“Who is it?” A gruff voice came from within.
“I have information about Thaddeus Evans.”
Nick heard the sound of footsteps and the door opened a crack.
“Who are you?” said a man who glared from behind the door.
“My name is Stockard, and I know where you can find Evans.”
The door opened wider and Nick could see that the man had red hair, long and shaggy, his beard full and rust colored. His pale blue eyes were watery, and one arm was bandaged. Behind him, three men sat at a table, playing poker. One was short and stout and also sported a bandage. All the men were in their undershirts and trousers, sweating in the warm room. The red-haired man admitted Nick, and one of the men at the table, an older man with gray hair, and a powerfully-muscled body, stood.
“Are you Vanderhoff?” Nick asked.
“I am Nathan Vanderhoff. Evans killed my son. This here’s his brother, Jack.” He indicated another very large man still seated. “Evans winged Bob and Cole here, and killed two more of my best men along with my son Tom. What do you know of him?”
“I know he is in Albany living with his brother, and I will know more, most likely in another day or two.”
“Why are you telling us this?” asked Nathan.
“Because I want information too. He is with a woman I am looking for.”
“Oh, that good-lookin’ woman he was with when we saw him at the opera, Pa,” said Jack.
Nick jerked his head to look at the man. “You saw them at the opera together?”
“Yeah. They was real friendly with each other, too,” Jack said with a nasty grin.
“And when we tried to catch ’em a couple a weeks later, they was comin’ out of a party together, dressed real nice, and ran off down the street together.” Bob added: “I reckon they spent the night holed up somewhere real cozy.”
Nick’s jaw clenched. He knew it. Cassandra was sleeping with this Evans. Now, there was only one thing he could think to do and that was to obliterate the man—erase him from history.
“Yeah, and she was with him when they killed Tom,” the short man said. “They got away from us and onto the ferry. We know they was staying in a house over there in Queens County; those damn do-gooders kept ’em safe somewhere, but we couldn’t get them to give ’em up.”
“I wanted to kill ’em, but Bob said we couldn’t ’cause we wouldn’t get away with it,” Jack said. “If we had, we prob’ly coulda caught Evans and his band o’ runaways. That woulda been some good money.”
“Yeah, and you woulda hung,” Nathan said angrily. “You buncha idiots have cost me good. The bounty on those runaways was huge.” To Nick he said: “Do you think if we find Evans, we will find them too?”
Nick felt a pang of guilt. “Yeah,” he replied, when his jealousy caught up to him. “Or at least you can wring their whereabouts out of him before you kill him.”
“Well, we’re gonna have some expenses going all the way to Albany,” said Nathan, looking Nick up and down. “You wanna contribute to the fund? You look like you got money.”
“Sure,” said Nick. “This is all I got on me.” He threw a wad of twenties on the table and Nathan grabbed it up greedily.
“I am going to see Reverend Williams again tomorrow and I will try to find out more about the brother. I will let you know if I do. If my woman does not return by then, I will go to Albany myself to get her back. Your tracking skills will come in handy for me.”
“Well, we’ll be here,” Nathan said, plopping back down in a chair. “You play?”
“No,” Nick answered, eyeing the table distastefully. “If you do not see me back here tomorrow night, it will be because she came back to New York. But consider yourself paid for Evans’ death.”
“It’ll be more than our pleasure.” Nathan growled. “Woulda done it no matter what. You just made it a little easier.”
“Glad to be of service,” said Nick, going to the door.
*****
Two carriages stood waiting in the front drive of Cecil Evans’ home. Inside the house, all of the travelers were packed and ready to go, those moving on to Canada with their many pieces of luggage, and Cassandra and Evie going back to New York with nothing more than the clothes they had arrived in and their small handbags. Thaddeus hung back, his hands in his pockets, waiting to say goodbye. It was early morning; neither Cecil nor his wife had risen to bid farewell to their guests.
