Romance Super Bundle by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Goodreads: 18665859
Publisher: Amy Gamet
Published: 2013-09-24T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

Jacques never looked back once they left Quebec.

He had convinced Etienne to let him carry dispatches to Montreal, using the opportunity to get Mara out of the city. Etienne had loaned him enough money to pay for her lodging through the winter. After the battle at Montmorency, Jacques was convinced that the British had no intention of pulling out any time soon, and the situation in town continued to deteriorate daily. Last week, Notre Dame des Victoires had been destroyed, surely a bad omen.

He had been unable to find a horse, as most of them had been slaughtered for food. It was harvest time, and patrols of British rangers were on the prowl, burning farmhouses and fields, taking prisoners and whatever else they could think of to demoralize the habitants. Unless the siege was lifted, and soon, everyone left in Quebec would starve next winter.

Jacques rolled his shirtsleeves up to his elbows, glad he had decided to carry his uniform coat and vest rather than wear them. The late August weather was hot and sultry, plagued by clouds of black flies during the day and mosquitoes at night. He was worried about Mara, who had still not completely recovered her health after the accident. Knowing she worried about her brother, Jacques had tried to get word through the lines, but to no avail.

When he tried to reassure her, she just smiled sweetly and sadly. More alarming was the fact that she cried so often. She hadn’t been like that before. No matter what had happened—her husband’s death, being uprooted from her home and dragged into the wilderness—she had borne it all stoically. But now, he never knew when the tears would start. She even cried when they made love.

He cursed under his breath, wishing there were something he could do to make her life better. If only he’d been able to arrange an exchange sooner, she’d be with her brother behind the British lines. At least there she’d be safe.

They had no choice but to walk upriver until they were past the point where the British ships patrolled the St. Lawrence. Then he hoped to find a canoe or bateau to take them to Montreal. Jacques wiped the sweat off his brow and glanced at Mara, who was lagging behind again. If only he’d been able to find a horse and cart.

She suddenly stopped and put a hand on his arm in warning.

“What is it?”

“I thought I heard something,” she whispered.

Just then, a man wearing buckskins and carrying a musket stepped out in front of them. Others materialized from the trees along the side of the road. Rangers, he thought with a sinking heart. He should have been more alert, but the weeks of shelling had damaged his already weak hearing.

“Well, well, what have we found?” the first man said in English.

Jacques pretended not to understand, hoping they’d be mistaken for habitants.

One of the men moved closer to Mara, eyeing her up and down. “Hey, cap’n, this is the purtiest gal we’ve found yet.

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