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After months of seasickness and boredom, the sight of America and land seemed to glow like Heaven’s pearly gates. The journey over hadn’t been without plenty of difficulties, so the young marquis was more than happy when the crew of the ship started to prepare to moor at the shore. He dared to walk over to the rail to watch as the land came ever closer and closer, the action having sent him heaving into the ocean plenty of times before. He held his hat and wig securely to his head as the wind whipped around them as the ship docked and moored. He walked off the ship and onto the dock with ease, looking around at the unfamiliar new land, looking around at the people all around him, some of them in red coats and some otherwise, some just walking and some trying to sell wares of some kind or another.“Mister? Would you care to buy a peach?” a small voice asked him, making him blink out of his trance and look down at the little girl with a basket full of peaches.“They’re just a penny each, sir.” The little girl added looking up at the man until he moved to crouch down and get at eye level with her.“’A penny each’, you say? That’s not fair to the farmer.” Gilbert replied to her, having to stretch his less-than-expansive English vocabulary to speak to her. “Here, I take one and pay you fairly. How does that sound?”The little girl blinked as the man with the thick accent handed her a small bag of coins that jingled with much more money than she’d asked for. She nodded and traded the peach for the small bag of coins. “Thank you very much, mister!” She said happily.Gilbert smiled gently to her and took the fruit, standing up to continue on his way.“Hey, mister? You have white hair like a British man, but you don’t sound like one and you’re not wearing a red coat. Where’d that ship of yours come from?” The little girl spoke up again, looking up at the young man.“Why, I am French. Don’t tell the Englishmen, but I came to help the American cause.” Gilbert replied to her easily with a small smile. “Now, if the mademoiselle will excuse me, I must find somewhere to sleep tonight.”The little girl nodded and waved to the Frenchman as he headed off on his way. Gilbert did his best to evade most of the redcoats, just smiling and nodding to them and praying that they would assume he was one of them just by his appearance. He soon made his way into the city, finding an inn not too far from a tavern, something that made him momentarily question his current priorities. On one hand, he needed to get a room for an indefinite amount of time until he was admitted into the army. However, after months at sea, he had a strong urge to walk into the tavern and get himself a glass of wine. After a bit of debate, he decided his first priority ought to be finding lodging. Then, he’d get himself a nice glass of wine and relax before continuing on his mission the next day.So, the marquis walked into the inn and ignored the odd looks he was given, walking over to the innkeeper’s desk.“Sir, we don’t want any trouble.” The innkeeper told him with a small frown.“Neither do I. I just want a room, please.” The young man replied honestly, his accent seeming to make the other relax.“Right. Any idea how long you’ll be staying with us?” the innkeeper asked.“Ah, no. It all depends on how things go, you see.” The marquis replied, trying to explain it to him.“So, it’s indefinite?”“Yes.”“We do have a couple rooms, then. They’re not exactly that big, but there’s a washroom you can use across the hall.”“Magnifique. I’ll take it.”The innkeeper nodded and gave the young Frenchman the key to the room.“Breakfast is served at eight.”“Thank you.” Gilbert replied, nodding to the innkeeper and read the number on the key before walking down the hall and up the stairs to his little room. He set his trunk down on the floor easily, taking his hat off as he settled in.The room had a small writing desk and a bed with a nightstand and a few lamps and candles. It wasn’t at all what he was used to, but it would be enough. Besides, if he was able to join the military, he’d be living in a tent, likely with one or two other people.He pulled the quill, inkwell, wax seal, and paper from his trunk and set them on his desk, leaving everything else inside his trunk. He set his hat down on the bed as he sat down at the desk to start writing a letter to his wife.In the letter, he explained that he’d made it to the United States safely, knowing that Adrienne was more than used to him staunchly referring to the colonies as the United States, more than confident that they would be liberated one day soon and that he would be of some help in some way or another. He promised to write everyday, or at least as often as he could, so he could keep her informed while he was across the sea.‘I pray that little Henriette learns to sleep well, so that you might be able to as well. No amount of beauty sleep could ever make you more radiant, but one still needs enough sleep to keep their health at bay.‘I will write again tomorrow, I promise. As for now, I have gone over a month without a good glass of wine and I find myself with a thirst. Lovingly yours, Gilly,’ he finished; deciding to sign with the loving nickname his wife had given him and had been using since they were simply courting.He fished out a stamp and envelope, addressing the envelope and sticking the stamp onto it easily while the ink of the letter dried. He blew on the ink on the envelope and the letter to make sure they were both nice and dry before he folded it nicely and stuck it into the envelope. He then found a box of matches in the nightstand and struck one to light the candle. Holding the candle over the fold of the envelope, he let the hot wax drip over it to seal it shut. He then, pressed the seal of his family’s crest into the wax to form the seal.Once it was all said and done, he blew out the candle, donned his hat and took the letter down to be mailed off before he headed out with the key to his room in his pocket with his money. With that, he walked down the street to the nearby tavern, mentally going over how to ask for a glass of wine in English.He walked into the rather busy bar filled with various men laughing and talking as they sipped their drinks happily, all of them seemingly drinking with their friends and comrades. The marquis found an empty seat next to a pair of laughing men, walking over to them.One of the men, the smaller with the ponytail holding back his dark hair and a flush across his freckled cheeks, turned around to look over at the younger newcomer when his larger friend stopped talking and just looked at him silently.“Is anyone sitting here?” Gilbert asked a bit warily as he pointed to the available seat, not sure if the pair of men would be friendly or not.“Depends who’s asking. If you’re one of those Brit Redcoats, you’ll have to fight me for it.” The freckled man replied rather seriously.“No, sir, I am French.” He said with a shake of his head.“Yeah? What’s your name?” Freckles asked with a small cock of his head.“Je m’appelle Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette, marquis de Lafayette.” He replied easily, only realizing that it hadn’t been in English after the words had come out of his mouth.Freckles blinked at the introduction. “Go ahead and take a seat. Hey, let’s get a glass of wine for Frenchy.” He said, calling to the bartender as the other sat down with the pair and took off his hat, setting it aside.“So, your name is a bit of a mouthful. You got a nickname?” The larger man spoke up.Gilbert blinked at that, his brows furrowed in confusion at the unfamiliar word. “’Nickname’? I do not understand…”“What can we call you that won’t take five minutes, buddy?” Freckles translated, as the glass of wine was set in front of the newcomer.“My wife calls me Gilly, but…”Freckles snorted and laughed a bit at that and shook his head, moving to pat the newcomer’s back. “You said were the marquis de Lafayette, right? We’ll just call you that, Lafayette for short.”“Alright. What are your names, then?”“I’m John Laurens.” Freckles said with a smile to him.“I’m Hercules Mulligan.” The larger man introduced easily.Lafayette nodded and smiled to the pair as he sipped his wine.“So, Lafayette. What brings you from fancy France to this tavern?” John asked curiously.“Well, I hear talk of the rebellion and the Declaration sent to the King. I really liked what les Insurgents were doing, so I came to help. I am willing to fight for freedom for America.” He explained cautiously, doing his best to find the words he needed to explain himself with a bit difficulty.“You came all the way from France to fight here? Damn…” John hummed in disbelief.“Well, you picked the right idiots to drink with, because I know a guy who can help you. His buttons are always falling off his clothes and he always comes into the shop. The name you need is Major Benjamin Huger. You gotta find him tomorrow, though, because he’s going home to South Carolina soon.” Hercules said, calling over the bartender to get some ink, a quill, and a bit of paper. He wrote down the name and an address before passing it over to Lafayette.Lafayette looked down at the paper and nodded easily. “Thank you very much.”“Hey, anything to help another soldier. Laurens and I are going to enlist, too in a few days. Maybe we’ll see each other again in uniform.” Hercules said with a happy grin.“Hey, I’ll drink to that.” John said with a small smile to the two men, patting the table before ordering a round of beers for the three of them.“Here’s to freedom.” He announced happily, holding his fresh glass in the air. “Cheers, gentlemen.”“Cheers!” Lafayette and Hercules both replied, raising their own glasses to clink them together before tilting their heads back and taking a long drink.
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The trio talked and laughed and drank well into the night before they finally decided to part ways for the night, each of them having things they’d have to do the next morning.Lafayette let John and Hercules walk with him down the street to the inn. “Bon nuit, monsieurs.” He said to them, tipping his hat.“Adieu, adieu to you, dear marquis.” John replied, bowing with a flourish.Lafayette laughed and waved to the pair before going into the building and up to his room. When he arrived, he locked the door behind him, stripped down to his socks and climbed into his bed. It wasn’t as large or as soft as his bed at home, but it would do for a while. It would only be temporary, of course.He slept hard and long until the sunlight of the new day started to stream into his room through the thin curtains. He rubbed his eyes and yawned before sitting up in the bed and stretching out his limbs. With that, he made sure no one was looking in the hall before quickly running across to the washroom to get clean for the day. The water was cold, but he didn’t mind too much, as it seemed to wake him up further and helped alleviate his hangover.When he was sure he was clean, he went back over to his room. He got dressed and tied up his red hair, tucking it all into his white wig. The young marquis made sure he looked good and ready for the day; tucking the slip of paper Hercules had given him into his pocket. He donned his hat and left the room, locking the door behind him. He went down to the little dining area of the inn to get the breakfast of a slice of porridge and a hardboiled egg.Lafayette forced himself into toughing it out and swallowing down the porridge, having hated the dish since he was a young boy. There was something about the texture that made his nose wrinkle and eyebrows furrow in disgust. He downed his glass of water when the porridge was finally gone. He sighed and tapped the egg on the table gently before peeling it and eating it contently. He hummed in relief at the taste of the egg, heading out when he was finished with the meal.He pulled out the address from his pocket and moved to ask someone on the street for directions to the location. He then headed on his way, smiling softly as he walked, going over what he’d say to the Major, how he’d appeal his mission to him. After a while of walking, he stopped outside the large home he’d been directed to. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door, making sure he knew what he’d ask the Major.After a bit, the door opened, a dark skinned woman with big brown eyes on the other side.“May I help you, sir?” She asked graciously.Lafayette blinked, suddenly remembering that Americans seemed to have the odd tendency to keep slaves rather than paying for labor.“Hello, mademoiselle. I was wondering if I might meet with the Major Huger. Major Benjamin Huger, that is.” He explained to the woman after snapping out of his trance, part of him still miffed over the idea of keeping slaves at all. It was the late 1700’s, after all. A more civilized time called for less barbaric practices like keeping unpaid, forced labor.The woman nodded to him. “Alright, come in. I’ll let him know he has a visitor. What is your name?”“I’m the marquis de Lafayette.” Gilbert replied to her easily as he stepped into the large house. He took off his hat politely, staying in the foyer as the woman nodded and went off on her way.Lafayette took deep breaths to calm down and try to soothe his excited, pounding heart. If he charmed the Major and played his card well, he would be in a Continental Army uniform very soon, fighting for liberty for the United States.He looked up when the older man came down the stairs and walked over to him.“Bonjour, Major Huger, sir. I am Lafayette. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” The marquis greeted with a wide grin, taking the other’s hand in his own, shaking it happily.“Oh, hello. Forgive me, I was told that the marquis de Lafayette was here, but I didn’t think you’d be so young.” The major replied with a small smile to him with a small laugh at how friendly and charismatic the young Frenchman was being right off the bat.“That’s alright, monsieur. I get it a lot.” Lafayette replied to him easily, finally letting go of the major’s hand.“Well, you seem to be a long way from home, marquis. May I ask what brings you all the way from France to my doorstep?”“That’s why I come, monsieur. You see, I am on a mission. I need to join the American army and lend my services to the fight for liberty.”The Major blinked at that and smiled softly to the young aristocrat. “Why don’t we go talk in the sitting room, then? You can explain this a bit more for me.”Lafayette nodded and stepped into the house further, following the major to the sitting room and taking a seat in an armchair, settling in and crossing one of his legs over the other.“So, you came all the way from France to serve in the Continental Army and fight for America’s liberation. May I ask why? Angela, get a nice bottle for myself and monsieur Lafayette.” The man said as he sat down in his own chair across from the young marquis. “Oh, and take his hat for him.”Lafayette let the woman take his hat and hang it up before she left to get them the wine and glasses. He explained everything to the major as well as he could with a limited vocabulary, trying to tell him about how there had been talk in Paris about the rebelling colonists in the New World that had initially interested him. Then, when the Declaration of Independence came into being, he made up his mind and made it a mission to travel to America to fight against the British.The major listened as the young man did his best to explain himself, getting stuck on a few words as he spoke. He smiled softly as they were both given glasses of wine.“Well, if you wish to join the army, I’d say you started with the right man, marquis. I just might have the connections to help you out. However, I’m heading back to South Carolina this afternoon. I don’t suppose you would be able to come along with me?” the major explained as they sipped their wine together.“That would be no problem, sir. I can get my things and check out of the inn right away.” Lafayette replied with a happy grin to the other man.“Wonderful. Lately the Continental Congress has gotten weary of having to turn away other French soldiers who don’t speak English. However, with my connections and your connections, I think we can get them to budge.”“Thank you, sir. When should I be prepared to leave with you?”“Why don’t we finish our wines and you head back to the inn to do whatever you need to do? Then, if you can get here around noon. We’ll have lunch to fill our bellies before we head out. The carriage should be ready around one.”Lafayette nodded and smiled to the major. “I think I can manage that, sir.”“Wonderful. I love someone who’s flexible. So, tell me about yourself, marquis. Does your family know you’re here? Does anyone in France know what you’re doing? What is France like these days?”“My wife, Adrienne, knows where I am, and I’m sure the majority of France has heard about my voyage by now. I fear I might have annoyed my dear wife with all my talk about leaving for America.”“You’re married? How old are you, monsieur?”“I’m nineteen, sir. We have a little baby girl, too, Henriette. She looks like her mother, but her mother says that she looks more like me.”“Nineteen years old with a wife and a child already? My God. How long have you two been married?”“Three years now, sir. We fell for each other rather young and we absolutely had to be married. We’re very happy together.”“Well, I suppose if you two were sure about your decision, then there’s no harm in romance and marriage. What’s your daughter like? Henriette, did you say she was named?”“Yes, her name is Henriette. She looks like a little cherub with her mother’s big green eyes. She was born with a lot of red hair rather like my own. She’s almost a year old now. We love her to pieces, but she’s never been too good at sleeping.” Lafayette described to the man easily. “She’s trying hard to walk, but most of the time she can be found crawling all over the house. She’s rather fond of the word ‘non’. “The major smiled a bit at that and laughed a bit. “Well, I hope your wife won’t have her arms too full without you around.”“Me too, sir. She is a smart, strong woman. I think she will be fine.”The major nodded and smiled to the young Frenchman as they finished their wine. “Well, I’d better let you head back and get packed.”Lafayette nodded and moved to stand up with Major Huger. “It was good to meet you, sir. I’ll see you in an hour or so.”“You too, marquis.” The major said as Angela came over with Lafayette’s hat for him.Lafayette put the hat on, tipped it to the major before he left the house. With that, he walked back to the inn to write another letter to Adrienne to explain to her what was happening and tell her about the three new friends he’d been able to make in America.‘Wish me luck, my dear. I will be traveling with Monsieur Major to South Carolina in just an hour or two. He says he might be able to get me into the military through his connections. I wonder how many more friends I’ll be making even in this next week.‘You would like it here in the United States. Once it is liberated, I’ll have to take you and Hanriette over for a visit. Perhaps I’ll just take you, though. It could be our second honeymoon. It’s not too different from France, though it’s still very different. It’s indescribable. I just know that I love it.‘When I write again, I’ll be in South Carolina and, hopefully, well on my way to joining the Continental army. I love and miss you and Henriette. My bed seemed cold and lonely last night without you in it. However, that might partially be my fault. You know how I have a bad habit of sleeping in nothing more than my undergarments, no matter how cold it might be outside.‘I’m sending all my love to you and Henriette. If I get the chance, I will also send a gift or two for my two favorite ladies.’ He wrote before signing the letter, addressing the envelope, and sealing it all up.He then packed up all his things into his trunk once again. He brought all his things back down and checked out of the inn, paying for the night he’d stayed there. He sent out the letter for his wife and promptly headed back to Major Huger’s home, returning about an hour and a half after he’d left. He set the trunk down and knocked on the door once again, smiling happily at the idea that soon he’d be heading off with the Major to South Carolina and would be well on his way to joining the army.Once again, Angela answered the door and knowingly ushered him inside, taking his hat and trunk for him She then headed off to tell the Major he had returned.Lafayette waited patiently and smiled to the Major when the man came back over to him with a wide smile on his face.“Welcome back, marquis. Come, you’re just in time for lunch. Then, we can start our journey to South Carolina.” The Major said, gently setting a hand on the young man’s back and leading him to the dining room.“Thank you, sir. How long do you think it will take to get there?” Lafayette asked as he took a seat at one of the places at the table.“It should take roughly a week to get there. We’ll have plenty of time to talk and plan everything out on the way there.” The Major replied as he sat down with the young aristocrat.Lafayette nodded at that and sighed a bit. “Alright, I suppose there’s nothing that can be done about that.”“I know how excited you must be to get in that uniform. Good things come with time, marquis.” The Major said with a small smile at the slightly miffed look on the young man’s face.Lafayette nodded as their food was set in front of them, looking down at the plate of fish and green beans in front of him with a smaller plate of cheese on the side, red wine being poured into his glass in front of him.“I hope you like it. We did our best to recreate a French lunch for you. I figured you might be a bit homesick. I know I would be if I was as young as you and an ocean away from home.” The major explained with a small smile to Lafayette.Lafayette broke into a grin to the major happily. “Thank you, monsieur. This means very much.” He replied before they started to eat together contently, making polite conversation all through the meal, then sipping on the coffee that was served after the meal.Once they were finished, they loaded up the carriage that had just arrived. As they left the city Lafayette spotted John Laurens’s familiar freckled face and leaned out the window just a bit to wave to him.“Where’re you off to, Lafayette?” John asked as he walked alongside the coach that had to move slower in the town.“We’re going to South Carolina to –oh!” Lafayette replied, getting cut off by his own shock when his hat flew off his head in a gust of wind.John laughed a bit and ran to catch the tricorn hat for him before sprinting back over to the Frenchman to return it.“Don’t go losing your things, Lafayette. See you again in uniform.” He said with a happy laugh, waving to the pair as they left the city and the coach picked up speed.Lafayette settled back into his seat, getting comfortable for the long ride to South Carolina. He eventually took off his hat and wig, letting his shoulder length red hair down easily. After a while, the major pulled out a book and started to read to him entirely in English to try and help teach the language a bit more to him.Perhaps it was the major’s voice, or the gentle rocking and bouncing of the coach, or a combination thereof, that ended up lulling him to sleep in his seat in the coach.
