City of Schemes

by Victoria Thompson

  Elizabeth was very much afraid she heard Gideon actually groan, but hopefully, Miss Decker would just think he was jealous of the attention the earl was garnering. She turned to him. “Perhaps you should find Logan and make sure he is feeling appropriately welcomed home. We wouldn’t want him to be neglected.”

  Gideon gave her a look that warned of many difficult questions to come, but he muttered, “If you ladies will excuse me,” and hurried off.

  “What do you want to know about the earl?” Anna asked.

  But Elizabeth gave Anna’s arm a warning squeeze. “Perhaps we can find someplace more private to discuss this.”

  “The library,” Miss Decker said knowingly and led the way.

  They made their way slowly, because more than one person wanted to question Anna about the earl. Since these were merely curious inquiries about how she knew him or who he was, the conversations were brief, and Anna managed not to reveal anything that would spoil Carrie Decker’s story.

  The library was a poorly named room, since it contained only a few books, and those appeared to never have been opened. The lingering aroma of cigar smoke told them that Mr. Westerly probably used it as his private refuge. How Carrie Decker knew about it was anyone’s guess.

  Anna and Elizabeth sat down in the two oversized armchairs beside the fireplace and Carrie pulled a chair over from the desk.

  “Now, Miss Vanderslice,” Carrie began.

  “How did you know my name?” Anna asked with creditable alarm.

  “Miss Westerly told me the earl would be escorting you.”

  “How efficient of her,” Elizabeth said, and Anna had to cover her mouth to hide a grin.

  “Miss Vanderslice,” Carrie continued, undaunted, “how do you know the earl?”

  “I only met him a few days ago. Miss Miles here introduced us.”

  Carrie’s attention shifted instantly to Elizabeth. “You introduced them? How do you know the earl?”

  Elizabeth repeated the story she had told Rosemary, about Percy’s American mother and her family moving to England and their many visits to Hartwood. Poor Miss Decker could hardly keep up, even though she took notes with admirable speed.

  “Why is the earl in America in the first place, though?” Carrie asked when Elizabeth had run out of stories.

  “I don’t think we can tell you that,” Anna said with a worried frown.

  “Yes, we can,” Elizabeth said, taking great pains to make Carrie suspicious. “He came to buy horses.”

  “Horses?” Carried echoed in confusion.

  “Yes, the British army confiscated all the horses in his stables, and now he needs to replace them.”

  Anna nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, that’s right. Horses.” Plainly, they weren’t telling her the whole story. She’d be an idiot not to notice.

  “You don’t expect me to believe an earl came all the way to America just to buy some horses,” Carrie said.

  Anna and Elizabeth exchanged a look. After a moment of awkward silence, Anna said, “He also needs a bride.”

  “A bride?” Plainly, they could not have said anything that pleased Carrie Decker more. “Are you saying you are engaged to the earl?” she asked, her eyes lighting up like Chinese lanterns.

  “Heavens no,” Anna said with a laugh. “He’s looking for an heiress.”

  “An heiress?” Carrie said with a frown.

  “Yes,” Anna said with some authority. “Englishmen have been coming to America for decades looking for rich wives to help them restore their estates. It stopped because of the war, but now that the war is over . . .” She let the sentence dangle provocatively.

  Carrie was scribbling frantically in her notebook. When she finally looked up, she said, “And you aren’t engaged to the earl?”

  “I already told you, I’m not an heiress. Besides, I’m not interested in moving to England, but I’m sure he’ll find someone who is.”

  “Do you have any idea who that might be?” Carrie asked hopefully.

  Anna sniffed. “Not at all.”

  “He only just arrived in the country,” Elizabeth said. “But if you mention that he’s looking for a wife, I’m sure he’ll find one pretty quickly.”

  Carrie obviously thought so, too.

  Elizabeth decided they had spent enough time with Carrie and made their excuses to return to the party. They had hardly returned before another reporter approached them. This time they withdrew to a corner of the dining room, where Elizabeth amused herself by making up a completely different story about how she knew the earl. They’d met at a fox hunt when he’d saved her from a runaway horse. Only the conclusion was the same, that the earl was shopping for horses and a bride.

  “Why did you tell that woman a different tale?” Anna asked.

  Elizabeth gave her an approving smile for using grifter slang. “Just to keep things interesting.”

  Before Anna could ask her anything else, another reporter approached them, and Elizabeth made up another story. By the time they had been interviewed by the fourth reporter, Anna was completely bewildered.

  “I hope that’s the last of them,” she said, shaking her head. “I almost told that last woman that Percy came here so he could marry a horse.”

  “She probably would have printed it, too,” Elizabeth said.

  “But won’t the last three reporters be upset when they find out their stories are wrong?”

  “Anna, my sweet, none of the stories are true. They are merely different.”

  Anna blinked. “Oh yes, I guess I forgot.”

  “And they won’t be upset because the stories are different, either. All the newspapers will think their version is the truth and that the others got it wrong. Let’s go see what Percy is up to. I haven’t even said hello to him.”

  Elizabeth was happy to see that Percy was conversing with Gideon and Logan.

