Forever Young Birth Of A Nation (51 page)

The two nodded and Tallmadge continued by
saying “If you are approached and the person does not know that
number, don’t participate in whatever they are talking about. Your
contact will know your number and at that time you will be given
his number.”

The two nodded and James said “We will help
you, Mr. Tallmadge, but we have been gone for so long from New York
that I fear we would arouse suspicion this late in the war should
we return now.”

“James is right, Ben. We may carry messages
in and out of there, but we would be a poor choice for gathering
intelligence.”

“Agreed. We have enough people doing that
now. It is in the courier department that we need help.”

“You may call on us sir.”

“Thank you both. It was nice to finally meet
you, Ian; you too James. Good day and good luck traveling.”

The two nodded as Ian said “Good day to you,
Ben.” After the man had gone away, the two rejoined the women and
Melissa asked James “What was that about?”

Ian looked at the two and said “It seems
James and I are now spies, and you two are accomplices.”

“You are dropping your guard every time you
move laterally, Priscilla. Let’s try it again” said Cosette as she
thrust forward with her wooden sword. “That is better. Again now”
she said as again she moved forward. “Very good.” She repeated the
sequence at a faster and faster speed until Priscilla had mastered
the technique of preserving her guard while moving, and finally
being satisfied of that, she said “That is enough for today.”

“Thank you, Cosette. I can’t tell you how
much this means to me, I mean you’re taking time to teach me and
all. I have learned so much from you these past months.”

“You’re a good student, Priscilla. Attitude
is as important as strength or size. I want to teach you more about
Chi-Na techniques the next time. They are especially valuable for
those who are small.”

“Oh, thank you! Am I doing well then?”

“Yes. I am pleased with your progress. What
is new in the coven?”

Priscilla noticed that now Cosette referred
to it as ‘the coven’ instead of ‘your coven’ as she had in the
beginning. She brightened a bit and said “Oh, yes; we have two new
members and I suspect we may move to Manhattan.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. These two are wealthy Tory loyalists
about thirty years old, and they have a fine home on some twelve
acres. I am certain that Yvonne intends to force them to
accommodate us. They have a large tenant house out beyond their
barn and outbuildings that adjoin the woods in that area. It is
perfect really.”

Cosette furrowed her brow in thought then,
looking off to the horizon. Priscilla watched her closely, studying
her. She practically idolized Cosette and for her part, Cosette had
really grown to like Priscilla and had learned to appreciate her
finer qualities. While the two had spent time with one another
clandestinely for three months, she had gradually come out of her
shell and was truly a vibrant young woman, with a lively sense of
humor and a wonderful attitude toward learning.

Cosette was considering asking her if she
would like to accompany them back to France after the banks had
been established. She had no doubt that Priscilla would fit in well
with the family, in spite of the poor mentoring she had while
imprinting.

“Maybe we could take a carriage ride and see
that place today. Would you like that, Priscilla?”

“Oh my, yes! I cannot recall if I have ever
ridden in a carriage.”

“We will wait until later in the day and go
with the shades drawn. I have to be sure that you are not seen with
me. How did your suggestion go regarding teaching them how to feed
without being messy?”

“Oh my, Cosette! I forgot to tell you! It
went so well! I presented those old shirts and blouses you gave me
and the cups and paring knives too when I suggested it one day. I
told them that I stole everything to help the coven. There were a
couple of them who took issue with me, but Yvonne was truly
impressed when I said that they might be able to go out and help me
look for Ian McCloud if they didn’t look like ghouls.”

Cosette threw back her head and laughed,
pulling Priscilla close and hugging her. “I would have loved to
have seen their faces right then, Prissy!”

Priscilla laughed then, flushed with joy.
She loved it when Cosette used her pet nickname. “Oh, I am likely
to be put in charge of the tenant house when we move. I am sure
that Yvonne and Stefan will move into the main house in a guest
room, and Yvonne will want to designate someone to be in
charge.”