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“Tell me, marquis, what was your childhood like? Do your best to reply completely in English, please.” Major Huger asked as he watched the young Frenchman slap at his own bare skin, his shirt sleeves rolled to his elbows as a result of the heat, mosquitos flying into the coach as they rode to relentlessly bother the young man and bite him.“Merde! C’est de conneries!” Lafayette grumbled in frustration as he swatted and scratched at his arms.“Here, pull your sleeves down and the mosquitos won’t get at your skin.” The Major said, reaching over to help roll down Lafayette’s sleeves for him. “Don’t scratch at them too much. I know it itches terribly, but the more you scratch, your skin will get raw and you might end up scratching your skin open and hurting yourself.Lafayette nodded and sighed a bit as he sat back in his seat, his leg bouncing restlessly.“There should be a town coming up soon. We’ll stretch our legs and get something for those bites of yours. Now, your childhood?”“Well, I was born on the sixth of September. My family is known for being in the military. I don’t remember my father at all. I’ve only ever seen portraits of him from when I was just a baby. He was killed in action in the Seven Years’ War. As a child, I had tutors and training to be a musketeer. I was a bold child. When I was eight I attempted to hunt the, um, La Bête du Gévaudan. I don’t know what the English is for that…” Lafayette attempted to explain.“What was it?” The major questioned with a small cock of his head.“It was terrible wolf-dog thing. It killed many people not too far from my home with its terrible teeth and nails.” He tried to explain, making claws with his hands and baring his teeth a bit to illustrate the monster’s ferocity.“You tried to hunt a monster?”“Yes. I’d grabbed a knife from the kitchen and tried to find it in the woods near my home. I fell into a little river and cut myself with the knife and Maman found me when she heard me crying. A few days later, the town newspaper posted a story on the silly boy who’d tried to hunt it down and I got very mad, so I wrote a mad editorial to the paper under a false name.”The major smiled a bit as Lafayette did his best to describe the memory to him in English, laughing a bit at the thought of a precocious little red haired boy running through the woods with cutlery with fire in his brown eyes, his young heart dead set on doing battle with an urban legend.“Was the rest of your childhood as exciting as that?” he asked curiously.“Not really. I was kept very busy with my lessons I was Maman and Papan’s only child, so I had big shoes to fill. Maman died when I was 12 and Grandpère died not a month later and suddenly I was one of the wealthiest gentlemen in all France and Europe. When I was 14 I joined the King’s Musketeers and started martial training at Versailles. Then, I married my dear Adrienne on April 11 three years ago. Since then, we’ve had our daughter and I came over here. Now I am here riding with you, and I feel the need to run until my legs ache.” He explained, his long, skinny legs jittering restlessly where he sat.“Well, you seem like you’ve had a long run, Marquis.” The major said with a small smile to him.“I haven’t been able to run yet. We’re still in this coach.”The major looked quizzically at him before smiling and laughing happily. “No, no, I meant that you’ve had an eventful life.”“Ah. I guess I have, yes.” Lafayette replied with a small smile, glancing out the window and smiling even more when he saw a small town coming up. More than eager to get out of the coach and stretch his legs, he pulled his red hair up and tied it securely before putting his wig on once again.The major watched as the man primped quickly, leaning out the window to let the driver know to stop in the town so they could stretch their legs and get something for Lafayette’s mosquito bites. When he sat back in his seat, Lafayette had put his hat back on and was busy straightening his trail worn suit, primping and preening himself as much as possible for when he would be seen in passing by the people in the little town they’d stop in. It all seemed rather unnecessary, but he wasn’t going to question the French aristocrat since he seemed more than happy with it all.When they finally got to a stop, Lafayette got out of the coach first, shaking out his long, thin legs as he stood and stretched them once again.“Ah, it feels good to stand again.” He hummed as the major followed him out with ease.“Yes, it does. Come along, let’s get something for those bites.” The major said, walking down the street towards the town’s apothecary, the young Frenchman walking along beside him contently.Lafayette got the door for the major when they arrived at the building, following him inside to talk with the druggist in charge.“Hello, gentlemen. What can I help you with today?” the man behind the counter asked graciously.“Hello. My friend here has been bitten by at least a hundred mosquitos in the past day or so. We were wondering if you might have something that might help.” The major explained.“May I see how bad it is?” the apothecary asked.Lafayette nodded and pushed up his sleeves to expose his bitten forearms that were red from the bites and how much he’d been scratching at them.The apothecary looked over the reddened skin thoughtfully. He then turned around, bringing out some basil and aloe vera leaves. “Here, rub these on the bites and it should soothe the itching and the swelling.” He advised.Lafayette nodded and smiled a bit to him. “I see. Thank you. How much do I pay you for this?”The apothecary blinked at the heavy French accent, having assumed he was an Englishman. “Ah, we only accept British money, sir.”Lafayette blinked and looked into the bag of silver and gold livres he’d brought out, part of him wondering why he hadn’t taken it into consideration to get English or Continental money before coming to America.“I can cover it, we’ll deal with your money later.” The major said when he noticed the way the Frenchman’s arched red eyebrows knit together.Lafayette nodded and put his little sack of coins away as the major paid for the medicinal herbs while the apothecary packaged them up for the two of them.“Perhaps I should have thought about money before coming here.” Lafayette commented as they walked out together, walking with the major around a few blocks to stretch their legs and get exercise before they had to ride in the coach for another day.The major smiled and laughed a bit at that and nodded. “Were you in a rather big hurry to get over here?” he asked curiously.“Yes. I was chased through France and Spain until I bought my own ship and set out on my way.” Lafayette replied with a small smile.“You were chased? Why were you chased?” the major asked in shock, wondering what all the things were that the young aristocrat had done simply to cross the ocean to get to America.“Well, you see, almost everyone told me I shouldn’t come. My wife, my in-laws, King Louis. I wanted to come, though, so I left and they sent out a warrant for my arrest. So I fled to Spain and bought a ship there. I named it Victoire and left for the United States. I stopped in England for a bit first, though, where I spoke about liberating the colonies openly, had tea with King Charles, and left on my way again.” Lafayette explained, looking over and smiling at the dumbfounded look on the major’s face before laughing a bit.Major Huger blinked at the story the young man told him about his journey to the New World, dumbfounded by the antics of the precocious teenager. “My God, Marquis. You will go down in history, that’s for sure. Whether it’s for your bravery or your reckless stupidity, I don’t know for sure, though.”Lafayette just smiled wider and laughed happily as he walked with Major Huger back to their coach so they could continue on their way to Charleston. He settled into his seat with the major, letting the other man rub some of the basil leaves onto his reddened forearms to soothe the itch and redness. They chatted and relaxed together happily in the coach until the marquis felt his eyelids start to get rather heavy. He yawned and took off his hat and wig, keeping his hair up for the night before he crossed over to sit next to the major, just as he’d gotten into the habit of doing as they rode in the coach. He leaned against the other man and rested against him, letting the major wrap a blanket around their shoulders while he fell asleep and cuddled in.Major Huger let Lafayette snuggle into him, as he could tell that the Frenchmen had started to grow a bit homesick, likely missing his wife’s presence and their bed back home. He couldn’t help but remember the way his own little son often snuggled into him like the young aristocrat did. Though, his son was a three year old and Lafayette was about nineteen. He couldn’t help but wonder how his young son would react to their new foreign guest. Little Francis had generally been rather shy, especially around newcomers. However, Lafayette had said that he had a little baby girl of his own back in France, so he was more than likely rather good with kids.After a while, he slipped asleep as well, the gentle shaking of the coach and the sound of Lafayette’s soft breaths lulling him to sleep.Lafayette woke up the next morning when he felt the major gently shaking his shoulder. “Mmm, qu’est-ce que c’est?” he asked tiredly as he blinked awake, looking over at the major next to him.“We’re nearing Charleston, Lafayette. We’ll get to my home soon and we can have breakfast with my family.” The man replied with a small smile to the younger man.Lafayette nodded in understanding and stretched out his limbs with a yawn. He then got his wig and hat on once more, making sure everything was smoothed out and was presentable as they rode into the city together. In a few minutes, they pulled up to a nice, large home.Lafayette got out after the major getting his trunk and looking over as a young woman with a small boy in her arms walked out to meet them.“Mary, Francis!” The major said happily, moving to meet the pair, hugging and kissing them both while Lafayette hung behind a bit awkwardly.“It’s good to see you again, my dear. Did you have a good time in New York?” Mary asked curiously, eyeing the tall, skinny young man hovering near the coach.“I did, but it’s good to be home.” Major Huger replied with a nod before turning back to Lafayette. “This is the marquis de Lafayette, by the way. I’m going to bring him to the little gathering and try to get him the connections he needs to get into Washington’s army.”Mary blinked a bit at that looking over at the young, freckled man. “He’s a marquis? Does he speak English? You know the Continental army’s been turning away French men who don’t speak any English.”“He’s getting better at English, but it’s a work in progress. He’s an aristocrat from France who came all the way over here to fight for this country’s independence.” The major said to her, waving Lafayette over to the group easily.Lafayette walked closer to the small group, rather tense and awkward.“Lafayette, this is my wife, Mary, and our son Francis. Mary, Francis, this is Lafayette. He’ll be here with us for a little while.” The major said, introducing them all to each other.“Bonjour, madame. Comment allez-vous?” Lafayette greeted politely.“English, Lafayette.” The major reminded gently.“Hello. How are you?” Lafayette tried again.Mary smiled softly to him. “I’m doing well. It’s nice to meet you, monsieur Lafayette.”“Hello, little one.” Lafayette said gently to Francis, smiling gently to the little boy whose green eyes reminded him of Henriette’s.Francis blinked at the greeting. “You say words funny.” The boy said gently to the marquis.Mary was about to lightly scold the child for making such a rude comment about the Frenchman’s rather thick accent, though she was cut off when the marquis just smiled and laughed happily, nodding to the little boy.“Oui, oui, it’s true. Perhaps you can teach me more?” He replied to the little boy, who couldn’t help but smile back to him.“I’ll try.” Francis replied easily.“It’s good to meet you, I’m Lafayette.” Lafayette said, offering his hand to the toddler.“I’m Francis.” The boy replied, taking hold of a few of the other’s long, skinny fingers and shaking them contently.
