✔️| Becoming Lady Washington

Chapter Twenty-Three: Telling

Washington's POV

"General, Major Tallmadge and Lieutenant Colonel Paine are requesting an audience with you. They say it's urgent." Billy spoke suddenly, startling me from my paperwork.

"Oh, send them in. I have time to spare for a quick meeting."

Little did I know, the meeting would be anything but.

"General!" Ben strode in, Amanda at his side (like always). "We have discovered urgent news that you need to know of immediately."

"Well, please be so kind as to enlighten me on the situation, Benjamin."

Ben glanced around furtively, taking note of the location of every single item in my tent and G to see if anyone was there. "Is anybody here that I need to be made aware of before I tell you this?"

"Only Billy, but you both already know I trust him with my life." I said, gesturing over to where he stood at attention, ready to perform a task if ordered.

"Excellent, your excellency. Now, let's get down to business. Earlier today, me and Amanda were walking to Lieutenant Colonel Bell's tent when we happened upon a very interesting conversation between General Lee and one Robert Rodgers of the Queen's Rangers. And do you want to know what they were discussing?"

I leaned forward, eager to hear the rest. "Yes, please."

"They were discussing assassinating Alice. And you. Lee thinks that if he can assassinate the both of you, he will be able to take control of the Army and win the war for the British. Amanda can attest to the truth of this intelligence."

I felt faint. Assassins. In my camp.  And I had no clue who they were. Hang on a minute...

"You say Lee was talking to Rodgers?"

"That is what I heard, yes."

"Do you have any idea how Rodgers managed to get past the guards?"

Ben smirked, before replying, "Excellent question." Amanda giggled, and despite the severity of the situation, I gave a slight smile.

The gears in my head turned as I tried to come up with a way to explain this all.

"Thank you, Ben, Mandy. You are dismissed. I shall consider the information you have brought me."

I had to talk to Alice. She would help me sort this out. After All, she was one of the only people who managed to calm me down at Valley Forge during the days where my ...illness... was at it's worst. I remembered it like it was yesterday.

~Flashback~

I stared into the fireplace, my mind elsewhere. The flames jumped on the log, and crackling filled the air as my eyes looked into the depths of the fire. All day, my mind had been unfocused from the task at hand, and I could not regain my control over it! It was maddening.

Just like the loss of my brother.

Lawrence...

Sometimes, I believed I could still hear his voice, guiding me. Sometimes I could feel his eyes, watching me as I failed at this task Congress gave me to complete.  Whenever I was alone, I knew I was not. He was there.

So close, yet so far.

"... And then Abe Lawrence, one of my other friends you know, stares Mrs. Night dead in the eye, and tells her to get her facts straight! HA!" Alice's voice floated through my head, as she walked past my tent outside. I could hear Hamilton's laugh in the distance, and the giggles of Amanda. But the only thing that registered in my head was one word: Lawrence.

"DAMMIT!" I suddenly exclaimed, losing control of myself once more. Deciding I needed to take a walk, I grabbed my cloak, and strode purposefully toward the woods, snow crunching underneath my boots. Ignoring Alice when I passed her, I continued walking.

"Oh, Lawrence. If only you could see me now. A failure of a General, on the brink of succumbing to madness..." I trailed off, looking at the stars. My hand reached into my pocket, and found the pocket watch he had given me all those years ago. "You would be disappointed in me. I will never be as great as you once were."

"I am actually rather proud of you, George."

I whirled around, and froze when I saw who had spoken to me.

It was Lawrence.

But how?

I had seen him die!

His ghostly, pale form drifted toward me, a smile on his face. "My, look how you've grown. I remember when you were a scrawny, rambunctious lad. Now, look at you! A twenty-five year old model of a modern major General! The pride of Mount Vernon. The source of hope to colonists everywhere."

"But why? Why do people think I am so great? I honestly cannot imagine why they would believe that I can actually lead them to victory. This war is hopeless." I tried to stop the words from coming out, but to no avail. My attempts were useless. Just like everything else I did.

"Come now, brother. You understand that the colonies need someone to lead them to victory. And they chose you. Your destiny is already written in the stars. I have been watching, and over the course of time, I have realized that you will, indeed, never be me.

Now, hear me out. Did I ever lead a ragtag group of rebels across the frozen Delaware River to engage the Hessians on Christmas Eve, while managing to keep our attack a surprise? Did I ever struggle through a terrible winter, only to come out as a survivor? Did I ever lead an army as well as you have, and give hope to the Colonists fighting for their independence? The answer to those questions is one two-letter word: n-o. And I am proud of you for doing what I couldn't do, for carrying on my memory."

I smiled, giving a small chuckle. "I suppose you do have a point there."

"Tell Alice that someone very close to her will be visiting her soon, alright? And keep your eyes and ears peeled for the slightest sign of danger. You never know when trouble is waiting for you right under your nose. Stay safe, little brother. I love you." Lawrence began to fade away, and I was alone once more, clutching the pocket watch.

"General Washington, sir?:"

"Hello, Alice." Smiling, I could tell immediately, without even looking, who it was.

"Are you alright?" She asked, concern on her face as she played with her hair.

Was I alright? I wanted to believe that I was, but the emotional mixture brewing inside of me told me to say no.

"I-I think so."  Was my final, stuttered response, my voice shaky from the emotional encounter I had a few seconds ago.

"It was him, wasn't it? Lawrence? Did he visit you?" Alice scooted closer, sitting on the forest ground with me. She placed a hand on my shoulder.

"It was. And I just don't know what to think, now." I put my head in my hands. "I believed a few things about myself in relation to him before, now I have been told those are untrue. I just don't know what to believe."

"Well, you want to know what I believe?" Alice laughed suddenly, her charming voice music to my ears.

"What?" I inquired, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"That you are the best person possible to lead this army."

So, you get the point. I needed to talk to Alice.

But what would I say to her?

Excellent question.