Breakfast at the rectory was served around 8 a.m. Abigail found it awkward, sharing the table with a British officer. But although the arrangement was tense at times, Colonel Duncan was always polite, even if sometimes pompous.
“I’m told that church officials in New York sent you to Philadelphia,” Duncan said as he ate his porridge.
Solomon hesitated, eyeing the colonel cautiously. “Yes, they did,” he replied. “It was quite unexpected, but I must follow the church’s direction.”
“And since I had been raised it Philadelphia, we thought it not much of a burden,” Abigail added, wondering where the conversation would lead.
“Your presence wasn’t requested by powerful friends, was it?” Duncan asked before taking more porridge from the bowl. “General Howe, perhaps? I saw that he sat beside you
