City of Lies

by Victoria Thompson

  “What? No, of course not.”

  She didn’t look convinced. “You looked like something was wrong. I didn’t mean to . . . Did I cause offense?”

  “I’m not offended,” he said, sounding offended even to himself. “I just, uh . . .” He said the first thing that came to mind. “I just remembered my employer told me I could only be gone three days, and if I didn’t come back then, I’d lose my position.”

  “And how long have you been gone?”

  “Over a week. More like ten days.”

  “Oh dear.”

  But that wasn’t really what was bothering him. Oh no, not at all. She’d just brought him to the realization that his career gave him no satisfaction. None whatsoever. In fact, the possibility that he might never have to return to Devoss and Van Aken was oddly cheering.

  “They wouldn’t really dismiss you, would they?” she asked with a worried frown that cheered him even more because it meant she might actually care.

  “I doubt it,” he said with regret.

  “I should hope they wouldn’t punish you for saving all of us. As you pointed out, that’s what attorneys do.”

  “Well, that’s not really what I usually do.”

  “It isn’t?”

  “No. What I usually do is prepare wills and manage trusts and make sure rich people’s children stay rich.” He thought of Ernest Pike and his musical daughter, Eugenia.

  “That must be . . . interesting,” she tried.

  “Not very.”

  “Oh,” she said uncertainly. Then, “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. They pay me well enough, so I shouldn’t have any complaints.”

  “And yet you do.” Her blue eyes sparkled. Was it with mischief?

  “Not really,” he lied. “I was only complaining so I could mention that I’m comfortably fixed, so you’ll know I’m a good catch.”

  That brought the smile he’d been seeking. “Do you frequently manage to work that into your conversation?”

  “Never before until today.”

  Those lovely eyes widened just a tiny bit, but instead of giving him the flirtatious grin he’d been hoping for, she turned away.

  “Now I’m afraid I’ve given offense,” he said, willing her to deny it.

  When she turned back, she said, “Don’t be silly.” But her smile was forced and her eyes troubled. “I’ll be sure to mention that you’re comfortably fixed to every suffragist girl I meet.” Meaning, of course, that she had no interest in the information for herself. He could have accepted that with good grace if she hadn’t looked so sad about it.

  How odd. She didn’t seem like the kind of girl to get all vaporish from a little flirting, even if he had been half-serious. Or maybe more than half, if he were honest. Elizabeth Miles was the most interesting woman he’d ever met. But she’d folded her hands in her lap so tightly, he would have bet her knuckles were white beneath her gloves.

  “Miss Miles, is something wrong?” he asked, echoing her words.

  Her forced smile relaxed. “Of course something is wrong. Women are downtrodden and have no voice in their government and no rights as individuals.”

  Before he could think of an appropriate reply, their cab lurched to a halt, and the driver said, “Here we are, folks, and just in time, I’d say.”

  • • •

  By the time they had all traveled from the Willard Hotel to Union Station, sat for half an hour in the massive waiting area and walked down to the tracks and finally boarded their train to New York, Anna was exhausted and Elizabeth wasn’t feeling much better. Thank heaven they had the two young men to handle their luggage and make sure it was all loaded onto the train. Elizabeth cringed a little when Mrs. Bates raised her eyebrows at the amount of her luggage, but fortunately she said nothing, so Elizabeth didn’t have to justify it. She only hoped there was something in those many cases that she’d be able to wear without looking as snobbish as the woman she’d stolen them from.

  Elizabeth found a section of empty seats and guided Anna into one before collapsing beside her. Anna fell asleep before the train even began to move.

  Mrs. Bates took a seat across the aisle from them, and the two men sat behind them. Elizabeth found the rumble of their deep voices comforting, as long as they weren’t asking her any questions she didn’t want to answer. Or hinting that they’d like to court her, as Gideon had done this morning. He already suspected something was different about her. She couldn’t give him a chance to discover even more.

