Forever Young Birth Of A Nation (74 page)

Filtering in around that or through it was
the sound of gentle weeping and the physical sound of his name
being called gently, punctuating that weeping. He tried to speak
physically and could not. His mind bent itself to the task of
speaking and suddenly he heard a voice in his mind say
it is
Celeste, Ian. Can you hear us?
Then Celine said
Uncle Ian,
can you hear me? This is Celine.

I… I… hear you both. I… was shot. Am I
dead?

No Ian. You are alive. Cosette is there with
you now!

I am dead then. Cosette is dead. Why are you
tormenting me? Who are you, really? Go away and leave me in
peace.

Ian, this is Marie. Li and Sophia are there
too. So are James and Melissa. You are hurt, but you will heal,
son. You will heal. We all love you Ian. Please come back to us
son. Please come back.

Come back, Uncle Ian, come back!

Ian! Please come back!

***

Cosette sat weeping quietly; gently holding
Ian’s head to her breast, her hair spilling over his face while
saying in a low voice “Ian. Ian. Come back to me, love” as she
gently wept over him, her tears now falling on his face as she
watched the wound begin to knit.

Li said “Look, it is closing up now
everyone!” Cosette nodded and wept as she began to rock him ever so
gently. The deep gash began to close itself before their eyes then
at a slightly faster pace as the slug from the gunshot wound was
suddenly expelled from his head and tumbled down across his face to
rest in the crook of Cosette’s arm as she gave a little cry of joy
“Oh look, everyone! Look at that!”

Even as she spoke the head wound closed and
his eyes fluttered. Li held a flask to his lips then, dribbling a
little nourishment into his mouth and waiting. Every little bit he
would tip the flask slightly, pouring a bit in and waiting until
finally Ian swallowed it and began to take it faster.

His eyes opened then and he was aware of a
faint scent of lilac and of the oval of a lovely face framed by
honey-blond hair with golden highlights, visible even in the oil
lamps lighting the room. Exquisitely lovely gray eyes looked
intently into his, tears streaming from them and falling
uninterrupted on his face.

He moved his lips and finally croaked “Co…
Cosette. I
am
dead then. Here you are. I… love you, Cosette.
You… you waited. You waited for me here… here on the other
side.”

“I am here in America, love. And you are not
dead” she said as she bent to kiss his lips gently. As she raised
her head, gazing at him lovingly he was aware of the way her hair
framed her lovely face and he was taken back some fourteen years to
a fateful night in Marseille, France when this same lovely woman
had saved his life.

“Cosette. Are we in Marseille?”

“No love. We are in America?”

He began to see other faces peering at him,
coming into view, faces he knew. “Li” he croaked” Is that you?”

“Yes. Hello Ian.”

“You’re dead too?”

Laughing then Li said “No and neither are
you.”

Sophia crowded into view then, smiling
brilliantly saying “Hello, Ian. I’m not dead either, nor is James
or Melissa. You have given us quite a scare.”

James came into view with Melissa, both
smiling at him as James said “Look at what happens when I am not
around to watch your back. This thing almost got away from us!”

He looked again at Cosette and weakly raised
a hand to caress her cheek gently, as she took that hand and
pressed it to her lips saying “Oh praise God, Ian. You are alive
and so am I. Praise God everyone!” and she then wept for joy,
bending over him to sob as all of the pent up tension and
frustration left her at once. She began to kiss him all over his
face as she wept, both laughing and crying at the same time. He
began to weep for joy as he realized that they were indeed both
alive. They clung to each other then, weeping and laughing as the
others looked on, sharing their joy.

Priscilla looked on with wonder, thinking
that is what love is, and that is what I want. Praise God that I
am with these people now!
She reached and took Oliver’s hand
and raised it to her lips and kissed it as tears formed in her
eyes. Standing near and just behind her, he put his other arm about
her and kissed the top of her head, holding her close. None of them
had noticed that a figure lying in the rear of the foyer had quit
thrashing about several minutes earlier and had crawled silently
toward the back of the house.

