A Mischief in the Snow - By Margaret Miles Page 0,83

about money. So as for this inheritance, I'd say probably not. Though I'm sure he wished for one.”

“Oh?”

“He and Jonah never had much, and he talked about going off one day, traveling by sea, exploring places he's read about. He often asks Mr. Pratt for old newspapers, or the London Gentleman's Magazine, which sometimes gets left behind by the guests. Stories about pirates and the like, he sometimes reads aloud.”

As the milk continued to shoot, Lem fell silent, possibly considering his own future, which was far from sure.

“You know Ned goes to Boar Island?” Charlotte asked.

“I would have told you—but I swore an oath to tell no one. Especially not any woman!”

“That's what I'd imagined. But why do you suppose Ned confided in you?”

“Because we've been friends since we went to dame school together. My mother never liked him—she said he sets a bad example. But no more than my brothers, it seems to me! And when I came to live with you, our paths often crossed in the village, so we started to talk about things other people don't seem to understand. Things he'd read about, and ideas I'd learned from Mr. Longfellow. And other things, lately,” Lem added, his voice less certain.

“The counterfeit shillings?”

“Sometimes I wished he'd never told me! But we were friends, so it would have been hard for him not to. It wasn't his idea. The whole thing was urged on him by a few others—who, exactly, he never would say. But he did worry about money, so he went ahead.”

“When did you see him last?”

Lem got up and moved to another animal, kicking his stool through the hay before he replied.

“He came to Mr. Longfellow's last evening,” he finally answered. “After he heard the constable wanted me kept there. He waited until he saw me by a window, and threw some snow. I went out when I could. I'm sure he didn't come for fear of what I'd say—he knew the truth would soon come out. He only wanted to see how I was.”

“Did Ned ask you to help him make the coins?”

“No. Well, he did let me help him score the edge of some of them, once or twice, while we talked with Jonah. He's a fine old man,” Lem added warmly.

“With a colorful history.”

“The foundry, you mean? Yes, he does have interesting tales. Is that what made you suspect Ned was involved in making the shillings?”

“Partly. When I visited Jonah, I saw Ned had a burn on his hand. He said it was from the discharge of his fowler—but I noticed he had no gun when he came in. Later, I wondered if he might have received the burn while working on the shillings.”

“That's more likely. He never was one for hunting, especially in the cold. He can't stand the wait.”

At least, thought Charlotte, the coins had been one explanation that came to mind to explain Ned's injury; and it did lead her to suspect he'd been on the island that morning. As yet, neither of the two young men had been told of the final accusation of Catherine Knowles.

Find out if the boy was— Was what? On the island that day? The boy Catherine had disinherited, who may have killed her new heir, only the day before? The one who then could have come up behind an old woman at her hearth, and pushed her into it?

“But how did the scheme get started?” Charlotte asked after a long silence. “Who knew what to do, exactly?”

“Jonah was able to tell Ned how to set up a forge in the house I told you about, after someone else went over and made repairs.”

“Did he make the molds?”

“That part was easy. Ned has a good eye and a clever hand; he's often sketching pictures he finds in books and magazines. Though for learning how to work with the metal—the engineering of it—I think he had the help of someone in Concord who makes etchings for the newspapers. A friend of Sam Adams. You remember I met him at the Green Dragon Tavern, this summer.”

“That, too, is interesting. But did you see Ned on the island yesterday?”

“No. Before I got there, smoke was coming up from where I knew the forge to be—and Magdalene told me she'd just come from there. But by the time we left, the smoke had stopped. I thought he'd already left for home.”

“Magdalene saw Ned at work there?”

“He told me he first met her there in the spring. She gave