Patriots: New York

Chapter Fifteen: Courier's Mission

That morning we served up a giant breakfast for all the fire survivors. There were little children running every which way, babies crying, adults talking, everything was loud. I saw a full family of well dressed but tired looking people, a mother, a father, and two girls, one appearing to be about my age, the other probably about seven. The man was a heavier set man with a powdered wig, brown eyes, and shiny looking blue coat. His wife was a plump, pretty woman with shiny black hair done up with curls, blue eyes, and wore a deep red gown. Her daughters were also very beautiful. The older one had dark brown hair done in a low bun with curly tendrils and grey eyes and the younger one had light brown hair in curls and brown eyes. They all seemed like they were almost expecting something. I cautiously went over to take their order.
"Can I get you anything this morning?" I asked.
"A bath? A new dress?" The little girl muttered crossly.
"Vivian!" The older girl scolded. "Sorry, she's not used to wearing the same dress for more than twelve hours."
"It's quite alright. Not many children are," I said good naturedly.
"When can we go home?" Vivian whined.
"We don't have a home to go to," The older girl said quietly.
"Nonsense, it was not that badly burned," her father said. "There is just a lot to be fixed."
"I wouldn't be so sure," his wife said.
"Well, would you all like some breakfast?" I asked.
"Here?" The mother said, her eyes widening.
"Our cook is very good," I said uneasily.
"In this place? Adam, I don't think it's a good idea," she said nervously to her husband.
"Well, do you want to eat or not?" He grumbled. "I know this is not a grand establishment but they have had the compassion to take all of us in."
"I just don't think this is any place for our girls to be," the woman said nervously again.
"It's alright mother, yes, we will take some breakfast," the older girl said pleasantly.
"Alright. What would you like?" I asked, "We have eggs and bacon..."
"Sounds delightful," The father said gratefully. "See, Sarah? This is fine."
"I'll be right back with your food," I said.
I found a little girl with brown curls and violet eyes curled up by the kitchen door, crying quietly.
"What's the matter, dear?" I asked.
"I c-can't find my Mama," she sniffed.
"Oh, well, I'm sure you'll find her, why don't you find a seat at a table and eat some breakfast. Do you see anyone you know?" I asked, picking her up and setting her on my hip.
"No," she whispered.
"Well, let's find you someone to sit with," I said sweetly, "Conall?"
"Yes?" He called.
"Can...what's your name, darling?" I asked the little girl.
"Anna," she said.
"Can Anna here sit with you?"
"Sure," he said brightly.
I set her down on a chair next to him.
"How old are you, Anna?" Conall asked her.
She held up four fingers.
"Four? What a big girl! I'm Conall. I'm nine..."
And so they started up a conversation and I got the family's breakfast.
"Thank you," The older girl said.
"You're welcome," I said.
She gave me a hard look, "You don't actually work here, do you?"
"I do..."
"But your father is the owner of this place, right?"
"No, he's not my father."
"How old are you?"
"Audrey, you needn't be so inquisitive," her mother scolded.
"I'm sorry," Audrey said quickly.
"It's alright, I'm fifteen," I said.
The whole family's eyes widened.
"Yes, I know. I look younger..."
"No, you look older," Audrey said blankly.
"We'll it's probably because I'm tired," I laughed. "Well, enjoy your breakfast. I have many other customers to attend to..."
"Oh...alright," Audrey said slowly.
I looked at Mr. Walden across he room. He beckoned me over. "Can you go get the rooms ready and get the extra cots out of the closet? Most of these people are going to stay here."
"Oh. Alright," I said.
And I hurried to the back bedroom. I opened the door and then turned back to close it behind me. I felt a large hand clap over my mouth and an arm force my arms to my sides. A feeling or terror bolted through my body like a shock. I instinctively kicked my attacker in the shins.
"Ah! Alright, alright, you pass. Just don't scream..." a voice said.
He released me and I saw who it was.
