Once more, Ethan’s knock was answered by Paxton himself.
“Ah, Mister Kaille.” He waved Ethan inside and closed the door. “I had feared that perhaps yesterday’s events might keep you away.”
Ethan felt the blood drain from his face. “What do you mean?”
“Simply that I watched from the window as the rabble at Gray’s establishment assaulted that unfortunate soldier. And I saw as well that you attempted to intervene before leaving.” He shook his head. “It was a bad business. Before all was said and done, some forty soldiers and nearly as many journeymen fought in the yard and in the street. Several men were wounded, and it would have been worse if not for old John Hill, who lives nearby. He somehow managed to keep those ruffians from doing worse to the uniformed men.”
“Yes, sir,” Ethan said. He was relieved to hear that the fighting hadn’t resulted in any deaths, and also that Paxton had no inkling of his role in the incident.
Paxton led Ethan into a sitting room off the front foyer. “If you’ll wait here, I’ll fetch Louisa.”
“Of course, sir. Thank you.”
Paxton bustled away, only to return moments later leading a young woman in a plain blue dress. She had raven black hair, large blue eyes, and a pale oval face that might have been pretty had she not appeared so frightened.
“Louisa, this is Mister Kaille,” Paxton said. “He’s a thieftaker. I’ve engaged him to find the jewels that were taken from Missus Paxton’s dressing room. I expect you to answer his questions truthfully. Do you understand me?”
The girl’s head jerked up and down. Paxton was doing nothing to put her at ease.
“Good morning, Louisa,” Ethan said, trying to keep his tone gentle. “I won’t take much of your time. I have some questions about people you might have seen near the Paxtons’ home. All right?”
She nodded again.
“Have you any friends among the workers at Gray’s Rope Works or the soldiers billeted up the street?”
Her gaze met his for the span of a heartbeat before darting away again; she began to wring her hands.
“Please answer him, Louisa.”
“There’s a … a s-soldier. But he’s very nice, and I’m sure he’s not … Well, I don’t think he would take anything from my mistress.”
“What’s his name?” Ethan asked.
“James,” she said. “James Fleming. He’s just a private now, but he wants to be an officer. That’s what he told me.”
“Has he asked you questions about the house?”
“No,” she said without hesitation. “Well-” She broke off and chewed her lip. “He wanted to know where my room was.”
“Why did he want to know that?” Paxton asked, his brows knitting.
A faint smile lit her face and a bit of color warmed her cheeks. “It was rather sweet, really. He said that he wanted to know where to look at night when I was asleep and he was on patrol.”
“Was that all he asked? Where your room was located?”
“Now that I think of it, I suppose he asked other questions as well.”
Ethan and the commissioner shared a look.
“What sort of questions?” Ethan asked.
“I didn’t think anything of it.” She turned to Paxton. “I swear to you, sir, I thought he was … he was only talking to me, because … because maybe he thought I was pretty. He’d prattle on about his fellow soldiers and the things he saw in Halifax before coming to Boston.” A tear slipped down her cheek. “I’ve never been anywhere, so I had no stories to tell him. So I thought his questions were intended to let me talk, so that it wouldn’t be him talking all the time.”
“What sort of questions, Louisa?”
She faced Ethan again, her tears flowing freely now. “He asked about … about the rooms. Whose they were and where. I’ve never been in any house as grand as this one, and so I told him a lot. I suppose I wanted him to be impressed.”
“Were there others?” Paxton asked, his voice flat. Ethan wondered if Louisa would still be employed here come nightfall. “Maybe one of the men from the rope yard?”
“No, sir,” she said, shaking her head so forcefully that tears flew from her cheeks.
Clearly she thought that she was reassuring her master. Ethan thought it more likely that her response only deepened Paxton’s anger. The commissioner would not want blame to fall on a British soldier.
“Is there anything else, Mister Kaille?” Paxton asked, sounding impatient for their interview to end.
The thrum of a conjuring kept Ethan from answering. It was a powerful spell, and it seemed to come from beneath Ethan’s feet. Reg emerged from the shadows beside him, glowing with the color of dried blood. Ethan wondered if the soldiers and journeymen would be fighting again when he left the mansion.
Paxton leaned forward, peering into Ethan’s face. “I said, is there anything else.”
Ethan shook himself. “Aye. Yes, sir.” To the young woman he said, “Can you describe James for me?”
She offered a watery smile. “He’s about your height,” she said, regarding Ethan with a critical eye. “He has red hair and brown eyes, and freckles across here.” She ran a finger over the bridge of her nose. “And he also has a red birthmark here.” She pointed to her temple.
“Thank you, Louisa. That’s very helpful.”
She looked at Paxton.
“You may go,” he said, his tone and expression severe.
She curtsied and left them, dabbing at her tears with the cuffs of her sleeves.
“Foolish girl,” Paxton said, when she was gone.
“She didn’t know she was doing wrong.”
“You needn’t defend her, Mister Kaille. She can keep her job.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I suppose then that you’ll go and speak with this man.”
Ethan hesitated. He didn’t like the idea of entering the barracks while he had so little control over his conjuring power. He liked even less the notion of neglecting his job because he was afraid.
“Well?”
“Yes, sir,” Ethan said. “I intend to speak with Private Fleming as soon as possible.”
“Good.”
Ethan reached for his coat and hat. “I should be on my way, then.”
“I should think,” Paxton said. But he didn’t lead Ethan back to the front entrance. “Did you learn anything yesterday? As I recall, you were going to visit some disreputable tavern.”
“Yes, sir. I was there. The proprietor has not yet seen any of your lost items.”
“So he says. Do you trust this man?”
“As much as I do anyone who associates with thieves.”
“That’s hardly reassuring, Mister Kaille.”
“It’s been but a few days since the theft. And if Louisa’s friend was responsible, he won’t have had much time to sell what he stole. If forced to guess, I would say that your watch and your wife’s jewels remain hidden away in Green’s Barracks even as we speak.”
“I’ll take your word for it, as I profess to have no knowledge of such things.”
The commissioner led Ethan back to the foyer, but as he reached for the door handle, they both heard raised voices from out on the street.
“You shouldn’t go out there yet,” Paxton said.
They walked back into an adjacent room, the windows of which looked out upon the rope yard.
Three soldiers and an equal number of journeymen faced each other at the entrance to Gray’s establishment. Once more, the regulars were armed with clubs, while the rope workers held woldring sticks. One of the journeymen said something, eliciting laughter from his companions. The soldiers leaped at them, and in seconds they were brawling in earnest.
“Damn!” Ethan strode back to the foyer.
“Mister Kaille, what are you doing?”
“I have to stop them.”
“You can’t! Don’t be a fool! You’ll get yourself killed.”
Another spell shook the mansion, to be followed almost at once by a third. Ethan pulled the door open and stepped outside. Paxton eyed him from the window, limiting what he could do to put an end to the fighting.