  Once the train was on its way, Elizabeth finally relaxed and fell into a light doze until she heard Gideon Bates say Thornton’s name.

  Every nerve in her body jumped to attention, and she strained to hear over the clatter of the wheels.

  “Don’t worry,” David said. “I’m not going to help him.”

  “What is it he wants?” Gideon asked.

  “He has some rifles he wants to sell to the army.”

  “Rifles? Where would Thornton get rifles?”

  “How should I know? I assume he bought them. That’s what he does, I understand, and how he made his money in the first place. He buys things and sells them at a profit and probably for more than they’re worth. I wouldn’t have given him the time of day, but Senator Wadsworth sent him.”

  “How does Thornton know a senator?” Gideon asked, echoing Elizabeth’s own question.

  “He’s got money, Gideon. Politicians know everybody who has money.”

  “And why did the senator send him to you?”

  David cleared his throat, and Elizabeth imagined him squirming under Gideon’s relentless gaze. “The senator appointed me to a committee. We’re advising the army on purchasing materiel.”

  “Materiel? Do you even know what that is?”

  “Of course I know what it is. Supplies. Armaments.”

  “And what do you know about armaments? Or supplies, either, for that matter?”

  “I know how to bring people together to do business, and it’s my patriotic duty to help with the war effort.”

  David sounded a little whiny, but Elizabeth thought he made a good argument. Gideon obviously did not.

  “Just make sure Oscar Thornton isn’t one of those people you bring together.”

  “I told you not to worry. I’m going to string him along for a while until he loses patience with me and goes someplace else. He’s probably going to sell his rifles to the government, though, whether I help him or not.”

  “I understand that. Just don’t make it easy for him,” Gideon said. “And whatever you do, keep him away from my mother.”

  David muttered some kind of promise to do just that, and Elizabeth vowed to stay as close to Mrs. Bates as possible until she could collect her money from the Old Man and get out of New York City.

  CHAPTER NINE

  “And, Mother, this is my very dearest friend, Elizabeth Miles,” Anna said after her mother had tearfully embraced her and welcomed her home.

  Anna drew Elizabeth forward for her mother’s inspection. Mrs. Vanderslice was an older version of Anna, fair and frail and more than overwhelmed by the thought of her only daughter spending time in jail. “I’m very pleased to meet you, Miss Miles.”

  “Elizabeth saved my life,” Anna said, shocking her mother completely.

  “Oh dear,” Mrs. Vanderslice murmured, and for an awful second, Elizabeth feared she might actually faint.

  “Anna is exaggerating,” Elizabeth said quickly. “Our lives were never really in danger, and Anna was just as much a comfort to me as I was to her.”

  “Miss Miles is being modest,” David said. “Mrs. Bates told Gideon and me some of the things she did, and you should have seen her in the courtroom.”

  Before Elizabeth could even register David’s endorsement, Anna was at it again.

  “Elizabeth lives in
South Dakota, so we couldn’t let her go all the way out there alone when she just got off a hunger strike. That’s why I convinced her to come home with us, and I’ve invited her to stay here for as long as she wants.”

  “Oh, yes, of course,” Mrs. Vanderslice said, managing a rather stiff smile. “We’re happy to have you, Miss Miles. David wired me that Anna was bringing a guest, so I’ve had the spare room made up for you. Let me confirm Anna’s invitation to stay as long as you like.”

  Elizabeth didn’t think that would be very long at all once she managed to sneak out to find the Old Man, but she thanked Mrs. Vanderslice and let Anna take her upstairs to her room.

  “Oh, Elizabeth, I’m so glad you’re here,” Anna said, linking arms with her as they climbed the stairs. The Vanderslice home was an old one, with dark, heavy paneling and large, heavy furniture. They’d probably once had money, but now they carried on in genteel poverty, or at least not more than comfortable circumstances. David obviously worked, just as Gideon did, and Elizabeth was sure he didn’t do it just to keep from being bored. Too bad he wasn’t going to help Thornton. She could probably show David how to make a small fortune off that rat.

