When the maid came in with his breakfast in the morning, she would find no trace of Katie there, and there would be no gossip or scandal to haunt Sir William Holbrook, as she had promised him. Katie’s efforts to leave no trace of their rendezvous were not for his wife, of course. She wasn’t coming.
Ethan was so weary he could hardly stand. He had spent all day and most of the evening contacting every source he had, but the results had been meager, to say the least. His contacts at Province House seemed to know nothing of the Concord mission, other than the fact that it would take place soon. If they did know the date, the subtle tactics of Ethan Harding, a man who had absolutely no interest in politics, had not been successful in learning it. Any of the prostitutes, mechanics, and seamen left in Boston who were the paid informants of John Smith also knew of the mission, but, like those high officials at Province House, they could not give the specific date. Though he had not slept for two days, Ethan’s weariness did not stem from a lack of rest. Its cause lay somewhere deep in his heart.
He left the house of Dr. Joseph Warren, the only Whig leader other than himself and Paul Revere who still remained in Boston, his spirits lower than they had ever been. Joseph was as much in the dark as he about Gage’s plans. Joseph’s only news was that the governor had officially received his orders to begin arresting Whig leaders, and each man had advised the other to leave town. They both appreciated the advice. Neither took it.
All his friends were gone by now. Molly and David had closed the Mermaid a few hours before and had left Boston with their son, the Macalveys, and Adam Lawrence, slipping out in the night to the wharves, where a boat had ferried them across the river to Charlestown. Andrew had left for his family in Worcester, and Colin had departed for his wife’s relatives in New Hampshire.
Ethan knew it would be wise if he left as well. Now that Gage had his orders, it would be only a matter of time before he was in a cell at Castle William if he stayed. He was sure Katie had given Lowden his name long ago, and the viscount had only been biding his time, waiting for the orders to arrive before arresting him. Katie had denied giving his name to Lowden, but Katie was a liar. He had always known that.
He closed his eyes and willed her away. He could not think about her, he would not. And he certainly couldn’t stand in front of Joseph’s house all night waiting to be arrested. He had to go home, gather what money he had tucked away, and leave for Charlestown. He began walking through the dark, empty streets.
His steps did not take him to his house. Instead, almost without realizing what he was doing, Ethan found himself standing in front of the house he had leased for Katie.
Slowly, he walked to the door. It was unlatched, and he opened it. Compelled beyond understanding, he walked inside. The servants had fled Boston hours before, and no one had bothered to close the curtains. In the moonlight, he could see the lamp that stood beside him on the small table. He lit the lamp and looked around him.
The moment he did, memories of Katie filled his mind and overwhelmed his senses, memories of playing chess, of laughing at the butler’s wooden countenance, of the day they had walked through this house together and the pleasure she had taken in even the most trivial things. The linens, he remembered, had delighted her, and the bathtub. And that big bed with the soft, thick mattress.
Ethan, look, a real bed, with a feather mattress!
Her voice, filled with all the wonder of a child at Christmas, echoed from upstairs down to where he stood in the foyer. He closed his eyes, and in his mind he saw her falling back onto the bed, laughing with joy. He could feel every curve of her body beneath him on that bed.
Something brushed his leg. Startled, he looked down to find Meg twirling her round orange body between his ankles. She meowed loudly, as if quite indignant. He bent down and scooped up the animal with one hand. “What’s the matter, sweeting?” he murmured. “Did everyone go away and leave you behind?”
Meg meowed again and snuggled into the crook of his arm. She happily began to knead his palm with her claws, oblivious to any pain she might be causing. He stood there and let her.
I know we’re playing out this charade that I’m your mistress, but giving me presents is carrying it a bit far, don’t you think?
Her tears that day had astonished him. He would swear those tears had been genuine, one genuine thing in a love filled with lies.
No, he corrected himself. There was another. His love for her was genuine.
God, how he loved her. Even now, when he was about to be arrested because of her treachery, he could not destroy it. He had the feeling he never would.
