River

Gregor

I give David a lengthy list of chores to accomplish up in town, reiterate that I don’t expect to see him back here any time soon, and watch him depart for his day of dirty deeds. I see Ben watch him depart as well.

As I am turning back around, intending to simply focus on the pile driver for now, I see the boy, Jake, approaching me from Madam Beverly’s brothel. Huh.

Jake comes right to me, and says, the same as he had done a few weeks ago, “Madam Beverly would like to have a word with you, please, Mister Gregor.”

Interesting. I know Mason didn’t go to Beverly’s last night. Wolk told me that he decided it would be safer not to, now that he is aware of the reward offered for his capture. So what is this? I tell Wolk not to bother, I’ll find out soon enough. “All right,” I tell Jake, “let’s go.” I know Ben is watching me, and assume that this will be reported to Mason. Let him make of it what he will.

I fish in my pocket for a coin, find only a nickel in there, and give it to the boy, laughing a little at his astonishment at the inflation. Last time I only had a penny to give him.

It is not so early today as it was last time Beverly summoned me, and the ladies are already waiting in the parlor for customers. I nod at Rosalind’s friends, Genevive and Samantha, and they smile and giggle. It reminds me - it’s been a few weeks. I should bring them up for a visit. Assuming we can get past all this Mason nonsense. Sigh.

“Mister Gregor,” Beverly greets me with her usual mercenary smile. “Thank you for coming.”

“Of course,” I respond. “What can I do for you?”

She glances around at the full parlor. “Please come with me.”

She leads me into the back, into the little cupboard off the kitchen where months ago we had conducted the transaction to pay Rosalind’s debt so I could remove her from the brothel. We crowd in there, and Beverly says in a low voice, “I wanted to tell you that the man we spoke of a few weeks ago is back in town.”

I’m done playing games and pretending that I don’t already know who she means. “Mason?” I ask.

Her eyes widen slightly, but she just nods. “Yes.”

“Did he make any trouble?”

“No, he didn’t come in, but I saw him looking at the door while he walked by. I had assumed he would come later, but he did not.” She looks down at her hands. “I realized that I was very relieved that he had not, and I have decided that I do not want to have him here to abuse my ladies ever again.” I’m almost surprised that she admits that she knows of the abuse.

“She also knows of the reward, my dear,” Wolk tells me. “Her interest here is not entirely altruistic.”

Of course.

I think for a moment. Maybe this is another one of the pieces I can place on the board. “Beverly,” I tell her, “I wish to take you into my confidence.”

She looks surprised, then nods.

“Somebody overheard Mason at the tavern last night, making plans to harm Rosy.” That’s true. Wolk overheard him.

I hear her sharp intake of breath. It confirms what I know, that she truly does care for Rosalind. I feel myself warm to her, just a little.

“I’m trying to arrange for her protection,” I go on. She narrows her eyes, probably thinking of how she might play into this, why am I telling her. “I want to have some eyes on my house, especially while I am not there. I believe she is being watched, and I want to be watching too.”

She nods. “How can I help?” she asks.

“Can you loan me Jake for a couple of days?”

Samuel Duncan

I think I doze inside the carriage for most of the trip back to Natchez. Good thing, an hour or two of sleep is probably all I am going to get for a while, I realize as we get into town and I see that there are people lined up outside my office, clearly just waiting to see if the doctor will arrive today.

I hear Thomas whistle when he sees the line. He stops in front of the office to let me out, and I grab my medical bag and climb out of the carriage, stretch out my arms and back, and move towards the front door of the medical practice. “Good luck,” I hear him say behind me, as I start greeting the patients and trying to conduct some rudimentary triage, determine whether there are any urgent emergencies that must be taken first. I know I won’t be finished here for many hours.

I wonder what Ben is doing.

Gregor

“What is David doing right now?” I ask Wolk.

“David is at the sawmill ordering the lumber you put on the list. He will be there for at least several more minutes, making arrangements with the sawyer. His plan is to accomplish the chores you have assigned as quickly as possible, then linger in the street near your house to watch it for a few hours so he can provide a report to Mason.”

“Where is Mason?”

“Still in the grove outside of town.”

“So nobody is watching the house right now?”

“No.”

