by Ted Bell
“You sound almost as if you foretell the future.”
“Because I do, sir. Or rather, I remember the future.”
The Lafayette looked at the boy as if the child was mad but said nothing and just shook his head as Nick quickly left Washington’s study and raced upstairs to his room. There was a lot of thinking to be done before midnight.
40
THE MARQUIS AND THE MIDNIGHT RENDEZVOUS
Pale blue moonbeams streamed through the eight windows of the octagonal garden house. Nick, who carried Gunner’s Royal Navy pocket watch, flicked it open. Normally, he’d have worn his father’s standard issue Royal Flying Corps wristwatch from the Great War. But, at the last moment, he’d realized the watch would be out of place, a cause for much consternation in the year 1781.
Nick knew there was a word for such an inappropriate object and had looked it up in the dictionary before his voyage. An anachronism, a thing or style that belongs to a different time in history. Gunner’s pocket watch had softly chimed twelve midnight a little while earlier. Nick saw it was now exactly quarter past the hour.
He heard a rustling sound outside and quickly looked up. Seeing nothing, he imagined it to have been a squirrel or some other small creature of the night.
Still no sign of the Marquis de Lafayette.
Because of the many windows, he had views in all directions. He knew there were many sentries about the Mount Vernon grounds, but he’d not seen one yet. Since arriving fifteen minutes earlier, he’d been keeping an eye on the mansion’s circular drive and the garden path. Nick decided to give Lafayette five more minutes. Then, with or without him, he was going to Saint Domingue in search of the Ville de Paris and Admiral de Grasse.
He had no doubt Lafayette would be of great value on the voyage, but Nick had already determined his course of action. He’d been carefully studying the charts up in his room all evening. He knew the possibility of slipping by Old Bill and his massive pirate armada was slim to nil.
But, he saw, suppose the French fleet did not do what Blood expected, suppose they—he heard footsteps now and saw Lay-fayette in his splendid white uniform hurrying along the path toward the garden house. His heart lifted. With General Washington’s most trusted and brilliant military strategist at his side, the vital task ahead stood a far better chance of success.
“You thought I was not coming, eh, Monsieur Nick?” Lay-fayette grinned as the boy swung the wooden door inward to admit him.
“I really did not know, sir. I certainly hoped to see you.”
“Excusez-moi, mon ami,” Lafayette said, stepping inside. “I am unpardonably late, young Nicholas. But, you see, General Washington, after much anguished conversation, has only just now bade me good night and retired to his bedchamber. I could not leave him before then. He would have thought it passing strange.”
“You did not tell him about the orb?”
“Of course not. The last thing he needs now is to perceive his most trusted military adviser as a madman.”
“Thank you for coming.”
“Mon plaisir,” Lafayette said, bowing from the waist. Nick thought the Frenchman and the famous American General had perhaps had a few more nips at the brandy decanter before Washington retired. Lafayette seemed in a rather jovial mood. It was optimism, Nick knew, the vital trait of all great leaders, the belief that any obstacle can be overcome.
Nick had set the golden orb upon a rough wooden table among trowels, flower pots, spades, and various garden implements. He now picked up the orb and cradled it in his two hands. Even now, in the pale blue light, it was radiant.
“Sir, have you come to say farewell, or will you be traveling with me?”
“Nicholas, I am normally the most circumspect of men, and trusting of but few,” Lafayette said, smiling at him, “but, tonight, upon serious reflection, I find myself in full agreement with your earlier statement. I have far more to gain than to lose this night by placing my trust in you and your lovely bauble.”
“An honor, sir, to have your confidence,” Nick said, much relieved, “but I must swear you to absolute secrecy about the existence of this orb. I’ve taken a grave chance letting anyone into my confidence. In fact, I am about to break a solemn oath. But I have no choice.”
“Allons-nous!” Lafayette whispered. “Let’s go!”
Nick twisted the two halves of the orb apart. Instantly, the octagonal garden structure’s interior was filled with luminous golden light.
