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Before Matthew could proceed with his intent to have lunch at the Gallop and settle into ould hopefully be a quiet afternoon, even as soainst the forthco Clear Streets Decree, he had awhat he was to tell John Five about the reverend&039;s journey last night, and still-as one step after another took him nearer to Master Ross&039; blacksmithery-he was unsure It wouldn&039;t do to wait for John Five to coood faith to perfors with proper speed, but yethad he really si Of course he&039;d seen Wade sob in front of Madam Blossom&039;s house, but what did it ulf betas seen and what there was to be understood, and therein lay his problem
He entered the sullen heat of the smith&039;s shop, found John Five at his usual labor, and invited hi a few minutes from Master Ross was repeated, and shortly Matthew and John Five were standing together at about the sa
"So," John Five began, when Mattheas hesitant in speaking "You followed hiht, for ausley"
"It was," Matthew agreed
They were silent for asacks of grain trundled by, and two children ran along rolling a stick-and-hoop
"are you gonna tell me, or noti" John asked
Matthew decided to say, "Not"
John frowned "and why noti"
"I did discover his destination But I&039;m not sure it was his usual destination I don&039;t feel ready to tell you where it was, or what I witnessed there"
"Did you not understand how serious this thing isi"
"Oh, I did and do understand That&039;s exactly why I need ht about that "You&039;re sayin&039; you&039;re gonna follow hioes to the same place If he doesI s progress, he may tell either you or Constance hih his hair, his expression perplexed "It ood nor bad My observations are unsupported, and thus I have to refrain fro for sorasp upon as a spar of hope-and so Matthew said, "There&039;s likely going to be a Clear Streets Decree tonight The taverns will be closing early and there&039;ll be more constables on the streets I doubt if Reverend Wade will be ht walks until the decree is lifted, and when that will be I have no idea"
"He o away so easy"
"I think you&039;re absolutely right in that regard For the ti either of us can do"
"all right," John Five said in a dispirited voice "I don&039;t like it, but I guess it&039;ll have to be"
Matthew agreed that it would, wished his friend a good day, and pro the street to Tobias Winekoop&039;s stable where he secured Suvie for the nextsession with Hudson Greathouse was loo ever more darkly in his mind, but at least he knehat to expect
Now there was one more errand he wished to conduct before lunch and this one had been pro the fine houses there was the red brickto the Deverick family Matthew doubted that Lillehorne had spentDeverick&039;sEsther and son Robert about the elder hbors, the Lillehornes and Devericks were not cut from the same cloth It seemed to Matthew that if a connection was to be found between Dr Godwin, Deverick, and now-of all unlikely persons-ausley, such a link ht indeed be far off the e headoods broker who had clawed his way up from the bitter streets of Londoni and furthermore, then, hoas an eminent and much-admired physician involved with both of theht have said, take a shot at it He started off northward toward the area known as Golden Hill, which was a row of palatial houses and gardens east of the Broad Way the length of Golden Hill Street between Crown and Fair
as Matthew approached this avenue of opulence he sidestepped a fars to hts where the rich folk lived Golden Hill Street ht be made of plain hard-packed dirt, but the residences were inhabited by the town&039;s gilded families and what residences they were! Two-storied with ornate constructions of red, white, or yellow brick, crearay rock, with balconies, terraces, and cupolas and cut-glass s that gazed in all directions upon harbor, townscape, and woodland as ifwhat had passed and as to pass in the history and future of New York No doubt about it, these were the fareat value to this enterprise and were justly rewarded for their influence and financial bravery all except Lillehorne, of course, who lived in the smallest house at the western end of the street and whose money came from his father-in-law, yet it was in the interest of those other stalwarts that a high constable be kept a the club if only as errand-boy
Here the street was neatly raked and kept free of those irritating mounds of manure otherwise endured by the ordinary joseph and josephine Huge shade trees invited lingering where no lingering was tolerated, and bursts of flowers in geoardens wafted into the warm air complex aromas that seemed perhaps a little too sophisticated for nostrils assailed by dockyard tar and fried sausages in the small chaos called life down below
