Dawn of Steam: First Light

by Jeffrey Cook

  I do not know if she dispatched them or simply fought past them, for even as the others were fighting for our representatives here, she headed for the new royals of France, the original targets of the assassination attempt, and there found their guardsmen fighting a desperate battle. I imagine they were quite surprised to find a woman armed with a pair of mismatched knives, in a torn dress and her undershirts, fighting on their behalf. She has even said since that they at first attacked her themselves, but she convinced them of her good will when she felled a gunman coming at them by throwing her steak knife. She then re-armed herself by groping about on the nearest table for further silverware while fighting off another assassin using the bodice knife she'd borrowed from Miss Penn.

  Somewhere in the chaos I lost track of Giovanni Franzini and assumed he'd crawled under a table or under some rock to hide. He quite surprised me later when we learned he'd run down two of the assassins who had attempted to flee in the chaos and felled both, albeit from behind as they were running.

  I could not see all of it, but by the end as we regathered, I would swear Samantha had gone through at least two table settings, but had held onto Miss Penn's knife. She was bleeding from half a dozen cuts, at least, and looked a wreck, her hat hanging from one side of her head, still held to one now loosed braid by a single hatpin. She was decent only by the simplest definition, but for all of it, she looked quite pleased with herself, unlike anyone else in the room.

  Our small group was once more gathering, soon to be helping in a call for order. We would assist in patrolling the grounds all night, trying to make sure that we had all of the assassins, and no one attempted to flee before they might be questioned. First, however, Miss Bowe asked, somewhat too loudly, of Sir James, “That was fun; do all your parties end like this?” (12)

  This is what drew the final scandal, which has hit the rumor mills, I understand. Overhearing our American misfit, the Queen of France fainted.

  With love, always,

  Gregory Conan Watts

  (12) This quote, is, of course, the source of the title of Sir John Goodall's book on modern scandal That was fun; do all your parties end like this? 1832, Cambridge press, reprinted in London five times, 1833. Since, other than the public events of the party detailed above, so little was known about Sam Bowe, the book is rather tangential. However, the quote's use in the title has forever linked the Governor's Ball Attack with standard London Season scandal, simply based on one defender's lack of propriety in dress and demeanor. – C B-W

  From the journals of Gregory Conan Watts,

  July 27th, 1815

  New York

  40º 47'N 073º 58'W

  I suppose it should not at all surprise me that, of all of us, the one most prepared to deal with matters concerning assassins and conspiracies of murder would be Giovanni Franzini, but he has at last proven his worth. He disappeared not long after order was restored and all guests had been accounted for in one fashion or another. My first concerns were that he had absented himself to ensure he was not blamed for having a part in the assassination, or perhaps even that he had, and was fleeing now that it had failed. As such, no one was more surprised than I when he returned the next morning with news of the assassins and their backers.

  At first no one believed him whatsoever, of course, but he offered proof of his knowledge and good intent. The rest of us had mostly been on patrol all night – with Samantha glad for an excuse to put herself to a use she was more accustomed to once she had been dragged off to change back into her typical clothing. None of us had found anything, and by this point were willing to grasp at straws in hopes of learning something.

  Franzini acknowledged having utilized some of his contacts in the less-than-reputable parts of New York society to trace them. He was able to lead our troop and a handful of New York's patrolmen to the home of a New York politician previously best known for his fervent abolitionist views. Within the man's wine cellar they found a handful of people hidden away who, under some threat, admitted to knowledge of the assassination attempts. Their host claimed no knowledge of their presence, but some among the killers admitted that he'd had a hand in their hiring and had provided them with the key to his cellars to take shelter in until a way out of the city could be gained. A handful of other names were gained from them as well, primarily local, but also a handful of our own politicians as high up as the House of Lords back in England.

  The regional governors, as well as the French royals, have been temporarily put under heavy guard, many being taken out of the city during the investigation as guard against further aggression until all of the conspirators are captured. Despite this, we are still in contact with them through representatives and regular messengers, as they apparently have been quick to place a great deal of faith in our company to resolve these matters ever since our part in saving so many lives.

  A full confession was eventually achieved, confirmed through getting the same account from nearly all of the captured conspirators. Most of the money for the effort goes back to Spain. With France ceding all of its former colonies to England as part of the peace and surrender agreement, Spain no longer has any official allies here in the colonies and have found their territories in Florida entirely cut off from those in Texas. New Spain, as it is informally called, is split. As some saw it, their only recourse was to disrupt peace proceedings between France and England, then take advantage of the chaos and lack of leadership. Their agents made contact with a number of people in both the colonies and England who were the most displeased by any hint of alliance with France, the aggressor of the Napoleonic Wars. We do not yet know if these men knew they were dealing with Spain or not, but it hardly matters. This offense remains treasonous in light of our new alliance with our old enemy now that Napoleon is dead.

