Forever Young Birth Of A Nation, page 32
Chapter 60
Robert Townsend and Abraham Woodhull sat in Woodhull’s kitchen, each with a snifter of whiskey. The freshly opened bottle sat on the table between the two friends.
“We have gotten off to a good start Abe. Anna Strong is a good woman; no one I know is more reliable or discreet and she has good contacts that know and socialize with Tories.”
“Yes. She will know who to recruit”.
“Tallmadge will have our Dragoons stationed at intervals so that the messages can get to Washington faster. This will work well. The British will never suspect that we would take messages out of New York by going halfway to the far end of Long Island and then by sea to Connecticut.”
“Agreed. We have only to keep our wits about us and stick to strict protocols. To our success then” he said as he raised his glass, clinking it against Townsend’s.
“We are in this thing from now on, up to our necks. Speaking of necks, we will surely hang should we get caught.”
“Ben Franklin said we all hang together or we shall all hang separately. Of all people in New York City, we are the most culpable in this affair.”
“That’s us. Culpable as all hell, and hoping to never be caught.” Pouring another shot for each then, Townsend said “To being culpable, but not getting caught” as they clinked their glasses together and downed their fourth shot.
Townsend looked amusedly at Woodhull and said “Since we are to never use our real names and since I am the younger of the two of us, I will be Sam Culpable Jr. and you will be Sam Culpable Sr.”
“Agreed then.” Pouring another shot for both of them Woodhull raised his glass, saying “Culpable is too big of a word and too easy to understand. How about this? Sam Culper Jr. and Sam Culper Sr. To the Culper Gang.”
“To the Culper Gang.”
***
Roberto Rodriguez came to his outer office with a broad smile, extending his hand to Mustafa and Li as he greeted them. Taking Sophia’s hand he bowed slightly in courtly fashion and kissed it. “What brings all of you here? I have seen Marcel here twice since Ian’s wife died and uhmm, let me see, oh yes; I saw Leo and Sophia when you all came through here with Celeste. Is that correct?”
Mustafa, using his new name of Maurice smiled brilliantly and said “Yes; that is correct. We have communications to you from Ian McCloud. We were asked to bring it to you ourselves.”
Roberto raised his eyebrows then, nodding as he said “Why did Ian not come then?”
“He is in America now” said Mustafa.”
“Ah! America? I did not know. I got his letter of course after Alandra died. Such a tragedy. I suppose that I can understand why he chose to go at that time. Please come in to my office” he said as he stood aside to gesture to the group. He told his assistant to hold all appointments for the next hour as he closed the door behind them. Opening the package bearing his name, he read the letter addressed to him first, brow furrowed in thought. Finished he raised his gaze and looked from the eyes of one to another of the three. “This is quite an idea he has put forth here. It seems that he thinks that if Spain enters the war on the side of the Americans, the British might be persuaded to end the war there. He says that even if Spain does not formally enter the war, she could have a chance to seize Florida and Alabama once again. He also thinks that Spain could use the whole affair to retake Gibraltar and the Balearic Isles back from the British.”
“That is about it, Roberto”.
Sophia spoke then saying “Your King Charles might convince King Louis to join him in trying to retake Gibraltar for trade concessions to the French. They would like nothing better than to see Britain lose control of the Mediterranean. And after all Roberto, both Louis and Charles are related, both being of the line of Bourbon.”
“King Charles? I am to petition the King on this matter?”
“Well, yes. Ian wrote a letter to the king and it is in that package. He asks that you endorse the idea if it seems feasible to you.”
Roberto stood and paced to the window overlooking a square in Madrid. He stood there for a short while looking out and occasionally looking at the letter. Turning then, he said “I see possibilities in this. It could go the way that Ian thinks, but it could fail too. I will present it that way, as a thing with possibilities of great gains with some risks.”
Sophia came forward and handed another letter to him saying “This is for you to deliver to Chief Prosecutor Enrique Chavez.”
Frowning he took it and looked at it. Laughing after reading it, he said “It is not signed. I suppose he will know who it is from though. This makes me want to do it almost of itself. He reminds Chavez here that he is the ‘mutual friend’ of Roberto Rodriguez and Chavez who wears a ‘black suit and hood’. He promises to return a certain painting to Chavez in return for his support in this idea.” Looking at the three then he laughed again, saying “Oh, I love this already!”
“So we can count on you then for your support and to deliver these letters?”
“Yes. I am happy to help.”
“He thought it best to give the King’s letter to his oldest daughter, Esmeralda.”
“I will do that. She had her niece taken to Barcelona House when she had wasting disease and the child was healed while she was there.”
The three raised their eyebrows then, nodding as they realized how strong an ally that Ian had in the royal family itself. Mustafa then said “We have two more here, one for Alandra’s uncle at the King’s court and one that we’ll deliver to her father in Barcelona, unless he is here.”
“He is here in Madrid. I saw him yesterday and he is staying with his brother, so I will deliver those letters myself.”
Mustafa stood then, smiling broadly as did Li and Sophia. Roberto invited all to attend supper at his home in Madrid that evening which was accepted. Before they departed he said “I have one thing to ask.”
