“Mr. Tumulty told Mrs. Young.”
“How did he know that?”
“Probably the same way he knew you’d gotten the writ.”
O’Brien swore eloquently. “It makes sense now. I’ve been followed all day. At first I thought I was imagining it, but now . . . They’ve obviously got some detectives watching me.”
“I’m coming back down there. Maybe between the two of us, we can find a deputy to serve the warrant.”
“Take the early train tomorrow. I’ll meet you at the station.”
• • •
The first day had been the hardest. elizabeth’s stomach growled and cramped in protest, but she looked at the pinched faces of the other women and thought better of complaining. Usually, the hunger pangs lasted three days, they’d told her, but she’d eaten so little since arriving at the workhouse last Wednesday that they’d stopped after only two. Strangely, she felt suddenly energetic, as if she’d like to go for a walk in the woods. Except for those cursed bloodhounds, of course.
The women were gathered in the gymnasium for their recreation hour before bedtime. Those who had experience with hunger strikes moved among them, sharing information.
“You won’t feel hungry now for a while,” one of them told her.
“How long?” Elizabeth asked.
“A few days, maybe even a few weeks. When you start to feel hungry again, that’s when you have to worry.”
“Why?” Anna asked.
“Because your body is starving then and starting to die.”
“But they’ll let us go before that happens,” someone said. “That’s why we’re doing this, after all.”
Anna slipped her hand into Elizabeth’s. “I couldn’t do this if you weren’t doing it, too. I’d be too frightened.”
“They won’t let us die,” Mrs. Bates said. “Now that they know we’re serious, they’ll force-feed us. We need to be prepared for that.”
Elizabeth remembered all too well the description of force-feeding she’d heard in the police van that day last week when they’d first been arrested.
The guards signaled to them that their hour of “recreation” was over and it was time for bed. The women rose and moved toward the door. When she stood up, Elizabeth had to stop for a minute and wait for her head to clear. The room swam before her, so she closed her eyes and drew a deep breath. A collective gasp startled her, and she opened her eyes to see Anna slumped on the floor. A dozen other women had already rushed to help her, but her face was chalk white and her eyes didn’t even flutter when they tried to haul her to her feet.
“Leave her,” a guard said. “We’ll take her to the infirmary.”
The other women backed away uncertainly, but Elizabeth squeezed in and dropped to her knees beside the unconscious girl. “Anna, wake up!” She grabbed her wrists and tried chafing them.
Mrs. Bates laid a hand on Elizabeth’s shoulder. “It’s for the best. They’ll feed her there.”
“Force-feed her,” Elizabeth said, outraged at Mrs. Bates’s complacency. “And she’ll be terrified if she wakes up all alone.”
Mrs. Bates squeezed her shoulder. “She won’t be alone for long. Look around.”
Elizabeth looked up at the circle of faces and for the first time really saw the changes: the hollow cheeks, the shadowed eyes, the pasty complexions. Even the spark of fanaticism Elizabeth had noticed before was gone from their eyes, replaced by a dull determination.
“Get moving!” the guard shouted, prodding the women into motion. “Don’t worry about your little friend there. We’ll take care of her.” She grinned viciously.
Elizabeth jumped to her feet, ready to scratch her eyes out, but Mrs. Bates grabbed her arm. “You won’t do Anna any good,” she whispered fiercely, stopping Elizabeth in her tracks.
As weak as she was, she probably couldn’t do the guard much damage in any case. With the frustrated fury still boiling in her, she stepped away from where Anna lay and followed the others as they filed out of the room. When she reached the door, she glanced back. A guard stood over Anna, nudging her with her foot.
Damn them. Damn them every one.
• • •
Gideon paced the platform as the New York train pulled into Union Station. He’d asked David not to come to Washington, but he really couldn’t blame him for ignoring that request. David must have been terrified for Anna and feeling helpless after Gideon told him about their failure to find a deputy to serve the writ on Warden Whittaker. Gideon had returned to Washington just that morning himself. He only wished that being in Washington could actually help.
Finally, he saw David’s familiar figure step down from a car farther down the track. He hurried toward him.
“Gideon!” David called, waving.
Gideon shook his hand, then noticed the men who had emerged behind him, two plug-uglies and one well-dressed fellow who was probably the last person Gideon wanted to see right now.
“Gideon, you remember Oscar Thornton.”
“Of course,” Gideon said. David must have encountered Thornton on the train and hadn’t been able to shake him.
“Good to see you, Bates,” Thornton said, shaking his hand. “Vanderslice has told me about your mother and the other suffragettes.”
Gideon felt the heat rising in his face as he glared at David. What was he thinking to confide in Thornton? Mother would be furious. Since her cousin Marjorie’s tragic death, she’d had absolutely no use for the man.
“Thornton came to see me at my office yesterday about . . . about some business,” David said quickly, seeing Gideon’s reaction, “and I had to tell him I couldn’t even think about business until Anna was safe. Gideon, he believes he can help. Or at least his men here can.” He nodded at the plug-uglies, and they grinned at Gideon, making him even angrier.
“Exactly how can they help?” Gideon asked, not bothering to hide his skepticism.
“Vanderslice told me your man in Virginia hasn’t been able to locate any deputies to serve the writ,” Thornton said. “I’d like to let my boys here have a try.”
Gideon studied the two men with their bowler hats pulled low over faces marked by fights past. Were they the kind of men to beat the administration at their own game? Now, that was an interesting idea. David had no business dragging Thornton into this, but Gideon couldn’t let his offended pride stand in the way if Thornton really could help.
“Let’s find a more comfortable place to discuss this, shall we?” Gideon said.