"Ben!" I yelled angrily.
He covered my mouth. "I said don't scream."
"What are you doing here? I never saw you come in!" I whispered harshly.
"That's because I went in through the window," he said with a grin.
"Why in all hell..."
"I recognized some of your customers as British sympathizers or suppliers. I thought it would be safest..."
"Would they recognize you?" I asked.
"Maybe, maybe not. But..." he brushed past me to lock the door, "I need you to do something for me."
"What do you need me to do?" I asked.
"I have your first courier mission. Please get this to Nathan Hale. He'll be waiting in the woods by the camp nearest to here."
"So I should sneak out tonight?" I asked in a whisper as he handed me a note.
"Yes, wait until it is dark before you go," he said.
"What's in it?" I asked.
"I can not tell you. All you must do is take the letter to Nathan. Understand?" Ben asked quickly.
"I understand," I said, looking at the note.
"Thank you. He'll meet you around midnight," Ben added.
"Alright. I'll see him then," I said, tucking the letter into my pocket. I would put it in my petticoats later.
I made up the rooms and worked the rest of the day. Conall ran around making friends with every person in the room, young or old. I tended to a few people's minor burns and waited on people's many needs, or at least what they thought were needs. Most people's needs consisted of glass after glass of beer and food at all hours of the day. There were no exact meals being served, just endless food all day long. I worried about the kitchen getting so hot Clarence might faint, but thankfully he never did. I knew for a fact these people did not just pig out every minute of the day when they were at home, but because they were here and Mr. Walden, out of the goodness of his heart, was letting people eat and drink anything they wanted for free, they were taking advantage of it.
At the end of the day I was more than ready to go to sleep, but I did not have a bed and I needed to go meet Nathan in the woods. It was still a relatively pleasant night in September, so I did not need a shawl. I tucked the letter into my petticoats and set out once everyone had been forced to bed because we servers had been overworked all day. I lit a lantern and slipped out the back door quietly. I shined the light out ahead of me to make sure no one was following me. There was no one ahead, but when I turned back around to check behind me my heart leapt into my throat. I had bumped into someone. It was a thin person, quite a few inches taller than I.
"Where are you going at this late hour?" A girl's voice asked. It was Audrey from earlier.
"Just doing the laundry, Miss," I said, recovering from my shock.
"At eleven o'clock?" She asked, not quite believing me.
"In case you couldn't tell, I've been busy all day filling food and drink orders. I haven't had time until now," I said tiredly.
"Surely it can wait until the morning," Audrey said, concerned.
"No, it cannot. I have to do it," I said firmly, grabbing a bucket of water that was sitting near the door and pouring it into the washtub.
"Where are the clothes then?" Audrey asked knowingly.
"Inside. I just came out now to prepare the water," I said flatly.
"Would you like me to fetch them from inside?" Audrey offered kindly.
This presented me with options. I could let her go look for them and make a run for it, I could say I am going to get them myself and then make a run for it from there, or I could just do the laundry as fast as I could to get her off my back and then go meet Nathan. These all seemed terribly rude even in my head, and it was not everyday I met anyone, especially girls...well, I never met girls at all, but I especially did not meet girls who were so kind and concerned about me. I knew I did not need or deserve her concern, but it seemed rude to leave her in the dust.
"I'll go get them myself, but thank you," I said, a bit more pleasantly than I had been speaking.
"Alright. I'll help you if you'd like," she paused, "I know we haven't officially met. My name is Audrey Winslow." She curtsied, something I had not thought about in a long time.
"I'm Liza Byers," I said, curtsying as well.
"It's nice to meet you, Liza. Do you really live in this place?" Audrey asked.
"Yes, live and work. You live down the street?" I asked.
"I did," she sighed, "the fire got some of it."
"I'm sorry to hear that. I've only ever had bad experiences with fires. The damage wasn't too bad, was it?" I asked, opening the door to the building and taking out the laundry basket.
