Patriots: Boston

Chapter Six Uncle Tad's Farm

  I didn't hear what my father said that night because it was too loud, but honestly I didn't want to. Sure, I tried to find out over the course of the next month, but no one would tell me anything. Soon enough it was time for my family's visit to my father's younger brother, Uncle Tad's, farm. We often took Zeb and Isaac along with us. We all piled into our family wagon and began the ride to Lexington.
Uncle Tad is a farmer and a bachelor with a small farm in Lexington. He may not bring in a lot of profit, but he's just charismatic enough to make it by. He has a lot of friends in high places that he can get money from when he needs it. He keeps his friends entertained in a great way, barn parties. People come from miles around to his barn to dance and eat and have fun once a month. This is usually when we come. Isaac and I usually stand on the side eating like pigs while Zeb charms every lady in the room, Eleanor finds some boy to dance with, and the other little ones dance and amuse everyone. My father usually tries to hide from the whole thing, and my mother tries to drag him into it or dances with Uncle Tad until my father gets mad. It's not that I don't like to dance, I just seem to need a partner and no one will ask me. I honestly would ask someone if I could, but my mother would have a fit. She just says I need to pull my corset tighter, my hair nicer, and just look more beautiful if I want someone to ask me, but it will just never happen. No one likes me enough to ask.
We traveled that warm mid March morning to Lexington in the wagon on a bumpy trail.
"That barn party is tonight?" Isaac asked.
"Yes," I said.
"Nice," he said, looking down at his lap. "What do you say we go for a ride before hand? Your Uncle Tad seems to love it when we exercise his horses!"
"I'd love that!" I said.
"You'd love what?" Zeb cut in.
"Riding today," I said. "Would you like to come?"
"No thank you," Zeb said. "I promised your mother I would help Eleanor with her dancing. Quite honestly, I should probably give you two lessons as well," he smirked. "Maybe if you actually dance at this party, you won't go around breaking stools, Liza."
"Hey!" I laughed. "It's not that I can't dance, I just don't because apparently it's a rule I need to be asked first."
  "I honestly don't know what keeps people from asking you," Zeb said apologetically.
  "They are probably all scared of her," Isaac laughed.
  "Why would that be?" I asked.
  "Well, there really are not many girls so into the concept of revolution," Isaac explained. "It's different, and sometimes different is a little scary."
  "I try not to let it show that I'm that into revolution just in case I need to spy for the rebels or something. I don't need to be on some watch list. Keeping a sort of low profile allows me to help more, why would they know?" I asked.
  "Just a thought," Isaac said.
  "People don't know we're in on it, do they?" I asked.
  "I don't think so," Zeb said. "Unless one of you goes around announcing it!"
  "Of course I don't," I said seriously.
"Neither do I!" Isaac said.
"Ok, let's keep it that way," Zeb said.
I felt Constance's arms wrap around my neck. "What are you talking about?" She asked innocently.
"Dancing," I said.
"Zebulun, will you teach me to dance too?" She asked.
"Sure, Constance," he said kindly.
Constance is his favorite out of us Byers children, besides me of course.
"I want to see you two dancing tonight," Zeb said to Isaac and me.
We looked at each other and laughed. Honestly, I'm pretty sure we'd trample each other's feet in two seconds.
     Soon we were pulling into the barn yard and Zeb and Isaac ran ahead with the horses to lead them into the stable. They get spooked if they see other other horses that are not very familiar. I was about to jump off the wagon but my other gave me a smack.
  "Liza Byers! No! Ladies do not run ahead into a stable full of horses!" She scolded.
  "Oh Aileen, she's fine. She loves the horses," my father tried to persuade her.
  "John, no. We want a lady, not a wild-woman," she explained.
  "She has great manners, she's just a free spirit," my father tried to back me up, but my mother would not have it.
  We all jumped off the wagon in front of Uncle Tad's house. He ran out the door to meet us.
  "John! How are ye'? Glad you made it safely! No red coat activity?" He asked.
  "No, why? Have you had any 'round here?" My father asked.
   Zeb and Isaac ran back from the stables.
  "Just a few soldiers have wandered onto properties around here, asking what people know about the Sons of Liberty or any rebel groups. They've also been asking for rooms in folks' farm houses or barns, and they'll shoot you if you make 'em mad! Innocent farmers have been killed," Uncle Tad said seriously.
  I looked at Isaac, who seemed to go completely white and emotionless.
  "You ok?" I whispered.
  "Yeah, I just had an awful thought," he said, almost in a trance.
   "Snap out of it, kid. You're as pale as a ghost," Zeb said, sounding concerned.
  "I'm fine, honest," he said, snapping back.
  "Ok," I said suspiciously.
  "Why don't you boys bring in the luggage, and girls help me clean up the barn a little bit more for the dance tonight," Uncle Tad suggested.
