by EE Ottoman
“William.” Augustus took a step closer to him. “It’s extremely unlikely that I’ll walk away from this meeting. In fact, the most reasonable and foreseeable outcome is that Thornton arrests me. If you are there, it will be as good as admitting your complicity, and he will arrest you too. This isn’t a possible outcome if we were to make a mistake. It’s a likely one, no matter what we say or do. Were you really expecting me to walk you into that situation?”
“I was expecting you to allow me to make the decision for myself and realize the risks I take are ones I knowingly choose. You are not forcing me to do any of this, Augustus, and you never were. You can’t treat me like a child, not for any reason, but especially not out of some misguided idea of chivalry.” William paced across the room, his back to Augustus, and then spun to face him. “Goddamn it! You should know better than this. After all, we’ve already had this fight. Not to mention now is far too late to start worrying about putting me in danger. I’ve been in danger since the beginning of this. Being with you at all carries risk, but I have decided to accept it, much as I decided to put myself in danger to help Moss.”
That knocked all the breath out of Augustus. He sank onto one of the chairs by the table.
William wasn’t done, though. “I need your trust, very much. But you can’t control me or try and make my decisions for me. You said yesterday that you would leave and I would never see you again if I could not respect you for who you are. So I’m telling you now that goes both ways. You need to respect me, or I can’t continue to do this.”
“I’m sorry.” Augustus didn’t know what to say. Most of the things that jumped immediately to his mind felt too much like trying to excuse his behavior. Or just repeating the same mistake over again. He forced himself to take a moment and think through his fear to what William had said and what he wanted.
He could hear William move although he didn’t raise his head. William’s hand came down, very gently, to cover Augustus’ own. At that, Augustus looked up, finally meeting William’s gaze. “You’re right. I was disrespectful, and this is your decision to make, not mine. My intention was never to hurt you or treat you as less capable, but I did anyway, and I’m sorry.” He gave William a small smile. “I will try to be better in future.”
“Good.” William straightened up. “So what are we going to do about Corporal Thornton?”
“Meeting with him seems to be our only option.” Augustus rubbed his forehead. “Then we can convince or force him to give up Moss to us.”
William looked doubtful, but he checked his pocket watch. “Well, we don’t have much time to come up with something.”
“I’m not sure we’ll be able to come up with a plan, as much as one last bid to get all three of us out of this alive.” Augustus stood, pulled on his greatcoat, and reached for the gun.
CHAPTER 9
~
THE NEW YORK HOUSE OF Refuge was out past the reaching hands of the city, where ordered streets gave way to dirt roads, and tenements and town houses to scattered farms. There were wide fields here, and forests, and creeks that gouged up the rocky, clay-laden earth with muddy water. Augustus supposed the fields and forests would be beautiful in summer. Now, they were dead, the fields crusted with a thin layer of ice, the branches of the trees stripped of leaves as they reached claw-like for the sky.
The House of Refuge was a low brick building, constructed in a U shape and surrounded by a high fence. Half workhouse, half prison, it housed children who’d been convicted of a crime, or were poor, orphaned, unlucky, or insane. It was supposed to be more humane to keep children there than let them starve on the streets or be incarcerated alongside adults.
Bellevue and the House of Refuge weren’t that far away from each other, Augustus reflected as he trudged down the road. That was probably why most of the city’s active paupers’ graveyards existed here, in this quiet countryside, between the city-run juvenile reformatory, workhouse, plague hospital, and asylum for the criminally insane.
The Devil’s crossroads.
The cab they’d hailed hadn’t been willing to take them all the way out, but instead, dropped them a little ways past Washington Square. After that, they’d have to walk.
William was silent beside him but his presence was solid at Augustus’ back, and Augustus felt a little comforted, at least until his pistol knocked cold against his thigh under his greatcoat.
“If it comes down to shooting,” he said, keeping his voice low, “promise me at least you’ll take cover.”
William made a low sound, not quite a laugh. “Making good progress on trusting me to take care of myself, I see.”
Heat crawled up the back of Augustus’ neck, and he hunched forward a little. “I’m sorry.”
Lengthening his long stride, William came to walk beside him, and when he spoke, his voice had gentled. “Augustus, I’m unarmed, and unlike you, completely untrained. Of course, I’ll take cover.” He drew his hand out of his pocket to brush it against Augustus’ own. Just the briefest touch of fingers across the back of his hand, and then it was gone.
Augustus looked down the road in front of them. There was a black iron fence surrounding the graveyard. There weren’t stones within the stretch of ground here either, but there were trees and what would be uninterrupted grass in the summer.
They stepped through the arch of the gate and then stopped. Next to him, he heard William suck in a sudden breath.
Corporal Thornton was standing just within the shade of the small cluster of trees. Next to him stood Moss.
Moss looked rumpled, still in the clothes he’d borrowed from William several days earlier. He was in desperate need of a wash and had dark circles under his eyes, but he was there and without any sort of shackles or restraints.