The door latch clicked, bringing him out of his reverie. He whirled around and found her there, looking at him. “Ethan,” she whispered.
The grandfather clock ticked away the seconds as they stared at each other. The only sound in the silent house.
It was Katie who spoke first. “I came for Meg.” A soft smile touched her lips. “I never expected to find you here.”
“Take her.” He thrust the kitten toward her so abruptly Meg gave an angry howl. “Take her and go.”
Katie stepped through the doorway and closed the door behind her. She came to him and took the indignant Meg from his hands. But she made no move to leave. Instead, she just stood there, looking at him with the kitten cradled in her arms. “Ethan, I’m so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen.”
Something snapped inside him. “Go, for God’s sake!” He stepped back, away from her, afraid of what he might do if he were close enough to touch her, close enough to kiss her. He was afraid he would forget what she had done, that he would weaken, relent, forgive the unforgivable. “Get out of here.”
“I will. But before I go, I have something I must tell you. It was the purest luck to find you here. Believe it or not, I’ve been looking for you everywhere. I never thought you would come back here.”
He had never thought it, either. When she stepped toward him, he took another step back, shaking his head. “Stay away from me, Katie. Stay away.”
“Ethan, listen to me. I know Gage’s plan. I learned it from Holbrook. The Regulars are coming out tomorrow night. I wanted you to know.”
He did not believe her, not for one tiny instant. “Holbrook doesn’t know when the mission will take place.”
“Yes, he does.”
Ethan made a sound of derision. “And he just volunteered this information to you?”
She cleared her throat. “Not exactly. But how I got him to tell me isn’t important. What’s important is that you know about this. I hope it helps you win your fight.”
Did she never stop trying to deceive? “What is this?” he demanded. “Doesn’t Lowden have enough proof against me yet? Is this a trap?” He glanced down her body and back again to her face, a pointed glance. When he spoke, he wanted his words to hurt. “If it is, Lowden is a very intelligent man to send such attractive bait, but it doesn’t tempt me, my dear.”
He succeeded. She pressed her lips together, and he knew his hurtful words had caused her pain. He felt no triumph.
“This is not a trap. I am telling you the truth.” She gave a tiny, humorless laugh. “I know there is no earthly reason why you should believe me, and if you choose not to, then that’s your choice. But I had to tell you.”
“Why? What reason could you possibly have for telling me this?”
Her face softened, reminding him of how she had looked right after lovemaking, and Ethan felt everything inside him start to crumble into dust.
“I am doing this now,” she whispered, “in the hope that you’ll be able to forgive me,” she said. “Someday, when you have this new nation of yours, when you have a wife who loves you and half a dozen children who adore you, maybe you can look back on this time with me and forgive.”
He did what he vowed he would not do. He stepped toward her. He touched her face. “Katie—”
The door burst open, interrupting whatever he had been about to say, and a group of redcoats cro
wded into the doorway. Ethan did not even take time to think. He shoved her behind him as the soldiers began to enter the house. “Run, Katie!” he shouted. “Run, now!”
She did not obey him. She did not run. She did not even move. Bayonets were lowered and muskets pointed, and Ethan knew he was going to be arrested. Still, he kept himself between Katie and the soldiers.
Through the open doorway, a sharp command was given from outside. With their muskets pointed at him, the soldiers parted into two halves, and another man entered the house, walking between them to stand before Ethan. It was Viscount Lowden.
“Harding, it is a pleasure to see you again, sir.” He bowed, and Ethan was astonished by the courtesy. Even when arresting a man, it seemed peers of the realm still retained their good manners.
“I wish I could say the same, my lord,” he answered warily. “What is the meaning of this?”
“I have bad news for you, I’m afraid. Mr. Harding, your mistress is under arrest.”
“What?” He did not need to pretend his astonishment. Turning, he looked at the woman who stood behind him, but he could read nothing in her face except an intense and haunting sadness.
She stepped forward and shoved the cat into his arms. “Take Meg, Ethan, and leave Boston while you still can.”