The three turned back to him smiling as he said “I have observed how… reformed Chavez is since that time, and the painting must have disappeared from the throne room on the night that Ian somehow convinced Chavez to let me and my wife out of prison. After that night security was doubled at the palace. How did Ian get that painting, and how did he convince Chavez to let me out of prison?”
Mustafa looked at Sophia and Li, saying “Have either of you heard this story?” The two shook their heads in unison.
Roberto continued then “Oh that is not all of it. Chavez let many people out of prison after that night and the man has been a different person ever since. You might actually like him now. Oh, I almost forgot but he has the tip of one finger missing too. It is said that happened around the same time and that Chavez has never said a word about how that happened either.”
Laughing now, the three all shook their heads as they looked at each other in surprise. Sophia kept on laughing then as she said “Oh, I love it! It sounds so much like Ian.” Looking at each other Mustafa and Li grinned and nodded as Sophia said “I am definitely going to make him tell me what happened when we see him again.”
***
Ian and Moon Owl made their way south toward Valley Forge. They brought their belongings in a wagon pulled by a yoke of oxen and made their way as a light snowfall blanketed the area. As they traveled southward, Ian told her what to expect and that she was Monique McCloud if anyone asked. He had bought her a golden ring in Boston that she was to wear at all times. She was dressed just as he was, complete with a broad brimmed hat and she even had sun glasses for bright snowy days. She looked like a white woman dressed as a frontiersman. Her hair was always pulled back in a ponytail or on cloudy days when she did not need her hat, it was done up in a tight bun with pearled hair pins. Ian always wanted her to appear to be a white woman who accompanied her husband, and not a squaw he had brought along. It was important that all of the soldiers respected her, even though she easily could kill a platoon with her bare hands.
Ian had hired a Boston sail maker to make up his tent covering. The tent frame was a simple affair of some twelve poles the same length that fastened to a single iron ring at the top of the tent. Twelve small horse shoes were welded to the outside of the ring at equal intervals, each to receive one of the twelve poles. The tent was a cone shape and would shed rain easily, and being so steep it would not allow snow to build up. The top ring had a fitting around its inside perimeter for the stove pipe to go through, and the pipe itself had a wide circular collar flashing immediately above where it went through the top ring and a rain cap on the top end. That acted to turn rainfall and snow and prevent them from entering the tent. Ian had had that part custom made along with the iron ring, stovepipe, and the stove itself, a small upright affair. He had set up the frame at the sail maker’s loft for him to be able to cut and fit the canvas to it. Strong canvas ties were sewn all around the base perimeter of the cover to anchor it to stakes and to the poles themselves.
It was tall inside, around fourteen feet, and was around that size diameter too at its base. The canvas was treated with hot wax to repel water, and fitted over a covering of deer hides that were stitched together by Ian and Moon Owl, made in long triangular shapes to lace together over the frame. This acted to insulate the tent somewhat, and thereby lessened the consumption of firewood. It made for a snug winter dwelling and when they arrived at the first pickets some distance from the camp, Ian spoke with them briefly identifying himself. He showed them where he would put his tent for the winter, and introduced two of them to his wife. Leaving Moon Owl there with their wagon, he made his way to the center of the camp and sought out Darren Roberts.
Roberts was out hunting so Ian left word with General Washington’s adjutant that he was camped on the north side of the encampment outside of it and that he would be hunting game again for the army that winter, and would be available for courier duty too. He saw no reason to say that he had brought his wife with him and decided that if they did not like it, he and Moon Owl would just pack up and leave anyway.
After returning to the site, soon the two were setting up their tent, and before dusk they had it up and a cozy fire burning inside. Moon Owl had been gathering cedar branches since Ian had left so they had a really thick layer of them for carpeting the floor of the tent. It smelled really good and was warm inside very soon. Fearing a fire, Ian kept the cedar away from the stove, which sat in the center of the tent. He resolved to stack flat creek rocks around it some six inches high, sometime soon.
Under cover of darkness the two departed to hunt. Moon Owl now had four copper flasks and her own copper bowl for her own ruck sack. Ian had had all of that made up by Paul Revere at his shop before they had departed.
Some twelve miles away they came upon a small herd of deer and quickly killed three, catching them and breaking their necks. After filling their flasks, Ian shot each in the head with a pistol.
“Why did you do that?” asked Moon Owl.
“We have to make it look like I shot these animals or questions will soon be asked as to how we killed them. So always shoot them in the head or maybe in the chest after we kill and drain them.”
“What about rabbits and squirrels?”
“We will say we caught them in snares and just broke their necks.”
“I see what you mean about living among humans. We always have to be so careful what we do.”
“We can never relax our guard. That is one of the most important things about being a successful Adept vampire.”
She nodded her understanding as he continued “You will not ever say that you killed any of our deer. You will say that you always empty the snares. That will keep any idle gossip from starting up. Oh, another thing we want to do is to always save a good cut of meat or a rabbit for the sentries near us. I do not want any of them to get upset because I have my wife with me here. If we are always feeding them, they will never say anything bad about our situation. It would be good to have a bit of meat on a spit roasting over a fire outside of the tent a lot of the time too. We can just give it to the sentries or whoever comes along. That is another thing that will stop gossip. We can use one of the two kettles we brought to make stew now and then too.”
