Chapter 3: Joined by a Common Purpose
Sanctus, Sanctus. Dóminus Deus, Sábaoth….
During a lull in the fighting that same evening, the melodic sound of children's voices drifted pleasantly through the French encampment. In the officer's dining tent, General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm, the Marquis de Montcalm, stood beside an Abenaki war chief as the two listened to the small Abenaki children's choir led by a Jesuit priest as they sang a hymn in Latin. Behind the chief, two of his warriors flanked him on either side.
Short in stature, the forty five year old Montcalm nevertheless had an authoritative presence. Unlike his staff officers formal dress, Montcalm chose a more casual attire, an adopted mix of French and Native clothing that included moccasins topped with leather gaiters over his uniform breeches. Seated at a long food laden table bedecked in silver, china, and crystal sat two officers, one of whom was Montcalm's second in command, Colonel Chevalier de Levis, who listened to the choir as he dined.
As the song concluded, Montcalm assured the Abenaki chief that he had his friendship and esteem, and that he would sing the war song with him at the great council fire. To this, the chief nodded his approval and left with his warriors, followed by the children and the Jesuit priest. As they exited the tent, another warrior boldly entered without waiting for permission first. Without a word, he calmly wandered over to a large surveyor's compass mounted on a tripod. Scrutinizing the new arrival for a moment, Montcalm then approached the warrior as he addressed him.
"Magua? How are things with your English friends? We are at one, join us! Let us hear what Le Subtil has to tell us." As Montcalm spoke, Capitaine Louis Antoine de Bougainville, the general's aide-de-camp, entered the tent. Listening intently to the conversation, the young officer took a seat at the dining table.
"The English war chief, Webb, goes to Fort Edward with the 60th regiment. He does not know that my father's army attacks Fort William Henry." Magua replied, looking rather pleased with himself.
"Magua was successful?" Montcalm asked, hinting at some sort of mission. Magua gave a barely perceptible nod.
"The other two couriers died in the forest."
"By now Munro will know his dispatch did not get through. He will send another." Montcalm stated, folding his arms. Magua appeared unconcerned.
"The grey hair will try."
"Four of five including two women entered the fort." Bougainville informed Montcalm, sharing the news he'd just learned from one of the French Rangers patrolling the perimeter of the lake with a group of Ottawa.
"The Grey Hair's children were under Magua's knife. They escaped. They will be under it again." Magua confidently stated, explaining the women's identities and his intention for them.
"Why do you hate the grey hair, Magua?" Montcalm inquired, wanting to know what motivated the Huron war leader's hatred of Colonel Munro.
"When the grey hair is dead, Magua will eat his heart. Before he dies, Magua will put his children under the knife, so the grey hair will know his seed is wiped out forever." Magua replied, his tone as icy as his eyes. The vague reply only creating more questions for Montcalm than it answered. What had Munro done to make Magua hate him with such intensity? But as the general waited for Magua to continue, the Huron fell silent and turned his attention to examining the compass again. There would be no further explanation of Magua's hate for Colonel Munro tonight.
"It is a shame we had to tear up our riding dresses. They were so pretty. Especially yours, Cora."
Working beside her sister in the surgery, Alice sadly regarded the strip of silk in her hand that had come from the skirt of Cora's outfit. Pausing as she rolled up strips of Alice's pink skirt, Cora gazed longingly for a moment at the remnants of the blue fabric. She had so loved that dress, having had it made in London specifically for this trip to the colonies. The moment she'd tried the finish product on at the dressmakers in London it had become her favorite outfit, which she'd only worn once, having saved it for the journey to the fort. But the dress had been made for riding on horseback, not walking miles on foot through an untamed wilderness full of streams, brush and mud.
"I know." Cora woefully sighed before returning to her work. "But the dresses were ruined, and no amount of mending and cleaning would have restored them to their original condition." she added as she placed the rolls of pink silk into a basket. "Besides. We are in desperate need of dressings for the wounded. Silk riding habits are a frivolous luxury right now. We can have new ones made later when we return to Boston or London."