  Anna pointed out her own bedroom, which was right next door to Elizabeth’s. The servants had started carrying up their baggage, and once again Elizabeth felt a twinge of regret for having stolen so very much luggage. Nothing she could do about it now, though.

  “Can I watch you unpack?” Anna asked. “You must have some lovely things.”

  “I . . . uh . . . I wasn’t sure what I would need here, so I brought everything I own,” Elizabeth lied. She opened one of the smaller bags to find an impressive array of toiletries and a set of silver-handled brushes and combs.

  While Anna oohed and aahed over them, Elizabeth chose a larger case and opened it to find several stylish day dresses carefully wrapped in tissue paper. She silently thanked her benefactress for having packed something Elizabeth could actually wear.

  “What’s in that one?” Anna asked, coming over to see.

  “I’m not sure what’s in any of them,” Elizabeth said quite truthfully, but she had to come up with another lie to explain why. “The hotel maids packed them after I was arrested.”

  Anna seemed invigorated by the chance to examine Elizabeth’s wardrobe, and together they checked the contents of every one of the cases. Anna was shocked speechless by the elaborate evening gowns that Elizabeth couldn’t imagine ever having occasion to wear. At least they found some sensible shirtwaists and skirts along with some needlessly fancy nightdresses.

  “Are these real?” Anna asked, opening a jewel case to find a tangle of sparkling necklaces and bracelets.

  Good heavens! “Of course not,” she said, pretty sure they were.

  “This could be a trousseau,” Anna marveled with an uneasy smile. “Is there something you haven’t told me?”

  “My aunt is very . . . Well, she insisted I have new clothes to wear in the East. I told her I was visiting an old friend from school, and she didn’t want me to be embarrassed.” Elizabeth was a little alarmed at how easily the lies were coming to her. She shouldn’t have been, though. She’d always been an excellent liar. The Old Man said it was her best skill.

  So why did lying suddenly bother her?

  Anna didn’t seem quite convinced. Elizabeth obviously needed to give more thought to her lies. She couldn’t have Anna doubting her. “I was afraid you were going to tell me you’re engaged to some fellow out West.”

  “Not likely. I’m not even sure I want to get married at all.” Which wasn’t a lie. The thought of putting herself into the power of some idiot man held no appeal for her. She’d seen too many women live to regret their choices.

  “Really?” Anna said. “I don’t want to get married, either. I thought I was the only girl alive who felt that way. They used to laugh at me at school when I said it, but the thought of having to live with some man day after day and sleep in his bed . . .” She shuddered delicately.

  “Maybe you just haven’t found the right man yet.”

  “That’s what Mother always says, but I don’t think any man would be the right one. Oh, Elizabeth, wouldn’t it be wonderful if you and I could live together instead? We could get a little house of our own, and we’d never have to worry about a man telling us what to do.”

  “That does sound wonderful,” Elizabeth agreed.

  “I was telling the truth when I said you are my dearest friend. I never felt this way about anyone else, not even the girls I’ve been friends with all my life.”

  Elizabeth stopped rummaging through the latest suitcase and turned to look at Anna. She was sitting on the bed, her eyes wide and suspiciously moist.

  “You’re my dearest friend, too,” Elizabeth said. And her only one.

  Anna jumped up and threw her arms around Elizabeth. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.” It was, Elizabeth marveled, the truth.

  “This is the last one, miss,” the maid said, bringing in one last suitcase.

  Anna and Elizabeth broke apart. Anna laid a hand over her heart and gave a little titter of delighted laughter.

  “I brought your case up, too, Miss Anna,” the maid said, not even looking at them. “It’s in your room.”

  Anna took both of Elizabeth’s hands in hers. “Promise me you’ll stay here forever.”

  “I can’t do that, but I’ll stay until you get tired of me.”

  “Then that will be forever!”

  “Anna, dear,” her mother said from the doorway, “you must give Miss Miles a chance to rest from the trip, and I’m sure you should also lie down for a while before supper. You’ve been through quite an ordeal.”

