Ben and Caleb were out scouting when one of their fellow dragoons, Andrew, returned clutching a package to his chest as he rode furiously into camp. He looked fairly shaken up and never even acknowledged their presence.
It had been a little over a month since the two men had joined the Continentals. Although neither had much war experience they proved to be excellent scouts and quite handy with rifles. The general had just mentioned the previous day that a promotion in rank might be in order for the both of them.
Seeing Andrew in such a rush gave them the indication that something important had just occurred so they quickly finished their round and made haste back toward camp.
They hadn't even stepped two feet into camp when another soldier named Tyler approached them.
"The General requests your presences," he said. "He said it was urgent." Caleb and Ben exchanged a worried glance before taking off toward the central tent.
Once they were inside, General Scott instructed them to sit down and requested that the rest of the men leave them to talk in private. Ben gulped silently and searched his mind for anything they could have done wrong.
"When Andrew was out scouting today, he came upon a dispatch rider for the Royal Army," Scott began. "The rider was carrying this." He laid a thick packet of papers on the table in front of them. Both Ben and Caleb recognized it as the package that Andrew was clutching as he rode past them earlier that day.
"It's from a Major Hewlett in Setauket, Long Island," the General continued. Ben stiffened at the name.
"And what does this have to do with us?" Ben inquired cautiously.
"As I recall, you boys hail from Setauket," Scott answered. "And the papers outline the British's actions there along with a few interrogations of some people you may know." Caleb glanced unevenly at Ben wondering if his friend was thinking the same thing that he was.
"I want you boys to read through the papers," the General continued. "You know that town better than anyone here and will know if their occupation in Setauket poses a direct threat to our station here."
"And how exactly did Andrew come upon these papers?" Caleb asked. The General chuckled to himself.
"Let's just say Washington has one less redcoat to worry about," he said with a wink. Ben and Caleb nodded and, collecting the dispatches, headed to their tent. They tried to ignore the curious faces of their comrades as they passed by.
Once in their tent, Ben lit a lamp and opened the first letter. It detailed how the church had been converted to a stable and a pulpit for the Major Hewlett. As he read about how his father's church had been desecrated, he clutched the paper and muttered under his breath. One day, these redcoats would pay.
Caleb found a page outlining the quartering assignments. A Captain Joyce was to be given quarters on the Strong estate. Caleb remembered growing up with Silas and laughed because he was probably the strongest Patriot in Setauket. That surely would not end well for the Captain. He read about a few others until he saw, at the bottom of the page, a final assignment making his blood boil.
"Mr. Johnathan Brooks of his Majesty's army is to be quartered in the home of a Mr. Lukas Brewster and his daughter Ms. Elizabeth Brewster. Special care is to be taken as this is the home of a confirmed Patriot," it read.
Looking up almost simultaneously, the two men exchanged angry glances and switched papers. Things looked unfortunately bleak for their home town.
"I don't know how much more of this I can take," Ben told his friend honestly. Caleb nodded and reached for another dispatch. Upon reading the title, he almost dropped it. Ben noticed the sudden rigidity in his friend.
"What is it?" he asked. Caleb shakily turned the paper so that Ben could see. Across the top of the page was scrawled: The Interrogation of One Ms. Elizabeth Brewster.
Ben immediately stood up and took a seat next to Caleb. He knew that he wouldn't be able to wait to read this paper.
Simcoe had practically dragged Elizabeth to the once church building. Though he didn't have to, she would have gone willingly. Major Hewlett was waiting inside seated next to Judge Woodhull. A chair was fetched for her as well. Being a woman, they didn't want her to be uncomfortable.
"I'm quite sorry about this Elizabeth," the Judge had said.
"It's not a problem," she had assured both the Major and the Judge. "Although I'm not quite sure what you need from me."
"Of course this is an unfortunate situation but we need to be thorough," Hewlett responded. "Now, I understand that you had a close relationship with both Caleb Brewster and Benjamin Tallmadge."
"Yes sir," she replied. "Caleb is my cousin and has lived with my father and I these last few years. And Ben…" she trailed off unsure of what to say about him. The Judge had looked at her expectantly but the Major didn't seem to pick up on the nuance.
"I see," he said. "And are you aware that both of them have been missing since yesterday?"
"I had noticed that Caleb wasn't home for breakfast this morning," she answered. "But I hadn't thought anything of it."
"And what of the Tallmadge boy," Hewlett inquired.
"I saw him last at the Summer Ball," Elizabeth had lied. She briefly thought about the real last time she was with Ben and immediately banished the thought knowing it would give her away.
"Elizabeth," Judge Woodhull spoke up, "we believe that they have run to join the enemy." It was a test to see how she would respond. She had gasped appropriately.
"I don't understand," she said. "Why would they do such a thing?"
"Obviously, they are traitors," Hewlett answered her. Elizabeth continued to pretend she was upset and shocked. Lieutenant Simcoe stepped toward her.
"There's something you aren't telling us," he insisted.
"I don't know what you mean," Elizabeth breathed nervously. This wasn't part of the plan.
"Did you know their plans to leave?" he interrogated forcefully.
"No I didn't," she replied. She couldn't remember giving any indication of the contrary.
"How is it that your cousin, who you live with, held such strong, traitorous feelings and you knew nothing?" he leaned into her and rested his hands on the arms of her chair. Now he had frightened her.