The Marquis, with a loud intake of breath, stepped forward and closely inspected the exquisite inner facets of Leon-ardo’s masterpiece. One hemisphere was inscribed Tempus, the other Locus. It was quite the most miraculous piece of intricate clockwork jewelry he’d ever seen. And so exquisite as to defy description.
Nick cast a worried eye toward the mansion. A luminous glow in one of the garden houses at this hour would be a beacon to the stealthy sentries circling outside in the darkness. But there was nothing for it. He just had to pray that luck was with him this one more time.
Lafayette saw that numerous sparkling jewels were embedded within the face of each half of the strange machine. And on the Locus hemisphere, delicate scrolled writing, in Latin, surrounded a wondrously detailed engraving of the sun and its surrounding planets. Lafayette, a scholar as well as military genius, studied this diagram of the solar system closely and looked up at Nick.
“Two questions. This Latin inscription—it’s written backward. Why?”
“Leonardo’s ‘mirror-writing,’ sir. All of his journals are written this way, so that one can only read them by holding them up to a mirror.”
“Ah, yes, I seem to remember that now. It is certainly encouraging as to the provenance of the machine. But another question, Nicholas.”
“I will try to answer.”
“There are nine planets in this illustrated system. When Leonardo da Vinci died in 1519, there were only five known planets in addition to earth. In March of this very year 1781, another planet was discovered by the astronomer Herschel. That makes seven. How then do you account for the other two?”
“At some point in the future, two more will be discovered. I have to believe Leonardo traveled to some future date and recorded exactly what he saw through more powerful telescopes,” Nick answered. “Nine planets.”
This answer obviously pleased the young Marquis. “If this improbable magical intrigue of yours should succeed, I shall count you a genius among men. If it fails, I shall find work for you among the great stage actors of our age, for clearly you are the one or the other.”
“I’m no actor, sir. And it’s Leonardo’s genius, sir, not mine. I simply came into possession of his fabulous instrument thanks to one of my beloved ancestors.”
“How, may I ask?”
“Rather a long story, sir.”
“Another time, perhaps. But, pray, tell me how does it work, this Tempus Machina?”
“Our precise destination, a hillside overlooking the harbor on the island of Saint Domingue, is being entered into Locus now. Notice that I am using the exact latitude and longitudinal coordinates for Cap-François harbor, according to this chart. 18°45’N latitude, 64°42’W. Our time of arrival will be early on the evening before Admiral de Grasse sails. The next day on the morning tide. Shall we arrive at, say, five o’clock in the afternoon? It will still be light.”
“Parfait! Are we ready to depart? What must I do?” Lafayette’s eyes were now alight with excitement. He wanted to believe.
“As soon as I have finished entering the time and rejoined the two halves, the machine will begin to vibrate. It will glow far more brightly, like the sun, causing you to shut your eyes. You will hear the pleasing sound of countless tinkling bells. At that precise moment, place your hand over mine on the orb.”
“And then?”
“Your body will suddenly be filled with the most delightfully warm and tingling sensations. For a mere instant. And then we shall find ourselves, hopefully, standing above CapFrançois harb
or and not swimming in it.”
Nick shuddered at the memory of the cold channel waters the night he’d crashed the Sopwith Camel. The tropical waters of Saint Domingue would be warmer, still he hoped for Lafayette’s sake that they’d arrive on dry land.
The Marquis laughed aloud and Nick said, “Are you ready, sir?”
“I am beyond ready, Nicholas McIver! Let us away!”
Nick joined the two halves together twisting them tightly. A blinding light apperared, and a moment later, the Marquis de Lafayette placed his hand over Nick’s.
A lone sentry, now patrolling the gardens near the mansion, stopped short, having witnessed an amazing sight. One of the garden houses seemed to be suddenly filled with brilliantly incandescent light, as if countless thousands of tiny fireflies were filling the interior. When he gathered his senses and ran to inspect it, yanking open the door, he saw nothing. No, he heard only the faint echo of tinkling bells. The little shed was as cold inside as an ice house! And there was a slight acrid smell, as if something had just been burning but was now extinguished.
