Forever Young Birth Of A Nation (42 page)

“Whatever brought you here, dear?”

“I had to meet someone in New York City. It
was very important, Thelma.” Stepping closer she said in a very low
voice “Is there any place we can talk privately?”

“I have two house guests who are not here
now. Come this way” she said as she turned and went up the grand
staircase to Cosette’s room. Inside she turned to Anna and gestured
to a wingback chair next to a love seat. The two friends sat then,
facing each other.

“Thelma, I have been asked to help a group
of patriots to gather information about the British here in New
York City.”

Thelma sat silently regarding her friend,
and nodded, smiling gently “Go on dear.”

“I do not want to go on further, Thelma.
I…well, I want to know your feelings on the subject, and I…you
know, I wondered what you think…about that and about the outcome of
the war.”

“I’m not pleased at all with what our
country has done to the people over here. In fact, I am disgusted
by it and I sympathize with the rebels. Who are these people who
contacted you?”

“I have known the man since childhood, and
he has known the man he was recruited by since childhood too. They
are both patriots.”

“That is all you know?”

“Well, yes. As it was explained to me, it is
safer that way.”

Thelma nodded and regarded her friend in
silence. A blue jay cried raucously outside of the window in a
maple tree adjacent to the house. Finally she spoke “I think that
Great Britain has handled the situation so badly here that it is
irreparable. There is enough of the population now that is against
the Crown and in favor of independence, that it cannot be stopped
from happening.”

“Do you think the war will end soon?”

“Heavens no! But now that France is in it
officially, Britain has a serious problem. There is trouble in
India now and also at Gibraltar. Any empire can fight only so many
wars at one time, Anna. This situation does not bode well for Great
Britain no matter who is telling the king otherwise. What if Spain
sees an opportunity to regain what they lost and decides to jump in
now that France is in it?”

“So you think that the patriots will win
eventually?”

“Yes, provided Washington himself is not
captured or killed. He is doing the right things keeping the army
intact and never trying to meet the entire British forces head on.
Do you think that Washington will try to take New York City from
the British?”

She shrugged, saying “I don’t know, Thelma.
They may only want to learn as much as they can in order to be more
effective elsewhere in the colonies against the British. I only
wanted your opinion about this, because I value it so.”

“I have given a lot of thought to returning
to London, but I am leaning more and more toward staying in
America, Anna. I think this place has a great future in the
community of nations. I want to stay here now and a lot of that has
to do with Laura.”

“Laura, she is your niece, right?”

“Yes. I feel that should she marry, she and
her children would have a brighter future here. England has reached
too far too fast and the consequences will not be good over time. I
will help you if I can, but I will deal only with you and no one
else. You alone will come here to pick up information. If that will
not work, then I will not risk helping you. And we must not
communicate about this matter in writing. Anything you want to tell
me you will tell me in person.”

Anna nodded and Thelma continued saying “You
must always have a valid reason to be in New York and to be
visiting me. I own the South Harbor Fish Market. You are coming
here to speak to me about a group of fishermen who want to sell
their catch to my establishment. That is your story should you ever
be caught. We spoke of it and you agreed to get the fishermen in
Setauket to give me a uniform price on Codfish and bring the offer
to me. Any questions?”

“No.” She smiled and rising then, the two
embraced and went down to the parlor to talk of other things for
some two hours. It was dusk when she departed, refusing an offer to
stay as an overnight guest. Saying that she had another stop to
make at a small farm in the Harlem area, she assured Thelma that
she would stay the night there.

She went to her carriage and climbed into
the seat, clucking to her horse and starting up the darkened road
to the north. Moonrise was happening and she knew that with the
full moon, she would be easily able to find her way. As she passed
through a very dark area under several trees about a quarter mile
from the Millhouse home, she was knocked from her seat by a dark
form hurtling out of the blackness. Rolling down a brushy
embankment she hit so hard that she was knocked breathless.

As she got to her knees, she was again
knocked flat and pinned to the ground by a dark shape. Anna saw
that her attacker seemed to have eyes that glowed like topaz, and
then immediately another dark form smashed into the one over her.
There was a slight reflection from a blade in the moonlight and
then an unearthly roar of pain and rage that terminated as suddenly
as it started. A dark form moved toward her as she shrank back in
dread, it was black from head to toe. As it came closer, it put up
an arm and drew off a black hood. Instead of the attack she feared,
a silky voice spoke to her. “Don’t be afraid, Anna. He is
dead.”

“I…I…what happened?”

The form materialized into that of a woman
wearing an all-black one piece suit, wiping a sword clean with a
handful of weeds as she came closer. Reaching upward she sheathed
the sword behind her shoulders with a well-practiced gesture and
stepped closer, smiling. Anna could see that she was a beautiful
woman, a bit taller than her, with a mane of hair that had light
highlights visible even by the light of the moon. Her skin appeared
to have some sort of quality the like of which Anna had never
seen.

“That…. man…that man attacked me, and
you….you killed him?”

“Yes.”

“I…I don’t understand. How…who…what has
happened here and why?”

The other woman stood silently for a bit and
then said “He was a vampire and I killed him.”

The two stood some ten feet apart then in
the moonlight, as a whippoorwill sounded its call.

A…vampire? That was…a vampire… just
now?”

“Yes.”

“What…who….what, a vampire? There are no
such things, but thank you just the same. Do you know who he really
was?”

“Not his name, but he was a vampire sent to
watch the Millhouse home.”

“How do…how…what do you mean watch the
Millhouses. And how do you know he is….what….a vampire? How can you
say that?”

Anna gasped and stepped back a step as the
woman drew nearer, her eyes glowing softly now as she said sweetly
“Don’t be afraid, Anna. I am a vampire too. My name is
Cosette.”

**

“Everyone listen. Priscilla has seen a man
that she thinks might be Ian McCloud.”

Stefan looked up and fastened his dark eyes
on Priscilla, saying “Where was this, Priscilla?”

“It was at the Star Trading Company, near
the southern tip of Manhattan.”

“What did he look like?”

“He is tall and has dark wavy hair and blue
eyes, and trades there from time to time it seems.”

“Aren’t there a lot of tall dark haired men
in New York? Why this one?”

“I remembered that Yvonne said the British
were puzzled about the money never being found when they came to
the bank and I thought that maybe it was hidden in New York City
somewhere. Maybe McCloud stays around disguised as a trader just to
watch his hiding place. I heard someone call him Tom one time.”

Stefan said “That’s it?”

“I am sorry, Stefan. It is very crowded
there when they are open for business. I just hoped that I could
help. Please do not be angry with me.”

Yvonne stepped closer to her and put an arm
around her shoulders, saying “You did fine, Priscilla. Have any of
you turned up a lead yet?”

Everyone sat silent then, staring from
Yvonne to Stefan. “I thought so. At least Priscilla is looking and
not just hunting at night and lying around here in the daytime. And
has anyone seen Roland?”

“He went hunting last night and never came
back today” said Grundy, watching Priscilla closely.

“Harold, won’t you come with Priscilla and
me today? We will investigate this man. You’re the only one of us
who knows McCloud if you see him.”

Nodding grimly, Grundy put on his
broad-brimmed hat and gloves, picking up his saber and saying
“Roland will come back when he is ready to. What are we waiting
for?”

As they departed Priscilla thought
Roland
will never return because I saw Cosette kill him last night as if
he was only a child.

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?”