Phantoms In Philadelphia (19 page)

That was three years ago. Now that I was the leader,
I could get out, I could leave the Phantoms behind, but when Ben
died, something new awoke inside me. A need for justice.

After Ben’s death, his brother deserted us, and my
father brought me home to Philadelphia for a few months, but not to
grieve. He wanted help to train his next batch of spies. My father
died before he could see them made Phantoms. My first act as the
leader was to place them in homes with parents who would love them.
I wanted to give them a new life. If they mentioned anything about
their training, I never heard about it.

***

As we stepped into the Harvey’s
mansion, my eyes searched the crowd until I found a pair of green
eyes that caused the flutters in my stomach to take flight,
tumbling into each other. I never had that with Ben—that
pulse-speeding, blood-surging, butterfly-tumbling, momentary
insanity just from the sight of Andrew. It frightened me, because
for a moment, I was not master of myself; my emotions took over,
and I was helpless. I hated those feelings, but I loved them. I
could
feel
. In
those moments, I knew I was not broken, and Andrew gave that gift
to me.

Andrew was standing beside Edith, who was looking
harassed and flushed. It was then that I remembered what she had
told me that Mr. Madison was bringing a young man to meet her.
Andrew was that young man. The thought soured my insides. I would
never hurt Edith. But, the relieved look she cast me when we joined
them spoke volumes. Edith had no feelings for Andrew.

Jack and Andrew were speaking amiably when I
overhead Andrew invite us both to go with him to Mr. Peale’s
museum. “I have been promised a guided tour of the great
incognito.”

From the widening of his eyes, Jack’s interest was
piqued. “By Peale himself?”

“Of course.” Andrew looked rather proud when he
added, “Being the nephew of the President does come with its
advantages, you know.”

Jack laughed; his excitement marked. “We should be
very happy to accompany you.”

When Andrew escorted Edith into the first dance, I
placed a hand on my hip, angling myself toward Jack. “What makes
you think I want to view rooms full of bones and stuffed dead
things?”

Jack smirked. “Give over, Bess. You
know that you like him, and what is more, he knows it too. For as
he said, being the nephew of the President does come with its
advantages.” He looked at me with a light in his eyes and added,
“You know.”

Huffing in annoyance, I left Jack to his mirth.

As Andrew squired me through the second dance, he
spoke with a smile upon his lips that I was coming to adore. “I met
your father once. He spoke of you with such fondness that I always
craved an introduction, and now I am thankful to have been granted
the desire of my heart.”

“The desire of your heart, sir? Surely you must have
more than one.”

His dimples appeared as he leaned toward me, his
green eyes full of emotions I was not prepared to analyze. “I have,
but none, I am finding, hold a candle to meeting you.” I did not
know what to say to that. For once, my lowered eyes had nothing to
do with pretense.

When we again joined Jack, he was standing with
Guinevere, Hannah, and Dudley.

“Whatever were the two of you speaking of? I declare
I have never seen two people so engrossed in their conversation,”
Hannah asked with a titter.

I opened my mouth to say something sweetly cutting
when Andrew replied. “We were speaking of our heart’s greatest
desires.”

“Odd dancing conversation,” Dudley interposed.

I opened my fan and waved it before my heated face,
as Jack stared at me with an amused lift to his black brows.
Guinevere said nothing. Hannah was not so tactful.

“I should like to hear your greatest heart’s
desires, Mr. Madison, and perhaps together we could see to the
acquisition.” Hannah was playing the coquette, and when she sent a
smirk my way, I took a step toward her, forgetting my surroundings,
my meaning clearly written in the depths of my furious eyes.

Jack was the first to react, though
I was sure everyone could guess my intent. Perhaps not my
true
intent. Most women
did not consider murder in a ballroom an acceptable
practice.

Jack stepped between me and Hannah,
but it was Dudley who
spoke somewhat
abstractedly from where he stood next to Hannah. “Cake, a rich
soufflé, and a man who can make proper boots.”