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“What’re you doing?” Francis asked from the doorway of the guestroom, watching as their French guest sat at the desk, writing something that seemed to be multiple pages long. Since his arrival, the man had been rather busy, running around the city with his father to meet plenty of his father’s friends and make plans to figure out how he’d get into Washington’s army.Lafayette jumped a bit at the sudden little voice that broke him out of his trance. He set a hand and turned over to look at the little boy in the doorway. “Ah, Francis. You frightened me. Venez ici, venez ici.” He said, waving the little boy into the room.Francis nodded and moved to walk over to the young Frenchman he’d quickly started to look up to as a role model, letting the man pick him up and seat him on his lap. “Are you writing something?”“Yes, I am. It’s a letter to my family. Well, just my wife, really. Little Henriette’s doesn’t know how to read yet, she’s just a baby.” Lafayette replied to Francis, letting the boy take one of the dried pages and look over his loopy handwriting and all the French words across the page.Francis seemed to consider the unfamiliar language for a bit. “Will you read some of it to me? Please?”Lafayette nodded and started to read over Francis’s shoulder, holding the little boy close. He didn’t mind the boy’s frequent requests to hear him speak French, knowing Francis was intrigued by the foreign language and sounds, along with the accent that came out when he attempted to speak English. He read to Francis easily until he noticed that Francis had fallen asleep against his chest.Lafayette smiled softly and set the papers down, moving to pick up Francis and take him out of the guestroom, meeting Mary in the hallway.“He really does like you. Do you have any idea how much longer you’ll be here?” She asked as they walked to the little boy’s nursery together.“Monsieur Franklin sent word of me to General Washington in Philadelphia. There is to be a dinner with some of the members of the masonic brotherhood where I can meet him in a bit over a week. I will have to leave on Saturday.” Lafayette explained to her, moving to set Francis down in his bed, tucking him in with Mary.“That’s only a couple days from now. Do you have everything lined up for your trip?” she replied to him as they got her son settled in for his nap.“Yes, do not worry. I will go with a few other men from the brotherhood.” Lafayette replied to her easily. “They will be here to pick me up around ten in the morning. The trip should take five to six days.”Mary nodded and smiled softly at the young aristocrat. “When were you planning to tell Francis?”“I thought I would tell him at dinner tonight.” Lafayette replied to her as they moved to leave the room together.“That’s probably for the best. I’m not too sure he’ll be too happy about it. He’s gotten rather attached to you.” She replied with a small sigh. “We’ll just have to keep an eye out for your name and listen for any mention of you. If you get to work with Washington like you want to, I’m sure we will.”Lafayette nodded and smiled to her gently. “I hope everything goes well. I wonder what General Washington will be like.”“From what I hear, he’s a highly respectable man. To meet him at a dinner party will me amazing. You’ll have a lovely time.” She replied with a small smile to him.“I do hope so. I just hope I won’t be pressured into dancing. I don’t want to make a fool of myself in front of the General.”“You don’t like dancing?”“No, I like it. I’m just not that good at it.” Lafayette admitted, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “My legs are too long for my brain to control. I’ll end up falling on my face in front of General Washington.”“Has something like that happened before?” Mary asked curiously, watching the slight flush rise to the Frenchman’s freckled cheeks.“Yes, at King Louis’s coronation. I was dancing with my wife and I tripped over my feet and fell on my face. Marie Antoinette and plenty other people laughed at me and I had to leave early.”Mary listened at the story and moved to rub the young man’s back gently to comfort him. “That’s unfortunate. I would have been awfully embarrassed, too. My God, I would have left in tears. How long ago was that?”“It was about two years ago now. I was seventeen at the time. I went home with my wife and she held me the rest of the night.” Lafayette replied to her honestly.“That’s sweet of her. You two really love each other, don’t you?”“Yes. She is my everything. She and little Henriette are my two most favorite ladies in the world.”“What’s Henriette like?” Mary asked as they walked through the hall absently together while they talked.“Very small. She is a tiny little thing, but she’s only about one year old. She has big green eyes and my curly red hair. I feel sorry for her when she is grown.”“Oh? Why is that?”“In France, red hair is bad, ugly. Women and men with blonde or brown or black hair are the pretty ones. I hope her skin is as fair as Adrienne’s and won’t be as spotted as mine.”“Well, I think your freckles suit you. Freckles give a person more character, I think. Fair, perfect porcelain skin is only seen on dolls. It’s unattainable.” Mary said with a small shake of her head.Lafayette smiled softly at that, absently touching one of his freckled cheeks. “I think she is a beautiful little girl. She is learning everyday. She hates insects and will get mad at every one of them that she sees. She will say ‘Punaise! Allez-vous en!’ and wave her hand until the bug leaves.” He said, making his voice higher pitched when talking about his daughter’s words.Mary smiled and laughed a bit, listening happily as Lafayette talked about his little family, fumbling with his words and often pausing to find the right English word he was looking for. His English was far from perfect, but he was doing better than he had when he’d arrived at their home. When writing, though, he frequently made spelling errors and his grammar left much to be desired. However, it was always understandable. As someone who was only just starting to really get a grasp on the English language, no one at all expected him to be perfect, especially when English was a lot harder of a language than French was.“So, tell me, what’s France like? It must be beautiful.” Mary asked as they headed outside together to take the clothes down from the line and fold them neatly together.“France is very pretty. There is plenty of art and wine and beautiful land to enjoy. The cities are big and busy and it is easy to find a beautiful woman. I love France like I love America. I pray for France.” Lafayette described as he took down one of Mary’s petticoats down from the line and folded it up for her.“You pray for France? Why is that?” She asked, looking over at the young man.“There is a lot of tension. Plenty of people look to America to see if this country will be able to have a successful revolution. There are rising differences in social and economic levels. Barely any upper class wants to notice it, though, so it’s only the lower classes that are starting to make noise.” Lafayette replied to her with a small sigh. “I fear for my home, but I agree with the noisy people. We do not need more money. There are plenty who go hungry while the King and Queen have feasts for dinner every night.”Mary looked over at him, noticing the frown on his lips and the slight crease between his eyebrows. She finished folding the shirt in her hands and moved to gently rub his back to relax him. “I’m sure everything will be fine. It might have a few hiccups, but I’m sure all the wrinkles will be smoothed out in no time.”Lafayette looked over at her and smiled softly at the woman, nodding as she rubbed his back and comforted him. “I hope you are right. I want my Henriette to grow up in a good world without tyranny.”“I want the same thing for Francis. That’s why I really hope you get into Washington’s army. There’s a fire in your eyes, Marquis. I can see how determined you are to see this all to the end. You’ll make an amazing soldier, just the kind of young man the Continental Army needs.” Mary said with a small smile to him, leaning up to kiss the taller man’s forehead gently as they finished with the laundry.Lafayette smiled when the woman kissed him gently and sweetly, remembering all the times his own mother would do the same. He helped her carry the basket of laundry into the large home, more than happy to do the heavy lifting for the people who were letting him stay with them in their home.When dinner came around, he volunteered to wake Francis up and get him ready to eat.“Frère Francis, frère Francis, dormez-vous, dormez-vous? Sonnez les matines, sonnez les matines. Ding, dang, dong. Ding, dang, dong.” Lafayette sang happily as he walked into Francis’s nursery, going over to the bed as the little boy slowly woke up and looked up to him. He happily helped the boy out of the bed. “Come, Francis. Is dinner time. You must wash your hands.”Francis nodded and took Lafayette’s hand, walking with him to the bathroom where he let the Frenchman lift him up so he could reach the sink and wash his small hands.“Now you have to.” Francis said with a smile, pushing Lafayette by the backs of his thighs to the sink to wash his own hands. When they were both washed, they walked down to the dining room together to the table that was set for the four of them with the food they’d be having that night.Lafayette followed Francis to the table easily, sitting down politely with the little family.“Shall we say Grace?” The major asked, prompting everyone to fold their hands and bow their hands. “Lord in Heaven, we thank you for food on our table that keep our bellies full and our bodies healthy. Please, be with our dear Marquis de Lafayette as he soon starts out on his journey to Philadelphia to join Washington’s forces in the fight for America’s liberation. In the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.”“Amen” Everyone repeated before looking up and starting in on the food together.“When are you going to go to Philadelphia?” Francis asked curiously as his mother fixed his plate for him.“I will have to leave on Saturday morning with some men from the brotherhood.” Lafayette replied honestly to the little boy, looking over at Francis as the boy’s face dropped visibly.“Are you gonna come back?” he asked hopefully.“I don’t know. If I am able to join Washington’s army, I will go wherever I am commanded. I might come back to visit you, but I don’t know for sure.” Lafayette replied to him honestly.Francis frowned at the answer, looking down at his plate of food and away from the Frenchman’s face. “But, but…. My birthday is in a month….” He sniffled, not wanting to think about living in a house without the young man talking to him in French and just acting like a big brother to him.Lafayette set down his silverware and moved to gently rub Francis’s back. “I am sorry, mon petit ami. Remind me on Saturday, and I will give you a little gift before I leave, so you will have a little piece of me.”Francis looked over at him once again and sniffled a bit. “Alright. I like gifts.”“Me too.” Lafayette replied with a happy grin to the boy, and Francis couldn’t help but start to smile in return before they began to eat their dinners together with the family.
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Francis kept as close as he could to Lafayette all through Friday, refusing to leave the Frenchman until he absolutely had to. They spent their time that day working at the table together on writing and reading English. Mary and the Major would write down sentences for them to read aloud and copy down onto paper of their own. Then, every so often, the couple would quiz the pair by speaking a sentence to them aloud for them to write down.“Lafayette, this one is harder. Do you think you can handle it?” Major Huger asked with a small smile to the young man.Lafayette smiled back at the major. “I can do my best, Monsieur Major.”“Your sentence is ‘His hubris was his weakness’.” The major said, repeating the sentence a bit slower for the younger man, the wheels rather obvious as the young man started to work out the words letter by letter on the page.“His hubris was his weakness…” he said aloud as he worked on the sentence before passing the paper over to the major when he finally transcribed it.The major took the paper and looked over the loopy penmanship. “Well, you misspelled the word ‘weakness’, but you got everything else right.”“How is weakness spelled?”“It’s W-E-A-K-N-E-S-S. You wrote W-E-E-C-K-N-I-S.” the major explained to him easily.“But, the I and the S in ‘hubris’ made the same sound. I thought you said that C and K make the K sound together.”“I did and they do, but not in this instance. English has a lot of different rules that it follows only about half the time.”Lafayette groaned and put his head down to the table in frustration. “Ma tête va exploser.” He complained into the table.“You’ll get it with practice. Don’t get too down on yourself.” Mary hummed to the young man gently. “You two have been working hard. Why don’t you go take a break?”Francis nodded and happily moved to leave the table with Lafayette happily. “Lafayette, do you have anything of your family?” he asked curiously. “Like a portrait or something?”“I do have a little portrait I brought with me. Come, I show you.” Lafayette replied with a smile to the boy, leading him up to the guest room where he’d been staying. He then went through his trunk, pulling out the small, framed portrait from his trunk. “Here we are. This is me and my wife, Adrienne, and our little baby Henriette.” He explained, handing the oil painting to Francis so he could see.“Your wife is really pretty and your baby is cute.” Francis said as he looked at the depiction of the young family.“Thank you. I think so, too.” Lafayette replied with a smile to Francis happily. “I respect artists a lot. To work with a baby is hard. Especially a wiggly one like Henriette.”Francis smiled a bit at that, imagining the scene as the young couple tried to keep their baby still and calm as they stayed in the same position for the patient artist.“Do you miss them?” the boy asked as he handed the portrait back to Lafayette, watching the man look it over rather adoringly.“Yes, I do; very, very much. Being an ocean away from your family is no easy thing.” Lafayette replied, looking at the portrait a bit longer before moving to pack it away in his trunk carefully. He folded it into his clothing so it wouldn’t be damaged while traveling the next morning.“How did you meet your wife?” Francis asked curiously as he watched the older man curiously.“We met when we were young. We kept showing up together in different places in Paris and thought it was fate. I courted her for a little over a year before asking her father for his blessing. We were married in her family’s little chapel. She looked like an angel and I cried through the whole ceremony.” Lafayette explained with a small smile up to Francis, moving to sit with the little boy on the bed in the room.“That’s nice. And now you have a little baby?” Francis asked with a small smile to the other man.“Yes, now we have a little baby. We love each other and our baby very much. I intend to fight for America’s freedom. Then, when it is won, I will go back to France and bring freedom to my people as well, so our little Henriette may grow up in a better world.”“You really think we’re going to win?”“Yes, I do. I have not met General Washington yet, but I am very excited to. With luck, I will meet him in a little over a week.” Lafayette replied with a smile to Francis. “I will have to write down your address so I can write to you. I’ll tell you all about the general.”Francis smiled at the idea of still having contact with the Frenchman after he’d left their home. “That sounds great! I can have Mommy and Daddy read them to me!”Lafayette nodded and smiled softly to the little boy. “Yes. Every so often I might send you a gift or two. That’s what I plan to do for my wife and little baby.”“I think I would like that.” Francis replied with a bright smile, moving to crawl into the aristocrat’s lap to sit there with him.Lafayette wrapped his arms around the little boy, holding Francis close as he told the little boy stories from his childhood, telling him about his mother and his in-laws and answering every little question the little boy asked until it came time for his nap. Mary came up and helped him once again as they tucked the little boy into his bed. With that, the marquis walked down to the dining room table once again so he could continue practicing reading, writing, and speaking English.He worked until it came time for dinner, working hard to try and learn as much as he could with the major until he’d have to leave the next day and find a new way to practice his English.When it came time for dinner, the Major let him lead the evening prayer and allowed him to give it in French as a bit of a parting gift. Lafayette folded his hands and bowed his head, the family following suit before he started on a simple that gave thanks for the food as well as for leading him to little family that had helped him out so greatly.They all started to eat and chat together when they finished, having one last happy dinner together.“Lafayette, will you give me my bath after dinner?” Francis asked curiously, looking over at the Frenchman sitting next to him, who was sitting with his back as straight as a board and eating politely.“A bath? I think I might be able to do my best. I might need help, though.” Lafayette replied with a small smile to Francis and a nod.“I can help you!” Francis said with a grin to Lafayette.“Thank you, mon petit ami. I had better bathe, too, tonight.” Lafayette said easily after swallowing everything in his mouth.“That’s a good idea. It might be almost a week until you can wash yourself again.” Mary said with a small smile to the pair across the table from her and the major.“Yes, really, especially if it’s a group of men all together. Travelling is difficult on the senses.” The Major agreed with a small smile across the table. “When are they going to be picking you up?”“The carriage will be here at ten tomorrow morning.” Lafayette replied to him easily.“Alright. Well, we’ll all have breakfast together and then we’ll see you off.” The Major replied with a small smile.“I will make sure to write to you often. I told Francis I would tell him about General Washington.” Lafayette promised them.“What about the gift you said you had for me?” Francis asked rather eagerly.“Francis!” Mary scolded with a small frown at her young son, part of her wishing her son would be more polite around their aristocratic guest.“I will get it to you tomorrow morning, mon petit.” Lafayette replied with a smile to Francis.“Do you promise?” Francis asked, holding a pinky out to the Frenchman.“Yes, I do.” Lafayette replied, looking at the little boy’s gesture confusedly before hesitantly extending his own pinky. He found himself getting even more confused when the little boy wrapped his smaller pinky around his, linking them together briefly. Lafayette was left staring at his hand in awe and confusion for a bit after Francis pulled his pinky away, feeling like a foreigner for the first time since he’d stepped on American soil.“It’s called a ‘Pinky Swear’. It’s basically the equivalent of swearing on the Bible.” Mary explained with a small laugh at the quizzical look on the young man’s rather expressive face.“Ah, now I understand.” Lafayette said with a small smile to her in thanks before they all went back to eating together and chatting every so often and just having a pleasant time together.“I’m done! Lafayette, let’s go take a bath now!” Francis said, grabbing the other’s hand eagerly.“Un moment, s’il vous plait, mon petit.” Lafayette replied to the little boy as he finished eating his own meal. He drank the rest of the wine in his glass to wash everything down. “Thank you so much for the meal.” He said to Mary and the Major easily. “If you will excuse me, I don’t think he will wait long.”The Major smiled and laughed a bit. “You’re excused. If you need any help with him, just call one of us.”Lafayette nodded and got up from the table to go with Francis to the upper level of the house. He watched as the boy ran into his room to get a fresh nightshirt before emerging again to go to the bathroom.“Lafayette, is that your real hair?” Francis asked curiously, wondering if it was natural for European men to have white hair, no matter how young or old they were.“Oh, no. This is a wig. They’re very in fashion in France and England.” Lafayette replied honestly to Francis. “I tend to wear mine everyday, because my hair is a bad color.”“What color is your hair? Is it purple or something?” Francis asked curiously, looking up the aristocrat. “Can I see it?”Lafayette nodded and crouched down next to Francis, letting the boy gently pull out the pins that held the wig securely on his head, anchoring it on his natural hair. The boy then slipped the wig off easily, blinking in shock when he saw the man’s ginger hair tied up on his head. Lafayette untied it, letting the loose waves and curls fall down to his shoulders so Francis could see his hair.Francis looked at the red locks curiously, reaching over to gently run his small fingers through the other’s hair. “Why is red a bad a color? I think it looks good on you.”“I don’t know. In France red hair is just unattractive.” Lafayette replied to the little boy easily as Francis felt at and admired his hair.“Well, I think it’s really pretty.”“Thank you, mon ami. Now, let’s get your bath ready.”Francis nodded and helped Lafayette draw the bath for him easily before helping the little boy out of his dirty clothes. He then helped the boy into the tub, watching him sit down and get settled in the water.Lafayette took off his coat and rolled his sleeves up to his elbows. “Alright. Where shall we start?”“My hair!” Francis replied happily, watching as Lafayette got the bottles of shampoo and conditioner, looking at the labels curiously.“’Shampoo’… This one must be the shampooing and this one the après shampooing…” He said to himself as he examined the bottles. He then moved to help Francis wet down his hair before starting to lather in the shampoo.Lafayette washed out Francis’s hair, pausing every so often to poke the little boy’s nose and say ‘tut-tut’ when he wasn’t expecting it, listening to the boy giggle happily in response. When he’d rinsed out Francis’s hair, Lafayette got up to get the soap to wash his body from the counter top.Francis decided to take the opportunity and, when the Frenchman had his back turned, quickly got up and grabbed Lafayette around the waist from behind, pulling the other back into the bathtub with him.Lafayette gasped when he felt the small arms around his waist, yelping a bit when he suddenly felt himself stumbling and falling backwards. The next thing he knew, he was completely drenched, sitting sideways in the tub his long legs over the edge of the tub, with Francis grinning and laughing delightedly beside him. Lafayette pushed his wet red hair back from his face and moved to splash the little boy lightly as Mary rushed into the room.“I heard a yelp and a splash. Are you two alri- Oh. Francis, are you picking on our dear Lafayette?” Mary asked as she rushed into the room, sighing a bit at the scene before her.“Well, he said he needed to bathe, too, Mama!” Francis said defensively.“Yes, but you need to let people bathe on their own terms. I’m sorry, dear. I’ll get you some warm, dry clothes.” Mary said with a small sigh.“It’s alright. My Henriette will probably try to do the same thing when she’s old enough to.” Lafayette replied with a small sigh and a wave of his hand.“Can you bathe with me, Lafayette? I mean, you’re already wet…” Francis asked eagerly, grabbing onto the Frenchman’s hand happily.Lafayette sighed and looked over at Francis and said nothing before reaching down to take off his shoes and stockings, tossing them off to the side. “Excusez-moi, madame. It appears that I need to undress. I may be French, but I still don’t feel right getting nude in front of a married woman. ” He said to Mary who laughed a bit, nodded, and moved to leave the room so the man could have a bit of privacy as he stripped off his soaked shirt, pants, and undergarments.Francis grinned happily as Lafayette humored him and got nude in the bath with him. “Yay! I want to wash your hair now!” he said happily, standing up behind Lafayette to tilt his head back.Lafayette smiled gently up at Francis as the young boy poured water over his ginger hair and wetted it down before the boy started to lather shampoo into his scalp.“You have lots of freckles.” Francis said after a bit, looking down at all the little brown dots on Lafayette’s shoulders that went down to his shoulder blades on his back, and down to his collarbones on his chest, then all the way down the young man’s arms and legs.“Yes, I know. I grew up in the countryside, so I’d play with the other children outside a lot.” Lafayette replied with a small smile as the little boy washed his hair for him.“You grew up in the country?” Francis asked, trying to imagine a little aristocrat playing outside in the grass and dirt and hay with a bunch of other little kids who lived on farms nearby.“Yes. Chavaniac-Lafayette is a tiny little town in southern France where everyone recognizes everyone and all the children tend to play with each other.” Lafayette replied easily with a happy smile up at Francis while the boy rinsed the shampoo out of his hair.“Did you ever play with goats or something?” Francis asked curiously.“No, but a few other kids convinced me to kiss a frog once. Maman wasn’t too happy about that one.” Lafayette replied with a small smile up at the younger man.“That’s gross, Lafayette. Frogs are gross.”“Maman said the same thing.”Francis smiled down at Lafayette and laughed a bit before lathering in the conditioner before rinsing it out for him.“I can wash my own body, Francis.” Lafayette said when the boy had finished with his hair.Francis nodded and moved to hand Lafayette the bar of soap and a rag, watching as the other man started to wash off his own body with ease, listening as the other hummed contently all the while.“I’m going to miss you, Lafayette.” He said after a bit as the man moved to help him wash his smaller body.“I’ll miss you, too, mon petit.” Lafayette replied, pressing a small kiss to the little boy’s forehead gently as he washed the little boy’s back and shoulders.“Really?” Francis asked in awe as the man washed him down.“Oui. I hope one day I might have a little boy just like you.” Lafayette replied with a small smile, letting Francis wash himself below his belly button.Francis smiled at that and let Lafayette help him out of the tub and get them both towels to dry off with. The Frenchman wrapped one towel around his waist rather quickly before going back over to Francis to help the younger man dry off.Francis smiled as he let Lafayette gently pat him dry, bursting into a squeal and fit of giggles when the Frenchman blew a raspberry onto his belly. He watched as Lafayette helped him into his little nightshirt before donning his own that Mary had silently left for him.With that, Lafayette walked Francis to his nursery and tucked him into his bed. He sat on the edge of the bed and, upon request, told the little boy a bedtime story entirely in French, the sound of his voice and the foreign language lulling him to sleep.“Bon nuit, mon petit.” Lafayette said softly to sleeping child, kissing his forehead softly before moving to leave the room.Lafayette spent the rest of his night writing one last letter to Adrienne, including the letter along with a package containing a new dress he thought would suit her and a little doll for Henriette.After a while he headed to bed after bidding Mary and the Major a good night, falling asleep only to wake up when a smaller form crawled into his bed with him and snuggled up into him. Without saying a word, Lafayette wrapped his arms around Francis and fell back asleep with the little boy for the rest of the night.