  "Alright, Uncle Tad," Eleanor said politely grabbing Constance and Dolly each by the hand and running into the barn.
  Zeb and Isaac began to pull the trunks out of the wagon. I picked up Therese, who was starting to wander away, and walked into the barn, followed by my mother. The barn was all cleared out of animals and their food and droppings, but the floor was still completely covered with hay.
    We each grabbed a broom and began to sweep it all into piles on the sides of the barn. This was a hard task because Therese kept taking straw from the piles and throwing it up in the air, allowing it to shower down upon her like warm summer rain after a drought. She would run around in it laughing and shouting with joy. As cute as she is, she is trouble. My father says she is a lot like me. Her messes are sometimes hard to clean up, but I don't mind much. I kept sweeping until the job was done. Then I met Zeb and Isaac outside.
   "Your Uncle Tad says we can take Agnes and Spark out for a ride. You want to?" Isaac asked.
  "Of course!" I said excitedly.
  "Zeb?" Isaac asked.
  Constance was grabbing his hand and jumping up and down happily, looking at him with her big brown-blue-green eyes. Zeb smiled at her. "Think I better give this one her dance lesson," he said laughing.
  "Alright, see you later," Isaac said.
  We ran back to the stable and saddled up Agnes and Spark. I then pulled something I was hiding out of the saddle bag. It was an old pair of Isaac's breeches. Riding in a dress with all of your petticoats and such is quite uncomfortable, so wearing breeches helps. I still wear my dress, but without my petticoats and just the breeches under it. Isaac is so much taller than me so I tend to swipe the things he outgrows for this purpose before Billy can grow into them.
   "Don't look," I said, starting to slip off my petticoats.
   "Why? You're putting on my clothes," he joked.
  "It's just common courtesy not to look at anyone when they're changing," I said.
  "Fine, I'll turn around," Isaac said closing his eyes and turning the opposite direction.
  I changed quickly and dropped my petticoats inside. Then I ran back and mounted Agnes before Isaac even knew I was gone. 
  "Are you done yet?" He asked, his eyes still closed.
  "Yes," I giggled. "Let's go."
  He mounted Spark and we were off galloping across the open fields. The cool wind was whipping through our hair and clothes and it felt like we were flying.
  "Hey!" He shouted. "Race you to the well!"
  I gave Agnes a hard kick and she ran even faster. Galloping fiercely through the fields, we flew past Uncle Tad's herds of cattle and a few deer in the woods. Isaac was getting ahead, and of course I couldn't let him win. I leaned forward and began to kick harder. Agnes ran faster and faster. Looking up ahead there was a huge log in our path. Thankfully Agnes and me both knew what to do. I jerked up on the reigns and she jumped. We seemed to soar through the air in slow motion. This must be what independence and freedom feels like. No one judging me, no one beating me, no one pulling me down. Suddenly her hooves hit the ground, rebounding me up and flying back down into the saddle. I spotted the well up ahead. Isaac was just a few feet back and seemed to be bolting as fast as I was. Agnes pushed her hardest until the end. We reached a stop at the well as Spark was pushing until the end for Isaac. We had won, but only by a few seconds.
I hopped off of Agnes and tied her to the hitching post.
"Nice," I said to Isaac.
"Spark was tired, I swear," Isaac said defensively.
"Ok!" I laughed.
I took the two tin cups from my saddle bag and handed one to Isaac as he jumped off of Spark and tied him up too. We dipped our cups in and filled them to the brim. A nice drink felt good after a crazy ride like that. After taking a drink, we set our cups down and lay back on the hill.
   "Beautiful day, eh?" Isaac said breathlessly.
   "Yes, it certainly is," I said.
   "Are you planning on dancing tonight?" He asked.
   "I honestly don't know. I don't plan on getting extra pretty or flirting with anyone to get asked if that's what you mean," I joked.
  He laughed. "I could never pluck up the courage to ask a girl, plus I don't want to dance with one of those girls who only cares about social status or beauty or money, mainly because I don't have any of that."
"You and me both, Isaac. That's the reason I don't have any female friends. That's all they seem to care about. It's what they tell us we should care about. I don't care if you're rich or poor, where you're from, what you look like, and I like a polite boy but he shouldn't be stuck up," I said.
  "I guess this is the time for people like us to stand up and fight for freedom from that British influence," Isaac said with a magical spark in his eye.
"You really think winning a war will free us from that?" I asked.
  "You know the Sons. They're from many walks of life. None of us are the pillar of perfection especially by British standards. We're good people though, and if we win this land, imagine how things would change!" He spoke with such empowerment and enthusiasm and still with that magical gleam in his deep brown eyes.
   I had to stop a minute before I spoke again. "It'll be amazing, that is, if we win, and survive it," I said.
  "We will win, we have to," he said.