  “My dear girl,” Percy said by way of greeting. He swept her an elegant bow and raised her hand to his lips.

  Gideon, to his credit, simply shook his head in mock despair.

  “I see you’ve met my fiancé,” Elizabeth said, “and our guest of honor.”

  “Yes, Mr. Carstens has been telling us how Paris fared in the war. I’m so glad to hear it survived unscathed.”

  “Where have you ladies been?” Gideon asked with more than idle curiosity. “Surely that woman didn’t keep you all this time.”

  “It seems Rosemary invited more than one,” Elizabeth said.

  “More than one what?” Logan asked.

  “Society reporter,” Anna said. “I had no idea this was such an important social event.”

  “It’s not,” Logan said with a frown. “Or at least it shouldn’t be.”

  “But Rosemary does so enjoy seeing her name in the newspaper, doesn’t she?” Anna asked sweetly.

  Logan was still frowning, but before anyone could reply, Rosemary appeared at Percy’s elbow. “Did I hear my name?”

  “We were just saying how happy we are that you invited us,” Elizabeth said.

  Rosemary didn’t even glance at her. She only had eyes for Percy. “Would you escort me in to dinner, Lord Percy?”

  “I would be honored,” he said, nodding to the rest of them before allowing Rosemary to lead him away.

  “Don’t worry,” Anna told Logan. “He’ll be going back to England soon.”

  Elizabeth was pleased to note that Logan didn’t look a bit worried, though. “Perhaps we should all go in to dinner.”

  “Yes, we should,” Logan said. “Anna, may I take you?” Gideon offered Elizabeth his arm—since they weren’t married yet, he could still escort her.

  As they made their way through the crowded rooms, they stopped a few times to chat with friends, and by the time they entered the dining room, Percy and Rosemary had filled their plates from the
massive buffet and moved on.

  After dinner, the four of them moved upstairs to the ballroom, where a small ensemble was playing dance music. Lord Percy had to share his favors with as many ladies as possible, since everyone wanted to dance with the earl, but Rosemary kept her eye on him, ready to intervene if any of them tried to monopolize his attention. He did manage to claim Anna for a dance or two, and finally he escaped long enough to claim Elizabeth.

  “You cut a fine figure, Lord Percy,” she said. He really was a good dancer, a skill that served a man well if he wanted to succeed in society.

  “High praise indeed, my lady.” He smirked.

  “How is your hunt for horses going?”

  “Amazingly well. Mr. Westerly has offered me his advice, and he has promised to go out to the farm with me.”

  “I thought he didn’t know anything about horses,” Elizabeth said.

  “I find that the more ignorant a man is on a particular subject, the more eager he is to give advice on it.”

  Elizabeth had made the same observation. “Rosemary seems quite taken with you.”

  “Now you are teasing me, my dear Elizabeth. Miss Westerly is already engaged and I have no hope of winning her heart.”

  Elizabeth just smiled.

  * * *

  —

  Elizabeth found herself warmly greeted when she entered the offices of Devoss and Van Aken the following Monday morning. Smith came forward, a puzzled frown marking his homely face.

  “Is Mr. Bates expecting you, Miss Miles?”

  “No, he isn’t, and that is because I have an appointment with Mr. Devoss.”

  “I see,” he said, plainly not seeing at all. He must have thought he should have been informed as to why Gideon’s fiancée wanted to see the senior partner in the firm. She saw no reason to enlighten him, though.

  One of the other clerks escorted her down the hall to Mr. Devoss’s office. He rose and came around his desk to greet her. “What a pleasant surprise, Miss Miles,” he said, taking the hand she offered. “I wasn’t expecting to see your name on my list of appointments today. Surely, Gideon can give you all the legal advice you might need.”

  “I’m sure he could, but I have some business that only you can help me with, Mr. Devoss.”

  “I certainly will do my best. Please, sit down.”

  He offered her refreshment and saw her seated comfortably in one of the large chairs chosen specifically to accommodate portly gentleman of comfortable means who needed help planning their estates. When tea had been brought and the pleasantries dealt with—Mr. Devoss took more than a passing interest in the well-being of Gideon’s mother, of whom he was quite fond—Mr. Devoss said, “Now how can I assist you, Miss Miles?”

  She glanced over her shoulder, making sure the office door was closed, because she really didn’t want anyone to overhear this conversation. “Gideon told me that you are associated with the League.”

  “The American Protective League, you mean?” he asked in surprise. “Yes, it is my great honor to have been selected to serve them during the war.”

  “Gideon also told me that you were very helpful when he, uh, discovered some people who were, shall we say, not exactly loyal to the United States.”

  “I was able to pass the information along to the proper authorities, yes,” he said proudly. “That is what League members are trained to do.”

  Elizabeth pretended to consider this and fiddled with her spoon, giving her tea a stir it didn’t need before finally bringing herself to say, “If I were to give you some similar information, would you still be able to take it to the proper authorities?”

  Mr. Devoss frowned and shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “Perhaps you are not aware that the American Protective League was officially disbanded shortly after the Armistice was announced.”

