p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;""Too much of an angel my butt." huffed Charlotte, under her breath, as she stomped quickly through the cobblestone road, her and her breath coming out in furious clouds of vapor in the chilly autumn air./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"Though Helga made it tolerable enough, lately, even Helga had been gotten on her nerves./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"She hated being a "proper" lady. She hated having to constantly go out to tea and dinner parties. She hated being made to go to balls and parties and being made to dance with Generals and Admirals whose breaths reeked of stale ale and who always gripped her too tightly./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"She hated wearing multiple layers of constricting dresses and walking in high shoes. She hated having to layer on layers of makeup until her face looked like a poor excuse for an Italian fresco. And most of all, she absolutely despised having to put up her hair in triple and quadruple decks, with enough hairpins to rival the number of guns in the most powerful warships of the Royal Navy./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"By the goodness of God, she emhated /emit. If kicking the British out of the thirteen colonies meant an end to this type of irritating life, then she would redouble her efforts tenfold for the war effort. Freedom and liberty for herself and country. Especially herself./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"She had hastily returned home and (after making an excuse to her mother about how she wanted to go look at some of the newly imported French-style dresses at the dressers), had changed earlier and slipped outside again, this time in disguise./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"Now, she was dressed in ragged, patchy men's clothing, and her chest bound, no longer Charlie de Magne, the Loyalist socialite, but simply Charlie, another faceless spy for the Continental Army. /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"Charlie, the simple errand boy. She had even smeared her face, hands, and hair with dirt. She stopped briefly to adjust her thick scarf and tricorn hat. The jacket and the rough fabric of the shirt and pantaloons felt heavy and scratchy as she moved./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"She quickly walked through bustling avenues, filled with the noise of vendors hawking their wares, men and women walking to and fro, and the occasional horse and carriage coming through. She turned corners, went past intersections, and then turned into another corner and then down a quiet, darkened alleyway and then walked down another alley to meet her contact./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"Her contact to the spymaster in charge of the whole operation leaned against the wall, puffing on a cigar. She walked up to him and they silently exchanged handshakes before proceeding./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"His "name" was Angel Dust. She didn't know her contact's real name. /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;""This contains observations on the three British troopships that just dropped anchor this week and where and how the soldiers are disposed in the city proper." said Charlie curtly, handing her contact a small, inconspicuous brown packet./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"He opened the packet, briefly looking through it, and nodded with approval./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;""Alright, Charlie. This information seems quite good." he seemed quite pleased./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;""Now, won't you give me a kiss, darling emboy/em?" he said, jokingly./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"The "boy" lightly smacked him across the cheek./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;""Real men don't beg for kisses from ladies." she sniped back./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"He chuckled and winked./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;""I suppose I'll have to wait for another time, then."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"He tipped his hat respectfully and in a more serious tone said,/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;""I'll make sure that this information gets to the Colonel spymaster."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;""Do you have any new orders?" asked Charlie./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"He shook his head. /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;""None so far. Your mission remains current. Just continue collecting information on the British troop dispositions and any such movements."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;""Thank you, Angel Dust." she offered him a small smile. /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"And with that, the exchange was over./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"He quietly disappeared back into the shadows. She made sure to wait until he was out of sight before she quickly walked away, and slipped back out of the alley as if no exchange had ever happened, a giddy feeling in her heart./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"She loved being a spy./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"Though Helga made it tolerable enough, lately, even Helga had been gotten on her nerves./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"She hated being a "proper" lady. She hated having to constantly go out to tea and dinner parties. She hated being made to go to balls and parties and being made to dance with Generals and Admirals whose breaths reeked of stale ale and who always gripped her too tightly./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"She hated wearing multiple layers of constricting dresses and walking in high shoes. She hated having to layer on layers of makeup until her face looked like a poor excuse for an Italian fresco. And most of all, she absolutely despised having to put up her hair in triple and quadruple decks, with enough hairpins to rival the number of guns in the most powerful warships of the Royal Navy./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"By the goodness of God, she emhated /emit. If kicking the British out of the thirteen colonies meant an end to this type of irritating life, then she would redouble her efforts tenfold for the war effort. Freedom and liberty for herself and country. Especially herself./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"She had hastily returned home and (after making an excuse to her mother about how she wanted to go look at some of the newly imported French-style dresses at the dressers), had changed earlier and slipped outside again, this time in disguise./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"Now, she was dressed in ragged, patchy men's clothing, and her chest bound, no longer Charlie de Magne, the Loyalist socialite, but simply Charlie, another faceless spy for the Continental Army. /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"Charlie, the simple errand boy. She had even smeared her face, hands, and hair with dirt. She stopped briefly to adjust her thick scarf and tricorn hat. The jacket and the rough fabric of the shirt and pantaloons felt heavy and scratchy as she moved./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"She quickly walked through bustling avenues, filled with the noise of vendors hawking their wares, men and women walking to and fro, and the occasional horse and carriage coming through. She turned corners, went past intersections, and then turned into another corner and then down a quiet, darkened alleyway and then walked down another alley to meet her contact./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"Her contact to the spymaster in charge of the whole operation leaned against the wall, puffing on a cigar. She walked up to him and they silently exchanged handshakes before proceeding./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"His "name" was Angel Dust. She didn't know her contact's real name. /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;""This contains observations on the three British troopships that just dropped anchor this week and where and how the soldiers are disposed in the city proper." said Charlie curtly, handing her contact a small, inconspicuous brown packet./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"He opened the packet, briefly looking through it, and nodded with approval./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;""Alright, Charlie. This information seems quite good." he seemed quite pleased./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;""Now, won't you give me a kiss, darling emboy/em?" he said, jokingly./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"The "boy" lightly smacked him across the cheek./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;""Real men don't beg for kisses from ladies." she sniped back./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"He chuckled and winked./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;""I suppose I'll have to wait for another time, then."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"He tipped his hat respectfully and in a more serious tone said,/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;""I'll make sure that this information gets to the Colonel spymaster."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;""Do you have any new orders?" asked Charlie./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"He shook his head. /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;""None so far. Your mission remains current. Just continue collecting information on the British troop dispositions and any such movements."/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;""Thank you, Angel Dust." she offered him a small smile. /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"And with that, the exchange was over./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"He quietly disappeared back into the shadows. She made sure to wait until he was out of sight before she quickly walked away, and slipped back out of the alley as if no exchange had ever happened, a giddy feeling in her heart./p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" /p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"She loved being a spy./p