Nearly four thousand miles away everyone in
the parlor of the chateau gave a great cheer and began to laugh and
hug each other. Marie, Celeste, and Celine sat weeping for joy and
hugging each other as the others crowded about asking for details.
It was well into the morning before they had wrung every detail out
of Celeste and Celine that they could. However, neither of them nor
Marie said anything about Ian having been married to Moon Owl. Both
Marie and Celeste agreed that it was up to Ian to tell about that
in his own time and if he never brought it up, they would not
either. Little Celine was admonished to never mention it unless her
Uncle Ian said something about it first. She had agreed that it
would be their special secret.

***

The cleanup at the place lasted until
sunrise. Priscilla and Oliver were not there for that, having been
chosen to go to James and Melissa’s cottage and tell everyone there
that it was over.

The others told Ian and Cosette to just be
together while they took over the job of cleaning up the site. It
was a leased home, so at some point in time someone would come
there. All traces of the battle excepting for the broken windows
were cleaned from the place.

Ian and Cosette walked alone in the darkness
before dawn, hand in hand. They stopped often to embrace or to kiss
as she filled him in on how she had found the family again and
rejoined them at the chateau about the time he was departing for
America. Time spent as a spy courier for the Culpers was mentioned
as well and Ian shared with her that he too had been used as a
courier for some intelligence documents. She concluded with how she
had finally made contact with Celeste and her daughter, Celine.
That took some time as he was dumbfounded, and at the same time he
shared how that they had contacted him.

He began then to tell her of his life since
the time when all of the family had thought her to be dead. His
relationships with Anna and Alyssa were covered regarding the
timeline of his involvement and he took somewhat longer to tell her
about Alandra and how her death had been the thing to push him to
come to America. She nodded at times and squeezed his hand at times
when she sensed that he was sad in retelling it. Often they stopped
walking and merely embraced or he would turn to her and gravely
lift both of her hands to his lips and kiss each one as tears would
form in his eyes.

“Ah, Cosette. I am sorry to be so… so
emotional but I confess that this is one conversation I never
thought to have in this life no matter how bizarre the life of a
vampire can get!”

She nodded her understanding and raised his
hand to her lips as they walked along in the starlight. Coming at
last to a large flat stone about the height of a table the two of
them sat on it. Giving a deep sigh he began to tell her about his
time in America and how it came to pass that he and James had
decided to leave for fear of being jailed and having to expose
their powers to escape. She nodded her understanding and then she
laughed as he described how he and James had hidden all of the
bank’s startup funds in cemeteries.

Finally he came to the part where he and
James had found Moon Owl about to be raped by her kidnapper and it
was only minutes when he told about how she and he became involved.
She listened intently, never letting go of his hand and nodding her
head at times, showing her understanding.

“After James and I took her to her people,
we built her and her mother a cabin and in the springtime, I
returned to see her and it was then that I realized that I was
truly coming to love her deeply. I asked her to marry me, Cosette.
She accepted and we were married by the Sachem of her village.”
Here he paused and looked at her. She turned to him with a gentle
smile and said “Shall I condemn you for doing what I might well
have done in your place?”

Sighing deeply he said “Ah, Cosette. I asked
her if she would cross over and she accepted. We were going to live
in New York City some of the time and with her people some of the
time. They are wonderful people by the way. But I wanted you to
know that I had determined to make a life together with her here in
America.” He stood then and turned to her; standing in front of her
seated on the rock and said “I loved her with all of my heart,
Cosette. Just as I love you and just as I loved Alandra. She was a
wonderful wife, not to replace you or Alandra, but in her own
unique way.” Here he stopped and raised her hands to his lips as
tears formed, coursing down his cheeks.