"Yes, of course." Alice agreed. Glancing over her shoulder, she looked out the entrance to the surgery and observed a scene much calmer than the one she'd arrived to. "At least the fighting has stopped for now. Perhaps the rain will prolong the temporary ceasing of the siege." Alice commented, turning her back to the door again as she rolled the last piece of blue silk and placed it in the basket beside rolls of what had been her own pink skirt.
"One can hope." Cora sighed, both sisters only vaguely aware of Mr. Phelps speaking to someone who'd just entered the surgery.
"Miss Cora? Patient with a minor wound asking for you. Needs you to stitch him up." the exhausted surgeon asked from the stool he was resting on. As she and Alice turned around, Cora gave a start when she saw who her patient was.
"Oh!"
"Uncas!" Alice cried out, alarmed to see the blood stain on the left side of the young warrior's shirt over his abdomen. What had happened to him? she frantically thought.
"Alice?"
He was fine when we arrived at the fort. And the fighting stopped soon after, so how could he have been injured?
"Alice?"
Unless he went up on the parapet walkway and was shot by a sniper. Or perhaps he got into a fight with someone inside the fort and was stabbed! Damn all of them!
"ALICE!"
Snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of Cora's sharp voice, Alice turned to her sister. "Wha..? Yes. I'm here."
"Good. Bring me a needle, cat gut, two clean bowls, and some scissors. Oh, and a bottle of witch hazel. Uncas? I want you to sit on this table and show me your wound."
As Alice darted off over to a nearby hutch with shelves, Uncas propped his musket against the wall. Removing his knife, tomahawk and the woven sash he wore as a belt, he then took off his shirt and hopped up on the wooden table, wincing from the pain the sudden movement caused him. While Alice bustled about with her back to the scene, collecting the needed items, Cora inspected the gash on Uncas' side.
"It's not too deep. But it will need stitches though. How did this happen?" Cora asked.
"Stupidity." Uncas sheepishly replied. "One of our militia friends was trying to remove a bayonet he'd gotten stuck on his musket. He asked me to help him pull it off and I foolishly agreed."
"You did what?"
"It wasn't one of my best ideas."
"Oh Uncas! You are lucky you weren't run through!" Cora exclaimed; grateful the wound was so minor when it so easily could have been fatal.
"That's what my father said." Uncas dryly concurred, certain that he hadn't heard the last of this from either Chingachgook or his brother.
With her arms full of supplies, Alice quickly turned around and hurried back to the table, her attention on the bottle of witch hazel she was adjusting before it slipped out from under her arm. Looking back up, she skidded to a stop when she saw a half naked Uncas sitting on the table. Attempting to collect her composure, she took a deep breath and set the items down on the table, right beside her patient's exposed thigh and hip. While Cora cleaned and stitched her patient's wound, Alice suddenly realized she was gawking at Uncas' bare chest, hip and thigh the entire time. In a desperate attempt to be of continued assistance, she groped behind her for the basket of bandages and unceremoniously presented it to her sister.
"Here is my shirtless…. I-I mean my magnificent… I-I mean… Put my dress on him!" Alice suddenly blurted out. Her cheeks burning crimson after she realized what she'd said, Alice plopped the basket on the table and shoved a roll of her pink skirt to a bewildered Cora while an amused Uncas raised an eyebrow, a smile quirking one corner of his mouth.
Too embarrassed to remain at the table, Alice mumbled something about giving Cora more room to work and scampered out of the surgery. No sooner had she taken a seat on a bench just outside the door, Nathaniel arrived. Unable to make eye contact with anyone at the moment, Alice sat with her head slightly bowed and tried to compose herself. Glancing curiously at Alice as he walked by, Nathaniel entered the surgery and paused to inquire if he could speak to Miss Cora Munro. For the second time that evening, Mr. Phelps announced to Cora she had a visitor.
"Miss Cora? Gentleman looking for you."
