Free Blessing by Lyn Cote Page A

up the stairs to the attic. She caught Tippy sitting on a chair and reading a book by the small attic window. “Didn’t I caution thee to listen for someone entering the house and to take cover?”
    “I heard the gig stop outside, and I know your step,” Tippy said, looking up from her book. “Did the disguise work? Did you get the runaway to the next station?”
    “Yes.”
    Tippy leaped to her feet. “And Mr. Gerard Ramsay of Boston never guessed that he was aiding and abetting a fugitive slave?”
    “Yes!” And that seemed to be the signal for both of them to dissolve into laughter, an outburst of relief and triumph.
    The arrival of the runaway had tabled Blessing’s plan to warn Tippy about Stoddard Henry—for now, at least. Instead, that morning she’d summoned Tippy with a note, asking her to come wearing a hat with a thick veil. After Tippy had arrived, Blessing had clothed the runaway in Tippy’s dress, hat, and gloves and had been preparing to drive off to a nearby small town where she knew of another station on the Underground Railroad, used only for high-risk escapes. And later Tippy would slip away home, dressed inconspicuously. But there was still the worry of being stopped—and if they were, Blessing would be hard put to conceal her companion’s identity, disguise or no.
    Then Gerard Ramsay had arrived, and Blessing had sensed immediately that the man from Boston had come to charm her. She was a young, wealthy widow, and this had been tried before. In the moment, though, he met her needs exactly. What could be more natural than a couple and their friend driving along the road together? Even if they were stopped, Gerard would naturally be the one to answer any questions. She smiled to herself. Gerard was indeed a very handsome man of considerable means, and no doubt accustomed to easily ensnaring gullible women. Well, Gerard Ramsay of Boston, I’m not gullible. In fact, I gulled thee today.

S OON T IPPY, IN DISGUISE AS B LESSING, was headed for home in Blessing’s carriage. Weary, Blessing had just sat down to tea in the back parlor when her housekeeper announced that Mr. Stoddard Henry was in the front hall asking to see her. The accepted hours for social calling had passed, and her housekeeper, Salina, looked peeved.
    Salina handed her his card. “He been here twice already today,” the woman said in her laconic way. Salina’s father had been a runaway slave; he’d been taken in by the Wyandot, who had still roamed Ohio thirty years ago. He’d married into the tribe, and Salina’s features showed the blending of the two races. In her early thirties, Salina was tall and trim with high cheekbones. Most of all, she was imposing and a good gatekeeper.
    Blessing sighed with fatigue. Presumably Stoddard wasworried she would tell Tippy about seeing him the other night. She gazed at the calling card in her hand, remembering the unpleasant incident. She rubbed her tired eyes and blinked to bring up moisture. After the long ride and the all-day tension, Blessing was in no mind to admit him.
    Then with a shrug she relented for her sake as much as his. She would have no peace till she heard him out and could assess the truth about him for herself. Would he make the mistake of trying to charm her like Ramsay? “Show him in. But tell him I am about to leave for the orphanage and cannot give him long.”
    At the back of her mind, little Luke Green hovered. Since the night she’d recovered him, she’d prayed for his health in between prayers for the runaway’s safety. Was little Luke better today or still failing? The thought of losing another child hitched her breath.
    Stoddard entered and bowed.
    “Please be seated, Stoddard Henry,” Blessing said but did not offer him tea. “What may I do for thee?”
    Stoddard sat, then leaned forward. “I will not take up your time with idle chatter but will come directly to the point. Saturday night I went to the docks with my cousin, hoping to deter him and