Phantoms In Philadelphia (31 page)

A cry escaped me, from where I knew not. All of our
financial issues were at an end. My mother need never marry; I need
never marry if I did not wish to, and Jack could do whatever he
wanted. Jack started to chuckle which turned into a loud laugh
springing from deep within. He leaned over the chair and planted a
kiss on my mother’s cheek.

“I did not think that you would be
averse, so Captain Carter has bought the
Queen’s Reward
and Captain Townsend
the
Lutania
.
”

My mother nodded and stood, taking the papers to
Jack’s desk. She pulled the quill toward her and signed the
deeds.

“There is one final matter. I have heard from Mr.
Hamilton’s man, and the settlement that he is prepared to make is
most generous. He will settle upon your children, on the terms that
they remain living in this house with your current servants.”

My joy melted like butter in a hot pan over a large
fire. Not only were Richard’s terms highly improper, but degrading,
as well. That he would put such a stipulation upon my mother did
not surprise me, but that my mother would appear so calm was what
angered me more than Richard’s debase actions.

“Surely all this talk of settlements is premature as
they have not set a date,” I said, with more calm than I felt.

Mr. Hobbs said nothing as he tucked the signed
papers into his satchel and stood, looking uncomfortable. Mother
walked with him into the foyer.

I faced Jack, who was pacing before the fireplace.
“Do you believe this will alter mama’s decision about Richard?”

“You may be sure of it,” Jack said with grim
assurance.

Mother reentered the room at that moment,
exclaiming, “What a day this is.”

My eyes dropped to my clasped hands as the pain that
had been pushed away during Mr. Hobbs’ visit was again claiming the
center of my thoughts.

“I have informed Hobbs that I want the entire sum
received to be settled on my children.”

My eyes shot up. “Why? With that sum of money, you
could live comfortably for the rest of your life. You need never
marry anyone.”

Mother shook her head. “I am marrying Richard; he
will provide for me.” Without another word, she left the room.

“What say you now?” I demanded of Jack.

“I believe that she has some deeper motive that she
is concealing from us.”

He could be right, but I was not so
convinced. There was something to be said about companionship. I
felt it as I was sure that my mother did, as well.

“You do understand what this means, do you not?” I
asked. “As soon as word spreads that we have gained an even larger
sum than people believe us to have, they will circle like vultures.
The light will shine even brighter upon our family, and our every
move will be noted,” I explained as I paced the room. It was not
good. Eventually, someone was bound to discover who we truly
were.

“Bess, not all men are vultures and
out to hurt you. Madison is a scoundrel, but the man for you
is
out there.”

“Indeed, Jack? And would you say the same about
Guinevere?” I snapped at him. Jack looked down at his boots, and I
was instantly contrite. “Forgive me, Jack. I did not mean to snap.
It has been a trying week.”

“It is about to become more so,” said Arnaud from
the door. “There is trouble afoot and no mistake.”

“What is it?” I asked, moving forward.

“There are some riots on the lower end. The markets
are turning people away, saying they do not have the stores to meet
the demands.”

Dear Lord
.
That was what I had feared would
happen if the weather did not change. Every day we awoke to frost,
and the sun had lost its luster. In the mornings, ice covered the
ground.
He
had
told me that the ice was as thick as a windowpane on the morning
after the fourth. Snows in the northern states, as well as the
destruction of most crops from the cold and ice, there was not
enough food to meet the demands. The change in our fortune came at
the most opportune moment, or else we would have been in some
serious difficulty.

“Keep your eyes and ears open, and should it become
worse or spread toward us, alert us at once.” Arnaud agreed and
left us alone.

We spent some time talking about what we should do
to help the less fortunate, and nearly an hour passed before we
were interrupted by my mother entering the room followed by
Richard.

“My children, I have a mixture of news. Richard says
that the city is positively in decline. Riots of all things have
broken out over coal, which is becoming short in supply, and people
are coming loose at the seams. It is no longer safe for us to
remain in the city, so Richard has procured a house in the country
for us to live in until September when he and I shall marry.”

For a full moment, I could not speak. I looked from
one to the other, each smiling, happily oblivious to what those
words had done to me. It was early July, and my mother was planning
to marry Richard in September, two short months away. My mother was
still speaking, but her voice sounded like the chirping of a
bird.

“Richard is such a dear. Do you know that he
commissioned Mrs. Lamont to help him find a house that I would
like? She has seen to all the decor, choosing what Richard assures
me that I will love.”

Jack and I looked at one another. So that was why
Hannah was meeting with Richard. I did not want to delve too deep
into why Hannah was doing favors for Richard. Instead, my mind
moved to Guinevere. Why was she imitating Hannah’s voice? Did she
want the other members to believe that she was Hannah? Did her
duplicity know no bounds? The more I thought about her, the more I
realized she was like Richard.

“Richard and I will live in Baltimore after the
wedding, until he can turn over the running of his company to his
assistants.” I felt sick. Completely. When she said she wanted me
to have my trunks packed and ready to depart on the morrow, I
wanted to throw something, but there was nothing to be done.

By evening, Mother was in over anxious, having her
trunks packed to move to the country house, afraid that important
articles would be left behind, seeing to the covering of the
furniture in the drawing room.

I was not at all pleased about leaving, and I even
told Jack so. “I want to remain in town with you, Jack.”

“You know that is impossible,” Jack said. I did know
it, and it made me furious. “I do not trust Richard or that house,”
Jack went on, “and if you were to stay with me, whatever suspicions
Richard may have would be confirmed. Allow me to handle the
situation here until his suspicions prove ungrounded.”

Slowly, I agreed, though it was not what I
wanted.

The following day Jack escorted us into the country.
The house that Richard had secured lay but a mile from Stark Manor.
Coincidence? I did not believe in coincidence.