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Breakfast was served in typical French fashion as a small parting gift. Lafayette helped Francis make a plate of pastries and fruit before letting the little boy sip from his cup of coffee to see if the other wanted any. He laughed and ruffled Francis’s hair when the boy’s face twisted into an expression of disgust as he quickly shook his head and pushed the cup of coffee back into Lafayette’s hands.“Don’t feel bad, mon petit. It is a, uh, ac-acqui- well, you need to get used to it.” Lafayette said with a small smile to the little boy as they all started to eat together happily.“An acquired taste.” The Major supplied for Lafayette with a small smile to the young aristocrat, personally having come to find his lack of fluency rather charming. He’d have to keep an eye out and an ear open for any further word of the French teenager in the future, part of him very confident that the boy would become as great as the young man seemed so sure that he would be.“Yes, that’s it. Acquired taste.” Lafayette said with a happy smile as they all ate together contently, chatting easily.As they finished up, they all turned to the door when they heard a knock on the door, a carriage clearly visible from the front window of the house, a two of the men from the brotherhood waving to him happily from outside the window. The three men he was traveling with were older than he was, but, with the exception of one of them, acted like young boys with him. All of them seemed to have the same thirst for revolution that he did.“I’ll get that. You finish eating.” The Major said to Lafayette, standing up from the table and heading over to the door to let the trio inside the house as they finished eating together.“Bonjour, mes amis.” Lafayette said to the trio happily from his place at the table.“Good morning, Marquis. We’re ready to go when you are.” The most serious of the group said to him easily.Lafayette nodded and finished eating with the little family, watching as Mary packaged up the leftover pastries for the men to eat on their journey back up north.“Lafayette, what about my present?” Francis asked eagerly, gently tugging at Lafayette’s freshly laundered coat.“I wouldn’t forget that, mon petit. Now, close your eyes and hold out your hands.” Lafayette said with a small smile to Francis, poking his nose. When the little boy had his eyes closed and palms extended, he reached into the pocket of his coat to pull out a small silver lapel pin in the shape of the Fleur de Lis that was encrusted with little diamonds. He then pinned it to lapel of the little boy’s jacket easily.“Alright open your eyes.” He said after a bit, watching with a smile as the other looked down at his empty hands, then down at the glittering new pin on his jacket.“Hey, you didn’t put it in my hands!” Francis said confusedly.“I know. I tricked you, mon petit.” Lafayette replied, grinning happily at the little boy and laughing happily as Francis scowled at him before gently hitting his shoulder. “You be good for your Maman and Papan, alright?”“I’ll try.” Francis replied with a small smile to Lafayette, moving to hug the young man as he got up from the table. “You gotta promise to write to me, okay? Promise!”“D’accord, mon petit. I promise, I’ll write to you and your parents.” Lafayette replied, placing a hand over his heart. He kissed the little boy’s head softly before moving to go over to Mary, hugging her happily.“Thank you for your hospitality, madame. It will not soon be forgotten.” He thanked her sincerely.“It was no problem, Lafayette. If you’re ever back in Charleston, don’t be a stranger, alright? You’re more than welcome here. You’re practically family under this roof.” Mary replied to him easily.Lafayette nodded and moved on to the Major, grinning at him happily before hugging him tightly. “My dear Major. How do I thank you for all you’ve done for me?”“Just stay alive, write to us, and make us proud. We’ll be watching and listening for any word of you.” The major replied with a smile back to the younger man. “By the way, your English has come quite a long way since I met you a few weeks ago.” He added in fluent French, laughing at the shock on Lafayette’s face.Lafayette smiled once again after a bit and laughed softly with the Major, hugging him once more before kissing both of his cheeks. “Au revoir, mes amis.” He said to the family with a polite bow to them before he put his hat on and moved with the three men from the brotherhood to leave the house, carrying his trunk of belongings to the carriage. They all got settled in the carriage together easily and headed off on his way. Lafayette watched out the window as the family waved to them from the front porch of the large house. He waved back to them easily, his other hand holding his hat securely on his head as he leaned out the window until the little family was nothing more than a few dots in the distance.“One day, once this whole war’s over, I need to take a trip to France.” The more serious of the men, Benjamin, commented after a while as they rode together easily.“Oh definitely. Is it as great as everyone says?” a second brother, Abraham, agreed with a smile to the Frenchman seated next to him.“Yes, I love France. The landscapes are as lovely as the women, with plenty of art and wine and culture to keep a person entertained for a long time.” Lafayette replied with a small smile to them.“Are French ladies a lot different from American ladies?” the third brother, Caleb, asked curiously.“I confess I can’t say for sure. I was not a bachelor for very long before I met my Adrienne and married her. American and French women are all very lovely, but I think French ladies tend to fuss over how they look a bit more. There is a much clearer line between the classes in France. You can know which woman has more money with one glance.” Lafayette explained to them easily.“What do they dress like?” Abraham asked curiously.“Well, the richer women seem to strive to look like Marie Antoinette. The paler your skin is, the better, so they use cosmetics to make their faces fairer. They’ll also put rouge on their mouths, make their lips red like the rose.” Lafayette explained, talking with his hands and tapping his lips when talking about way the women would color their lips. “Men will often wear wigs, but ladies like looking more natural. They will powder their hair and sometimes add some fake hair to make it higher. Women and men want to have brown or blonde hair, and red hair like mine is unattractive.”Abraham blinked at that and moved to gently lift up the back of Lafayette’s white wig to look underneath it. “Ah, would you look at that. It’s red like fire. I don’t know what I expected, though.”“So, do the carpets match the drapes, then?” Caleb asked with a smirk as Lafayette’s expression switched to one of deep confusion as the Frenchman cocked his head at him.“Caleb, that’s not a good thing to ask a woman, let alone a man you have to travel with for almost a week.” Benjamin scolded, hitting the other’s chest.“Drapes? Carpets? Je ne comprends pas…” Lafayette said with a small frown, looking over as Abraham laughed happily next to him.“Don’t worry about it, Marquis. Caleb’s mouth is controlled by his mind, and his mind is controlled by his cock.” Benjamin said with a small sigh. “He has the moral backbone of a chocolate éclair, and the mind of a fourteen year old boy.”“Hey, I’m just a lonely guy, that’s all. Besides, if you close your eyes and just imagine really hard, everyone will feel like a lady.” Caleb protested, a roll of thunder following his words.“You hear that, Caleb. That’s God telling you to watch your sinful back.” Abraham said with a laugh to the other man.“Do you think it will rain?” Lafayette asked, changing the subject as he looked out the window at the darkening sky and the quickly gathering clouds in the sky overhead.“I wouldn’t be surprised. It definitely looks that way.” Benjamin replied easily. “Hey, what are you doing?” He asked when Lafayette handed his hat to Abraham before standing on the seat and moving to move out of the window to grab his trunk from on top of the carriage so the clothes inside wouldn’t get wet, and the portrait of his family would stay nice and dry.“Lafayette, you’re toeing the line between being brave and being a suicidal bastard.” Benjamin said with a sigh as the Frenchman got the trunk and sat back down in his seat.“Sorry, I just don’t want it getting wet.” Lafayette replied sheepishly as Abraham put his hat back on his head.“Hey, don’t listen to him. Bravery is a good thing in anyone who wants to be a soldier.” Caleb said easily with a dismissive wave of his hand.Soon enough, rain started to fall slowly outside their carriage as they rode along and chatted together contently. The rain picked up in force, and soon enough it was down pouring, the dirt road they drove on turning to mud and rocks.The carriage soon got stuck in a spot of mud, losing balance as the horses continued on, and pitching to the side to the surprise of the young men inside.“Let’s go inspect the damage.” Caleb said with a small sigh, opening the door on the side that wasn’t on ground and working to awkwardly get out of the carriage, the other men squirming out as well to find one of the axles snapped in half.“Well, we’re in the middle of nowhere, it’s pouring, and the carriage is broken. Anyone have any ideas?” Abraham asked with a small sigh, looking between the men.“There are three horses. The driver can take one horse and then the rest of us can ride in twos.” Lafayette said to the group after a bit of thought.“That sounds good to me.” Benjamin said, moving to the horses, getting them ready to be ridden with the other men.“Who’s riding with who, then?” Caleb asked curiously.“Well, after that comment about the drapes and carpets, I think you should ride with anyone who isn’t Lafayette.” Benjamin replied to him easily.“I’ll ride with Lafayette.” Abraham said, slinging an arm around the taller Frenchman’s shoulders happily.“Alright. I’ll keep an eye on Caleb, then.” Benjamin said easily before they all got suited on their horses.Abraham followed Lafayette up onto the horse, sitting behind the taller man and holding onto him by the waist, figuring the aristocrat would more than likely be the best rider out of them all.Once they were all set to go, they all headed out together to ride through the rain and continue on their trek to Philadelphia and Abraham quickly learned that being an aristocrat didn’t automatically equip a person with grace and control. Nonetheless, they rode together until they found a little town with an inn attached to a small tavern. They stopped there for the night and tied up their horses easily before heading inside to get a couple rooms.Lafayette shared a room with Abraham, setting their things down in the room and getting settled for the night. When they were all settled, they met Caleb and Benjamin outside the rooms and headed down to the tavern for a couple drinks.As they sat down, a few other men laughing happily and loudly walked into the tavern, draping their red coats over the backs of their chairs as they talked loudly.“This rabble will be shut down soon enough. Children who are too loud and unruly need to be punished and kept in their place. That’s exactly how it will go with the colonies.” One of the men said easily while Lafayette ordered a glass of wine and sat with the other three men, listening in on the other group’s conversation.“So, you don’t think this will last too long?” One of the redcoats asked.“Of course not. The British military is unstoppable, and the strongest in the world. All Washington has to send are little boys. I have no intention to surrender to pups.” The first man replied dismissively.“And I have no intention to surrender whatsoever. I’m strong, not French.” Another redcoat joked, making their entire table laugh heartily.Abraham heard the jab and looked over at Lafayette, as the young aristocrat’s expression seemed to harden.“Ah, speaking of which, did you hear what the new French military’s flag looks like?” One of the redcoats asked, his face smooth and stoic.“I didn’t hear they were making a new one.” Another redcoat replied curiously.“Oh, yes. It’s a white cross on a white background.” The first redcoat said, the table bursting into laughter again.“Marquis…” Abraham said softly when he noticed the way Lafayette’s jaw clenched, the other men having started to watch the rather proud, and often patient, Frenchman’s patience wear thinner and thinner before their eyes.Lafayette finished his glass of wine as he listened to the British men tell another joke about how Jesus hadn’t been born in France because no one could find any wise men or any virgins.“Another wine, please. In fact, I’ll just buy the entire bottle.” He said to the woman working behind the bar politely. When she’d returned with the bottle of wine, he took it, paid the woman, and walked over to the table of British men, smiling at them politely as they all stopped talking and turned to look over at him.“Bonsoir, monsieurs.” Lafayette greeted easily. “Excusez-moi. I couldn’t help but overhear your jokes. I’m sorry, but I don’t understand them. Explain them to me?”“I don’t know if I could. I don’t think your wine-soaked mind could understand it if I tried.” One of the redcoats replied with a small frown to the young man with the heavy accent.“Ferme ta bouche.” Lafayette replied with a frown before tipping the bottle of wine over to pour the contents onto the other’s head and wig. “Understand?” He spat, leaning down to push his face rather close to the now fuming British officer’s.Benjamin decided to break up the confrontation before it went any farther and quickly grabbed the empty bottle of wine from Lafayette’s hand before he could use it as a weapon, then grabbing the collar of Lafayette’s coat, dragging him away and over to the group.“Lafayette, why don’t you go up to the room and write to your wife? Cool down.” Benjamin advised the teenager.“Listen to your elders, little boy. It’s past your bedtime.” The wine-soaked British soldier supplied with a frown, making Lafayette’s attention snap back to him.“You’re taking it back!” Lafayette shouted before starting to advance on the redcoat, though not getting too far when Benjamin and Abraham both grabbed him by the torso, holding him back.“Abraham, take him up to your room.” Benjamin said with a sigh while Caleb just smiled and laughed at the scene happily.“Sleep it off, sleep it off. God, I love you, kid.” Caleb said with a happy laugh, patting Lafayette’s back as Abraham lead him out of the tavern and back up to their room for the night.“If it helps, I would have done the same thing.” Abraham said gently to Lafayette as he lead the Frenchman up to their room for the night, letting the man cool down by writing a letter to Adrienne and just talk to him, both in French and English.Lafayette talked and talked about everything on his mind as he stripped down to go to bed for the night with Abraham, perfectly calm once they were both laying in the bed under the warm covers.“Abraham?” Lafayette asked softly after a bit as he snuggled into the other man’s warmth.“Yes?” Abraham asked, not minding Lafayette’s little need to snuggle up and cuddle in the bed.“What did Caleb mean earlier? About the drapes and carpets, I mean.”“Let’s just go to bed and leave it behind us. Tomorrow’s a new day.” Abraham said, smiling a bit as Lafayette just nodded and fell silent until his breaths evened out as he fell asleep next to him.
