Close Band

The sky had darkened over the shifting cover of clouds, and though the wind blew stiff out of the northeast, its bite lessened as they moved among New Bedford’s buildings.

“We’ve got to get to Emmeline’s before candle-lighting.”

“Why?” Daniel asked.

“I made a deal with her. Said I’d get some folks across the river.”

“What folks? I thought you were leaving to get away from Fortuna.”

Lucky quickened his pace, eager to escape Daniel’s eyes. “Changed my mind. Decided not to let Fortuna keep me awash and helpless. I promised Emmeline I’d help the fugitives.”

“Like me?” As though reminded of the danger, Daniel scanned the alley on all sides and behind them.

Lucky glanced back. Shirts and trousers hung on lines at the backs of houses. Their arms and legs jerked in the breeze like fish on a hook.

“I’m still not so sure Jessup himself is here.” Lucky shrugged. “But some bounty hunters are, and if they’re anything like that bilge rat, we need to get you out of here in a—”

A low growl interrupted what he’d been saying. Something was just out of sight around the corner.

Suddenly, a large gray mutt emerged, whiskers quivering. Seeing Lucky and Daniel, he bounded up and pressed his wet nose against Daniel’s skirt.

Lucky bent and held his hand out to the dog. Daniel stood stock still.

“It’s only a dog,” Lucky chided, as the dog sniffed at him. He petted the creature a few times, then withdrew his hand and sniffed it. “Smells like he’s been rolling in three-day-old fish carcasses, but he’s not going to hurt ya.”

Daniel didn’t answer. He stood as if paralyzed.

“If you keep standing there like that, he may mistake you for a tree and lift his leg on your dress.”

Daniel’s eyes narrowed but he still didn’t move. “I’m afraid of dogs,” he finally said through his teeth.

“See his tail wagging? What’s to be afraid of?”

“Can’t help it. Packs of dogs chased me through the swamp. I still hear them barking in my nightmares.”

Lucky felt like a no-account fool.

“Here, pup,” he said, and picked up a stick. He opened the back fence closest to them and threw it into the yard. When the dog bounded after it, Lucky shut and latched the fence.

They walked the rest of the way to Emmeline’s house in silence.

“Stay back,” Lucky warned when they emerged from the alley across the street. “There’s a carriage at the front.”

Hiding in a lilac bush, Lucky and Daniel watched as two ladies in fancy gowns hurried out the massive front door and into the waiting carriage. Bonnets obscured their faces, but there was no mistaking the forceful stride of one of the two. “There goes Emmeline’s stepmother,” Lucky said, “sure as Christmas.”

When the horses had pulled away and were well out of sight, Lucky and Daniel emerged from the bush.

“Should we go around to the back?” Daniel asked in a low voice.

“Nah. Probably got a cook back there, or some other busybody. Best take our chances at the front. Besides, two proper ladies such as ourselves can’t be seen crawling around in the shrubbery. It’s not proper.”

“Your bonnet’s on crooked,” Daniel said.

Lucky straightened it. “There’s mud on your parasol.”

Daniel lifted his skirt and wiped the parasol on his trousers.

A woman with a basket of laundry emerged from a side yard and eyed them suspiciously.

Lucky pulled the shawl tighter around his face. “Just having a bit of a gam, dearie,” he said in his old lady voice. He took Daniel’s arm and steered him down the sidewalk. “Best we get off the street.”

When they approached the front steps, Daniel hung back. “Come on,” Lucky said, and bounded up to the door. He paused, his hand on a brass knocker in the shape of an anchor. “Here goes,” he said with more confidence than he felt, and rapped three times.

In an instant, the door flew open. “Uncle!” Emmeline exclaimed, but her wide grin dropped and transformed to a look of alarm at the sight of Lucky and Daniel.

“May we come in?” Lucky asked.

She didn’t answer, but backed away from the door allowing them to enter. Lucky pushed Daniel ahead of him into a wide hallway with Turkish carpets and a curving staircase.

“Lucky?” she finally said.

“In the flesh,” he answered closing the door behind them.

Daniel shifted uncomfortably, twirling the dirty parasol.

