The Redcoat Chase by Clifford Riley

Author:Clifford Riley
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780545457309
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2012-07-02T18:30:00+00:00

The entrance hall alone was bigger than Frederick’s family’s entire apartment. It was all far too spectacular a sight on such a terrible day — even the air felt more majestic beneath the marbled ceilings. Frederick would have liked to have stopped and admired each individual nook and cranny. But none of it would survive come nightfall. And if he wasn’t careful, neither would he.

Frederick bolted from room to room, checking over his shoulder in case the gardener returned. He ducked behind columns and dove behind furniture, but no one was there. The space was deserted, and the president was nowhere to be found. The entrance hall led to a cross hall, with what appeared to be a state dining room on one side, and a smaller, private dining room on the other. Objects and historical artifacts were displayed artfully on the floor-to-ceiling shelves, and white wainscot ran the length of the floors.

The president’s library looked as if a storm had blown through it. Papers were scattered everywhere.

Was anyone home?

Frederick heard footsteps and leapt beneath a desk. The library was covered in plush oriental rugs and smelled like cedars and tobacco. After a few seconds passed, he tiptoed out.

It was the gardener again, in a hurry. Frederick followed him to the marble staircase. He had to take two steps at a time to keep up, then fall back far enough that the man wouldn’t see him. The stairwell unfolded into more enormous rooms.

Frederick trailed the gardener through another central hall, then a lavish sitting room and a handsome antechamber that unfurled into a drawing room. The softly lit lamps, complete sets of sparkling crystal, and intricate rugs beneath their feet — the British would make mincemeat of all of it in no time. Where was the president?

Frederick noted how the wallpaper changed from mint green to powder blue to a blush pink, and now the walls shimmered coral and gold. They’d reached the first lady’s wing. Through an arched entrance, he spied a salon that boasted a view of the street.

Down the hall, Frederick could hear metal clattering to the floor. The voice of the gardener came through brusquely. Frederick pressed his ear to the door. Could he hear the president’s voice inside, too?

The door opened sharply, and Frederick stumbled to the floor of what appeared to be the silver room. Cased in glass, the famed silver made even the shadows glimmer. Frederick cowered on the floor, the crystal cabinets showering prisms of light onto the gardener and the woman standing beside him, the first lady.

Frederick recognized Dolley Madison from lithographs in the papers. She was wearing a pink lace frock and her face was made up. Frederick was suddenly aware of his muddied knees. With her large rings and white ruffled cap, not even a British invasion could hamper this lady’s style. Even with her life on the line, Dolley Madison was dressed for the victory party.

But she was not about to pause for admiration.

“Well,” Dolley exclaimed, “so this is the vagrant from the garden.

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