He seemed so confident. I believed we could win of course, but would we really?
"What about surviving?" I asked.
"I'll live or die fighting, Liza. I will be on the battle field when the time comes," he said.
"But your apprenticeship," I said.
"I know I can't leave your family, and this career I have is how I'll support my family. I just received word that my father was sick. I guess I do need to have a career to help them pay for medicine. Doctor Warren offered it for free, but I can't go around accepting favors. Do you think we'll have a standing army eventually? Maybe that's how I'll make money!" He said.
"That is, if you don't die," I said, "A career fighting in the military is a hard one!"
"I'll be fine, I know I will," he said confidently.
I didn't want to say I doubted him, but deep down I felt that he would not do super well in battle. He has never really shot a gun accurately and has no experience with war. Of course, neither do I, but I just know he would not be ok on a battlefield.
"My father will not let you go anytime soon," I said. "I'll just warn you of that. My Ma will be even worse."
He looked a little irritated now. "On the battlefield is where I need to be," he said. "That may lead me to do something crazy, but it's what I have to do."
We lie side by side on the hill for a while and then made the mutual decision to go back to the farm. We untied our horses, mounted them, and raced back to the stable. I won again. We were hungry when we arrived back in the house.
"Where have you two been?" My mother asked sternly.
"Out for a ride," I began. "Uncle Tad said we could."
"Well, Zebulun is in the back room teaching the girls to dance. You two should join them," she suggested.
"We know how to dance, Ma," I said.
"Oh really?" She asked suspiciously.
"Yes, we've been taught before. We
just choose not to," I explained.
"You better get asked tonight or I will make Zebulun or Isaac dance with you," she said.
I rolled my eyes and ran off to a room to change into my light blue frock and normal petticoats. I ran a brush through my hair to try to maybe get it a little straighter. It just made it poof out more, so I took a ribbon from Eleanor's bag and placed it on the vanity. I braided the hair in one plate down my back and tied the ribbon at the end of it. I looked clean and put together. Of course, I did have the fear that one of the boys would have the same hairstyle, so I pulled a little piece of hair from both sides of my face out of the braid and twisted them to make more perfect tendrils. Ok, I was actually starting to look pretty now. This was not to prove a point, this was just me trying to dress up a little.
   I walked out of the room to find Isaac dressed in a nice new white shirt and different breeches than he had warn earlier. He looked nice.
My Ma yelled down the hallway, "Guests are arriving! Everyone move into the barn!"
"You look great," I said to Isaac.
"Same to you," he said, blushing.
We walked out into the barn which was beginning to fill up with Uncle Tad's friends. Uncle Tad is a minuteman and he knows a few of the Sons of Liberty, so maybe I'll know some people here this time.
  "Liza, Isaac, go welcome people as they come in!" Uncle Tad called.
  "Alright!" I called back to him.
  Isaac and I ran over to the doors of the barn. We stood on either side of the door. A few people trickled in and we said welcome and hello happily like we should, but the people were not as friendly back. Of course that is understandable.
   Then a bigger wagon pulled up to the door. The driver took off his hat and I was able to see his face. It was Mr. Edes!
   "Good evening children! How are you?" He asked kindly.
  "We're very well thank you!" I said cheerfully.
  "Lovely! Alright! You can get out now!" Mr. Edes called to the back of his wagon.
  Dr. Warren, Paul Revere, and Eli from the Gazette climbed out of the wagon and approached the barn while Mr. Edes found a better place to park his wagon.
  Dr. Warren gave me a kind smile and a tip of his tricornered hat as he walked through the door. Paul Revere followed and I gave him a little curtsy and a smile. He nodded at me and then I looked to Isaac, who was staring open mouthed at Mr. Revere. I'm not exactly sure what Isaac sees in him, but he adores him and his work. Mr. Revere looked at Isaac and his expression didn't change. Mr. Revere seemed a little disturbed at his gawking, so he moved on quickly.
  I laughed, "Maybe close your mouth before a bird flies in!"
  "H-he's here! Here in this barn! Tonight! Here in this barn tonight!" He gasped.
  "Yes, he's here in this barn tonight," I giggled. "He's going to be scared of you by the end of the night if you don't pull yourself together."
  Isaac nodded. Then Eli came in after helping Mr. Edes with his horses.
  "Hello, Liza and..." He looked at Isaac, "Sorry, I don't know your name."
  "Isaac North," Isaac said pleasantly.
  "Nice to meet you, Isaac North! I'm Eli Clark. I'm Mr. Ede's apprentice at the Boston Gazette. Are you apprenticed anywhere?" He asked.
  "I'm Liza's father's apprentice at the corner store," Isaac said.
"Neat," Eli said nodding. "I've never been to a barn dance here before. What do you normally do?"
  "Do you want to know what most people do or what we do?" Isaac asked slyly.