Everyone looked at Dudley in astonishment. He
glanced around our group then shrugged. “My desires.” When no one
seemed to be comprehending he added, “I thought we were speaking
about our greatest heart’s desires.”

Guinevere choked on a laugh and
covered her mouth with her fan. Hannah cast Dudley a scornful
glance. Andrew stared at Dudley as if he were mad. Jack laughed,
loud and without restraint. The dangerous moment had passed, but
that did not stop Andrew from asking Hannah to dance with him. She
agreed readily, tossing a dangerously
coy
look over her shoulder.

Jack offered his arm to Guinevere. She took his arm,
and they went off together laughing.

I was left alone with Dudley, and
after a moment, I looked down at him in incredulity. “Is that truly
what you desire? Cake, a soufflé, and a man—”

“—
Who can make proper boots, yes,”
Dudley cut in, nodding with enthusiasm.

There were no words to express my thoughts. I
excused myself to Dudley and went into the foyer.

In the dining parlor, I saw Richard and Mr. Knowlton
shaking hands. The way Richard was gripping his hand I knew he was
signaling another meeting. When they broke apart and passed me to
go into the drawing room, I watched my brother. Jack had completely
missed the handshake. His eyes were on Guinevere, and he was
engrossed in whatever she was saying. I walked to the buffet and
picked up a glass of champagne, keeping my back to them as I
listened.

“Why are you called
Saint
John?”

Jack’s voice was soft, almost hesitant. “It is not
something that can be told. I would have to show you.”

“Very well, show me,” she replied.

“Not here. Sunday, if you will allow me, I will
share my secret with you.”

I knew Jack’s ‘secret,’ and if he was willing to
share it with Guinevere, that meant his feelings ran deeper than I
imagined. If things kept progressing at such an alarming rate, I
knew that it would not be long before I had to have a talk with my
brother, which, possibly, could end in a bout of fisticuffs. It
would not be the first time.

Jack

B
y half
past eight in the evening, our team was hiding in dense trees
outside Stark Manor. We watched three separate carriages arrive,
and Nicholas, Richard, and Mr. Knowlton enter the house. No guards
were standing outside the house, so when the carriages drove to the
stables, Bess, and I darted across the lawn and stopped outside the
dining parlor window.

“They should learn to bolt their windows,” Bess said
as she opened the unlatched window. Once inside, I moved to the
open door with Bess on my heels.

“Absolutely not!” Hannah’s voice said, with a growl
to it.

“Be sensible. Think of the
advantages,” Richard whined. He
whined
.

“I know what you are about. You want me to marry
Nicholas so that you can use me to get to the Holy Order. They will
never admit you without someone to speak for you,” Hannah shot back
with disdain lacing her words.

Hannah works for the Holy Order.

“If you would but give me a chance,
you would see my undeniable love—” Nicholas had said but was cut
off by the sound of shrill, mocking laughter.

“The only thing you love is yourself! You want my
money and my connections. Neither of which will you ever
possess.”

“We stray from the point,” a deeper woman’s voice
said. “The artifacts.”

“I want those artifacts returned,” Richard shouted.
“I do not care if you have to tear apart the entire city. Find
them!”

“At least we have the black box,” Nicholas said,
“and Knowlton has the book of incantations.”

“You may be sure that I shall not let those rogues
who prance around in masks find the book.” It was Charles
Knowlton’s voice. My hand closed around the handle of my pistol.
That book was said to explain the power of the artifacts.

“Sværd af lyn and dolk af hemmeligheder have been
taken,” Nicholas sounded mournful.

We had both the sword of lighting and dagger of
secrets, and it gave me great pleasure hearing how annoyed they
were about it.

“We know, do we not, where den kop torden is to be
found?” It was Richard’s voice again.

“Yes, it is in a strong box in Philadelphia,”
Hannah’s said.

