The Untold Story of Mary Seymour

Chapter 37

I smiled at the man standing in front of me, happy to finally be meeting this man. "Mr. Washington, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Mary Hancock. My brother is John Hancock, you worked together for a few weeks."

"Yes, I remember John. My wife is also quite fond of you, Ms. Hancock. It is also a pleasure to meet you. I have heard about all the things that you have done to help from Paul and I believe that you will be of some great help to me. I like the way you think; it is not always about violence," Washington said. As he was speaking, he started to flip through some documents that were laying on his bed.

"I would be more than happy to help. What do you have in mind?" I asked.

Washington stopped looking at his papers to look at me. He examined my appearance, making me feel uncomfortable under his gaze. "You are quite attractive." I went to scold him, but he held a hand up to stop me before I could. "I am happily married, Mary, so I don't mean it in that way. I am stating that fact because you are going to use that to get to General Howe."

I felt my jaw drop open. I took a minute to regain composure before I spoke against Washington. "Sir, I am no prostitute. I don't know exactly what you are thinking, but I am not using my body to get to Howe. If that is why you called me here, then I may just return to my brother."

Washington began to laugh, causing me to become angry. I went to leave when Paul stopped me. "Mary, I am sorry, I did not mean to insult you. I meant that I want you to have a one on one conversation with Howe. Howe likes his women, and when he sees you he's going to think that you're there for other reasons. Once you and him are alone, you will persuade him with words to meet with me. I am sure you are worried about your protection, but I will assure you that he will not hurt you because you will tell him I sent you. What do you think?"

I looked back at Paul who was standing off to the side watching our interaction. He nodded his head, trying to convince me to agree to the plan. I looked at Washington who was looking me at me with determination. "Fine I will agree to do so, but you need to guarantee my protection. I have a bad experience facing generals one on one."

"I can promise that you will not be put in harm's way. I have spies in Boston, and they have been informed of the plan. One of them will be in Howe's headquarters when you are there. Thank you, Mary, for agreeing to do this." Washington placed a hand on my shoulder as he was walking past me to leave his tent.

"Mr. Washington, let me say one more thing before you leave." He stopped and turned to face me, placing his hands behind his back. "I am here to help everyone, not just you. Nothing has happened since you left the Congress, and I made a promise to myself to help in whatever way possible to make sure that this war progresses. I do believe that you will be a great general, and when the time comes you will make the right decisions. The fate of this country lies in your hands, Washington."

I thought Washington was going to start yelling at me for telling him what I thought, but he just smiled at me. "Thank you for the honesty. I don't think you need protection from Howe if you talk to him like that."

Washington walked out of the tent and I was left speechless. I turned to Paul who was trying to hold back a laugh. "What the hell was that?"

"That, Mary, is what I call making a great first impression with the general. Good luck trying to avoid him if he ever needs you again." Paul walked out of the tent laughing, and I followed after him rolling my eyes at his laughter.

I spent the next few days talking with some of the volunteers. I listened to them explain why they joined the war, and it gave me some added belief that we could get more men like these that would want to fight. They asked me what was happening with the Congress, and I hated to report that there was nothing worth sharing that would help them; they hated to hear it too.