The House on the Hill: A Ghost Story

by Irina Shapiro

  Few women would speak to their husbands that way, but Teddy wasn’t just her partner, he was her friend, her confidant, and the man she’d risked it all for. She had a right to know what he was up to, and she wouldn’t be fobbed off with half-truths or sugary reassurances.

  Teddy sat down on the ground and pulled her down beside him. “I parted with Captain Martel’s crew in North Carolina,” Teddy said.

  “A pirate ship can just come into port?” Sophie asked, stunned by the brazenness of the captain.

  Teddy shook his head. “Not exactly, but there are many secret coves where a ship can remain well hidden for several days. I made my way to Wilmington and then obtained passage to Boston on a merchant vessel traveling up north. I gave a false name, so no one asked any awkward questions,” Teddy said. “Upon arriving in Boston, I went to visit my mother. I still haven’t forgiven her for what she’s done, but she’s my mother and I have a duty to her and to my sisters. I also wanted to hear the latest news.”

  “And?” Sophie asked, breathless with apprehension.

  “They’re still looking for you, Soph. Lionel Holland hired some man, newly come from New York, a retired major by the name of Elijah Boothe. They say he has a reputation for solving difficult cases.”

  “You mean he finds people for a price?”

  “From what I heard, he doesn’t do it solely for the money. Enjoys the challenge, they say. Likes to puzzle things out.”

  “Well, he hasn’t found me yet,” Sophie snapped, her irritation fueled by fear.

  “No, but all he needs is one solid clue and then he’ll be on our trail like a bloodhound after its prey.”

  “What’s this to do with Smith?” Sophie asked. “Why have you brought him here?”

  “I stopped into a quayside tavern to have a jar of ale and inquire if anyone might be sailing for the Cape when I ran into Smith.”

  “How do you know him?”

  “He was one of the crew of the Sea Falcon. He was on guard duty the night I took you onboard.”

  “That was him?” Sophie asked, her recollection of the man hazy. “The one you brought a bottle of Madeira?”

  Teddy nodded. “He was always a shifty fellow, but I didn’t have too many personal dealings with him.” He bent his legs and rested his elbows on his knees, his hands hanging down between them. “Smith offered to buy me a drink, for old times’ sake. I could hardly refuse. He found us a table in the corner and told me what was on his mind,” Teddy said bitterly.

  “Which was?”

  “He knows about us, Poppet. He recalled me talking about you while I was aboard the Sea Falcon. Everyone spoke of their wives and sweethearts, and I mentioned you more than once. Had your name been Elizabeth or Anne, he might not have made the connection, but there aren’t that many young women named Sophie, especially ones who run out on their husbands and vanish without a trace.”

  “But he had no proof, until now,” Sophie replied hotly. “Why did you admit to it? You could have said you hadn’t seen me since my marriage.”

  “He knew about my arrangement with the quartermaster and had no trouble figuring out what I’ve been up to since leaving the Sea Falcon in Jamaica. If arrested, I’d swing, Sophie. This man holds my life in his hands.”

  “So you brought him here?” Sophie exclaimed, her heart pounding with blind panic.

  “He blackmailed me.”

  “What does he want? Money?”

  “Yes and no.”

  “Teddy!” Sophie cried, exasperated. “Just tell me.”

  Teddy exhaled loudly. “When we served aboard the Sea Falcon, I never really got to know the man. Never liked him enough to get too friendly. Well, it turns out Smith hails from London. Arrived in Boston twenty years ago with his parents. His father was employed as a jailer at Newgate Prison for more than two decades before deciding to try his luck in the colonies.”

  “So?”

  “So, he was there when William Kidd was held prisoner. Brought him food and writing implements, and such. The captain wrote a letter to his wife after he was sentenced to hang and paid Smith to send it. I daresay he thought the man was illiterate and wouldn’t get too nosy about the contents. As luck would have it, Smith knew his letters and was canny enough to suspect the captain might be telling his wife the coordinates of the treasure he’d hidden, given that he was about to die. Smith opened the letter and read it, finding it to be exactly what he expected, a farewell to his wife and children. At the end of the letter, there was a paragraph written in some sort of code, which he took to be the very information he’d been hoping for. Smith never sent the letter for fear that Mistress Kidd would retrieve the treasure. He held on to it, hoping to find a way to break the cypher. He died two years ago, but before he breathed his last, he passed the letter on to his son, hoping Roy might find means to decipher the code.”

