The Right Hand Of The Father

chapter 26

"The French are quite certain that they can take the British here on American soil," Phillip Schuyler said and George tried to focus on him. "I was at the meeting with Thomas and de Noailles and he's certain that King Louis will be willing to send troops to fight here and distract the British. Especially if he can convince Charles the Third of Spain to send troops as well. A holy war against the English infidel."

"And we'll bring a Catholic army into Anglican colonies and what?" George asked. "Force them to convert at the point of a bayonet? March with Catholic bishops behind us to build churches and force the citizenry to kneel to Rome?"

"That..." Schuyler coughed. "That will be something that must be negotiated but the Duke thinks that it won't be necessary. That, if enough colonist join us, when the war for our continent has been won the French will be happy to take Quebec and the northern half of the Ohio River Valley and leave the rest as part of New Spain."

"And we cling to the coastline and wait for the day Louis or Charles decide that they want our land as well," George answered, gritting his teeth, his jaw aching. He glanced out the window behind Schuyler and stared at Alexander, taking tea on the front porch with Schuyler's oldest daughter — Angelica.

His boy was seeing too much of the girl. Too much of any one woman. People would start to talk that they had come to some sort of arrangement. Schuyler would expect an arrangement.

The other man cleared his throat and George saw that he was watching the two young people together as well, his eyes wide and his face filled with joy.

Not that George was surprised. The girl had been in society for five seasons now and at twenty three she was starting to draw attention for the fact that she was not receiving any offers. She was pretty enough. Had in fact been the belle of her first season and had quite outshone the young ladies of the season after her. But there had been no offers. No young man who seemed to pay her more attention than other ladies and the end of the season would come and other women— younger women— would find themselves engaged but Angelica Schuyler would not. And now, both of her sisters were out as well and it seemed whatever stain prevented Angelica Schuyler from finding a husband had bled into her sisters' prospects as well. It was as if there was some blot on her account books, Abigail Adams had said once, acting mystified about what it could be.

George did not tell her that it was because there were rumors that the oldest Miss Schuyler had not been as chaste as she ought with John Barker Church when he'd been in New Orleans five years ago. The man had been a rogue and a scoundrel, trying to peddle royal pardons to patriot exiles and then they'd found out he was actually working as a British spy, trying to determine the fortunes of men still wanted for execution by King George. To have spread her legs before marriage would have been a scandal that would have taken thousands of pounds for Schuyler to prevent from staining the entire family's reputation. To have spread her thighs for a British spy and possibly gossiped about her neighbors to him? That was an unforgivable lapse that had reflected poorly on her whole family. None of the daughters were married and Phillip Schuyler himself was only just now being brought back into the fold when it came to matters of their rebellion. Even then, George didn't know why Thomas had trusted the other man to go with him to visit the Duke.

"They're quite handsome together aren't they?" Schuyler said.

George glanced at the pair on his front porch. Saw Angelic flirting and Alexander reclined back in his seat with a tea cup, laughing along. Watched as the boy reached into his pocket and tipped what seemed to have become an ever present silver flask into it. Passed the flask to Angelica and laughed loudly as she did the same. "I'll go and—"

"Let them go," Schuyler reached out to him. "Who didn't sneak a bit of brandy out when they went courting at that age?"

George raised an eyebrow. He never had. And as far as who had come courting, he was quite certain that this was still his home and the lady Schuyler was the one courting his son. "Yes, well, Alexander's age is one of my concerns," George said sternly. "He is still just nineteen."