The first thing Molly did upon being acquitted was request a quill and parchment. She wrote a brief resignation to the Lees, explaining that she could no longer work at the tavern. Then she wrote to Robert. She made sure to keep her message brief. She could fully explain later. All she said was that she was leaving the city, and she thanked him and Rivington for their kindness towards her.
Molly had no idea how many days had passed since they were rescued by Colonel Cooke. But she did know that days were passing. She knew that much by how many meals had been left for her. They were meager in size, and the food was mostly spoiled, hardly edible, but that didn't bother her. She had spent most of the last few days sleeping. She was still exhausted, both mentally and physically, from what had happened.
It was dark in her cell, and she wasn't allowed a candle, so she couldn't fully examine herself. But she still ached. She was certain that bruises had begun to form where she had been beaten.
She hadn't seen Caleb since the interrogation. She wasn't allowed to see Caleb, but she knew that he was in another one of the cells down this same cellblock. She herself was only in a cell because she was going to be added to the prisoner exchange. This made it easier for when Arnold's men came to collect her and Caleb. She didn't know when that would be though.
No one fully explained what the exchange would be, but she figured it out from the bits and pieces she overheard. Shortly after Caleb's arrest, Abe and his father had been "captured" by the rebels. They negotiated that the Woodhulls would be traded to Caleb and a ransom of £500. Molly suspected that the rebels didn't want the British to know how valuable Caleb actually was. Hence, the ransom.
She was awakened from her most recent nap by the sound of her cell door opening. She turned her head, expecting to see a soldier carrying a bowl of food. But instead, there in the doorway stood three men in civilian clothes. One she knew to be the jailer. But she recognized another one of the men; it was Akinbode.
She blinked the sleepiness out of her eyes and groaned as she pushed herself into a sitting position.
"Come along, Miss. General said to send for you." The jailer explained.
She nodded and the man helped her to her feet. Pressing a hand to her side, she followed them out of the cell and into the hallway. She was limping slightly.
She and Akinbode exchanged a look, but neither said anything. She didn't know why he was here. But it was probably best that they didn't admit to knowing each other. As they walked, a woman's face appeared in one of the nearby cells.
"Please, please tell the warden that I know many officers in service." The woman pleaded.
Molly jumped at the sudden voice, and the two women made eye contact.
"My name is Philomena Cheer. I even served the Crown with Major Andre! I can prove it. Please!"
Molly was sure if she was by herself, she would've stopped to speak with her. But that wasn't the face. Akinbode gently nudged her to keep walking, and she complied.
She followed them to the end of the dimly lit hallway.
The second man, the only one she did not know stopped them before the jailer unlocked the next cell.
"Now, this one ain't your typical smuggler." The man warned. "He put a hatchet in one of my crew from twenty foot out. Don't get sleepy on him."
It was weird to hear the man speaking about Caleb like that. Molly knew that her friend had become skilled in using a hatchet during his time as a privateer. She never thought much of it. After all, as a dragoon, Ben used a sword.
The cell was unlocked, and the jailer ushered Akinbode and the other man inside. And there on the cot lay Caleb Brewster. The redcoats had supplied him with new clothes, but even in the lowlight, Molly could still make out the dark shape of dried blood on his chest. Molly remained in the hallway, waiting beside the jailer. She noticed Akinbode flinch when he caught sight of Caleb.
When Akinbode was one of Selah's slaves, he rarely worked in Strong Manor. But he still recognized him from the frequent visits to the property.
"I thought you had seen combat." The jailer commented, also noticing the flinch.
"I seen him." Akinbode explained. "I know him."
"Know him? How?"
"Tried to kill each other couple years back."
Molly didn't know anything about that. But she was sure it was possible that they had crossed paths when Akinbode was still a Ranger. The men said no more on the matter though. The man she didn't know leaned down and picked up Caleb's unconscious form, carrying him over his shoulder.
And then they were in the hallway again, and Molly fell into step beside Akinbode once more. And as they walked, she could still hear the woman, Philomena Cheer, making her pleas behind them.
They had not been traveling long, but the seas were rough, and Molly could already feel the bile rising in her throat. She gulped, trying to keep her seasickness at bay. Caleb was beside her. He was conscious now, but he had been suffering from seasickness the entire trip. It was ironic; the sailor, the privateer; seasick.
