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# 25 - Philadelphia
Ben's POV
The next few days passed very slowly, although Ben had more than enough to do. He had to inform his men about the transferal to Philadelphia, and he needed to let his network of spies know as well. Captain Price had to be acquainted with the system, and they had to work out new procedures, now that Ben's own "headquarters" would have to move.
Caleb complained a lot about it. Ben took it as a compliment, though Caleb didn't say directly that he was going to miss him. He knew that it was the case, whenever Caleb complained about how unfair it was that he didn't get the chance to go drink beer with the rest of them at the Philadelphia taverns.
"But you'll get the chance." Ben said and put a hand on Caleb's shoulder right before their departure, when the latter kept complaining. "You'll be in the field. And working in the field for me, means that you'll be reporting back to me. In Philadelphia. At the taverns, if you must."
"Will there be beer?" Caleb asked childishly and made Ben roll his eyes.
"What do you think, Brewster?" He replied and went on saddling his horse. They would be leaving in a few minutes.
"Besides, I need you to help Price. Will you do that for me? Look out for him, he'll need a hand."
"Yeah, yeah." Caleb muttered and put the saddlebags on the horse. "Just don't go get yourself killed, alright?"
"I should be telling you that same thing." Ben said and gave Caleb a hug. The latter hugged him back tightly. If Ben didn't know him better, he would've thought that he saw tears in his eyes.
A moment later, he swung himself into the saddle and waited for his men to do the same. When everyone was ready, he looked around and found Washington walking towards him.
He took a hold of the reins of Ben's mare, when he reached it, and spoke to Ben.
"Don't disappoint me, Major Tallmadge." He said quietly and smiled at him. It seemed a genuine smile. "I'll expect news from you soon."
"Yes, sir." Ben said and smiled back at him. They probably weren't thinking about the same kind of news, as Ben's thoughts were, at the moment, very far from gathering intelligence for the army.
"Good." Washington said and let go of the reins. "Safe journey!"
He gave Ben a nod, and the latter replied with a nod as well.
"Thank you, sir." He said and ordered his men to get going. It would take them a couple of days to reach their destination – a couple of long days filled with hope and expectations on Ben's part.
#
The journey was uneventful, almost boring. They found a small inn, at which to spend the night, and the men looked forward to sleeping in real beds again, not to mention drinking a lot of the beer that Caleb had been talking about. Ben let them. He knew them well enough to know that they would be ready to ride in the morning.
He, too, went to have a drink with them, though he planned to turn in early. His men planned it otherwise, though, and so they tried to get him interested in some of the lightly dressed women, who turned up once they heard about the soldiers staying at the inn. As always, he turned down the offer, but he couldn't help laughing at his men for trying. They meant well.
After quite a few rejections from the major, the girls found some other entertainment. Ben emptied his mug and went to bed. He did have a woman on his mind, when he fell asleep, but she wasn't lightly dressed. She was, however, sharing a blanket with him somewhere in the wild, making his heart pound fiercely, even in his sleep.
They continued towards Philadelphia the next morning, and reached their destination around suppertime. Washington had sent word, so lodgings were ready for them. Ben spent his first night in town in the same hostel as his men, but he would move into something a little larger as soon as possible. For now, a room was fine. He was tired and hungry, and so were the men.
When they had had their meal – the second good supper in a row – Ben went to his room, and the men went to a nearby tavern. From tomorrow, he could no longer allow all of them to get drunk on the same nights, as they were supposed to uphold law and order. He had made schedules for them, but tonight was their last night together for a while, and after so many months in the field they deserved one more night off duty. He was to report to a Colonel Simmons tomorrow, but for now, he emptied his head to get a good night's sleep.
#
Colonel Simmons was happy to see a new officer bringing new men to Philadelphia. The ones already there, were getting bored and therefore irritated, and it often came to fights between them, as they had nothing better to do.
Ben thought it sounded as if their officers were lazy, or unable to gain the respect of their men, but he kept quiet about it, of course. He was just glad that he would actually have something to do, apart from guarding the town. He would still have to send his men on missions to gather intelligence. Hopefully, they wouldn't get as bored as the ones already stationed here.
"Have you found a place to stay yet?" Colonel Simmons asked after they had been through all the official stuff.
"No, I'm currently staying with my men at a hostel a few streets from here." Ben replied.
"Major Davenport is leaving tomorrow. I'll send word to have his cottage readied for you, if you have no objections? It was Arnold's wish that you should have it."
"Thank you, sir." Ben said and wasn't sure whether he was relieved or disappointed. He had rather looked forward to finding a small house for himself, but on the other hand, he did need some place to set up his study soon.
"Where do I find Benedict Arnold?" Ben asked thinking of the superior that he had come to know some time ago. He rather liked him and hoped that things were going well for him. He hadn't seemed too pleased with the situation the last time they met.
"You won't find him anywhere these days. He's otherwise engaged, I believe."
"Otherwise engaged?"
Simmons ignored Ben's question and changed the subject.
"So, tell me, Major Tallmadge…" He asked casually, putting a hand on Ben's shoulder. The latter felt a little awkward after the rejection and thought about leaving soon, but the colonel seemed starved of conversation. "When was the last time you went to a ball?"
"A ball?" Ben asked surprised. He had no idea. Sometime at Yale, maybe?
"Yes. I'm not talking about getting drunk in a dirty, old tavern. I'm talking about a real ball. With music, and dancing, and beautiful ladies!"
"Uh… I don't know, sir." Ben said perplexed. "Some time before the war."
"What a pity." Simmons said. "The war doesn't make socializing easy, does it?"
"No, sir, I supposed it doesn't."
"I'll make sure you'll get some invitations." Simmons then said. "I'll introduce you to the important families as well. Always better to be on good terms with the citizens, don't you think?"
"Yes, sir." Ben replied politely. He wasn't sure what to think of Colonel Simmons, but the thought of a ball lifted his spirits some. Maybe, if he were extremely lucky, Lavinia would be there. But then again… How likely was that?
"Colonel…" He began. "These important families, you're talking about…"
"Yes?"
"Would the Bakers happen to be among them?"
"Thomas Baker? And his wife Augusta?"
"Yes, that would be the Bakers I'm talking about."
"They're somewhat important to this town, I guess. Do you know them?"
"Well, I, eh…" Ben hesitated. "I've been in some correspondence with them. We stumbled upon a…relative…of theirs in the field. She was sent to stay with them."
"Ah, yeah, I recall. Major Davenport said something about it. Wasn't her father released from prison a few days ago?"
"He should be, but I haven't had any news about it yet."
"I think he was." Simmons looked at Ben with an expression the latter couldn't read, before he continued. "Well, you will probably see the Bakers on more than one occasion. They like to socialize."
#
Ben went back to his room in very high spirits. He gathered his men and handed out schedules for them to copy, and told them (some of) what he had talked to Colonel Simmons about. They were to take over patrolling the streets after Major Davenport's men, and Ben would take a small group off schedule to do other assignments occasionally.
This afternoon they were to meet with Major Davenport and his troops to gather all the information they needed to protect the town in the best way possible.
He also told them that when they were not on schedule, the time was completely their own, as long as they would stay in Philadelphia. If they needed to go further away, they would have to run it by him first. He needed to know where to find them, at all times.
He knew that he was much softer on his men than most other officers were, but he also knew that when he needed them, they would be there. They wouldn't stab him in the back because he treated them bad. On the contrary, they always had his back, because he treated them with respect.