Forever Young Birth Of A Nation (78 page)

“We only know that after he got to London,
he disappeared. Robert is still looking for him, and has expanded
his search to Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.”

Celeste spoke then “Is there any chance he
went to America?”

Henri nodded as he said “He may have felt
that he could only escape our reach over there. Oh; Edwards said
Moreau stole something like four thousand pounds from him, so he
has plenty of money for traveling.”

“Celine and I talked with Cosette just two
days ago and she is with Ian at Washington’s headquarters. As I
told all of you, they hope to head off an assassination attempt on
him. What I forgot to mention is that Cosette said that a third
vampire victim turned up not too long ago, floating in New York
Harbor.”

Mustafa spoke then, saying “Didn’t we think
those others were victims of Yvonne’s coven?”

“We did, but this is connected to the
arrival of a ship, I think it was a merchant’s ship… mmmm… the
Ill Wind
was its name. Anyway there was a deputy sheriff who
told Cosette that the captain resigned and that the crew had left
the ship in the harbor, and that none would return to her.”

“You think this could be related to our
situation?”

“Yes. Something was mentioned about
livestock dying on the trip over, and maybe four or five crewmen
disappearing during that voyage.”

“Do we know the port of departure?”

“I don’t… wait, yes I do recall. Yes. It
sailed from Liverpool.”

Henri’s eyes glowed as he said “It sounds
like our friend Monsieur Moreau may have managed to find a way to
America.”

***

Yvonne walked up to the muscular pair of
male vampires as they took a break from practicing their
swordsmanship. She had a satisfied look upon her face as she said
“It appears that you two are progressing nicely. Your imprinting
will be at an end any day now. Lawrence, you have done a good job
of training Franklin in swordsmanship. Franklin, you have done a
good job of teaching Lawrence how to work iron and shoe horses. I’m
pleased with both of you.”

The two looked at each other nodding and
smiling somewhat. That meant that she would likely bed both of them
that night, and that was more than acceptable to the pair. They had
been dismayed at first when they found out what had been done to
them and that it was irreversible, but Yvonne had bedded both of
them regularly and that served to keep them happy enough to do most
anything she said. They were becoming slavishly devoted to her, and
increasingly pleased with their new powers of strength, speed and
visual acuity. With the prospect of superhuman strength and speed,
no more imprinting pain, and regular sexual companionship with
Yvonne, the pair was becoming quite pleased with their new
lives.

Turning to a young woman sitting in the
shade watching the two practicing Yvonne said “Why are you looking
so glum?” The woman raised her hazel eyes and fastened them on
Yvonne as she brushed a lock of her wavy chestnut hair back from
her face. “I’m just a little peaked today. I have managed three
days now without blood.”

“Why did you do that?”

“I thought maybe I might be less dependent
on it if I denied myself.”

Yvonne paused, and then said “You’re quite
intuitive. I never bother to teach that when I bring new ones
over.”

“Why not?”

“There is an abundant supply of blood in
this world, so I don’t bother myself with it. Besides it makes
imprinting
a lot more painful.”

“It is more painful. Just keep Bartholomew
away from me while I finish this damnable
imprinting.
It is
bad enough going through this without him leering at me and wanting
to bed me.”

“We may be able to strike a bargain on that
score. If you can make yourself useful enough in other ways, I
might take your side on that. But it was Bartholomew who brought
you over, not me.”

Looking exasperated, she replied “I didn’t
want this… to live like this! What do you want, Yvonne?”

“You can start by cleaning this place up and
see to it that it is kept clean. You can go out and get newspapers
and look for any information that might reflect on this coven in
any way. You can wash all of the clothes and hang them out on the
line too. We do not want to be seen publicly in dirty clothes. And
always take my side on anything that we discuss as a coven. When I
think of other things, I’ll tell you.”