  “I still don’t see what this has to do with you—with us,” Sophie cried.

  “He’s convinced the treasure is buried here on Cape Cod. He just needs to figure out the exact location. He’s willing to split the booty with me if I help him.”

  “And if you don’t?”

  “He’ll report me to the authorities and make sure George Holland knows exactly what happened to his errant wife. He’ll destroy us, Sophie.”

  “And if you help him to find this treasure, he’ll just leave us alone?” Sophie asked, her tone more sarcastic than she’d intended. Teddy obviously felt terrible. It was pointless to make him feel worse.

  “If he’s in possession of that kind of loot, the last thing he’ll want is to bring attention to himself or how he came by such wealth. We’re a means to an end, not the end itself,” Teddy replied.

  “And you think you can crack this cypher?”

  “No, but I think you can,” Teddy replied, giving her a watery smile.

  “Me?”

  “Sophie, you’re the most learned woman I know. You’ve read so many books. Perhaps you can see something Smith and I can’t.”

  “And if I am unable to help?” Sophie demanded, now even more frightened.

  “We’ll think of something else. Perhaps we’ll come up with a false location, and while he and I are off searching, Caleb will move you and J.T. to a safe place.”

  “But we’ll never be safe, will we?” Sophie asked. “He can still report you to the authorities and offer this Major Boothe a clue to my whereabouts. He has the power to decimate our family.”

  “Which is why we must tread carefully, Poppet. We’ll have one chance to get this right.”

  “Oh, Teddy,” Sophie moaned as she rested her head on his shoulder. “Will we never find peace?”

  “We will, but it won’t be anytime soon,” Teddy replied as he wrapped his arm around her and held her close. “Come, we’d best get back before Roy starts working on Caleb. I wouldn’t let him out of my sight if it weren’t for the need to spend a few moments privately with you.”

  Teddy smiled suggestively, but Sophie ignored the implication. “If there’s a market for boys, then he can sell John Theo, as well. This could be a win-win situation for him. Get the treasure and grow rich or claim the reward from the Hollands and sell a child to whoever is willing to pay. Lord, Teddy, I never knew there was such evil in the world.”

  Teddy didn’t reply, but Sophie saw the pain in his eyes. He’d seen suffering, and he’d seen death—brutal, senseless death. She wished she could lighten his burden, but Teddy would never saddle her with his fears. He loved her too much to add even a tiny bit of anxiety to her already uncertain situation.

  “I love you, Teddy,” she said softly.

  Teddy pulled her to her feet and kissed her softly. “We’ll get through this, Sophie. Just trust me.”

  “I always have.”

  When they returned to the house, they found Roy Smith outside, sitting on the bench. He’d been watching for them, likely wondering if they’d made a run for it. If Sophie had disliked the man before, she hated him now. Their very existen
ce rested in his dirty hands, and he knew it and was relishing his position of power.

  “You two were gone a good while,” Smith said, his slow smile making her flesh crawl. “Must have been some reunion. Nice to see folks in love,” he added, leering at Sophie. “Would be a damn shame if anything came between you two.” Like the gallows, or Sophie’s legally wedded husband, his narrowed gaze seemed to be saying.

  “We are back now,” Teddy replied, his jaw stiffening with anger.

  “Did you explain the situation to your…eh, what would you call her exactly?” Smith asked, grinning evilly.

  “My wife,” Teddy hissed.

  “Last I heard, polygamy was a crime,” Roy drawled.

  “And last I heard, a fool could get himself killed for insulting a man’s wife,” Teddy replied.

  “Now, take it easy, Ted. I was just joking. Shall we get to work?”

  “Now?” Sophie asked.

  “No time like the present,” Roy replied, and pulled a folded letter from his pocket. “Take a look while the light’s still good, mistress.”