"I don't ask after my cousin's politics, or my friends'," she stammered out.
"Ms. Brewster," the Judge interjected. "Elizabeth, you surely must understand how odd this all seems. They were to report to us to join his Majesty's forces and instead they are gone. And after Samuel Tallmadge's betrayal. Does this not seem suspicious to you?"
"I suppose it does, your Honor," she offered.
"Did they ever give any indication of wanting to be traitors?" Judge Woodhull inquired.
"Not to me sir," she lied smoothly.
"But you were close to them," Hewlett added.
"Yes sir, very." There was no use lying on that part, Judge Woodhull would know. Simcoe stepped forward.
"How did you not know about their political sentiments?" he asked.
"I never asked."
"They never said anything to you?" Simcoe continued growing angry once more.
"No," she held her ground though she felt like she might sink into it. "Ben did once mention that he missed his brother but I doubt that counts."
"And were you not in love with Benjamin?" The Judge struck a nerve deep inside her. She knew in that moment that he was no longer a friend to her or her family.
"I- I," she sat dumbfounded.
"Well?" Hewlett asked, his interest piqued.
"Yes," she whispered truthfully. It was the most honest thing that she had said since she entered the church.
"A poor choice," sneered Simcoe. "So you aided them out of the town to keep them from a cause they disliked."
"No!" Elizabeth insisted.
"You loved them and they used you," he continued.
"No, I-"
"Then you are a traitor, too!" Elizabeth needed to think fast.
"He asked me to marry him!" she blurted out, unsure of where it came from. There was a long silence in the air. The three Loyalists looked expectantly at her so she continued. "The night of the Summer Ball, Ben told me he loved me. He said he wanted to marry me and that he would talk to his father the next day. I waited all day but he never came. I thought maybe he hadn't asked his father yet, but if he really is gone, well then he never loved me at all." She let a few bitter tears leave her eyes hoping they would sell the story.
She waited a few moments before she went on, sniffling. "I didn't know he was a Patriot because I was blinded by love. But I never saw him again and so he wasn't the man I thought I knew." She swallowed bile at her words and prayed that Ben never find out about what she had said.
"And if he had asked you about joining the rebels, what would you have said?" Simcoe was just being vicious now, rubbing salt in her wounds.
"I wouldn't have an opinion to give him," she said.
"You cannot expect us to believe that you have no opinion!" Simcoe announced incredulously.
"Lieutenant Simcoe!" Major Hewlett warned. Though he was intrigued, this was no way to treat a lady.
"I don't see why there is an opinion for me to have," she answered anyway. All three men in the room looked at her. "A woman's place isn't in politics, it's in the home," she stated plainly. The words tasted like soap coming out of her mouth but she knew it was her only way out.
After a prolonged pause, the men in the room began laughing.
"Gentlemen," the Judge said through his laughter. "I have known Ms. Brewster all her life and I can vouch for her sentiments. She always had a simple mind." There was more laughter and Elizabeth allowed herself to shift uncomfortably in her chair. Part of her hated that they were reducing her and that she had reduced herself, but if it protected Ben and Caleb, then she would endure it.
"Very well, Elizabeth," Major Hewlett said then. "You are free to go. I'm sorry for any trouble this caused you."
"Oh, no trouble at all," she insisted as she left. When she got back to her home, she locked herself in her room and cried long and hard. Her only consolation was that she was the only one who knew where Ben and Caleb were, and she hadn't given them up.
Ben sat for a long time looking at the dispatch. He didn't know what to do about what he now knew. She hadn't given them up. That much was clear. And she had gone through great lengths to prove her loyalty.
But Ben couldn't forget that she had insisted he didn't really love her. Here were the words on the paper. She had said that if he loved her, he would have stayed. But he did love her. In fact, he had offered to stay behind for her but she had urged him not to. Was it some kind of test; one that he had failed because he had left to join the Continentals? He wondered if she really felt this way or if it was another lie she told to protect them. Caleb could see the anguish written all over Ben's face.
"She said what she had to," he urged his friend, "not what she actually thought. She wanted us to go."
"How do you know that?" Ben spit out. He instantly regretted the venom in his words but he meant them none the less.
"Because this is Elizabeth we're talkin' about," he answered. "And Elizabeth would never say that she was simple minded or that a woman's place is only in the home. She'd be hanged before she submitted to such degrading words." Ben did have to nod in agreement there. Elizabeth was not one to have no opinions.
But Caleb couldn't stop thinking about what he would do to the redcoats should he find them. What they had done to Elizabeth was cruel and Caleb only wished he could look them in the eyes when he killed them.
The boys read through the other interrogations but none of them really mattered. None of them knew anything.
They finished the rest of the reports and, the next morning, reported back to General Scott. They didn't have anything of consequence to report but Scott had insisted they come anyway.
"There were a lot of reports on the occupation in Setauket," Ben reported. "Mostly about quartering and when new more officers would arrive."
"And do they suspect our camp here?" Scott inquired. Ben and Caleb exchanged a short glance.
"No, not at all," Ben reported. All thanks to one person.
"Thank you boys," the General said. "Now go pack up your things. We leave at dusk."
"Sir?" Ben asked.
"We've received orders to head out and towards Virginia. Washington needs us near the front." Ben and Caleb nodded and with a salute, left the tent.