Robert Conroy - Liberty - 1784

But that was the past, Will reminded himself. Now the future beckoned. He spotted the waterfront land that Hannah Van Doorn and the Goldmans had recently purchased from Tories who were more than willing to sell at almost any price. Will wondered just how he was going to like working for a woman in the import-export business. He was a shareholder in their venture, but only a junior one. He would stay with the army for the time being, and then become a merchant.

He expected he would do no worse than James Fitzroy, who was now married to the very clever Hannah. Fitzroy had tendered his resignation from the British Army after seeing Burgoyne safely on his way back to England and whatever the fates had in store for him. The British Army had said, in effect, that they didn’t much care what he did.

Before dying, Franklin had made it clear to anyone who would listen that the only way to ensure and preserve peace was to prepare for war. He was certain that the British would be back, and that the Spanish and French would be looking for American weaknesses to exploit. Stark emphatically agreed.

Marriage. He thought of Sarah, who was now very pregnant. If they had a boy, they would name him Benjamin Franklin Drake. If a girl, they hadn’t made up their minds, although Sarah had laughingly ruled out Will’s tongue-in-cheek suggestion of Benjamina.

Will wondered if other marriages wouldn’t soon occur. Catherine Greene was more and more seen in the company of John Stark. Widow and widower, Will thought. Why not? Neither seemed concerned about the age discrepancy, and Cathy Greene had been much younger than her late general husband.

And did Stark have political ambitions? John Hancock was currently president of the new nation, but the constitution called for free elections. What would happen the first time they occurred and an incumbent was defeated? Would there be a peaceful transition of power or a civil war?

Already, also, the southern states were arguing that the prohibition on slavery was causing them economic ruin. Will thought it was good that there was no crop that required large numbers of laborers, or slaves, like the growing of sugar in the Caribbean did. Until such a crop came along, if one ever did, perhaps slavery would remain a dead issue.

When the ceremonial retaking of New York was over, Owen and Faith would return to her old home in Pendleton, Massachusetts, while Sergeant Barley had agreed to farm Will’s place in Connecticut now that Will’s thieving relatives had departed to Canada.

It was all so neat, or it seemed to be. Things had a habit of unraveling, however well-laid plans might be.

Stark dismounted. “We will build a fort here.” No surprise. He was at the spot at the tip of Manhattan where earlier forts had been constructed. “It will defend the island and serve as a testimonial to our existence as a free nation.”

“George Washington would have loved it,” Will said to Owen who had ridden up beside him.

“You ever meet George Washington?” Owen asked.

“A handful of times, but nothing of significance. He had more important things on his mind.”

Washington’s mortal remains-his skull and a handful of bleached bones in a leather container-had been turned over to Stark by Cornwallis as a goodwill gesture. He could just as easily have dumped them in the river, but he hadn’t. Now they were interred at Washington’s estate at Mount Vernon at the request of his widow, Martha, who had been living quietly with relatives. There had been thought of building an enormous cathedral for his remains, but the forceful widow had put her small foot down and the thought was forgotten. For some reason, the British hadn’t destroyed the Washingtons’ elegant Mount Vernon home. Perhaps they had envisioned a plantation on the Potomac as a residence for some new British lord once the war was over.

The British frigates had disappeared from view. The last of their sails vanished beneath the curve of the earth. “They’re well and truly gone, Will,” Owen said.

“Truly gone indeed, Owen, but now we have a nation to build.”