Matthew advanced eastward on the sidewalk, passing through pools of shade and again into bright sunlight Everything seehter somehow He could almost hear from marbled vestibules the thru time for the servants as theyinto places where he wasn&039;t welcomed, Mattheas a bit awed by these displays of wealth He&039;d walked on Golden Hill Street many times, of course, but he&039;d never been on such a o knocking at a door disar eneral, credit and loan earl, lumberyard duke, slave trade baron, real estate prince, and shipyard eravel of the carriage driveways s a five-foot-high wrought-iron fence topped with spear-tips and there was the sied hi up a fieldstone ay to the front door yet it was unlocked and easily conquered He noted how quiet were the hinges as they allowed hie Then he went up the ay and under the blue bloom of a canopy above the front steps He climbed them, six in number, and as he reached for the polished brass door knocker he had a moment of self-doubt in that he was still, after all, a si the Devericks when this ought to be the high constable&039;s taski It was up to Lillehorne to pursue the Masker, as part of his official duty
True, all true Yet Matthe froh constable&039;s mind worked, in square circles and circular squares If one waited on him to put paid to the Masker&039;s bill, even the outlandish idea of a daily Earwig couldn&039;t keep up with theto this link between the doctor, the broker, and the orphanage chief that Matthew thought only he ht uncover, and now this new fact that nettled him like a mosquito in the mind: what had become of ausley&039;s notebooki
He pulled his willpower back up to his ears again, took firm hold of the knocker, and let it be known Matthew Corbett had come to call
Promptly the door was opened an austere whipcord of a woray dress with lace around the throat peered out at hie, had a severe cap of ash-blond hair and deep-set hazel eyes that looked hiative opinion on see from his forehead scar to the scuffs on his shoes She didn&039;t speak
"I&039;d like to see Mr Deverick, please," Matthew said
"Mr Davarick," she replied with a heavy foreign accent that Matthew thought ht be austrian or Prussian but certainly from somewhere in old Europe, "iss decissed He iss bean bearit thiss afternun at two o&039;cluck"
"I&039;d like to see the younger Mr Deverick," Matthew corrected
"Iss nut pozzible Goot day" She started to close the door on hiainst it
"May I ask why it&039;s not possiblei"
"Mrs Davarick iss oot I aiffen parmizzion"
"Gretli Who is thati" came a voice from beyond the servant woman
"It&039;s Matthew Corbett!" he took the opportunity to shout, a bit too loudly for this quiet neighborhood because Gretl looked as if she wished to kick him where it hurt with one of her polished square-toed black boots "May I have a momenti"
"Myout of sight
"I haf tolt him ssso, sssir" That one was almost a spit in Matthew&039;s face
"It&039;s you I&039;d like to speak with," Matthew persisted, braving the ele your father&039;s" He had a choice of words here, and he chose " for Robert&039;s reaction When young Deverick gave none, she said "Goot day" again and began to push the door shut with a strength that Matthew thought ht break his elboere he to try and resist
"Let him in" Robert now made an appearance, if only as a shadow in the cool diive you perave a little stiff-necked lowering of the head, though her eyes flashed with fire She opened the door, Matthealked past her al a boot up the arse, and Robert came forward on the dark parquet floor to meet hiret bothering you today, as"-the door was rather roughly closed and Gretl glided past Matthew into a carpeted hallway-"obviously you have much on your mind," Matthew continued, "but thank you for the tiive you a few minutes My mother&039;s out"
Matthew could only respond with a nod Robert&039;s curly brown hair had been neatly brushed and he wore an immaculate black suit and waistcoat, cravat and crisp white shirt, yet at close range his face was chalky and his gray eyes dark-shadowed and unfocused Matthew thought he looked years older than he&039;d appeared at theon Tuesday The shock of a brutal murder had sapped his youth, and frohteen-year-old spirit had long ago been daed by his father&039;s heavy hand
"The parlor," Robert said "This way"