After leaving the prison, the jailer had handed them off to General Arnold. He didn't say anymore to Molly or Caleb. He just gave the man – Molly learned his name was Parker – the ransom money, and then Parker and Akinbode were ordered to take them to the exchange.
They met a boatman and another man (whose name was Meig) by the docks. And for the last hour, they had been sailing through the rough seas of the Sound in a whaleboat. The exchange was to take place in Lyme, Connecticut. While Connecticut was rebel controlled, it was more neutral than anything else. That's where privateers and other smugglers met on the London Trade.
The boatman and Akinbode had done most of the rowing. As for the other men, they hadn't said much. Well, at least until now. Molly narrowed her eyes as the man Parker moved in the boat so that he was sitting across from her.
"You know," the man grinned, "the General didn't tell us why you're to be exchanged to the rebels."
She didn't say anything. She knew it was best to keep her mouth shut.
"If they end up not wanting you, I wouldn't complain…" the man reached out and put a hand on her clothed leg.
She jerked away from his touch, and she was about to say something, but she never got the chance. Because Akinbode spoke up.
"Hey, leave her be. We don't want to give the rebels reason to cause us trouble."
Parker rolled his eyes, but he didn't argue with him. Molly tried to make eye contact with Akinbode, to at least show her gratitude. But he refused to meet her gaze.
The boat continued to lurk the passengers back and forth as they continued on their way.
Lyme, Connecticut
"One, two, three!"
"One, two, three!"
Molly stood on the shore, arms crossed over her chest, eyes squinted as the wind tore at her hair and clothes. It was a short shoreline, and right beside it was woods. She watched the men pull the whaleboat to shore.
When it was secured, the men went and lifted Caleb from where he was still sat in the boat. He was conscious, but he wasn't doing well. He was sick the entire trip, and Molly was almost certain that he hadn't seen a doctor while they were in that jail. Akinbode helped get him on his feet, an he kept an arm around him, to steady him.
"I know you." Caleb said groggily. It was the first time he had clearly seen Akinbode's face. "You're a Ranger."
Parker, Meigs, and the boatman all exchanged a look.
"He just said you're a Queen's Ranger. Well that's something you mention before you start trading men across the Sound." Parker commented.
"Used to be with them, but not no more." Akinbode explained.
The men seemed satisfied with the answer.
"Who you trading us for?" Caleb shouted over the wind.
"Some local magistrate and his son." Parker said. "Woodhull."
He motioned for Molly to come closer and she did so. She fell in line in the back of the party, beside Akinbode who continued to keep his arm around Caleb, helping him walk.
"Thank you." She said barely above a whisper.
He didn't respond.
"If I find Abigail on the rebel side, should I tell her to go to York City?"
She glanced over at him and he shrugged.
"Sure. Wouldn't hurt. Let's just hope once this is over, these bastards won't try to kill me for being a Ranger."
She didn't like hearing that, but she didn't know what to say, so she said nothing.
Parker led them into the trees. Once they got passed the first bunch of them, the terrain opened up, and Molly realized that the exchange was going to take place at a millhouse. As they got closer, she noticed that the trace – the canal or trench that connected millpond to the waterwheel in the millhouse – was dried up. That meant that the actual millpond must've dried up and the building had been abandoned. It explained the state of the property.
Parker raised a hand and their group stopped. There were two men standing beside the building. One of the men motioned to someone, and then two men exited the millhouse, leading two men in restraints.
Abe and his father. Molly thought.
Parker nodded and they walked forward at the same time as the rebels. Both parties stopped when they were on opposite sides of the trace. They were using the canal as a barrier between them.
It was when they faced each other when Molly realized that one of the men was Benjamin Tallmadge.
He was wearing a hat that partially covered his face. They briefly made eye contact, but he didn't say anything. She knew he was surprised to see her though. It seemed he hadn't recognized her at first either. But she didn't blame him. She knew she must look terrible; covered in bruises.
"Caleb?" Ben spoke up, noticing his friend's dishevelment. "What have you done to him? Eh?"
Parker shrugged, "There weren't no terms for his constitution, just that he was living."
One of the men, who Molly recognized as her old neighbor Walter Havens – one of the men that fled Setauket when Simcoe was searching for rebels, when he had Lucas Brewster and Reverend Tallmadge arrested – pulled Abe back and pressed a knife to his throat.