Cassandra took a breath, and embraced Miss Johnston, then Miss Ketchum and Samuel in turn. She then turned to Thaddeus. She could not say what she wanted to say with the others looking on, but, they had already spoken their farewells in each other’s arms before they had risen from his bed that morning. They had made love for hours the night before. She had reluctantly told him her address in Boston, knowing that he’d never find her there. Now, she simply put out her hand to him and he kissed it, his face pale. She then went to hug Caleb and turned to Evie, wondering why she was not saying her goodbyes now, but Evie was looking at her with tears in her sea-green eyes, biting her lower lip.
“What is it, Evie?” Cassandra whispered.
“I am going with him,” she said, trembling.
Cassandra stared at her. Caleb stood firm by her side, and everyone turned to them. Cassandra looked to the other travelers for help, but no one spoke.
She moved close to Evie and lowered her voice to a hiss. “No, you are not.”
“Yes,” said Evie defiantly. “I love him, and I am going with him.”
Cassandra’s voice rose. “You are not going. You are not. You are coming with me and that is final. Dear God, Evie, what are you thinking? This is not possible! You are not going!!”
The others shifted uncomfortably on their feet.
Caleb spoke. “Mrs. Reilly, I need her to come with me. I cannot live without her. She must come with me.”
Cassandra grasped Caleb’s wrist. “No, Caleb, do not do this to her. You do not understand, and I cannot explain. Her life will be ruined. She cannot go with you. Please believe me when I tell you that it is not possible for her to go. She is not thinking, please, talk to her; do not let her do this! Do not be selfish Caleb; do not take her into that life. She has such an amazing future before her.”
Caleb’s expression changed. He looked at Evie as if he was considering for the first time the possibility that he’d be harming his love in any way to bring her along, or the danger of the journey and the hardships ahead. He glanced over her soft hands, her lovely clothes, her delicate skin.
“Then I will stay with her,” he said. “I will take the chance. I shall go back to New York with you, Evie, and then we will go to Boston together. I will be safer there.”
“No!” cried Evie.
Thaddeus stepped forward. “Caleb, no. Do not do this. You could be caught if you step foot back in New York. You must go with the others on to Canada. You are not thinking!”
“I do not care!” the young man cried. “I would rather die than live without Evelyn!”
“Caleb,” Evie said, “do not say that. I cannot have you risk your life by going back to New York. Or to Boston. I will not allow it.”
“Then come with me. I will protect you. I will work night and day to make you comfortable, to give you the life you are used to. I promise you.”
“We have to go,” Miss Johnston said firmly. Cassandra wondered if she feared losing her own resolve to go on to Canada. “Caleb, come with us. Miss Bay will do what she has to do, but you must come along.”
Evie looked imploringly at Cassandra.
“Come with me, Evie,” said Cassandra. “Say goodbye and come with me. We will miss our train.”
Evie turned back to Caleb. “No. I will be too great a burden if I go with you. Mrs. Reilly is right. I am used to…certain comforts…a certain life. I will be a hindrance to you as you strive to make your way. This cannot be, Caleb.”
He reached out his hand to her and she took it. He pulled her in close, and she sank into
his arms, sobbing.
“Come find me, Evelyn,” he whispered. “I will wait for you in St. Catherines. I will wait for you there as long as I have to.”
“Perhaps, perhaps I can find a way to do it, Caleb, so that we can live together without struggle or hardship.”
“Evie,” said Cassandra, “do not promise him that.” She took Evie’s hand and drew her away from Caleb.
“It will give him reason to hope, Cassandra,” said Thaddeus.
Cassandra looked into his eyes and sadly smiled.
“Just…just give me one more minute, Cassandra,” Evie said.
She went to Miss Johnston and Miss Ketchum and kissed them. She hugged and kissed Samuel on the cheek, and bestowed Thaddeus with an affectionate embrace.
“Hurry, now,” urged Miss Johnston. “We must be on our way.”
Thaddeus walked Cassandra to the carriage and helped her in with a fervent kiss on her hand. “I wish I had reason to believe you would come and find me too.”
“It will not be in my power. At least promise me that you will never forget me, Thaddeus.”
