Forever Young Birth Of A Nation (64 page)

She was a cargo ship, making her last run
for the season across the North Sea to Edinburg, and Moreau was
grateful to have found a berth on her, even if he had been forced
to pay quadruple the asking price for himself and his two goats.
Taking a berth on any ship sailing from French or Spanish waters
was out of the question. Not only was he wanted for sedition in
France, but in Spain as well. He had never been to Spain until he
had tried to book passage there and had seen his picture everywhere
at the first Spanish port he had tried in San Sebastian.

So it was that he had journeyed to the Dutch
Netherlands, out of reach of the French and Spanish monarchies.
Here he had seen no wanted posters with his likeness on them and he
had counted himself as most fortunate.

As he made his way up the gangway he
pondered the chain of events that had led him to this place
. Two
large covens vanished without a trace and in two separate cities no
less. The King’s Gendarmes were not even interested in the fire
that destroyed my building. Not only that, but Henri Lafayette has
not been seen by my agents anywhere. And now I am wanted by the
Crown of not one country but two? The Marquis de Sade was right
about one thing. He would have no part of a tangle with the
Lafayettes without a lot of evidence. Now I know why! No doubt this
Lafayette is one of the vampire bigwigs that my dead brother
mentioned. I am beginning to see why he always dreaded their
discovery of his activities. Damn him, damn the Lafayettes and damn
my luck!

I wonder if I will find my picture
everywhere in London as well? It may be that I should have gone to
the Swiss Confederation for the winter before the passes were
closed by weather. And now I learn that the one ship I can find in
the Netherlands that is sailing for Great Britain is taking her
last voyage for the year. All others have stopped any service to
Britain for the winter already. What does that say for the weather
that we’ll encounter? Maybe I should have tried to swim across from
Calais. But what if a current caught me and I was out there still
swimming after sunrise? Maybe I should have brought three goats
along to feed from. Will Edwards want to put up more money to get
this Henri Lafayette, or will he turn on me? Damn Henri Lafayette
and Ian McCloud! I hope those two in America are having better luck
with their mission than I have had with mine!

***

“Where do you think you are going,
Priscilla?”

“Oh, I was going to see if a certain home is
empty today. I have wanted to pay it a visit and see what I could
steal.”

“You’ll do no such thing. You’ll stay here
and keep the lid on this bunch or else! Today is no day to be gone,
Priscilla, and I mean it!’

“Oh my, Yvonne! What have I done wrong? I’m
so sorry if I upset you.”

Relenting then, Yvonne approached Priscilla
and put an arm around her shoulders as she turned her back toward
the house, saying “I didn’t mean to snap at you, Priscilla. You
were marvelous with June. I mean… you know… keeping her calm and
all. I was impressed, and so were Stefan and Harold.”

“I meant no harm, Yvonne. I work hard and I
try to please everyone.”

“I know you do, Priscilla, but this day you
will have to stay here with the coven, and you’re not to leave them
for a moment until we return.”

About then Grundy came out the door with two
rucksacks and stalking up to her as he handed one to Yvonne he said
“Priscilla, I’d better not find out that you left after we’re gone
or else.”

She shrank back and nodded, clearly cowed by
his menacing presence.

“We’ll return later, Priscilla. Do your
duty.”

“Yes Yvonne. I’ll stay here” she said as she
thought
how can I warn Cosette that I think they are going after
Ian? How can I get away? The others will tell Yvonne and Grundy for
sure. And now that they are leaving, I couldn’t even get there
ahead of them, even if I knew where to go. I can’t help Ian or
Cosette.

“I have to carry a package. Hamilton told me
last evening that it would go out today. I think it has to do with
the end of year reenlistment effort, and likely a bonus for a short
duration extension of duty.”

“I can manage. We have a good supply of game
for them to pick up. Do you have any idea when you’ll return?”

“No. I’m sure it’s only going to
Philadelphia, but they may ask me to wait to take an answer and
sometimes they take a vote and then draft an answer for Washington
if it involves money.”