Lowering her head she nodded, thinking
what else can I do? My life is over now. Look at what I have
become.
She got up and walked away, determined that none of
them see her weeping.
When I was a tavern wench at least I had
my private time to myself and I liked everyone at the Green Dragon.
Now all I am concerned with is getting through this awful pain and
keeping Bartholomew from raping me. I can’t live this way, yet I
can’t go back to being Charlotte Miller anymore either.
Having
reached a very bushy area of the property some four hundred feet
from the farmhouse, she entered a thicket and threw herself down on
the ground and wept silently in despair.

***

I think I have what you are looking for, Mr.
Monroe. The lady in question leased a place on Long Island, east of
Brooklyn Heights. I am afraid it was left in poor shape. Several
windows broken, things like that. If you’re interested in leasing
it, I can offer you a good rate on it. Once the High Command learns
that it’s vacant, they will seize it and quarter troops there.”

Moreau smiled, saying “I’d like to see it.
May I do that and then decide if it will suit me?”

“Certainly sir” he said as he wrote
directions for getting there and handed them to him. “I hope it is
something you can use.”

Departing from Grover’s Merchants’ Bank
Moreau went to his carriage and directed the driver to take him to
the Brooklyn ferry.

Some three hours later, he instructed his
driver to wait in the weed-choked road to the farm house. Once
inside he looked closely at the place and although it was picked up
and swept, it was clearly abandoned. Three windows were broken, and
upon looking closely, he could tell that they had all been broken
from the outside in. On impulse he knelt and began to sniff about
the floor area, beginning in the foyer and moving into the parlor.
There has definitely been blood spilled here. I wonder what
happened. Could the Lafayettes have had this place assaulted too?
With three broken windows, there had to be more than one vampire in
the assault. So if Yvonne and Stefan were here, then it looks like
they were overpowered.

Walking out the back door he began to look
around the property. In only a few minutes he came upon an area
which had been a garden the year before, and now was overgrown. In
the middle of it was a blackened area where something was burnt.
Poking around in the ashes he found some remains of shoes of
various sizes and a few belt buckles and then it dawned on him that
he was standing where some vampires had been dragged to
self-incinerate in sunlight. Spending a half hour there, he came to
the conclusion that no fewer than eleven vampires had been burnt
there, and he had to admit that it could be more than that. As he
walked to the carriage he thought
what in hell happened here? A
fight to the death no doubt.
No wonder the Marquis de Sade
wasn’t eager to tangle with the Lafayettes! My God! I wonder how
many of that clan is in America? Clearly there are more than just
two!

As he was getting ready to climb into the
carriage he decided to take a second look inside. Telling the
driver that he would only be another few minutes he went upstairs
once again and began to look behind some of the furnishings. In the
last bedroom, he pulled back a dresser and spied a silver encased
hand mirror. Picking it up he immediately noticed the really fine
quality of its craftsmanship. The piece simply did not fit the
farmhouse in which he was standing. Looking at the back of it, he
saw a name engraved in finely formed letters, inlaid with gold; the
work of a skilled craftsman and silversmith. He thought
who
might this be? I wonder who June Stedman is.

Ian and Cosette had settled into a routine
of walking about the center of the camp near Washington’s tent, and
at night they stayed very close to it. They became a familiar sight
to the officers and soldiers in the area, walking about in their
long dusters which concealed all of their weapons. The camp
scuttlebutt was that the pair could identify two spies who were
expected to infiltrate the camp at some point, which was really not
far from the truth. It was thought to be peculiar that the two
always wore the long coats even in the near balmy weather, but it
was gradually surmised that they each carried several loaded
pistols and wanted to keep that fact concealed from anyone who
managed to infiltrate the camp.

