Forever Young Birth Of A Nation (2 page)

Ian stepped forward smiling broadly and
shook his hand. Grundy was an imposing man, muscular, being a bit
taller than Ian with a brooding look about his eyes. He would be
considered handsome for sure, but seemed to lack any real warmth.
Asking first if Ian had secured lodging, he then asked about the
voyage and on which ship he had arrived. Ian answered and presented
his documents then.

Grundy kept the document which merely
presented Ian and James as duly credentialed agents of Robert
Milliken of Edwards & Milliken bank of London. Those would be
filed with all other such enterprises officially sanctioned by the
Crown. Looking back up he said “Will there be anything else Mr.
McCloud?”

“No Colonel Grundy; that will be all.”

“How is Clifford doing these days?”

Taken by surprise that Grundy knew the
senior Edwards, Ian answered promptly nonetheless. “He is missing,
sir. The constables had been inquiring into the matter at the time
we departed for the colonies.”

Grundy paused and riveted his eyes on Ian’s.
“Is foul play suspected then?”

“Sir, I do not know.”
And I hope that no
foul play is suspected, but if you knew how it was that pervert
died and why, you might try to arrest me
he thought.

“Well, he has a younger brother who may
inherit his share of the bank then if Edwards is never found.”

“I was not aware of that. Well, I had best
rejoin my co-worker. He will want to dine and see some of the
sights. Will you be attending the dinner and ball on Thursday
then?”

“Oh by all means. It is General Gage’s
wedding anniversary.”

“Ah. How many years have they been
married?”

“Twenty seven.”

“Good for them, and good day, Sir”

“Good day, Mr. McCloud.”

That is a far sight more time with a wife
than I have managed
thought Ian. His mood turned towards
sadness at the recollection of the deaths of both of his wives, so
he forced himself to ponder the new information about Edward’s
brother in order to take his thoughts elsewhere. As he made his way
he wondered if the brother would want more answers than the
Constables would have provided him. Knowing that Robert Milliken
had already moved to ensure that the investigation would appear to
be thorough but would find nothing, he nonetheless turned the
events of the evening he had rescued little Aimee from Edwards over
in his mind as he made his way back toward the Inn.
If he
suspects foul play, will he seek revenge?

The assistant came to Miles Edwards saying
“Mr. Milliken will see you now sir. Please come with me.” Edwards
followed him through an imposing door to Milliken’s London office,
where he stood waiting. After he introduced himself, Milliken
expressed his sympathy concerning the mystery surrounding his
brother’s disappearance. They had a pleasant enough conversation,
but Robert sensed that the man was fishing for something and would
not say what it was. He concluded that the younger Edwards had some
sort of concrete evidence or a very firm belief that the whole
incident was an act of foul play somehow.

Surprised that Edwards knew about the
draft-honoring system that the bank was now involved in, he
volunteered that Henri Lafayette of Banque de Lafayette had
designed the whole thing. Edwards seemed interested, so to move the
subject of the conversation away from the subject of Edwards’ now
dead perverted brother he volunteered some information about the
system. He went on about how lucrative it was for both Lafayette’s
banking network and now Edwards & Milliken as well being as
they were partners in the venture. Edwards sat staring out of the
window at the drizzling rainy day, and then spoke, saying “So this
Lafayette fellow banks in France then?”

“Oh not only France but in the Southern
Netherlands, in the Belgian area, Luxembourg, and even in the Swiss
Confederacy. He has extensive banking partnerships throughout
Europe, and is quite influential there.”

“I see. And you are now starting up a bank
in America too?”

He thought
well, aren’t you well
informed!
“Why yes. It is my own venture, and does not have
anything to do with this institution.”

“I have heard that. So who do you have
laying the groundwork over there?”

Glad that the conversation had not returned
to Edwards’ dead older brother he replied “We have Ian McCloud and
James Barrows as our agents in New York City.”

“I see. You said “we” so I take it you have
partners in your endeavor then?”

