He expected a very convincing denial that she knew any such person. He expected anger, or possibly an attempt to charm her way out of the situation. She did not do what he expected.
She grabbed the bottle beside her, then smashed it against the edge of the table, spraying brandy and shards of glass in all directions. She slashed at him with the broken bottle, forcing him to jump back. The moment he did, she was out of the chair.
She faced him with her makeshift weapon and moved slowly toward the door, her gaze never leaving his face. “I’ll not go back to Virginia,” she said through clenched teeth. “I’d rather die.”
The vehemence of her reaction was startling. At this moment, she was poised for flight, her eyes wide with a terror far greater than any he had provoked in her thus far. He wondered what this Willoughby had done to her. He could well envision the possibilities, and he was sickened by them.
Just now, she reminded him of a wild, cornered animal, and he treated her as one, speaking in a gentle voice as he walked slowly toward her. “It’s all right, Katie. Provided you start telling me the truth, and provided we can come to some sort of agreement, I’ll not send you back to him. You have my word on it.”
His word did not seem to be enough for her. She lifted her weapon higher, pointing the sharp, jagged edge of the broken bottle at his face, and continued to move backward until she hit the door behind her. Her hand was shaking badly, and he had no doubt she would attempt to use her weapon if she felt she had to do so. That did not worry him, since he could easily overpower her by force, but Ethan simply held out his hand. “Give me the bottle, Katie.”
She did not comply. She did not move.
“Even if you manage to get away from me, all I need to do is send the constables after you,” he pointed out. “You have no horse, no friends, and no money. You would be found before you could even get out of the city, and you would be packed off to Virginia. Wouldn’t it be better for you to take your chances with me?”
With those words, all the fight seemed to drain out of her. She sagged back against the door, and he took advantage of the moment. He seized her wrist and wrenched it with just enough force to make her drop the broken bottle. Still holding her wrist firmly, he bent and picked up her makeshift weapon, then led her back to her chair. He put the jagged bottle far out of her reach in the opposite corner of the room and resumed his place in front of her.
“Now, let’s return to the matter at hand, shall we?” Ethan suggested, his voice once again becoming hard and implacable. “As flattered as I am at the idea that a beautiful girl such as yourself would be infatuated with me, I don’t believe it for a moment. So, tell me the real reason you are asking people questions about me. Tell me why you followed me tonight.”
When she still did not answer, he shrugged and said, “Very well. I’ll have the constable fetch you. You’ll spend the night in stocks, and tomorrow I’ll see that you are returned to Virginia. I’m sure your master will be overjoyed to see you again.”
Her lip trembled, and she suddenly capitulated. “All right, all right!” she cried. “I confess, I am not in love with you at all. I had other reasons for my interest.”
“Which are?”
“From the way you talked, it became obvious that you are a Whig rebel and one of those Boston revolutionaries,” she told him. “I also realized that the Mermaid is one of the places where you meet with other rebels.”
“So?”
She took a deep breath. “So, I thought if I could find out something important about you and the others, something damaging, then it might…” Her voice faltered, and she fell silent.
“I am losing my patience. It might what?”
She licked her dry lips. “I figured it might be worth something to the government here. If I found out some things about you and your rebel friends, I thought somebody might pay me for the information.”
Now, that was an answer with a ring of truth in it. The girl was an opportunist, and she was definitely in need of money. “And to whom did you think you would sell this information?”
She shrugged. “I thought the governor, perhaps. Or his aide-de-camp.”
“What do you know of the governor?”
“I know he wants to find out everything he possibly can about the Whigs.”
“And how do you know that?”
“For heaven’s sake,” she said impatiently, “I can read a newspaper.”
Katie was full of surprises. Most girls in her situation couldn’t even write their own names. “I see. So you assumed Governor Gage would find information about me and my friends valuable?”
“There is talk on the streets that Gage has paid private citizens for information in the past. When I realized you were a seditionist and the Mermaid a rebel meeting place, I figured I might just as well take advantage of that and see what I could get.”
“Let me assure you that at this point, you don’t have any information Gage’s spies don’t already know.”
A shrewd look came into her eye. “Except where John Smith, longshoreman, really lives.”
Ethan well appreciated the danger of that knowledge. He fell silent, thinking over what she had told him, and she seemed to take his silence for condemnation. “I’m just trying to survive,” she said defensively. “I can’t remain in Boston long, or Willoughby might find me, and as I told you before, I would rather die than go back to him. But to move on, I need money. I thought this would be a quick way to get it.”
That was probably true enough. He folded his arms, studying her. He could see no sign of deception, but he also knew that didn’t mean a thing. Still, her story made sense, and given what he knew of her character, it was likely she would take advantage of the opportunity she had been given. After all, starving and on the run, why shouldn’t she?
“How did you find out about Willoughby?” she asked.
