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"The truth," said Greathouse, as he ruminated over his third cup of wine, "is that we failed" He frowned, rethinking his statement "No," he amended "I failed as the one with the most experience-I won&039;t say theI just didn&039;t knoas going to be so effective" He took another drink, and then he grinned across the table at Matthew "Did I tell you they named , Matthew could not bring himself to tell his supper companion that he&039;d already known it
"Well then, there you are," Greathouse said, though Mattheasn&039;t exactly sure where they were in this conversation One reat one&039;s experiences in the Seneca village It seemed to Matthew as if Greathouse had actually enjoyed his time there, once it was sure he&039;d returned fro in the Trot Then Gallop, on Crown Street This being Matthew&039;s first night back, his meal and drinks were on the house courtesy of the tavernmaster, Felix Sudbury Many people had co Effrem Owles and his father Benjamin, Solomon Tully, Robert Deverick and Israel Brandier Matthew had been polite, but fir more than that the criminal he and Greathouse had been sent after was dead Case closed Savin&039; it for the Earwig , huhi Israel had asked, but Matthew said there would be no more of those outlandish tales in Marmaduke&039;s broadsheet and he offered to vow on a Bible if they didn&039;t believe hi Matthew&039;s business waned, since he re, and the other patrons drifted away from him to their own concerns Matthew had noted, however, that he&039;d gotten soht they had known hi what had changed about hi hosts more than ever, since he&039;d seen both Walker In Two Worlds and Lark Lindsay on the street this afternoon Several times, in fact
Even now, as he sat with Greathouse and drank his own third cup of wine, he was sure soht If he turned his head just a fraction he could make out from the corner of his eye an Indian with black facepaint and an arrangeo tied to his scalplock with leather cords Of course when he looked fully in that direction Walker was not there, but now in the corner of his other eye a lovely, serene blonde girl was standing over by the table where Effreht the they wished to stay-how long they would stay-he didn&039;t know But they were friends of his, just as much as any of the others, and they elco ati" Greathouse asked
"Shadows," Matthew said, and let it go at that
When he had gone to the Grigsby house today, after Tom had boarded the Golden Eye, Matthew had knocked at the door and Berry had answered it They had just stared at each other for a few seconds, he taking her in like sunlight after thinking he would likely die in the dark, and she seely frozen with his name on her lips and then just as she&039;d cried out, "Matthew!" and reached for hirandfather had let forth a bellow from behind her and shouldered her aside to throw his ar ee blue eyes ashine in the fra on the moon-round face "We feared you were dead! Good God, boy! Come in here and tell us the whole story!"
The whole story hat Mattheas determined not to tell, even as Mar of mimbo upon him at the kitchen table Berry sat beside hiratified by the fact that she kept placing her hand upon his ar there as if to make certain he was real and would not fade away like a dreaht hand seerip an invisible quill and prepared to scribe upon the table
"No," Matthew had said, after he&039;d eaten two of the biscuits and put down half the sugared rum "I&039;m sorry, but I can&039;t"
"But you !"
"My business depends on privacy There&039;ll be no more of those stories"
"Nonsense! I&039;ve h," Matthew had answered "From now on, I&039;"
Marmaduke had snatched away the platter of biscuits, but then he&039;d seemed to take note of Berry&039;s hand upon Matthew&039;s arhed "ah, well I&039; low on ink, anyway But"-and here he&039;d lifted a finger of triumph-"there&039;s yet the tale of Gray Wolf to be told, isn&039;t therei"
Matthew had shrugged If Greathouse wanted to go down that particularly twisty road, it was his own horse-and-wagon More like ass-and-cart, to be truthful
Berry had put on a yellow cloak and walked with Matthew for a while, north along the waterfront He didn&039;t speak and she didn&039;t speak for the longest tiht shimmered off the river He stopped for a fewtoward the blue expanse of the sea past Oyster Island, and then he turned away
"Can you talk about iti" she&039;d asked, her voice quiet and careful
"Not yet Later Maybe"
"I&039;ll be there when you want to If you want to"
"Thank you" a few more steps in silence, and then he&039;d decided to speak what he&039;d been thinking ever since he&039;d walked into the Lindsays&039; kitchen: "I need help with so"
"Yesi"
"I need help with a question," he&039;d said "a ers&039; attic It&039;s about God Why does God allow such evil in this worldi If God is supposed to watch over every little bird Whyi"