Ian was remembered by many as the hunter who
had provided meat through several winters. The death of Moon Owl
had not been revealed, being as Ian had bound Darren Roberts to
keep it a secret. Ian only told him that she had been killed by
Tories who had done it in revenge for happenings in New York City a
few years earlier. He and Cosette had given Darren the standard
story of Cosette being struck on her head in a big fire while
trying to save some children in Arles, France, and suffering a loss
of memory for several years. That story had long since been solidly
planted in Lafayette-controlled newspapers in three cities in
France, including in Paris itself.

The routine was boring, but the two soon had
adjusted themselves to it, and either one or the other of them
would hunt or bathe nearby as opportunities presented themselves,
whether day or night. They were nearly always together all night
long very near Washington’s tent, day after day, and had become his
constant companions.

Washington had adjusted well to this after
the first few days, and gradually the threat of assassination began
to recede from his thoughts as the constant reality of the war
occupied his every waking moment. They learned that he had wanted
to attack New York City since the French had landed in Newport
Rhode Island with over five thousand troops. Between the French,
the Continental Army and the New England Militia they outnumbered
the British in New York City three to one. However neither
Washington’s staff nor the French Commander were supportive of
that. For one thing it would likely destroy New York City and for
another they couldn’t do anything about British naval support. The
French naval escort at Newport would not leave that harbor for any
reason, needing to be there to support the French presence, and
being far too small to invade New York Harbor in light of the sheer
numbers of British ships there. So this was a frustration that
Washington had to deal with as well as reporting to the Congress at
Philadelphia and worries about being able to pay the troops to keep
enlistments up.

Cosette began to understand the admiration
that Ian had for Washington in only a few days as she realized the
extreme pressure the man was under all of the time. Ian had shared
that there were political enemies of Washington who had tried
earlier in the war to have him replaced. She gradually came to
realize that he was now an icon, and his presence alone could make
a great difference whether on or off of a battlefield. Ian had
confided in her that at no time was this more apparent than during
wintertime when desertions among the ranks were highest for both
the British and the Americans. At those times especially he
literally held the continental army together by his very presence
in the field with them.

As he confided to Cosette, other officers
could come and go all winter long, but Washington felt that he
could never leave his army for little more than the occasional
obligatory day-long social event now and then.; and only if it was
nearby. Those were deemed necessary to ensure the general public’s
support of the cause of liberty and to keep good will among the
more wealthy of the patriots wherever the army might happen to be
camped.

***

Five dark forms rocketed northward through
the American woodland bordering the Hudson River valley, and
sometime after midnight they angled a bit eastward and came into
the outskirts of Tappan, New York. Slowing their pace they
eventually detected sentries and evaded them easily until they were
inside of the picket line of the northern Continental Army.

Yvonne gathered everyone close and said
“Bartholomew and I are going to circle the camp to the east and
Lawrence, you and Franklin will circle the camp to the west. We’re
going to see how the tents and roads inside of the camp are laid
out and meet on the far side. If we pass each other over on the
other side, we will meet back here before daylight.”

Charlotte asked “What do you want me to
do?”

“You stay with me, but you are to hunt for
the five of us. Everyone give Charlotte a flask and she will have
them filled by the time you need them. Remember, we are only
looking around tonight and we want to be thinking of ways to steal
uniforms. And remember they need to be big uniforms for the three
of you. Let’s go now and see what we can discover.”

They parted ways then, melting into the
darkened woodland.

***

Arnaud Moreau approached the City Hall
building in New York City and after asking, was directed to the tax
assessor’s and collector’s offices. Introducing himself, he asked
if he could get someone to look in the tax records for June
Stedman. The clerk told him politely that records were kept by
areas and not by names and that he would have to either give the
address of that person or that he would have to look through the
records page by page, plat map by plat map to find it.

Moreau chafed at the process, being as he
could not work at Vampire speed what with several human clerks
nearby all day long. Then he was forced to leave the building at
six o’clock PM until they re-opened the next day at nine. At the
end of the second day though he had found a card and a plat map
showing twelve acres registered to a Mr. and Mrs. Lester Stedman on
King’s Bridge Road.