“They keep lists of runaways. It was a simple matter to check them. One James Willoughby of Norfolk, Virginia, reported the loss of an indentured servant matching your description and giving the name of Katie Armstrong. Armstrong is your surname, is it not?”
“Yes,” she said with a sigh.
“At the very least,” he continued, “you should have changed your Christian name to something more common—Jane or Anne, perhaps.”
She turned her head to look up at him, meeting his gaze steadily. “You should know. I think you change identities as easily as other people change clothes.” She leaned back in her chair. “So, you aren’t going to send me back?”
“That depends.”
“On what?”
He did not answer immediately. She was in a dangerous and difficult situation, and he held a great deal of power over her. Given that, he wondered if he might be able to make use of her. She was unknown to both sides, she was beautiful and clever, and she was a very good liar. He thought again of Lowden, and he wondered if he could make use of this girl to find out what Lowden’s purpose was in Boston. Though she had stumbled into the idea of being an informant by accident, he appreciated that she could be a very good spy.
She knew where he lived. She would be able to sell what she knew to Gage. Though Gage would never arrest him on the mere word of a street waif, he would probably lose his ability to get information on the governor’s activities, and he certainly wouldn’t be able to find out more about Lowden.
Letting her go was not an option. If he returned her to her master, she could still sell what she knew, and Gage might pay enough for the information to buy her indenture and free her.
So, the question remained, what was he going to do with her now? If freedom from Willoughby and the money to enjoy that freedom were what Katie wanted, he had the ability to give them to her. Perhaps all he needed to do was offer them. She had been thinking to sell information to Gage. Why not sell information to him instead? Information about Lowden. A specific plan began to form in his mind.
“Depends on what?” she asked again, breaking into his thoughts.
“On whether or not you and I can reach some sort of agreement.”
She folded her arms, and a wary look came into her eyes. “Such as?”
He gestured to the luxurious furnishings around them. “You have discovered where I live. Based on that information, it would be a simple matter for you to find out who I really am.”
“Do you mean you’re not John Smith, longshoreman?” Her eyes widened. “I’m shocked.”
“Mmm. I can see that.”
“So, save me the trouble of finding out. What is your name?”
“Ethan Harding.” He gave her his most gallant bow. “Your servant, ma’am.”
His name clearly meant nothing to her. She continued to stare at him, and a skeptical frown knit her brow. “Is that your real name?” she asked.
“Of course. It’s useless to continue pretending with you. As I said before, now that you know where I live, you could find out my true identity without difficulty.”
“And how many of your Whig friends know who you really are?”
“Very few, I’m afraid,” he admitted. “I do not tend to display that fact openly.”
“David and Molly know,” she guessed. “Daniel does not, for he calls you John. Probably Andrew knows, and a few others as well.”
“Only about half a dozen people know that Ethan Harding and John Smith are the same man.”
“How have you managed to keep this a secret?”
“Until you came along, it was relatively easy. The two men do not have the same acquaintances. They move in very different circles.”
As he answered her questions, he continued to think out the idea in his mind. Would it work? he wondered. It was risky, but he had never minded taking risks. Not if they were necessary.
She took a look around the room. “Your oilskins do seem ludicrously out of place in this house. Revolutions against the king must be quite profitable, or else Ethan Harding has another means of earning a living.”
“Shipping,” he answered. “It’s a family business. It is also in danger of becoming insolvent if the king’s taxes and punitive policies continue to bleed it dry.”
She smiled. “So all your noble talk the other night about freedom was meaningless,” she said. “Your true motive for this revolution of yours is money.”
He had no intention of telling her his true reasons for becoming a rebel. “Sheath your claws, Katie.” He took a step back from her chair and sat down on the settee opposite. “A person always acts in his own self-interest. The fact that my own livelihood is at stake doesn’t mean I don’t believe in the Whig cause. If I didn’t believe it, I would not be involved, and the money be damned.”
“I see. What are you going to do with me?”
“I think it’s obvious that I can’t simply let you go as if this night never happened, although I do have some idea what to do with you.” He paused, forming his next words carefully. Years of skulking about in the night, living two lives, the danger of discovery always hanging over him like the blade of a guillotine, had trained Ethan well. Discretion was ingrained in him, and he intended to tell Katie only what she needed to know in order to do what he was about to demand of her. Taking a deep breath, he said bluntly, “I want you to become my mistress.”
Of all the things she might have expected him to say, Ethan could tell that was not one of them. She stared at him in blank surprise, but after a moment, Ethan saw a change come over her. A knowing look came into her eye, and one corner of her mouth curved upward in cynical derision, as if such propositions had come her way from other men in the past. Somehow, that look irritated him. It was clear that in her mind, he was now just another man with dishonorable intentions, and she had met that type of man before.
“I would provide you with a house,” he went on, “so you needn’t wash dishes in Molly’s kitchen in exchange for a place to sleep. I would also provide you with a household account, a new wardrobe, and a generous income, so depriving soldiers of their pocket watches would, I hope, not be necessary.”