  “Your mother is right,” Elizabeth said, noticing again the dark circles under Anna’s eyes and the sunken hollows of her cheeks. “You should get some rest.”

  “All right, but only because you asked me,” Anna said, and started for the door.

  “Oh, I almost forgot why I came up,” Mrs. Vanderslice said. “Some flowers just arrived for you girls.”

  “Flowers?” Anna said.

  “Yes, an enormous arrangement. I had it put on the dining room table. It was addressed to both of you, and you’ll never believe who sent it.”

  Anna gave Elizabeth a questioning glance. Elizabeth thought fleetingly of Gideon Bates, but he didn’t seem like the type to send flowers for no reason. “I have no idea.”

  “Who was it?” Anna asked her mother.

  “Oscar Thornton.”

  • • •

  The card did indeed have both of their names on it, Elizabeth confirmed at supper that evening, and Thornton had used the name she was going by now to prove he knew it. She shouldn’t have been surprised. Thornton’s thugs had obviously seen her getting off the train with Gideon Bates in Washington and had probably been watching her ever since. They could have asked any of the other women what her name was, or even David or Gideon. Of course, it wasn’t her real name, but it was her name for the moment. How well done on Thornton’s part. He not only knew her name but where to find her.

  She’d never intended to stay with Anna forever, but now staying here at all was no longer safe. She’d have to get out of the city as soon as possible.

  “What a lovely gown,” Mrs. Vanderslice said when they were seated.

  “Thank you,” Elizabeth said. It fit rather well, too, she was happy to discover. The maid who helped her dress had loosened her corset laces slightly when the gown proved a bit big. Elizabeth blamed it on her recent hunger strike. “It’s so much nicer than our prison clothes.”

  Mrs. Vanderslice blanched at this, but Anna giggled. “Oh, Mother, you would have fainted dead away if you’d seen me in my prison dress. The fabric looked like mattress ticking.”

  “You girls have been through so much,” Mrs. Vanderslice said as the mai
d came in to serve them their soup. “I hope it hasn’t coarsened you.”

  “It’s made me stronger,” Anna said. “I don’t think I’ll ever be afraid of anything again.”

  David leaned sideways in his seat so he could see her around the mound of flowers. “I might just test you by releasing a mouse in your bedroom.”

  Anna glared playfully at him, and his mother said, “David, don’t tease your sister.”

  He leaned the other way so he could see Elizabeth. “And what about you, Miss Miles? Do you fear nothing now, too?”

  “Oh no. In fact, being in the workhouse only increased my fear of mice, I’m sorry to say.”

  David started to say something else, then sighed and rose from his chair.

  “David, what are you—” his mother began, then stopped when he picked up the flower arrangement and moved it to the far end of the long table.

  He resumed his seat. “There. Now I can see you. See you both,” he added diplomatically to Anna.

  Elizabeth rewarded him with a smile, glad he’d given her an opening. “Which reminds me: I’m not used to receiving flowers from gentlemen I’ve never met. Who is this Mr. Thornton and why was he so helpful to us?” The more she knew about Thornton, the better.

  “Oh my,” Mrs. Vanderslice said, “he’s no one you’d care to know, I’m sure.”

  “Mrs. Bates thinks he killed his wife,” Anna whispered, probably so the maid wouldn’t hear, although Elizabeth was sure the maid knew anyway.

  “I did get that idea,” Elizabeth said.

  “To answer your question,” David said in a normal voice to let her know he was taking charge, “Oscar Thornton is a newcomer to the city. He made his fortune in nails or something like that. He bought a lot of them at a bargain price and sold them for a profit. Then he kept on buying and selling until he could set himself up in style here in the city.”

  “He did this just with nails?” Elizabeth asked.

  “Oh no. He’d buy anything he thought he could sell at a profit.”

  “And when he came to the city, he met Marjorie Behrend,” Anna said.