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reverberated through the air. He smiled. She was a hungry baby. He recalled when he brought the beautiful little girl into the world. The excitement and awe he experienced shadowed momentarily the last few years of the war, toiling to save lives. But in the end he had taken a life. He had never before been faced with the decision to kill or be killed. Now the English soldier’s face haunted his sleep. He couldn’t have been older than eighteen.
    Very definitely, both Rachel and Faith needed to go home to England.

Four
    Looking out the window the next morning, Rachel noticed the bright sunlight bathing the leaves of the trees that surrounded the cabin. It streamed through the glass and warmed the bedchamber. The day promised to be beautiful. And, no doubt, frustrating. As she prepared to go into the main room, the idea of her first cooking lesson tightened her stomach into a knot. Her maid closed the trunk lid behind her and Rachel turned toward her.
    “Maddy, when you wash our muddy dresses, also do any clothes that Dr. Stuart needs cleaned.”
    “Yes ma’am. He has already set a tub outside for me and built a fire to heat water.” Maddy left the bedchamber with her arms full of dirty clothing from their travels.
    From the bedchamber doorway, Rachel spied Nathan standing by the large fireplace, stoking the fire with a poker. He stared into the flames, a faraway look on his face. Sadness lined his features. Her heart twisted at the sight of him, so alone. Again she felt an affinity with him, as though they were kindred souls.
    He pivoted toward her, wiping his expression blank. “Are you ready?”
    With a last glance at Faith sleeping on the bed, Rachel stepped into the main room. “The real question is, are you ready?”
    He chuckled. “I thought I would teach you to bake bread first. How is Faith? I heard her earlier.”
    “As did probably everyone else for miles around. She has a nice set of lungs. She is sleeping for the time being.”
    He crossed the main room to the kitchen area. “The brick oven should be hot enough by the time we have the first batch of dough ready to bake. I will also show you how to make a cake. We will have it tonight in celebration.”
    “Celebration?”
    “Yes. Faith’s birth and your first day of lessons. I fancy sweets, so it does not take much for me to celebrate.”
    The expression on his face earlier made her doubt that last sentence. At one time perhaps it was true, but the man she saw by the fire was troubled. Grieving for his father? His mother, thousands of miles away? Or the lost relationship with his grandfather? She really knew very little about him. More questions tumbled through her mind. Had he been married before? Did he lose a friend in the war? Why was he all alone out here? Why was he not practicing medicine in Charleston?
    When Dr. Stuart cleared his throat, her face flushed at the directions her thoughts had taken her.
    “Are you confessing to a weakness?” she asked, desperate to quiet the barrage of queries concerning him. Too dangerous to know .
    “Only to a sweet tooth.”
    “We could make the cake first then the bread.”
    He shook his head. “Work first, pleasure second.”
    The somber look that entered his eyes reinforced the sense she had that he’d had little fun in his life of late. “You are indeed a hard taskmaster. What do I have to do first?” She grinned, wanting to bring an answering smile to his mouth.
    “You will need to gather the ingredients.” He gave her an apron. “Here, put this on to protect your gown.”
    “Are you saying I will be a messy cook?”
    He smiled, a twinkle sparkling his eyes like light captured in a blue sapphire. “Prove me wrong.”
    “That is a challenge I shall take up.”
    She slipped the apron over her head and started to tie it behind her when Nathan brushed her fingers away and secured the garment for her. Her pulse reacted to his nearness, inches from her back. A constriction in her chest prevented