Midnight Jewel (The Glittering Court #2)(54)

The mercenaries weren’t on alert yet, and once I made it past them, it was easy to walk through town to the address Grant had given me. It was a second-floor loft space like Silas’s, except above a bakery instead of a tailor. The entrance was on the building’s side, away from the main thoroughfare. All the better to conduct clandestine business, I supposed.

“This is yours?” I asked when he let me in. Grant’s new lodging smelled like fresh bread. The space consisted of a tiny living area and, from what I could see through a half-open door, an even smaller bedroom that was completely taken over by the bed. It was also the only piece of furniture he had. There was no kitchen either, and I wondered how he ate. “You should get some furniture or decorations. Right now, it looks like a ghost lives here.”

“I’ve been a ghost for a long time. I don’t mind it. And look, you’re wrong about decorations. I’ve got a mirror over by the door.”

“Yeah, but that’s not for aesthetics. It’s to put on your disguises. When are we going out?”

He peered at my burlap cloak. “As soon as I figure out what exactly it is you’re wearing.”

“I didn’t have a lot of options,” I said defensively, trying to smooth out the tarp.

He tossed me a bundle that had been sitting on the floor. “Good thing one of us has access to a supply store.”

I unrolled the clothes and found pants and a real cloak made of drab but rugged fabric. There was also a plain, button-up shirt cut for a man but small enough for me. I changed in the bedroom, impressed that he had guessed my size correctly. “No boots that little,” he said later, nodding toward the black dance slippers on my feet. “You going to be able to walk in those?”

“I’ve been doing it all night.” I certainly wasn’t going to tell him how much my leg was hurting.

Abraham Miller lived just outside the bustle of Cape Triumph’s heart, not far from the town green, which I had yet to see. Here, stately homes and town houses lined quiet streets free from the heavy foot traffic that businesses attracted. Grant—still in his earlier disguise—led me toward a group of identical white town houses. We stopped in the shadows of a cluster of newly planted saplings and watched as a man paced the block in front of us, pausing once to light a pipe.

“A lot of single rich men live here—ones who are too good to stay in a boardinghouse but haven’t yet settled down enough to buy a home,” Grant explained. “Miller’s place is at that end, on the top floor.”

“And him?” I asked, pointing at the man with the pipe.

“Watchman. Lots of these houses have them. He’s too lazy to go around back, but he’ll keep an eye on the front doors, which is—unfortunately—where we need to go.”

“How do we get past him?”

“That’s where you come in. Assuming you haven’t used up all your charm for the night.” The way he said “charm” made it sound like he questioned if I ever had any at all.

“Is that what Silas would do if he was helping you?”

“He’d distract in a different way. Maybe flash some credentials and claim he was chasing a criminal.”

“That sounds a lot more dignified than what I have to do.”

“We all work with the gifts we have,” said Grant. “Mine is picking locks. Go talk to him. Keep him facing away from the doors. Once I’m in, finish up and go around to the back of the building. I’ll meet you there.”

Mystified as to how that part would work, I doggedly set out on my task and headed toward the watchman. He straightened up, startled at my approach, but relaxed when he got a better look in one of the streetlamps. Probably because he thought I was some meek, unthreatening woman.

“Excuse me, sir,” I said. I used a lower-class accent, similar to Tamsin’s natural one. “Do you know where Benjamin Pierce lives?”

The man, middle aged with a crooked nose, scratched his forehead. Behind him, I saw Grant creep toward the door at the end of the building, keeping to the shadows as much as possible. “Never heard of him.”

That was because I’d made Benjamin Pierce up. “They said this was the place. Corner of Pine and West. White house.”

“You must’ve got it wrong.” He eyed me suspiciously. “And what business does a girl like you have visiting a man this late at night?”

I put on an affronted look. “Honest work. His housekeeper’s out of town and hired me to come tidy up his place.”

Grant was still working on the lock. So much for gifts.

“This late?”

“He doesn’t like to be around when it’s cleaned and had me come while he’s at some fancy party,” I replied bitterly. “You think I want to be out this late for one stupid copper? But a girl’s got to survive.”

“We all do,” the watchman said sympathetically. “But you shouldn’t be out on your own. Never know who’s lurking in the dark.”

I knew Grant was in the dark, still unable to open the door.

“My pa’s out helping down at the wharf. He would’ve taken me if he could.”

“Well, I’ll take you over to East and Pine,” said the man. “You probably mixed them up.”

Panic hit me. I needed to stay around here, not head off to some other part of town. “Couldn’t let you, sir. What if one of your masters came by and you weren’t here? You’d lose your job.”