"Miss Munro?" Nathaniel greeted her. Acknowledging him with a nod and a whispered hello, Cora resumed treating Uncas. Setting his musket down beside Uncas', Nathaniel spotted what he had come for. Retrieving a roll of Cora's silk skirt, he held it aloft for her to see. "May I?" he asked. Receiving a nod of consent, he unrolled the cloth and proceeded to cut thinner strips from it.
As she worked, Cora had a hard time staying focused on tending to her patient, unable to resist stealing several glances at Nathaniel. Likewise, he cast a glance or two at her as well before reminding himself to focus on his task and not to slice his fingers off as he cut the silk. His father already complained of having one brainless son. No point in making it two. Outside the door, Alice took full advantage of her location on the bench to surreptitiously stare at Uncas every chance she got. His half naked body was far too beautiful not to admire. As for Uncas, he was in too much pain from having his wound stitched to notice anyone at the moment, but that was soon to change.
Taking a folded square of cotton cloth, Cora placed it over the stitches on Uncas' side. She then wrapped Alice's pink bandage around his waist to secure the cloth in place. "It will seep and then it's going to draw." she instructed him.
"Thank you, Miss." Uncas sincerely replied, grateful for her aid.
With the strips of blue silk secured to the wampum belt he wore across his chest, Nathaniel looked up as Cora finished securing the bandage around his brother. Feeling a highly uncharacteristic pang of jealousy toward Uncas, he found himself wishing her arms were touching his waist instead. How come Uncas has all the luck? he thought to himself.
"You about done holding hands with Miss Munro? We got some work to do." Nathaniel said, half-jokingly. Immediately feeling guilty for feeling jealous of his beloved younger brother when Uncas winced in pain after hopping down off the table, Nathaniel playfully smirked and nodded toward the pink bandage. "Nice color. Suits you."
Grinning and muttering the Mohican word for jackass, Uncas gathered up his shirt and weapons and stepped to the end of the table to redress. While he did so, Nathaniel smiled with his eyes at Cora, then started to leave. He'd only gone a few steps however before he paused and turned back around for one more look at her. With her attention on cleaning the suturing needle in the water bowl, the intensity of Nathaniel's gaze made Cora look up from her work. Startled to find him looking at her so pointedly, his interest in her unmistakable, she felt a bit uncomfortable and defensively called him out on it.
"What are you looking at, sir?"
"I'm looking at you, miss." Nathaniel replied with no hesitation. Not expecting such a bold response, Cora felt awkward and bit her lower lip while drying the needle with a piece of cotton cloth. Still feeling his eyes upon her, she once again looked up, and this time met and held his intense gaze full on. Now engaged in a staring contest, the awkwardness of the situation quickly dissolved and a lovely smile suffused Cora's face as she shyly glanced down at the items on the table before meeting his gaze once again. Flashing a roguish smile, Nathaniel turned and left a bedazzled nurse in a stripped skirt behind him.
Finished with dressing and securing his knife and tomahawk, Uncas picked up his musket and followed his brother out the door of the surgery. Noticing Alice sitting on the bench, Uncas paused and glanced at a wounded soldier, stepping close to her side to allow the man entrance to the surgery. Nervous, Alice gapped up at Uncas wide eyed and open mouthed. She had thought he would just walk past her, pay her no notice as he went by. She had not expected this, and her cheeks pinkened as she recalled the overheard "I'm looking at you" conversation and remembering how she had whispered "And I am looking at you, sir" as she had gazed admiringly at Uncas' physique while he was putting on his shirt. Now he was standing right beside her, clearly having sought her out. Had he seen her gawking at him all this time? Oh how she wished she could crawl under the bench and hide!
"Thank you, miss." Uncas said sincerely. Feeling both self-conscious and love struck, Alice momentarily forgot she'd assisted Cora when Uncas first arrived in the surgery.
"Sorry?"
"For helping me…and offering your pretty skirt to cover my wound. Thank you. It will protect me and help me heal." Uncas replied, his smile and the warmth in his eyes adding to his conveyed gratitude. Receiving a breathy "you're welcome" for a reply, along with a starry-eyed stare, Uncas nodded his head and took his leave, trotting across the parade ground to catch up to his brother.
