Forever Young Birth Of A Nation (23 page)

Later they made love and she fell asleep as
always with his hand to her lips. Ian’s mind wandered back to his
times with Alandra, Anna, Alyssa, and most of all, Cosette. He had
loved them all but it seemed that Cosette and Alandra knew him
best, often seeming to know what he was thinking. He thought
I
have been blessed with the love and company of some fine women in
my new life as a vampire. How strange my life became after that
night in Marseille! Some of it has been sorrowful, but some of it
like right now has been joyous too. It has been a mixed bag.
Strange that even yet I can’t make a kill and feed without thinking
of Cosette. If only we had not gone against that coven that night!
How different might my life have been, even as a vampire! Cosette
and I would still be together, and Alandra would likely still be
alive. But then I never would have stumbled across Moon Owl that
night and been able to help her either because I wouldn’t have come
to America so soon. Would we ever have found and rescued little
Aimee then? No. It was my being involved with Anna that brought
that joy to all of us. She is so wonderful to have in our family.
And it was Aimee’s being kidnapped that led us to rescue Jennifer
who likely is now paired with Andre. And then Andre himself would
have died of Wasting Disease had Cosette not died because I would
not have met Anna. Then Liri would never have met Mustafa and their
child would not have been born..

He sighed deeply as he realized the futility
of such thoughts, thoughts of what might have been. Stroking Moon
Owl’s hair gently and kissing her cheek, he had to admit that he
did not hurt as much as he had during those days before coming to
America. The wind rose then, whispering around the window panes as
sleet began to blow against them with a grainy sound.

As they sat in the dining area of the Harbor
Inn and Tavern, each with a stein of ale before them, Yvonne and
Stefan discussed what they had learned. The man in the window of
that carriage had not been Ian McCloud, but he had a resemblance of
what Yvonne could recall about McCloud. They had tailed the
carriage for most of that afternoon as best they were able and
finally they had been able to get out and mix with its passengers
in a marketplace. This man had hazel colored eyes, not the frosty
blue that Yvonne recalled. The three ladies were no one that they
recognized. One wore a broad brimmed hat like Yvonne was wearing,
notable only because it was not in style. She had on sun glasses,
but Yvonne had seen those occasionally in France so she did not see
anything much to interest her in the woman. They had seen nothing
of importance and had let the group depart without following
them.

“Stefan; we need recruits. I think we should
get one or two real soon.”

Stefan sighed deeply, saying “We have to see
them through their imprinting and all of that for three weeks. How
droll! Must we?”

“We need vampire eyes and ears and one day
we will need vampire strength because you and I alone will never
take Ian McCloud. We need to find a proper place to rent for the
rest of the winter, a place out of the city, but nearby. That way
we will have some privacy for helping these recruits
imprint
. Let’s get to it this day. We will buy a newspaper
and look there and we can inquire at the two banks here as well. We
are getting nowhere in this place sipping ale. Let us be going
now.”

“The Wellington Bank is not so far from here
Yvonne. Let’s try asking there first.”

Within the hour they were listening to a
bank employee describe a place with a home and sixty three acres
near the western end of Long Island that was available to lease
now. Truth to tell, there were not a lot of places available for
lease. In two days they had signed a lease for the place and that
night they took their first victim. He was a young husky male of
twenty three years and they transported him to their new home via
longboat after dark.

***

The rest of the winter passed uneventfully
for Ian, James, and Moon Owl. The two vampires maintained their
routine and managed to help keep Henry Knox’s column fed. By night
time of March 2nd, they had successfully sneaked all of the cannon
into the Roxbury area southwest of Boston. They hid them behind
barns and out among groves of trees and in brushy areas so that no
loyalists could alert the British. The militia was invaluable for
that being as they alone knew who were Tories and who were
patriots.

Ian and James had decided that both of them
had best be there so they had arranged for Moon Owl to stay with
Melissa at her place and she agreed to take two evenings off from
her job. Being easily the most popular wench there, the proprietor
had no choice but to grant her request. There was no way he would
risk losing Melissa if he could help it.

Late that night after everything was
secured; Ian and James sat down with several officers and Henry
Knox as he outlined what he wanted. “I want every single piece
taken to the top of Dorchester Heights tomorrow night. Then we have
to work all night to build breastworks to prepare for a land
assault on our position. We want to get there as quietly as
possible and get to work quickly.”

Ian spoke then, saying “Those carts will
make some noise rolling through the streets. They were noisy
tonight. What if we took sheaves of straw and blankets and tied
them to the rims of the wheels to quiet them?”

Knox looked around the table and all nodded
assent. Looking at Ian he said “That is a fine idea. Darren, can
you take everyone you can find tomorrow and gather straw for us? We
can get the militia to help us too.”

Darren nodded and other things such as
powder and cannonballs were discussed regarding what order to get
them to the top of the hill and where to put them until needed.
They talked until late into the night then. Ian and James both
volunteered for first watch guaranteeing the group that they would
stay on watch until daylight.

The next day was spent getting ready for the
big push to the top of Dorchester Heights beginning after sundown.
By nightfall they were moving and both Ian and James were always
together to help push a balky cart. Owing to their combined vampire
strength not even one cart got stuck that night. Before daylight
all artillery was at the top of the hill and construction of a
sturdy breastwork was underway. They knew that either loyalists
would alert the British or that they would be spotted by lookouts
in the fleet, anchored below them in the Harbor.

Ian and James worked non-stop with the army
then, putting up defenses all around the perimeter of the gun
placements. It would be a three day job at the very least they
knew. The two of them agreed to volunteer for duty as night
sentries in case the British tried to assault the hill at night.
They assured Henry that no British troops would get past them
during the nights and they told him that both of them would be on
duty south of Roxbury every night all night.

