Contrary to my Aunt's belief, I did not intend to be reading in the same room as General Washington's war council. I only happened to be in library at the time, hiding from Aunt Ford's purge of my "rudeness, sauciness, and unspeakable set of clothes", when the General and his many officers filed in. None noticed me, small in the darkened corner, staring at them, book forgotten.

General Washington slammed his fist on the table. "We need to attack now. The British are only thirty miles away— why are we spending all of winter complaining and hiding like timid door mice?"

The slim General Charles Lee rolled his eyes. "Sir— the snow on the roads is almost three feet, and our troops are threatening mutiny. We cannot do anything at the moment but pay them and wait until the snow goes away."

"Congress will never send the money," sneered another man. "They expect this army to run on nothing but volunteers and good morals."

This view seemed widely appreciated by the other generals and aides, as no one raised an objection.

"Laurens is right," said General Lee, turning to his commander. "My men haven't eaten in nearly four days! Their tents are collapsed by snow, and almost ten have deserted, this day alone. And the longer Congress whines pathetically about how little money and supplies they have, the less soldiers we'll have, especially once their term requirements lift."

"General Lee, this is my army, and my men. Not yours." General Washington breathed in deeply, like a storm about to blow. "What do you expect me to do?"

General Lee took a breath, but before he did, the aide Laurens jumped in, his face red.

"Can I remind you that you are still under a pending Congress order to lay down your command for direct insubordination to your chief? Do not give us more reasons to support that verdict, if it comes!"

The General choked briefly on his coming words, then shot a furious glare at both Laurens and his commander. Spinning around, he left the library, coat-tails flapping in the breeze.

Fascinated by the drama and workings of the American army, I stared at the remaining men. General Washington stared in the fire peacefully, as his two aides, Laurens and Joseph Reed wandered around. Lafayette sat down on one of the couches and drummed his fingers not he fabric in a bored fashion. There the four men stayed, until General Washington stood and faced the Frenchman.

"Lafayette, what do you suppose I do?" he asked, voice much calmer than before.

"Sir, it is true what Lee says, the army is not fit to launch an attack at the moment. And even if the roads were clear of snow, attacking the British would not be the wisest choice. You know, as everyone does, that are army is not fit to even be seen by anyone— the British, or my own countrymen."

General Washington stood. "Thank you, Lafayette." He beckoned to his two aides, and quickly left the room.

I silently stood and walked to the couch Lafayette sat in. Head in his hands, I put one hand on his shoulder and said, "What just happened?"

With a jerk, the Frenchman lifted his grey-blue eyes to my brown ones. "You were witness to that display of tension?" He shook his head. "Mercy, if something doesn't happen soon, the colonies will never be free. Washington's aides and generals are warring with one another, and I have reason to suspect that John Laurens has already challenged Lee to a duel."

I sat next to him. "Can I help?"

He laughed, but stopped once I glanced at him furiously. "Wait— you're serious?"

"Lafayette. I am not like normal girls."

"Unless you can come up with some way to get the soldiers out there to behave like good boys, I'm afraid not."

"What's it like there, in Jockey Hollow?"

Lafayette's eyes were sad and unfocused. "It is like another world."

"These are the people fighting for the colonies?" I gasped, gripping Lafayette's arm tighter.

Jockey Hollow was acting as the American's army's winter quarters. Only five miles from the Ford Mansion, it was completely another world. Under three feet of snow, soldiers lacked coats, shirts, and shoes. Their tents were blown across the camp, and frozen, black and blue corpses were stacked across the snow from us.

"Do you see why it is impossible for them to fight under these conditions?" Lafayette said.

"What a great way to start out 1780," I breathed. I watched a group of straggling soldiers cross the path in front of us. Many were lacking shoes, and one or two had no coats, and were walking around in nothing but their shirts and breeches.

"I do solemnly declare that I have not put a single morsel of food in my mouth for four days," one man said to the others.

"Some of the officers had meat yesterday," another groaned.

"It was dog," the first man said bluntly. "A dog that had belonged to those officers."

They straggled past without any more conversation. Suddenly, I felt a great fear that my brother, Obedience, was facing the same circumstances as those men. I turned to Lafayette.

"Where's 2nd New York Regiment stationed?" I asked, clenching Lafayette's arm tightly.

"Er..."

"Second New York Regiment," I said slowly. "My brother Obedience is in there. Are they part of the main army, or elsewhere?"

"We were turned into the New York Brigade and assigned to the main army," said a bearded man, staring at me with apprehension from underneath the rough blanket he was wrapped in.

Desperation to find out what had happened to Obedience overcame my disgust of the man. "Is there a soldier with you named Obedience Painter."

The soldier looked to his companion. "Sounds familiar, don't it?"

"Sure is." The second man took a deep breath. "What battle was it, d'ya think?"

"It wasn't a battle, it was exposure."

"Or starvation."

I felt my stomach drop. Obedience, who had taught me to be bold and brave and all of the military maneuvers was dead?

"He's dead?" I choked out.

The two men looked at me, surprised.

"Yes, ma'am. But he's lucky. He got out quick. Us, we're all going to be dead in no time."

The soldier spat on the ground, red and black blood spreading on the snow.