“What about Grundy?”

“I would guess that he’ll end up in the main
house with Yvonne and Stefan. Even if not, I think she will still
want me to be in charge because Grundy doesn’t seem to be
interested in things like housekeeping and helping the coven. I
would never tell him to do anything though. He scares me.”

“Just keep buttering him up, Prissy. He
likes it whether or not he shows it.”

“How do you know that?”

“He has an inflated opinion of himself. As
long as you are respectful, committed to finding Ian, and do not
embarrass him in front of anyone he will likely be an ally in the
coven. Trust me on this.”

“I will. How did you become so… so
wise?”

Laughing as they packed away their
equipment, Cosette said “I was mentored by the wisest most
knowledgeable woman I ever knew. She taught me everything.”

“That is Marie?”

“Yes.” Turning to her, Cosette fixed her
eyes on Priscilla’s and said “If our banking efforts here don’t
interfere with it, how would you like to return to France with us
one day, Prissy?”

Breaking into a radiant smile, Priscilla
threw her hands to her cheeks and said “Really Cosette? Please
don’t tease me now!”

Cosette reached out taking both of
Priscilla’s hands, and smiling sweetly she said “I think you would
make a wonderful addition to our family. They would all love you.
Just think about it. This war can’t last forever, and we will
return to Europe for a while at some time.”

“Oh I don’t have to think about it! The
answer is yes, yes, yes” she said with a giddy laugh. “But what did
you mean about your banking efforts interfering with me traveling
with you?”

“Well, Prissy, you will be working in a
position of management in our bank in New York City and we may need
you to stay at that post when we leave.”

“Oh my! Me? Working in a bank? I…I do not
know a thing about that, Cosette.”

“No matter. You are trustworthy and that is
what is most important. Remember that we vampires learn fast, and
Ian will teach you what you need to know. All of this is years away
anyhow, so it’s not a concern now.”

“I’ll do whatever you say. I want to fit in
and be a part of the family."

“I want you to work really hard now to help
Yvonne and the next time we meet, we will take an excursion to New
Jersey. We will dine over there where we are not likely to be
recognized. I will instruct you on proper table manners and other
things. I see that you feed daily. Did Yvonne have you do a blood
fast at all?”

“No. What is a blood fast?”

Cosette explained it to her.

“That would be a good thing. I get edgy,
restless when I need to feed. I would like for that not to
happen.”

“We’re going to work on that to see if we
can help you. It has another important benefit too.”

“What?”

“There is pain that accompanies the blood
fast, being as it is done in the last week of
imprinting
.
Our bodies are still changing and we deny ourselves blood then.
That increases the
imprinting
pains a lot, and because of
that, we develop a great tolerance to pain.”

“What benefit is that?”

“In fighting we are not nearly as distracted
by really serious wounds. That can make the difference of life and
death, Priscilla.”

She nodded, looking admiringly into
Cosette’s eyes as she finished packing her ruck sack. Cosette had
given her a copper flask, a carved ivory tooth brush, a packet of
dried apple blossoms and lilac blossoms, and a copper bowl. She was
told to say that she had stolen it all from a rich Tory family if
asked.

Reaching out to take Cosette’s hand she said
“Thank you again for everything. I was an only child, and you are
like a sister to me.”

“You’re welcome, Prissy. Do be careful now
when you are coming to meet me. Never forget to always double back
several times to be sure you are not followed, just as I showed you
from the beginning. Never omit that precaution. We’ll meet here in
two days in the early morning time, say around seven o’clock.”

The two embraced and separated then,
Priscilla bounding away to the north through the dense woodland as
Cosette did a wide high speed circle to be sure no one had crept up
on them, searching diligently as she sometimes stopped and just
listened for periods of time. Satisfied, she headed for the
Millhouse home.

