River

Mason

When the sun starts touching the horizon across the river, I know that work is wrapping up for the day. I make my way back to the edge of Under-the-hill, see Stu, and whistle him over again.

“Go get David and Ben and bring them to me. Where we talked earlier. Just follow the little trail, it’s not hard to find. Oh, and bring me some food, I’m starving.”

He nods and moves back to the docks, and I return to the grove.

Before too much longer, the three of them are coming up on my grove. I’m glad to see that Ben is carrying a sack, presumably with some provisions for me. For some reason he has a sick expression on his face. For that matter, so does David. What on earth is wrong with these fellows? This isn’t that bad. How disappointing that they don’t seem to be enjoying our new partnership, I think snidely.

Oh well, I’ll get their report at least. “Tell me everything,” I instruct them, taking the sack out of Ben’s hands, pulling out the food and setting it on the big rock, using one of the blankets left here as my tablecloth. Bread, apples, cold meat. This will do.

Ben and David look at each other while I start chewing. “Talk!” I tell them, annoyed at the delay.

David starts. “I watched Gregor’s house all afternoon. I saw him in town early in the day, talking to a friend of his, making a plan to have dinner together at the club.”

“The club?”

“It’s the men’s club in town. The gentlemen all go there at night, have dinner and smoke cigars and talk.”

“Did he go?”

“Yes, I stayed across the street from his house until he got home. I saw him go inside for a few minutes, then leave again right after his servants left. I followed him a little ways until I was sure he was going to the club, then I came back Under-the-hill.”

“Anything else happen?”

“Not really. I saw their servants gardening and doing laundry.”

I want to know about the whore. “Didn’t you see his woman?” I won’t dignify her by calling her his wife.

“Um, no, she must have stayed inside all day.”

Useless. Except the information about Gregor going to the club. That is interesting. If the gentlemen in town spend their evenings there, I’m sure he joins them.

“What about you?” I ask Ben.

“I stayed at the docks all day. Before Gregor went up to the town, he spent some time at Madam Beverly’s place. Then he came back and just worked with the pile driver all day with the rest of us.” He looks extremely unhappy as he is telling me this.

That’s interesting too. Gregor is frequenting the whorehouse still. Apparently he is not a faithful husband. Between that and going to the club at night, I think he won’t be paying as much attention to Rosy as he should. He’ll live to regret that. So will she.

“Well, go on home,” I tell them. “Do the same thing tomorrow.” They both look so ridiculously miserable. “Oh good grief, fellows. Don’t look so forlorn. This will all be done by tomorrow night, and I’ll be on my way. Assuming you don’t want to come and be part of my crew on the Trace -” I pause and look questioningly at them, then have to laugh at their aghast expressions - “you probably won’t even ever see me again.”

They look at each other, then go. Stu stays for a while, talking to me while I eat, making plans of our own.

Everything is in place.

Gregor

I want to wait until David returns Under-the-hill so that I can annoyingly grab him again, because Wolk says that his fever is starting to spike, and the infection is spreading. Apparently I should have held onto him longer, or maybe repeated treatment is required. I’m new at this Seer’s touch healing thing, and I have never understood how it works. I guess I’m not very good at it yet.

“You are doing very well, beloved,” Wolk tries to reassure me. “However, I do not believe you will get the chance to practice with David again today. He has actually fallen asleep at his post, he is growing so unwell. He will not be returning to the docks before work is done for the day.”

I wish that wasn’t so, but I guess it’s his loss. Maybe I’ll be able to try again tomorrow.

When I return home, first I stop in to check on Jake, slipping in the side door where David wouldn’t see even if he did happen to wake up at that moment. “How’s it going, Jake?” I ask him.

He smiles proudly, and reports everything that he saw, particularly the man from the docks who has been behind the tree all afternoon. He importantly brings me to the front window and points David out to me, asleep and leaning against the side of the house he’s hiding behind. I force myself not to smile at the volume of candy wrappers scattered around the room.