Where? Tell us where.
My body leaned closer to the door, my anticipation
high.

“You will acquire it, and you will bring it to me. I
am sending Nicholas with you. I will not allow another failure, so
if any stand in your way, deal with them as you deem necessary,”
Richard instructed.

“What of my meeting with the men? That is to be
tomorrow at midnight,” Nicholas said.

“Where are you meeting the men, Nicholas?” Charles
Knowlton asked.

“Elfreth’s alley. Dimitri chose the team, but as you
instructed, I will go to approve them.”

“By one you will meet our dear lady and together
acquire the artifact. Now, let us adjourn.”

Bess and I sprinted across the dining parlor and
left through the window.

Our team was stationed at different positions around
the house, but Mariah was with our horses. We watched the house for
a half hour, and when all three carriages drove away, we knew that
there was no Levitas meeting.

When we assembled on the road, Bess
told the team what was afoot. We did not know what Nicholas’s
meeting was pertaining to, but if Dimitri chose the men, it could
not be good. Elfreth’s alley was in a dangerous part of town where
many immigrants and sailors resided. We settled it that I would
attend the meeting, and when I knew what those men were ordered to
do the rest of the team would come in and
subdue
them. Then, there was the
matter of getting to the white phantom and stopping her and
Nicholas from taking the artifact. Bess assigned Mariah to follow
Nicholas when he left the alley. She would discover where he was
going and make haste back to tell us. I was adamant that I would be
the one to go after the white phantom.

“Under no circumstances would I let you go after her
alone,” Bess retorted vehemently.

“Raven, this is something that I
must
do alone.” I was staring straight
ahead, but there was no mistaking my determination and Bess knew
it. The white phantom and I had a score to settle.

***

It was five minutes before midnight, when I walked
down a small lane between two rows of bandbox houses. We were a
block from the river, and the grassy lane between the houses was
not wide enough for a carriage or a horse. It was more of a narrow
alley than a lane, and the doors to the houses were only steps from
each other with all the houses built against one another. I
followed behind another man to the third house and waited as he
knocked on the door.

It was a two-story house made of brick with one
window on the front exterior. A large man opened the door, and I
held my breath. I was taking a gamble, and this task could be over
in a moment if I was wrong. I kept my shoulders squared as I
stepped up to the door. The large man held it open for me to pass
into the house.

Leo had helped me with my disguise, and I was
pleased to see that I looked the same as every other man in the
single room dwelling. I was wearing ordinary, dirty clothing, and a
black beard was pasted around my mouth, hanging the length of my
neck. Leo had me wearing body padding to make me look larger. One
man nodded at me, but the rest paid me no more heed than I paid
them. It was an unwritten code with ruffians that you never show
fear; you meet their gaze and hold it long enough for you each to
understand that the other would not hesitate to kill you if you
crossed him.

Many people did not know that such
men existed in America, but with men trying to find work after the
war, and
with immigrants arriving every
week, some men were desperate enough to take whatever job
offered.

The room smelled like sewage and death. There was a
bed made on the floor and a small wood table with a single chair.
Two candles lit the room; certainly a big expense. Men who lived in
such houses rarely could afford candles, and most lived by the
light of day, and when that light went out, they made their way to
a local tavern, walked the streets, or simply went to sleep.

A knock on the door stopped all conversation in the
room. Nicholas stepped in, holding a lace handkerchief over his
nose and mouth. Nicholas was curt as he promised a large sum of
money if his orders were followed. Two of the men rubbed their
hands together in anticipation, while another licked his cracked
lips.

Nicholas said there was to be a party held at the
address he would give us. The servants’ wing of the house would be
unlocked for the men to enter. Two would stand guard outside the
house. Clothing would be provided, and it was required that each
man had a bath before they dressed in the clothes. Mustaches were
appropriate, but no matted beards. The more Nicholas said; I
realized that these rogues were to attend as servants and guests.
When one of the men asked who would do the deed, I listened
intently.