City of Schemes by Victoria Thompson

Author:Victoria Thompson [Thompson, Victoria]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2021-01-05T00:00:00+00:00

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Oscar Thornton was lingering over his lunch in the hotel dining room, wondering how he was going to fill the long afternoon ahead of him, when a bellman entered the room carrying a silver tray. The bellman glanced around and then headed straight for Thornton’s table.

Thornton frowned. He could already see the envelope that lay on the tray. He tipped the bellman a nickel and checked the return address. It was stationery from a hotel in Brownsville, Texas, which was just across the border from Matamoros. Vane must have written to him from there, but why had he written a letter instead of sending a telegram?

He’d already heard from Vane by telegram a few days ago that he’d arrived safely in Brownsville, so surely this was a message letting him know that Vane and Berta were on their way to New York. Maybe he was just saving money, since their voyage would take much longer than a letter would to arrive.

He tore open the envelope and read the scrawled handwriting twice before muttering a curse. Vane had written a letter because he couldn’t explain the situation in a ten-word telegram. He also couldn’t risk putting information in a message others would see, because the news was not good.

Vane had found a boat he could buy, but hiring a crew who wouldn’t ask questions had been far more expensive than he had expected. Also, he’d had to bribe far more people than he had planned to get the proper papers for Berta’s departure. He needed five thousand more to get her safely away, but after that, the boat would sail directly to New York and they would arrive in less than two weeks after Vane received the additional money.

Thornton wanted to curse out loud, but they frowned on that in hotels like this, and he didn’t want to get thrown out. The other thing that kept him from cursing—aloud, at least—was Vane’s report that Berta had shown him her stash of securities, and they were worth almost eight hundred thousand dollars, not five as Vane had originally estimated. That meant his share would be almost two hundred thousand, plus he would get back all the money he’d advanced Vane. As annoying as this was, five thousand more was a small investment compared to what he would make on this deal. Who knew rescuing refugees could be so profitable? Maybe he should put an ad in the newspapers offering assistance.

At least he now had something to do this afternoon. He strolled down to his bank where the president welcomed him into his office. “I thought I’d see you sooner than this, Mr. Thornton,” Diller said, shaking his hand and motioning for him to be seated. “Or at least see Mr. Vane and his cousin. But perhaps they decided to use another bank.”

“I’m sure Vane will bring his cousin here, but she hasn’t arrived in New York yet.”

Diller frowned as he sank back down into his own chair. “She hasn’t? I thought Vane said .

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