“Thank you, Jake. It will be getting dark in a while, but I’m afraid that I don’t want you to light any candles or lanterns, since I don’t want anybody outside to see lights on in here. But I think you’ll be okay, there’ll be a bit of moonlight coming in through the windows. I will be going to the club for a couple of hours, and I would like you to keep watching until you see me get back. Then you can go to bed and get a good night’s sleep. You have another day of duty tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir!” he says, still enthused about his assignment. “Um, where should I sleep?”

“You can choose whichever bed you like, Jake. This is your house for the time being.” His eyes glow with excitement.

“He has never slept in an actual bed before that he can recall. He sleeps on a pallet in the kitchen at Beverly’s.”

Well, good. At least Jake is enjoying himself. I suppose Mason would be surprised to hear that his actions are actually benefiting somebody.

I slip back out of the house and return to the street, then make sure to make some noise stomping and shuffling my feet as I pass by where David is “hiding”, so that he will wake up and see me. It works.

When I go inside, Rosalind greets me with a smile like always, and this is the hardest part. “Darling,” I tell her, “I won’t be staying for dinner. Thomas got back into town today, and I have agreed to meet him at the club.”

“Oh, all right,” she says, apparently unperturbed, “I’m glad to hear he is back. How is Mrs. Ellis?”

Right, that situation. “He told me that she is the same, still confined to her bed. It seems that Samuel didn’t feel there was anything else he could be doing for her, so they returned today. Good thing too,” I go on, wanting to make her feel at ease with some conversation, “because I saw quite the crowd gathering outside his medical office, waiting for him.”

Nadine and Moses are waiting in the kitchen, and I walk through the house with Rosalind. “Your dinner is here on the stove,” Nadine says.

I don’t bother explaining my plans to her, and Moses already knows. “Thank you,” is all I say. “Good night.” Moses meets my eyes and silently nods before he goes. I feel so much better about leaving, knowing he will stay nearby.

I figure it will take about ten minutes for Moses to go up the street then sneak back down to take his place at the edge of the property. I spend it embracing Rosalind, taking comfort from her presence.

“You’ll be all right here while I’m gone,” I can’t stop myself from telling her, an unplanned questioning tone in my voice.

“Of course, Gregor. You enjoy the club. Too bad you’re missing Nadine’s pot roast tonight! I’ll see you when you get back.”

I kiss her one more time then go, reluctantly, forcing my steps down the street to the club.

“David is following you,” Wolk tells me.

Good. At least there isn’t anyone spying on Rosalind at the moment. Well, not unfriendly eyes, anyway.

A few minutes after I arrive at the club, Thomas arrives with Samuel Duncan. Henry and Samuel Postlethwaite are already there, and our whole group dines together. Almost like old times.

I am able to speak privately with Thomas briefly. I tell him that I have a feeling that Mason will make his move tomorrow evening. He says that the militia will be ready, men will be posted in various concealed positions on my street as the sun starts going down, prepared to move in as soon as Mason appears. We keep this information between ourselves, not wanting the town to be gossiping about the developing situation, which would ruin the secrecy of the plan. Mason can’t find out.

I am distracted otherwise, unable to focus on the chatter of my friends, instead listening to Wolk relay the entire conversation that Mason has in the grove with Ben and David and Stu. I feel even sorrier for Ben when Wolk explains his dismay in seeing Mason using the special grove that Ben and Samuel had shared, his disgust at the intrusion.

It is a comfort to know, though, that nothing further is planned for tonight. Ben and David go to the boarding house, where Ben worriedly advises David to get some sleep, knowing that his friend is still unwell.

It is tomorrow night that Mason plans to move against me, against Rosalind. My heart is pounding as I contemplate my preparations, try to make sure I haven’t forgotten anything.

Stu lingers, making plans with Mason. It seems that he will be accepting his offer to join forces on the Trace.

With any luck, that will never take place. If my plan unfolds as I hope, Mason will never leave Natchez as a free man.