"Well, I'm sure we can find a way to even it out." Havens growled.
"No, no," Ben said calmly, "there'll be no blood for blood today."
Havens lowered his knife.
"Who's the woman?" Ben asked, pretending not to know her.
"Don't know. We was just told to hand her over as well." Parker chuckled, "If that's acceptable, of course."
"It is."
A beat.
"You Judge Woodhull?" Parker was addressing Richard now. "Send him over."
"Send the money."
"Brewster for the one. The money and the woman for the other. You pick first trade."
Richard and Abe both spoke up at the same time.
"I'll go."
"Me." They volunteered.
They exchanged a look and Abe said again.
"Me."
"The Judge." Ben decided for them.
The man beside Richard cut the ropes binding his wrists, and then they made the slow trade of helping Richard and Caleb onto opposite sides of the trace.
"Now the son." Parker said.
Molly noticed Akinbode shift beside her. She glanced over and saw him shoulder his musket.
"Something ain't right." He declared.
Parker shot Ben a glare. "You have any more friends here?"
"What?"
Akinbode shook his head. He was looking toward the surrounding woods.
"It ain't them."
If it wasn't the redcoats or the rebels, then who… the Rangers. The other men, on both sides, began drawing their own guns, and looked around. And that's when they heard the first gunshot.
"Get down!" Richard tried to yell, but he didn't get to finish. Because as he yelled, a bullet pierced his skull, and his blood splattered across Abe's face.
Then two other men fell; Parker and one of Ben's men. Before Molly could process what was happening, she felt Akinbode give her a shove. She cried out in surprise, as she fell, but then the falling didn't stop. Then everything went black.
She awoke a few minutes later. She was on her back, staring up at the sky. But there were walls on either side of her. And that's when she realized where she was. Akinbode had saved her by pushing her into the empty trace.
She quickly pushed herself into a sitting position, and that's when she gasped aloud. A few feet away lay Richard Woodhull. She crawled over to him. Although the man had never been fond of her, she prayed he was still alive.
Once she was beside him, she saw the small red dot on his forehead; where the bullet had hit him. And his skin was pale, and his eyes were dull, just like MacInnis' had been, and she knew he was dead.
There was no time to mourn the death of her friend's father. She crawled away from him and got to her feet. She grimaced as she did so. There was a stabbing pain across her entire abdomen. She hunched over briefly and pressed a hand into her stomach. She knew it was just the bruising from her beating. The fall had caused a lot of them to begin aching again.
As she caught her breath, she listened for any sound of the Rangers or of the rebels above her. She heard men running, but their voices were too far away to make out. She quietly swore. She was helpless down here. She didn't have a weapon, and she didn't know who was alive and who was dead.
She looked both ways in the trace. If she ran away from the millhouse, she was sure that she wouldn't get far. God knows how many Rangers were still out in the woods. But if she went towards the millhouse… There was a chance that the rebels had gone there to seek shelter.
So, she began to walk in the direction of the millhouse. Soon, she found herself directly under the waterwheel. She crawled inside of the wheel and began searching for a way out. Although she'd never been inside of a millhouse, she knew that there must be a ladder somewhere nearby. How else was the waterwheel to be repaired? She quickly found it and began to climb.
At the top of the ladder, there was a door. She pushed on it, but it didn't budge. She swore. It was locked. She climbed higher on the ladder and tried to press her shoulder into it. While it did shake, it was still very much locked. She pouted and stared at the small trapdoor for a second. She shrugged. It couldn't hurt to try. And she knocked.
A few seconds later, she heard movement above her, and the trapdoor burst open. She flinched when she saw two gun barrels aimed at her. She held up a hand in surrender. And that's when the barrels vanished, and Ben's face appeared above her.
"Molly?" he asked in disbelief.
"Aye, hello." She stammered.
He laughed aloud and helped pull her through the trapdoor and into the main room of the millhouse. He put a hand on her cheek, and she could tell he was examining the bruises on her face.
"What the hell are you doing here? And what happened to you?"
She pushed his hand away.
"I'll tell you later. Right now, I can't believe I'm alive."
He scoffed, "I'd say so. When we saw you fall, we assumed–"
"So did I." she admitted.
"Stay down." Ben ordered.