Good, this is my chance to get Jake set up. I give him some money, tell him to go to Postlethwaite’s Mercantile up in town and buy himself enough food to last for two days and nights, and that he should wait inside the store for a few minutes and I will meet him there. I give him way more money than he could possibly need, so hopefully he will be thrilled to be able to select every treat he might desire. I want this assignment to be fun for him.

I have to send him on ahead, so that Ben can’t report back to Mason that Jake is working for me. After he leaves, I wait a few minutes before heading back out of the brothel. I assume Mason will hear that I spent time there, and surmise that I was utilizing the services of a lady. Insulting and untrue, but it will probably help my cause if he thinks I am not quite so utterly devoted to Rosalind.

The crew is working, being supervised by Geoffrey, everything running efficiently. “I have to head up to town for a while,” I tell him, “I’ll be back. Keep up the good work.”

I walk up the hill and go into the mercantile. Henry is there, just packaging up a large sack of treats that Jake is purchasing. He grins when I enter. “This lad told me he is buying these treats for you! Are you feeling a little peckish, Gregor?” I laugh and nod, but I don’t want to provide any details for gossip. I am not sure who is going to be talking to whom, and I want to control the situation as much as possible.

When the transaction is completed, I reach into the sack to pull out a candy and pop it into my mouth, so that Henry sees that, then Jake and I leave the store.

“Still no-one watching?” I ask Wolk.

“Not yet. It will be at least another half an hour before David is finished, and Mason is too far away. You still have some time.”

“Okay, Jake,” I tell him as I lead him towards my street. “Here is your job. There is a house that I want you to guard for me, all right?”

He nods eagerly. “He is pleased to be given an important task to do for you.”

We reach the little vacant house that I have purchased down the street from my home. Wolk tells me that nobody is looking, and I use the key in my pocket to open the door and shepherd Jake inside.

“You will be just fine in this house all by yourself, right?” I ask him. He nods, staring around with wide eyes. “Nobody else will come in here except me, so you’ll have the place to yourself for the next two days. Let me show you around.”

I put the food in the little kitchen, then show him the other rooms. There is some basic furniture, some small beds in the bedrooms, a front parlor with a couple of chairs and end tables, a small dining area. The house only has one level, no stairs. There is a little water pump in the back which I show him, and I point out where the chamber pots are. I want to make sure that he is comfortable.

When I think he has the lay of the land, I tell him, “All right, here is your job.” I take him back into the front room, and pull the lace curtain back a bit from the window. “There is my house,” I tell him, pointing across the street. “I believe that bad men might be planning to hurt me or my family. I want you to be my watchman, all right?”

“Yes sir,” he says.

“You don’t have to do anything dangerous. I just want you to spend as much time as you can here, looking through the lace curtain so nobody will see you from outside. Just watch my house, and if you see anybody standing around watching it, or especially if you see anybody try to go up to the door, I want you to remember what they look like. I’ll come by a few times in the next couple of days so that you can tell me if you have seen anything. Okay?”

I don’t want him to do anything that might endanger him. I certainly wouldn’t want him to try to confront anybody. I know that Wolk will be watching as well, but I just want a pair of eyes here, where the front door can be seen, especially since when Moses is watching tonight from the back, he won’t be able to see the front of my house. Having access to Jake’s vision and observations will assist Wolk in keeping track of everything as it unfolds.

When I am sure that he understands, and that he seems comfortable, I leave him, assuring him that I will be back in a few hours to check in on him.

“He is delighted with this assignment, my dear. He gets an entire house to himself, he has a large pantry full of foods he is eager to indulge in, and he feels important to be given this task by you. He intends to be quite diligent.”

I wish I could go home and spend some time with Rosalind, but I don’t want to be there when David or Mason show up to watch, and I wouldn’t want to alert Rosalind that something strange is happening. So I just stroll back towards town, making sure to seem relaxed just in case I am being observed.

“Good news, darling,” Wolk tells me as I am leaving my street. “Thomas and Samuel have just returned from Ellis Cliffs.”

Ah! Excellent! Thomas is the one missing piece that I need for my board. “Where are they?”

“Samuel has gone to work, with several patients waiting for him after he has been gone all week. Thomas is just returning your carriage to the stables, and intends to go into his law office afterwards.”

Perfect.