  Rats! That wouldn’t do at all. She needed a group of overly enthusiastic spy catchers who were notorious for accusing innocent people of imaginary disloyalty. The League had been doing that practically since the moment the United States entered the war, so she had assumed by now they’d be experts at it.

  “But . . .” Mr. Devoss said, raising her spirits instantly.

  “But what?” She smiled hopefully.

  “The New York branch of the League was granted special permission to continue our work by the Military Intelligence Division.”

  “How interesting,” she said, trying not to sound too enthusiastic.

  “Yes, because of New York’s unique . . . situation.” He dropped his gaze to his desktop and squared his desk blotter, even though it was already perfectly squared.

  “What situation is that?” she asked with just the right level of alarm.

  “Nothing about which you need be concerned,” he hastily assured her. “But New York has so many . . . immigrants.”

  New York had always had many immigrants, starting with the first Dutch settlers who had purchased the island from the natives for a string of beads and named it New Amsterdam. Ever since, wave after wave of people had flocked here from other countries, bringing their food and their customs and their languages. Why should this suddenly be a matter of concern to the League or anyone else?

  “Immigrants?” Elizabeth echoed, not even having to pretend to be confused.

  Mr. Devoss was nodding his head. “We’re still keeping an eye on the Germans, of course. We don’t know what someone might do in a misguided attempt at revenge, but with the war over, what we really need to be concerned about is the Bolsheviks.”

  “Bolsheviks? Aren’t they in Russia?”

  “Yes, and they are trying to overthrow their government and bring anarchy to their country. They are now active in several other countries, and we know they have many supporters here in America, too.”

  “Really?” Elizabeth couldn’t imagine a bunch of wild-eyed Russians trying to bring a revolution to this country.

  “Indeed. They are raising money here for the revolution in Russia, and they’re talking about starting the same violence in America. In view of what we managed to uncover during the last months of the war, the MID gave us permission to continue our investigations even though the rest of the League has officially disbanded.”

  “How fortunate.” Elizabeth tried to sound happy, even though he had crushed her hopes. “So you aren’t concerned about the Germans anymore?”

  “Well . . .” Mr. Devoss straightened his blotter again. “Actually, some League members believe that the Bolsheviks are being financed by the Germans.”

  “Really?” This was good news indeed, no matter how preposterous. By all accounts, the German government had practically bankrupted itself with the war.

  “Yes, there is some evidence to support this, so naturally, we’re still concerned with the activities of German Americans who may not be loyal to the United States.”

  As disconcerting as it was to learn the League was going to continue their ham-handed quest for traitors, Elizabeth had to also feel relief. “So if I brought you some information about . . . about someone betraying our country, you would be able to take action?”

  Mr. Devoss frowned again, and this time Elizabeth was very much afraid he was going to completely dash her hopes. “Perhaps you saw the list of un-American Americans that appeared in the newspapers a week or so ago.”

  “I . . . Yes, although many of those people were listed in error, as I understand it.”

  “Yes, I’m afraid that is correct. Mr. Stevenson was, perhaps, a bit overzealous in his reporting to the Overman Committee.”

  “What is the Overman Committee?”

  “A Senate Committee investigating . . . Well, they started out investigating one thing that led to other things and now they are investigating how the Bolsheviks are influencing American labor. In any event, Mr. Stevenson had prepared a list of over two hundred individuals with connections
to various anti-war organizations. Senator Overman deleted the names of those who had obviously been listed in error, but he allowed the rest of the names to be published.”

  “But some of those remaining names were also listed in error,” Elizabeth said as tactfully as she could.

  “Yes, which is why Secretary of War Baker has finally ordered the League to cease all operations, even here in New York, as of February first.”

  “February first? But that was two days ago.”

  “Yes.”

  “Then the American Protective League no longer exists at all?” Could Devoss be any more infuriating?

  “No,” he said, but added before she could despair, “but if you have information, I can assure you that other groups are still working to protect Americans.”

  “Other groups?”

  “Yes. The Union League Club here in the city has appointed Mr. Stevenson to an official position, and we are planning to continue the work of the American Protective League, although it will be unofficial. So I would be happy to help if you have uncovered someone who is disloyal to our great country. Just give me his name and tell me what you know about him.”

  “I’m sorry, but I’m not ready to do that yet,” Elizabeth said with an apologetic smile. “I mean, I have only heard rumors, and I don’t want to report someone who has done nothing wrong.”

  “Miss Miles, if you suspect treachery, you had best turn the matter over to professionals immediately. You have no training and may inadvertently put yourself in danger. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you.”

  “Believe me, I have no intention of putting myself in danger, Mr. Devoss. And what I’ve heard is only a rumor, as I said. I suspect that if I remain silent but interested, I will eventually learn something of importance, and when I do, I will immediately notify you.”

  “But the Club could do an investigation and—”

  “Please, Mr. Devoss, you must trust me. This rumor is like a wisp of smoke and will vanish if anyone shows too much interest. Just give me a little time. As I said, I will come to you immediately when I have anything worth reporting.”

  Mr. Devoss sighed. “I suppose that if you won’t tell me anything more, I will simply have to trust you, but you must promise not to take any chances. Gideon would never forgive me if I didn’t at least warn you.”