Berry didn&039;t reply for awhile Then she said, "I suppose you&039;d have to ask a reverend"
"No That&039;s not good enough What would a reverend know that I don&039;ti The right words and versesi The names of the saints and the sinnersi Yes, all those, but not the answer" He&039;d stopped abruptly, and looked deeply into her expressive dark blue eyes "Why doesn&039;t God strike down evili Why doesn&039;t He destroy it, before it takes rooti"
again, she was reluctant to answer She lowered her head, looking at the ground, and then lifted her eyes to his again "Maybe He expects us to take care of the garden"
Matthew considered so that had ed itself into his brain It was He Runs Fast, saying through the interpreter He wish spirits make sense Matthew hadn&039;t understood that at first, but then it see of his son a cry for understanding, and the peace of acceptance Matthew too wished that God&039;s ways made sense, or that he could understand what sense they did ainst that unknown and unknowable door between the trials of Earth and the truth of Heaven every day for the rest of his life, and it would not bring him any closer to an answer
It was the ultimate mystery, more ancient than a monster&039;s tooth
He wish spirits make sense
"So do I," Matthew had said and then he are that Berry&039;s hand was in his, and he was holding onto it like a gift given him to protect
Now, in the Trot, Matthew drank his wine and contemplated the fact that Greathouse, for all his show of bravado, had entered the tavern about an hour before on the support of a cane The hollows under his eyes were still dark, his face drawn and more deeply lined Gray Wolf had wrestled with Death in the wilderness beyond and returned grinning, yes, but not without leaving soht that if anyone couldstabbed in the back four tireat one, but only time would tell
Which was one reason Mattheas not ready to share with Greathouse the letter he&039;d found in Mrs Sutch&039;s safebox, and was now in his coat pocket To venture into that area at all would be detrimental to Greathouse&039;s recovery, for ould wish to know he&039;d eaten sausages spiced with human fleshi and with such relish, as welli
"I spoke to Berry this afternoon," Matthew said "about Zed She tells s"
"Yes, I know"
"and that he really is a highly intelligentway from home, but not how far She says he sits up on the roof of City Hall at night looking at the stars"
"The starsi Why is thati"
"They&039;re the same stars he&039;s always seen," Matthew related "I suppose there&039;s a coreed, and turned his cup between his hands "Listen," he said after a moment of silence "We failed this job I failed it I&039; stupid The doctors and the Quakers and Lord Cornbury and that Constable Drake expected us to bring Slaughter in alive Obviously, s are as they are But I&039;m a professional and in this situation I did not act as one, and for that I&039;m profoundly sorry"
"No need for that"
"There is," said Greathouse, with a little of the old fire "I want you to know that if I&039;d been on o after hiht then and there, and been done with it You took a tremendous risk, Matthew God knows you&039;re lucky to be alive"
"True," Matthew said
"I won&039;t ask you about it, and you don&039;t have to tell hter was a braver thing than I have ever done in my life and hell, just look at you! You&039;re still a moonbeaher around the edges," he admitted, "but a uardi"
"In need of a keeper If Mrs Herrald knew about this, she&039;d-" He stopped and shook his head
"She&039;d whati" Matthew prodded
"She&039;d say that I was a damned fool," Greathouse replied, "but she&039;d know she ood choice in you Just so you stay alive to secure her investment for a few morehi quickly in dangerous situations, so your life to the hands of someone else But he chose not to re of investments," Greathouse said, "there&039;s a job you can do for me Or rather, try to do You know I told you about the situation involving Princess Lillehorne, the other women, and Dr Malloryi When I was half out of oing to be able to get around so much for a while, so I&039;d appreciate it if you would take the case over It&039;s just a question of why Princess sees him three ti to Lillehorne Four other wives, the same, and do you knohat they tell their husbandsi That it&039;s a health treatment Then they refuse to say another word, and in the case of Princess Lillehorne, she&039;s threatened to withhold her wifely duties if Gardner doesn&039;t pay Mallory&039;s bill"
"all right, then I&039;ll just ask Dr Mallory"
"Wrong If he&039;s ra to sayi"
"Maybe he&039;s ra them in the front room"
"You just take it slow Talk to that wife of his and see if you can get a handle on hi the love harps of five woht to have a clue" He stood up with the help of his cane "My notes are in my desk Have a look at them tomorrow"
"I will"
"Want to meet me for breakfast at Sally al in soes"