Forever Young Birth Of A Nation (13 page)

“Human?”

“Likely” said Edwards. “Milliken is human,
after all. I doubt he knows anything about vampires.”

Stefan spoke then, holding up his arm with
the hook “What of that gray-eyed witch who did this to me.”

Moreau said “I have never turned up even one
lead on her. Perhaps she accompanied this Ian and his companion to
the New World, or perhaps she lives in France and we just have not
found her. She is likely to be part of this ‘Henri’s’ circle of
vampire acquaintances and friends.” Turning to Yvonne and Stefan he
said “How would you two feel about going to the colonies to take
care of this Ian McCloud then?”

“He could kill the two of us as easily as
one of us could kill two dogs. I tell you, I saw him fighting and I
never saw the like anywhere, ever!”

Moreau looked toward her then saying “So
recruit some help after you get there. Raise up a coven of six or
more and set them on him. You look like a woman who is capable of
managing men, Yvonne” he said with a smile. “After all look at how
you milked information from Connors.”

Edwards barked out a laugh but Stefan sat
brooding, angry eyes darting back and forth between Moreau and
Edwards.

Edwards stood then and said “I have taken
steps to procure a ship just for that purpose. Arnaud here has
helped me to find a crew for it. They are a cutthroat lot, but they
are sailors and some of them have crossed the Atlantic before. I
can have the two of you enroute for the colonies in three days’
time if we can all agree. I will provide you both with a generous
stipend and I will open an account at any bank you choose and
deposit five thousand pounds sterling for you to have when you
return. You will also have an account of two thousand pounds
sterling to draw on there at Wellington Bank of Commerce in New
York City. I can set that in motion yet today at Wellington’s of
London.”

Yvonne looked at Stefan then, her green eyes
glittering “Well love, look at how our revenge has fallen into our
laps so to speak. Shall we go to America then? When will we get
another chance like this and one with like-minded friends to help
us too” she said with a coy look at Edwards. Stefan brooded a bit
and then raised his eyes to meet hers. “It appears that we are
going to the New World, Yvonne.”

***

Henri said “Marie, I just got a packet of
letters from Ian.” Marie came quickly and raised her voice
“Everyone, come quickly! We have letters from Ian!” Little Aimee
streaked into the room well ahead of any of the others saying “Oh
Marie, is there one for me? Is there? Oh please look now,
please!”

Laughing excitedly Marie sorted through the
pile of correspondence and handed Aimee a letter bearing her name.
Aimee beamed delightedly, and held it to her bosom briefly before
opening it. Her eyes twinkled as she read it, laughing at a joking
remark that Ian had made midway through the letter. She excitedly
read it to its conclusion and pressed it to her lips as she
finished, beaming at all of the others there, and handing it to
Celeste.

Next was one for Henri and Marie which Marie
read aloud for all to hear, looking up and smiling occasionally at
the others as she read it through. Finally there was one for
everyone else, being Celeste, Louis, Liri, Mustafa, Li, Sophia,
Andre, and Jennifer. Celeste opened it and read it through to its
conclusion and turned happily to everyone, saying “Isn’t it
wonderful that he and James have already gotten settled and that
things are going so well?”

The group talked excitedly then for some
thirty minutes, re-examining every detail of each letter. Liri said
“Won’t he be surprised when Cosette arrives!” Marie said “Oh what I
would not give to see that. Can’t you just imagine it Celeste!”

“Oh my yes. The expression in those eyes of
his, oh my! I can just see it now!” Laughing then Marie said “I
will wager that they will need a more private place to live than a
boarding house!” Everyone laughed at that so Aimee did too, not
knowing what was so funny. Louis handed the baby back to Celeste
and took the letter to read through it again.

Aimee noticed that suddenly Celeste was not
smiling at all, but was staring off into space with a serious
expression on her face. Marie picked up on it then, saying “what is
it Celeste?”

Turning to her she replied “Ian is not in
New York City. He is in the countryside even now, going to Boston.
James and someone else are with him.”

