Beautiful fields that stretched for miles into the distance where the treeline met the horizon - that's what I saw on our trip to Charleston.
The Martin family had only lived a few miles outside of Charleston, South Carolina so it wasn't as long trip as I had expected. I was seated in the carriage with Margaret, Abigail, and Susan on my lap. Benjamin was on the perch with William and Samuel alongside him, Nathan having taken Thomas's horse with him while Gabriel rode alone.
The sounds of clanking and banging were distant as we rode past the shipyards, men high up on the sails.
"Ever seen such a beautiful town?" Abigail asked as we reached what looked more like a residential area.
"No. It is breathtaking." I partially lied in a way. Charleston in the 1770s wasn't exactly the most beautiful town I'd ever seen. But the fields and country around it were probably one of the most beautiful places I'd been. So that tied into my excuse.
Before I knew it the carriage came to a halt in front of a large two-story apartment. Benjamin got out to help Sam and Will off before getting the girls.
"Here we go." I smiled to Susan as she clung to me with her legs wrapped around my side.
Benjamin took Samuel and William's hands gently as Margaret and myself went up the flight of stairs to get to Aunt Charlotte's door. Apparently she was the Martin children's aunt from their mother's side as Abigail had informed me.
After we all climbed the stairs, Benjamin knocked lightly on the door and waited while Abigail and the boys shuffled about.
There I was then, met by a very beautiful blonde woman who came from inside.
That was Aunt Charlotte?
She did look maybe in her 30s but never the less stunning. Her hair was pulled back in a braid and she wore a flower patterned white dress. Upon seeing her I felt Susan cling tighter to me as she rested her head on my shoulder.
"Aunt Charlotte! Aunt Charlotte!" The younger ones yelled as they ran into her arms and smothered her in kisses and hugs.
"Welcome! Welcome!" Charlotte giggled as the kids continued to hug her like a mother they hadn't seen in years. Her soft green eyes looked up to Benjamin and smiled as she patted their backs. "They're huge. What have you been feeding them?"
Benjamin and Charlotte shared a smile, one I hadn't seen in him ever I believe. "They're from good stock." Ben took a few steps closer and I looked to Abigail who smiled at the two. "On their mother's side, of course."
Charlotte nodded as she locked eyes with Benjamin for a moment. The attraction was obvious and Gabriel smirked from behind me.
"Thank you." Her attention was averted to the swarm of children at her legs. "Come, come, inside. Wait until you see what I have." I watched them all and adjusted Susan on my hip as Charlotte ushered the kids towards the large white door, grabbing hold of the gold doorknob and opening it effortlessly.
"Presents?!" They all squealed in unison. Charlotte nodded as they began jumping a little in their place.
"Inside, Inside." She whispered softly and giggled. They all ran along; Margaret holding her faded yellow dress so she wouldn't trip and Charlotte looking towards Susan as Gabriel and Thomas ran inside as well. "You, too, Susan." Aunt Charlotte walked closer with a doll in hand, her voice calmer now, lower too.
"There's something for you too..." I smiled a little as Susan absently took the doll offered to her, snuggling it in her arms protectively. "It was your mother's." Charlotte's voice had a hint of sadness as she stroked the soft blonde hair on Susan's head.
With that Abigail came over to me and I handed Susan off to her, watching as they headed inside, leaving Benjamin, Charlotte, and myself outside.
"She still hasn't started talking?" Aunt Charlotte asked as a slim blonde strand of hair slipped from her braided back hair.
Benjamin sighed some now, shrugging his shoulders. "Sadly no, not yet."
Charlotte nodded some. "All in due time." But as her words ended her gaze finally fell upon me. I gave a small smile and curtsy. "Oh, and whom might this be?"
"This is Miss Hope Forrester. She was found in the field and well..." Benjamin rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "It's rather a long story that I will have to pour over details later, but she is part of the family now."
Charlotte gave me a kind smile and pulled me into a hug. Not the usual frail hugs though you'd receive from strangers. This hug was a welcoming and nurturing hug. "A new addition to the family indeed. Welcome darling." The hug was warm and caring. I'd gone months without this kind of hug from a motherly figure besides Abigail and by god it actually felt nice. I hugged the woman back gently and headed inside to the large home once we finished introductions, all the while hearing Aunt Charlotte to Benjamin, "Pray tell about this lovely young girl you found in your field, Benjamin."
*****
The streets were crowded the night before the meeting of the higher ranking men in society to decided over the issue of war and if South Carolina was to join, which was why we were all here. Benjamin was to be there.
That night though Gabriel and I had decided it would be interesting to go out in the streets to see what the fuss was about. A better description of it all, however, would have been chaos. A chaotic party or celebration.
There were men hanging dolls in British uniforms and people setting the Union Jack ablaze. One could only drink it all in at a time. Vendors sold rum, ale, food and banners emblazoned with a coiled snake and the legend, 'Don't Tread On Me'. Even the seemingly most respectable people were involved in the events.
As Gabriel and I continued walking through the cobble stoned streets, we came to a more calm area where a husky man with one leg was on a stage and speaking about how he fought for King George and had lost his leg fighting for the crown and that King George had cut off his other leg with high taxes in return. The small crowd was roaring with agreement but that had seemed to be the least of Gabriel's worries because after I decided I had heard enough, I found Gabriel speaking to a young girl who seemed about my age if not only a year or two older.
She had high cheek bones and brown hair that was tucked back into a white cotton cap. Obviously Gabriel was failing at trying to woo her while I moved around some to playfully sneak in on the conversation. What was new? "Miss Howard, isn't it?" I heard the charm in his voice.
Without even looking back to him she spoke with a soft, sarcastic tone, "You know who I am, Gabriel Martin. The last time you saw me I was nine and you put ink in my tea." From my angle of view I saw a smirk form on her face and her statement leaving Gabriel speechless. Poor guy.
"I believe that was one of my younger brothers... perhaps Samuel or Nathan." She gave him a side glance over her shoulder and smiled a smile that could torture any man with the rejectional look she gave. That left Gabriel even more so struck. I giggled and walked up to him after she walked off towards the stage with an older woman I assumed to be her mother as I felt the curls of my hair Abigail did brush against my face.
"It's ok, Gabriel. She'll forgive you... just stay away from her when she has ink." And with that statement I was off, Gabriel running off after me as I ran around in a fit laughter. But our few minutes of chase subsided when we heard a lot of noise, drawing Gabriel and I back towards the stage. Anne had disappeared and the crowd began to cheer suddenly. Up on the stage a few men threw a hay stuffed dummy in a British uniform on the wood paneled platform, sending it up in flames with a simple spark of a match.
Gabriel bit his lip as the crowd got out of hand, taking my arm roughly and tugging me off to the street again where we were met with the shouts of the kids from the railing of Aunt Charlotte's home. Gabriel ran a hand loosely through his wavy blonde hair and waved to the children as I did, both of us trying to obviously get past what we were seeing.
I could already see from the way the crowd was acting towards the British, who treated them so poorly, that the convention tomorrow would certainly be one to witness. I was sure the people of the colonies would pursue war to fight for everything we wanted from the beginning.
Sadly, the British had nothing to lose except just another country to its empire.
We, on the other hand, had everything to lose against the crown.