would meet someone like General Washington. Or in which my husband would be able to introduce me to him.
"Nathanael," I said, and my voice gave way.
"What is it, love? You aren't frightened of meeting the general, are you? You are." And he hugged me. "You will delight him. Just as you delight me. He loves to have pretty things around him. Oh, and you are not just prettyâyou can hold your own, just as you did tonight with the Quakers."
"That's it, Nathanael ... Did they make me look stupid? I didn't know what to say when they asked me if I knew the Lord."
"Say no, that you haven't been around as long as they have, but that the Lord knows you. Come, smooth your hair. We mustn't keep Washington waiting."
***
G UARDS STEPPED aside so we could go in to His Excellency's office.
He was a presence. What more can be said of him? General Washington rose from the chair behind his desk in the paneled, book-lined, and map-filled office, and his height was greater than that of any man I'd ever met. His uniform, also, was impressive. Only a few scars from a past case of smallpox marked his face.
As Nathanael introduced me, the general took my hand and kissed it. Then, noting the spread of my dress in front, he congratulated us and asked when the baby was due.
We both answered at once. "Late December."
"Will you go home for the birth or have it here, where we have doctors and you are surrounded by an army for protection?"
We said we didn't know yet.
"My wife has had children," he said. "She comes in early December. When she does, stay close to her. She can advise you."
Then he looked at Nathanael, smiling. "How did you get on with your Quaker friends? Did they invite you back to Meeting?" He was enjoying the joke.
"You set them on me this night," Nathanael accused, "but no, they did not invite me back to Meeting. Only said they would pray for me. Apparently they thought I needed it. But I had their respect. I was in charge of myself."
"You are always in charge of yourself, my boy, which is why you were put in charge of the army of Rhode Island. I would say the General Assembly of Rhode Island made an excellent choice."
Nathanael blushed. "General, may I have your permission to name our babe George Washington Greene if it is a boy?" he asked.
Washington put his arm around Nathanael's shoulder and walked us out of the room. "You may, and I am honored," he said.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
I BECAME a dear friend of Lady Washington's when she came to camp in December, and, in a short time, I became a belle of the camp. We dined frequently at the John Vassal house, where the Washingtons made their home.
There were other guests, of course. The Horatio Gateses, the Thomas Mifflins, he still a Quaker, and most important, General Israel Putnam, near sixty now and a hero of Bunker Hill, and with a scar on his face that bespoke his Indian-fighting days. I begged tales of his escapades from him, and although others had heard them before, they were still intent on listening.
All through this I'd minded General Washington, of course, when he didn't know I was watching him. He'd lean back in his chair and his eyes would sparkle and his face would settle into a small smile as if he himself were remembering his days in the French and Indian War. And he'd sip his wine or his coffee and crack nuts and enjoy himself.
Nathanael and I were invited to every party, every dance. Word got around that I was a "joyous and frolicsome creature," and some of the young aides became downright smitten with me.
"Do you mind," I asked Nathanael, "that people speak of me this way?"
"When I mind, I'll tell you, love. How can anyone mind you, all of nine months with child, joking and smiling and cheering up the homesick men and making them joke and smile. You are the promise of a glorious future to them. You are what they will be fighting for."
And he kissed me.
"Where will I be having the baby?" I asked.
"That is up to you, my girl. Do you want to go
"Nathanael," I said, and my voice gave way.
"What is it, love? You aren't frightened of meeting the general, are you? You are." And he hugged me. "You will delight him. Just as you delight me. He loves to have pretty things around him. Oh, and you are not just prettyâyou can hold your own, just as you did tonight with the Quakers."
"That's it, Nathanael ... Did they make me look stupid? I didn't know what to say when they asked me if I knew the Lord."
"Say no, that you haven't been around as long as they have, but that the Lord knows you. Come, smooth your hair. We mustn't keep Washington waiting."
***
G UARDS STEPPED aside so we could go in to His Excellency's office.
He was a presence. What more can be said of him? General Washington rose from the chair behind his desk in the paneled, book-lined, and map-filled office, and his height was greater than that of any man I'd ever met. His uniform, also, was impressive. Only a few scars from a past case of smallpox marked his face.
As Nathanael introduced me, the general took my hand and kissed it. Then, noting the spread of my dress in front, he congratulated us and asked when the baby was due.
We both answered at once. "Late December."
"Will you go home for the birth or have it here, where we have doctors and you are surrounded by an army for protection?"
We said we didn't know yet.
"My wife has had children," he said. "She comes in early December. When she does, stay close to her. She can advise you."
Then he looked at Nathanael, smiling. "How did you get on with your Quaker friends? Did they invite you back to Meeting?" He was enjoying the joke.
"You set them on me this night," Nathanael accused, "but no, they did not invite me back to Meeting. Only said they would pray for me. Apparently they thought I needed it. But I had their respect. I was in charge of myself."
"You are always in charge of yourself, my boy, which is why you were put in charge of the army of Rhode Island. I would say the General Assembly of Rhode Island made an excellent choice."
Nathanael blushed. "General, may I have your permission to name our babe George Washington Greene if it is a boy?" he asked.
Washington put his arm around Nathanael's shoulder and walked us out of the room. "You may, and I am honored," he said.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
I BECAME a dear friend of Lady Washington's when she came to camp in December, and, in a short time, I became a belle of the camp. We dined frequently at the John Vassal house, where the Washingtons made their home.
There were other guests, of course. The Horatio Gateses, the Thomas Mifflins, he still a Quaker, and most important, General Israel Putnam, near sixty now and a hero of Bunker Hill, and with a scar on his face that bespoke his Indian-fighting days. I begged tales of his escapades from him, and although others had heard them before, they were still intent on listening.
All through this I'd minded General Washington, of course, when he didn't know I was watching him. He'd lean back in his chair and his eyes would sparkle and his face would settle into a small smile as if he himself were remembering his days in the French and Indian War. And he'd sip his wine or his coffee and crack nuts and enjoy himself.
Nathanael and I were invited to every party, every dance. Word got around that I was a "joyous and frolicsome creature," and some of the young aides became downright smitten with me.
"Do you mind," I asked Nathanael, "that people speak of me this way?"
"When I mind, I'll tell you, love. How can anyone mind you, all of nine months with child, joking and smiling and cheering up the homesick men and making them joke and smile. You are the promise of a glorious future to them. You are what they will be fighting for."
And he kissed me.
"Where will I be having the baby?" I asked.
"That is up to you, my girl. Do you want to go
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