With the wisdom of hindsight, he knew he should never have agreed to this tour, but four months ago he'd had his own agenda -- good reasons, or so he'd believed, for visiting the country's major cities.
What a waste! He'd learned that no one knew more about madness than he did himself. Most physicians understood far less and treated their patients with an appalling lack of humanity.
Ben studied Mrs. Spaulding's reflection once more as he took his package from the sales clerk. It did no good to long for what might have been. He'd promised Damon Bathory's publisher to keep Bathory's identity a deep, dark secret. He could not reveal the truth without potentially dire consequences.
Eventually, though, someone would find out. Ben wondered if it would not be better to volunteer the information before that happened. For the moment, however, he had no choice but to honor his pledge.
Mrs. Spaulding ducked into a doorway when Ben left the candy shop. A fragment of his conversation with Aaron came back to him as she trailed along after him.
_"That woman following you is up to no good."_
"You let me deal with her."
"You'll take care of her?"
_"I'll take care of her."_
* * * *
While her quarry was in a barber shop, Diana waited outside, lulled by the very normality of his behavior this morning into discounting most of her earlier fears. She was inclined to dismiss Foxe's theory as wishful thinking on the part of a man desperate to unearth scandal. After all, if Bathory had meant to harm her, would he not have done so the first time they met, in that darkened lecture hall with no witnesses?
She continued to follow him throughout the morning and into the afternoon, all the while feeling more and more safe. And if, by chance, Foxe was right, then the bodyguard he'd promised her, a hulking brute named Bruno Webb, was not far behind. He'd been waiting on Diana's doorstep for her when she'd left Mrs. Curran's house.
When the afternoon began to wane, Bathory returned briefly to his hotel. He was dressed to the nines when he went out again. Looking neither left nor right, he proceeded to the Everett House. Diana did not dare follow him inside the brightly lit restaurant. Instead, she made do with watching him eat, staring at him through the window as her stomach growled.
Bruno disappeared briefly around the side of the establishment and returned wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Diana considered sending him back for something for her, but thought better of it. Bruno's job was to keep watch over her, not feed her.
When Bathory emerged, it was to stroll along the east side of Union Square. She hurried after him, confident he could not hear her footsteps in pursuit. High above their heads, perched on poles, noisy arc lights covered any sound she made. A troop of horsemen would have been hard put to make themselves heard over that incessant clicking and clacking.
Bathory appeared to be searching for an evening's entertainment. Someone would have taken his place at Heritage Hall, though Diana had no idea who. At Steinway Hall, there had been an afternoon concert but nothing was scheduled for tonight. The nearby Academy of Music was home to a pantomime called _Mazulm, the Night Owl_ and he might also select from a variety of legitimate plays, all within a few blocks of his hotel. Henry Irving's well-respected company of British actors was performing _Louis XI_ at the Star Theater. Diana noticed Bathory glance that way as he crossed 14th Street, but he proceeded on without turning, passing by the dark facade of the Union Square Theater.
Diana hurried by what remained of the structure, closed after the disastrous fire a few weeks earlier. Posters hopefully proclaimed that the theater would reopen in May, but that did not appear likely. Rebuilding had yet to begin.
* * * *
A pity Irving's company was not presenting _Faust_ tonight, Ben thought as he passed the ruins. He'd have been tempted to attend, if only
What a waste! He'd learned that no one knew more about madness than he did himself. Most physicians understood far less and treated their patients with an appalling lack of humanity.
Ben studied Mrs. Spaulding's reflection once more as he took his package from the sales clerk. It did no good to long for what might have been. He'd promised Damon Bathory's publisher to keep Bathory's identity a deep, dark secret. He could not reveal the truth without potentially dire consequences.
Eventually, though, someone would find out. Ben wondered if it would not be better to volunteer the information before that happened. For the moment, however, he had no choice but to honor his pledge.
Mrs. Spaulding ducked into a doorway when Ben left the candy shop. A fragment of his conversation with Aaron came back to him as she trailed along after him.
_"That woman following you is up to no good."_
"You let me deal with her."
"You'll take care of her?"
_"I'll take care of her."_
* * * *
While her quarry was in a barber shop, Diana waited outside, lulled by the very normality of his behavior this morning into discounting most of her earlier fears. She was inclined to dismiss Foxe's theory as wishful thinking on the part of a man desperate to unearth scandal. After all, if Bathory had meant to harm her, would he not have done so the first time they met, in that darkened lecture hall with no witnesses?
She continued to follow him throughout the morning and into the afternoon, all the while feeling more and more safe. And if, by chance, Foxe was right, then the bodyguard he'd promised her, a hulking brute named Bruno Webb, was not far behind. He'd been waiting on Diana's doorstep for her when she'd left Mrs. Curran's house.
When the afternoon began to wane, Bathory returned briefly to his hotel. He was dressed to the nines when he went out again. Looking neither left nor right, he proceeded to the Everett House. Diana did not dare follow him inside the brightly lit restaurant. Instead, she made do with watching him eat, staring at him through the window as her stomach growled.
Bruno disappeared briefly around the side of the establishment and returned wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Diana considered sending him back for something for her, but thought better of it. Bruno's job was to keep watch over her, not feed her.
When Bathory emerged, it was to stroll along the east side of Union Square. She hurried after him, confident he could not hear her footsteps in pursuit. High above their heads, perched on poles, noisy arc lights covered any sound she made. A troop of horsemen would have been hard put to make themselves heard over that incessant clicking and clacking.
Bathory appeared to be searching for an evening's entertainment. Someone would have taken his place at Heritage Hall, though Diana had no idea who. At Steinway Hall, there had been an afternoon concert but nothing was scheduled for tonight. The nearby Academy of Music was home to a pantomime called _Mazulm, the Night Owl_ and he might also select from a variety of legitimate plays, all within a few blocks of his hotel. Henry Irving's well-respected company of British actors was performing _Louis XI_ at the Star Theater. Diana noticed Bathory glance that way as he crossed 14th Street, but he proceeded on without turning, passing by the dark facade of the Union Square Theater.
Diana hurried by what remained of the structure, closed after the disastrous fire a few weeks earlier. Posters hopefully proclaimed that the theater would reopen in May, but that did not appear likely. Rebuilding had yet to begin.
* * * *
A pity Irving's company was not presenting _Faust_ tonight, Ben thought as he passed the ruins. He'd have been tempted to attend, if only
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