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"I think I see it! Philadelphia!" Abraham announced happily from his seat behind Lafayette, peering over the Frenchman's shoulder at the sight of the city on the horizon."It had better be. I can't feel my thighs or anything between." Caleb complained before kicking his horse to pick up the pace, making Benjamin cling tightly to him from behind."I do the same?" Lafayette asked Abraham, not wanting to startle him with a sudden increase in pace."Go ahead. I've got a good hold on you." Abraham replied with a nod to the Frenchman with a small smile. Lafayette nodded and kicked the horse as well before picking up the pace, bouncing along with Abraham as they rode down and over the many hills after the other brothers to get to the city. He grinned happily all the way there, more than eager to get to the city, then to the dinner the following night, to meet the infamous General Washington and appeal to him about joining the American army.They met up with the other pair just outside the city, having slowed down to a trot as they made their way into Philadelphia."So, how about we find an inn and call it a night?" Benjamin asked as they all rode together into the city. The men all agreed and they rode around together, asking for directions to the nearest inn before finding it and getting a couple of rooms for them to pair off and share for the night."We should wash? It has been a while." Lafayette suggested as they passed a washroom on the way to their rooms."I think that would be wise. We don't want to be ripe when we meet the General tomorrow night, along with a lot of other bigwigs." Caleb said easily, clapping Lafayette on the back contently.Abraham nodded easily. "I agree. Let's get our things into our rooms and meet in that washroom."They all nodded in agreement and continued to their rooms to drop off their things and get settled in for the night.Abraham and Lafayette were the first pair to go inside the washroom and, after a bit of debate, they decided to start stripping off their trail worn suits while they waited for the other pair."Well, hello," Caleb said as he walked into the room, greeted by the sight of Lafayette's boyish, nude body in front of him as Abraham stripped nude as well."Hello. We did not want to wait, I'm sorry." Lafayette said to the other men as they came into the room with them."No, that's fine. I just wasn't expecting it." Caleb replied easily, moving to start stripping as well with Benjamin, forcing himself to look away as Lafayette bent over to fold up his clothes and set them aside neatly.When they were all ready, they got the water and soap and started working to help wash each other's bare backs and bodies for each other, chatting happily all the while until Lafayette began to lead them all in a round of La Marseillaise as they washed themselves off, teaching them the words and pronunciations patiently. He would sing a bit, and they would repeat it after him to the best of their abilities.Once they had all cleaned off each other's bodies and hair, they moved to dry off and get dressed again. Lafayette donned his nightclothes and pulled his long hair into a braid for the night. He couldn't help but smile when he remembered what the next day would bring them. The brothers bade each other goodnight and headed off to their bedrooms.Abraham sighed happily as he collapsed on the bed. "Ah, so tired…" He hummed, looking over as Lafayette sat down at the desk and moved to rummage through his trunk to pull out his paper, quill, ink, and seal stamp. "You gonna write to someone? Your wife again?""Yes. " Lafayette replied with a nod as he started to write the letter to inform his wife what all was happening to him across the ocean."Do you miss her?" Abraham asked curiously."Yes, very much. I felt terrible for leaving her all alone with Henriette, but my heart knew I had to come here." Lafayette replied as he wrote."Oh, that's right, you have a baby too. I can see where that would be difficult." Abraham said softly, rubbing his eyes as the other man wrote a short, quick update letter to his family.After a while, Lafayette finished up and moved to blow out the candle he'd been using to write by. "That was bad, I can't see now." He said softly as he realized his mistake, hearing Abraham laugh from the bed."Just follow my voice." The man said with a smile.Lafayette nodded and awkwardly moved through the darkness to try and find the bed. He succeeded in finding it when he ran into the foot of the bed, awkwardly stumbling off to the side. "Ah, sacre-bleu." He said as he gathered himself again and found the side of the bed, feeling around the mattress to find the blankets and pillows so he knew how close he was to the head of the bed.Abraham reached an arm out to grab Lafayette's wrist and guide him into the bed, not expecting the little shriek that came out of the Frenchman in response. He couldn't help but laugh at that, hearing Lafayette say something in French under his breath as the other man climbed into the bed."You okay, Lafayette?" He asked between laughs as the other man settled underneath the covers next to him."When I get over the scare you gave me, I will be." He replied with a sigh, lying down next to Abraham."Sorry, buddy. I didn't mean to scare you.""It is all right. I am fine now." Lafayette replied with a yawn. "Abraham?""What is it?""What do you think General Washington will be like?""Well, I've heard he's very tall and they don't call him 'His Excellency' for nothing."Lafayette nodded and smiled a bit. "I'm excited." He whispered to the other man."I can tell," Abraham replied with a smile and a laugh, reaching over to gently pat Lafayette's shoulder. "Let's get to sleep, buddy. We have a big day tomorrow."Lafayette nodded and moved to shut his eyes and get comfortable cuddled up against Abraham. It didn't take the other man too long to fall asleep, but Lafayette's excitement kept him up for a good while, imagining what it might be like to meet Washington. After playing about ten different scenarios in his head, his exhaustion finally took him and he fell asleep against Abraham's chest peacefully.He woke up in the late morning to the feeling of Abraham shaking his shoulder and periodically poking at his cheek. "Quest-ce que tu fais? Quelle heure est-il?" he asked drowsily, reluctantly opening one eye to look over at Abraham next to him."Lafayette, we have to go get breakfast before it turns into lunch," Abraham said to the sleepy young aristocrat."Lunch…. What hour is it?" Lafayette asked as he slowly forced himself to sit up in the bed and rub the sleep from his eyes."It's about eleven now. You're one hard sleeper, you know that? We've been trying to wake you since eight, but you were out cold." Abraham said as he helped Lafayette unbraid his red hair that now fell in loose waves from drying while in a braid."I am sorry. I did not want to make you wait." Lafayette apologized as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes before moving to get out of the bed and get dressed for the day."Don't worry about it. We still have plenty of time until the dinner." Abraham said, waving a hand dismissively as he watched the teenager get dressed for the day. "In the meantime, we were thinking we'd better get some lunch and explore the city for a while.Lafayette nodded in understanding as he dressed, looking forward to being able to relax after traveling for so long and taking a break to explore Philadelphia for a while.He finished dressing and went with Abraham down to get lunch with Caleb and Benjamin, eating and chatting with them contently before they all headed out together to explore the city for a while. They stopped in the shops that caught their eyes, grinning and laughing as they took turns trying on and modeling hats without any regard to whether they were made for men or women in one of them. Then, they found a blacksmith's shop where the shopkeeper proudly showed them his creations that included decorative swords, practice foils for fencing, and daggers and knives to be used as weapons.Caleb took one of the practice foils and examined it a bit. "So, who dares face me? Which one of you pups is man enough to take me on?" He asked, posing dramatically with one hand on his hip, the other holding the foil on his shoulder."I would consider it, but I don't wish to hurt an old man," Lafayette replied with a grin to the other man. "Besides, this shop is little. There is no room for a proper match.""Au contraire, monsieur. There's practicing space available in the back of the shop." Caleb said, pointing to a flyer nailed to the wall over a case of many other practice foils.Lafayette looked over at the flyer. He couldn't quite read it, so he decided he'd just take Caleb's word for it."If I agree, do you promise not to break a hip?" The Frenchman asked, a grin spreading across his lips."I won't break a hip. But, if you don't watch yourself, I might break you." Caleb replied with a grin back to Lafayette, letting the younger man find a good foil before the four of them went out to the back of the shop.Lafayette couldn't help but wonder how fair the fight would be, as he'd been trained in fencing since boyhood and was a musketeer of the king. He decided to give Caleb the benefit of the doubt and decided the man knew what he was getting into.He got into position on the stretch of dirt and gravel behind the shop, standing across from Caleb, holding his foil up to his face as they both got into position."En garde, mon ami," Lafayette said easily, his eyes trained on the man across from him."En garde," Caleb replied with a small smile before making the first couple of moves and starting to lunge at the younger man.Lafayette focused on the moment, his feet moving quickly to move backward and forwards as he fought with Caleb. He jumped over the sweeping strikes Caleb aimed at his shins, returning with his own strikes.Abraham and Benjamin watched with awe from the sidelines as Caleb tried to preserve his pride and hold his own against the younger, skinnier French teenager. Lafayette, however, seemed to know exactly what he was doing, whirling around with the foil and jumping around, dodging each attack. Finally, the match ended when Lafayette landed a poke with the covered end of the foil right in the center of Caleb's chest."Touché, monsieur," Lafayette said, a grin spreading onto his face."You got me," Caleb replied with a laugh, reaching over to take Lafayette's nose and tweak it. "Now, wipe that huge grin off your face, you."Lafayette just laughed happily in reply and moved to go back inside with the other brothers to put away the foils. They wandered around for a while longer, talking and laughing happily until they caught a carriage to take them to the dinner in the evening.They showed up just as many other men in uniforms, along with a few women in nice dresses with their hair done up nicely, arrived and started to make their way into the large, grand building.Lafayette felt his heart start pounding excitedly in his chest as their carriage pulled up to the building. He fixed his hat on his head and was the first to hop out of the carriage, leading the other three men into the building happily. He looked around at all the people, trying to take in everything, so he could write all about it all to Adrienne in a letter later. He wanted to tell her all about how different American parties were from French parties.Everyone milled around, chatting with each other amicably, many of them seeming to know each other well. Lafayette couldn't help but notice that he was more than likely the youngest person at that party, and, therefore, stuck out in the crowd. Plenty of the men there were older and hardened from war and battle. He, on the other hand, was young and boyish."My God, boy, I think you have the smoothest face here. And that includes some of the women. Come here with your father, perhaps?" One man asked Lafayette, having approached him while Caleb, Benjamin, and Abraham had made themselves busy by socializing and helping themselves to the glasses of wine being passed around."Non, monsieur. I come with brothers." Lafayette replied to him easily, smiling gently at the man.The man looked confused for a moment and opened his mouth to reply, though being cut off when a servant announced that everyone was welcome to move to the dining room.Lafayette walked with the man and explained his journey from Paris to Philadelphia as well as he could, sitting down at the large table next to him and a couple of the man's friends. All the new men seemed to find him fascinating and talked to him until one of them noticed the servants taking their places by the doors."Oh, here comes His Excellency, the General." One of the men said with a small smile."You'd do well to rise up with everyone." Another whispered to Lafayette, tapping his elbow gently to get him to stand up along with everyone at the table."Ladies and Gentlemen, His Excellency, General George Washington." One of the servants announced while a couple others opened the doors to let the man inside.Lafayette watched as Washington walked in, a grin spreading widely on his face as he started to jitter with puppyish excitement. The man was tall, even taller than him, and had a presence that could easily take command of any room he entered. He quickly decided that, if given the chance, he would defend that man and America with his life.Then, everyone sat down and dinner was served as they all talked happily with each other across the table and next to each other. Whenever Washington spoke, Lafayette started to jitter again. His voice was deep, just as commanding as his outward appearance. The man was a picture perfect military general."You there, little boy." One man across the table said to Lafayette to get his attention as they ate and drank wine. "Shouldn't you be sitting next to your father?"Lafayette looked up at the question, noticing that it had caught the attention of many other guests at the table. "Mon père est, um…. He could not come to here." He replied to the best of his ability."Who's your father?" A woman asked sitting next to the man across the table."He was Michel Louis Christophe Roch Gilbert Paulette du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette," Lafayette replied honestly before sipping his wine."'He was?'" The woman questioned curiously."Oui. I was tiny and small when he died." Lafayette replied, holding his hand out to signify how tall he was at two years old."Oh. I'm so sorry.""C'est d'accord. I am proud to be his son. But we French are proud no matter what."The woman blinked and smiled and laughed a bit with the men around her while Lafayette just grinned happily, knowing he'd more than likely just charmed, at least, that group of people. He glanced around and caught George Washington's eye when the man looked up to see what they were all laughing about on their end of the table.Lafayette felt his heart beat hard in his chest, wanting to impress and charm that man as well, so he'd be able to join his ranks. So, he grinned even wider at him, holding eye contact for a moment before turning back to the group of people around him as they asked him about his life in France, Marie Antoinette, all of them adoring him like their shiny new toy.He didn't mind at all, though, drinking up all the attention as he ate and drank with them, settling in with them and letting his puppyish personality shine through as he happily answered every question they asked. He stumbled over plenty of his words, his mind working too quickly for his mouth to keep up as he tried to get his thoughts out as well as translate them to English to the best of his ability.Before the meal was over, he'd charmed nearly every other person sitting at the table.