The house was a lovely, two-story
brick dwelling
with a double, door entrance
that lead into a spacious foyer. A staircase rose to the right
which my mother and Mrs. Beaumont went up to inspect the rest of
the house. I had a moment alone with Jack.

“Did you see how close we are to the manor?”

“Do you want me to move out here with you? All you
need do is ask,” Jack replied, as if he thought I was worried.

“That is not necessary, but thank
you for the offer.” I did not want Jack to know that I was worried.
The truth of the matter was that I felt like I was dangling over
the edge of a precipice with Richard sawing away my only
support.

Jack

T
he last
two weeks had been harder than I could have ever imagined. Not only
had I lost Guinevere, but Bess lost Andrew. What a pair we were. If
I ever saw Andrew again, I would have been tempted to do some
permanent damage. Bess deserved so much more, but I did not
entirely blame Andrew. I was as much to blame, and if Bess ever
discovered the part I played; I would be as unforgiven as
Andrew.

Seated in Hannah’s small salon, I was waiting for
her to return from a party. I had let myself in. The only light in
the excessively hot room was from the fire burning in the
fireplace.

Earlier in the day, Levi had come back with the rest
of his report. He and Jericho had been trading off watching
Hannah’s house and a few days ago, I had Levi trail Andrew. In his
report, I discovered whom I had to thank for Andrew rejecting Bess.
General Harvey. Andrew had met with him and drove to his hotel and
immediately packed his bags. He called at our house on his way out
of the city. I would learn the truth if I had to blow my cover and
choke it out of the old man, a family friend, or no.

My reasons for being at Hannah’s house had nothing
to do with Andrew, but with Richard. Hannah’s voice speaking to her
butler carried through the wall, and then, as expected, the door to
the parlor opened and Hannah walked in. She shut the door behind
her, leaning against it for a moment.

When she pushed away from the door, moving to her
writing desk, I spoke. “Good evening, Mrs. Lamont.”

Hannah spun around, her hand flying to her chest.
After a moment of gawking at me, she lowered her hand. “How did you
get in my house?”

“Do have a seat, Mrs. Lamont. You and I have much to
say to one another.”

Hannah eyed me warily but moved to
a chair beside her writing desk across the room from me. By
the way her eyes shifted to her desk, I would say
she had a weapon in there.

Seated in the shadows and using my deep Loutaire
voice, there was no flash of recognition in her eyes.

“What would you like to know,” she
asked, “or have my charms drawn you here?” Even though her words
were meant to entice, her eyes told another story. She was bone
weary. From the circles under her eyes and the slight sag to her
shoulders, I would
hazard a guess that she
had not had a good night’s rest in some time.

“As lovely as your charms are, it is not for that I
have come.”

Hannah sighed. “I thought not. Well, you are in
luck. I am an open book tonight, ask what you will.”

“What is your involvement with Levitas and more
specifically, Richard Hamilton and Nicholas Mansfield?”

She winced at their names and looked away to stare
at the fire. “I could play the fool, but it would serve no purpose.
I have been tracking Levitas for months.”

Her story spilled from her as if she were relieved
to have someone to take the burden from her. Her half sister had
been one of the first to people to disappear. Her mother’s husband
owed Richard money, and when he could not pay, their daughter was
taken. They had not known it was Richard, but when more people
disappeared, Hannah started putting the pieces together. She had
hired a group of men of little morals to watch for any more
disappearances, and then follow the carriage to where it went. Her
sister had been taken in March, but it was May before she learned
of Levitas’s existence. She stumbled upon Richard and Nicholas by
pure luck, and she had been ingratiating herself with them for the
last two months until she could discover the location of where they
were keeping her sister.

“What things did they have you do for them?”

“It was simple in the beginning, passing along a
note to certain men in society, to allow them to use my house for
meetings in the guise of them attending one of my parties, but then
Richard started sending me tasks.”

“Such as?”

“Richard wanted me to find a house in the country
for his affianced bride, then he sent me out to all the best
warehouses to choose furnishings. He plans to move her there within
the week.”

So she was not Richard’s pet of fancy. I was
disappointed. I could have used that against Richard. “What of Ma
belle?”

Hannah stared across at me, her brow puckering. “I
do not understand?”

“He called you Ma belle. Do not feign ignorance, it
does not become you.” I said harshly.

Hannah’s spine stiffened, and she sat poker straight
in her chair. “Richard called me Ma belle as an annoying term of
endearment.”

“What do you know of the woman who works for
Levitas?”

“The one who dresses in white? Only
that she is Richard’s ward, but I expect you know that as well.” A
moment passed then her eyes widened. “Wait, you did not
think—”

She broke off as I rose. “Thank you for your
cooperation. I shall leave you.”

She shot out of her chair, across the room, grabbing
my arm. “Please, promise you will find my sister.” I was facing the
door and did not turn to look at her.

“I shall do my utmost, of that you may be sure.” I
disengaged my arm from her, and my hand reached out for the
doorknob.

“I suppose this means you will no longer be watching
my house. Pity, that. I had come to enjoy looking out and seeing
you keeping watch over me.”

I said nothing, but opened the door and went out. At
times, my similarities to Levi were a blessing. She thought I was
he, and that suited me fine. I went out of her house and down the
front steps. When I rounded the corner, I ran directly into
Levi.

He stepped back and smiled. “Evening, Loutaire.”

“Hades,” I replied with a nod. “I have a new
assignment for you. There is no longer a need to shadow Mrs.
Lamont.”

“Pity, that,” he said, and I smiled at the words
that were the same as Hannah’s. “She was a real gem.”

“You will be pleased to know she thought the same
about you.”

Levi’s face lit up like a lantern.