Grace Tallmadge, or Whatever Name Disgraces our Family,
It is with regret that I have learned of your engagement and your decision to follow the Continental Army. Deciding to marry the Tallmadge boy, despite all warnings to the contrary, has made me realize how your allegiances have shifted and how you have brought shame upon our family and upon its good reputation. Thus, my wife and I, as well as Mother, will no longer visit nor write, although this note is an exception affording you the proper courtesy. We are deeply ashamed of the fact that you have abandoned the principles that Mother and Father instilled in you from a young age, principles that I tried my best to continue to uphold even after Father's unfortunate passing.
I will never visit your home, and my children will never be there to visit either. When you still wanted to marry the Tallmadge boy after his treason had been revealed, Mother and I decided that it was enough, that it had brought too much shame on our family and that you had passed the point of return. You have always been the rebellious one, but that fateful decision took it too far. Mother's heart is frail, and thy actions and decisions, most of all following the rebel army, have put her in a very poor state. She would write herself, but she has fallen ill and lost that capacity, after you ran off from the good family that was supporting you in Setauket.
As for the man you have chosen to marry, neither Mother nor I can give our blessing to him or to this unholy union. Your family is and always will be loyal to His Majesty the King, and we will not accept traitors in our bloodline. None of your family will ever accept him, nor the bastard children that will come of such a union. From this moment onward, we are family in name and blood only.
As for myself, I will delight in finding you again, in reminding you how you have thrown away the good English stock that you come from, polluting it with the blood of a traitor. Should I ever have the misfortune to meet your Judas of a husband, I will take much pleasure in reminding him of the rightful authority of His Majesty King George, perhaps more permanently than a pamphlet or a rousing speech could. He will be reminded of his place as a reverend's son, one loyal to his god and his king, should he return at all.
Thus, I must conclude by sending my deepest regrets that you have chosen this path. It is far too late to come back from, and you have brought much shame to Mother and I. This will be my final letter, and I do not expect a reply, for you will not receive one if you chose to write. Farewell, dear sister.
Grace sat in silence, reading and rereading the letter. The door of the tent opened, Ben coming in to say hello. "The men are beginning to pack their tents. We are moving out in the evening. I've arranged for you to ride in a wagon, so you can rest."
"Thank you," Grace said, putting a hand to her growing stomach. Her voice was hollow, and Ben could tell that something was wrong as he sat down next to her.
"What have you there? Is it bad news from Setauket?"
"You remember my older brother, I'm sure. He was never all that fond of you, but he knew how happy you make me, so he put up with it. He joined the King's Army, trying to live up to my father's legacy, and he moved his family out of Setauket. This is from him. He… he's threatened both of us. They are all veiled threats, but… well, read this and you will see what I mean," she told him, handing the letter over. "He says that… that he would rather kill you than properly meet you."
Ben took the letter in one hand, putting his other arm around her shoulders as he read. Finally, he set the letter in his lap, telling her that, "If he truly is this bent on finding you, and if he wishes harm on us, I would suggest that you go by your other name."
"My other name? I thought I had given her up when I came here," Grace sighed, shaking her head. "I finally thought I could just write to you as myself."
"It would keep you safer. In all of your public writings, in all of our documents, I would suggest signing them as Miss Mary Floyd," he said frankly. "No matter how much you dislike using the name, it will keep you infinitely safer. He will think I married someone else, and that you have come to your senses."
"Ben, I would hate to deny it, denying the name that I have taken, the name that I have wanted to share with you for so long now. For years, I had wanted to be a Tallmadge, and I would hate to deny that now."
Shaking his head, he insisted that, "This will help to keep you safe. For your sake, and for our family's. When we announce the marriage, he will surely read of it. Using your code name will ensure your safety. Don't worry, we will all still call you Grace, but on paper, well, it will have to be different. You will be a Tallmadge, and that will resolve it all." She sighed, allowing herself to lay her head on his shoulder. "And I promise I will always be here to protect you."
They sat there and talked for a while, Ben eventually moving to start packing up his papers and Grace folding their clothes into valises, all to be packed into a cart as they made their way north again. By the early afternoon, their things had all been put away, and they had readied the cart to move out later in the day. They stopped to say goodbye to Abe, Mary, and Thomas, who were heading for Setauket as soon as they had packed their cart. Abe had a farm to get back to, after all. He had promised to find Grace a job at DeJong's Tavern, for when she returned and needed to make money while Ben negotiated with Congress for the pay that they owed him and so many others.
