“You know whose fault this really is, don’t you?” the general said to the people blocking the street. “It’s the rebels’. We have no quarrel with the people of this city, but those Mechanics stir up trouble, and you’re the ones who suffer for it. Someday the Mechanics will pay for the damage they’ve done.” Wheeling his horse around, he called out, “Sergeant! Block off the streets at Fourteenth. We don’t want that rabble getting uptown.”

The sergeant called men out of the ranks and sent them off, then ordered the remaining soldiers to march. The procession moved slowly down Broadway.

As the crowd started to disperse, Lizzie saw me and hurried over. “I hope you saw all that!” she called out.

Feeling sick from betrayal, I turned and tried to get away from her. The crowd was too dense for me to make it very far, and she easily caught up to me. “Verity, whatever’s the matter?”

I didn’t want to face her because I couldn’t hold back the tears that stung my eyes. “That was all a lie,” I said, my voice coming out in a sob instead of in the sharp retort I would have liked. “If your cause is so just, you shouldn’t have to lie about it.”

“Hush, Verity!” she hissed, dragging me out of the throng.

I resisted, snapping, “Why? You don’t want everyone hearing about your lies?”

“It could have been true,” she insisted when she’d propelled me into a relatively quiet doorway. She kept a firm grasp on my arm, preventing me from escaping. “For all we know, it is true, but the parents aren’t bold enough to confront the general.”

“One of the children died?”

“One could have. The military needed to see the possible consequences of their actions. Maybe they’ll think twice before they act the next time. That little bit of theater may save countless lives in the future.”

“Was that the plan all along, to provoke an attack and then stage that scene? You told me the children would be safe, that the troops wouldn’t dare fire on them.”

She shook her head urgently. “No, we didn’t expect this at all. But when it did happen, we took advantage of it. We weren’t deceiving you.”

I jerked my arm out of her grasp. “Don’t count on me deceiving anyone else. I won’t report on this.”

“We don’t expect you to. It served its purpose of making the soldiers look bad in front of a crowd, which makes our cause look better.” She took my arm again. “Now, come on, we’re having a party, courtesy of the general.”

“No, thank you,” I said stiffly. “I need to get home. I have an article to write—a true one.”