After they got the deer carcasses to their camp, Ian set about building a rack of saplings for hanging the carcasses. He had one done in less than fifteen minutes working in the dark at vampire speed and soon the two of them had all three carcasses gutted and tied into place.
“I will get busy building a bed frame tomorrow after I take these three deer into camp. I cannot show up with game tonight.”
“Mmm; I like that idea about the bed. I will help” she said with a laugh.
Stepping over to her then he put his arms around her and kissed her tenderly “You have helped me already so much just by being here with me.”
Slipping her hands inside his shirt then she began to rub his stomach and chest, saying in a very low voice “This winter will not be dreary at all, love.”
Chuckling then he pulled her tightly against him saying “Oh I believe that! I think we should go see how warm the tent is now, don’t you?”
***
Sitting in the chalet’s cavernous parlor in Zurich, Celeste and Marie gazed out of the large bay window at the falling snow. “So Ian has married this girl, Moon Owl?”
“Yes. They were married by the chief of her tribe at a ceremony with her people. They are still going to wait until after the war to be married in a ceremony like we do.”
“And she finished her imprinting and all of that in the early fall, like you said.”
Celeste sighed “Yes. They are now at a place called Valley Forge, not too far from Philadelphia. They are wintering in a tent and are providing game for the Army there.”
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“Oh, Marie, I hated to be the bearer of bad news. I am sorry.” Looking at her then, Celeste smiled and held out her hand to Marie and as she took it she said “I won’t omit telling you anything else from now on.”
“Good. You need to share this with someone anyway. We won’t tell the others. Who knows what may yet happen and what good would it do anyway? What about that vampire that Cosette killed? Has there been anything to develop from that yet? I can’t help but think that they will come looking for him.”
“She has made a friend of that uhm… Anna, what is her name?”
“Anna Strong?”
“That is it. They are now friends and Cosette thinks Anna may ask her to help smuggle messages out of New York at some point. I told you that she knows Cosette is a vampire.”
“Yes. The woman saw the whole thing up close, so what else could Cosette do anyway? Oh, I did send James Barrows’ address to her. She can go to Boston and at least get James to help her get word to Ian that she is alive and in New York waiting for him.”
Celeste shook her head, staring out the window as Marie continued “It is best that we are all wintering here together. Let Moreau and Edwards do what they will in France. We will handle them on our timetable at a place of our choosing” she said as her eyes took on a violet-blue glow.
Louis had entered the room with Celine in his arms, followed by all of the others. They all took chairs from the three tables and brought them to the big window, seating themselves all around the two. Celine reached out toward Marie who smiled and took her, making faces at her as she bounced her on her knees. Liri sat next to Marie opposite Celeste with little Xavier who also wanted to play on Marie’s lap. Aimee came and took Xavier to sit with her.
Henri said “We just got a dispatch with a report from our man in the Gendarmes, Rousseau. It looks like our two vampire friends are building a coven, and I think that they are building two of them in fact.”
Eyes all around the room began to glow as he continued “We may plan an attack on both for early summertime. I am going to the Council on this one and ask for some extra fighters.”
Marie said “Please do not travel alone, Henri.”
“I will take Li and Sophia when I go.” Turning to Li he said “It is time that you met the Council, Li.” Turning then to the others he said “I will also introduce Mustafa and Louis later this year as well. I do not want to take too many men away from the family at one time though until this thing is behind us. When we strike, we want to get all of them and their hirelings.”
All heads were nodding agreement as their eyes blazed.
Chapter 61
Ian had ranged some twenty five miles north of the camp that night before finding game. The wind was very light compared to what it had been, but the scent of deer wafted to him occasionally. Following it was second nature to him and he had his hearing adjusted to its most sensitive. Hearing only the hissing of the light snowfall as it hit dried leaves still clinging to the wintertime skeletons of trees, he stealthily made his way to a river that had carved out a groove to descend from a small plateau. The closer he got, the louder the noise of the small waterfall became.
He judged that the deer were still beyond the river some distance seeing as their scent had changed little. Likely they too were moving northward, into the wind at the same speed as he was. He had resolved to increase his speed when he heard something that did not blend with the sound of the waterfall. Freezing in place he strained his senses and stood stock still, his keen vampire eyes peering into the darkened woodland, seeking this new sound again.
Again the sound came, very faintly, off to his right. He glided noiselessly that direction for a full two minutes, stopping twice to listen. Coming to a well-worn pathway, he heard a groan and ran quickly to the source, seemingly a pile of snow, but in fact a man lying huddled alongside of the path, covered with snow. Kneeling at his side, Ian gently turned him face-up and held the man to his chest, brushing the snow from him. He could see that the man was an officer in the Continental Army.
“Hello sir. Hello. Can you speak? Are you injured?”
The man moaned a bit and opened his eyes, saying something incomprehensible ending with “General Washington” lapsing into unconsciousness. Gently picking him up as if he was a rag doll, Ian bounded away southward, rocketing toward Valley Forge.