“I can always go get small game so that we
don’t have to hunt as long when you return.” She walked up to him
then, putting her arms around his waist saying in a low voice “I am
going to borrow two kettles. You and I have an appointment to keep
in our tub this evening.”

Smiling he said “Bringing James’ and
Melissa’s tent for a bath house was a really good idea.”

“I was not about to let that tent sit in a
barn in New Jersey all winter when I had a perfectly good use for
it” she said as she slid her arms around his neck, pulling him
gently to her for a lingering kiss.

“Now I will be pacing the floor at
Independence Hall while they are voting and drafting a response.
You shouldn’t have told me.”

“Mmmm. I wanted for you to have an incentive
to hurry back.”

“It’s working. I’m ready to report out sick”
he laughed as he kissed her again, a tender lingering kiss. Pulling
back then he said “Why don’t you come with me? The cook will find
the game we have on the rack. We will have time to look around most
likely. You can just go ahead a bit and when I have the package,
I’ll join you.”

“I would but a handsome man has promised
that he will join me later today and I thought to catch a lot of
small game so that the two of us could stay in this evening.”

“When you put it that way, it sounds like
you have a better idea” he said as he drew her close again. The
faint but sweet scent of her hair, the breeze rustling the dried
leaves still clinging to an oak tree nearby, the love shining forth
from her dark eyes all captivated him at that moment. He drew her
to him again and said “I love you. Until tonight then.” And then he
stepped back just a bit and cupped her face between his two hands,
drinking in the sight. Giving her one last kiss, he turned and
trotted off to the east into the camp to pick up his package.

***

The package had been delivered so Ian
decided to walk about and see more of Philadelphia. He enjoyed the
afternoon and as he strolled along the tree-lined avenue leading
back to Independence Hall, he spied John Hancock walking toward him
with a broad smile.

“Ian McCloud! By Heaven it is good to see
you.”

“Good to see you too, John.”

“I guess you knew that James gave me your
package of letters for Europe.”

“Yes, he said you’d taken them.”

“I would love to know just who you wrote to
and what you said to them.”

“I only wrote to some friends over there and
tried to persuade them to our side of this war.”

“Well, whatever it was, it sure didn’t hurt
things any. Both countries formally came in at the right time. It
has been a huge boost to our morale.”

“I can see that everywhere I go. You know,
enlistments have been up ever since the French joined us. What
brings you here, Governor?”

“I resigned that post last month.”

“Why?”

“The merchants have prevailed on the state
assembly to levy a punitive tax on the land owners in our state to
pay back loans from European war speculators. I couldn’t stop it
from happening even with a veto so I resigned. Now there has been a
rebellion up there against the thing and men are up in arms, even
preventing the thing from being formally started.”

“Not what we need with a war to win.” He
thought
I would wager that those speculators are the human
banking cartel of Europe. This is just the sort of thing they love;
a war where they can lend to both sides. They have loaned money to
France, Spain and Britain already.

Hancock said “No; definitely not what we
need right now.”

“What sparked the thing anyway?”

“A soldier who fought for our cause and was
not paid had a large tax levied on his place by our state assembly
and he was so incensed that he organized this rebellion and I have
to say that I do not blame him. The new Governor is sympathetic to
the merchants in Boston and cares nothing about the farmers. This
thing has become a big mess.”

“Some politicians forget who grows the food
they eat. You say it started because of a single soldier and an
unfair tax?”

“Yes, fellow by the name of Daniel Shay;
decent fellow, just in a bad situation. I am glad to be away from
it. I hoped to get some temporary financial help here today. Maybe
get a promise for relief if we can sell bonds or some such thing to
repay the loan. I am going to ask anyway. All they can do is vote
no.”

“An unfair tax. Seems that was a big thing
in starting our war.”

“Good point, Ian.”

“There is a lot of rumbling in camp right
now what with some soldiers from Pennsylvania not being paid as
well. I would wager that the Congress has taken that matter up this
day. Has Spain or France stopped their support?”

“No. It is a matter of getting the money
here. All of Spain’s support money and materials must come here
through New Orleans, up the Mississippi and then be brought
cross-country to Philadelphia.”

