queue and washed his hair, then found the buckets of fresh water with which to rinse, lifting them high and pouring them over his head.
'God, that did wonders!' He chuckled as he toweled down. The water had gone grayish brown from all the dirt he had accumulated. There was a knock on the door, the latch lifted, and the young slave girl came back in with a bundle of fresh clothes. Alan yelped in alarm and held the towel close around him.
'Miz Nancy say I fetch ya some frayush linen, suh,' the girl tittered, cocking one hip at him like a weapon. 'They's planny ta th' house an' no mens aroun' ta wahr 'em.'
'Uh, thank you,' Alan replied.
'I take yer duhty thangs an' warsh 'em fer ya, suh.'
He had to cross to his clothing and empty his pockets while the maid slunk closer, humming to herself and grinning lasciviously.
'Ah kin sponge this hyar coat down, suh. Have ta warsh evathin' aylse. Miz Nancy give ya britches an' clean stockin's ta wayur.'
'That was most kind of her,' Alan said, trying to keep the towel up with one hand and search his pockets with the other.
'You a real purty mans, suh,' the girl crooned softly. 'They calls me Sookie, they does. Laws, ah 'speck ah ain't seen sich a purty mans 'bout the place in a coon's age.'
'Is that a long time?' Alan huffed. Fuck it, she's only a slave, to hell with modesty, he thought, letting the towel care for itself while he finished emptying his pockets. 'What about your overseer, or the boy?'
'Hmmp, Missa Dan'l, he got his fav'rite,' Sookie sulked. 'An' Missa Rodney, his momma keep a leash on him. An' Miz Sarah, she done sol' mos'a the purty slaves. Not much come down the road no mo', 'cept them Franch mens an sich.'
'What French men?' Alan asked, 'How do you know they're French?'
'Why, Lordy, they's awavin' they han's an' bowin' an' kissin' so ovah Miz Sarah an' Miz Nancy, ah nevuh seen sich goin's on! Ize Miz Nancy's gal, suh. Ah seen me lo'sa mens ack the fool ovuh the ladies, but ah ain't seen nuffin' lak dat! All blue an' yaller unifo'ms, an' thezh hyar big tall caps look lak sewin' thimbles.'
'Hussars?' Alan wondered at the girl's description of a shako. 'So they come down the road a lot, do they? When were they last here?'
'Ah… ah, don't recolleck, suh.' She paused, having said too much.
'Tell me, damn you!' Alan insisted, taking her arm.
'Two, three days back,' Sookie finally told him. 'They come down hyar ta sniff 'round the white wimmens. Took off the las'a the field bucks las' time. You ain't gonna hu't me none, is ya, suh, fer tellin' ya 'bout 'em? Miz Sarah'd have me whopped iffen she knew ah tol' ya.'
'I won't tell on you, Sookie,' he said, releasing her.
'Ah alius git me a spell wif a sargen' when they come. His name be Al-Bear, an' he alius gimme a whole shillin' ta let him top me. Ah cain' tell what he sayin' half the time, but he's some kinda buck, my, my! Ah'd do it wif you fer a shillin', iffen you was a mind ta.'
At that moment, had Sookie been a perfumed and powdered Queen of Sheba in his private harem (secretly one of Alan's favorite fantasies) he could not have mounted her to save his life. Damme, the Frogs and the Rebels have been here, and they might come back before we can sail!
'I'd normally be honored, Sookie,' he told her quickly. 'But I've my men to look after, I can't do anything they can't.'
'Ya warn Miz Nancy, don'tcha?' Sookie said, put out by his reticence and misunderstanding his reasons.
'Well…'
'She would'n say no ta a purty mans lak yer-self, suh.'
'She wouldn't?' Alan asked, stopping his activities.
'Them Franch's an' sich what comes down hyar stays the night mos' times. Ah knows what goes on in them rooms upstairs.' Sookie grinned. 'Takes los'a money ta keep this place agoin', it sho do, suh.'
'She does it for money?'
'Nossuh, but iffen one o' huh lovers warnta give huh somepin', she don' say no. Miz Sarah now'n agin, too, even she is a dried-up thang.'
'Hard times would indeed make a rat eat red onions,' Alan said, remembering Governour's comment.
'Sho nuff, suh!' Sookie snickered with him. 'You sho you don' warna take a poke at me?'
'Perhaps tomorrow night, Sookie, I am rather tired.'
'Ah tells Miz Nancy, then, you warn huh?' the consummate little businesswoman asked, picking up the dirty clothing once more.
'Aye, that would be interesting.' Alan smiled, almost shoving the maid out the door. He dressed quickly into fresh stockings, a pair of buff breeches that were too loose on him, a clean linen shirt and neckcloth, and a faded white waistcoat also much too large, idly wondering who they had belonged to before he got them.
His supper was waiting in the parlor before the fire. Two lanterns were lit on the mantel above the fireplace, and the fire was now a cheery blaze that threw off enough heat to take away the autumn chill of the house. The kitchen servant had laid out boiled mutton, a cold ham, boiled corn and beans, more bread, and a crock of fresh butter.
'You look a lot more elegant than when you left,' Burgess teased as he sat down. 'And the aroma is better as well.'
'I have learned something,' Alan whispered, raising a hand to shush them. 'Our hostesses received French soldiers, not two or three days ago. One's a whore on the side, the older is a schemer who accepts favors in trade to keep this plantation alive and in style.'
Alan described what the maid Sookie had told him and then sat back to let the soldiers make up their own minds.
'Blue and yellow uniforms, and hussar fur turbans,' Governour said, chewing. 'Lauzun's Legion. Cavalry, foot and light artillery. They're Poles, Germans, and renegade Irish, maybe some Scots as well who followed Charles over the water. Used for foreign service such as Senegal. Tough as nails, I'm told. They were up north in Newport with de Barras last year.'
'Well, they are here now,' Alan reminded him. 'And their officers think this the most entertaining spot in two counties. We had better get to work and get out of here soon as dammit before they get the urge to come visiting the widows again.'
'And prepare some positions should they come in strength,' Burgess added. 'Hell, cavalry! They would ride right over us!'
'Keep your voice down, dear brother,' Governour said. 'We do not want our hostesses to know we are worried about anything. One show of fear and they'd find a way to get word to the other end of the peninsula and do for us. We have to keep up a bold front. How much gold do you have, Alan?'
'About one hundred guineas,' Alan admitted, which brought a look of consternation to each Chiswick brother at his wealth.
'Stap me, we could buy the whole damned county for twenty!' Burgess exclaimed. 'Think the ladies'd be more amenable to our presence if we flat out bribed 'em?'
'We cannot admit that weakness,' Governour countered. 'But if we seem to be a source of money, for victuals and such, they might wait for a while before trying to send out an alarm. Even so, we have to close down traffic up the peninsula so tight, a mouse couldn't get by.'
'And lay some preparations to receive their cavalry.'
'Yes, Burgess,' Governour gloomed. 'If all else fails, we will have to fight them—and beat them.'
'What, the whole of Lauzun's Legion?' Alan wondered aloud.
'Not at first, perhaps a troop at a time. Alan, this girl Sookie, she is a good source of information? Could you get any more out of her?'
'Not really.' Allan frowned. 'She'd reveal anything for a crown, but she knows nothing. It's her mistress that would know more, but there's no way to make her talk.'
'You said she was a coquette, taking favors,' Governour said.
'Well, yes.'
'As I remember, you gain a lot of information from the whores,' the younger Chiswick grinned. 'Like you did in