“Never.”
Caleb came out of the house with two large suitcases. Evie followed him, and they walked around to the other side of the carriage. Cassandra felt a jostling and heard a loud thud on the top of the vehicle and was aware that the coachman was tying something to the roof. Evie climbed in silently, tears streaming down her face. Cassandra saw Caleb get into the other carriage with Samuel, Miss Johnston, and Miss Ketchum.
“Good-bye, Cassandra,” said Thaddeus.
“Good-bye,” she said, her own tears flowing.
He closed the carriage door, and they drove away. They arrived at the train station, descended from the carriage, and Cassandra began to walk briskly to the ticket booth.
“Wait!” cried Evie.
Cassandra turned and saw the coachman untying a suitcase from the roof. He swung it down and hauled it after them.
“What is that?” Cassandra asked Evie.
“My things,” Evie said with a red face.
“You had your clothes and things with you all along? All this time you had planned to go?”
“Yes. They were among the bags that Carter brought back with him to Astoria. I pretended that I didn’t have anything here in Albany because I did not want you to know.”
Cassandra stared at her, speechless, then turned abruptly and stalked into the station. She bought their tickets while Evie oversaw the handling of the suitcase. They boarded the train and rode the eight hours barely speaking, except to order food in the dining car. Cassandra slept most of the way as the train rumbled alongside the Hudson River, through Yonkers and the Bronx.
The Bronx depot was the last stop. Evie paid a porter to carry her suitcase across the street to a dock, where the women got on a ferry and floated down the Harlem and East River to a port at Forty-second street. There, they hired a coach and rode downtown in silence, through streets that were clearing out for the evening. Cassandra was exhausted. She just wanted to get back to the house on Fifteenth Street, get the rest of their things, and get to the portal.
As they neared Twenty-third Street, they saw a column of smoke in the distance, rising through the red sunset. They could hear a far-off clanging of fire wagon bells. Cassandra suddenly remembered reading, in her preparation for the trip, that All Angels Church had suffered more than one fire in its history. The driver was headed to Miss Johnston’s home, but Cassandra had a sinking feeling and asked him to make a detour to the church.
They were within several blocks of the church, and the billowing smoke was still before them, growing every minute. As they came closer, they saw people running toward it, others running away, but the fire wagons multiplied, pulled by horses racing along at breakneck speed.
“Oh my God,” whispered Evie, covering her mouth with her hand.
Once they were within a block of the church, they could go no further. The street was clogged with fire engines and people, and flames were shooting into the sky.
Evie and Cassandra both clambered out of the carriage as the driver tried to hold his horses in check. Cassandra handed money to him.
“Wait here!” she told him.
They ran down the street as far as they could until they met with a barricade of policemen holding the crowd back. The rectory building was nearly engulfed in flames, and sparks were igniting the roof of the parish hall.
“Reverend Williams!” Evie gasped, “Sarah!”
“Is anyone in there?” Cassandra asked a police officer.
“We do not know, ma’am,” was all he said before he turned away from her to deal with the mayhem.
Firemen directed their hoses at the flames, spewing water that came from a reservoir wagon. A line of people that Cassandra recognized from the congregation had formed a bucket brigade and were passing tubs of water forward from the well in the square in front of the church.
“Someone’s got to go in there!” screamed Evie. “Someone has got to save them!”
“It is too late, miss,” another officer said to her. “If anyone’s still in there, it is already too late.”
“Oh my God!” Evie cried, collapsing into Cassandra’s arms. “No! It cannot be possible!”
Suddenly the walls caved in, and the building was completely engulfed in flames. There was a cacophony of shouts and screams, bells clanging, whistles, the crackling of the fire, the roaring of flames. Cassandra dragged Evie back away from the searing heat, and pulled her towards the carriage far up the block.
“We have got to get back to the house!” she yelled.
Pushing through the crowd, she got them to the vehicle and told the driver to head to West Fifteenth Street. As they drove, Evie wept into her hands, while Cassandra racked her brain trying to remember the outcome of the fires, or when and how the deaths of Reverend Williams and Sarah had occurred.