She nodded and took in the appearance of the room. All the inside window shutters were closed, but other than that, there was nothing unusual about the room. It was a standard millhouse layout.
As for who was in the room, on the ground were two corpses; Walter Havens with a gunshot wound in the head, and another rebel with a gunshot wound in the neck. He seemed to have bled out. Those who had survived included Caleb and Abe were both sat on the ground near each other. That just left Ben and the other man, Parker's man Meigs.
She could hear Ben and Meigs talking behind her. She kept her head down as she made her way to where Caleb was sitting. He had a canteen in his hand and he groggily waved at her when she joined him.
"Nice to see you made it." He weakly grinned. Although he was weak, he was much more awake than he was before.
"You as well. Are you alright?"
"I'll live."
"Abe?" she asked.
She looked over at him, expecting him to say something, but he didn't. He was staring straight ahead, a blank expression on his face. She knew he was thinking about his father. His father's blood was still splattered across his face.
There was a small commotion behind her, and she turned and saw Ben pacing around the room. He kept peering out one of the windows and then closing them once more.
"They're gonna try to burn us out." He said as he ducked his head down once more. "All right, we have to – we have to mount a sortie."
He walked back over where the trapdoor was.
"We need to try to find a way to surprise them, try to take out as many as we can while we still have a chance." He looked down at the ladder Molly had just climbed. "This leads to the trace." He was thinking out loud now.
"An escape?" Meigs asked.
"No." Molly spoke up. "I thought of that too. But I don't know how many of them are out there."
Ben nodded, "But at least this is a way for one of us to get behind them, create a flank or some kind of distraction at least."
Abe rose from his spot. He was taking his coat off.
"I'm going." He declared.
Ben held out a hand. "Abe, Abe, no."
"I'll wait for your signal, then I'll draw their fire towards me."
He retrieved one of the pistols from Havens' corpse, and then one from the other deceased rebel.
"Abe, you're in no condition—"
"It won't matter." Meigs broke in, trying to stop Abe as well. "There's still ten of them, five of us."
"Seven."
They all paused and turned to look at Caleb, who had just spoken up.
He gestured towards the two corpses. "There's seven of us."
Ben, Miegs, and Abe all exchanged a look, and then they rushed to the center of the room and started dragging the two bodies upright. Molly quickly understood what they intended to do, and she got to her feet again and retrieved some spare rope that still hung from the gears overhead.
Together, they tied the corpses together and used the gears above to hold them so that they appeared to be standing upright. And they positioned them so that they were in front of the entrance to the millhouse.
"Come on hurry, he's waiting for the signal." Ben said.
While they finished securing the bodies, Abe was to go to the trace and await their signal. Then, as they stormed out of the millhouse and distracted the Rangers, he would shoot who he could from behind.
"Are you still a bad shot?" Ben asked, handing Molly a pistol.
"Aye. It's been awhile."
"Well, this time, don't miss."
They looked at each other for a second, and she knew he was thinking the same thing. This could be the end of one or both of them. Neither of them dwelled on the subject much longer. Because then Molly went to help Caleb get to his feet.
"Do you already have a gun?" she asked.
He shook his head, "Nope. But I found this." He held up a small hatchet he had found stashed somewhere in the room.
It would have to do. They only had so many guns. And each of the guns would only give them one shot. There would be no time for reloading. And they were all praying the same would be true for the Rangers.
"He must be in position now, eh?" Ben and Caleb were quietly talking to each other.
Ben kept nervously checking the powder in his gun. "You ready?"
"Always."
"All right, come on."
Miegs motioned for Molly to come closer to the entrance. She did so, and the four of them stood there. They wordlessly looked at each other, and then Ben nodded.
Miegs pulled the rope they had attached to the door, and they all made sure they were out of the way. When the door swung open, they heard the Rangers yell orders outside, and then they heard gunfire. Just like they planned, the bullets hit the corpses in the doorframe.
Then they heard two single shots. Abe. Ben and Miegs pushed passed the corpses and rushed outside to meet the Rangers, Caleb and Molly on their heels. Ben fired his pistol and hit one of the Rangers, then he produced a knife from his coat and went to meet another man head on.
Miegs tried to fire his musket, but his powder didn't ignite. He growled in frustration and threw his gun to the side. But as he did so, the Ranger he was facing surged forward and stabbed him with his bayonet.
