“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.