The Untold Story of Mary Seymour

Chapter 41

When I finally arrived in Philadelphia after the eight day ride I felt nerves begin to form in my stomach. I knew what I had to say regarding my return to Boston, but it was the fact that I had to face Sam for the first time after I said all those horrible things to him. I did not know how he was the past couple of weeks, but knowing him he was not happy making others around him angry as well.

I returned my horse to the barn and took my time walking to Ben's house. No one knew that I was returning, and I doubt that they would expect me to return so soon. I stood outside the heavy wooden doors taking a minute to collect my thoughts before I pushed them open. I nodded to the maid who peaked her out from the kitchen. She smiled at me and went back to work without a word. I passed through the foyer and down the hall to the study where I knew that at least someone had to be doing some work.

One of the doors was open so I looked inside. My brother was leaning against the desk facing John Adams. Sam was seated in one of the chairs with a document in his hands. I could tell that Sam looked tired, and I know that it was my fault. Surprisingly, Ben was not in the room, but I figured he was with Ronald if he was not here as well.

I knocked on the door before walking in. All three men looked up to see me enter, but each one had a different reaction. My brother smiled at me and rushed over to pull me into a hug. Adams crossed his arms over his chest and nodded to me. As I was hugging John, I saw that Sam was making sure to not look at me but that did not stop me from seeing the pain that was on his face.

John finally let me go, pulling my attention away from Sam and to him. "Mary, I am so happy that you're back. We were all getting restless thinking about what could be happening in Boston. Please tell me that you return with good news."

I walked over to a chair, away from Sam. "I do return with good news. Washington was able to convince Howe with words to leave the city. Sadly, though, Howe and his men are heading down to New York but so is Washington. I spoke with Schuyler and he agreed to rally men together."

John clapped his hand. "This great! We will bring this to Congress tomorrow and they can finally see that Washington is able to get things done without violence."

Adams looked concerned and I was about to call him out on it before he shook his head. "John, before you get ahead of yourself there are a few things that we need to think about before we talk to the rest of the colonies. Many will be upset that we sent someone to Boston without voting on it first. I have a few men in mind who won't agree that this has helped anything. With the British on their way to New York, they are just going to argue that we have made this worse. I think Mary should join us tomorrow so she can explain what exactly went down in Boston."

I sat up in my chair when I heard Adams' request. John remained quiet, but I could see that he was thinking about it. It was Sam who broke the quiet by laughing. We all looked over at him as he continued to laugh.

After a minute he stopped and he finally looked at me with no emotion in his eyes. "Mary won't be any help to move this along to a vote. First of all, she is a woman and we all know that many of these men think that women do not hold opinions that are worth listening to. Second, Mary has no idea what it is like in that room. She won't know what to do or how to talk to them."

I tried to hold back my anger, but I could tell that Sam was making this much more personal. "I understand that I will not be respected if I walk into that room. I have had to deal with that my whole life so far. Do not go trying to act like I have no idea what it is like to be a woman amongst all these politics. Also, I very well know how to talk to men. Let's not forget that I was married to a man from Parliament. I spent many years learning how to speak to men of a much higher class than anyone who will be in that room. I will not be surprised if my rhetoric is better than theirs. Sam, I know that I left at a bad moment for us so you have horrible thoughts of me, but we both need to put that aside for now."