaration at the possibility of riding alone with the handsome Major Burr. "Is it far to the city?"

"About fifteen miles or so. We must leave soon, my orders are to have you at the Putnam residence tonight."

Mrs. De Hart beckoned him inside. "Let's get you some food and drink while Meg packs up."

"I shan't be long," Meg promised as she hurried to the guest room. She had not brought much to the De Hart's as she had not had much time to pack when they originally fled Elizabethtown. Most of her fine dresses were at the Bankers' house on the other side of town. Meg threw the only riding dress currently in her possession on the bed. It hadn't been cleaned since she had last worn it, when Meg fled from the Bankers.' Dust still covered the burnt orange fabric. Meg shook it out and sneezed. Despite its state of unwash, the close-fitting dress would both make riding easier and show off her womanly curves. Meg added an ostrich feather onto the matching bonnet and tucked her blonde hair underneath it.

When Meg returned to the kitchen, she noticed Major Burr had removed both his sword and hat. He had fine hair, Meg noticed. Dark and thick, it curled underneath the blue ribbon that held it off of his forehead. He rose upon seeing her. "Ready, Miss Moncrieffe?"

"Please, Major Burr, call me Meg." The white edge of his forehead, previously hidden under his hat, spoke even more of long days in the sun.

His smile lit up his face, including those dark eyes. "If you would call me Aaron."

"Aaron it is." Meg turned her shoulders as she moved past him, offering him a glance at her décolletage. When she turned to get his reaction, she noticed the smile had left his face.

"How old are you?" he asked.

"Why, Aaron, I am a woman of seventeen."

"Not much of a woman," he grunted, rising from the table.