  Sophie took the letter and allowed her eyes to scan the page. The ink was faded but still legible. The paragraph at the bottom was a jumble of letters, the words making no sense. Ignoring Roy’s questioning gaze, she stepped inside and went to fetch paper and ink. She carefully copied the paragraph onto a clean page and handed the letter back to Roy Smith. “I will think on it and let you know,” she said.

  “When?” Smith demanded.

  “When I have something to impart. In the meantime, please treat me with respect in my own house, or you will find yourself sleeping outside.”

  “She’s a feisty one,” Smith said to Teddy, grinning at her as if he were appraising a young filly.

  “You heard what she said,” Teddy replied.

  Roy Smith gave her an exaggerated bow. “I sincerely apologize if anything I said offended you in any way. I’m entirely at your command.”

  At least until I find your goddamn treasure, Sophie thought. She inclined her head to indicate that she’d heard the apology and accepted it, then put the folded paper in her pocket and went to start on supper. She wouldn’t give Roy Smith the satisfaction of doing his bidding. She’d look at the cypher when she was good and ready. As it was, she wished Teddy would make Roy Smith sleep elsewhere. The idea of him lying so close to them, especially when she was in a state of undress, made her extremely uncomfortable, and she resolved not to drink any ale with supper to avoid having to make water during the night. The man frightened her, and she wouldn’t put anything past him.

  She stole a peek at Teddy as he played on the floor with J.T. He’d brought him a carved wooden boat, complete with three masts and canvas sails. J.T. was in raptures and begged Teddy to let him sail the boat. Teddy found a basin and filled it with water, then let J.T. take the ship on her maiden voyage. Caleb sat next to J.T., but his gaze was fixed on their unwelcome visitor, his lips pressed into a thin line. Sophie breathed a sigh of relief when Roy Smith went outside to smoke a pipe, but the smoke that drifted in through the window reminded her they couldn’t speak freely. Teddy’s homecoming should have been a joyful time, not this tense standoff that she found herself in the midst of. Roy Smith didn’t strike her as someone who would simply go on his way and forget he’d ever seen them. Roy Smith would have his pound of flesh.

  Chapter 47

  The following day, Teddy and Roy went off together directly after breakfast. Teddy had been less than satisfied with the thin stew, made mostly of root vegetables, that Sophie had served for last night’s supper. After months aboard a ship, he wanted fresh meat, and he’d have it. Roy hadn’t been in the mood for hunting, but Teddy wasn’t about to go off and leave the man with Sophie.

  “She needs peace and quiet to think,” Teddy said to Roy. “Caleb will take the boy out and Sophie will apply herself to the cypher.”

  “She’d better,” Smith grumbled, but didn’t argue. He followed Teddy into the damp morning, his shoulders hunched, and his hat pulled low over his eyes to shield his face from the mist.

  “Can you do it, mistress?” Caleb stood behind her, peering over her shoulder at the strange collection of letters on the page.

  “I don’t know,” Sophie replied. The words looked like gibberish to her, but every code had a key, and if she could find a starting point, she just might figure it out. If she couldn’t get anywhere, she and Teddy would come up with a location of their own. Anything to get Smith away from her and J.T.

  Sophie finished clearing after breakfast, then went outside and sat down on the bench, where she’d have more light. The mist had cleared, and gentle sunlight streamed from a cloudless sky. She took out the paper and unfolded it, staring at the cypher once again.

  “Xli gliwx mw fyvmih sr lsk mwperh, xir tegiw rsvxl jvsq xli wtpmx wxsri ex xli xst sj xli lmpp. Ampp mw oiitmrk mx weji jsv csy.”

  Sophie read the words, then tried reading them backwards, but that didn’t work. It would have been far too obvious anyway. The man who’d written the letter had to protect the information at all cost, and probably had a prearranged system by which to tell his wife what she needed to know. Sophie looked at the words again, trying to discern a pattern. The word ‘xli’ appeared four times. What was the most common word in the English language that had three letters? Man, maybe. She considered this for a moment. Given that the first instance was at the beginning of what had to be a sentence, it was possible that ‘xli’ was ‘the.’ Sophie rewrote the words, substituting t for x, h for l, and e for i. What she got was,

  “The glewt mw fyvmih sr lsk mwperh, xer tegew rsvth jvsq the wtpmt wtsre et the tst sj the lmpp. Ampp mw oiitmrk mt weji jsv csy.”

