War 1812 (18 page)

“You have insulted me,” the man spoke calmly, the hint of a French accent in his voice.

“As you have the lady,” Jonah flung back.

Whatever went through the man’s mind remained unspoken until he took a deep breath and bowed. “My name is Jacques LeRoche. I demand satisfaction. If you are a gentleman, you will know what I mean.”

“I know what you mean,” Jonah replied, disgust in his voice. “As I see it, the lady is the one who has been insulted. Any man who would strike a lady is totally without honor and could hardly be called a gentleman.”

LeRoche, hearing this, gasped with fury and once again his hand went to the hilt of his sword.

“Go ahead,” Jonah snapped. “Pull that blade and I’ll shoot you down like the dog you are.”

Taking several deep breaths, LeRoche said, “Where will my second be able to find you?

“Do you know of Colonel Baby’s house?” Jonah asked.

“I do.”

“I will be there. If you insist upon this, your man had better be there soon,” Jonah said, “as I’m not sure when we will march.”

“He will be there within the hour.”

“I will be waiting.”

Once the man left, the woman said, “I thank you, sir, but you don’t know what you have done. LeRoche is a ruthless man. He has killed many men with both his pistol and his blade.”

“I could not allow him to hit you,” Jonah said, suddenly feeling tired, now that the anger had subsided.

“He would have beaten me… but he will kill you, sir.”

“I think not,” Jonah replied, wishing he felt as sure as he spoke. “Now, gather a few of your things. I’m not going to leave you here for him to harm you.”

The woman quickly gathered a few belongings and the two of them made their way back to the headquarters. The first person Jonah saw was Captain Todd.

“Good morning, Captain.”

“And to you, sir,” the young man replied, his eyes taking in the beautiful woman next to Jonah.

Seeing the obvious look of desire fill the young officer’s face, Jonah realized he’d been so preoccupied, he’d not really looked at the woman.

“Is Moses about, Captain?”

“I’ve not seen him, sir.”

“I see…Well, Captain, would you loan me your sergeant for a quick errand?”

“Yes sir, I will see if he’s about. If not, will the corporal do?”

“Either will do, Captain. Just send one of the two to my quarters.”

A smile was now on the captain’s face. Jonah had started down the hall toward the back. Seeing the smile, he stopped.

“Wait here,” he said to the woman, and then he retraced his steps to where the captain still stood. Leaning forward, he whispered, “Close your mouth, Captain, you are drooling.”

Turning red, Todd closed his mouth.

“I was only joking,” Jonah said.

“Ah…” Todd started but didn’t finish. He did relax though.

“Any word on marching orders?” Jonah asked.

“Yes sir, in the morning, first light.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Jonah said, as he turned and walked away.

Chapter Twenty

A
s the two walked
off the back porch toward the little cabin, Jonah caught a whiff of the woman’s hair. It had been freshly washed, probably earlier that morning, as the scent of soap was still present. As he walked across the yard, Jonah found himself hoping Moses was out. He would like to spend some time alone with this rare beauty of a woman. Never had a pair of eyes moved him so much. They were a deep blue with thick lashes. The woman’s skin was tanned from being outside so much. She had full lips and her hair was almost a blue-black color and hung heavy and thick about her shoulders. Her dress was a simple off-white cotton dress. The neckline was open, revealing a graceful slim throat beneath which ample breasts stretched the material. She had a simple sash tied about her middle that accented her small waist. When she stepped to one side to allow Jonah to open the cabin door, her hair moved just enough to show a turquoise earring.

Opening the door, Jonah stood in silence and stared as she gracefully eased by him and entered the cabin. The flames of desire were so strong, he felt his heart racing and blood pounding in his temples.

Light from the windows did little for the dark interior so Jonah lit a candle and muttered, “Would you like to be seated?”

As the woman sat in one of the two chairs, Jonah said, “My apologies, madam. I have failed to properly introduce myself. I’m Jonah Lee.”

Smiling, she replied, “I’m Anastasia Greenville.”

“At your service,” Jonah replied and gave a bow. Seeing Anastasia smile, he realized how ridiculous he must look and suddenly they were both laughing.

“Do you often go looking for damsels in distress so that you may come to their rescue?”

Seeing the twinkle in Anastasia’s eyes, Jonah replied, “Only when they are as beautiful as you.”

“A gallant man who also knows how to flatter a woman.” There was a hint of French in her accent which made Jonah wonder if she was French Canadian.

“You’re French?” he asked.

“My mother,” she replied. “Her family were Huguenots, who preferred to leave France rather than change religious beliefs.”

Jonah knew very little about Huguenots, but decided he’d find out more about them.

“My mother married an American from Detroit, so I guess I’m an American now,” she continued.

“Anastasia…is that French?” Jonah asked.

Nodding, she replied, “Yes, it was my grandmother’s name.” A knock at the door interrupted the conversation.

“Enter,” Jonah sang out, embarrassing himself. The gentlemanly thing to do would have been to get up and answer the door. It was the sergeant.

“Captain said you wanted to see me, sir.”

“Yes, Sergeant. Do you know Captain Clay Gesslin?”

