Twin Speex: Time Traitors Book II (13 page)

Ava cautiously stood up inside the empty stall where they had crouched hidden. She looked around, her eyes now accustomed to the darkness. The stable itself was neat and well organized. She saw shovels, rakes, brooms, and other cleaning tools hanging for easy access on the opposite wall. The bedding was fresh so the stable had the not-unappealing odor of horse and dry hay.

She was about to open the latch and step out when Odell pulled her back down, putting a finger to his lips. She heard it now, the sound of voices and saw the soft glow of lantern light through the wooden slats of the stable.

The door opened with only a slight creaking of the hinges to admit a boy and a girl. Wrapped warmly in heavy overcoats and scarves, they were of a height, the boy being only a fraction taller.

“Swan pool!” The boy exclaimed in disgusted accents, “Really! That’s the only watchword you could come up with!”

“I had to think fast,” the girl replied evenly. “You can choose next time. It really doesn’t matter.”

Ava felt Odell go stiff beside her and remembered belatedly her discovery in the university library. She gripped his forearm, but his attention was so fixed on the two figures he barely seemed to notice.

“Well, it matters to me!” the boy exclaimed scornfully. “It could have been anything bird-related, ‘hawk eye,’ ‘eagle’s nest,’ something brave and manly, not soft and romantic.”

“Oh, for Heaven’s sake, Billy,” the girl replied, exasperated. “Swans aren’t as romantic as you think. They’re like geese, really nasty temperaments.”

“What’s next, ‘chicken’s beak?’ ”

“There’s a thought,” the girl laughed, causing Billy to expound further on the perversity of her sense of humor.

While they continued in this vein, Ava shook Odell a little and leaned in close to barely whisper in his ear, “I discovered something on the ship’s manifest… one Evelyn Wright, fifteen years of age.”

Odell looked at her intently as she continued, “She’s probably sixteen or seventeen by now.”

He blinked, a rather shocked expression on his face. “Was she traveling with Odette and Gabe?”

“She was listed just below their names. I guess she could be one of your brother-in-law’s relations, but, well, her full name was… is…”

Odell raised his eyebrows inquiringly.

“Evelyn Odellia Wright. Bit of a giveaway, don’t you think?”

“Odellia?” He groaned softly. “Gees, what was Odette thinking? Kid’s gonna hate me.”

They both turned their attention back to the two teenagers still squabbling over bird names and standing only a few feet from where they crouched in the darkness.

“Do you think it’s her?” Ava’s whispered words tickled his ear.

Odell squirmed a little and then nodded decisively. His expression had softened as he looked at Evelyn. “Yes… her voice… and Swanpoole.”

“What are they doing here?” Ava mused. “And what do they need with a password?”

Odell had also noted the use of the archaic “watchword” and had been wondering the same thing. He was about to answer when the door swung open to admit a middle-aged man with spare graying hair and ruddy cheeks. He wore about his middle a butcher’s apron and wiped his hands upon it as he approached the girl and boy.

“Swan pool. That’s a good one.” He nodded approvingly to Evelyn. “You worked it real well into the conversation.”

Billy snorted, and Evelyn tried not to look superior. The butcher nodded to Billy and said, “Step around to the store for a minute will you, son? Mrs. Lynch has a packet of giblets for your housekeeper. It’d save her a trip if you could pop around and get it.”

Billy looked reluctant, but sped off nonetheless to do the butcher’s bidding.

After he had left, Evelyn placed the lantern on the floor and pulled from beneath her overcoat a scrolled up piece of paper. She handed it to the butcher and told him, “Their movements are indicated by different colors; I’ve noted that in the legend. It’s exact, and we’ll know if anyone copies it.”

“How?” Mister Thornton asked, unrolling the paper and taking a few minutes to scan its contents.

Evelyn pointed out several features. “This is a trap street. Bangle Court really doesn’t exist. And while Mrs. Harper’s garden is a local landmark, it is not noted on any official map. If either of these shows up on another map or other type of communication, we’ll know there’s a possibility that this information has fallen into enemy hands.”

“How did you learn to do this?”

