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that bully of a soldier, and she couldn t help the triumphant amusement she felt. It was amazing how easily
the attention of some men could be distracted by a smile and a bit of eyelash batting.
/make myself the exception .
Ethan s words that night in the White Swan came back to her, and Katie s amusement quickly faded.
He always had been the exception. Her fem-inine wiles had not worked on him. Perhaps, she thought
wryly, that was why she had fallen in love with him.
Pain shot through her again at the memory of how he had cast her aside, but she knew it was all her own
doing, and she could not hold him ac-countable for the choices she had made. She could not blame him
for no longer trusting her. She also knew there was nothing she could do to change the past. The
important issue that had to be faced was what she was going to do now.
After all, she had to do something.
Katie stood in the alley for a long moment, thinking hard. If she could learn somehow exacdy when
Gage s troops planned to march on Concord, then she could carry that information back to the
Mermaid. By now, Ethan had already warned them about her. There was a good chance no one would
believe her, but she knew she had to try.
In every problem she had ever faced before, she had always run away. She had run away from Miss
Prudence, she had run away from more constables than she could count, she had run away from
Willoughby.
This time, she was not going to run away, even if it meant her life was the price she paid. She squared
her shoulders, brushed the dirt off her dress as best she could, and started making a plan to acquire the
information Ethan needed. He was lost to her for-ever, but she would not leave him. He might not
wel-come her help, but she was going to give it anyway.
The oddest thing about it all was that she wasn t going to do this just because of the man she loved. She
would do it for him, and for Molly and David and Daniel, and that boy who sold newspapers, and
everyone else who wanted a better way to live.
I don t believe it! Molly burst out, rising from her chair in the back room of the Mermaid to face the
tall, dark-haired man at the head of the table.
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Ethan knew Molly could not be objective when it came to Katie, but he was frustrated nonetheless by
her blindness where that girl was concerned, perhaps because it reflected his own. He had trusted Katie,
and all the while she had been work-ing for Lowden. That thought of her brought back all the pain and
rage he felt, and talking about how she had deceived him was nearly unbearable.
His gaze swept the table, resting briefly on each person present. Molly, David, Dorothy, Joshua,
An-drew, and Adam. All of them were people who had been worthy of trust, who had proven
themselves time and again. Why had he been so ready to trust a girl he knew was a liar and a thief?
Because he had fallen in love with her. Why not admit it? Like a callow youth, he had been blinded by
love.
He closed his eyes, fighting against his anger at Katie and at himself until he had banished it to a far
corner of his mind. If he was angry, he could not think objectively, and dealing with the situation would
become even harder.
While Ethan was occupied with these thoughts, the discussion of Katie went on around him.
Molly was still defending her. Katie a spy? It s nonsense. Whatever Dorothy says, there must be
another explanation. She glared at the dark-haired woman who sat across from her. There are some
who ll say anything out of spite.
That is not fair! Dorothy also stood up, and her brother, who sat beside her, put a restraining hand on
her arm. I did not
Ladies, please, Ethan interrupted in a weary voice, gesturing for both women to sit back down. May
we return to the point? Katie cannot be trusted. She is a Lowden spy.
I must admit, David interjected his voice into the discussion, like my wife, I have a difficult time
accepting such an idea. I was genuinely fond of the girl.
As was I, Joshua added. When his sister glared at him, he added hastily, But, of course, she did
be-tray us.
Are you certain of this? Andrew asked, glanc-ing from Ethan to Dorothy and back again. Are you
both truly certain?
Dorothy gave an emphatic nod of her head. Captain Worth told me that Katie had been hired by
Lowden for the specific purpose of finding John Smith. He d had quite a bit of ale earlier in the evening,
but he knew what he was saying.
I m certain as well, Ethan said, careful to keep his face expressionless as he looked at his friend across
the table. I confronted her, and she admit-ted the truth to me. She has been an informant for Lowden
ever since she began working here. Molly, you remember that first night when she was on the run from
the Regulars, and Captain Worth fol-lowed her in here with two of his men? Worth told Dorothy that the
entire scene was staged to gain our acceptance and trust.
Adam spoke for the first time. But Katie has known for weeks that you are John Smith. If she has been
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