***

Claude Rousseau, chief of the King’s
Gendarmes looked through the report again once more. Satisfied, he
put it in his out box to be filed, after entering the case number
in a private ledger along with a code of his own making to help him
better recall the thing should he ever need to look it up again. He
finally had been able to pull ten of the twelve men off of the
Paris detail of this thing he was doing for the Laforges. That left
only the six men assigned to watch that group in Marseille. The two
remaining on it in Paris had only to watch one Arnaud Moreau and
keep track of his contacts. He had recently been handed off to the
Constabulary of London being as he had gone there not long ago.
Rousseau shook his head, chuckling at the very thought of
co-operative work with the Constable’s office of London.

While recalling the size of the operation,
he sat back and packed his pipe full of fragrant tobacco, a gift of
the Laforges. It was an exotic blend, one which could not be bought
anywhere but in Turkistan. He paced back and forth in his office,
pondering the events of the case, and was glad that it had gone to
the satisfaction of the Laforges. That their own people had come in
and taken over at the last did not bother him in the least as he
had been warned several time of how dangerous the subjects were.
Still he was glad that there was now only the group in Marseille to
watch.

He was more relaxed now that France had
entered the war on the side of the Americans as the Laforges had
wanted and especially now that the big gang in Paris was gone. He
had no doubt but what they were all dead, and cared not a whit
either. It was a great relief for the thing to be tidied up and
taken away by the Laforges without his further involvement. The
case was given a cover story of a smuggling ring that had escaped
before being arrested and that was how the thing would be recorded
forever. He had received two bonuses, one after France entered the
war, and one after the Laforges took over the case of the Paris
gang.

It has been a profitable and beneficial
relationship, serving the Laforges
he thought.
I have done
well for myself and most of the time I have done well for France as
well. Life is good.

“The entire bunch was simply gone when you
returned from Marseille? That is incredible! Don’t you think Henri
Lafayette had something to do with this?”

“How? He was never even aware we were
watching him.”

“Oh? Did you ever once find his family?”

“He has a wife who is supposed to be
involved in charities and who mostly stays in Marseille. She was
not at their home, and I know that for sure. The place was checked
several times. They have no children, and after all, he is French,
is he not? Likely he has a tart or two stashed away for sport when
he desires it.”

“Do you know that for a fact?”

“We didn’t find proof of infidelity, or of
another woman; and he has a sterling reputation, even being welcome
in the court of King Louis himself. This thing baffles me, but no
one is that moral or that smart. I am convinced that there was a
feud within the coven; maybe a falling out and a big fight. It
could have even started over a female. Likely the winners left
rather than face me and admit what had happened. Lafayette just got
lucky is all that happened.”

“And we just got what, unlucky’?”

“Do you have any ideas?”

Shaking his head, Edwards paced back and
forth in his study. Stopping, he turned to Moreau and said “Let’s
build up the coven in Marseille and take him when he goes home. We
will watch the place to see when he returns. Look at the time and
money we put into that debacle in Paris. To hell with starting that
all over again! I say put all of our efforts into getting him in
Marseille. You are sure that this Henri is the same one you saw at
Vienna?”

“Yes. He is the one no doubt. Can he really
be that good and that well connected?”

“I am going to have to agree with you. No
one can make twenty three vampires vanish the way they did. It has
to be as you said. I will finance this further and you can have the
funds today. We will get our man in Marseille for certain. You will
stay with your coven then and keep them together this time?”

“I will” said Moreau as his eyes glowed like
topaz. What is happening in America regarding McCloud?”

“We have a coven there now numbering twelve.
They are undetected and will kill McCloud when he returns to his
bank. We have his human brother under surveillance. I expect good
things from my people over there. Yvonne and Stefan Devrie are both
highly motivated. They will finish this thing, you can be sure.”
Pouring goat’s blood from a decanter into two goblets he handed one
to Moreau and raising his he said “Death to the Lafayettes and to
Ian McCloud” as they clinked their goblets together and drank, eyes
glowing.