From his seat on the stool between the door and Cora's table, Mr. Phelps had witnessed the entire exchange between the Munro sisters and the two Mohicans from Uncas' arrival onward. Having observed the looks passing between all of them, as well as their conversations, it was obvious to him that Cora and the older man, Mr. Poe, were attracted to each other. Even more surprising was the attraction between Alice and the younger man, and the shameful way she had stared at the half naked warrior. Studying the two sisters as Alice stood up and rejoined her sister in the surgery, Phelps did not like what he saw. Perhaps it was nothing, just a passing fancy. And in the end his approval mattered not, for Munro would certainly not allow a courtship between either couple should they try to pursue such a thing. Still, he would have to keep an eye on them if possible. Especially Alice and the young Mohican.
"Great shooting, boys."
Crouched just behind Nathaniel and Uncas, Jack Winthrop congratulated his friends on the successful cover they provided that saw the courier to Fort Edward safely on his way. "I cannot believe Munro refused to believe what happened."
"As I said he does not even want to hear it." Nathaniel said, repeating his earlier reply to Jack's same question. With the extra muskets returned to their owners and with their own muskets and gear collected, Nathaniel and Uncas started to rise, but seeing Jack was making no move to leave the area they lingered with him after the other men left, sensing he wanted to speak to them privately. As soon as the three men were alone, Jack confirmed their hunch, and he wasted no time getting to the point.
"So what did you see out there on your way to the fort?"
"What do you mean?" Nathaniel asked. Something about the blunt question and the direct way Jack was staring at them put him on edge, and he cast a quick glance to Uncas. Taking his brother's cue, Uncas remained silent, allowing Nathaniel to ask the questions while he himself quietly observed Jack.
"In the forest. Did you see anything out of the ordinary?" Jack hinted.
"Out of the ordinary?" Nathaniel repeated.
In frustration, Jack glanced down at the floor. It was clear to Uncas his friend was carefully deciding what to say next. Sighing deeply, Jack tried a different approach. "I was on the parapet when you and your party arrived. I saw all of you when you came out of the trees and crossed the lake in that canoe." Jack explained, placing his hand on the spyglass sticking out of his coat pocket while raising a knowing eyebrow. "I saw the looks on all of your faces. Every one of you looked rattled."
"Well, you'd have looked rattled too if the fort in front of you was under siege and a war party was hot on your trail behind you." Nathaniel explained, thinking fast. If Jack's vantage point on the parapet enabled him to see them arrive, odds are he had seen the dead man take the canoe across the lake. And while it was tempting to ask Jack if indeed he had seen the man and if he knew who he was, something about his old friend's cautious demeanor held him back. Nathaniel didn't like not trusting Jack, but his gut told him not to say anything about the dead man. The look Uncas gave him confirmed his instincts were right.
"So other than war parties you didn't see anything….unusual on the other side of the lake? Nothing….odd?" Jack pressed on, studying Nathaniel closely.
"Nope." Nathaniel lied, studied Jack back while picturing the dead aristocrat lying in the forest with a dagger in his chest. "Should we have?"
"No. Not at all. Just tryin' to get a lay of the land in case the militia needs to pull out and head home." Jack explained. Still studying Nathaniel, he felt the frontiersman was holding back on something, then dismissed the notion. A glance at the silent Uncas showed he was listening intently to the conversation, but his face and body language revealed nothing.
"Now all you have to do is convince Munro to let you boys leave." Nathaniel said, immediately feeling a twinge in his gut at the thought of the militia leaving the fort. Why did that bother him?
"I plan to do just that. I'm going to gather some of the men and request a meeting with Munro for first thing in the morning. Will you join us Nathaniel?"
"Happy to." Nathaniel replied.
He wouldn't miss this meeting for the world.
"State your business, sir!"
