The first of us to respond to the voice was Colonel Brampton who turned to the stairs, "Excuse me?"

Noah walked down the stairs, "You heard me. No. So get out." He stopped a few feet from him, looking him dead in the eyes, his body reading defiance.

Brampton watched him, "And you heard me. We are staying here."

I watched them, having backed up a few steps and was unaware of someone behind me until I heard a quiet voice, "You might want to interfere before this goes any further." I turned around to find Private Hall making himself tea. "Would you like me to do that for you?"

I took a second to answer, glancing back at the Colonel and Noah, "No, no, that's okay. I'll interfere if it gets dangerous sir."

Hall took a sip of his tea and chuckled, "No need to call me sir. I don't keep titles like that. Just Hall, or Charles."

Before I could respond to him, I saw the Colonel reach for Noah's shirt. Noah grabbed his wrist, giving him a hard look, but the Colonel was giving him a harder look.

Noah pushed the Colonel's arm out of the way, "This is my house so you will do as I say. And I want every Redcoat in this house to leave."

Colonel Brampton's only response was, "We could arrest you."

Major Miller took the silence as his cue and walked over to Noah. Lieutenant Kirkland took his leave of the Colonel and walked over to me. I looked at the three of them, internally panicking. Were they going to take my brother from me? If they were, for how long? Would I ever see him again? I couldn't handle the house and four guests all by myself. No way.

Once Miller put his hands on Noah's shoulders, Noah shrugged them off and pushed him back. "Don't touch me. And if you think you're taking me somewhere, you are very mistaken." He looked between Brampton and Miller with a glare. "Hang the law. Hang England. And hang King George! I don't work for King George or his puppets. So no, I'm not going with you, and I'm certainly not letting you live in my house. And I'm not letting you anywhere near my sister."

Brampton clenched his jaw and grabbed Noah's collar, his voice threatening, "I don't care for your tone. I don't care what you think about his Royal Majesty, and I certainly don't care about your feelings. The law is the law, and you will obey it."

All Noah said was, "No." He roughly pulled Brampton's hand off of his collar and punched Miller square in the jaw. With a small nod from Brampton, Miller grabbed Noah's arm and twisted it behind his back. Seeing Noah in danger, I moved to step forward and interfere but only moved two steps before Lieutenant Kirkland grabbed my arm.

"You can't do this..." I kept myself calm, but was internally panicking. I couldn't take care of four people by myself. I quickly thought of getting the neighbor's son to help, but they might have soldiers in their house as well. I had to think fast if they were going to take Noah away.

"We can," Brampton answered while turning toward me. He then added, as if he saw the panic in my eyes, "Only for a few days. It should teach him a lesson about disobeying the King and defying the law and his superiors."

I nodded slowly and stepped back, Kirkland still held onto my arm. The Colonel went to the door and opened it for Miller. I watched as Noah tried to pull away from the Major's grip, but he was too strong. I wrung my hands wondering if they were going to hurt him as they led my brother out the door and shut it behind them. A few moments of silence passed before it dawned on me. I was a hostage in my own house.

Lieutenant Kirkland cleared his throat and I looked at him sensing he needed something. He let go of my arm and turned away into the kitchen, "I do believe you've prepared dinner?" Before I could say anything, he walked past Hall and knocked the cup out of his hands. It crashed to the floor, breaking into pieces and spilling tea on the floor. "I suggest you clean that up."

Hall looked up from the tea and mouthed "I'm sorry." then walked to the parlor.

I quickly walked to the washroom and filled the basin with warm water from over the fire. I put Hall's jacket into the basin then grabbed a few clean rags from the counter. I walked back over to the spill and picked my skirt up so I could kneel down. While I worked, I felt the Lieutenant's eyes on me as he helped himself to the food that I had made. I picked up the shards of the tea cup and placed them on a rag and closed it up. I finished wiping up the tea and stood, picking up the rags.

He watched me as I went back to the washroom and put the rags to the side and pulled out Hall's jacket, hanging it up to dry. I left the washroom and went to the pot of stew to get myself some food, but Kirkland stepped in front of me.