As Miegs fell, Caleb threw his hatchet at the Ranger, but he missed, and now the Ranger was charging towards Caleb. He pushed him to the ground with his musket and then the Ranger lifted his bayonet, intending to stab Caleb. Molly hurriedly aimed her pistol, and she fired. She swore aloud. She missed.
But then Ben was there.
"No!"
He grabbed the Ranger from behind and stabbed him in the kidney. The Ranger fell, and then they heard the other Rangers getting closer. They had only killed four of the ten. And that's when they heard more gunfire.
All three of them pressed themselves to the ground. But they quickly realized that the shots were not aimed at them. Someone was in the woods, firing upon the remaining Rangers. But who would be doing that?
Akinbode. Molly thought briefly.
They heard men shouting orders from around the corner of the millhouse.
"Retreat! Retreat!"
Molly looked up just in time to see Abe crawling out of the trace and chasing after one of the Rangers, towards the shore.
"Abe? Abe!" she shouted.
But he ignored her. She considered running after him, but then Ben was beside her, pulling her to her feet. He had already pulled Caleb to his feet as well.
"Come on." He urged. "Back inside!"
She let him pull her back inside the millhouse, and then the three of them began reloading their guns.
"Who the hell was firing from the woods?" Ben was still slightly out of breath.
"Do you remember Selah's slave Jordan?" Molly asked.
"Yeah, the one who went and became a Ranger." Caleb nodded. "I recognized him."
"It was him." She was sure of that. "He deserted the Rangers over a year ago. He's the one who pushed me into the trace. He saved me."
Ben paused and she could see he was struggling to process the information.
"What are the Rangers doing here anyway? Did he bring them?"
Molly and Caleb glanced at each other. They both knew very well who would've sent the Rangers after them. And they had Ben's full attention now.
"You wanna know what happened to us in New York?" Caleb asked.
"Simcoe." She said.
Ben started swearing.
Ben briefly patrolled the woods as soon as all their guns were reloaded. But it turned out, when the Rangers called for the retreat, they did flee.
The rebels who survived the attack were Ben, Caleb, Abe, and Molly. They found Abe half-conscious on the beach. Abe explained he was chasing after the Ranger who had stolen the ransom money, the £500. His gun misfired though, and they were forced to fight. The Ranger would've killed him, if not for Akinbode. He killed the Ranger, stole the £500, and fled. But he saved Abe's life too. He had saved all of them.
They were all squeezed into a wagon now. It was the wagon the rebels had brought to the millpond. Ben and Ave retrieved Richard Woodhull's body from the trace. The corpse was laid out in the back of the wagon. Abe laid beside his father. He was still groggy from the fight, and the shock of his father's death. Caleb sat beside them, half asleep as well. Ben was in the front, driving the horses, and Molly was sat beside him.
Her head was throbbing, and her abdomen still ached, but it was nice to be with him again. She leaned part of her weight on him as he drove. When they talked, it was in hushed voices.
"How did you get roped into the exchange?" He had a lot of questions, and she didn't blame him.
She told him about how Simcoe had tortured Caleb and then thought that she might be Samuel Culper. When she talked about the name Culper, she knew she was forgetting to mention something. But her head was hurting so bad at that point, she decided to ignore it for now. She could tell him later when she remembered.
"All's not lost though." Her eyes were closed and she was leaned forward, resting her head in her hands. "Townsend is back in."
"Aye, we saw his post in the Gazette." A beat. "Was that you? I know Caleb said you went to the city to secure our man in New York."
"No." she admitted. "He did it on his own accord. I don't know why, but…"
She broke into a coughing fit. She hadn't had one of those in a few days. But now she was beginning to feel just as dreadful as when she had first received her beating. She coughed into the sleeve of her dress, but when she pulled her hand away, it was stained with speckles of blood.
Ben swore upon seeing it as well.
"We'll get to camp by tomorrow morning." He promised. "Then I'll see that you and Caleb get to a doctor."
She nodded and crossed her arms. Her teeth were chattering. Although it was summer, they were traveling farther north, and the sky was overcast. It was noticeably colder here than in the city or traveling across the Sound.
"Hey, you alright?" he asked, wrapping an arm around her.
She moved closer to him. He was warm, but she couldn't stop shivering. They didn't talk for long after that, and she fell asleep leaning against him.