“It was an idea I got from a friend. He was a Bow Street runner in London,” she answered him. “He told me how confusing it was to use a map in the city when he first arrived, because of the trap streets in particular. It’s a way for individual cartographers to know if their work is being copied. Naming local landmarks was my idea, and one I thought might catch someone not fooled by a trap street.”

The butcher nodded and said as Billy slipped back into the stables with a brown-wrapped package under his arm, “Very clever, girl.”

The boy cleared his throat, and Evelyn added hastily, “Billy was very helpful in observing their movements.”

Mister Thornton smiled tightly and, tucking the map into his shirt, left them with a curt nod.

The two stood together in momentary silence before Billy muttered in irritation, “Not the most grateful sort.”

Evelyn looked at him with the indulgent expression of a big sister used to her younger brother’s sulks, but her voice had a sharp edge to it when she replied, “Billy, I’m sure he’s deployed several groups about town to observe the loyalists. We can’t know who poses a greater threat. We only have one piece of the puzzle. It will be up to Mister Thornton to put the pieces together. I’m sure he’s just preoccupied with the task.”

He nodded reluctantly and looked down at the ground. Digging the toe of his boot into the soft dirt, he said rather meekly, “Maybe you could teach me how to make the maps.”

Evelyn looked immediately contrite and grabbed his hands in both of hers. “Of course I will, Billy.” She smiled at him in a conciliatory manner. “But you’re away most days at college. I don’t get to see you as often.”

Evelyn knew this would mollify him. He had begun last fall as a student at the Academy and College of Philadelphia. The fact that she was unable to attend, it being restricted to boys only, gave him a gratifying sense of superiority. Even though he knew it was unfair that Evelyn was excluded, and he being an indifferent student at that.

Nevertheless, he nodded his head sagely and agreed, “Yeah, I guess my studies have kept me more occupied these days.”

She smiled pleasantly, glad to have averted any further pouting. “I’d better be getting back. My father will be wondering what’s keeping me.”

Billy straightened his shoulders and stood a little more at attention. “I’ll walk you home.”

“No, that’s not necessary, Billy,” Evelyn countered, casually brushing some dirt from her overcoat. “No need to go out of your way, and it’s probably best that we aren’t seen leaving together.”

“But we came in together,” he protested. “What’s the difference?”

“The difference,” she explained, “is that we were careful not to be followed, but we really don’t know how things may have changed since entering the barn. Someone may be passing who saw us near the square. Or, if we were followed… well, they can’t follow both of us at once.”

Billy looked indecisive. Evelyn added reassuringly, “It’s not so late. There are still people about. Nothing will happen to me, Billy, I promise.” She ushered him toward the door. “I’ll wait a couple of minutes after you leave and watch. If I see anyone following, I’ll give two whistles.”

“All right, then. I’ll see you Sunday.”

She nodded agreement and opened the door a little so he could slip out. But instead of watching him through the wooden slats, Evelyn turned back to the interior of the barn and said, “You might as well come out. I know you’re here.”

Odell and Ava froze in place, both thinking that she must be speaking to someone else. But a split second of analysis convinced Odell that no one could possibly have stayed hidden after the drama of their arrival on the Temporatus. They exchanged a quick look and stood up slowly from their crouching position in the stall.

Evelyn’s face registered surprise. “I had expected the Negro, but not you, sir.”

Odell lifted the latch of the stall and stepped out into the barn, Ava close behind. They’d had little time before their departure to assume appropriate clothing for late-eighteenth-century Colonial America, and so had only thrown heavy coats over their street clothes.

“I can’t imagine why you would be expecting anyone,” Odell replied.

She looked from one to the other, her eyes narrowed with suspicion. It was clear to Odell that she was a little frightened and wasn’t quite sure what to do or say next.

“I know your parents,” he said hastily as a way to reassure her. “We met long ago in London.”

Evelyn picked the lantern up from the floor and held it up to see more clearly. She caught her breath and brought her free hand up to cover her mouth. “I’ve seen a likeness of you,” she said, her hand dropping limp to her side. “But… it’s as if it was drawn only yesterday.”

“I could perhaps explain this better after seeing your parents.”

Evelyn visibly gathered her wits together and replied stoically, “We have lodgings on Walnut Street, but my mother isn’t there.”

