Free Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson Page B

lavender, day lilies, and honeysuckle. Momma would have admired the roses. My fingers itched to pluck up the scraggly weeds that were crowding them, but I dared not.
    I knocked at the back. The door was opened by the whitest girl I’d ever seen. Her skin was pale as water except for two flame-colored spots on her cheeks. Her eyebrows and eyelashes were near invisible, and her eyes a mix of pewter and blue. She wiped her hands on her apron and said something I didn’t understand.
    â€œI’ve come for the Lady Seymour,” I explained. “Madam Lockton requires her presence.”
    She frowned.
“Wat wilt u?”
    â€œWhat did you say?” I asked.
    â€œEen ogenblik alstublieft,”
she said before she closed the door in my face.
    What was an ogenblik? New York was stranger every passing day. I knocked again, but there was no answer. I was about to walk home, when I heard Lady Seymour’s voice through an open window. A moment later, the door opened, and she stood there in the kitchen.
    I curtsied, proper-like. “Pardon, ma’am, but they’ve arrested the master. Madam is poorly.”
    She nodded. “They’ve been hunting Loyalists all day. I told Anne it would come to this. Come inside, child. Isabel, is it not?”
    The kitchen was larger than the Locktons’, with a tiled hearth and copper pots hanging on the wall. A smoke-colored cat curled itself around my ankles, its tail in the shape of a question mark.
    â€œPlease, sit down. You must be hungry.”
    I perched on the edge of a chair.
    Lady Seymour poured me a mug of fresh milk. My surprise at having a proper lady do so must have shown on my face.
    â€œYou could use some building up,” she said as she pushed a plate of molasses cookies to me. “Eat and tell me everything.” She turned to her servant, who stood by the hearth.
“Wil je alsjeblieft even de meubels afstoffen?”
    The strange girl bobbed once and left the room, the pale pink ribbons from the back of her cap trailing behind her.
    â€œShe speaks only Dutch,” Lady Seymour explained. “And shows no inclination to learn English, I’m afraid. Now, a bite, and the events.”
    I chewed the cookie quickly, took a sip of milk, and recounted near everything, tho’ I neglected to mention my role as the household spy. She listened carefully as I spoke and asked plenty of questions.
    â€œDid Elihu say anything to the men who arrested him? Did he give them any names?”
    â€œNot in my hearing, ma’am.”
    She sat back in her chair. “He’s in no danger so long as he stays silent.” She broke off a piece of cookie, popped it into her mouth, and chewed. “I imagine Anne is in a lather.”
    â€œYes, ma’am,” I said carefully. “She told Becky to pack the trunks for Charleston.”
    Lady Seymour shook her head. “I don’t blame her, but fleeing would ensure that the rebels would take everything.”
    â€œYes, ma’am,” I mumbled. I took an overly large bite of the cookie, certain she would send me back straightaway.
    She tapped her forefinger on the table as she pondered, her rings flashing in the light. “Right,” she said firmly, having come to a decision. “I will write a note for you to take tothe lawyer’s office before you go home, and another for Anne, telling her that Elihu will be soon set free.”
    The Dutch girl came back in the kitchen and said something I could not make out at all. Lady Seymour rose from her chair and motioned for me to stay seated. “Finish those cookies, please, and drink a second glass of milk. You can’t run errands for me unless properly nourished.”

Chapter XIII

Saturday, June 8–Friday, June 21, 1776
    I DESIRE YOU WOULD REMEMBER THE LADIES, AND BE MORE GENEROUS AND FAVOURABLE TO THEM THAN YOUR ANCESTORS. DO NOT PUT SUCH UNLIMITED POWER INTO THE HANDS OF THE HUSBANDS. REMEMBER ALL MEN