  Sophie considered this new version of the text. It was still garbled and there were no obvious clues, except for maybe ‘et.’ Could it mean ‘at’? If she substituted e with a, then the text would read,

  “The glewt mw fyvmeh sr lsk mwparh, xer tagiw rsvxl jvsq the wtpmt wtsre at the tst sj the lmpp. Ampp mw oiitmrk mt waje jsv csy.”

  Sophie frowned. That didn’t help much, but she thought she might be on the right track. Something was niggling at her, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She refolded the paper and put it in her pocket. She had to take a walk to clear her head. Something was tugging at the loose thread of a memory, and if she could manage to grasp the thread before it slithered away, maybe she’d figure out what that was.

  She walked at a brisk pace, going about a half mile down the lane before turning back again. Her brow was furrowed, and her lips pursed as she tried to recall what she knew of cyphers, if anything at all. The elusive thought swam to the top of her brain like a fish enticed by a worm but vanished just before she could get it on the hook. She turned and retraced her steps, almost trotting in her agitation. She was perspiring freely, her hair damp beneath her cap. And then she stopped suddenly and looked up at the sky, her mouth opening in a wide O as she settled her hands on her hips and arched her back.

  “Oh-ho!” she cried, pleased with herself. Of course. She’d read about this very thing years ago in one of her father’s books.

  Rushing back, Sophie went inside and fetched her pen and ink. She laid the paper flat on the table and counted under her breath, carefully replacing letters with other letters. When done, she reread what she’d written, her brows lifting in amazement. It really had been almost too easy. Would Captain Kidd have resorted to such an obvious method of communicating with his wife? She had no way of knowing, but what she now had before her was the message, and it made perfect sense.

  “The chest is buried on hog island, ten paces north from the split stone at the top of the hill. Will is keeping it safe for you.”

  Sophie whooped with delight. She’d done it. She’d broken a cypher written in 1701 in one morning. Teddy would be so proud of her, she thought as she hid the note beneath her pillow and turned her attention to her chores. Now, all they had to do was find the loot and send Roy Smith on his way.
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br />   When Teddy and Roy returned in the late afternoon, Sophie waited patiently while they hung the carcass of a doe they’d killed off a sturdy branch, slit its throat to allow the blood to drain, and buried the entrails to keep the animals away. Teddy carved a chunk of meat from the haunch and handed it to Sophie to use for their supper. The rest would have to wait till tomorrow. Teddy and Roy cleaned themselves up while Sophie added chunks of fresh meat to the broth and vegetables she had simmering over the open flame. As the aroma of cooking meat filled the house, she set the table and invited the men to sit. Everyone tucked into the food, savoring the hearty stew that stuffed their bellies until they were pleasantly drowsy.

  “Have you looked at the cypher?” Roy asked, his gaze burning with resentment. “I see you had time to bake bread, wash Teddy’s drawers, and make supper. Surely you had time to study the text.”

  “As a matter of fact, I have looked at it,” Sophie replied noncommittally.

  “And?”

  “And it’s a simple Caesar cypher,” Sophie replied.

  “What’s that, then?” Roy demanded.

  “Julius Caesar, Roman emperor,” she elucidated for Roy’s benefit, “used this cypher to send coded messages to his generals and advisors. Basically, he simply shifted the letters by a previously agreed upon number.”

  “Meaning?” Roy Smith growled, not amused by Sophie’s smugness.

  “Meaning that if he used the number three, a would become d, b would become e, and so forth. Once you figured out the number, the code was easy to break.”

  “And have you broken it?” Roy asked, his mouth open in admiration.

  “I have. Captain Kidd used four.” Sophie took out the note from her pocket, unfolded it, and laid it on the table before Teddy and Roy with a flourish, the message clearly written at the bottom.

  “Well, I’ll be,” Roy said, shaking his head. “That’s one brainy woman you’ve got there, Ted.” He smiled broadly. “We should go tomorrow.”