“Yes. It is a risk what with hostilities
over there between the colonists and the Crown. We are going to be
quite cautious for a while, but in the long term, we think that the
colonies are going to offer great opportunities for banking.”

“I see.”

“I do hope you are interested in banking,
Mr. Edwards. I have been quite busy since your brother disappeared.
I assume that you will be coming aboard then to take over your
brother’s interests should he not be found then?”

“I am not sure at this time. Would you be
interested in buying out the Edwards’ share of the bank should he
be officially presumed dead?”

Milliken gave a snort, followed by a short
laugh. “Heavens no! I am too busy now with what I have on my own
plate.”
My proxy agent will buy you out, but it will never be
connected to me
he thought. He had been studying the man
intently without seeming to the whole time. Like Henri Lafayette,
Robert Milliken maintained an affable and pleasant demeanor and
like Henri, he never missed much in studying those whom he was
dealing with. Both men were past masters of that and of appearing
all the while to be only politely interested, keeping others
feeling at ease while in their presence. To verify a nagging
suspicion he devised a test as they wrapped up their conversation.
Reaching across his desk to once more shake hands with Edwards he
appeared to knock over his inkwell with the sleeve of his coat.
Edward’s hand shot out in a blur to catch it and prevent it from
spilling. It was blindingly fast. Too fast for a human reaction,
but Robert’s vampire eyes saw it and he knew then that the younger
Edwards was a vampire
Adept
.

“Oh, how clumsy of me Edwards! You saved the
day there and prevented a big mess. Thank you sir!”

“Think nothing of it sir. Good day.”

“Good day to you sir.”
Got you! So you
are a vampire. Even better, you do not know that I am too. What in
hell are you really doing here? And who mentored you to fall for a
trick like that?
As he thought on the subject, he realized that
a vampire unknown to him now knew that Ian and James were in New
York City, and worse yet, it was the younger brother of the man he
himself had killed
. Is he after the killer or does he think Ian
killed his brother? And if so, where did he get that idea?
He
resolved to hire a private investigator immediately to learn all
about young Edwards. He would do that today, and would dispatch a
coded message to both Henri and to Ian.

That evening, Ian and James met Andrew and
treated him to dinner. They spoke briefly of what he hoped to trade
for while in the colonies and the orders he had yet to fill while
in New York. They bid Andrew a good night and within a half hour,
both Ian and James were dressed in dark seamen’s clothing. In four
minutes they had swam the Hudson River and rocketed away to the
west. In around ten minutes they were in the deep woods some ten
miles from the shore. Ian smelled deer and in less than two more
minutes they had made a kill and soon they were filling their
copper flasks.

He felt better than he could recall feeling
since Alandra had died. Being in the deep woods hunting with James
was just what he needed and both of them exulted in both running
full out through the darkness and the hunt itself. It was a relief
of sorts to relax their guard and for a short while, just to be the
creatures that they truly were, and not have to guard against
betraying themselves to humans. The trip over had been more of a
strain on them than they realized what with constantly having to be
on their guard, confined with humans on the weeks-long voyage from
England.

The pair made their way back to the city,
swimming across the Hudson like two porpoises in the moonlight.
Once ashore, they wrung out their clothes and then ran for some
three miles in a few minutes just to dry them. After dropping off
their ruck sacks, the night was spent in prowling the streets of
New York. Frequenting every tavern that they could find, they would
sit and soak up all of the gossip that they could. They began to
pick up a picture of events in the colonies during this time, and
even more importantly they began to get a sense of the attitude of
the colonists themselves, as compared to the newspaper articles
they had both been reading.

The next day was unremarkable except that
they found a boarding house that Ian especially liked. The place
had a very private rear entrance which let out into a narrow
alleyway, and it was even covered by an extended portico with
climbing roses growing on either side of it. If others wanted to
watch them they would have to be in a place where likely the two
could see them. Ian explained all of this to James before they
talked to the owner.

It was run by an elderly Scottish lady named
Bess McKinley, whom they both took a liking too immediately. The
place was neat, clean, and well kept. She was a no-nonsense person
and quite gruff in manner, but Ian could tell that she liked them
both. Her husband was a fisherman and together they made a good
living in the bustling new city. Ian and James arranged to move
their belongings from the Harbor Inn to Bessie’s Boarding House
that very afternoon.