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The meal ended and the dancing picked up once again. Lafayette decided to hang back as the other couples started dancing, content to just watch. When he felt a hand rest on his shoulder, he jumped a bit, looking over to find the general standing next to him.“Your Excellency…” was all he could bring himself to say, fiddling a bit with the glass of wine in his hand.“You’re a long way from home, Marquis. But, by the way you carry yourself, one might think you’ve lived here all your life.” The general said easily, watching the teenager fiddle with the glass and smile at him.“I try to make as many friends as I can, Your Excellency.”“I can see that. A little bird told me you intend to find a place in the ranks of my army, is this true?”“Yes, Your Excellency.”“Call me George. Well, Marquis, you’ve come this far, it would be cruel of me to deny you. Will you continue to learn English, though, so you may communicate effectively with your brothers at arms?”“Yes, Your- George. I will try.”“Good. Then, I would like to know if you’d be interested in joining my family.”Lafayette blinked at the proposal before breaking out into a happy grin. He’d merely expected to join the military, but now he’d found himself with an adoptive father as well, one he could be very proud of, too. Without another thought, he threw his arms around the general in a tight hug, spilling his wine on the ground in the process. He happily kissed the man’s cheeks over and over until George gently pushed him away with a small laugh.“I suppose I can take that as a yes.” George said with a small smile at the teenager who was practically jittering with excitement.“Yes, of course, sir. When do you need me to be there? I will be there.”“How about you show up at the camps tomorrow at dawn? Then we can get you a uniform and get you settled with the other aides-de-camps.”“Of course, sir.” Lafayette nodded happily and eagerly, resisting the urge to start kissing his cheeks once again.He checked the time when they parted ways, moving to find the brothers he’d come with. He figured it would be a good idea to head back to the inn so he could sleep for a while before he arrived at the camp at dawn. He ended up heading back with Abraham, who was having ill luck with the women at the party and was getting tired as well. They talked the whole way back to the inn until they finally climbed into their bed together.Gilbert found it harder than usual to get to sleep, his mind racing at the thought of being able to finally join the military the next day. The mere thought made him giddy. After a while, he fell asleep when could no longer keep his eyelids open. He found himself dreaming happily of returning home to his family all dressed in a dirtied military uniform and being able to hold his wife and daughter in his arms.Abraham woke him the next morning before the sun had even begun to rise, gently shaking his shoulder so they could have a bit of breakfast before Abraham walked with him to the camps so he wouldn’t get lost.Lafayette dressed quickly and carefully before he grabbed his trunk of things and headed out of the room with Abraham, unable to stop talking about how excited he was. They broke bread together and ate it as they walked, the sun slowly starting to emerge on the horizon.“We’re all going to miss you, Lafayette. If you see any of us around, promise you won’t be a stranger.” Abraham said when they walked to the edge of the camps together, another soldier seeing them and approaching.“Of course not, Abraham.” Lafayette replied easily, kissing the other man’s cheeks before hugging him tightly and making the approaching soldier stop uncomfortably in front of them. “Don’t you be strange either.”Abraham smiled and laughed a bit, understanding the other’s meaning, even if his words didn’t totally add up. He reached over to gently tweak the other man’s nose, laughing a bit more at his reaction until the soldier finally cleared his throat to get their attention.“What’s your purpose here?” The soldier asked, looking between the two men.“The general told me come here at dawn.” Lafayette explainedThe soldier blinked a bit at that before nodding in understanding. “Alright, come with me, then. We’ll find one of the general’s aides.” He said, keeping close to the Frenchman warily, having been told to be careful about letting new people in just in case they were spies.Lafayette let the soldier lead him around the maze of tents as the other soldiers either slept or slowly started to wake up, making coffee by the campfires they’d set up. The soldier he walked with kept one hand on the back of his arm to guide him along as they walked around together. Having grown up in a military family, Lafayette was used to seeing well-disciplined soldiers in fresh, clean uniforms marching in perfect unison at sunrise to the shouted orders of whoever was in charge of them. These American soldiers, however, seemed to be more along the lines of a bunch of young and old men gathered together to form a sort of rag-tag army.Eventually they stopped in front of a tent, the soldier pulling the flap aside to let him inside.“Merci.” Lafayette said politely before walking into the tent where a man was practically downing his coffee while pouring over all the papers spread before him. The soldier cleared his throat to get the aide’s attention.“What, what do you want?” The aide asked irritably, frowning as he looked over at the pair“Monsieur France here says the General ordered him here.”“Huh. What’s your name, Monsieur?” The aide asked, moving to rustle through the papers as if to find something he’d written down.“I am Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette.” Lafayette replied honestly.The aide blinked and looked up at him. “Your accent is extremely thick. Can you say that again, slower, please?”Lafayette nodded and complied.“La Fayette… Oh, Lafayette. God, I’m stupid in the morning.” The aide mumbled to himself. “He’s clear, the General said he’d be coming around this time. I guess it’s dawn about now.”The soldier nodded and gave the pair a nod before leaving the tent.“Alright, let’s get you a uniform and get you situated.” The aide said, standing up from his desk.Lafayette nodded, his eyes widening a bit when he noticed how much shorter the aide was compared to him. He couldn’t help but smile a bit at this, trying to hide it when the aide looked up at with a cocked eyebrow. The aide said nothing and lead him out to another tent a bit further away.“Oi, Laurens. Beanpole needs a uniform.” The aide called as they walked into the new tent.Lafayette blinked at the familiar name, breaking out into a bright happy grin the man turned around and made eye contact with him.“You! Look at your face, it’s like an angel’s.” John said happily, walking over to the familiar Frenchman, grasping his shoulders and letting Lafayette kiss his cheeks over and over again, returning the action to him.“You said you would see me in uniform. Now you are giving me the uniform.” Lafayette said with a happy smile to him when they’d finished.“I did say that. God, I’m so honored.” John replied, letting the man go to start rummaging around to find him a pair of boots and a uniform that would fit his tall, skinny body.“Try this one on for size.” John said after a bit, handing the uniform and pair of boots over to him. “Let’s all say a little prayer that one of these, um, four uniforms fit you. They’re the last ones we have available. “Lafayette nodded and started to strip in front of the pair of men, smiling a bit when the shirt and pants seemed to fit him rather well.“Hamilton, this is Lafayette, the French kid I was telling you about. I met him in a bar about a month ago. Lafayette, this is Alexander Hamilton, another one of the General’s aides.” John explained to each of them as Alexander looked Lafayette over and sized him up.“It’s good to meet you.” Lafayette said to Alexander as he pulled on his jacket before turning over and bending down to get the boots and pull them on.Alexander blinked at that. “Yeah, you too. You can feel free to share our tent, if you want.” He said as he stared down at the other man.Laurens looked over at Alexander, following his gaze down to Lafayette before elbowing Alexander in the ribs.“I look good?” Lafayette asked once he was finished up, his hands on his waist with a wide, proud smile on his mouth“Yeah, you do. It’s a good fit for you.” John said with a happy nod to the other man, moving to set a new hat that would denote him as an aide-de-camp on his head. “There. You’re a vision in blue.”Lafayette grinned happily at that and let John and Alexander lead him out of the tent to show him around the area and to the tent the three of them would share, getting his things settled in the area they gave him.“You need any help with your things?” John asked curiously as he watched the other rummaging around his trunk a bit.“No, it’s fine.” Lafayette replied, pulling out the portrait of his little family show he could show it to his new pair of friends. “Look, it’s my wife and baby. And me, but they’re more interesting.”Alexander took the portrait from Lafayette’s outstretched hand, moving to sit down next to him on the small area of bedding the three of them would share. “Your wife and baby are really pretty. What are their names?” he asked curiously.“This is Adrienne and this is our little Henriette. They are my two favorite girls in all of France.” Lafayette said as John came over to look at the picture with them.“You don’t like your mother?” Alexander asked curiously, passing the portrait up to Laurens so he could get a better look and their new friend’s young family.“Ah, I did like her, but I didn’t see her too often after Papan died. She moved to Paris and Grand-maman took care of me instead. Years ago she died.” Lafayette explained to him, shifting a bit uncomfortably.“Oh, I’m sorry. What about your mother-in-law? Or dare I even ask?”Lafayette frowned a bit at the question, cocking his head to the side as he tried his best to make sense of what the other man had asked him.“Your wife’s mother would be your mother-in-law. Her father is your father-in-law.” Alexander explained to him, the other man’s face changing from confusion to understanding in less than a second.“My wife’s parents are…. Well, I’m sure they mean well. I don’t know if they really like me, though. They think I am some unbehaved child, I think.” Lafayette explained with a small smile and a laugh.“Misbehaved, they think you’re a misbehaved child.” Alexander corrected.“Miss Behaved….” Lafayette repeated to try and commit the word to memory.“Why do they think you’re a misbehaved child?” John asked, handing Lafayette back his portrait and moving to sit with the pair on their makeshift bed on the ground.“Well, um, Adrienne’s Maman and Papan told us we had to have different chambers after we were married. But I snuck into hers anyway. They were very mad when she got pregnant. Her Papan almost struck me, but her Maman made him not.” Lafayette explained, trying to make himself speak slowly so he had more time to think and mentally translate rather than stuttering and stumbling over the awkward new language. “Her Papan told me I can’t sail to America, so I’m sure I will get mad letters from him soon.”“Do you miss your wife and baby?” Alexander asked him curiously.“Yes, I do. I’ve never been away from them like this and Henriette is so little.” Lafayette said with a nod and a small sigh. “I write to them very often. I wait a response.”Alexander nodded in understanding. “Hey, how big are your feet?”“Excusez-moi?”“Alex, don’t. I know what you’re doing, don’t do it.” Laurens said to the man.“Are your feet bigger or smaller than mine?” Alexander asked Lafayette, blatantly ignoring John next to him.Lafayette looked down at his feet in his boots, moving to take one off to expose his stocking clad foot to Alexander, who followed suit, the two of them lining their feet up at the heel to compare the size.“What do you think, Laurens? Who’s bigger?” Alexander asked the other man, smirking at the look on the other man’s face compared to the innocent bewilderment on Lafayette’s.“Lafayette’s a bit bigger than you, it looks like.” Laurens replied to him honestly.“Why are you worrying about feet?” Lafayette spoke up, wondering if there was something he wasn’t quite understanding or if there was something he’d missed. Perhaps Laurens had extremely large feet and Alexander wanted to poke fun at it. However, when he looked down at John’s feet, they seemed to be about the same length of his own.“Don’t worry about it, Lafayette. It’s nothing.” Laurens replied the moment Alexander opened his mouth. “Alexander’s just an dirty-brained young man.”“Your foot size correlates with your length, you know.” Alexander said nonetheless. “At least, that’s what they say. I guess we can fact-check it later.”“My length?” Lafayette asked curiously, turning his attention back to Alexander.“Alex, for the love of anything holy, don’t say it. Let him have some innocence for a bit longer.” John said with a small sigh.“Laurens, he has a wife and kid. Besides, innocence has no place in a war, no matter how much you want it to.” Alexander replied to John before turning his attention back to Lafayette. “There’s a myth that the length of a man’s foot correlates to the length of his cock. The longer the foot, the larger the cock. You look confused. A cock is another word for a penis.”Lafayette’s eyes went wide at that, his face flushing about as red as his hair beneath his wig.Alexander just grinned and laughed heartily while John shook his head and moved to wrap his arms around the Frenchman to try and soothe him.“Sorry, he’s almost always like this. Alexander’s thoughts are either sexual or violent. I don’t think there’s much of a middle ground.” John said softly to the shocked and scandalized Catholic in his arms.“Oh, I like this one. I think I’m going to keep him.” Alexander said happily, leaning forward to lightly and briefly kiss Lafayette’s lips, leaving him even more shocked, his cheeks even redder as he excused himself to head back to his work.
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Lafayette gave a small huff as he trudged out of the general’s tent for what seemed like the thousandth time in the past week. Since his arrival at the camps about three weeks prior, he’d been in charge of teaching the soldiers basic discipline and how to carry themselves like proper soldiers. However, he quickly found out how hard it was when he was barely conversational in English and had a thick accent to go along with it. Often the other men would have a hard time understanding him when he spoke, so he’d have to repeat himself over and over again. This process almost always resulted in him returning to the tent at the end of the day with a headache, simply glad to be able to vent his frustrations to Hamilton and Laurens, who both spoke French fluently enough to allow him to revert back to the easier language at the end of a hard day. Almost every day for the last week or so, Lafayette had been practically begging Washington to let him have command of his own little squadron for a battle that was being planned. He had gotten Alexander and John to help him out a bit and do the same. After all of this, he felt as if he’d gotten nowhere. Lafayette returned to the tent after dinner after the long day, finding a stack of letters on their bed, Hamilton working at the desk while Laurens read a book on the bed. “Hey, Lafayette. You got popular a few minutes ago.” Laurens said as the man took off his boots and moved to sit next to him on the bed to start on the letters. “Good God.” He sighed as he looked through the letters, finding many from family members in France as well as a couple from Major Huger, Mary, and Francis. He started in on those, reading through them with a small smile as he read the words of little Francis’s voice written in Mary’s handwriting. The boy wrote about life in South Carolina, telling him how he’d gotten his mother to start teaching him French. The little boy lamented over his schoolwork and ended the letter with the wish that the letter found him safely and in the army. His second letter was much more excitable, telling all about how they’d heard talk of a young French boy working by the general’s side who was always optimistic and happy, and who always greeted his general by throwing his arms around his neck and kissing his cheeks multiple times until he was finally pried away. The boy talked about how many people he’d been able to brag to that said French soldier was his honorary big brother and had given him the pin he made sure to wear every day on his shirt without fail. Lafayette decided to reply to Francis’s letters before moving on to the other ones, telling him all about his first few weeks in the army, and making sure to keep the tone cheery for the sake of the little boy and spare him the less exciting details. He told the boy all about the dear friends he shared a tent with and how he’d practically been adopted into General Washington’s family as their own son. He decided to conclude the letter with the words ‘ton frère’ before signing the name Lafayette at the bottom of the paper. He addressed the envelope and sealed the letter inside, setting it aside to be sent out the next day. With that, he let Laurens sit behind him so he could lean back and cuddle into the other man as he read the letters from France, deciding to finish with the ones from Adrienne. His in-laws wrote rather angrily to him, making the point very clear that he was a terrible father and husband for abandoning his family in his unnecessary quest for glory while he could have just sat back and raised a family like every other nobleman. Adrienne, however, wrote sweet, loving letters to him. She explained that their parents were angry with him, as were the King and Queen and a majority of their court. When he returned to France, he could be sure to face some consequences for his disobedience after being plainly told that he wasn’t allowed to leave the country. However, she found his precociousness endearing and funny and adored him nonetheless. Henriette was well and healthy and happy as ever, and absolutely loved the doll that he’d sent her. Their baby girl asked after her father quite often and they both prayed for his safe and speedy return. One of the reasons for this was because they missed him. The other reason was written at the end of Adrienne’s last letter. “She’s pregnant.” Lafayette breathed at the words written on the page. “Huh? What’s that?” John asked, looking over at the man cuddled up against him. “My Adri is pregnant. She must have conceived just before I left.” Lafayette replied, a wide grin spread across his face at the news. “Whoa. Hey, congratulations.” John replied with a happy smile to him, hugging him close and kissing his temple softly. “I say we should drink to that.” Alexander said, finishing with his papers and producing a bottle of wine and three glasses for them. “Where’d you get all that?” John asked curiously. “That’s not important.” Alexander replied as he sat with the pair on the bed, pouring out three glasses of wine for them all and passing them around. “To family and love and the revolution.” Alexander toasted, the other men agreeing happily before simultaneously taking a drink of wine. “Speaking of revolution, has the General budged at all?” John asked curiously. Lafayette shook his head with a small sigh. “No. He doesn’t budge at all, no matter how many times I plead. I am stuck trying to teach discipline to men who know nothing of it and cannot understand a single word I say. So many of them have brought their wives to camp, too. I am increasingly jealous. How lovely it must feel to return to a woman after a day like the ones I often have.” “Miss your wife a bit, Laf?” Alexander asked, having already finished his glass and in the process of pouring himself another. “Very much, yes.” Lafayette sighed. “Come closer, then, lover boy.” Alexander said, beckoning him with a finger. Lafayette finished his glass of wine before scooting closer to Alexander obediently. “What is it?” Alexander just grinned before taking the Frenchman’s face into his hands and kissing him hard on the lips. After about three weeks of Alexander catching him off guard with kisses, Lafayette had grown more used to the notion of kissing his tent-mates on the mouth. However, his face still took a bright red hue with each kiss. John smiled and laughed a bit at that, scooting close to the pair to start kissing at one of Lafayette’s ears, causing his face to go even redder. The pair started to kiss at each of his cheeks when Alexander got the hint and moved off his mouth. Lafayette grinned at the sweet kisses, falling back onto the bed as the pair kissed and cuddled him lovingly. When he got the chance, he turned his face to return the kisses, pressing sweet kisses to each of their mouths one after the other over and over again, wanting to repay them for each kiss and snuggle. He felt one of Alexander’s hands and one of John’s hands travel down to his waist before the pair grinned and started to tickle him. He grinned and broke into a fit of giggles on the bed, squirming around between the other two men, his wig half off his head when he heard someone clear their throat, interrupting their playtime. Lafayette gasped for air, happily grinning as he sat up and decided to take his wig off for the night. He looked up at their visitor, happily getting up to greet the general with his usual tight embrace and flurry of kisses, a sight that made Alexander and John smile and laugh a bit since Washington was by no means as gushy and emotional as Lafayette was. Lafayette finished with the kisses when he felt the General’s hands gently pushing him away, as if to tell him he’d had his fun. “What is it, mon chèr Général? I would have thought you’d be with Martha now.” “I’ll be with her soon, with any luck. I come with news for you that you might be interested in.” Washington replied to the younger man, watching the teenager grin and bounce where he stood in front of him. “In three days’ time, we will ride out to Brandywine creek. I have decided to allow you to join in Lord Stirling’s ranks of soldiers to assist when we do so.” Lafayette blinked at the news and grinned happily, hugging Washington tightly and practically jumping into the man’s arms. Sure, it wasn’t a commanding position, but it would be his first battle and he would have more than a chance to prove himself to the man and, possibly, convince him to give him a commanding position. “Merci, merci, merci beaucoup, mon chèr general! I will not let you down, I swear to the Heavens.” Lafayette said with a happy grin up to the man. “I’m sure you won’t. Hopefully you won’t let Lord Stirling down, either.” Washington replied as he gently nudged the young man off of him. “If all goes well, Martha has been asking about when the next time you three join us for dinner.” Lafayette nodded and let go of their general, grinning up at him happily, practically bursting with joy. The trio all bade their general a good night before Lafayette grinned and happily joined Alexander and John on the bed, the pair congratulating him happily before they all started to drink more of the wine until they stripped off their uniforms in the summer heat and slept in their underwear together, the three of them curled together on the bed. The days leading up to the day of the battle went terribly slowly until the day finally came. The morning of the eleventh of September was a heavily foggy one. Lafayette made sure to get his uniform on early, ready and alert for anything that was asked of him. He went about his regular routine of helping to train the other soldiers to make use of his time while Washington received more and more word on the movements of the British troops, many of them contradicting each other. It wasn’t until around three in the afternoon when the general finally gave the order for Adam Stephen and Lord Stirling’s divisions to move out, under the general orders of John Sullivan. Lafayette did as he was told to do, mounting the horse he’d been provided with along with his fellow soldiers. He made sure he had his ammunition and powder ready to go, his ready close with the bayonet attached to the end. When they were given the order, they all rode out together North to meet the British troops. By four, the air seemed to fill with the sound of shouted orders and numerous gunshots. When Lafayette arrived to the battlefield along with the other men, Adam Stephen’s division had fallen back. He followed the orders he was given, fighting for as long as he could while men around him were shot and fell down to the ground. Lafayette let his adrenaline take control of him, fighting restlessly until Stirling called for a retreat when the British troops started on a bayonet charge. Lafayette shouted and helped as much as he could, quickly forming a rally spot for the remaining members of his division so they could retreat in a more orderly fashion. It was only when his horse was shot from underneath him when he noticed that he’d been wounded at some point in the battle. He almost didn’t believe his eyes when he saw the hole in his boot and shin where a bullet had lodged itself. He put his weight on his good leg until one of his fellow soldiers quickly helped him onto his horse so they could all ride out together. The sound of his own heart beating filled his ears as the searing pain in his leg finally became evident. The man on the horse with him shouted something as they rode into the nearest town. A couple soldiers called for a surgeon to inspect the wound while carrying him bridal style to a nearby house. When they knocked, a young girl came to the door, followed by what Lafayette could only assume was her father. “Do you mind if we use this home as a temporary infirmary?” One of the men asked. Lafayette made eye contact with the young girl and, despite how miserable he was sure he looked, smiled to her gently. Soon enough they were allowed inside and lead over to the dining room where he was laid down on the table, his boot and stocking removed so his leg could be bandaged tightly in an attempt to stop the bleeding. “My, I hope no one gets confused by my appearance and decides I’d make a good dinner.” He said before grinning happily at the people around him. “You’re an odd one, Frenchy. You’re wounded, yet you still joke about cannibalism?” One of the soldiers asked with a small smile over to him. Lafayette just smiled to them, letting his head fall back onto the wooden table as the girl walked over to sit near his head. “Bonjour, mademoiselle, comment t’allez vous?” “I’m sorry, I don’t speak any French.” The girl replied to him, examining the wounded soldier’s face. His brow was wet with sweat and, save for the freckles that decorated his cheeks and temples, his skin was unhealthily pale. His brown eyes were tired. He had a couple locks of red curls that stuck out from under his white wig. “You should let your head air out. You don’t need to overheat along with your wound.” The girl advised as she gently slipped his hat and wig off his head to reveal his head of bright red curls. “Ah, thank you. What is your name?” Lafayette hummed to her as her father came over with a cold, wet rag that he pressed to his forehead. “My name’s Anna. What’s yours?” The girl replied with a small smile to him. “Gilbert. Everyone in America calls me Lafayette.” “Lafayette. How did you get wounded, Mr. Lafayette?” Anna asked him curiously, figuring she’d better continue to talk with him to keep his mind off the pain, at least until the surgeon could come and give him something to help it. “I suppose I was shot in the leg.” Lafayette said with a small laugh. “May I ask where I am?” “You’re in Bethlehem.” Lafayette blinked in shock at the name before silently touching his forehead abdomen, one shoulder, then the other. Anna smiled and laughed a bit at the reaction, looking over when she heard a knock on the door and watched as her father moved to get the door, letting in the surgeon, followed by General Washington, who quickly made his way over to the table where Lafayette was laid out. “Marquis, how are you? Is it just your leg that’s hurt?” Washington asked, letting Lafayette gently take hold of his hand. “Yes, just my leg. You don’t have to worry about me too much, George.” Lafayette replied to the man honestly. George nodded and gave his hand a small squeeze before turning to the surgeon. “You will treat this boy with the utmost care, as if he was my own son.” The surgeon nodded and set to work, unwrapping the cloth from around his shin and starting to get to work on examining the wound. “Well, it doesn’t look too deep. It hasn’t hit the bone, so we won’t have to amputate. I’ll simply have take out the bullet, clean the wound, and stich it back together before giving it time to heal. How is the pain?” “Oh, I am fi-ah!” Lafayette replied, groaning in pain as the surgeon touched the leg and moved it a bit. “Alright. It is terrible.” The surgeon nodded and smiled softly before turning to Anna’s father. “Is there any alcohol in the house? Perhaps whiskey?” “Oh, I only ever drink wine.” Lafayette said as the father nodded and left to get a glass and the bottle of whiskey. “Good. Then it won’t take much to dull the pain.” The surgeon replied while the father poured out a glass and handed it to the soldier on the table. Lafayette carefully and slowly propped himself up on his elbows, grimacing at the pain that shot up his leg and to his torso. He took the glass and swallowed nervously. He looked over at George and remembered the way the man had point blank called him his son. There was no way he would make his adoptive father anything less than proud. He took a deep breath before raising the glass to his lips and tossing the liquid down his throat before he could even try to taste it, leaving what felt like a trail of fire down the length of his throat. “Vous pouvez commencer.” He said to the surgeon as he felt his mind go fuzzy, laying back down on the table and closing his eyes tightly as he braced himself for whatever came next.