  More immediately, we learned that Spain has also made an alliance with some of the white slavers and pirates from the Barbary Coast and, with this additional help, is preparing to launch an attack on New Orleans. The Spanish have forces in waiting in the northwest Florida forts located closest to our borders in Louisiana only awaiting word on whether the attacks here were successful that they can suitably adjust their tactics to a lack of leadership. Spies have been sent to confirm the information provided by these most unreliable witnesses, but their stories were clear and similar enough that we cannot discount it entirely.

  In the meanwhile, as we possess the fastest mode of transportation available and have numerous people among our number with officers’ training and experience, not to mention widespread recognition, the regional governors sent courtiers to ask us to travel quickly to Louisiana and make sure the defenses there are secure. If the spies confirm the alliance between the pirates and our enemies in New Spain, then the only means to properly defend New Orleans and English holdings in the region may be to take the border fortresses from Spain. We have been assured that we have the authority to do as we deem necessary to make sure the region is secure against our enemies, which seem to be more numerous than we had previously been aware.

  We are assured as well that further letters are being written in order to secure more aid from the homeland, particularly in the form of officers. There are many experienced soldiers in the colonies, many of whom saw action in the war against Napoleon's alliance, but due to the nature of our armies and the best schools all being located in England, there are very few officers here. As such, until we are relieved, we are being asked to provide temporary combat leadership in this time of trouble.

  Though Sir James has not hesitated in this, there is some concern among our number, for in this effort we are moving the opposite direction we had hoped, and are quickly losing the summer months so badly needed if we would hope to succeed in finding a northern path from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Dr. Bowe's journals claim there is one, a claim which certainly caught the interest of our sponsors. Still, national security must come before all else, and the majority of our company is agreed that we must hurry on to New Orleans. As such
, we have given written and signed testimony as to the confessions we heard and the security operations we took part in for the local courts to use in our absence. Miss Coltrane has begun writing letters to people both here and at home in hopes of gaining greater support for our efforts ahead, and otherwise we are preparing to depart more quickly than we had hoped.

  As for our opposition, apparently they and their airship left some time before the party began. Given the presence of a Spaniard among their number, their quick departure, and the conspiracy we have found ourselves embroiled in, I must wonder if perhaps they had something to do with the assassination attempt. Perhaps we shall never know, but if they are involved, I shall hope they will be forced to give a full accounting of themselves eventually. At the very least the messages home should be sufficient to limit their funding from their sponsor until such time as more questions have been answered.

  From the letters of Giovanni Franzini,

  July 28th, 1815

  Sir,

  I believe that I warned you that the Bowe girl was going to be trouble. Your miscalculation to this end has made both of us notorious. I killed two for your benefit that night, two who will never waggle their tongues to recruit or incite treason again. The rest of them are all telling the same story and are leading your hunting hounds down an interesting trail.

  The governors have been sequestered and are quite beyond the reach of anyone but their most trusted accompaniment and guard. They will be paranoid for some time to come. Any notions of another attempt would be foolish. The only sign of the dignitaries currently are their messengers...

  Coltrane and his crew are rushing to the defense of the colonies against Spanish aggression, as asked by the governors. I will trust New Orleans will be ready for a group of this caliber.

  As I'm sure you're well aware, these complications and my additional service was not what I signed on for. Similarly, Miss Penn has come quite close to nervous breakdown and losing resolve. Between these factors, I believe some additional recompense to ensure I am willing to continually cover for your errors in assessment – and to ensure my companion's lips remain sealed – would be in order.

  In any case, war with New Spain is imminent.

  Your servant (reluctantly),

  Giovanni Franzini

  New Orleans

  and the Spanish South

  From the journals of Gregory Conan Watts,

  August 1st, 1815

  On route to New Orleans

  39º08'N 077º12'W

  We have had some debate amongst our number regarding our choices in our course of action. The most common discussion has revolved around Fort San Antonio, a Spanish Fort from which an attack force could launch an assault on New Orleans. There are other potentially vulnerable points, but this is the one most likely to present an immediate threat to New Orleans and England's trade routes through the region. Sir James and Eddy feel that if the news is true that Spain has sufficient allies to prove a threat to our defenses in the region, the best hope is to take the fort to put them on the defensive and give ourselves a fortified position between primary forces of New Spain and New Orleans.

  Miss Bowe has soundly disagreed with this course of action, believing that it will aggravate New Spain to a greater degree and perhaps push the conflict to a head faster than otherwise might occur. Only Miss Penn has sided with Miss Bowe in this regard, basing her defense of the position entirely on the predictions of her cards, saying "Stormclouds are gathering..." or some such thing. Mr. Franzini became particularly irate at her for this bit of prognostication, calling her out as a charlatan and demanding that she know her place.

