Bethiah found life in Boston with Levi and Jasper to be wonderful. She certainly missed her father, but she wrote to him often. Getting his replies always filled her with joy, even if he hid little about the situation in Philadelphia from her. He was clear in his statements that he was glad she was safely in Boston, where he had heard things were beginning to become more normal. Bethiah had noticed there were certainly issues between Boston residents who remained loyal to the king and those who supported the war for independence, but she did not feel unsafe or concerned by the things she saw, heard, or read from day to day. Much of the violent disagreements between local Whigs and Tories remained well away from Levi's shop. When she did leave the shop to go anywhere, she always chose to walk with Levi, Jasper, or Lottie, and to bring Mopsie with her wherever she could.

In Philadelphia, she heard, there was concern over businesses not yet being permitted to operate as freely as they had previous to the occupation. Many were blaming General Arnold, as he was in command of the city, but her father was certain he was being given his commands from Congress. Though there were difficulties for everyone in acquiring the things they needed, her father was fortunate to be able to quietly obtain things from Robert Finley, though even his rates were increasing despite their families now being eternally bound by marriage.

She was less pleased to receive a letter from Mr. Osborn, who was clearly still unhappy about her dismissal of him. Despite her immediate thought to toss the letter into the fire, she chose to read it, and became even less pleased.

My dearest Bethiah -

I hope you do not mind my calling you by your name. Miss Rogers is far too formal for the future we will surely have together, and Mrs. Finley is truly an appalling mistake. I have, of course, discovered your husband's traitorous occupation and I hope you understand that it simply cannot endure. By that I mean, of course, his association with the stolen British warship. I cannot believe he truly thinks to meet with continued success for this association, and if he has misled you to believe that it is an honorable or even a legal business venture, I can only blame your girlish mind for believing it. You have done well to respect your husband, of course, but you must surely realize he cannot remain your husband for life – yours, I mean. This war will end and he, like all the other traitors, will be tried and found guilty. Him most of all. There is a substantial bounty that has been placed on the pirate ship he finances. When it is captured, and the crew hanged as traitors, your husband will surely face the same fate. He is, indeed, no better than a pirate and the law currently condemns all pirates to death. Your husband may have told you that privateering is perfectly legal in wartime, and he is correct, but this ship of his is not a privateer. These colonies your kind have taken to calling states are part of the British Empire, and as such they cannot allow privateers to act against the king's ships. Despite the false Declaration that was made, these colonies are not a nation of their own and, legally speaking, any privateers putting to sea with the permission of Congress are pirates.

I don't mean to alarm you, only assure you of the facts. You must prepare to leave the home of this criminal man you have wed yourself to at all costs. You may save yourself the pain of widowhood by forsaking his illegal activities and his home. I would welcome you happily into my home, and any child you may carry from Boston to Philadelphia will be welcomed as well. You must understand, I am concerned only for your safety. I do not wish you to be in danger when your husband must finally answer for his crimes against the crown. I do not wish to see you left a widow of a man guilty of such a thing. Certainly you will be shunned by good and honest men and will find it difficult to remarry in order to secure a future for your children. Think, my dear Bethiah, of what the cost will be to you if you do not leave him and return to Philadelphia.

I await your response and remain, as always, your most humble servant,

Lucas Osborn

"What an unspeakably horrid bastard," she muttered.

Jasper had entered the kitchen as she spoke. "I hope that is regarding the letter you hold and not myself," he commented, but his tone was light.

Bethiah glanced up from the letter and noted his rather stunned expression, most certainly caused by her choice of words. "No, not you, of course. It is this letter. Did you know there is a bounty on the Scot?"

Jasper nodded. "We know."

Levi entered then and appeared curious. "What do we know?"

"That there is a bounty on the Scot and Captain Dunn," Jasper replied.

Levi nodded. "There has been since the first moment he took the ship."

"Does that make you concerned for your own safety?" Bethiah asked.

"Not entirely," Levi answered. "Not in Boston, especially. Were the city to become occupied by the British again, certainly. That is why I intend to leave if there is credible word the the British army is close at hand. Has something made you feel concerned?"

"No," Bethiah assured him. "I did receive this letter, but I don't find it worrying at the moment."

She offered the letter to them. Levi took it, and Jasper put on his spectacles to read over Levi's shoulder. The expressions on their faces told Bethiah all she needed to know about how they felt toward Osborn and his opinions.

"May I throw this into the fire?" Levi asked when Jasper had returned his spectacles to his vest pocket with an incoherent mutter that may have been a curse. "I don't believe there is any better place for it in this house."

"Please do," Bethiah replied. "It is what I would have done, had you not both joined me."

Levi crumpled the letter into a ball and tossed it into the hearth, where it caught fire among the hot coals.

"I never did like that man in the few times I saw him," Levi reminded her. "I hope he does not write such awful things to you again. Did you plan to write him a reply?"

"No," Bethiah assured him with a sigh. "Even if I were to tell him not to write again, he would surely take my reply as an indication that I will respond to his letters if he writes. Instead, I will simply imagine he never did write to me even once, and hopefully he will cease sending any letters at all. I don't know why he is so adamant that I marry him when there are many other women in the city for him to pursue. Some of them are even Tories just as he is."

"I can't say I understand why, either," Levi replied, "except to harass you. I married you for your friendship, but it seems he would prefer something else entirely."

"Well, I can assure you he will have nothing from me," she declared as she stood to assist with cooking their dinner. She dusted her skirts off aggressively, hoping to calm her anger against Osborn. "Not even a reply to his bothersome letters."

"Don't fret about his threats on the privateer, either," Levi added. He removed his coat and rolled up his sleeves to assist her. "Of course, there is some risk involved due to the nature of the war, but it will be seen as a perfectly legal arrangement, even if we were to lose the war. I'm sure there will be some trouble for us in that case, as it truly would be considered treasonous, but I doubt it will be death. There would be far too many people who would be required to be put to death if that were to be the punishment. Of course, that we have the support of the French, I find our chances of winning the war greatly increased."

"It doesn't bear dwelling on an alternative to winning the war," Jasper commented. "Such considerations will only cause anguish or concern. Though I am most often realistic in my expectations, I have been thinking only of victory as often as I can as of late. It makes it easier to continue on, day by day. I simply attempt not to hope too highly."

Levi nodded. "It certainly can be difficult, but our success in business here also depends on thinking as positively as possible about the situation. Our customers purchase both our legal and smuggled goods and know some of them were brought in by privateering. They are happy with the privateers and the smugglers because they are able to purchase what they need and want without directly supporting the British economy. Stolen goods are vital to the war effort and the comfort of citizens who are not fighting. My known association with the Scot means Tories are not our customers. So long as there appears to be some hope for our efforts, we will continue to have customers among those who support independence."

"And so I hope there does continue to be some hope for our efforts among the people of Boston," Bethiah replied. "For our comfort and success and to see Mr. Osborn miserable."

Jasper chuckled at the same time Levi said, "I wish him all the misery in the world in that regard."