✔️| Becoming Lady Washington

Chapter Fifteen: Charles Lee

Mandy's POV

"Hey Mandy- General Washington wants us. Officer meeting. His tent. Now." Alice panted, as she dashed into my tent, her tangled black hair flying. Nodding, I got up from my bed and slid on my uniform, running a finger through my hair in an attempt to comb it.

"Race you." I challenged, stepping out of the tent. She grinned in response, and raced off. Shrugging, I followed her, and pretty soon we had arrived at Washington's headquarters.

DANGIT, Alice beat me, I thought to myself as I saw that she was already standing by the door, smiling smugly. Just then, Ben arrived, Hamilton and Lin (who now went everywhere Alex went) behind him. My face reddened.

"Um, hi, Ben." I stuttered, as he turned around and smiled at me.

"Hello, Mandy. How are you this morning?" He politely inquired. Alex leaned over and elbowed him, causing me to giggle. Ben did the mature thing and stuck his tongue out at him in response. Lin smirked at the two.

"I'll leave you too it," Lin said, exiting the area as he headed back to his tent for a quick nap.

"VERY FUNNY, LIN!" I called after him, glaring playfully in his direction. "Anyways, before SOMEBODY interrupted us, I was about to tell you that I was wonderful, thank you very much. Yourself?"

"As excellent as one can be when they have to be in charge of... it."

I nodded, knowing that Ben was referencing the Culper Spy Ring, a ring of civilian spies he had created to aid the Continentals at the request of General Washington. That was the reason he had actually been promoted as a Major.

"Well," he said, breaking the silence that had descended upon us. "Shall we enter?"

"We shall."

Alice's POV

Once I entered the tent, I glanced around, studying the faces of the people who were present. Some officers I recognized, such as Lafayette, Alex, Ben, John Laurens, Henry Knox, and others. The other officers there I didn't know, but one face stood out to me.

Charles Lee.

And just like in Liberty's Kids, he was surrounded by at least five poodles, which I had always found hilarious. However, seeing the man in person took all the fun out of it.

The arrogant, anti-charismatic, fool of a General who played a key role in forcing the Battle of Monmouth to be a draw between us and the British. The man who had fought Laurens, who had insulted my soulmate. Anger raged through me, and I fought to keep it under control.

I could not lose my cool in front of these officers, who were scrutinizing my every move almost as much as George's.

There is always a price to pay when you're the first ever female in an upstanding position in the army, and the ability to express my true emotions in public was that price.

"Everyone, gather around. This meeting has officially begun." George entered the room, his red cape billowing behind him in an almost Snape-like fashion. I would have to ask him how he did that. Later. For now, my mind had to stay on the meeting. Me and George caught each other's eye and smiled.

"I'll meet you here later." He mouthed, and I nodded.

"Now that the usual pre-meeting festivities have concluded, I would like to ask everyone to gather around, for I wish to ask your opinions on a very pressing issue." He said in a louder voice, and we all sat down, moving closer to him so that we could hear.

"General Clinton has decided to use most of his men to protect New York and Florida, and has sent 3,000 of them to Florida by sea. Last month, they began to evacuate Philadelphia, crossing New Jersey to get to New York. I believe that they are currently at their most vulnerable, and that it would be prudent to attack them. What are your thoughts on this issue?"

Lee stood up quickly, and I internally winced. Trust this man to be the first to speak.

"I believe it would be best if we wait. While the Redcoats may seem weak at this current time, they are still stronger than we are. My judgement tells me to vote against this attack."

Everyone started talking at once, and Hamilton stood up. "Mr. Lee, your opposition to this attack borders on treachery!"

The room fell silent, except for the growling of one of Lee's insufferable poodles, as the possible ramifications of what Hamilton said sunk in. Alex certainly had a big mouth. Didn't he realize how bad things could become for him when he said that?

George put a firm hand on Alex's arm, and he flinched, looking up at him. "Son, calm down." He whispered so that Lee, Gates, and the others would not hear.

"Fine." Alex whispered back, crossing his arms. I patted him on the shoulder.

"Trust me, I feel the same way." I told him, and he smiled at me. "We'll talk later about it, okay?"

"Ok."

"...anyways, since this is a major issue we are talking about, we shall hold a vote to see where we stand on attacking the British sometime in the next month. You all know how the voting works in my meetings."

We nodded; at my recommendation, George had created a system to decide the next courses of action on major issues that very much resembled the Senate in 21st century America.

At the end of the voting, me and George tallied up the results. 60% of the officers had voted against the idea of attacking, and 40% (me and Mandy included) had voted for attacking. It was now up to George to make the final choice.

"Against the better judgement of more than 60% of my officers' well-founded opinions, I now cast my vote in favor of attack. We have a golden opportunity; it would be a terrible choice to waste it and continue the stalemate we have been held in for so long. Majors, gather your soldiers and tell them to prepare to march from here to New Jersey. Lieutenant Colonel Bell, if I could meet with you in private, that would be great."

"As you wish, General," I concurred, standing up and following him over to the corner of the room as the others exited HQ.

"General Washington, how may I help you?" I inquired, grinning.

"No need to call me General when we are alone. As you know by now." He smirked, and poked me.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, racing to poke him back, but I missed.

"You can't catch me!" He taunted, darting around the table. Laughing, I snuck up behind him, and finally managed to poke him.

"Anyways," he gasped through his laughter, slowly regaining control over himself. "Ben and Mandy were wondering if you and me would like to join them on patrol...?" He trailed off, leaving the question in the air.

"Of course!"

"Let us be on the way to the stables, then." He instructed, leaving the tent.

After glancing around, I bounced out of the tent, happy to have a moment alone with just me, George, Ben, and Mandy.