His Scottish accent had become a bit more
prominent as he became more emotional, continuing in a husky voice
saying “You did nothing to deserve what has happened to you. I on
the other hand… I… I am sometimes not so sure of that. I am sorry
that all of the bad things happened to you and it breaks my heart
more than you can know that you suffered so in France.”

“Ian, I was practically asleep all of those
years in hibernation I had no inkling of the time that had
passed.”

“But you were burnt terribly.”

“As were you; Marie told me you took three
days to heal.”

“I can only guess what it was like, being
here looking for me. I… I… canna stand it lass. It was too cruel!
I… Oh, the thought of it burns me to my soul!” he said as his voice
broke and he sank to his knees and began to weep silently before
her, his head in her lap. “Forgive me please, Cosette. Forgive
me.”

She lowered her head onto his and wept
quietly with him and clung to him in the darkness as she said
“Forgive you for what; for our fate together in this life? I thank
God that I have found you.”

The two talked then at length about the
family in France and of all the things they had been doing that Ian
didn’t know about. Although they didn’t know it, they began to shed
their grief and to commence their healing.

June Stedman sat in the waiting room of the
chief of staff of the British High Command. Newly promoted Major
Jonathan Siebert came to her, smiling superficially as he said “I
am so sorry for the delay Mrs. Stedman. Now as I understand it, you
are declaring your husband to be dead and are also allowing the
British Army to billet officers in your home?”

“Yes. My husband opposed that and got away
with it due to our families’ influence in London. I don’t feel that
way. I can easily take twelve officers and maybe three of their
aides. The place is ready, and I have a tenant house out back that
will accommodate twelve soldiers as well. I only ask that four be
on duty around my place at all times, day or night.”

“Excellent, madam. Excellent!” I will draw
up the necessary paperwork to expedite that this very day. You can
expect, uhmmm… let me see here. Ah yes! Here it is. You can expect
six of the officers this day along with all twelve of the soldiers
as well. On behalf of his Majesty, I thank you for your
hospitality.” He thought
we thank Tories loyal to the king and
at the same time we force patriots take soldiers in their homes at
the point of a bayonet. No wonder we are hated here so much! Oh
well, a career is a career. What would I do if not for the King’s
Army?

Rising with a smile, June said “Then I am
finished here. Good day, Major Siebert.” As she walked out of the
door she thought
now let them try to come after me with British
officers and soldiers quartered at my home.

“Good day, Mrs. Stedman” he said as he
thought
something is different about that woman. I met her at a
gala not that long ago and she was different than she is now. What
is it about her? It is the same as with Yvonne. Yvonne, now there
is a woman to be desired! I had information that Ian McCloud was
hunting to provide game for the rebels and I also found that the
woman with Stuart McCloud was Ian McCloud’s wife. I can only
imagine how grateful she would be to get that information! I wonder
where she has gone
he thought as his memories of her began to
kindle his desire.

***

Yvonne and Bartholomew watched from the
woods nearby as British soldiers were marched in formation up the
driveway of the Stedman estate and it was soon apparent that they
were occupying the place or at the very least were going to be
quartered there.

“So much for staying at the Stedman place”
he said as they both watched the scene unfold.

“Well, if they did a body count before they
burnt the others they would soon know that the two of us got away.
It would not have been long before they came here looking for us. I
suppose it is best for us to move away from here. We can’t chance
one of that bunch seeing one of us now.”

Bartholomew spoke then, saying “What do you
mean about ‘the two of us’ getting away? Look at who is talking to
that officer there.”

Yvonne looked and to her amazement there
stood June Stedman speaking with the officer in command of the
detachment. “It looks like little June has cozied up with the Army
to be safe from McCloud’s people. I would not have guessed that
anyone besides us got out of there alive.”

“We were damned lucky to do that, Yvonne.
That one woman who came through that window alone was a tigress.
Imagine what that whole bunch is like when they attack all at one
time! Had she not come in too early, we might all have died!”