There was a flurry of activity about the
fleet and Knox thought that the British would mount a land assault
and try to take the hilltop. Providence intervened then as the
weather became foul and extremely stormy and windy for days on end.
This continued until one day, the 17
^th
of March, Ian was
standing with Henry and several officers of the Continental Army
looking out over the British fleet. Ian saw a ship pull up its bow
anchor, and then three more did so. Soon the prevailing westerly
winds began to turn the ships around and Ian said “Henry, the fleet
is leaving.”

“What? How can you tell?” He opened his
spyglass and watched intently for some two minutes and then he
turned to Ian with a broad smile and said “You have sharp eyes my
man.” And then he shouted “They are leaving! The fleet is leaving!”
There was a great cheer and then someone said “Three cheers for
Colonel Knox!” The entire column shouted “Hip-hip-huzzah!
Hip-hip-huzzah! Hip-hip-huzzah!”

They stood and watched as the sails unfurled
and the fleet began to depart. James came running with a huge grin
on his face then, slapping Ian on the back he said “Why are they
leaving?”

Ian replied “They are afraid to sit any
longer. Likely they would have attacked our position but for the
foul weather. They cannot hit us with any ship’s cannon from down
there. We can fire at will and destroy half of them in one day from
here. They have no defense against us and no choice. Henry, do you
think they were loading all of the Tories aboard to take them too?
That might have been some of the activity we saw.”

“If they didn’t, there will likely be some
Tories hung in Boston tomorrow.”

James said “Let’s go get the girls and
celebrate. This is a great day!”

“Indeed it is.” And then he thought
now
the day is near when I will take Moon Owl to her people.
That
thought sobered him on the journey back to Boston.

Colonel Davis sat at the desk provided for
him at the new headquarters for the British Northern Fleet in
Halifax, Nova Scotia. “Captain Grundy, it pains me to do this, but
you are hereby demoted to the rank of Lieutenant in His Majesty’s
army. You will report to Captain Taylor of the supply division
downstairs, where your duties will consist of the timely provision
of supplies for His Majesty’s armed forces in the northern theater
of the war. Here are your orders” he said as he handed them across
his desk to Grundy, who saluted him smartly and doing a snap
military about-face, he walked stiffly from the office.

As he walked, even though in shock he was
also livid with rage inside.
There is nothing so vile that I
would not do if I but knew who it was who robbed that payroll
ship
he thought. His mind had sifted and turned over the facts
of the case in the intervening weeks since it had happened. By now
it had become suspected that there could have been as few as two
perpetrators being as only two uniforms were reported stolen
according to the Hessians.
How could two men do that? It is
impossible. There had to be at least half a dozen men in on this
thing. Surely at some point in time one of them will slip up and
brag about it to someone else while drinking. Fat chance that will
do me any good though. Supply officer? The kiss of death in the
command structure of the British Army. There is little chance that
I will ever rise much above lieutenant in the British Army now
given my record and my age of thirty years.
He seethed then as
he thought
thanks to Ian McCloud my life is ruined. I’ve lost
any chance with Rebecca and my career is ruined. If I ever have a
chance to strike back at McCloud, I will do so no matter the risk
of being caught. Why should he have a good life and I have only
this wreckage of a life left for me to endure? And how in hell
could anyone manage to even know about a payroll ship let alone rob
one?

***

Ian, Moon Owl, James, and Melissa all rode
into Boston together. Never had they seen so many people in the
streets as this afternoon. Everywhere church bells were ringing.
You might have thought the war was over to see and hear the
celebration. No longer needing to be disguised as frontiersmen, the
two men were dressed in clothing common to that seen in America at
that time. They had to leave their horses and wagon at a livery
some six blocks from the center of the city. Walking toward the Old
South Meeting House area then, they noted the jubilant mood of the
throngs of people everywhere.

Recognizing Paul Revere from across the
street, Ian waved to him. Revere smiled and came across the street,
smiling. Ian introduced James and Melissa to him. Smiling he took
off his hat and shook hands with James, then bowing and kissing the
back of Melissa’s hand and repeating that with Moon Owl, he asked
“Are you here to celebrate?”

“We are sir. James and I just came from
Dorchester Heights only yesterday. We had a fair view of the
British fleet leaving.”

“We knew that was why they pulled out. Were
you involved in that affair with Colonel Knox then?”

“We both were. We hunted for his column as
they brought that artillery from Ticonderoga.”

“Everyone is impressed with how Knox got
everything up there so quietly. We never even heard rumors and then
one morning, there were all of those cannon on the heights.”

“The last several days we only moved them at
night. The Militia helped us a lot, getting hiding places in
advance and fodder for the oxen too.”

“Come with me, all of you. I have someone I
want you to meet. You will like John Hancock. He is extravagant but
has a good heart and a great sense of humor. His mentor Sam Adams
is here too. They all feel safe enough to be seen in public now
since the British have gone.”

The four walked with him then, Ian and James
still answering questions as they went into the Old South Meeting
House. The place was full and buzzing with conversations among the
people there. Walking to a small group at a table over to one side,
Revere introduced the four to Samuel Adams, Benjamin Rush, and John
Hancock. All three of the men stood as the ladies were introduced
as Monique Orleans and Melissa Willocks. Chairs were brought around
and Revere then gave a sketch of what had transpired to get the
cannon to Boston and then to the top of Dorchester Heights. Both
James and Ian were questioned somewhat about how that was done.

Their spirits were high and they discussed
tidbits of news regarding the war and the atrocious weather in
South Carolina where they had had the worst winter on record.
Hancock then said “We were just talking about the robbery of that
payroll ship a couple of weeks ago. Did you hear about that?”

Ian and James nodded as Hancock then went on
“We are at odds about whether it was really Hessians who did it or
some others. What do you two think?