all done up in blue and gold//benjamin tallmadge

CHAPTER ONE!

     Mercy looked at herself in the mirror, wearing what would be her wedding dress. The dress was beautiful, there was no doubt about that, but Mercy did not wish to be in it. She sighed, looking over to her doorframe where her brother Selah stood, staring at her with sad eyes. He probably hated this arrangement as much as she did. She sent him a half-smile, although they both knew it was fake, it was the most comfort that either of them could offer in this situation. Everything was in place, and now there wasn't much that either of them could do to get her out of this situation. In a few short months, Mercy Strong would become Mercy Grove, wife to Peter Grove, Selah's old rival and a man that Mercy never showed any emotion for. She was a woman of marrying age and her father was desperate to send her off to another family, one where he wasn't forced to provide for her unless necessary. Selah had even stepped in, saying that he would take her into his home and provide for her until the man she truly loved, Benjamin Tallmadge, could return for her, but it was to no avail. Unless Benjamin Tallmadge could ride into Setauket, all done up in blue and gold, and ask for her hand in marriage this very second, her fate was sealed. 

      She sighed, pushing a loose lock of hair behind her ear. She and Selah shared the same black hair and blue eyes, as well as the same general face shape. The two could have passed as twins if Selah didn't look so aged from working, and she so young with innocence. The thing that made the two the most alike was the emotions that they portrayed through a glance alone. Both shared the same burning spark in their eyes, the desire to run off at any moment and join the cause. It made them so similar, as when they were younger the two would talk for hours of what it must be like, to be free. That was back when the 'conspirators', as those bloody-backs would call them, first started to get on the move. Now that the cause was rising fast, it seemed only a matter of time until something happened. While Mercy had little to offer in combat, her being a woman and all, she had the intelligence necessary. That was another thing she shared with her brother: a brilliant mind. Although she used it sparingly, as most suitors would take a tavern wench over a woman of science, she confided in Selah her love for knowledge, especially the parts that she thrived in. It was apparent that the two were close, something that they vowed to never lose sight of. 

     "If it makes any sort of a difference," Selah started, walking over to her. "I suggest you send a letter out to Ben. Tell him about your wedding." He suggested, now leaning against her dresser. Mercy laughed dryly, smoothing out the skirt of her dress. It was pink and frilly, trailed with ribbons and lace, patternless; just the way she liked it. Maybe her mother had thought that if she came bearing a gift, one tailored just for her in a fashion that she adored, Mercy would be more excited to be tied down to a man that she did not love. While her gesture was generous and kind, it did not work. The only man that Mercy ever wished to be entirely devoted to was Benjamin.

     A few years back, maybe two or three, Benjamin Tallmadge, the son of the Reverend Tallmadge, fled town. Rumour was he joined the cause, fighting as a patriot in the rebel army. Mercy couldn't have been more proud, only, she never did express that to anyone. She wanted to write to him, and she hoped that he wanted to write to her as well, but she knew the stakes. Seeing Ben's name in the postal would possibly give away the rebel camp's location if anyone happened to be looking. Setauket was a small town, it minded it's business pretty well, and Major Hewlett was in no rush to bring the war home, but to Mercy, not even that was worth the risk. Because in the end, if anyone were looking, or wanting to know something that maybe they shouldn't know, the families of known or suspected patriots, such as the Strong's, would be the first to go on trial. Then, what was discovered, could potentially work it's way back to Ben, getting him hurt and or killed. If the only way Mercy could show her love and affection to Ben was keeping both of them safe, then it was better than living with the knowledge that he was killed because she couldn't help but write. In her mind, she knew that this was just paranoia and that no one had it out for the Tallmadge's like that, not even the Woodhull's, but no amount of reassurance could even tempt her to pick up a quill and write.