“All of it?”

“Yes, whether gunpowder or silver, it comes
up the Mississippi if it comes from Spain. Britain tries to keep
the native nations stirred up and hostile to all whites because
they know that we move money and munitions through that
country.”

“And France’s support?”

“Well now it comes either up the Mississippi
or sometimes via Rhode Island. The French army has pretty well
taken that over and is occupying it.”

“We will be waiting here a while, John. We
may well see in the new year waiting on the Congress” he said as
the sun got low on the winter horizon. The two walked into
Independence Hall then and visited for a good while, each waiting
for the Congress to finish what they were doing and get to their
matter.

***

Night had fallen and Moon Owl had two hot
kettles of water setting over two small fires and had just finished
dressing and hanging twenty three rabbits and four coons high up on
the game rack. She went into the tent they lived in then to add
some roast rabbit to a stew she had simmering on the stove top. It
being cold, she knew that the sentries would be expecting to get a
hot bowl of stew after their shift ended.

Hearing footfalls on the snow outside she
called out “In here, Ian.” about the time the tent flap parted.
Turning with a smile, she froze in place as she came nearly face to
face with a beautiful red-headed woman with striking green eyes.
Instinctively she knew her to be a vampire, yet she did not betray
that she was, but merely feigned curiosity as she said “Oh. I
mistook you for my husband. May I help you in some way?”

Smiling Yvonne said “Why yes, Mrs. McCloud.
I am Yvonne Devrie and I was wondering when your husband will
return?”

Already ill at ease, knowing that her sword
was in the other tent she nonetheless smiled sweetly and said
“Hello, Mrs. Devrie. I am Monique and I expect him any time
now.”

Yvonne came toward her then as her smile
began to vanish, saying “Good, we’ll wait for him together” as she
quickly reached out to grab Moon Owl. Using a well-practiced Chi-Na
technique, Moon Owl broke her index finger in the blink of an eye
and doubled her over with a blindingly fast snap kick to the
stomach as she rocketed for the entrance. Yvonne screamed in pain
and rage and fell to her knees. Moon Owl collided with a very large
muscular vampire with dark hair and dark glittering eyes that drove
his fist into her face, shattering her nose and driving her down
onto her back. Rolling she came to her feet just in time to be
grabbed by the throat and she instantly clapped her two hands over
his ears, rupturing both ear drums as she followed up with a
perfectly executed eye gouge. Using her right thumb she took out
his left eye and ripped it from the optic nerve flinging it away as
he roared in pain and rage. Punching her in the face and throwing
her to the floor he pinned her with one foot. Unsheathing his saber
he lopped off her head in an instant.

Yvonne spoke then as she nursed her broken
finger, trying to push it back into alignment and crying at the
pain as she cursed, saying “Damn that hellcat!”

“That witch gouged out my eye, damn her to
hell! My God! I can’t hear a thing!” he shouted as he put both
hands to his ears.”

By now Stefan, Bartholomew and June had
entered the tent, looking with surprise on the scene as Grundy
shouted “Don’t just stand their staring; help me look for my
eye!”

Bartholomew said “The tent flap was open so
it might be out here. Help me look outside, June.” Several minutes
passed as they looked in vain for Grundy’s eye. While Bartholomew
and June got down on their knees and began to look about for it in
the snow, Yvonne finally said “It has to be outside somewhere.” The
other two came out then and Grundy dropped down between June and
Bartholomew, jostling him roughly as he said “Give me some room
here you two.” Unnoticed, Bartholomew had something knocked out of
his shirt pocket right then and it hit Grundy’s boot, ricocheting
only two feet, but it lodged nearly hidden under the edge of the
tent, protruding only a bit.

Within a quarter of an hour the four had
given up and had decided to darken both tents and wait inside of
the one they had killed her in. They settled back grimly
anticipating a second kill. Although his hearing had finally
returned, Grundy seethed with rage at the loss of his eye,
muttering curses until Yvonne finally got him to be quiet, saying
“After coming this far do you want to tell him we are here
waiting?”