Dread Nation (Dread Nation #1)(75)

“You talking about murder?” the Duchess asks.

“It ain’t murder if a man gets turned.”

She snorts, dropping the rag into the bowl of water with a wet plop. “And I suppose you plan on dangling your companion on that hook.”

“I saw how he was looking at her. He’s already half in love,” I say.

“It’s not a bad idea,” Mr. Gideon says. I look up just long enough to take in his expression, his eyes sparking with intelligence, his lips pursed in thought. My heart flops like a trout on a riverbank.

Here’s a thing about me: I have always been a complete and utter muttonhead for a clever boy, even when I’m half delirious with pain.

“Yes,” I say, closing my eyes and sucking in a sharp breath as the Duchess uses a light touch to spread the salve over my back. “Just imagine if the sheriff knew all about Miss Deveraux’s tragic past.”

“What tragic past?” Mr. Gideon asks.

I swallow drily, and Nessie appears just then. She hands me the glass of water and I drink it down before I tell my tale. I’m counting on knowing Katherine. If I’m right, she hasn’t told anyone about where she came from, but rather distracted them with small talk. It’s been her modus operandi since I met her, and old habits die hard.

“Did you know she is actually one of the Chesters, of Chester County, Virginia? She ended up in Baltimore nearly destitute because her stepmother is a dastardly woman.” The lie darn near spins itself. “Her father passed quite unexpectedly, and Miss Deveraux’s stepmother sent her up north to live with cousins. Only, her cousins were quite savagely attacked and murdered by the undead. Family by the name of Edgar. The mayor of Baltimore took pity on her and invited her to stay in his own house until she could contact her relatives. But, well, Old Blunderbuss took a shine to her, and the missus wasn’t about to have that. So here she is, the proverbial Moses in the basket.” The burning in my back settles into a steady throb, the salve the tinkerer brought actually helping.

A strange look has come over Gideon’s face and his lips twitch as though he’s fighting back a smile. “That is quite a tale, Miss McKeene,” he says.

“Weren’t no tale. It’s the God’s honest truth. Miss Deveraux is as tragic as poor Ophelia.”

“Ophelia?” he asks.

“Yes, from Hamlet. Ain’t you never read Shakespeare?”

“Oh, I have. I’m just surprised you have.”

“You shouldn’t jump to conclusions about people, Mr. Gideon. I contain multitudes.”

Nessie slips out of the room as quietly as she appeared, and from the look on her face I know that the story of Katherine Deveraux will be on every drover’s lips by nightfall.

The Duchess stands and shoos Gideon away. “You need to get going, so I can help Miss McKeene get presentable.”

There’s a discreet cough from next to the door. “Of course, of course. Well, thank you for the information, Miss McKeene. I’m willing to bet that the sheriff would be horrified to discover how shoddily the world has treated a lady of Miss Deveraux’s caliber. He’ll want to see to her comfort personally, I’d wager.”

Gideon’s uneven gait echoes down the hall, and after the door closes the Duchess stands over me. “Remind me never to play poker with you.”

I allow myself a small smile before standing. The Duchess helps me to pull on a clean shirt. I ain’t sure that I can trust her, but there ain’t been much kindness since I got to Summerland, and I’ve yet to see the Duchess on the dispensing end of any cruelty. “Why you helping me, anyway? It can’t just be because of your long-lost love.”

The small smile she wears is wiped from her face. “Let’s just say that I got some stains on my soul that I wouldn’t mind getting scrubbed clean.”

“And you think helping a Negro girl is going to do that?”

“I think being the kindest person I have the wherewithal to be is going to do that.”

I nod and think of Lily. I hope she’s safe this morning. “Think you can get your hands on some laudanum?”

The Duchess smirks. “Do shamblers have yellow eyes?”

“We’re going to need some, the stronger the better. And a bottle of wine, the finest available in this place.”

“How soon?” she asks as I finish getting dressed. I lie facedown on her bed, pillowing my head on my arms, completely drained in the aftermath of a hellish morning.

“If everything goes as planned, soon. But let’s aim for the end of the month. Two weeks,” I say, before finally giving in to my exhaustion.





Jane, please write back as soon as possible. I ache to hear about the escapades you are having in Maryland. Is it as refined as all of the papers would have us believe?





Chapter 28


In Which I Beg for Forgiveness


I wake to Katherine yelling.

“Jane McKeene, did you tell Mr. Gideon that I have been sent here because of a man’s jealous wife?”

“Shh, there’s no need to yell.” I groan and attempt to get up, forgetting the trauma to my back until agony explodes across my skin. Firm hands push me back down.

“Just lie there, there’s no need to move right now,” Katherine says, her words gentle but her tone still sharp. I settle back onto my stomach and Katherine climbs onto the bed next to me. She smells of lavender water, and it reminds me of my mother so much that I nearly hug her.