I looked up at him and blinked a few times, "Excuse me, sir."

"Yes?" He placed his now empty plate to the side and shot me a faint smile, his eyes portraying confidence. "I believe you're hungry. Yes?"

I glanced at the plate and around the room, "Y-yes, sir."

"Mm. You may eat last or, if you allow us to meet with others in your study, you will get the best from the ships coming in from England. I do believe you Bostonians are low on food." He seemed to be taunting me. He was no gentleman. Instead of stopping there, he continued. "If it weren't for the rebels like your brother, the harbor wouldn't be closed. We wouldn't be here, and you would have all the vegetables and fruits you could choose from in the market. Instead, you starve, using cornmeal as a substitute for flour, and the juice from apples for sugar. You make your own yarn instead of buying good yarn imported."

He turned away from me and looked at the fire and changed his tone to something more condescending and harsh, "Which side are you on, Charity Edwards? The side that caused this trouble in the first place and are causing harm to the people of Boston? Or the one that's set on opening the harbor once the debt made by the rebels is paid?" He looked over his shoulder at me as if waiting for an answer.

I stood there stunned at the outright question. Why was it important for him to know what side I was on? His Majesty's soldiers didn't care who they stayed with. Maybe he was just curious. I opened my mouth to answer, but closed it, realizing then that I hadn't chosen a side.

My brother's side had caused lots of trouble, leading to what they called the Boston Massacre and the death of five colonists. Then the tea tax was raised to continue to pay back England's debt, which led to the so-called "Tea Party" that past December. That then led to the closing of Boston Harbor and the quartering of soldiers in people's homes. Many citizens of Boston became outraged at the Sons of Liberty and declared themselves Loyalists. What the Patriots did tore friends and families apart.

Kirkland's side, on the other hand, had occupied Boston since 1765. Not as much as they had that year in 1774, but there had always been a British presence. It kept the peace, and since more troops had arrived since Boston Harbor closed, it was quieter in the streets and there wasn't any trouble. But the Quartering Act led to problems that I was very aware of from my own neighbors. They couldn't sleep in their own beds and they constantly had to share what they had with four or more troops, some who just joined for dinner and then left. These acts also caused great tension between the colonists and troops. Loyalist or not, there was always tension.

"I... I don't know, sir." I responded politely, picking up his plate. I placed it in a larger wash bin by the door and the silverware in a smaller one. As I did so, I felt his eyes watching me as if he were trying to decide which side I would choose before even I myself knew.

While my back was turned, I heard him make another plate and set it on the table. I assumed it was for one of his superiors, so I was surprised when he said, "For you," then walked away. I turned around and watched him leave, then looked at the plate in surprise.

I walked out of the kitchen and into the dining room. I looked around at the elegantly set table, with delicate dishes on display in a cabinet. Various hand painted pictures hung on the walls and I began to wonder how they acquired such a nice house. As far as I was aware, Charity's relatives, even in the Motherland were no celebrities. I passed the dining room table and through a small doorway.

The room was dark, but a small amount of light streamed in from the kitchen. It was just enough for me to find the gas lamp and flip it on. The light from the flame flooded the room and revealed to me a rather large study. There were bookshelves on two walls, a fireplace on the wall to my right. A small seating area was positioned in the back corner, three books stacked haphazardly on the side table. Perfect for a meeting place.

I walked over to the fireplace, looking at a set of pictures on the front, with a man I recognized all too well. Richard Howe. I looked to the left of the fireplace for a family tree book, now intrigued. Perhaps Charity Edwards is Loyalist and it's merely there to show it, or in the slightest chance, she is a relative. I found the book I was looking for and flipped through the pages until I found the right page.

There it was, the reason for such a nice house, for having plenty of furnishings. Her elegance and refined way of speaking, her gentle way of holding, folding and cleaning. I knew she must have had an English upbringing, and the book confirmed it. She was not only related to Admiral Howe...

Charity Edwards was Admiral Richard Howe's niece.