"Be careful," Mary told her, handing Thomas to Abe and giving Grace a hug. Abe set Thomas in the wagon before saying his goodbyes to Ben. "That baby has had more than enough of fright and worry in the last few months. He deserves a break."
"Thank you," Grace smiled, telling her to have a safe trip home, promising that they would be back as soon as they could. There was a lot to do in Philadelphia, but they were looking forward to coming home, seeing their friends and neighbors again. She fished a letter out of her pocket, adding, "Please get this to Reverend Tallmadge. It explains everything, how we were essentially married but how we want to have the service in his church on July 4th, how we won and will be on our way home to Setauket after visiting Congress, about the baby… if you could bring this to him, I would be incredibly thankful."
"Of course," Mary nodded, tucking the letter into a bag in the cart as Abe hitched up the horse. "I'll send Abe with it as soon as he goes into town for provisions."
Grace and Ben watched them go, the cart rolling off into the distance as the Woodhulls headed back to Setauket, finally going back to their normal lives. They would take a while to rebuild and sort out their affairs after the war, but they were eager to return to their quiet farm, the cabbage fields, and the friends that they had been surrounded by for all of their lives.
When it was time to begin the journey to Philadelphia, Ben brought Grace over to a rather ornate-looking carriage, telling her that she would be able to travel comfortably. They would be riding until midnight, and the men would camp out before they began marching again in the morning. He would have to be on his horse, leading his men as usual, but he assured her that she would be in good company, and that he would come back to check on her as soon as they had stopped for the night.
After helping her up into the carriage, Ben left to untie his horse and meet Hamilton and Washington, who would be riding with him. Grace sat there for a moment, surveying what, for the last three and a half weeks, had been her home. The tents had been cleared away now, leaving behind only the fire pits that the men had made and some rubble from their campsites. Many of the British defenses had been torn down, and everything else had been packed away, either in carts or in packs that the men were carrying. A graveyard was built close to the trees, small crosses sticking out of the ground where all of the men who had died in battle or in the medical tents had been buried. They would forever look over the town, the last major victory of what would become known as the American Revolutionary War.
Yorktown itself was already being rebuilt, with the Patriots who lived there coming back into the city and starting to repair their homes and their shops. Many of the Loyalists had left with General Clinton, trying to leave before the Continental victory became too well-known. The wealthiest of them were already on ships headed back to England. Peggy was among them, as Grace would later find out. Arnold had sent her ahead as he had to deal with his men in the colonies, trying to organize their departure.
The carriage door opened again, shaking Grace out of her thoughts. The man climbing into the seat opposite her was someone she knew well, someone she would be delighted to travel with. "Bonjour, Madame Tallmadge," Lafayette smiled, taking his seat just as they started moving.
"Good evening," Grace beamed, moving to kiss him on both cheeks, as was their custom. "Are you my designated traveling companion?"
"Despite what it may have seemed during the war, with my living in the camps among my men, I do enjoy the privileges afforded to a marquis, even in America," he laughed, looking out of the window to see Yorktown already shrinking in the distance behind them, "and when I heard that you were expecting a child, I simply could not let you walk or ride all of the way to Philadelphia. The journey is nearly a week long, if we travel all day and camp out at night. A woman in your condition should not be exposed to the elements for that long, especially not a friend of mine. Besides, cherie, this will give us more time together before I sail back to France. I leave from Philadelphia, after the parade and reception by Congress."
They would spend the next week traveling, taking their meals in the carriage as they slowly moved towards Philadelphia. Grace was delighted to have Lafayette to travel with, the two of them spending their time talking in English and in French depending on how they felt, playing cards, and occasionally drifting off to sleep in the carriage (Grace more so than Lafayette, who would smile to himself when she closed her eyes "for a moment" and ended up napping for much longer). Ben would come to check up on her every time they stopped to rest their horses or camp out for the night. Even Washington came by to make sure that she was comfortable. It was a long journey, but they were hailed as heroes when they arrived in Philadelphia.