The Bone Garden: A Novel

— Are you sure, Billy? Is he still there? —

— If you pay me a quarter, I'll take you. —

She waved him away. — I don't have a quarter. I know the way. —

— A ninepence? —

She walked away. — Or a ninepence, either. —

— A large cent? A half cent? —

Rose kept walking and was relieved when at last she was able to shake off the pest. Her mind was on Eben, on what she would say to him. All the anger that she'd been holding in against her brother-in-law was now rising to a boil, and by the time she reached the Mermaid, she was ready to spring on him like a cat with claws bared. She paused outside the doorway and took a few deep breaths. Through the window, she saw the warm glow of firelight and heard the rumble of laughter. She was tempted to simply walk away and leave him to his cups. Aurnia would never know the difference.

It's his last chance to say goodbye. You have to do this.

Rose pushed through the door, into the tavern.

The heat from the fireplace brought prickles to her cold-numbed cheeks. She paused near the entrance, gazing around the room at patrons gathered at tables, huddled at the bar. At a corner table, a woman with wild dark hair and a green dress was laughing loudly. Several men turned to stare at Rose, and the looks they gave her made her pull her shawl tighter, even in that overheated room.

— You want to be served? — a man called out to her from behind the bar. This must be Mr. Sitterley, she thought, the barkeep who'd given Dim Billy a taste of lamb pie, no doubt to shoo the boy out of his establishment. — Miss? — the man asked.

She said. — It's a man I'm looking for. — Her gaze came to a stop on the woman in the green dress. Sitting beside her was a man who now turned and shot Rose a resentful look.

She crossed to his table. On closer inspection, the woman seated beside him looked thoroughly unappealing, the bodice of her dress soiled with spilled drink and food. Her mouth gaped open, revealing rotting teeth. — You need to come to the hospital, Eben, — said Rose.

Aurnia's husband shrugged. — Can't you see I'm busy grieving? —

— Go to her now, while you can. While she still lives. —

— Who's she talking about, darlin'? — the woman said, tugging on Eben's sleeve, and Rose caught a nauseating whiff of those rotting teeth.

Eben grunted. — My wife. —

— You didn't tell me you had a wife. —

— So I'm tellin' you now. — He took a sip of rum.

— How can you be so heartless? — said Rose. — It's been seven days since you've been to see her. You haven't even come to see your own daughter! —

— Already signed over my rights to her. Let the ladies at the infant asylum have her. —

She stared at him, appalled. — You can't be serious. —

— How'm I supposed to care for the brat? She's the only reason I married your sister. Baby on the way, I did my duty. But she was no cherry, that one. — He gave a shrug. — They'll find a good home for her. —

— She belongs with her family. I'll raise her myself, if I have to. —

— You? — He laughed. — You're just months off the boat, and all you know is a needle and thread. —

— I know enough to look after my own flesh and blood. — Rose grabbed his arm. — Get up. You will come with me. —

He shook her off. — Leave me alone. —

— Get up, you bastard. — With both hands, she hauled on his arm, and he stumbled to his feet. — She has but a few hours left. Even if you have to lie to her, even if she can't hear you, you will tell her you love her! —

He shoved her away and stood swaying, drunk and unsteady. The tavern had fallen silent, save for the crackle of flames in the fireplace. Eben glanced around at all the eyes watching him in disapproval. They'd all heard the conversation, and clearly there was no sympathy for him here.

He drew himself up straight and managed a civil tone. — No need to rail at me like a harpy. I'll come. — He gave his jacket a tug, neatened his collar. — I was only finishing up my drink. —

With head held high, he walked out of the Mermaid, stumbling over the threshold as he stepped out the door. She followed him outside, into a mist so penetrating, the dampness seemed to seep straight into her bones. They'd walked only a dozen paces when Eben abruptly turned around to face her.

His blow sent her reeling backward. She staggered against a building, her cheek throbbing, the pain so terrible that for a few seconds the world went black. She did not even see the second blow coming. It whipped her sideways and she fell to her knees, felt icy water soaking into her skirt.

— That's for talking back to me in public, — he snarled. He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her across the cobblestones, into the mud of a narrow alley.

Another blow slammed into her mouth and she tasted blood.

— And that's for the four months I've had to put up with you. Always taking her side, always lined up against me, the two of you. My prospects ruined, all because she got herself knocked up. You think she didn't beg me for it? You think I had to seduce her? Oh, no, your saintly sister wanted it. She wasn't afraid to show me what she had. But it was spoiled goods. —

He wrenched her to her feet and shoved her up against a wall.

— So don't play the innocent with me. I know what kind of trash runs in your family. I know what you want. The same thing your sister wanted. —

He rammed up against her, pinning her against the bricks. His mouth closed over hers, his breath sour with rum. The blows had left her so dazed she could not summon the strength to push him away. She felt the hardening against her pelvis, felt his hand groping at her breasts. He yanked up her skirt and clawed at her petticoat, her stockings, tearing through fabric to reach naked flesh. At the touch of his hand on her bare thigh, her spine snapped taut.

How dare you!

Her fist caught him beneath the chin, and she felt his jaw slam shut, heard teeth smack together. He screamed and staggered backward, his hand clapped to his mouth.

— My tongue! I've bit my tongue! — He looked down at his hand. — Oh, God, I'm bleeding! —

She ran. She darted out of the alley, but he lunged after her and grabbed a handful of her hair, scattering pins across the stones. She twisted away and stumbled over her torn petticoat. The thought of his hand on her thigh, his breath on her face, sent her scrambling back to her feet. Hiking her skirt above her knees, she bolted headlong into the disorienting mist. She did not know which street she was on, or in which direction she was headed. The river? The harbor? All she knew was that the fog was her cloak, her friend, and the deeper she plunged into it, the safer she would be. He was too drunk to keep up, much less navigate the maze of narrow streets. Already his footsteps seemed more distant, his curses fading, until all she could hear was the pounding of her own feet, her own pulse.

She rounded a corner and came to a halt. Through the rush of her own breathing, she heard the clattering wheels of a passing carriage, but no footsteps. She realized she was on the Cambridge road, and that she'd have to double back to return to the hospital.

Eben would expect her to go there. He'd be waiting for her.

She leaned down and ripped away the entangling strip of petticoat. Then she started walking north, staying to the side streets and alleys, pausing every few paces to listen for footsteps. The fog was so thick, she could see only the outline of a wagon passing on the road; the clop of horse's hooves seemed to come from all directions at once, the echoes fractured and scattered in the mist. She fell in step behind the wagon, trotting after it as it moved up Blossom Street, in the direction of the hospital. If Eben attacked, she would scream her lungs out. Surely the wagon's driver would stop and come to her aid.

Suddenly the wagon turned right, away from the hospital, and Rose was left standing alone. She knew the hospital was straight ahead of her, on North Allen, but she could not yet see it through the fog. Eben was almost certainly waiting to pounce. Staring up the street, she could sense the threat that loomed ahead, could picture Eben hulking in the shadows, anticipating her arrival.