Two of the soldiers came around him and seized her. They started to drag her away. Ethan reached out to stop them, but Lowden laid a hand on his arm. “I wouldn’t advise it, sir. Don’t intervene, or we will arrest you as well.”
“But what is this about?” he demanded. “Why are you arresting her?” And why the devil aren’t you arresting me? “What has she done?”
“She is a thief. She is also a Whig spy, and she will be tried for her crimes and hanged.” He smiled and patted Ethan’s arm. “You had no idea, did you? You poor fool. I think you’ll need to find yourself a new mistress, my dear fellow.”
With that, he turned and followed the soldiers who were dragging Katie out the door. Ethan watched them go, but he knew that with six armed soldiers surrounding her, there was nothing he could do to prevent them from taking her away without risking her life, and he did not try.
I told Lowden nothing but lies, and the reason is because I love you.
Her words of the night before came back to him with startling clarity. He remembered his brutal handling of her and the panic in her voice as she had tried to explain, as she had tried to justify, as she had tried to tell him the truth.
Ethan felt cold, but it was not the night air coming in through the open door that chilled him. It was the icy wind of truth that made him cold, truth that whispered to him and made him realize he had made a terrible mistake.
The beady little eyes of a rat blinked at her in the dim dawn light that filtered through a slash high in the wall of her cell, and Katie kicked at it with a curse that would have sent Miss Prudence racing for soap. The rat scurried only a few feet away, then set its gaze on her again, studying her. Mocking her as well, she imagined. Or perhaps it was really thinking she looked just like a large hunk of roast mutton.
Katie huddled back against the damp stone wall behind her and rested her forehead against her bent knees. How odd that she was probably going to die in a hangman’s noose, but she was not as afraid of that as she was of a disgusting creature the size of her shoe. Why did all gaols have to have rats? Evidently, prisons everywhere were pretty much the same. Castle William might be in Boston Harbor, but it was just like Newgate. She had come full circle, it seemed.
The clang of bars echoed down the damp hallway outside her cell. Katie lifted her head and heard the tap of boot heels getting louder, coming closer.
“Good-oh,” she mumbled to the rat. “Must be time for breakfast. If it’s to be my last meal, I hope it’s roast chicken.”
Her mouth watered at her own mention of food, but food was not forthcoming. Instead, a gaoler appeared, keys jangling in his hand as if to unlock her cell. Katie’s heart gave a leap of hope, but that hope died the moment the guard stepped aside and another man came to look at her through the bars.
“My dear Katie, I hope you had a good night’s rest,” Viscount Lowden said, speaking with such heartiness she wanted to spit on him. Too bad she’d never learned to spit that far.
“Lovely,” she answered. “This inn is superb.” She gestured to the jug of brackish water, the trencher where not even a crumb of stale bread remained, and the rat, who still sat with his nose twitching. “Fine dining, entertaining company. I even have a view of the harbor. Too bad I’m not tall enough to look out.”
“Be of good cheer. You won’t be staying here long.”
“I don’t imagine so.” She pushed the hair out of her eyes with a weary hand. “Did you just come to gloat, or do you have a purpose for this visit?”
“To gloat, of course.”
“Of course.” She waved her hand toward him as if it didn’t matter to her in the least. “Gloat away. I won’t stop you.”
“Actually, I do have another purpose. I wanted to tell you personally that your trial is scheduled for this afternoon. You’ll be convicted, of course, and hanged tomorrow.”
“Damn. And I was planning a holiday in the country. What am I charged with? Refusing to cooperate with a blackmailing viscount? Silly me. I didn’t know that was against the law.”
She could tell her light, careless tone bothered him. His mouth tightened to a thin line, and he did not reply. What on earth had he expected? Weeping? If so, he’d be disappointed. “Really, James, don’t pout. I’m sorry if you didn’t get to arrest John Smith, but it isn’t as if you’ve gotten nothing for your pains. You got me, and I’m much prettier than Holbrook.”
