as a chill swept through him. "God, no." Not Caroline.
"What?" Jacob pivoted, searching the woods for something wrong.
"Caroline passed through the house. She could have taken it."
"The crossbow?" Jacob gave him an incredulous look. "I cannot imagine her killing anyone."
Matthias pounded his thigh with his fist. "Bloody hell! I told her to stay out of this."
"But whoever did it saved your life."
"I could have killed that man myself. God help me, I'm good at it now." Matthias shoved a loose strand of hair out of his face.
A vision of Caroline flitted through his head- - her arms crossed, her chin lifted in defiance. I'll be ready to help, whether you like it or not. And the last time they had spied on Hickman, she had threatened to commit murder. Sweet Lord, what ungodly effect this war had on people, turning the innocent into killers.
"Matthias." Jacob jabbed him on the shoulder. "Come on. We still have work to do."
Chapter Twenty-Seven
In the nursery, Caroline finished reading out loud the last page of Charlotte's book.
Edward jumped off his bed. "Thank God that's over."
"Shh." Virginia motioned to his sleeping sister. "Don't wake her. She barely slept at all last night."
"Poor Charlotte," Caroline whispered as she returned the young girl's book to a bookcase against the wall.
"Aye." Ginny pulled a quilt up to Charlotte's shoulders. "That scene in the parlor frightened the wits out of her."
"It scared me, too." Caroline shuddered. Poor Jane, alone in her room. This was her second day without food, although according to Betsy, Jane did have some of her favorite candied fruit hidden in a drawer.
Caroline skimmed her fingers over the selection of books, wishing there was something she could do. An untitled book caught her eye and she opened it. The beginning pages were filled with handwriting, a crude, childish script, signed Matthias with a backward S.
His journal, began in his childhood. Caroline snapped the book shut and shoved it back onto the shelf. Where was this Matthias when his mother was starving to death?
A boom sounded in the distance.
Caroline whirled to face her sister just as a second explosion followed the first. "What was that?"
Ginny bit her lip. "Gunpowder. Or cannon fire?"
Edward ran to the door. " 'Tis the Continental Army, come to push the bloody lobsterbacks into the sea!"
Caroline followed him. "It could be the partisans." Or it could be Thomas and Jacob and their secret plan. Two more explosions roared in the distance.
"Let's go and look," Edward whispered.
"I'm coming, too," Ginny said.
Caroline opened the door as her sister waddled toward them. "Are you sure you shouldn't rest?"
"I feel fine today. Not tired at all." Ginny hurried through the door. "Edward! Don't run ahead of us."
When they reached the front porch of the Great House, Caroline spotted Captain Hickman and both the foot soldiers down by the riverbank. Agatha Ludlow was strolling toward them, her peach-colored parasol ruffling gently in the breeze. In the distance, a column of black smoke billowed into the air.
Edward raced to the river. Caroline and Ginny were halfway there when he sprinted back.
Edward grinned. "The supply barge is ablaze!"
"Oh, my," Ginny whispered.
Caroline ran to the pier and looked downriver. The barge was totally consumed with fire, the air around it shimmering with heat. The smell of burning wood was accented by other strong odors, black pitch and gunpowder, and what she feared was burning flesh.
"How dreadful." Agatha flicked open a delicately painted fan of thin chicken skin and fluttered it in front of her face. "I wager I can feel the heat from here."
Captain Hickman turned to Caroline, his face red with anger. "What do you know of this, Miss Munro?"
She blinked. "Nothing. I . . . Perhaps they had an accident with the gunpowder on board."
"This was no accident. Pugsley, Bertram!" the captain yelled at his soldiers. "I want every inch of the riverbank inspected. Look for survivors. And if you see anyone suspicious, shoot to kill."
"Aye, sir!" they shouted in unison and darted down the path toward the mill.
Caroline swallowed hard. Hopefully, Jacob and Thomas would keep out of sight.
Hickman shook his head and muttered, "Dammit. There will be hell to pay for this."
Virginia and Edward reached the pier.
"What a disgusting odor." Agatha fanned herself harder. "I only hope that horrid smoke doesn't reach the house. I would hate for that smell to infect my gowns."
Caroline exchanged a look with her sister. Men had probably lost their lives in the explosion, and Agatha was concerned about her clothes. Her gaze