The Atomic Weight of Secrets or The Arrival of the Mysterious Men in Black (22 page)

A loud caw, like the sound of a giant vulture, came from Noah’s corner of the carriage. “Well, seems safe to me,” Noah said. They all realized they could speak freely.

From there, the whole ride back to Dayton was one greatly animated conversation about the “rescue” plan. At that point, it was more of an escape plan, as they had no idea how they would rescue their parents once they were free. That was “step two,” as Faye put it.

“Why don’t we just leave, like we’re going for an evening walk
or something?” said Noah.

“Because they’ll see us and bring us back. I think those buggers are everywhere, watching... waiting in the dark of night,” said Faye.

“What about during the day?” Wallace suggested.

“We don’t know if they have spies waiting for us,” said Faye. “During the day, we are most vulnerable since we can be seen.”

“But it might be worth a try,” Noah said. “But only after one of Myrtle’s fabulous roast beef and onion sandwiches. I need her lunch to give me the strength to attempt it.”

“And that’s another thing,” Faye said. “Our nannies—”

“Not Rosie. She loves us,” Lucy quickly countered.

“I’m not saying they aren’t lovely ladies who care for us and want to feed us delicious things...”

“I’d agree there,” Noah said, his stomach growling loudly.

“But they are employed by the same men who keep us captive. The nannies would never let us go, and they’d be after us as soon as we left.”

The thought of spies everywhere gave Jasper chills, but it wasn’t enough to break his resolve.

“I think—and this is for the best—that Lucy and I will excuse ourselves from this,” said Jasper gingerly. “Our parents left us a note when we first arrived—they made it clear we must not bring attention to ourselves, and we must stay put. We’re not going through with the plan.”

Faye fumed. “Then you’re a fool, Jasper Modest,” she said, and she said no more.

After several minutes of the silent treatment, Jasper said, “And that’s all you’re going to say?”

“What can I say? If you choose to put your head in the sand, what am I to do about it?” Faye turned away again.

“But Mummy left us the note,” Lucy said. “She said ‘Remember Lewes Castle.’ We didn’t know exactly what that meant, but maybe it means we should trust people who don’t seem very nice and don’t get cross when we poke them in the bum.”

“How do you know she wasn’t forced to write it?” asked Faye.

“I don’t know,” said Jasper. “But it’s all we have. We’ve not heard from anyone else. And it doesn’t seem as if we know enough about all of this to go running around blindly searching.”

“So you like being held captive?” Faye asked.

“What kind of a question is that? I want to be sure Lucy is safe. And our parents said—”

“You trust those lunatics in black?” Faye crossed her arms aggressively.

“We trust our parents,” Jasper said, wishing his voice hadn’t cracked as he said it.

“And Rosie doesn’t dress in black,” said Lucy, shaking her head. “Rosie is so kind and always makes the most lovely—”

“Of course she is,” said Faye, pointedly. “They
would
select someone who is kind and comfortable and bakes you delicious puddings and sings to you and is like the granny you wish you had. All those things make you want to stay, don’t they? They’ve set us up to think we’re in loving hands. I can’t believe I took so long to think of it.”

“But you always think of it!” said Lucy. “You always think of naughty things people might do.”

“I do not,” insisted Faye. “I... I trust people.” But she knew this was simply not true.

More softly, but with as much passion, Lucy said, “I trust Miss Brett and I trust Rosie.”

“Rosie? The very one who lied to you about your parents?”

“She didn’t lie,” Jasper said. “She was forced to—I mean, they made her... she didn’t—”

“See, you’re admitting she was under their control,” said Faye.

“But Rosie cares about us,” said Lucy.

“Cares about you?” Faye said. “Cares about you? She doesn’t care about you! She’s been hired to act like she cares.”

“We can’t be sure of that,” Jasper said. But not being sure was exactly the problem. Was he putting Lucy in more danger by being so trusting? His mother’s letter seemed to say they should be more aware of who they trust. But what exactly did that mean?

Faye, he feared, made sense in some way that little else seemed to.

Jasper had not been able to sleep, so when 11:45 p.m. came around, he was ready to go.

By the time they’d made their fourth trip around the block that afternoon, they’d decided to meet at midnight in the meadow and head to the nearest police station they could find. There, they would explain their situation and enlist someone to help them find their parents. Having lost his confidence that everything, however odd, was really all right, Jasper, and then Lucy, changed their minds and agreed to take part in the plan.

Jasper took a candle into his sister’s room.

“Lucy, wake up,” he said.

Lucy stirred, her eyes focusing on the candlelight until everything came back to her and she tried to sink back into her pillow.

“Lucy, they’re waiting for us. We have to go through with it. It... it’s the only way.” Jasper swallowed hard “Come on, Luce.”

Slowly, Lucy climbed out of bed. She was dressed, as Jasper had been when he got into bed that night. She slipped on her shoes and buckled them, wishing the whole time she didn’t have to go.

As they tiptoed out of their room and down the hall, they could hear Rosie’s clucking snores from the room on the other side of the nursery. They walked past their parents’ room, which now sat perfectly tidy—all pretense at having parents sleeping there was gone. They tiptoed down the stairs and into the kitchen, then carefully opened the kitchen door and closed it behind them. Jasper looked back, thinking he might never see the inside of the house again. A lump stuck in his throat.

But then, he turned back to the task at hand.

By the time Jasper and Lucy arrived, everyone was already there. The moon was so full and bright they could see easily without flashlights.