Confronted by one of the two guards posted outside of Colonel Munro's private quarters, Duncan thought it odd that he of all people would have to explain himself to a couple of privates. Despite feeling rested after a night's sleep, he was in no mood for insolence. Drawing himself up to his full height, which towered over the two guards, Duncan did not mince words as he addressed them.
"My business is my own, private! And I will advise you not to speak to me in such a manner again! Do I make myself clear?" As the guards responded in unison with 'yes sir', the door to Munro's quarters flew open.
"Duncan!" Cora exclaimed, smiling brightly. Reaching out, she placed her hand on his arm, having heard the altercation through the door. "I am delighted you were able to accept our invitation to breakfast. Please, won't you come in?" Opening the door wider to allow Duncan entry, Cora addressed the guards.
"Thank you for your protection. You men may take your leave now. My sister and I will be quite safe." Cora dismissed them.
"I'm afraid we can't do that, Miss." the same guard contested. "We're under strict orders to stand outside this door whenever you and the other Miss are in this room until we're relieved by the next watch. Especially with those savages you invited in there."
Spotting the three Mohicans standing inside with Alice, the men looking ready for a fight, Duncan quelled his rising anger and turned to address the man once again.
"I think I am fully capable of ensuring the safety of the Miss Munros, private. And as for the…savages…as you call them. May I remind you that these men saved our lives and delivered us safely to this fort at great risk of their own lives. So I assure you there is no need to concern yourselves about them….sir! Therefore I order you both to leave. Take a break until I send you back. Get some food. Smoke your pipes if you have them. If anyone asks why you are not at your post, tell them you were relieved of duty by me. Now off with you!"
"Yes sir!" both guards replied in unison. Only too glad for a break from guard duty, the men hurried away side by side down the hall and around the corner, not wanting to waste a moment of their unexpected free time.
Watching them until they were gone, Cora shot a look up and down the hall before pulling her head back in and closing the door. Joining the others in the room, she sat down on the bed beside Alice and looked at Duncan, who had called this meeting together.
"I am very glad you could all come to this meeting I called. It is important we speak about the man we saw in the forest. And there is something else you need to know about that has happened since then." Duncan began.
"Somethin' else happened?" Nathaniel asked, thinking this would be a good opportunity to bring up his conversation with Jack Winthrop to see if he was reading too much into it. Normally he would have kept the incident with Jack between himself and his father and brother. But the dead man they'd discovered had joined them all of them together in something they had yet to understand.
"Yes. Another dead man has shown up. Only this one is still very much alive." Duncan explained.
"What?" Uncas asked, confused.
"Yes. He showed up as I was leaving Colonel Munro's quarters after we arrived here. I was about to put together a company of men for the courier's diversion when I saw another man being escorted to Munro's office. It was none other than Sergeant Major Colm Ambrose." Duncan stated.
"What?" Alice and Cora cried in unison.
"Who's he?" Nathaniel asked as Uncas and Chingachgook listened intently.
"Sgt. Major Ambrose. He was second in command of the company of the 60th Regiment of Foot that was escorting us to this fort. The last I saw of him he was leading the head of the column when the attack occurred. I remember catching a glimpse of him dropping to the ground when Magua fired a shot at him. I presumed he'd fallen down the embankment, as I did not see him lying among the bodies beside the road. When we departed the area I assumed there were no survivors other than that one private who was barely moving. But obviously I was mistaken. Ambrose waltzed into Colonel Munro's office looking cheerful and completely unscathed by what should have been a harrowing experience for him. What's more there was not a mark on him. No wounds, no dirt nor even dust. His uniform and person were pristine, as though he had just stepped out of his quarters after having dressed."
"That's impossible." Cora declared.
"Exactly!" Duncan concurred. "Look at the state the three of us were in when we arrived here. We were a disheveled mess. And how is it possible for one man to travel through the untamed frontier, whether by the George Road or not, with no wilderness experience, and with said wilderness filled with war parties, and to arrive at the fort unscathed and in a timely manner?"
"If he had traveled by the George Road he never would have made it here alive." Nathaniel added. "The Huron, Ottawa and Abenaki war parties were keeping an eye on that road, as well as Montcalm's French raiders. You sure he came here by that route?"