Henri said “I would have thought that he
would wait until springtime to go there.” All eyes then looked to
Celeste who said in a hushed voice “The crown is after him and
James even now.” Everyone then came close to Celeste, who was
holding her baby. She looked out of the window, not seeing anything
there though, as her mind’s eye reached out across the ocean. “He
is safe and well, but in hiding.”

It fell silent then as each processed this
information. Li spoke then “It sounds like whatever happened was no
surprise to him. See how he is staying atop everything, just like
he always does.”

Henri spoke then supporting that view as
Marie added “He has obviously been warned or saw trouble developing
before it could snare him.”

Li said “I am encouraged and I know him
well. No one is cooler in a crisis than Ian.”

Henri spoke then saying “Amen to that, Li.
They can set the whole of the British army to looking for Ian, but
they will not find him unless he wills it.” He was not able to hide
the look of concern that had spread over his features at that
moment though.
What has happened over there?

It was mid-October now and snow had already
fallen several times. The three were even now in the outskirts of
Boston and were seeking lodging. One night while Moon Owl slept Ian
and James had hidden the gold and silver from the bottom of their
wagon under a large rock that only the two of them could move
together, some miles west of the Continental Army pickets. The
horses were being led behind their one remaining wagon as they had
left their wagon with the false bottom near where their silver and
gold were hidden. They knew that no explanation could be made for
such an obvious smuggling device as their wagon should they be
stopped by pickets of Washington’s army or the New England Militia.
No doubt either group would seize it and the funds before they
could ever get them into Boston past the pickets and road
blocks.

They were accorded a courteous pass into the
city by Washington’s forces after a thorough search of their one
remaining wagon showed no contraband. Ian and James had prepped,
wrapped and stashed their long rifles and special bullets where
they had buried the gold and silver for fear of them being taken
too. Soon they settled in a place called the Ravens’ Nest Inn and
Tavern, just a bit west of Boston proper. Ian booked two rooms and
ordered a hot bath for Moon Owl. She was overcome with gratitude,
being penniless. But for Ian and James she would be at the tender
mercy of an approaching New England winter, stranded in a war zone
and far from her native people.

She sank into the hot water with a deep sigh
then, thinking again of how fortunate she was for Ian and James to
have come along when they had.
What fine men those two are, and
both
of them are quite handsome too
, she thought with a
smile. She shuddered to think of what might have happened had Ian
not come into their camp that night.
Whatever was he doing out
in the darkness in the middle of nowhere
she thought? During
the trip she noticed on many occasions that either of them would go
out to hunt, often as not at dusk or after dark and would always
come back to camp with game, without exception.
How can they do
that? What is it about those two?

Stepping from the tub finally she regarded
the clothing that Ian had bought for her in Stamford. She had just
kept her head down and had allowed Ian to escort her to the room
booked for them as Mr. and Mrs. Adam MacCleary. Ian was more
dark-complexioned than she was and the two had attracted no
attention. She was certain that no Indians would be allowed to stay
at an inn, so she had agreed to take her meals in her room. Ian was
staying with James, but as Moon Owl thought about it, she would not
have minded had Ian stayed in her room. He was completely
trustworthy and so was James. She had never felt so safe in her
life as with these two men.

It seemed that they were in a place where
they could stay for the winter if necessary. Moon Owl knew that she
had a disease growing inside of her, being that the itching within
her groin area would not go away. She longed to be at home among
the Seneca where she could seek the help of the medicine man. The
condition had worsened since she had been rescued and she knew that
the man who had raped her had given the disease to her. Day after
day she brooded about it and both Ian and James knew that something
was bothering her.

One day Ian knocked softly at her door to
say that he and James were going out. It was later in October now
and this was an especially warm day compared to the past seven
weeks. They thought that she would like a chance to get away from
the Inn for a day for more than just a walk. He got no response so
he tried the door and found it unlocked. Concerned, he stepped into
her room and found her weeping, sitting on the floor in a corner
wearing only her slip.