“It’s almost like daytime out here,” said Lucy.

“Then keep low and keep quiet,” said Faye. Everyone lowered themselves so they were more hidden in the shrubbery.

“Right, now,” said Faye, determined and unshaken, “I suggest we sneak out between my house and yours, Jasper. That hedge there would be an excellent place to hide if any of the nannies wake before we make a run for it.”

Like thieves in the night, the five children stole through the
bushes, shrubs and tall trees to the hedge between Faye’s and the Modests’ houses. They waited for a few seconds. A carriage passed. From the outline of the outsized hat worn by the driver, they assumed it was one of the men in black, but it was hard to tell.

Then they heard someone walking along the sidewalk. They waited until the footsteps were no longer audible. After that, it was quiet.

It was time.

And then it wasn’t. Just like the time before, on the farm, a motorcar came around the corner, driving slowly down the block. They all froze where they were, waiting for the car to pass.

“When it turns the corner,” said Faye, “then we’ll—”

“We know,” Noah said. “We’ll make a run for—”

A horse whinnied and Noah stopped mid-sentence. Following the motorcar was a horse carrying a dark figure. It was the black bird wings and feathery cap that gave the man away.

“It’s one of them,” Noah said, although they all knew.

Coming the other way around the block was another. Altogether, the children counted four horses, one carriage, two motorcars, and what looked like a clown on a unicycle. They knew then that they would never get out unseen.

Faye motioned and they all turned back toward the meadow, but then they stopped in their tracks. Rosie was running down the front path to the street.

“Jasper! Lucy!” she called. Her clucking was loud enough to hear from where they sat.

Lucy made a noise and hid her face in Jasper’s chest. Jasper looked right at Faye and mouthed, “What do we do?” Faye motioned
to stay still.

Rosie was now frantic.

“Children! Where are you?” she called, standing at the street and looking around. It was then that the feathery rider pulled up in front of the house.

“What missing?” he asked.

“The children, I... I...” Rosie blew her nose.

“Must keep them,” he said. “No run away.”

“Oh, my dear me.” Rosie looked around, up and down the streets. “My darlings? I... I just don’t know where they’ve gone. They’ve been through so much, the darlings and, oh, don’t let anything happen to them! I love those sweet souls. Dear dear me. Dear dear me.”

“If they start searching for us, they’ll find the lot of us. Then we’ll all be in trouble.” Jasper was firm and clear, determination in his voice. “Stay here until we’re done, and then head back to your houses—all of you.”

Without a look behind him, Jasper grabbed Lucy and ran into the meadow, into the kitchen, and through the house. The others stayed in the shrub, anxious to see what would happen next.

Suddenly, Jasper and Lucy walked out the front door in their nightshirts, swaying just a bit as if stumbling out of sleep.

“Rosie?” Jasper called.

Rosie turned. “Oh, saints preserve me!” she cried, waddling quickly to embrace them. “Where were you? I went to tuck you in just around midnight and you were gone. Not in your beds. I... I got so worried, my darlings.”

“Well, Lucy sometimes sleepwalks, and I went after her, and we both fell asleep in the... study.”

“Oh, my babies,” said Rosie. With her arms around them, she walked them back into the house. Turning very slightly, Jasper motioned to the others. As soon as the door closed behind Rosie and the Modests, Faye, Noah, and Wallace ran back to their houses.

The next morning after breakfast, Jasper and Lucy wandered out to the meadow. They could see Wallace through his kitchen window, and he could see them. He waved, and out he came moments later. The three of them walked over to Noah’s, just as Faye came out her back door. They all sat on the grass in a circle, under the willow tree at the very center of the meadow. Lucy picked some wildflowers and put them in her apron pocket.

“Why are you always picking flowers, Lucy?” asked Wallace.

“I’m pressing them,” she said, twirling another flower between her fingers.

“Where are you pressing them?” asked Jasper.

“Does that really matter right now?” asked Faye. “Last night was—”

“Horrid,” said Lucy with a little shiver.

“I think we made a mistake,” said Wallace. “I don’t think our nannies are working to fool us. They care. They... they really do.”

“Don’t argue, Faye,” Noah said.

“I agree,” said Faye.

“You... you do?” Noah was taken aback.

“I agree. I agree that the nannies care about us. Camelia comes in at night when she thinks I’m asleep and... and she kisses my forehead. She makes all my favorite foods and she sings to herself. It’s... it’s sweet. It’s kindness. I... I realize that now.”

“Rosie sings, too,” said Lucy. “Old Irish songs we don’t know.”

“But I still say the men in black are evil,” said Faye. “You heard that one last night. ‘They cannot escape, must be captured.’”

“He didn’t say that,” Lucy said. “He said, “Must keep them. No run away.’”

“That’s the same thing, isn’t it?”

“No, it isn’t,” Wallace said. “You can regard what he said as concern, and not the words of a prison guard.”

“Well, you can’t be sure, can you?” said Faye.

“I want to have a real afternoon,” said Noah. “I want to bowl and play and not worry about what miserable crazy thing we may or may not be facing. I don’t want to have to think that I can’t trust anyone in the whole world. I want to be able to trust and believe that some folks are really okay. Can we just have a little break from being terrified? Can we just enjoy the beautiful afternoon? In the houses we call home right now, with the nannies who care for us, with the friends we are?”

Faye opened her mouth but found she couldn’t say anything.
Friends?
Was it true?