“Mon dieu, c’est magnifique, Nicholas!” were the first words out of the Marquis de Lafayette’s mouth when he found himself on the isle of Saint Domingue, standing on a hillside clearing with a sweeping view of the harbor spread out below. Behind them lay a thick green jungle ablaze with tropical flowers of every color and description. The sun was lowering in the west, but they had a good two hours of daylight left. Lafayette and Nick stood side by side, gazing down at the marvelous sight of twenty-eight French warships still riding at anchor in Cap-François harbor. In the middle of the fleet, the largest naval vessel in the world, Admiral de Grasse’s flagship, the Ville de Paris.
Nick’s luck had held. Placing the orb into his pouch, he heaved a sigh of relief at the sight of the French fleet lying at anchor. There had always been the chance that de Grasse would have a last-minute change of plans, perhaps even sailing a day early on the evening tide.
“C’est incroyable,” Lafayette exclaimed, laughing with sheer joy. “It is most incredible, most unbelievable, this little machine, Nicholas! A small miracle!”
Nick smiled. “The machine itself is small, sir, but I think the miracle is as great as anything on this earth.”
“You are right, of course, my dear boy genius.”
Nick laughed as the joyful French General began dancing about, plucking at his clothes, pinching himself as if he wished to make sure he was all there. He even leaped high into the air, landing hard on both feet, stamping his boots to make sure he was really on solid ground. He plucked a brilliant violet flower from a branch above his head, buried his nose within the blossom, and breathed deeply. Then, to Nick’s consternation, he popped the blossom, into his mouth and ate it!
“Ah,” he said, delighted, “delicious!”
But when he looked up, the tip of his nose was covered with yellow pollen and he sneezed violently and repeatedly, which only made Nick laugh harder at his antics.
“I think we should go find our Admiral now,” the Marquis said sternly, using his handkerchief to remove the pollen from his face, then rising to his full height in an effort to regain his dignity.
Nick was about to apologize for his behavior, but the Marquis held his forefinger to his lips and said, “Non, non, il n’est pas nécessaire.”
He marched off into the jungle in the direction of the harbor below, and Nick followed at a discreet distance, allowing the embarrassed Marquis a few moments to compose himself.
It took no more than half an hour to descend the hillside and reach the town. Along the waterfront, all was a beehive of activity, as French sailors hurried to and fro with final stores and provisions to be rowed out to the warships waiting at anchor.
The general, in his brilliant uniform, and the boy, in his simple white breeches and white linen shirt, caused quite a stir as they strolled the waterfront in search of de Grasse’s flagship. All eyes were on Lafayette. Clearly, Nick thought, here was a man who commanded great respect in his native France.
“Do you know the Ville de Paris by sight, sir?” Nick asked as they dodged a donkey cart laden with 24-pound cannonballs.
“But of course, she is the largest warship in the world. A triple-decked first rater of some one hundred guns, I saw her anchored in the midst of the fleet. Look, you can see the Admiral’s pennant fluttering from her maintop.”
It did not take long to find transportation. Another hundred yards along the quay, and they came upon a young French naval officer who stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of the famous General de Lafayette. Clearly this was the last man the young officer expected to see strolling the quay at Saint Domingue.
“Mon Général!“ he exclaimed, clicking his heels together and saluting smartly.
“Mais oui, Lieutenant. Perhaps you might be of assistance?”
“Mais certainement, sir. How may I help you?”
“My aide and I find ourselves in need of transport to the Ville de Paris. I wish a word with Admiral de Grasse. Perhaps you could arrange a captain’s gig to ferry us out to the Admiral’s flagship?”
“It would be my honor, sir. Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Lieutenant Pierre de Valois. That is my personal gig you see out there at the dock’s end. I have the honor to serve aboard the Ville de Paris, and I am just returning to my vessel. Please, sir, follow me.”
“Merci beaucoup, Lieutenant de Valois,” Lafayette said, and he and Nick followed the man toward a pristine gig moored at the far end of the dock.
The handsome young lieutenant kept looking over his shoulder at the marquis as they walked. “The Admiral is not aware of your presence on the island, mon Général. Have you just arrived? We did not see any vessels enter the harbor today.”