“Put that down,” Lucky ordered. “Don’t you know it’s bad luck to bring an open umbrella indoors?” Daniel closed the parasol and leaned it against the hall tree.

“What art thou doing here?”

She must have gone all addle-brained at the sight of them in women’s dresses, Lucky reasoned, and smiled reassuringly. “Come to keep my part of the bargain,” he said.

“What do you mean?” Emmeline asked, still looking bewildered.

“You know. Lead those fugitives down to the river. Heck, I’ll row ’em all the way to Fairhaven, if you’d like. Just so long as Daniel can come along.”

“Too late,” she said, her chin lifting ever so slightly, but enough to let Lucky know she’d remembered the words they’d exchanged earlier. “I’m sorry, Daniel,” she added quickly.

“What?” It was Lucky’s turn to look bewildered.

“Thou has come too late. They’ve left already.”

“But you said not until well after candle-lighting.”

“Plans change, Lucky. Isn’t that what you told me?”

He shifted, uncomfortable in the dress. “I’m sorry for what I said earlier. Sorry I wasn’t here to help you. I can at least take Daniel to them so he’ll be safe from the bounty hunters.”

Lucky glanced at Daniel. His friend kept his gaze fixed on the intricate pattern of the Turkish carpet, as though it held a code he must decipher.

She shook her head sadly. “I don’t know where they are. One of the other members of the Abolitionist Society led them. He didn’t tell me where the ship was docked or where they’d meet it. Said the less we members knew, the easier it would be to answer the law if there were questions later.”

“Hell’s bells!” Lucky said. “What about your uncle?”

“I don’t know what’s keeping him,” she said miserably. “I thought he’d be here already.”

“Can you try to find out where the ship’s docked?” Lucky asked. He bit down on his lower lip. If he could just get Daniel to safety with the others. “And do you know where it’s headed?”

“Canada, I think.”

Well, it wasn’t ideal, but Canada would do for him. That is, if they could get to the ship. Lucky took a deep breath.

The rattle of an arriving carriage interrupted his thoughts. Emmeline jumped.

“Maybe it’s your uncle,” Lucky offered.

“Not in my stepmother’s carriage. Hurry, come with me.”

Lucky and Daniel followed her down the hall toward the back of the house. Emmeline opened a door and pointed down a dark stairway. “Quickly,” she called, leaving them at the top of the stairs, “and close the door behind you.”

But it was too dark without the crack of light the open door let in. Lucky left it slightly ajar, to make sure they could see to find their way out again. He thought of Antone and wondered what had happened when Mrs. Cabral let him out. “Hold onto the rail,” he whispered to Daniel.

“Don’t worry about me.” Daniel’s voice sounded pinched and afraid.

“We need to get to the bottom.” Lucky held the rail with one hand and placed the other along the wall to steady himself. “We can hide—” Suddenly there was a creak of hinges and Lucky felt a rush of air. “What’s this?” He seemed to have opened a door in the wall of the staircase.

Tracing the wall with his hand, he found an opening in the planks. A cupboard-type door swung inward to expose a dark space that smelled slightly smoky and of whale oil.

They heard the front door open. Lucky froze.

“Emmeline!” A shrill voice called.

“M-m-mother, I thought thee’d gone to the Ladies Guild meeting.”

“I forgot my jeweled reticule. You know how the ladies rely on me to set a standard for the Guild. I couldn’t disappoint them.”

“Yes, Mother.”

There came a disgusted sigh. “Who’s come to call?”

“No one, Mother. Thou said I’m not to accept callers.”

“Then what is this filthy parasol doing in my vestibule?”

Lucky heard Daniel’s sharp intake of breath.

“I plan to offer it to someone in need,” Emmeline said.

“I shudder to think what lady would find herself in such need that she’d stoop to carry that ragged thing,” came the reply. The voice became louder as the tap of heels moved down the hallway toward the basement door.

“No, Mother. I’ll get thy bag.”

“You know I don’t want you in my room. What have you been doing in the basement?”

“Nothing, Mother.” Emmeline must have reached the door first and shut it firmly.

“Don’t push me out of the way!” her stepmother cried.

