“I’m not brave. Annabelle can be mean sometimes. I’ve always been afraid of her.”
“You don’t have to be afraid of her anymore,” said Felicity. “I am your friend now. I’ll help you. I am not afraid of old Bananabelle.”
At last, Elizabeth smiled. “Lissie,” she said, “I’m so glad we’re friends.”
“Me, too,” said Felicity. “But I’d best go along now. Will you walk with me?”
The girls pulled their cloaks close around them, for the wind was sharp. They hurried along to Mr. Merriman’s store and ran inside, all out of breath. “Stay for a moment to get warm,” Felicity said to Elizabeth.
There were six well-dressed men talking to Mr. Merriman and Ben. One of the men was holding a paper that had a long list of names on it. No one noticed the girls as they slipped into a corner by the fireplace and warmed their hands. Felicity looked up in surprise when she heard her father speaking. He sounded very stern, though his voice was steady.
“Yes, I signed the agreement,” said Mr. Merriman. “More than four hundred other merchants around the colonies signed it, too. We have decided not to sell tea anymore. It is our way of showing the king we think the tax on tea is wrong.”
“That is disloyal!” shouted one man. “It is wrong for colonists to go against the king! You know it is wrong, Merriman.”
Elizabeth and Felicity hid behind a barrel. They were very quiet.
“Gentlemen,” said Mr. Merriman firmly. “Do not tell me what to do in my store. I will do what my heart and my reason tell me is right.”
“And what of those hotheads in Yorktown? Do you think they were right to toss good tea into the river?” said another man.
“They threw that tea away to send a message to the king,” said Mr. Merriman. “They did what they thought was right.”
“They were wrong to toss that tea!” said the man angrily. “And you are wrong to stop selling tea.”
“Aye!” said another man. “You are making a grave mistake. You’ll get no more of my money, Merriman. None of us will ever shop here again! We won’t give our business to anyone who isn’t loyal to the king. Will we, gentlemen?”
“No!” called out several of the men. The store shook with their shouts.
Felicity turned to Elizabeth, but she was gone.
Mr. Merriman’s voice was sad. “You gentlemen are my neighbors and my friends,” he said as the men left. “I had hoped we could disagree politely, without fighting. Fighting does no good.”
Felicity stayed in the corner until all the men were gone and the store was quiet. Her father and Ben were standing silently. Felicity ran up to her father and hugged him. “Father!” she said.
Mr. Merriman held her close. “Did you hear that, my child?” he asked.
“Aye,” said Felicity. “Elizabeth and I both did.”
“And did it frighten you?” asked Mr. Merriman.
“A little,” said Felicity. “Who were those men, Father?”
“Just some men of the town,” said her father. “I know most of them.”
Ben spoke up. “They are Loyalists,” he said. “They are angry because some of us have joined together to protest against the king.”
“I’ve decided to stop selling tea in my store, to show the king we colonists will not pay his tax,” explained Mr. Merriman.
“If no one pays the tax, it will make the king angry,” said Felicity. “Won’t that start a fight?”
“Aye,” said Mr. Merriman softly. “It could.”
“Do you think there will be a war?” asked Felicity.
“I don’t know,” said Mr. Merriman, shaking his head.
“It may take a war to show the king he cannot treat the colonists this way anymore!” exclaimed Ben.
“Hush, boy!” said Mr. Merriman. “You have not seen war, as I have. War is the worst way to solve disagreements. War is like a terrible illness. Everyone suffers. People die. Those who survive are weakened, and ’tis a long while before they are full strength again.”
Ben was quiet. Felicity was quiet, too. Then she asked, “Father, will we drink tea at home?”
“No,” said Mr. Merriman. “There will be no tea in our house.”
“But what should I do at lessons?” asked Felicity. “We drink tea there. And teatime is so very important. What will Miss Manderly think if I refuse tea?” She turned to her father with a sad, confused face.
A Bright Red Cardinal Bird
“And what is this at the top of your sampler, Felicity?” Miss Manderly asked. “Such bright red thread. Perhaps you are stitching our Virginia songbird, the cardinal. Is that what you are planning?”
“I…I don’t know,” said Felicity. “I haven’t decided.”
“Well,” said Miss Manderly. “You will have to decide soon, my dear. You cannot leave red knots at the top of your sampler!”
Felicity saw Elizabeth looking at her. The red crown on Elizabeth’s sampler was almost finished.
When it was time for tea, Miss Manderly smiled. “Young ladies,” she said, “you have made such fine progress. I think the time has come for you to take turns serving the tea. Annabelle, you are the eldest. You shall serve the tea today.”
Felicity was nervous. She had not decided what she was going to do about tea, either. Her family wasn’t drinking tea at home. Should she drink it here? She watched as Annabelle sat behind the tea table acting very important. After Annabelle prepared the tea, she filled Miss Manderly’s cup first, then Elizabeth’s cup, and then her own.
Miss Manderly leaned forward in her chair. “Annabelle, my dear,” she said. “You have forgotten to serve Miss Merriman her tea.”
“Oh!” said Annabelle, holding her cup daintily. “I was only thinking of the carpet.”
“The carpet?” asked Miss Manderly.
“Yes, indeed,” said Annabelle. She put her nose in the air. “I did not serve Felicity because I did not want her to toss the tea out all over your
