commanding officer a frantic look for guidance. The partisans slowly advanced.
With a clenched jaw, the lieutenant addressed his men, "Lay down your weapons."
Matthias breathed easier. Over half of his men were out of musket balls and powder, but the bluff had worked.
As planned, the partisans ushered the redcoats into the nearby woods. Simon scrambled onto the supply wagon and drove away. Ten militiamen mounted their horses and rode escort. Matthias and Richard tied the five British soldiers to trees while the rest of his men stood guard.
"Make yourselves comfortable. You may have a long wait," Matthias advised the sitting soldiers. He would send a man to Kingstree to arrange for the townspeople to discover the redcoats and release them the next morning.
"We'll come after you," the lieutenant warned. "We'll hunt you down."
Matthias tightened the knot around the lieutenant's ankles. Using his knife, he cut off the excess rope. "You could wander the swamp for years and not find us."
"They'd probably drown in a bog," Richard added.
"Traitors," the lieutenant growled. "I'll see you hang."
"Then perhaps I should adjust your eyesight, now." Matthias lifted his knife so the blade caught the sunlight and cast a glare across the officer's face.
The lieutenant paled.
Matthias leaned closer. "How many homes have you burned to the ground? How many children have you left to starve?"
"This is war," the redcoat whispered. "We do what we must."
"Aye, we do." Matthias straightened. "A shame you have no way to defend yourself. 'Twill be a long night."
"Aye." Richard nodded with a twinkle in his eye. "The snakes are bad this close to the river."
Matthias wedged the knife under his belt. "Did you know that alligators are attracted to the color red?"
"Really?" Richard smiled. "How interesting."
Ignoring the frightened protests from the captured redcoats, Matthias mounted his horse. With the rest of his men, he rode back to Snow's Island.
Another week passed, and Matthias stayed at the campsite with his men. Luckily, the supplies they'd captured contained weapons and ammunition they sorely needed. He was careful to ration the wine and rum, and doubled the guard in case the British attempted to locate them.
It was nigh impossible to live each day surrounded by green vegetation without recalling Caroline's green eyes. And he couldn't pass a sweet bay magnolia without longing to bury his nose in her scented curls.
The evenings were worse. The men sat around the campfire and reminisced about their wives and children. And he would remember how she had melted in his arms, how she had returned his kisses, how her eyes had glimmered with tears at the thought of losing him.
"Roasted potatoes again?" Simon sat cross-legged, staring glumly at the potato on a slab of bark. "You know what I'd like, Captain? More of that bread you bring from your home."
The men murmured in agreement.
Richard gave him an amused look. "You haven't been home in a fortnight."
"I'm not hungry." Matthias passed his potato to Simon before walking away.
He settled under an ash tree and swatted at the buzzing mosquitoes. The humming sound of locusts grew louder as the sun descended. A marbled salamander scurried into a clump of marsh fern. Why had he told Caroline he'd be back in a few days? He closed his eyes and muttered a curse.
"Sounds like a woman," Richard said.
He opened his eyes to glare at his cousin. "Sounds like someone prying into my business."
"A bit grumpy, are we?" Richard sat beside him. "The men are laying bets as to why you've been growling so much."
Matthias ground his teeth. "I'm not growling."
"Right." Richard smiled. "So is it a woman? The one you called a 'conniving little she-demon'?"
"No."
"The one you called a 'vixen with sharp little teeth'?"
"Go to hell."
Rich laughed. "The wound's a little tender, huh?"
"What wound?"
Rich's face grew serious. "She wasn't interested, I take it. That's why you're staying here."
"She is interested. That's why I'm staying here."
"And that's supposed to make sense? You've been breathing in swamp gas?"
Matthias shot his cousin a wry look. "You know how I feel about this war. 'Twould be foolish for me to marry and father children when I could die any day."
Rich tugged a leaf off a nearby pepperbush and dissected it slowly. "You've given thought lately to marriage and children?"
Matthias shrugged. "The timing is wrong."
Richard tossed the mangled leaf to the ground. "What if there was no war?"
"There's no point to this. Go away."
"Answer me. If there were peace, would you pursue her?"
If there were peace, Richard wouldn't have that blasted red scar down his face. Matthias