"That is what he said." Duncan replied. "In fact, in a moment of inspiration I tripped him up by saying we continued to the fort along the road as well, and he said he was right behind us. Clearly he was not, or he would have known we came by a different route, which I believe he did as well." Pausing for a moment, Duncan chose his next words carefully. "Ambrose made it appear he arrived here right after us. But I suspect he actually arrived before us."
"Why do you think that?" Chingachgook joined in, deeply interested in this conversation.
"Because of the dead man we found in the forest." Duncan replied to him. "The dagger sticking out of his chest is one issued to British officers."
"And you believe it was Ambrose's knife?" Uncas added.
"Yes. I do." Pacing the floor, Duncan spoke aloud his thoughts on a possible scenario. "Ambrose was acting strangely just before the ambush. He was on edge, as though he knew it was going to happen. I think he feigned being wounded during the attack, and made his escape in the mayhem in order to keep a pre-arranged meeting with whoever the man was that we found. And a nagging thought tells me that not only did Ambrose not travel to the fort by the George Road, he also didn't travel alone. I believe he came here with an escort."
"That escort could only have been the Huron. They would still have been in the area after the fighting ended. If Ambrose was not one with them, they would have easily killed him." Chingachgook replied.
"I agree." said Duncan. "I believe he came to Fort William Henry with Magua and his men, who split off to join Montcalm."
"But what reason would he have?" asked Cora.
"I don't know." Duncan replied. "But I cannot shake the feeling it has something to do with the man we found."
"I've been wonderin' about him." Nathaniel said. "What was all that business he said about Harlequin and Columbine anyway? I never heard of anyone called names like that."
"I confess I've been wondering about that myself." said Duncan. "I could make no sense of the message other than that there were two people he begged us not to let meet for some reason. His daughter and a lover perhaps?" Duncan wondered.
"No. I recognized those names." Alice interjected, joining the discussion for the first time. "Harlequin and Columbine were characters in an Italian Comedy, or Comediea Dell-Arte that I saw when I attended the theater in London with friends shortly before embarking for the Colonies. Harlequin is a magical sprite who can become invisible, and Columbine is his lover. The other characters in the comedy were Punchinello and Punchinella, the Grotesques; and the tragic Pierrot and Pierrette. But we, apparently, need only concern ourselves with whoever Harlequin and Columbine are. At least as far as we know, anyway. We know not at this point if the other characters will play into this in any way."
"I don't think it means anything. The man was dying. He'd already taken leave of his senses." said Nathaniel.
"On the contrary." said Cora. "I believe he was trying to tell us who his killer was with his last dying breath. A killer who is here inside the fort, since he knew Duncan was British by his uniform. A killer who is here masquerading as someone else. And Columbine is his accomplice."
"And possibly six people masquerading as someone else, if there are more than just Harlequin and Columbine involved." Alice added.
"You believe this Sgt Maj. Ambrose is Harlequin then?" Uncas asked Alice.
"I believe it is possible he could be," Alice replied, "given what Duncan has just told us."
"I am curious, Cora, why you didn't want me to mention the dead man when we were speaking to your father when we arrived?" Duncan inquired about the incident in Munro's office.
"A man had just been murdered, and he used his last dying breath to warn us of something. There was a desperate urgency to his warning. We know not as yet what that warning pertains to. And with all the many staff officers and guards in the room, I did not want knowledge of the dead man or his message to go beyond us at this point until we know more of what is going on….and who we can trust."
"Somethin' else unusual happened." said Nathaniel. "Jack Winthrop took me and Uncas aside to ask us some questions about what we saw on the other side of the lake. Seems he was up on the parapet and saw us with his spy glass come out of the woods and use that canoe to get across the lake. Kept askin' if we saw anything unusual in the forest." This was the first Chingachgook was hearing of this and he was taken aback by it.