Matthew followed the youngerand a fireplacewhat appeared to be ancient wine aold circles, the wallsdesk, chairs, an octagonal table with clawed feet-were all fashioned of glossy black wood save for a red fabric sofa set in front of the hearth The roolassgave a view onto Golden Hill Street while a secondof the saarden decorated hite statues and a sh to almost steal Matthew&039;s breath away He doubted if in his entire life he would ever hold enough h to burn tree trunks But then again, he wondered why he would ever want to; it seemed to hi beyond that asteful Still, it was a nificent chamber in a majestic house, and Robert must have seen this awestruck expression before because he said aletically, "It&039;s just a room" He motioned toward a chair "Please sit down"
Matthew sat carefully, as if the chairill-born
Robert also sat down, in the chair at the writing desk He rubbed his forehead with the heel of his hand, and Matthew thought he was trying to clear hisup with his first sentence when Robert said, his eyes still hazy, "You found my father"
"No, not exactly I mean to say, I was there, but actually-"
"Is that the new broadsheeti"
"Yes, it is Would you care to see iti" Matthew got up and placed the Earwig on the desktop blotter, then returned to his seat
Robert spent ahis father&039;s deed; it remained ales of thehe turned the paper over "Mr Grigsby told aze briefly flickered toward Matthew and then away again "I understand there was another killing last night I heardabout it, with Mr Pollard"
"Mr Pollardi He was here this i"
"He came for her He&039;s our lawyer, you know"
"and she went so to be a , Mr Pollard said about the taverns, and a Clear Streets Decree He told my mother about Mr ausley I expect that&039;s why Lord Cornbury wants to close the taverns early, isn&039;t that righti"
"Yes"
"Mr Pollard toldHe said she should wear her funeral gown, the better to remind Lord Cornbury that she also has been a victim, but that she wishes the taverns and the town to operate as usual just the same It&039;s a lot of ine so," Matthew said
On the desktop were a nuht Robert picked up the ball and gazed into it as if searching for so there "My father has said hted in the taverns, or a glass of wine drunk Whenever a cup cracks, or a platter breaks" He looked over the ball at Matthew "You see, that is a lot of money"
"I&039;hts alone"
"But it&039;s a difficult task, as well," Robert went on, al the best price for the goods Dealing with the suppliers, keeping everythingas it should Some items have to come across the sea, you know Then there&039;s the warehouse and the inventory The wine barrels have to be inspected The food animals chosen and prepared There are so many details to keep up with It&039;s not as if ish these things andto wait for what destination Robert was travelling toward
The younger Deverick was silent as he turned the paperweight between his hands "My father," he finally said, "was a ave hi, ever and he never asked for favors He created it all, hi to be proud of, don&039;t you thinki"
"Very proud"
"and a sh now there was a harsher edge to his voice "But he never had a formal education Far frootten from the streets and the public markets He never knew his own father, you see What he remembered of his motherwas a woman in a small room who drank herself to death It wasn&039;t easy for him Not for Mr Deverick, no Yet he lassy as the paperweight "Yes, ht, when he said I wasn&039;t fit for the business Did I tell you he said thati"
"No," Matthew replied
"a direct h Justabreeds, my mother says and now look here, my father&039;s dead" a quick and terrible smile flashed across Robert&039;s mouth, yet his eyes ith crushed misery
The room seemed much smaller to Matthew than it had a few hostlywas slowly lowering itself upon his head and the fireplace opening wider like an ebony ht from the s seemed asp of surprise He touched his right cheek like a slow- I&039;o on"
Matthew kept silent, but Robert&039;s er ainst the chairback, and stared inquisitively at Matthew through red-ri in the doorway "My edvize iss to esk thiss vizitor to leaf now"
"It&039;s all right, Gretl Really it is Besides, I&039;ve been just prattling on, haven&039;t I, Mr Corbetti"
"We&039;re just talking," Matthew said
Gretl gave hiiff me parmizzion to-"
"My mother is not here," Robert interrupted, and the sound of his voice cracking on the last word made Matthew flinch Red whorls had risen on the white cheeks "Now that one, I am the head of this house when my mother is not here! Do you understand thati"
Gretl said nothing, but just stared impassively at him
"Leave us alone," Robert said, his voice weaker now and his head beginning to slu hiht nod "Vateffer you sey" and then she was gone into the guts of the house like a drifting wraith
"I don&039;t mean to be a problem," Matthew offered
"You&039;re not a probleht hier "I&039;ive me, it&039;s been of course a terrible week"