"No," she said with a sigh, "It wasn't bad, just unpleasant to be woken up in the middle of the night, and maybe a few things got singed. I really should be thankful it was not worse."
"It's alright if you're upset. I know I would be if my house caught fire at all," I said, soaking a shirt with water and picking up the soap.
"I should be glad I have a house. Some of those people lost their homes completely," Audrey said sadly. "There is a bedroom with children lying all over the floors, you could hardly walk if you tried."
"Do you have a bed?" I asked her.
"Yes, I did have a cot, but I gave it to my little sister. I did not want her to have to sleep crowded with all the other children on the floor," Audrey explained.
"That's very sweet of you," I told her, "but surely you two can share it for the night. Where were you planning on sleeping?"
"I-I had not figured that out yet," she said slowly, "I was thinking maybe outside, hence why I came out here..."
The memories of the night I was attacked by that pimp flowed back into my mind, "N-Never...Never ever do that!" I said sternly, then I heard my tone and turned red, "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scold..."
"Are you alright?" Audrey asked, concerned again.
"Yes, yes, of course," I said quickly, furiously scrubbing the clothes in the washtub.
"You just...you just looked very pale for a moment," Audrey observed, frowning.
"I'm sorry...I'm fine, really," I stuttered.
"Are you absolutely sure?" She asked gently.
"Yes! I'm sure..." I said quickly and softly. I felt tears prick my eyes but I blinked them away.
"You look troubled, Liza," Audrey said in the most comforting and sweet voice I had ever heard.
"Really? Well, I'm not troubled, it must just be the darkness," I said tersely, trying as fast as I could to finish the laundry so I could be on my way.
"You seem to be in a real hurry to finish that laundry," Audrey smiled, "Is there anything on your mind?"
"I'm just tired is all. The sooner I do this the sooner I can get to bed. You should probably go to bed too," I said. "Your nice family will be wondering where you are, and if they know you're with the barmaid..."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Well, I'm a barmaid. Often assumed to be drunks, prostitutes, promiscuous, bad news..."
She looked shocked.
"I know. Most people don't want to talk to me, especially classy young misses like yourself," I said sadly, rubbing a pair of breeches furiously against the washboard. "I totally would not blame you if you ran back inside this minute."
"Liza...I really hope you don't think that I think any of that is true," Audrey said, dumbstruck.
"Well, some of it is true...I didn't mean for it to happen...I didn't choose that part...it was an accident..." I stuttered.
"You just seem like a poor young girl in a very unfortunate situation, and you are still a person. All people are created equal. Is that not what that Declaration of Independence said?" She said, putting a hand on my shoulder.
"It said all men are created equal," I said quietly, "But it meant all people, I guess."
"Well, looks like that laundry is all done. I will help you hang it up and then we can both go to sleep. How does that sound?" She asked with a smile.
"Alright," I sighed. "It was very nice talking to you, Audrey."
"It was nice talking to you too, Liza," she said kindly, hanging up the shirt I had started with. We hung the rest up and then she found her cot in a bedroom. While this conversation had been lovely, I would be late meeting Nathan if I did not run. I moved the letter from my petticoats to my pocket so it did not fall. I lit my lantern again and hurried out the back door. I ran all the way to the rendezvous point and sure enough Nathan was waiting.
"Message from Benjamin Tallmadge, sir," I whispered breathlessly, handing him the note.
"Thank you, Liza. You're feeling better, I assume?" He asked.
"Yes, thank you. And Ben told me that you were the one who found me. Thank you so much. I would be dead if it weren't for you, Nathan," I said gratefully.
"Oh, it's nothing. It's what any decent man would do if he saw a girl lying unconscious in an alley. I'm glad you're feeling better though. Now, I am already behind schedule, so I must leave now. Goodbye, Liza," he said, kissing my hand and running off.
That was how he went. He was a handsome young man of twenty-one, patriotic as anyone and bravely going to spy behind enemy lines.