The balance of the day was spent in various
taverns and Inns gathering local gossip and developing a feel for
the attitude of the colonists. The city was divided between
sympathizing Tories loyal to the Crown and more independent minded
folks, leaning more toward the colonies having more autonomy, and
resentful of the onslaught of new taxes. The newspaper articles
concerning the hostilities made it appear as if it was only the
work of a small number of malcontents who had duped a small number
of ignorant country bumpkins to join them. Ian knew that was a lie
already just from talking to local merchants and others.

After hunting in the New Jersey countryside
that evening after dark, they again resumed their tactic of
gathering information, splitting up so as to learn more. As the day
before, they stayed out until dawn and then turned their
information gathering attention to the dock areas where the
fishermen and produce sellers were. Much of the produce was grown
in New Jersey so they got to hear a lot about what folks from that
area thought about the current situation between the Crown and the
colonies.

They went to see Andrew Norris aboard the
New Hope
which was now at a dock being unloaded. By early
afternoon they had deposited half of the startup funds for the
banks at Grover Merchant’s Bank and the other half at Wellington
Bank of Commerce. They had a little more time for gathering
intelligence so they went to the Harbor Inn for some three hours
before bathing and dressing for the gala and dinner.

Having picked up Andrew at 6:30, they made
their way to Government House in a carriage. They did not bother to
hire the driver to wait for them that night. After all, what danger
could threaten two Adept vampires on the streets of a human city?
They figured to walk Andrew back to the wharf anyway, being as the
weather was so nice.

Their wait at the entrance was very brief
even though they had no invitations, and soon they were inside,
mingling with all of the guests. General Gage himself spotted them
and called “Ian McCloud, come here sir” while beckoning in a
friendly fashion. His wife was with him, her hair coiffed
beautifully in a style which Ian had seen in London before
departing for the colonies. She was a small slender lady with warm
brown eyes, and wheat colored hair. Introductions were made all
around, and when it was Ian’s turn to be introduced to Mrs. Gage he
bowed slightly as he kissed the back of her gloved hand saying
“Enchanted Lady Gage. We congratulate the two of you on your
wedding anniversary.” James stepped forward and was introduced
doing exactly as Ian had done, as did Andrew. Ian then said “We
have brought you a gift to commemorate this occasion.” Reaching
into his breast pocket he withdrew two flat black felt cases, each
with a pearl button to secure it. Handing them to General Gage and
to his wife he smiled warmly. The two opened the cases and saw the
sun glasses, Gage exclaiming “Ian whatever are these?”

“They are sun glasses sir.”

“Why Mr. McCloud, these are just marvelously
made.” she said as she put on the ivory framed sun glasses. She
went on “Oh Thomas aren’t these just marvelous?”

“Yes, yes Esther. My Ian, what fine
workmanship! Thank you so much. Wherever did you get these?”

“They are made in France by Lafayette
Industries.”

Andrew then spoke up saying “Lady Gage, Ian
invented them while he lived there.”

Esther turned to Ian, looking anew at him
“No! Really Mr. McCloud? Whatever inspired you to think of such a
thing?”

“Someone dear to me has a problem with
bright sunlight and I had the first pair ever made just for her.”
He thought
and she is a vampire like two of us are, but you do
not need to know that!

About that time the guests were all summoned
to dine. As they made their way to the sumptuous banquet table,
Lady Gage plied Ian and James with questions as her husband
amusedly looked on. As it turned out, a major who was with General
Gage knew Andrew Norris. He informed the Gages that he knew Norris
and the two of them paired off to talk as the group continued to
the banquet table. Each guest group was separated and ushered to
their place and the three men were quite a way down the table from
General Gage and his wife as it turned out. They were seated with
the Major who knew Andrew and the two were soon engaged in
conversation as the other guests were settled. There were some
eighty odd people there as best Ian could tell.