Gunpowder and Tea Cakes: My Journey with Felicity

What if the men come back? I don’t want to leave Felicity alone. So, I turn back to picking up pieces of china. I ask Felicity if I can keep a piece, and she nods her head. She doesn’t understand why I want to keep it. I’m not sure how to explain that what she sees as a piece of trash would be a valuable souvenir for me. I tell her it’ll remind me to speak up if I see something bad happening. Even if I’m scared. I check my gown for pockets, and find a slit through a side seam. I stick the piece of china into a separate pouch tied around my waist.

When Mr. Merriman comes back, the shop is tidy. Felicity tells her father and Ben what happened. Mr. Merriman strokes his jaw. He looks shaken. He says that while he’s sympathetic to the Patriot cause, it’s a sorry day when grown men storm into a shop and scare two young girls. He thanks me for my quick thinking. Ben says that although he can’t defend the way they acted, he agrees it is time for action. I feel conflicted. Everybody knows the Patriots were the good guys. They created the United States of America. And yet, they stormed in the shop and destroyed things.

Mr. Merriman says he’ll have to talk to the Committee of Safety. He must show them he’s trying to comply with the new rules. He says certain luxury items won’t be available from other places than Great Britain. But, Patriot ladies are sewing with homespun cloth instead of British silk. And many goods are created within other colonies. He’ll have to have Mistress Reed, who prints Virginia Gazette, publish a notice stating his intent. He’ll also have to rearrange the displays to feature more local goods. He points out that although most of his goods are purchased from Williamsburg tradesmen, he admired pottery by the Pamunkeys just last week. They’re beautifully made, and without a doubt customers will buy them.

The Pamunkeys is a local Native American group in the area. Just last week we took a field trip to a museum on the reservation.

Mr. Merriman says he should stay at the store. But visiting Mistress Reed’s shop and purchasing pots are both urgent errands. Felicity exclaims eagerly that she and I can help. Which shall we visit first?