  "You two aren't like most people, are you?" Eli laughed.
"No, we're not most people," I laughed.
"Ok, what do you normally do at these things?" He asked.
"We eat all the food we can and never go out on the dance floor," Isaac explained.
  "Why? Dancing is fun. I've tried it at one of those apprentice parties," Eli said.
"We don't dance because apparently I need to get asked and he won't ask anyone," I explained.
"Well, you certainly look pretty tonight Liza, and Isaac, you seem to know Liza well. Why don't you ask her?" Eli asked giving him a little nudge.
Isaac turned bright red. "I don't know if that's such a good idea," he said.
"Why not?" Eli asked innocently.
"It's just..." He looked at me for help, but I just smiled with a look that meant "you tell me."
  "I'm not super big on dancing, that's all," Isaac said awkwardly.
One of Uncle Tad's friends began to play an upbeat fiddle tune, perfect for dancing. I winked at Eli and grabbed Isaac by the hands.
  "Oh really?" I laughed slyly. "Let's see!"
  I pulled him into the middle of the floor where men and women were doing one of their usual dances with their partners. I decided if I wanted this sort of party experience I would need to make it myself even if it's against something. I had watched this dance enough times to know it by heart and join right in. I dragged Isaac through it with all the skipping and swinging. He looked a little scared and even a little angry with me for the first few seconds, but then he laughed and gave me a mischievous look.
   He jumped into a full blown fast and advanced Irish dance I'd only seen Zeb do. His feet moved so fast and lightly I couldn't believe it. Then he grabbed me again and swung me all around the floor. I laughed so hard the entire time. He was a great dancer! I couldn't believe he held this in so long! Then he looked at my waist and smiled.
  "Wait! What do you want?" I asked suspiciously as we kept spinning around the dance floor.
  "Would you be ok if I lifted you?" He asked.
  "Oh hel- I mean heck yeah!" I laughed.
  Isaac wrapped his long, thin but strong hands around my waist and I jumped. He lifted me high up in the air and spun around once. It was like flying. I could not stop laughing through the whole thing.
  "Dang! You are so small!" He teased.
  "Not enough for Miss Cadwell!" I laughed as he lifted me again.
  Finally the song ended and the fact I was wearing a corset caught up with me. I felt so light headed and hot that I stumbled right into Isaac's arms. He caught me and laughed.
  "What are you doing?" He asked between laughing fits.
  "I'm going to pass out! Get me inside!" I laughed as the room was going black.
  He picked me up and ran into the house. The cool air felt good and revived me a little. When we got into the bedroom, I lie down on the bed, hardly able to breath.
  "Unbutton me, will you?" I begged, still laughing.
  He unbuttoned my dress.
  "Now, can you pull that big string in the middle?" I asked, referring to the string that would undo the corset completely.
  He pulled it and the entire corset loosened, allowing me to breath. It felt so good. I stood up shakily and buttoned the back of my dress again.
  "Well, ready to get back to the party?" I asked.
  "Sure, but honestly, I'm exhausted at the moment. Can we get some water?" He asked.
  "Of course," I said.
  Back in the barn were several glasses of water. We each grabbed one and began to drink it really quickly. Eli walked up to us.
"You said you weren't much for dancing, Isaac!" He laughed.
"You have a real talent," I said.
"Thanks," he blushed. "My parents taught me when I was young back on my farm."
"Well, we'd all like to see more of that some day. Maybe not tonight, because you both look wiped out, and everyone is watching that chap," Eli said motioning to Zeb and Eleanor.
"Oh, that's classic Zeb," I laughed. "Total perfection."
Zeb caught sight of the three of us on the side of the room. He steered Eleanor across the room so that they eventually got to us.
  "Wow Isaac! I did not know that you could dance like that!" Eleanor said in amazement.
"Yeah, why do you never pull that out when you have the chance to go to parties?" Zeb asked.
"Maybe I will, but how about we all escape this hot barn and go look at the stars outside," Isaac said.
"That sounds good," I said.
  Isaac, Eli, Zeb, Eleanor, and I went outside and walked to the hill behind the house. Isaac lie down on the cool dry grass and patted the spot next to him for me. I lie down too. Zeb lie on the other side of me and Eleanor on the other side of him. Eli was on the other side of Isaac. We all stared at the clear Massachusetts sky in complete silence for a long time. Eventually Eleanor fell asleep and Zeb held her close to keep her warm. Much to my surprise, Isaac's hand somehow wandered to mine and he held it. I held his. I'm not sure if this meant something besides the fact that it had been one of the best nights of my life, but I savored this moment for as long as I could. Zeb gave me a strange look and said, "You two are awfully close to each other right now."
  We didn't care. We held on to each other's hands and didn't let go for at least half an hour. Unfortunately this would be the last perfect night like this for a while.