Closing and locking the door, he came to her
and knelt behind her, taking her shoulders gently he said “Moon
Owl, what is wrong?” Startled she gave a little cry and then turned
to him and continued to weep in his arms.

“There, there now. What is it lassie?”

“I have the white man’s disease” she
said.

He cupped her face in his hands “What do you
mean….I don’t understand.”

She leaned back from him and looked at him
with tears streaming down her cheeks and then she pointed to her
groin and said again “I have the white man’s disease, Ian. It is
getting worse every day.”

He realized suddenly what she was describing
was venereal disease and said “Ah lass, I understand.” He gathered
her in his arms and rocked her slowly as she wept. “There, there
now. That’s a good girl. I will see to this. Just you wait here a
bit and I will bring medicine.” He got up and left the room softly,
going to the main dining area of the Inn. He spoke briefly to the
serving wench who had already started the stew for the day, asking
for some of the broth.

Soon he was carrying it to the room he and
James shared. He then took his knife and cut his arm, forcing a
good two tablespoons of his blood into the broth. Stirring it with
the knife, he took it to Moon Owl’s room and knocked softly. Fully
dressed now, she came and unlocked the door, eyeing the bowl in his
hand.

“Drink all of this and you will soon be
well” he said as he handed the bowl to her with a gentle smile.

As she sipped it he said “James and I are
going to drive about Boston today. Would you like to go with
us?”

Finishing, she nodded and handed him the
bowl. Noticing that she was already feeling warm inside, she got
her coat and scarf and followed him down to the dining area. James
had readied the wagon and was waiting near the front door to the
Inn.

Soon they were looking about at all of the
many shops and stores and sights of Boston. As they drove about,
Ian and James both resumed their attempt to teach her to speak and
to understand English. They would point out things and give her the
French word followed by the English word for the same thing, having
her repeat it. She was bright and motivated, eager to learn and was
beginning to speak a little English and had improved
noticeably.

Ian had James take them to the wharf where
he wanted to look for any of the twelve merchants’ ships that he
knew that he could trust with his correspondence. It was a long
shot, but he hoped that one of them might be there. They walked the
docks for over an hour looking at all of the merchantmen there as
well as those at anchor out in the harbor and he could not find a
one of them. About to give up he spied the Pickford and recognized
it, having seen it in London while there. It was a two-mast
galleon, a medium merchantman. Deciding to take a chance, he
approached the ship’s gangway and hollered “Ahoy there. Permission
to come aboard?”

A slender weathered looking man in a
well-worn woolen coat and a battered tri-corner hat came and peered
down the gangplank at the trio. Waving them to come aboard he
turned and took a question from one of the crew, turning again as
they topped the gangplank. Ian stepped forward, introducing
himself, James, and Moon Owl. He introduced her as Theresa Moon.
The man smiled then and introduced himself as Tyrone Walker,
captain of the Pickford.

Explaining that he had once seen the
Pickford in London, Ian asked if he could pay Walker to take a
packet of documents to the Edwards-Milliken Bank of London. The man
agreed and Ian said that he would return with the package the
following morning.

“I sail tomorrow, so do not be too late, Mr.
McCloud. Say, where do I know that name from anyway?”

“Well sir, my uncle Angus sails out of
Edinburg, large merchantman named
Elsie’s Cloud
. Do you know
him?”

“Hah! I know the story of
Elsie’s
Cloud
and the pirates. Don’t know that I believe it
though.”

“Oh you can believe it all right. I was
there and we sunk one and took the other for a prize.”

“Well glory be to God! And here you are in
the flesh, one of the crew. You three must come dine with us this
evening and tell me the story.”

Ian smiled and agreed to return at seven
o’clock that night. They parted company and once in town, Ian asked
James to look about for a blacksmith and ask about who might make
and sell swords or sabers. He announced that he was going to buy
paper, quill, and ink so as to draft letters to home. Moon Owl
decided to accompany Ian so they parted from James in front of the
Old South Meeting House, agreeing to meet there at two o’clock.