It was like a weight had rolled off Augustus’ chest. He drew in one of his first unhindered breathes since early that morning. Then his gaze flicked to Thornton.
Thornton was, as the last time they’d met, in full uniform, hat tucked under one arm. Now, he wore a greatcoat over the uniform although it in no way disguised the sword at his hip or the pistol also holstered there.
“Doctor Hill, Doctor Blackwood.” He gestured them closer.
Augustus and William crossed the uneven, frozen ground until they were only a few paces from where Thornton and Moss stood. Augustus stopped, William beside him, and then widened his stance a hair, just enough so he’d be able to take the recoil from his pistol if he did end up needing to shoot. “Well?”
Thornton regarded him seriously for a moment and then dipped his head. “Thank you both for coming. Just so we’re all clear, I’m not planning on arresting any of you. I’m not planning on sending anyone to New York Hospital, and I am most certainly not going to murder anyone, so I would very much appreciate it if you, Doctor Hill, didn’t shoot me.”
That made Augustus’ pulse quicken with the first hints of danger, but he only set his jaw and raised his eyebrows at Thornton, who smiled back at him.
“Mr. Moss, are you all right?” William said from beside him.
“I’m all right.” Moss’ gaze went from William to Augustus and then he slid a sideways glance up at Thornton.
“Why are we here, Corporal? Is it official business?” Augustus let his gaze purposefully sweep the graveyard, the fields, and trees beyond, taking note of their conspicuous isolation.
That seemed to amuse Thornton for some reason, his mouth turning up in a smile that, as usual, did nothing to soften the hard lines of his face.
Moss stepped forward, around Thornton, until he was standing in front of him. “Actually that’s exactly what this is, in a strange way. Thornton wanted to just disappear, but I said we couldn’t do that to either of you.”
Augustus’ body was tensed to the point where his muscles were starting to ache with it. “Moss.” He kept his voice very calm and quiet. “Tell us what is going on.”
“The truth is, Thornton and I work together.”
William drew i
n a breath. “I don’t understand. If you were in the watch or part of the army, how were you arrested and held? I always thought the law protected its own, no matter what the charge. Besides, you said you worked for a shipping firm.”
“Not in the watch or the army. Thornton and I both work for the United States government. In intelligence and counterintelligence,” Moss said.
Augustus had been braced for so many things: for threats, blackmail, a fight, or to be arrested and hauled off to prison. The possibility of this hadn’t even crossed his mind.
“You mean like a spy?” William sounded just as confused and off guard.
Moss sighed, looking tired and perhaps a little guilty. “Yes, like a spy.”
“But if that’s true, then how did you end up in prison?” Surely, if Moss were some kind of spy, he’d have been able to escape, or talk his way out, or have some powerful man in the government clear his way for him.
“The same as everyone else. Someone accused me, and I was arrested, examined by a physician, confined to New York Hospital.” Moss’ grip on his own fingers had gone markedly tighter. “Being in intelligence isn’t actually like it is in the adventure novels. I work as a secretary most of the time, and sometimes I hear things, and I pass them on. This isn’t exactly wartime, and we’re not in enemy territory. There are no daring rescues or life-and-death missions—at least, not ones I am involved in, anyway.”
“I’m generally posted in New York as well.” Thornton spoke up for the first time. “We aren’t in the habit of leaving agents on their own and unprotected, even in time of peace and on our own soil, but I’d been called away on business when Moss was taken. Of course, when we realized he’d been arrested, I was dispatched to free him. But by the time I’d arrived back in New York, he was already gone from New York Hospital. The best I could do was get myself assigned to his case and follow the trail. I wasn’t able to confirm Moss’ location until I saw him exit an, uh, establishment on the Lower East Side at which point I made contact.”
“And here we are,” Moss finished.
All four of them were silent for a long moment.
Augustus wasn’t quite sure how much of the story he believed. It all seemed too fantastical, but why would Thornton or Moss lie about something like this?
“So what do we do now?” William asked.
Thornton reached into his greatcoat and took out a purse heavy with coins. “This is how we are going to work this. You three will wait here. A carriage will come and pick you up and bring you to a house some hours ride down the Hudson River. There should be a letter waiting for you detailing a list of properties both for sale and rent to be shown to you by the representative of a New York firm—probably tomorrow. I think it would be best if either Doctor Blackwood or Doctor Hill handle the business transactions. Moss should keep his head down and not put his name to any documents until this mess can be cleared up. Just in case some officer gets the bright idea to try to find Moss by himself, or Doctor Cooke pays someone independently to track him down.”
William nodded and took the purse from Thornton.
“What about the business here in New York?” Augustus asked.
“I’ll see to it,” Thornton repositioned his hat on his head then nodded to them and headed out of the graveyard.
CHAPTER 10
~
THE CARRIAGE JOLTED DOWN THE road with enough force it would have knocked William sideways if they hadn’t been crammed so tightly together. As it was, his shoulder banged hard against Augustus, who grunted and shifted as much as he could without actually climbing into Moss’ lap.