"Jack's a good man and an old friend, so normally I wouldn't think nothing of it." Nathaniel added "But given the man in the woods, and after learning about Ambrose….now I'm thinkin' it's mighty odd. And it was Jack who asked Uncas to help him remove the bayonet from his musket. Uncas could have been killed, and I can't help but wonder now if Jack meant him harm."
"I do not like to think we cannot trust our old friends." Chingachgook stated. "But until we know more we must be cautious around them. Jack could have killed my son by asking him to pull on the bayonet, and he knew that."
"Even Colonel Munro is not acting himself." Duncan added. "I've known the man since I was a boy, and I can tell you he does not seem himself."
"Speakin' of Munro," Nathaniel cut in before either Cora or Alice could ask what Duncan meant, "I got a meetin' to get to between him and the militia about changing his mind and letting the men leave."
"The colonel requested I attend that meeting as well." Duncan informed the group.
"What? My father refused to release the militia?" a shocked Cora replied. "The lives and safety of innocent people have always been first and foremost to him. He would never refuse those men to leave for home."
"Refuse he did, Miss." Nathaniel confirmed. "He would not hear of it."
"Something is very wrong." Cora murmured as a deeply concerned Alice looked to her for answers. "Papa would never act in that way."
Stepping up to Nathaniel, Duncan placed his hand on the frontiersman's shoulder. "I fully intend argue your case and support you and the militia in letting the men go so they can return home and protect their families and homes. It was unacceptable of the colonel to refuse them leave."
"No Duncan." Cora surprised everyone by saying. "Do not support them. Instead I want you to agree with my father in having the militia remain here. And lie about what you saw at the Cameron farm."
"What? Have you taken leave of your senses?" Duncan argued, aghast.
"No, I have not." Cora replied. "We do not know who killed that man in the forest or why, and we do not know who may be involved. So we need someone on the inside. Someone my father can trust. Your allegiance with my father may also serve you well with anyone else who may be involved if something nefarious is indeed going on in this fort."
"So what do you want me to do?" Duncan asked.
"Play along with my father. Agree with him. In fact, you and Nathaniel should try to stage an argument, so as to put you on my father's side and Nathaniel on the side of the militia. You should also make it appear there is a rivalry for my affections. This will make it appear there is a division between all of us." Cora explained. "Then, if anyone is up to no good, one of us will be in a good position to learn valuable information as to what is going on and who exactly is involved." A plan was then formed for the militia meeting in Munro's office for the argument between Duncan and Nathaniel, with another plan put together for a later time that would involve a staged break up between Cora and Duncan, the idea behind that to bring Duncan even closer into the colonel's trust.
"And until we learn more, we should trust no one other than those of us in this room." Chingachgook suggested. "Something is happening here we do not understand. Like it or not, we were all brought into this together by the man we found in the forest. And I strongly feel we owe it to him to find out what was so important he used his dying breath, his last words, to warn us about it."
"I agree." said Alice, to which the others nodded their heads.
"So we are in agreement then? We stand together in this?" Cora asked.
"Yes." was the unanimous agreement given by all.
"I propose we meet regularly to discuss any information we uncover." suggested Duncan. "Perhaps during the temporary evening cease fire. And any of us should call an immediate meeting should something of great importance is discovered. We must all stay informed if we are to make any sense of what is going on here. Obviously something is, and it cost a man his life. As much as I hate to say this, there could be a murderer on the loose in this fort, so we all must proceed with great caution. As Chingachgook wisely said, we know not who we can trust. Not even those we know and love." Duncan added with a pointed look to all.
With all again in agreement, the meeting concluded. As everyone prepared to leave the room, Duncan looked to Cora, but found her attention was solely on Nathaniel, and his attention on her. The warm gaze they shared was unmistakable in meaning, and Duncan felt his heart break with the knowledge that she had never looked at him that way. Turning his attention to Alice to see if she noticed this as well, he was surprised to find her sharing an identical look with Uncas. What was this? Darting a look to Chingachgook, he saw the elder Mohican observing the younger couple as well, and his stormy expression showed he did not like what he saw. Taking his leave to freshen up in the officer's quarters before the militia meeting, Duncan excused himself from the room. Behind him, Nathaniel and the Mohicans left as well.