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Lafayette felt the surgeon take a hold of his leg, then a sharp pain as the man worked that made him cry out just before falling unconscious on the table. Then, all at once, he was sitting in a sunny field of grass. When he looked up, he could see the stone walls of the Château de Chavaniac in the distance. Somewhere nearby, he could hear the laughter of young children at play as they ran around together. “Mon cher.” He heard a voice say next to him. When he looked over and saw Adrienne sitting next to him, he found himself grinning happily. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close, the two of them laughing as they fell down into the soft grass together. Adrienne smiled happily at him, her green eyes glittering in the sun as she lifted a hand to gently stroke his cheek. “Gilly, I miss you.” She said, her smile falling to a soft frown. A cloud passed over the sun, making the world seem darker, as if her emotions controlled the world around them. “I miss you, too, Dear Heart. I miss you more than words can say.” He replied, letting her take his hands and guide them down to rest on her abdomen, the bump of their unborn child prominent under the soft silks of her gown. “You can still come home, my darling. Henriette asks for her papan everyday. You can make it home still before our baby is born. You can make it home and watch our baby be baptized.” She said softly to him while he gently rubbed her belly. Gilbert bit his bottom lip as he kept close to her, wrapping his around her tightly, as if his angel would disappear from him if he let her go. “I miss you both so very much, please don’t doubt that for a second. But, ma vie, I truly feel that my being in America is God’s will. Just like meeting you that fateful day about three years ago, my being in America and fighting in their revolution is part of the path that He has set for me. You know as well as I do that you cannot simply stray from that path.” Adrienne gave a soft sigh, pulling away from her husband to hold eye contact with him and gently caress his face. “I truly can’t sway you, can I?” “I’m sorry, Dear Heart.” “Then, I will pray every night and day for your safe and hasty return to us. If I cannot change your mind, then I will support you.” “Thank you, my angel.” Gilbert smiled to her before leaning forward to kiss her soft lips, the sweet scent of the flowery perfume she would dab on her neck and behind her ears filling his nose and overtaking the rest of his senses. All he could feel was her lips on his own, kissing him back while she took his hands into her own and intertwined their fingers. “Monsieur Lafayette.” He heard a voice say, feeling an odd shaking on his shoulder that wrenched him away from his wife. “Adri…” He whined, wanting to see her and hold her again and fighting the urge to open his eyes to the light of day. He didn’t want to acknowledge the fact that the vision of his wife had been nothing more than a vision. “Monsieur Lafayette, please wake up. It’s been a day and you need to eat.” The voice insisted, shaking him again. Lafayette finally complied, slowly blinking awake to find himself laying on a bed in what appeared to be a room in an inn or a house, a young woman standing over him. “Where is this?” He asked tiredly, only noticing after he’d spoken that his words were mumbled and painted with a thick accent. “This is the Single Sisters’ Inn. A group of your fellow soldiers carried you here late two nights ago. You’ve been asleep since then. I think the surgeon must have given you a bit too much of whatever he gave you.” The young woman replied, moving to kneel down next to the bed to get at eye level with the wounded soldier. Lafayette just nodded in reply, moving to try and push himself up into a sitting position. He only got about a foot off the bed before the shooting pain that came with moving his leg shot up his leg and through his entire body. He gasped in pain as his arms gave out underneath him, letting him fall back down to the bed. “You shouldn’t push yourself too hard just yet. The wound is new and I’m sure the drugs they gave you have worn off by now.” The young woman said, placing a cold, wet rag to his forehead. “What is your name?” Lafayette asked, her, raising a hand to hold the rag to his forehead, catching his breath from the large surge of pain. “I’m Elisabeth, but you can call me Lissa. Everyone does.” She replied with a happy smile to him, patting his shoulder. “Lissa. Good to meet you, Lissa.” He replied, finally noticing that he wasn’t in his uniform anymore. He frowned a bit and moved a hand to lift the blanket on himself to peer beneath it, finding that he’d been dressed in a long nightshirt that fell to his knees and was a bit baggy on him. “Mademoiselle, where are my clothing?” “Your uniform is being washed and laundered for you as we speak. We didn’t want you to overheat, so we changed you into something lighter that gives us more access to your leg. The General gave us that nightshirt and said it should fit you relatively well.” Lafayette blinked at that before smiling softly and feeling at the soft cotton of the shirt. “George is so kind to me.” He hummed softly. Lissa nodded and smiled softly. “He said quite plainly that we were to treat and care for you as if you were his son. That said, I’m going to get some food for you. You must be awfully hungry.” Lafayette nodded and watched as she stood up from the floor and dusted off the skirt of her dress. “Mademoiselle, before you go, I need to introduce myself to you. It’d be impolite to go on without it.” “Alright. I suppose I can’t stop you.” She complied with a small smile down at the soldier. “My name is Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette, Marquis de Lafayette. People only call me that at formal occasions, though. You may call me Lafayette. Just don’t call me Fire Head.” He said, raising a hand to her to shake. Lissa couldn’t help but laugh a bit as the man smiled up at her. She took his hand and shook it politely. “Well, Lafayette, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get you something to eat.” Lafayette nodded and watched as she left the room, leaving him alone for a while. He rested back in the bed and relaxed, completely alone with his thoughts. He let his mind wander back to his dream of Adrienne and Chavaniac. He made a mental note to take her to his childhood home when he returned to France. She would like the little rural town that was far enough away from other aristocrats so they couldn’t be bothered for as long as they were away. They could relax in the grassy meadows together and hike through the wooded areas. He would teach her which mushrooms and berries were safe to eat and how to pick them. As they relaxed, he’d put some of the berries between her lips. Then, he’d kiss away the juice that colored them like rouge and they’d relax for the rest of the day. Perhaps, he’d find some of his old playmates and introduce them to her and the two of them could just relax and play together. He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard a knock on the door before it opened, Lissa walking in with a tray of food. “Hello again. I found some friends of yours while I was down there.” She said happily, stepping aside to let John and Alexander inside. “Mes amis,” Lafayette said happily to the pair, letting Lissa take him under the arm pits and help lift him up into a sitting position, doing so carefully so she didn’t move his leg too much. “Your first battle ever and you manage to get yourself shot in the leg. I’d say I can’t believe it, but I absolutely can.” Alexander said with a shake of his head as they watched the Frenchman get settled against the headboard of the bed. Lafayette just grinned sheepishly and let Lissa set the tray of food on his lap. “How do you feel? Do you want anything for the pain?” She asked a bit warily as John sat down on the edge of the bed. “I’ll be fine for now, I think. At least until I finish eating. Thank you, though.” He replied to her. “Are you sure about that one? You were reckless enough to get shot, I don’t think you should be reckless enough to turn down painkillers.” John pointed out, patting the other’s shoulder with a small smile. “You do not talk to me about reckless. The way you fought at Brandywine, I’m surprised you aren’t hurt or dead.” Lafayette shot back, waving his fork at John before taking a bite of the meat on his plate and eating politely. “He does have a point, you know.” Alexander agreed with a small smile to John. “God damn, it’s so weird seeing your real hair.” “You don’t mean that. He don’t mean that.” Lafayette replied, looking once at Alexander, then up towards the sky. “He doesn’t mean that. Maybe while you’re confined to a bed, you can work on your English.” Alexander corrected, fighting the urge to roll his eyes at the Frenchman’s piety. “English is hard and makes my head hurt. Il est une langue laide.” “Et le français est une langue prétentieux. You know you have to, Lafayette. How can you expect the General to give you command of your own troops if you barely know how to give commands in a language they understand?” Lafayette pouted a bit at that, looking over at Lissa as she watched the pair argue. “Mademoiselle, monsieur Hamilton is being mean to me.” “Stop whining to the poor lady like she’s your mother and face the facts.” Alexander argued, making John start to laugh happily from the sidelines. Lafayette just grinned over at Alexander, the other soldier marching over to him and pushing his face about two inches away from his. Lafayette couldn’t help but smile and laugh happily as he held eye silent eye contact with Hamilton. “Lafayette, you will work on your English while your leg heals.” Alexander said seriously. “What if I don’t?” Lafayette challenged, still grinning at Hamilton. “Then, I’ll spank you.” Hamilton replied without missing a beat, reaching up to tweak the marquis’s nose before pulling away while John started laughing even harder at the shocked and flushed face. “Hey, are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean, he’s French. I don’t think it would be much of a punishment for him.” John pointed out between peals of laughter, making Alexander join him. “Mademoiselle, would you please bring me a Bible? Every moment I spend with these men, I feel myself getting further and further away from Heaven.” Lafayette asked Lissa, having started to grow rather used to the pair’s teasing, though the raunchy comments still got to him. Lissa smiled and laughed at that, nodding to him. “I’ll find one for you right now. Just work on eating your food, please.” Lafayette nodded obediently, going back to eating his meal while John and Alexander calmed down next to him. “Don’t worry about rushing. We can take care of him while you’re out.” John said as he slung an arm around Lafayette’s shoulders, holding him close. “I don’t doubt it. Try not to corrupt him too much while I’m gone.” She replied to the pair of soldiers as she left the room. Once the door shut, Alexander threaded his fingers through Lafayette’s red curls, messing his hair up while John hugged the marquis, pressing soft kisses to his cheek and jaw. “You scared the shit out of us, you know that? All joking aside, we were really fucking terrified.” Alexander said softly to him. “He’s right. When we all rendezvoused at the camp, we couldn’t find you anywhere. Then, we heard you’d been shot and just about had a heart attack.” John said, resting his head on Lafayette’s shoulder. “Je suis désolé, mes amis.” Lafayette replied with a small frown, leaning into John and wrapping an arm around him, holding the other out to invite Alexander into the group hug. “I did not mean to scare you. I feel terrible. I pray that you will forgive me.” Alexander let Lafayette pull him into a hug, hugging him back along with John, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Of course we’ll forgive you, Lafayette. Just try not to pull that shit again. I swear, I could see Washington’s asshole go cold.” “Alexander Hamilton, you are making the mood bad.” Lafayette scolded lightly, giving his arm a small pinch. “I’m ruining the mood.” Alexander corrected with a small smile. “But, speaking of Washington, don’t be surprised if he stops in sometime soon. He wanted to give you a surprise.” John piped up with a happy smile. “Of course, we’ll be visiting you every so often, too. You can’t get rid of us that easy.” Lafayette nodded and smiled to the pair before lightly kissing both of their lips. “Thank you. I love you both very much.” “We love you, too, buddy.” John hummed. “Yeah, we do. We’re going to miss you, especially when night falls.” Alexander agreed, reaching his hand down to pinch his backside through the nightshirt. Lafayette felt his cheeks flush a bright red and he pulled away from Alexander, leaning into John a bit further. “I’m being sexually harassed.” He whined softly to the other man. “Alex means the best, don’t worry.” John said with a laugh, rubbing the Frenchman’s back, the three of them looking over as the door opened up once again as Lissa returned with a copy of the Holy Bible. “Oh dear, his face is nearly as red as an apple. What did you two do to him?” She asked with a smile to the soldiers, handing the book over to Lafayette. “They were picking on me, mademoiselle. It was worse than the halls of Versailles.” Lafayette replied to her, though he couldn’t help but fight the playful grin that threatened to spread across his mouth when he looked over at his friends next to him. “If you want Versailles sass, just say the words, Frenchy.” Alexander replied, giving his head a playful shove to the side. “Maybe some other day. Though I think Lafayette’s more versed in Versailles cattiness than we expect. For now, though, we should get back to the camp.” John cut in with a small smile at the way his friends played. “You are going?” Lafayette asked, his smile falling from his face at the news that he’d be practically alone once again. “We’d better be. Lots of work to do, lots of letters to write back to Congress.” Alexander said with a nod, moving with John to hug their friend tightly. “If you must, I can’t exactly stop you. Return as soon as you can.” Lafayette sighed, hugging them both in return. They nodded and pulled away, courteously tipping their hats to Lissa as they left the room together. “How are you feeling? Does it hurt too terribly yet?” She asked the young marquis once his friends had left the room. “Yes, it is horrible now.” Lafayette finally admitted, letting the pain show on his face now that his friends were away. Lissa nodded and took the tray of food away from his lap and setting it aside. “Shall I get the surgeon to give you something, then?” “Yes, please. But, first, may I get some ink and paper? Knowing France and Versailles, I give it a week until everyone talks about how I was shot. I don’t want Adrienne getting worried that I’ve died.” Lafayette replied to her as he leaned back against the headboard of the bed. “Of course. If I had a husband fighting in a war across the sea, I’d be beside myself with anxiety between each letter and until he returned home.” She replied, pushing his red curls away from his forehead to place another cold rag to his brow. Lafayette nodded and watched as Lissa left the room with the tray of food in her hands. In an attempt to keep himself from thinking too hard about what Adrienne must be going through, pregnant and a world away from him as he fought in a war and risked suffering the same fate his father had, he opened the Bible to the first page and started to attempt to read the first few verses of Genesis. He only got to the end of the first page when he heard a knock on the door before it opened, Lissa walking in with a doctor. “Miss Elisabeth tells me your pain is rather horrid.” The doctor said, moving to sit down next to the bed while Lissa gave him a small lap desk and his paper and ink so he could write to his wife. “It is.” Lafayette replied with a nod to the doctor. “Simply moving is enough to make it light up.” The doctor nodded and poured out a bit of laudanum into a glass before handing it over to him. “This will take a little while to take effect, but it’ll help with the pain. You might end up passing out, though, since it’s rather strong.” Lafayette nodded and took the glass, pinching his nose and tossing the drink back and swallowing it as quickly as he could without tasting it. He sighed when it was gone and coughed a bit at the strength of the drink. “Alright, I’m going to inspect the wound now and redress it. If you want to distract yourself with the letter, that would probably be wise.” The doctor said, taking the glass from him. Lafayette nodded and got to work on the letter to Adrienne explaining to her what had happened. He told her that, yes, he had gotten shot but he was still alive and well. The round hadn’t created that deep of a wound and it hadn’t hit the bone of his shin at all, so he wouldn’t have to worry about having that leg amputated. “It’s healing very well. Nice and fast.” The doctor hummed after removing the bandage that was wrapped tightly around the Frenchman’s skinny calf. Lafayette nodded and wrote to Adrienne about how quickly the wound was healing and how much it hurt simply to move it. He paused his writing to grip the desk and groan in pain as the doctor moved the leg a bit closer to him. “The Laudanum should take effect soon. The wound is healing well, but I’m going to have to sew it up, just to be safe.” The doctor explained to him. Lafayette gritted his teeth and nodded, going back to writing his letter to Adrienne, telling her once again how much he loved her and how much he missed her and Henriette. ‘I pray that this war ends victoriously and quickly so I’ll be able to return to you and Henriette and our unborn baby. I love you all very, very much, Dear Heart. I will write again as soon as I can.’ He finished, signing his name as Gilbert at the bottom of the page. He addressed the envelope and sealed the letter inside with wax, letting Elisabeth take the letter and the small desk away. The doctor stood up once he was done, helping the young marquis lay down on the bed as the laudanum visibly took effect, his eyelids looking rather droopy. “It’s almost hard to believe he’s just a kid.” Lafayette heard the doctor whisper to Elisabeth just before he fell asleep in the bed, a cold sweat on his brow once again.