“Yes, I know… I mean, do you know where she is?” he stuttered.

Evelyn shook her head, and Odell saw her lips compress in a fleeting expression of hurt. “No,” she said flatly. “She has been gone for almost two months.”

The painful silence that followed was broken by Ava’s question, “Why were you expecting me?”

Evelyn jerked in surprise and lifted the lantern again to look at Ava more closely. “Forgive me. Until you spoke, I thought that you were a boy.”

In an unconscious gesture, Ava lightly touched her close-cropped hair and looked down at the heavy overcoat covering her pants. In the dim light of the horse stable, it was an easy mistake to make. But it, mixed with the use of the word “Negro,” sent a prickle of unease up her spine and set her teeth on edge.

“It’s not you specifically,” Evelyn finally answered. “My father and Hugh…” She hesitated and looked even more intently at Ava and then at Odell. “You will pardon me, but you obviously weren’t waiting for me… at least, not for the reasons I assumed. So, I’d rather not say.” She bit her upper lip and looked down at the ground, her brow furrowed in concentration. “I know who you are,” she said, looking up at Odell her voice tinged with strong emotion. “But mother said you weren’t living, and now…” her voice trailed off.

Odell nodded thoughtfully and weighed his next words with care, “We are an unusual family. I can’t believe you have lived this long with Ode—your mother without realizing it. There is an explanation… one I would like to give your father.”

Looking at him, Evelyn felt the truth of his words. They
were
an unusual family. It was just that, until recently, she had never really seen it that way. Or, more specifically, she had never gathered the preponderance of evidence in one place to be critically examined. In London, her life was like so many others of her class and gender. Yet, she knew in other ways, it had been much different. Her mother’s social concerns and her father’s legal interests were not so unusual. Odette’s involvement with issues of women’s equality and the plight of prostitutes was offset by the fact that some of society’s most wealthy and influential women, such as Margaret Prime, were also deeply committed to these causes. And while her Aunt Fancy’s origins were disreputable, her courage and tireless advocacy on the part of the poor and desperate were much admired by many a respectable denizen of London, and indeed, all of England.

It’s as if London, with its teeming streets and diverse populace, made it easy to hide her family’s unique qualities. Ladies visited each other every day, all the time. Was it so strange that her mother had a steady stream of visitors, but rarely seemed to return the favor? The abolition of slavery was a topic in many a good Christian household. Was it really odd that her father had made it his life’s work even though he didn’t believe in God? And that his dearest friend, Simon Keller, was a minister, who most definitely did? And Benjamin Franklin? She had never really asked how her family had fallen in with such illustrious company. Not particularly known for his abolitionist tendencies, Evelyn couldn’t imagine it was through her father. And her mother often joked that Doctor Franklin was not at all fond of the ballet. He didn’t seem to join in with her other philanthropic activities either. Yet, it was not unusual for Evelyn to see him deep in counsel with both her mother and father. And their respective families often shared holidays together, both in London and abroad.

It was only on the vastness of the ocean journey that their strangeness became starkly evident to Evelyn. The overheard conversations were full of mysterious references and ominous foreboding. And the appearance of Ambrosius—nothing could have been more unsettling. He put everyone on edge, including her father, a person she had counted on her entire life for his even temperament and unflappable composure.

By the time they had landed in Philadelphia, it was clear to Evelyn that Ambrosius’s presence aboard their packet was improbable at best. Not being completely impossible, and for the sake of convention and good manners, she supposed, the crew pretended to believe he had been put overboard and drifted into their path.

In the almost year since their arrival, her life had taken on as much a routine mundaneness as anyone’s could with abolitionist parents and revolutionaries for family friends. She had begun to think that little could shake her own composure until the disappearance of her mother about two months ago and now the appearance of her long-dead and eerily unchanged uncle.

“Yes, I can take you to him,” she replied, “but not now. It is still early enough for people to be about. And… well, I’m known, especially in these parts. The horse stable is a side business of my parents. Hugh manages it, but it’s really Toby who runs it.” She pressed her lips firmly together and nodded her head decisively before adding, “Toby is a freeman. This barn is a refuge as well as a business.”