When they arrived at the house, Cassandra paid the driver, and he took the suitcase to the porch, while Cassandra helped Evie down. The door opened, and there stood Reverend Williams, his hair and eyes wild, his face and clothing smudged with soot.
“Oh thank God!” cried Evie as she rushed to embrace him.
“We just came from the fire,” Cassandra croaked, as she walked toward him, relieved beyond words.
Sarah was behind him in a second. “Where is my daughter?” she shrieked.
“She is…she is safe,” said Cassandra, “but, she is gone.”
“Gone! Gone where?” demanded Sarah.
“Come inside, dear ladies,” the reverend said, gently moving them past his daughter.
“I will explain.” said Cassandra.
“Yes, but let us get you some water,” he said. “Come, sit down in the parlor.”
“Cassandra!”
It was Nick, rushing through the parlor door.
It took Cassandra a moment to realize what she was seeing. “Nick?”
“Oh, Cassandra!” He moved past Reverend Williams and Sarah and grabbed her into his arms. “Cassandra! I am so glad to see you!”
Cassandra pushed back from him. “What are you doing here?”
“Nick, we are so glad to see you!” said Evie, hugging him. “Reverend, Mrs. Johnston, I cannot tell you how relieved we are that you are all right! Was anyone in the rectory that you know of?”
“Wait a minute!” said Cassandra. “What is going on?”
Nick began to speak.
“Was the church spared?” the reverend asked the two women.
“I think so,” said Evie.
They all went to sit in the parlor, Nick taking a seat next to Cassandra on the sofa as she stared at him in disbelief.
“Mrs. Reilly, I want to know where my daughter is,” pressed Sarah through her tears. She wiped her face with a handkerchief while she and her father sat. Evie pulled a chair near to Sarah and placed a hand on the woman’s arm.
“She went with them,” said Cassandra, looking at her lap.
�
�But why?” stormed the reverend. “Why would she leave our work? How could she leave us?”
Cassandra looked up into his eyes, now blue-gray. She understood that he didn’t know his granddaughter’s secret, nor did her mother.
“She wanted to see them to safety. She wanted to see them to Canada.” She watched relief spread over their faces.
“Then she is coming back!” Sarah exclaimed.
“I do not know,” said Cassandra. “Hopefully, yes.”
“It is just like her,” Sarah said to her father with loving exasperation, “to take it all the way. Not to leave anything to chance.”
“Yes,” said the reverend proudly. “It is like her.”
Cassandra thought about the letter Miss Johnston had written, and realized the woman had never given it to her. She imagined that Miss Johnston would send it from Canada.
“Yes, she is a remarkable young woman. It has been my honor to know her these past weeks.” She pulled her hand away from Nick’s.
“Oh, Mrs. Reilly, your fiancé is our hero!” exclaimed Sarah, recovering her composure.
Cassandra shot Nick a questioning glance, but the woman continued.
“He was with us at the rectory. We had finished dinner and were discussing what to do to find you two and my daughter. We heard a strange sound, then we smelled smoke, and suddenly realized the roof was on fire. I rushed to get some valuables and Father was gathering up the family bible and some important church papers, but Mr. Stockard forced us to leave the building and we did so just in time. We came here to recover our senses. If it were not for him, we might have perished!”
“It was nothing, please,” said Nick.
“But—” Cassandra began.
Caroline and Anna Mae came in with trays of tea and sandwiches and clucked over everyone, expressing joy at seeing the travelers returned safely.
Evie rose. “If you will all excuse me, I am not hungry. I need to have a little rest and begin preparing my things for our return.”
“She must be havin’ a hard time lettin’ go of Caleb,” said Anna Mae quietly after Evie was out of ear shot. “She had it bad for that man; can’ say as I blame her, either.”
“Anna Mae!” declared Sarah.
“Well, it’s the truth,” the cook muttered.
The Time Heiress Page 25