“Cease this prattle! You’d best keep a civil tongue in your head, or—”
He broke off, and Katie took advantage of the moment. “Or what?” she asked as she stood up and sauntered over to him. “That’s the rub, isn’t it? I’m going to die, and I don’t care.” She gripped the bars and looked him in the eye. “So there is nothing you can do to me now. I’m not afraid of you anymore.”
“No? Perhaps that is because I am not a young and handsome officer.” He turned and made a beckoning gesture with his hand. A redcoat stepped sharply forward out of the shadows, an officer whose vacuous face she recognized at once.
“Weston,” she breathed. “Bloody hell.”
“Yes,” Lowden said with obvious pleasure. “Lieutenant Weston.”
The lieutenant turned toward her. “Witch,” he ground out between clenched teeth. “I hope you hang.”
“That will be enough, Lieutenant.”
“Yes, my lord.” Weston stepped back, but he still glared at her with all the hostility of a man who had been made to feel an utter fool by a mere woman.
“Lieutenant Weston has been in the country for the past fortnight,” Lowden told her, “but he returned to duty this morning. Now, I had you arrested last night because you did not keep your appointment with me and bring me proof against Holbrook before Gage’s orders arrived. Since you did not fulfill your part of our bargain, I felt fully justified in having you arrested. I located Weston here this morning so that he could testify at your trial this afternoon, and he told me some very interesting things. In fact, he is fully prepared to tell the governor all about John Smith. And about you, my dear.”
She gripped the bars more tightly in her fingers. “What does this man know of John Smith?” she asked, attempting to bluff. “Has he proof of Holbrook’s sedition?”
“Alas, no, not against Holbrook. But that doesn’t matter. After all, we both know John Smith is not Holbrook but Ethan Harding.”
Ethan. No, no, not Ethan.
“Ethan?” she repeated, shaking her head. “I told you before, my lord, Harding is not the man. I heard Holbrook’s name distinctly that night at the Mermaid. Besides, poor, muddled Harding couldn’t plot cheating at cards, much less a revolution.”
“Yes, that is what you told me. But I have a different opinion. I don�
��t believe Harding is as big a fool as he appears. In fact, I am guessing that Harding is John Smith and you have known it for quite some time.”
She made a sound of contempt. “Guessing? Is that the best you can do, my lord? Have you any proof of your guess? Gage will expect some. Inconvenient for you, I know, but there it is.”
“We will know soon enough if my guess is a correct one. When Lieutenant Weston sees Harding, I’m sure he will be able to identify him as the man who was in Concord a few days ago calling himself John Smith and hiding powder stores from the king’s troops.” Lowden paused, and Katie felt despair settling over her and seeping into her bones like the chilling gray fog of a winter night. Once Weston saw Ethan, it would all be over.
Lowden smiled as if he sensed the effect his words were having on her and took great pleasure in it. “Weston will also be able to tell the governor of how during a gallant attempt to rescue you, Harding’s Liberty medal was revealed.”
Katie was clenching the bars so tightly that her hands began to ache. “If Harding were the man, I would have told you.”
“Not if you had developed an affection for him.” The viscount shook his head in mock disapproval. “Really, Katie, I had expected better of you than that. Don’t you know that falling in love with your protector is in very poor taste?”
She scowled at him and did not reply.
“So you see, my dear,” he went on, “we have all we need to hang Harding for sedition. He will be tried before the governor.”
“If we can find him,” muttered Weston under his breath.
It took Katie a moment before Weston’s mumbled words sank in. When they did, Katie’s hope soared again, and she began to laugh. “You can’t find him?” she cried. “Oh, that’s rich indeed. What are you going to do? Have his trial without him?”
“Enough!” Lowden roared. “We will find him, and when we do, he will be tried, convicted, and executed. As for you, you will not live long enough to see it happen. You will be tried this afternoon for your theft of the good lieutenant’s purse, both Weston and I will testify against you, and you will be hanged. Unless, of course, you would care to add your testimony to the case against Harding? Tell us where he is hiding? And give us the names of all his informants?”
The Charade Page 30