“Yes sir, he’s one of Colonel Johnson’s officers.”

“Yes, that’s him,” Jonah said. “Would you be so kind as to find him quickly and let him know if it’s convenient that he should call on me? It’s an urgent matter, Sergeant.”

Looking from Jonah to Anastasia and back to Jonah, the sergeant replied, “Sir, he’s with that spy in the general’s headquarters right now.”

By using the term ‘spy,’ Jonah guessed the sergeant meant James Hampton. However, he wished he’d not called the man such in front of Anastasia. Everything seemed to be on the up and up, but who knew?
Up and up,
Jonah thought.
How the devil do I know? She may well be a British spy herself. A damn pretty one if she is.

“You did what?”

“Shhh…”

Clay Gesslin stared at his friend in disbelief. He then looked at the grandfather clock ticking in the corner. “You know the general has forbidden dueling among his officers.”

“I’m not worried,” Jonah answered his friend, seeing the alarm his news had caused him.

“Well, I am,” Gesslin offered and then gave a sigh.

“Technically, I’m not one of his officers, therefore the general’s rule of dueling does not apply to me,” Jonah mumbled, not wanting to cause trouble for his friend.

“Humph,” Gesslin snorted. “But it does apply to me.”

“Ah…I’ve not been asked,” Hampton interrupted the two, “but I would probably be a better choice as a second.” He had overheard the entire conversation and decided to rescue Gesslin, who was obviously out of his element.

“How so?” Gesslin asked before Jonah could open his mouth.

“While I do hold a commission, it’s more for convenience. I’m not really a serving officer but more an agent for the war department,” Hampton replied. “Also, not only did I take fencing in school, but I have been involved in a duel or two previously.”

As Jonah and Gesslin look at Hampton in disbelief, he quickly added, “Nothing more than trifling matters really. More to the point, if I was asked, I would be pleased to act as your second, Mr. Lee.”

“Oh yes, by all means… that is, if you don’t mind, Clay?”

“Oh no, I’ll bow to experience.” While his words sounded disappointed, the look of relief was also obvious.

“Good, it’s settled then. Now, Mr. Lee, if you don’t mind, I shall instruct certain friends of mine to make inquiries into Mr. LeRoche’s background. We will also see if there is any basis for his remarks and behavior toward the lady, Anastasia.”

It’s amazing,
Jonah thought. How the other night Hampton was just one of the boys from Kentucky. And here in the last few minutes, he had shown a completely different side of himself. This led Jonah to think his earlier thoughts were correct. There probably was a connection between Colonel Mentor Johnson, the war hawk congressman, and Hampton. That’s where John Armstrong and the president are getting their information. Jonah was sure of that. Then, another question came to mind. Am I a decoy; openly sent by the president to be an encouraging force. Someone General Harrison could point a finger at, as taking news, when it was really Hampton or one of his cronies. No, he didn’t think so. He had known Armstrong too long. Well, he couldn’t worry about that now. He had to prepare himself for a duel. Still, he wouldn’t completely dismiss it… not yet anyway.

The smell of fresh coffee greeted Jonah when he opened the cabin door. Moses was back and had obviously introduced himself to Anastasia. He could be charming when he wanted to. He had proved a good host as the two were drinking coffee and what was left of an unfinished pastry was in a plate sitting on the hearth. If Anastasia had been fearful of the half African, half Indian, it did not show at this point.

“There’s coffee in the kitchen,” Moses volunteered. “We saved you an apple turnover, as well.”

“Thank you,” Jonah replied.

As there were only two chairs, he sat on the edge of the bed hoping Moses would find some reason to vacate the cabin.

Finally, Jonah asked, “Did you find that cat?”

“Cat… what cat?”

“The cat Captain Todd almost stepped on last night. The one you said you wanted to see about this morning.”

“I didn’t go looking for a cat,” Moses replied. “I went looking for firewood.”

“Well, it doesn’t look like you got enough.”

“Enough? The box is running over now. It wouldn’t hold another stick.”

Damn you,
Jonah thought. He then spotted the plate on the hearth. “Do you think the cook might need his plates back? It’s getting on toward lunch.”

A little giggle came from Anastasia.

Rising, Moses said, “Well, let me go see if I can find that cat and give it these scraps. I’ll take these plates back to the cook so’s he can add them to his stack of four or five hundred. While I’m at it, I will check his fire box and see if there’s enough wood to cook the general’s noon meal.”

By this time, Anastasia was laughing so hard that tears came to her eyes. Jonah felt awkward and flushed but soon he was smiling as well.

“Would you like me to get your coffee and pastry?” Anastasia asked. “Then we can sit and talk if you’d like.”

Before long, Jonah had learned Anastasia had been married for five years when her husband and his father had been killed by Indians. They had never had children. Her mother-in-law worked at the trading post until the British came and took everything that was worth taking. Food had been scarce. Two older officers had been billeted in her home. They had been nice, and their presence kept food on the table. Neither of them liked General Proctor, thinking him a coward and afraid of Tecumseh and his Indians. They did like Proctor’s deputy, Lieutenant Colonel Warburton.