"Grace, I have good news," Ben announced, bursting into the medical tent where she was working. Grace looked up from where she was busy stabilizing a man's broken arm as he continued, "You and Dr. Wippold will need to start packing your things. We're loading the ill and injured onto the first ships."

"Ben, what do you mean?" she could hardly look over to talk to him, since she was trying to keep a splint in place, but she did have a few seconds to think. "Are we following Lafayette?"

"Finish up here, talk to the doctor, and come and find me in my tent," he instructed, watching her work. "I cannot tell you here, but I have good news."

Grace finished wrapping the man's arm as Ben set off for his tent. When she was done, she went to find Dr. Wippold and one of his other assistants in a different tent, telling them what Ben had said and promising more details to come. The doctor assured her that he had things covered there and that she should go find her husband, since he clearly had important news. Thanking him profusely, Grace left, making her way through the camp towards the center of army intelligence.

When she reached the tent, she could hear voices inside. They were muffled, but if she stood in the shadow of the tent and listened carefully, she could hear them just fine. It sounded like Anna was there, talking to Ben about Ann Bates and the trouble in camp. "Mary will say she discovered this, and give it to her as proof that we are moving towards York City and planning an attack."

"Are you sure she'll believe it? You don't have much experience writing love letters," Anna's voice said, making Grace smirk.

Ben's answer was even better, and she had to keep herself from laughing as she listened. "I have Grace, now don't I? How do you think I convinced her to marry me when we spent months apart?"

"Oh, I think she was fairly convinced from the instant she saw you after a year and a half or so of you running off to the army. She could hardly talk about anything else when she got back from that ball. I don't think it has much to do with your writing skills."

"Well, whatever did it, I have her."

"That he does," Grace chuckled as she walked into the tent, Ben and Anna smiling. "What are you writing there?"

"This is exactly what I wanted to tell you about, but I could not say a word in front of the other men," Ben told her as she sat down next to Anna. "Washington's moving the army to Virginia. We will rendezvous with the French and cut Cornwallis off in his own territory. This letter will travel through Mary to Ann Bates, to her husband, and then directly to General Clinton, who will request more men because he will think an attack on York City is imminent. All the while, we will be moving south. Even our men will think we're sailing for the Hudson, when we are actually sailing to meet up with Lafayette and his men. He has the French naval forces behind him."

"I must be getting back to my cart, but I hope this works," Anna said, bidding them goodbye and heading out towards the camp followers' area. She had read Grace's expression, knowing that she should leave the two of them to talk.

"If we're sailing to meet Lafayette -"

Ben smiled, reaching out for her. "Don't worry," he promised, pulling her into his arms. Grace ended up sitting on his lap, her arms wound around his neck as she leaned her head on his. "I'll sneak you onto my ship. The followers… well, Washington thought he should make them walk or ride down there, but we have a ship we can fit them on. I'm making arrangements for them now. It will not be comfortable, but it will be possible. It's not a long journey, but I can lend you a coat and some breeches, and have you tuck your hair up into a hat, and I can march you onto the ship with the others."

"Really?" she laughed. "And what would Washington say about that?"

"As long as you're only out of your disguise when you're holed up in my quarters, he will never be any the wiser," Ben assured her. "For now, though, you should focus on packing your things - well, our things, since I will have to oversee moving the men onto ships starting as soon as Mary gets this letter to Ann Bates. She will set off immediately, since the news is so crucial. After that, we can begin moving the men, and then we will head south. Everything should be packed and the men onboard ships, ready to embark by the end of the week."

"Ben?"

"Hmm?" He looked up at her from his desk, kissing her cheek.

"Why do I have the feeling that this is going to be the… well, a decisive battle, if not the last one of the war?" Grace asked, looking him in the eye. "I just have a feeling that this one is going to be big. All of the major players will be there - if we bring Washington, Rochambeau, de Grasse, and Cornwallis together, all we're missing is Clinton... Cornwallis will not go down without a fight, and I know he will take no quarter. If we get cut off -"

"We will not be cut off," he said, pulling over a piece of paper. "Look at this. This is what Cornwallis is working with. We surround him by land and by sea, and he will have nowhere to go. He will be forced to surrender, just as long as the British believe we are heading for New York. Washington has already issued the order for decoy ships to be sent out towards York City."

Looking over the map, Grace had to admit that, "It's a brilliant plan. It will be dangerous - Cornwallis will not give up easily - but it's just possible that we could do this."

"Thank Culper. He was the one who stole this from Arnold."

"The more I think about it, this war is only going to be won because we outspied them. We gained the upper hand because of the ring, because of people just like us all over the colonies. Ambushes and non-traditional warfare, sure, but we only know much of what we know because of people whose names no one will ever know," Grace realized, Ben nodding along. "No one will ever know what we've done, but we just might be able to live in a country where we can be free to make our own decisions and not have the army marching through our towns and a king taxing us to death."

"No matter how we do it, winning the war is what matters," Ben stressed. "The British are already blocked in the Chesapeake bay by Admiral de Grasse. Lafayette and more men have just arrived, and we will be joining them soon. Washington believes if we can take a few of their redoubts, build a couple of parallels - entrenching our position, and defend them, we can take Cornwallis. Abe will know more about their arms and their conditions when we get there. I've gotten word this morning that Caleb was able to find him. They'll be waiting for us."

"That's wonderful." Grace stood, resolving that she would go and pack, since Dr. Wippold had everything handled in the medical tents.

Ben stopped her at the door of the tent, reminding her that, "This may be a long battle. We may even have to lay siege to them if they have enough armaments. But we will win. And remember, not a word of this to anyone."

"Not a word," she nodded, giving him a kiss before she left. There was a new buoyancy in her step as she moved through the camp towards the house. Some of the men were already getting their things together, many of them beginning by cleaning their guns. If they were not drilling, they sat cleaning their weapons, getting their last laundry orders in, and starting to pack for what they were told would be a trip to York City.

As Grace began taking clothes out of the chest in their room, she hummed ot herself, thinking that she would get to see Abe, Caleb, and Lafayette again soon, and that they would be finally on the move. And that she had been able to help them, gathering intelligence that would ultimately lead the British to think that they were actually headed for their stronghold in New York. It would be a decent trip down south, and then she would be relegated to the medical tents or the camp followers' area. She knew that Ben would tell her that being any closer would be dangerous, but then again, the entire was was dangerous. Shrugging the thought off, she resolved to do whatever she could to help the rebels win the war.

Grace wasn't the only one packing up her things that night. The women and children had been told that they would be shipping out, but Ann Bates would not be joining them. She had read the letter that Ben had given Mary, and had decided to ride for York City as soon as she finished stuffing her things into her bag. She would deliver the letter to General Clinton himself, convincing him that a large part of the Continental Army would be sailing for York City to mount a grand attack against his forces.

There was a knock on the door, Grace setting down the dress she had been folding and going to let Hamilton in. "Good evening, sir."

"Good evening, Mrs. Tallmadge. I see your husband has already told you we will be sailing soon."

"Yes, we will be ready to board the ship in the morning, if need be."

Hamilton nodded, letting her know that, "You and the major will be boarding tomorrow afternoon, and we will be sailing off in the evening, just in case there is anyone in camp looking to tell the British that we are heading far south. General Washington dispatched me to let you know."

"Thank you. Colonel Hamilton?"

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Do you think this could be it? The battle that definitively gives us the war?"

Hamilton nodded thoughtfully, telling her that, "I believe it very well could be. We have had some solid victories, and Admiral de Grasse is moving to block off their navy. We would very well trap and destroy General Cornwallis' army in Virginia."