Upon entering the shared officer's quarters, Duncan was pleasantly surprised to find no one else in the room. Pouring water from a pitcher into a wash basin, he splashed the water on his face, then looked up in the small mirror attached to the wall over the basin. As he looked at his reflection, he recalled the warm looks he saw passing between Cora and Nathaniel. Up until now he had dismissed Cora's obvious interest in the frontiersman as simple curiosity. Perhaps it started that way, but Duncan now knew that it had developed into something more. Thinking back on their travels to the fort, he recalled the conversation Cora and Nathaniel shared in the burial ground, and he knew that's where it happened. Trying to hold onto the hope that it was nothing more than a passing infatuation, deep down Duncan sensed it was more than that, and that the love triangle they'd agreed to stage at Cora suggestion was not going to be a pretend one.
Fighting back a wave of jealousy, Duncan turned his thoughts to Alice and Uncas. Both she and Cora had repeated the looks they gave Nathaniel and Uncas in Munro's office upon their arrival, only with more intensity. And judging from the looks on the men's faces, they also had feelings for the women. Something was definitely going on between Alice and Uncas as well. When did that happen? Duncan wondered. As far as he knew no real interaction happened between them, save for when Uncas prevented Alice from chasing after the horses on the George Road. But at some point something had caused an interest between them, because the heated looks they had given each other just now in Munro's private quarters would have lit a match to flame. Munro would have a hard enough time accepting a relationship between Cora and Nathaniel. He would never allow a match between his beloved Alice to Uncas. Duncan cared for Alice very much, who he thought of as a little sister. If a match did indeed form between her and the young Mohican, Duncan decided in that moment to give them every ounce of his support. They would need someone on their side, since Munro would not approve. Chingachgook obviously didn't approve either. Cora's interest in Nathaniel might sway her to Alice's side, but then again she might not approve either, so that left Cora a wild card.
And as for Cora and Nathaniel, Duncan decided to put his jealousy aside with the intention of winning Cora's affections back from Nathaniel by impressing her with his cleverness in uncovering the mystery involving Harlequin and Columbine's identities, and by solving the murder of the man in the forest.
My feelings don't, don't go beyond friendship. Don't you see?
Recalling the words Cora said to him when he'd proposed marriage to her in the Patroon's garden, words she spoke long before meeting Nathaniel, Duncan knew deep down his efforts to win Cora's hand would be fruitless. Still, just in case her interest in Nathaniel turned out to be a passing fancy that went nowhere, he intended to be there with open arms to welcome her back if she so desired. And if not. If not, he would support her and Nathaniel as well. Despite himself he liked the man. And even at this early stage of things he could see that Nathaniel was a far better match for Cora than he was. Leaning on the basin stand, Duncan dropped his head down for a moment before looking back up at his reflection in the mirror.
"What the bloody hell is happening around here?
Author note:
Here's a little movie trivia. The Latin hymn the mission children are singing to Montcalm is called Te Deum, which I discovered in the script on the Mohican Press website (I love that website! Check it out if you haven't already. There's a wealth of information and photos on it). I then Googled the title of the hymn and found the lyrics for it. It's quite lengthy, so I had to look at it closely before I found what part the kids were singing.
I apologize for the long wait for this update. Life has been overwhelming lately, and I haven't been able to find the time or focus to devote to writing. This is a very important chapter, so I wanted to get it just right. It establishes our little group of characters into an investigative team. I hope I pulled it off.
Life is going to continue to keep me busy, so new chapters will probably not be posted as quickly as I'd originally planned to. So I please ask your patience to not give up on this story, and to know that I fully intend to finish it. It's too good not to. It's going to take off in directions you'll never expect.
Thank you to all of you who are following this story and posting reviews and PMs, as well as the silent readers who are follow it too. Things are going to really, REALLY pick up from here on out, so get ready for an interesting ride as we follow our little ragtag team of sleuths as they try to solve the mystery of the cryptic message!
