“Oh, fudge!” he said, kicking at the ground before he stepped out of the line.
I couldn’t help but laugh, and from the looks of him, I knew he could use a good meal or three. “Once everyone’s eaten, you can get seconds if there’s anything left,” I assured him. When everyone had been served, I brought him the largest sandwich left in the basket and another apple, and from his reaction I’d have thought I handed him the crown jewels. “I thought you were just sayin’ that,” he said. “I never thought you’d really give me more.”
“See, good things come when you have good manners,” I said, but he was too busy devouring the sandwich to notice. He shoved the apple into his pocket and ran off to join the others.
Once the children’s bellies were full, the Mechanics had better luck interesting them in the machines. Lizzie and I caught our breath from serving lunch while we watched the children play. “When should we distribute the s-w-e-e-t-s?” I asked, hoping no children in earshot were literate enough to understand the spelling.
“Not until the end of the day. That’s the only leverage we’ve got over these hellions,” she said, brushing a stray strand of hair off her forehead.
I spent the next hour or so rushing from one commotion to another, as did every other member of our group. When I saw that the miniature model train wasn’t running, it turned out that the red-haired “twin” had taken the engine apart to see how it worked while the Mechanic in charge of it was breaking up a fight between two other boys. I reached down and grabbed his arm. “If you’re so interested in engines, you may as well be put to work.” I jerked him to his feet. “Come on.” I then dragged him over to the hayride. “Alec!” I shouted, waving my free hand at him. When he jumped off the engine and came over, I said, “You should apprentice this one.”
Alec glared at the boy. “What’s your name?”
“Mick.”
“You like engines?”
“Well enough.”
“Are you in school?”
Mick laughed. “What do you think?”
“Do you have a job?”
The boy shrugged. “Sometimes.”
“Let’s see what you can do.” He shoved the boy toward the engine pulling the hayride, calling out, “Put this one to work on the tender.” Then he turned back to me with a shy smile. I wondered if he was remembering our kiss from the night before the way I was. “Are you enjoying yourself, Verity?”
“I’m not sure ‘enjoying’ is the right word. But it appears you were right. The British are staying in the fort and leaving us alone.”
“Of course I was right.” He raised an eyebrow. “I can’t believe you doubted me.”
“I won’t do it again,” I promised.
“It’s time you had some fun, too,” he said, and before I realized what was happening, he’d caught me around the waist and boosted me up into the hay wagon, then he jumped on board and sat next to me with his arm around my shoulders. I leaned against him and laughed when one of the boys threw a handful of hay at him. Then I yelped when I got a faceful of hay, and it was Alec’s turn to laugh. To get him back for laughing, I pushed him into the hay, but he pulled me with him, so I fell face-to-face on top of him. Suddenly, we weren’t laughing anymore. I wasn’t sure who started the kiss, but I pulled back hastily when the boys’ catcalls reminded me where I was.
With the steam engine so close by, the shouts of the children, and the sound of all the other machines and the calliope music, I didn’t notice the drumbeats at first. Eventually, I became aware of a steady rhythm slowly growing louder and louder. I turned to see that the gates of the fort had opened, and rank upon rank of red-coated soldiers were coming out, heading straight into the park, their weapons resting against their shoulders.
“On second thought, I might not be so sure of your infallibility,” I said, tugging Alec’s sleeve.
Alec turned to see the soldiers and went pale beneath the layer of soot and dust on his face. He jumped off the hay wagon and reached up to help me down. “Go,” he said, giving me a slight shove. “Make sure everyone else knows.”
I ran to where Lizzie was dancing in a circle with a group of girls. Behind me, I heard the hayride’s engine stop as