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“He must be so tired, poor boy. Pain can really exhaust a person, I suppose.” A woman’s voice hummed as she brushed his hair from his brow. “Pain and Laudanum, yes.” Elisabeth agreed with a small smile, looking down as she watched Lafayette stir awake in the bed. “Let’s hope and pray he doesn’t need it for much longer, then.” The first woman replied, smiling as the young man opened his eyes blearily. “There’s our darling Marquis.” “Martha? Que fais-tu ici?” Lafayette asked her curiously as he lifted his hands to rub the sleep from his eyes. “Lafayette, honey, I don’t speak French.” Martha said with a small smile to the young man. Lafayette just groaned in reply, not wanting to have to mentally translate everything and start speaking English that soon after waking up. “Has he woken up yet?” Another man’s voice asked as the door opened and shut once again. Lafayette’s eyes shot open at that and looked over at the man with wide eyes as George Washington walked over to stand next to his wife. “George!” Lafayette breathed with a wide grin, looking up at the other man. “I thought Hamilton and Laurens told you I’d be coming.” George replied with a small smile as Lissa had to try and keep him from wiggling around in his bed and aggravating his wound any further. “They said you would sometime. Never today.” Lafayette replied to him, letting Lissa help him sit up in the bed after the woman finally gave up trying to hold him still where he lay. “Well, I hope I didn’t come at a bad time, then.” George replied with a small smile. “No! No, you can get here when you want to, it’s fine.” Lafayette replied, waving his hands almost frantically. “I am happy each way.” “Good. Now, son, did they tell you about a surprise at all?” “Yes, they did.” “I don’t suppose you want it now, do you?” George asked, glancing down at Martha, who gave a knowing nod and got up to get a parcel resting aside against the wall of the room. “I do, Papan.” Lafayette replied, letting the name slip without much thought beforehand. “Well, go ahead and open this up, then.” Martha said to him with a small smile, setting the parcel on his lap. Lafayette nodded and untied the string around the parcel, pulling the paper-wrapping aside to reveal a new uniform, complete with a nice red sash. “Je ne comprends pas…” “Due to your bravery and ardor at Brandywine, Congress and I have decided a Major-General’s uniform would suit you best.” George explained with a small smile as the young man looked over the new uniform. Lafayette looked over the fabric of the uniform, his fingers tracing over it before smiling up at George widely, reaching up to pull the man down so he could hug him tightly. “I love it, mon général.” George let the young man hug him, hugging him in return, only pulling away after Lafayette had happily kissed both his cheeks. Martha grinned as she watched the pair together, laughing a bit at the sight of the young man giddily shower George in more affection than he ever let another soldier show him at all. “Ah, Lafayette, I think you’re going to break him.” Lafayette smiled happily to her before moving to unfold the uniform and hold the coat up so he could admire it. “Ceci est belle, je l’aime.” He murmured, laying the coat down in his lap so he could trail his fingers over the wool coat and feel at the shiny buttons and impeccable stitches. “I’m glad you like it. Mr. Mulligan had a great time making it when we told him who it was for.” Martha said with a happy smile to the teenager, who looked over at her, the wheels in his head visibly turning. “Mr. Mulligan….” He repeated, trying to place a face to the familiar name. “Hercules Mulligan, sweetheart.” Martha supplied, making the Frenchman’s eyes go wide. “Hercules made this? He remembers me?” He asked happily, suddenly remembering one of the first friends he’d made in America. “Well, you make it very hard for someone to forget you, son.” George replied with a small smile. “How does your leg feel, by the way? What’s the surgeon been saying to you?” “It hurts, but the medicine is help. The surgeon says it heals well and fast, and it won’t be long until I can start to walk again.” Lafayette replied as he folded the jacket up neatly once again. “That’s good to hear. With any luck, you’ll be up and walking before the first snowfall.” George said with a nod. “I hope so.” Lafayette agreed, blinking and looking up when he heard another knock on the door of the room. “Did someone come with you, Papan?” “Not that I remember.” George replied, looking over at Martha. “Did you see anyone?” “No, not at all. I was here before you were, George.” She replied, watching as Lissa went over to the door to find a bright-eyed young boy standing on the other side, holding an inkwell and quill in one hand, and a small stack of blank papers in the other. “Hello, I’m with the Pennsylvania Chronicle. I was wondering if I could interview Monsieur Lafayette.” The boy asked. “Why don’t you ask him yourself?” Lissa asked, letting the boy in to go over to the bed. “Mademoiselle, que se passe-t-il? Who is this boy?” Lafayette asked confusedly, looking up at Lissa as she lead the young blond boy over to his bedside. “I’m Patrick, sir. I was wondering if I could interview you for the newspaper. If this is a bad time, I could come back, though. It’s just that you’ve been stirring up a lot of talk recently, and I figured I could be the first person to really write a good story on you. If that’s alright, I mean.” The boy said quickly, making the Frenchman’s eyes go wide. “Ah…” Lafayette breathed, overwhelmed by the sudden slew of English words. He looked over at George and Martha for help, his emotions clear on his face. “He’s a journalist, honey. He wants to interview for his newspaper. His name is Patrick and he wants to know if you’re willing to answer his questions for a while.” Martha explained slowly for him. “I don’t want to force you out.” Lafayette replied to her, looking between her and George. “Oh, don’t worry about that. We had to go soon, anyways. I have to meet some of the other men and Martha’s been making herself busy patching some of the clothes with the other women in the camp.” George replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. “I promise our next visit will be longer.” Lafayette nodded and moved to hug the pair before they took their leave. “I’ll let you two have your privacy, as well.” Lissa said before leaning down to Patrick’s ear. “Talk slowly and don’t use too many big words. Be patient with him, his English is getting better, but it’s not the best thing in the world.” Patrick nodded and moved to the chair next to the Frenchman’s bed, getting everything set up. Lafayette watched the younger man get everything set up, telling himself to answer only what he was asked so he didn’t fall into his bad habit of prattling on and on. If the things he said would end up in a newspaper that would be read by a large amount of people, he would have to filter himself quite a bit, as he often did in the halls of Versailles. He didn’t want the people of America to think ill of him, like his peers had in school whenever he spoke passionately and loudly. “How old are you, Patrick?” He asked, forcing himself to start the conversation so the boy wouldn’t think he was cold and aloof, like many other French nobles did. “Huh? Oh, I’m fourteen, sir.” Patrick said as he finished getting set up. “Fourteen. They start tem early in America.” Lafayette mused. “Well, technically, I’m an apprentice.” Patrick replied with a small smile. Lafayette nodded in understanding, letting the younger teenager start with his questions. “So, can you tell me about the battle that got you wounded?” Patrick asked curiously. Lafayette nodded. “I confess, I joined the soldiers at the end of the battle. I got there as they all started call to go away. It took me a short time to get shot, but I didn’t really care. I focused on making a uniform rendezvous point so the men could leave in a clean way. Some of the men noticed my leg and they carried me into this town to someone’s house. They treated me there and moved me here. That was a few days ago, and I’ve been here since. I’ll probably be here for a couple more months.” He explained, forcing himself to speak slowly so he wouldn’t stutter or stumble over his words. Patrick listened and started to write furiously to make sure he took note of everything the Frenchman said to him. “Was that your first battle in America?” “Yes, it was. Not for lack of trying. George didn’t want me to get hurt.” Lafayette replied with a small smile and a laugh. “You’re close with General Washington, then?” Patrick asked curiously. “Yes, he is a Papan to me and Madame Washington is a Maman to me, too.” “How old are you, monsieur?” “I just turned twenty about a week ago.” “Oh, well happy birthday, then, sir. Did you do anything notable to celebrate?” “Colonels Alexander Hamilton and John Laurens shared a bottle of wine with me and I later learned that my wife is pregnant with our second child. I figure that’s celebration enough for me.” “Your second child?” The teenager asked, a bit of shock evident on his face. “Yes, my second. Our first is named Henriette. She’s such a pretty little girl, just like her Maman. Oh! In my trunk there is a portrait of my wife and my Henriette you can see.” Patrick looked over at the trunk in the corner and set his notes down to go over and fish the portrait out, bringing back over. “They are very pretty ladies.” Patrick hummed. “Aren’t they? My wife’s name is Adrienne. She is my bestest best friend.” Lafayette replied as he let the boy admire the painting of his small family. “I’m so lucky she chose me. I’m lucky to be loved by her. She will be so mad at me when I return.” Patrick jotted down a note so he wouldn’t forget to write about the Frenchman’s intense love for his family. “She didn’t want you to come over here?” “I don’t really know. Everyone told me not to come, but one person told me that they said that to save face. Versailles, you know. Everyone worries about their reputations. I decided they did want me to, but just wouldn’t say so so they didn’t make the wrong people angry.” “Is Versailles a lot different from America then?” “Oh, yes! It’s so different. It is like, um….like a gaggle of housewives. Very rich, opinionated housewives who all think their opinions are the right ones. They don’t all like each other at all, but they will never say so to them. Instead they just make snide comments and giggle about it like it’s a joke. And there’s a set of rules and a hierarchy among all of them that dictates who can talk first when talking to another person. If La Reine, Marie Antoinette, wanted to talk to me, she has to speak first. I cannot speak first, because I’m just a marquis. Sometimes I’ve seen her walk up to Madame du Barry just to stand there in silence for a minute or so until she makes a small comment about the weather and moves on.” Patrick blinked as the man started to talk more and more, scrambling to write his notes on the soldier’s views of Versailles as he continued to ramble on. “Adrienne doesn’t mind Versailles, though, she was raised in it. I was raised in the countryside surrounded by normal people. I don’t think I’ll ever fit in at Versailes. They like to call me their little country boy.” Lafayette continued on, only cutting himself off when he noticed how furiously the boy was writing. “Ah, I’m sorry. I talk too much. If you need me to stop, just tell me shut my mouth, it’s fine.” Patrick jotted down everything, having to shake out his hand once the man was done talking for the moment. “I’m sorry. I told to myself I wouldn’t do this. I said, ‘Gilbert, don’t you go talking and talking again. You’ll overwhelm the boy and make him think bad things of you.’ I really need to learn to be quiet.” “No, no, it’s fine. I’m glad you’re talking a lot, it gives me a lot more material to work with when I write this story about you.” Patrick replied, reaching over to gently pat Lafayette’s hands to make the Frenchman stop wringing them out. He jotted down a small note on Lafayette’s character, writing that the man was kind natured and intelligent, though he came off as rather shy and aloof and surprisingly unsure of himself. He was the kind of man who needed reassurance here and there that he wasn’t being a nuisance or that his English was intelligible through his thick accent. Patrick finished up after about an hour more, having filled each of his papers, front and back and deciding he probably had more than enough material to write a story on the young French aristocrat people were starting to talk about over dinner. “Ah, Patrick.” Lafayette said, gently grabbing the teenager’s wrist before the boy could leave the room. “Yes, monsieur?” “Be careful out there. It’s dangerous. Don’t linger around anywhere. Walk with purpose to go to wherever you’re off to. No one will aim at a child, but that’s not to say you won’t get hit on accident.” Patrick blinked at the warning and the sincerity in the man’s deep brown eyes. “I will, sir. I hope your leg gets better soon.” “Merci, Patrick. I hope so, too.” Lafayette watched and waved as the boy left the room and sighed as he relaxed back into his bed, settling back into his regular routine. Lissa brought him food and a doctor changed his bandages. He spent a little time writing to his family after being given the Laudanum for the pain, then promptly fell asleep for the night. The process was repeated over and over again for what felt like forever, only interrupted by the few visits paid by George or Alexander and John.September had shifted to October already when the surgeon declared that he could start on his therapy for his leg. He would have to stay in the inn for a while longer, but he could start getting up to walk every so often to regain the strength that had atrophied. Lissa would always support him, letting him use her as a crutch as he limped along slowly beside her. She walked with him around the inn, first. Then, as he got stronger, they ventured outside into the town of Bethlehem, where she introduced him to some other members of the town. He liked meeting everyone, though he liked it even more when he got to meet their young children and watch them run and play, sometimes holding and talking to one or two of them when he was allowed to. October became November and plans were made for Lafayette to leave Bethlehem and meet Washington at a farm in a small town just outside Philadelphia. Elisabeth knew he’d have to leave eventually and rejoin the war, but it still broke her heart to know he would be leaving and she might never see his smiling face again. As much as she wanted him to stay, she knew she could do nothing but pray for his safety and make sure he and his horse had plenty of food for the ride out of town.