  Adding fuel to the fire in this situation, we have seen that not all of our enemies are among the Spanish. There are numerous people with sympathies for England or France that see the peace treaty between our countries as anathema. Many people in New Orleans still believe they owe their loyalties to France, even though their lands were captured during the war, and now have been diplomatically ceded fully to England. As such, many believe that drastic action is needed to dissuade rogue elements from gaining any more foothold than they already have in New Orleans, and to assure any who are already there that England will not become a casual spectator when the colonies are threatened.

  Despite the communications from the regional governors asking us to pursue these actions Miss Bowe and Sir James have argued at length about it. She insists that not all aboard are military personnel, and that no war with Spain has been declared, and thus we should arrive quietly and seek more information before taking any action. Despite these misgivings, she insists she is still a member of the crew, and will abide by his decisions, however reluctantly, even if it means fighting the Spanish. In the end, with three of our members being former soldiers of England, and Jillian and Harriet alike backing Sir James, she and Miss Penn were outvoted.

  Of some slight comfort amidst all of the dark spirits, we have not been asked to serve as any kind of long-term military presence. Though we would serve if asked, it is generally believed that our other tasks also serve the national interest. As such, we have been asked only to hold the region until support arrives from England, and then we are permitted to be on our way to the American Northeast to try to find the purported passage to the Pacific through northern waters. I had hoped this would spark some optimism from our guide, but Miss Bowe already does not believe we would be able to reach northern waters with enough summer left to have a chance of success. Still, this is the first hint of truly being able to begin our mission, two objectives of which lie quite close at hand here in the colonies, the Northwest Passage, and finding a land route across the American West, charting our progress and all of the vast, unexplored lands that lie between St. Louis and the Pacific.

  Having finally had a chance to truly look over these orders, I am also particularly excited by a unique opportunity that Lord Donovan and others are trying to negotiate for us with the Dutch. Should negotiations go well, we will be the first Westerners outside of a small detachment of Dutch merchants permitted to set foot on Japanese soil in ages. Such an agreement is some way off still, but the rumor is that the current leader of that land, called their Shogun, is most curious about English technology. Because of this, he may be willing to allow our small company into the nation as envoys when the Dutch next travel to the Shogun's court, a journey which apparently happens once every four years. Beyond this objective, Lord Donovan has given us our choice of numerous possible points of exploration. It's a comfort to have it acknowledged that this group is still a band of explorers, first and foremost, even if we will have stand as soldiers again, however briefly.

  August 3rd, 1815

  Over Virginia

  38º21'N 078º20'W

  Dear Sir,

  Spirits are high, with everyone fully recovered from the injuries incurred during the recent conflict, and our being back onto the ship and away from the chaos of the city these past few days. I can only hope that things will soon settle back into something resembling normal, and that the inquiries sparked from the events at the party will find success in rooting out the conspiracy against our leadership.

  I admit that it is with some reservation that I acknowledge that a part of our mission abroad shall involve military objectives, but we do understand that some funding and supply for the voyage is provided by the Crown, and recent events have made certain things necessities. Sir James and Eddy are also still soldiers of the British armies, so we will be traveling first to New Orleans, to rally local forces and investigate the rumors that in nearby Florida, Spanish local forces cooperate with pirates and threaten the lands in the Southern American colonies.

  Aside from this first duty, we are still mapping the rest of our route, while acknowledging that certain dates are quite fixed, should we be able to meet them at that time, and will attempt to plan accordingly. After we complete our military duties here, we will be proceeding northward, and from New York I should have opportunity to send this and other le
tters on to document our progress.

  It is hoped that the environmental disturbances and strange skies, reportedly caused by the volcanic activity at Tambora and elsewhere this past April will not delay us overmuch, though the captain has occasioned to say that there are areas which are most difficult to navigate, and the skies darken considerably ahead of us. If we learn anything of note from the region when we travel to more southerly routes, I will pass it on, but it is currently the intent of the crew to give Tambora as wide a berth as we may and still complete the rest of our mission. While some navigators of the royal navy who spoke with us before our departure claimed that our voyage was ill omened by such darkened events and the altered appearance of the sunrise, it has not been much different since April, certainly, and the crew is optimistic. Miss Coltrane loaned me her booklet of Benjamin Franklin's works, including his 1783 piece on volcanic ash and weather patterns. (13) We shall hope the cooling is not too significant, but it is hard to judge these things, it may be up to the full two degree average. Professor Franklin's paper detailed the local effects of an earlier explosion, and I now share everyone's healthy fear of going too near Tambora.

  I myself have not been long away from my home, and already looking forward to my return. Yet I am proud to serve, and much as I always look forward to seeing my home once more, it will be all the better to return victorious and with much news from the world beyond our shores for the benefit of the crown.