“I’m sorry, Mother, it’s just that I know the ladies are waiting for thee.”

“Quick,” Lucky took Daniel’s arm. “I’ll lift you in.”

“Don’t want to,” Daniel murmured.

“We’ll be safe,” Lucky whispered. “Safer than if Emmeline’s stepmother finds us, leastways. If she does, she’ll call the law.”

Lucky lifted Daniel’s skirted legs and pushed him through the opening. Then he jumped in after and pulled the panel closed.

It hadn’t been a moment too soon.

“What were you doing down there?” Mrs. Rowland’s voice came through the panel. It sounded as if she were at the top of the stairs peering down.

“I heard a noise at the door and thought a cat or some other poor creature might need my help.”

“I’ll never understand you! It could just as easily have been a rat.”

“Yes, Mother.” Emmeline said as the door closed. Lucky heard the bolt latch.

They were locked in the basement. Just like Antone had been. Lucky let out the breath he’d been holding.

“I’m sorry about the parasol,” Daniel whispered.

Time seemed to stand still in the secret room under the stairs where darkness hung, absolute and smothering. They carried on a whispered conversation for awhile, but Lucky wanted to be able to hear what was going on upstairs. He pushed the door open and stuck his head out. Had Emmeline forgotten them? Had he and Daniel dozed off? Suddenly a lantern shone in his eyes.

“Miss Emmeline?” Daniel said, his voice shaking slightly.

“It’s me,” she answered. “I’m thankful thou found the secret room!”

“What is this place?” Lucky asked, peering around the illuminated space.

“It’s a hidey hole for the Underground Railroad,” Emmeline said. “My father had it built years ago. ’Tis a blessing thou found it, or my stepmother might have seen you.”

Mention of the Underground Railroad cleared Lucky’s thoughts. “What time is it?”

“Nearly ten. I’m sorry! My stepmother was suspicious and insisted I go with her to the meeting. Then she made me stay after for supper.”

“Never mind that,” Lucky said. “Did you find out about the ship?”

“It’s moored off Gull Island.”

Daniel let out a low whistle and wiped his hand across his forehead.

Lucky jumped to his feet, banging his head on the ceiling of the tiny room. “I’ll find a skiff and row us across.”

“Where’s your stepmother?” Daniel asked, peering toward the staircase.

“Gone to bed with a headache she claimed I’d given her.”

“Is she a sound sleeper?” Lucky whispered.

“She is when she takes Dr. Freeman’s Miracle Elixir.” Emmeline wrinkled her nose. “I smelled it on her breath. Horrible! I heard my uncle tell Father it’s nothing but low-quality corn whiskey sold in a fancy bottle.”

Daniel climbed out first and Lucky followed, trying not to hit his head again.

Emmeline led them up the stairs and into the back of the house.

“What time does she sail?” Lucky asked.

“By midnight.”

“We’d have a better chance if we shed this women’s gear,” Lucky said. “Do you think we could borrow a couple of your father’s shirts?”

“All Father’s clothes are in the room with my stepmother.” She held her hand out to Lucky. “Take this,” she said, and dropped a small object into his palm.

Lucky’s fingers closed around warm metal. He held his hand up to the lantern to look. The knotted brooch that Emmeline always wore gleamed up at him. He caught his breath and stared at the intricately bound strands of gold as though they were a rigger’s knot, a puzzle he could work out. The skin of his palm tingled.

“I can’t take this,” he said, trying to pass it back to her. “It was your mother’s, wasn’t it?”

“You may need money,” Emmeline said. “’Tis all I have to give. Besides, she’d have given it gladly herself for so worthy a cause.”

“We’ll take it, then, just in case,” Lucky said, blinking hard. “And with thanks. But someday I’ll return it to you. I promise.” He opened the bodice of his dress and pinned the brooch to the inside, where it wouldn’t be seen.

Emmeline opened a door that led into the back garden. She held up the lantern to reveal a series of flower beds surrounded by a circular stone path. “Cut down Walnut Street,” she said, “and, Lucky?”

“Yes?” He’d already stepped past her through the door, eager to be on his way. Daniel, close on his heels, bumped into him when he turned.

“Godspeed.”