They’d been on the road for barely an hour and already it had been much too long as far as William was concerned. Being that it was a carriage owned by someone he did not really know, and going to an unknown destination made unease creep across his skin. It made him think about all the horror stories he’d heard as a child of black people being kidnapped by unknown white men, never to be heard from again. He glanced out the window at the trees they were passing though and wondered how the driver would react if he asked to get out and walk.
Augustus shifted again, trying to get comfortable in his middle spot. His gaze caught William’s, and he leaned forward so he could touch William’s hand. “Are you all right?”
“I don’t like not knowing where we are going or really anything about this.” William’s shoulders were knotted with tension, and he tried to relax.
“I don’t much care for it either.” Augustus grimaced.
“Hopefully, it won’t be much longer.” Moss was looking out the window at the forest passing by.
“Do you not know where we’re going?” William asked him.
Moss shook his head. “Unfortunately not.”
William transferred his gaze out the window again. The purse Thornton had given him sat, a noticeable weight, in his coat pocket. He’d counted it while they were waiting for the carriage to arrive. It contained an impressive number of silver dollars, and at the bottom, a folded bank note. When he’d examined it, the sheer amount had knocked the breath out of him. More than he’d ever seen at any one time. Enough so he’d seriously considered for a wild moment going back to the New York City bank, having them take the money out in gold, and then getting himself, Augustus, and Moss on the first boat to Europe.
They could go to Paris. He had friends there, and the money would have been enough to set them up comfortably. Not permanently, but if he could get over his fear of practicing medicine, there were places he could work. William didn’t know what Moss’ work experience was exactly, given his recent revelation, but it was clear he was educated and could get a position somewhere. It would be a shame that Augustus would most likely be unable to practice medicine, but maybe once he learned to read and write French, he could gain those qualifications. Either way, they would probably be able to make do.
Then he’d looked at Augustus’ worried frown, and at the hunched bend of Moss’ back, the gauntness of his face.
That amount of money would also buy a very comfortable house with its own plot of land somewhere in upstate New York. They’d be able to furnish it comfortably and set Moss up with his own respectable little household. Somewhere quiet where he could read, rest, and learn how to live again unafraid.
William had put the money back in the purse and slipped it into his coat pocket. Fleeing the country was probably better left as a backup plan anyway. God only knew what the United States government would do to a spy who defected to France.
The forest outside the window gave way to fields bounded by low stone walls. William could see a few houses now, in the distance, and what looked to be a town further on.
The carriage turned off what passed for the main road here onto an even narrower dirt road, shaded on both sides by a row of trees with more fields beyond that. They took a sharp right, passing through a stone archway and up a short drive to a modest-sized stone house.
They stopped in front of the house, and William climbed out.
“The Corporal told me to tell you that the trunks should be delivered shortly,” the driver said to them, handing over a small envelope to Augustus.
The three of them watched as the driver turned the carriage and drove back the way they’d come.
Augustus opened the envelope and shook a key out onto his palm. “Well, let’s have a look inside.”
They walked down a small stone path to the front door, which Augustus unlocked. The entryway was sparsely furnished with a row of hooks for coats and a small side table.
William discovered there was a parlor on the first floor as well as a dining room and a kitchen with assorted pantries. They all trooped upstairs to find four large bedrooms with a few smaller rooms at the back and in the attic for staff.
The house appeared to have been empty for quite some time, but everything was meticulously neat and clean, which spoke to someone coming around regularly to take care of the place. All the furniture was in a simple republican style but well
made and well cared for. This was not the house of a farmer.
The kitchen had been stocked with prepared food: a cold roast, a pitcher of gravy, a loaf of bread, a dish of boiled potatoes served with rosemary, butter, and salt.
“Well, we have supper.” William recovered the loaf with the cloth it had been wrapped in.
“There’s a bathtub in one of the linen closets.” Augustus came through from the parlor, having lit the fire though, and dusting the ash from his trousers.
Moss had stayed behind evidently, probably going through the shelf of books William had noticed during his first walk-through of the lower floor.
“It might be nice for Moss to have a bath, maybe after we’ve eaten.” William said.
They’d have to drag out the brass tub and find someplace to put it. Then heat the water in pots and kettles over the fire. It would probably take many trips to the pump out back, and time to heat each bucket, possibly one by one. Once the water was hot, they’d need to carry it to wherever they’d set up the tub without burning themselves or spilling the water in the process. William had done it for himself plenty of times, as he was sure Augustus had, but it had been a long day, and his body still ached from the long carriage ride to the house.
Still, how long had it been since Moss had bathed in more than a basin of cold water?
William nodded. “Yes, I think we can do that.”
Augustus gave him a grateful smile. “I’ll ask him and see if he wants one. If not, I could use a bath.”
He grinned, bumping his shoulder against William’s with a kind of easiness they hadn’t shared since the fight back at Augustus’ apartment. It was like being able to release a breath after holding it for too long. William smiled back at him, leaning against Augustus for a second. “Maybe we could share it.”
Augustus snorted, his smile going amused. “You haven’t seen the size of the tub.”