“You are very generous,” she murmured, and there was a hint of sarcasm beneath the words. “And what do you receive in exchange for your largesse?”
“Do you really need to ask?” he countered softly.
To his surprise, she blushed. “I may be a thief,” she said, drawing herself up stiffly in her chair, “but I am no strumpet, sir, despite what you obviously think. I refuse your offer.”
“Don’t be so hasty. You could gain a great deal out of this.”
“I became a pickpocket so that I would not become a whore,” she said through clenched teeth.
“What I am proposing would not make you a whore.”
“Really? A mistress is a woman who gives a man her sexual favors for a house, clothes, and jewels. A whore gives a man sexual favors for money. What is the difference?”
“None, except that our arrangement would be a pretense.”
“What do you mean? I will only pretend to be your mistress?”
“Exactly.”
“Do you really think we’ll deceive anyone?”
“I have a great deal of faith in your acting ability. And you have some knowledge of the role already.”
She scowled at the reminder of her mother. “But what is the purpose of such a charade? I don’t understand.”
“I don’t expect you to,” he replied. “Despite your assumptions, I do not take advantage of unwilling women, and I assure you, I do not need to do so.”
The skepticism did not leave her face. “Why would you want me only to pretend to be your mistress?”
“Because it suits me.”
She scowled. “You are the most aggravating man. You have a way of answering questions that provides no answers at all.”
Despite the seriousness of the situation, he could not help a smile at her accurate observation. “So I’ve been told before.”
She shook her head, still confused. “There is more to this than meets the eye. What else do you want of me?”
He leaned back against the settee, hands in his pockets. Instead of answering, he said, “Scarcely a week ago, I was standing in the doorway of an inn at the edge of North Square, and there I witnessed a scene of such mischief and devilish skill that I will never forget it.” He paused to look at her. “Would you like to know what I saw?”
Dismayed, she stared back at him. She swallowed, tried to speak, and swallowed again.
Without waiting for her to gather her thoughts enough to answer, Ethan went on, “I saw a ragged street waif with the face of an angel steal a watch, then completely bewitch the British lieutenant who intended to arrest her for that crime, just before she deprived him of his purse. It was a comedy worthy of the theater. She disappeared into the crowd, but fate put her in my path a second time, and I decided it was wise to find out more about her. I discovered that she was also a runaway indentured servant. Tonight, I discovered she has a very strong reluctance to return to that indenture, and I cannot help but think it was rather unpleasant for her.”
She went pale. “You’ve made your point,” she whispered. “So, I ask again, what more do you want of me?”
“It is quite simple. I can use you, Katie. I can use your clever mind. I can use your brash confidence and your audacity. I can use your glib ability to lie. What’s more, by following me, you have left me few options. You were willing to spy for Governor Gage. I propose that you spy for me instead. I assure you, I will pay you more than he would.”
For a long moment, she simply stared at him in disbelief. Then, suddenly, she jumped to her feet. Thinking she meant to run again, he stood up to prevent her. But once she was on her feet, she did not move. “You can’t be serious!” she cried, her voice cracking with obvious agitation.
“I never joke about revolutions.”
She laughed, but there was a hysterical edge to it. “I don’t believe this,” she cried. “It’s too much! It is just too much.” Still laughing, she sank back down into her chair, bent h
er head, and covered her face with her hands.
Ethan was not surprised by her reaction. He knew she’d had plenty to frighten her this evening, and it was understandable that the strain had become too great for her. He also sat down and remained silent, watching her struggle to regain control of herself.
Finally, she lifted her head. She took a deep breath. “So, my being your mistress must be some sort of act to cover my real purpose as a spy?”
“Ethan Harding is known throughout Boston to be a Tory, a loyal subject of the crown. You are one of the few people who know the truth about me. I warned you to put aside your curiosity and stay out of my affairs, but you did not. Now you have forced my hand. I know about Willoughby, and I choose now to hold that piece of information over your head in order to maintain your silence. But I also can appreciate your talents and your need for money.”
“You mean, you intend to blackmail me into committing sedition along with you.”
“Blackmail is a very ugly word,” he admonished. “Besides, I am willing to provide other incentives.”
She stared at him in disbelief. “What incentives?”
“Playing the charade of being my mistress will give you the house, clothes, and jewels you mentioned before, without having any of the obligations, shall we say, of the job. In addition, if you prove satisfactory, I will buy your indenture from Mr. Willoughby.”
“I would be trading one master for another. What is the good of that to me?”
“When I no longer need you, I will set you free.”
“How do I know you will do what you promise? All I have is your word.”
“That will have to be enough, I’m afraid. Are we agreed?”
“What sort of spying would I have to do?”
“I have a few ideas of how I might make use of your talents, but I haven’t really thought it all out yet. Having you follow me home was not something I planned on. It was a careless mistake.”
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