I’d been trying to understand something about Lane—why he had a separateness about him, like a ship at sea—and now I finally did. He’d never had anyone but himself to depend on. I wanted to know more about him, but he seemed desperate to poke my head with a needle. “I’m not saying yes—I’m not—I just want to know…what’s the trade?”

“I put two points on it. Three, if needed. And in recompense, tomorrow I ask the questions and you answer them.”

I laughed. “Tomorrow, you say?” I couldn’t seem to stop shaking my head. But I couldn’t say no, either. My forehead throbbed. I’d felt like a leaking boat for days. And I’d seen ladies in Nassau with perfect skin; I knew my life as Miss Coates would be easier without a bad scar.

I got up before I could change my mind and went for the sewing kit I’d seen earlier.

Asa chose the finest needle and then tore a strip of material from the sleeve of my gown, tugging a thread loose. “Silk is best,” he said. As I watched him lean over the candle and thread the needle deftly, I wondered when this night had gone sideways on me.

“Should I sit or stay standing?” I asked, my voice wobbling. The point looked so sharp.

“Stay standing.” He stood and came over.

I found myself staring at his chest; it seemed a better spot than his eyes. “You should do your sleeve next, since you’ll already be sewing.” Words were spilling out of me. He smelled like ocean and sweat. But a clean sweat, not sour like Sewel.

“Good idea. Tilt your head up.”

I had no choice now, so I did. His eyes were blue, but deep blue, like the sea just after dusk, and so heavy that he looked downright sleepy, though I knew the truth was the opposite. He handed me a towel. “Hold this here for the blood.”

“Why are you helping me?” I blurted out as I pressed the towel under my eyebrow. I couldn’t catch my breath.

“I don’t know. I’m not sure I should be.” He rested a hand on my forehead, lightly pinching my skin, and brought the needle close with the other. “Ready?”

“Yes.”

The needle drove in. Tears sprang to my eyes and my heart began to bang a slow beat.

“You all right?”

“Mm-hm.” But I wasn’t entirely sure. “Why shouldn’t you be helping me? You think it’s wrong for me to take Miss Coates’s life?” I had to keep talking. Anything to take my mind off the pain.

“If your plan is to truly become her, then yes. I do think it’s wrong. Dangerous, too.”

“Dangerous how?” I knew what I worried about. I might never be polished enough to pass. If I was caught in my deception, I imagined I could be sent to a women’s asylum. Or perhaps punished severely. But I wanted to know what Lane thought.

“To begin with,” he said as he tied off the string, “you’re heading directly into war. Captain Jansen was right. Manhattan is the center of conflict. The island is in American hands, but the British have totally surrounded it. They will lay siege any day. Here we go, Frannie. Once more.” The needle bit again, but I breathed through the worst and it passed quickly. “Well done. We’re almost there. War aside, you’ll be meeting a guardian who might’ve met the true Miss Coates, and no amount of practice at etiquette or decorum would help you then.”