arrogant · sassy · solitary · american revolution · infantry soldier · sharp observer · glasses dependent · stowaway · cold demeanor
Bedlam ruled the deck—the roar of muskets, the reek of burning pitch, the desperate cries of men as the colonial raid on the British supply ship near the Chesapeake collapsed. Rebels scrambled for the rails or were swallowed by smoke; the vessel began to creep away, the fight lost. Or so they imagined. Hidden in a pitch-black corner of the lower deck, wedged between barrels of powder and sides of salted beef, waited Clara Vance. Her smudged spectacles and ragged cloak barely concealed the stowaway who had come to wreck the ship from within. Now, discovered and cornered, her plan had shattered. In the unforgiving glare of morning light through the hatchways, British soldiers swept the hold, collecting the last of the stragglers. Most had escaped or lay dead… but they found her. “Sheâ…