“No, I’ve been here for some time, Lieutenant. Looking after some personal affairs. My family owns a banana plantation here.”
“Très bien, monsieur.”
The marquis leaned to whisper in Nick’s ear. “Good for shipboard gossip. You’ve no idea how quickly that banana plantation fairy tale will spread on the good ship Ville de Paris.”
Nick smiled. “I was wondering how you planned to deal with that problem, sir. A good one.”
They reached the end of the dock and boarded the small gig bobbing in the choppy waters of the harbor. The sun was sinking lower in the colorful tropical sky, and many of the fleet had begun to light their lanterns, fore and aft, and many hung high in the rigging. Nick thought it was all very beautiful but was determined to stay focused on his mission
Four sailors with oars sat amidships in the gig, Lieutenant de Valois was at the stern, while Nick and Lafayette sat on a thwart seat at the bow.
As soon as they pushed off and were under way, the Marquis de Lafayette put a hand on Nick’s shoulder. “Nick, I must warn you now that our Admiral de Grasse may not greet us with open arms. He may, in fact, have us thrown into the brig. I have many enemies among the officers of La Royale.”
“La Royale?”
“It is what we affectionately call our navy. Our headquarters are in the rue Royale in Paris.”
“Why are you not welcome, sir? I can’t imagine it.”
“I did not leave my native France under the best of circumstances. I begged the King for permission to go to America and fight for the glorious cause. But he denied me. Kings and emperors are not fond of these new notions of freedom and democracy, as you might guess. As my sovereign, our beloved monarch, Louis XVI, is so fond of saying, ‘I am a Royalist by trade.’ ”
“I don’t understand.”
“He’s got a job like everyone else. It just so happens that his job is king, and he wishes to keep it.”
Nick smiled. “So how did you come to America? Without the King’s permission, I mean.”
“I vanished. To England on business. Then I let it be known in France that I was ill and would be abed for some time. I returned in disguise to France, where I purchased a vessel for the crossing to Americ
a. Preparations were just about complete when I learned the king had put a price on my head. So I fled to Spain, finished my business, and sailed for America. And here I am.”
Moments later, the Ville de Paris hove into view. She was, Nick saw, a magnificent ship of the line. Three decks towering above the water, bristling with more than one hundred cannons of every size and description. It was dusk, and the massive warship was ablaze with lights from stem to stern. He was much relieved at the sight and firepower of her, knowing full well it would be needed off Nassau. And, he thought, Yorktown.
The oarsmen pulled silently alongside a gangway on the starboard side. There was a floating dock at the foot of it, and two armed sentries snapped to attention at the sight of the brilliantly attired French General seated in the bow. Another fellow, the officer of the day, also saluted Lafayette smartly.
The pure white national ensign of France was snapping in the breeze at the stern, and both Lafayette and the young Lieutenant stood, turned to face the flag, and then saluted it. Then Valois turned and saluted the young officer of the day.
“His Excellency, Monsieur le Marquis de Lafayette and his aide request permission to come aboard, sir!”
Lafayette was a man of great renown in France, and the officer on the floating dock was somewhat taken aback at this announcement. But he managed a sharp salute and said, “Permission granted, sir!”
Nick’s heart was pounding wildly in his chest as he climbed the steep gangway. He knew that in a very short while, he and his new friend, Lafayette, would either be behind bars deep in the brig of this great vessel or in Admiral de Grasse’s after cabin, where this night the very future of America would be decided.
41
ALL ABOARD THE FLAGSHIP VILLE DE PARIS
Nick and Lafayette were escorted aft along the main deck of the great ship, while Lieutenant Valois hurried ahead to de Grasse’s cabin to announce the presence of Lafayette onboard. There was frenzied activity everywhere, from the ordinary seamen of the afterguard on the quarterdeck to the gun crews of the fifteen men it took to ready each of the thirty massive 36-pounders for action. There were, too, sailors on winches, lowering the final stores into great yawning hatches, to the men working high above in the rigging, shouting instructions to one another as they worked their way along the crosstrees, tending the furled sails.
