“I’ll write her name down anyway,” Tess said.

They kept reading. Jaime found a mention of a lady pirate. He used his phone for another search and found the story of one Sadie Farrell, aka Sadie the Goat, who had earned her nickname because she would head-butt her marks in the stomach before robbing them. She lived in New York City until another woman, Gallus Mag, allegedly over six feet tall, bit off Sadie’s ear. Sadie stole a sloop in the spring of 1869 and raided houses along the Hudson and Harlem Rivers.

“Oh, and occasionally, she kidnapped people,” Jaime said. “But I’m not sure if she’s a real person or just a legend.”

“Plus,” said Tess, “would a lady pirate wear a silk gown?”

“Maybe she would if she was visiting the Morningstarrs,” Theo said.

“I have a feeling the Morningstarrs weren’t that concerned with what was appropriate for ladies,” Tess said.

They kept scouring the notes, looking for any other mentions of women. They found lady chemists and lady writers and lady blacksmiths and lady poets and lady socialites—sometimes with names, sometimes without, as before. When there wasn’t a name, Jaime and Theo continued to do a little research to figure out some likely suspects. Tess dutifully wrote down all the names, as did Jaime, in his sketchbook.

After a while, they had a long list of names, but didn’t seem any closer to figuring out the provenance of the dress. Any one of the women on their list could have owned it. Or none of them.

“The heart on the lace has to be some kind of clue,” said Tess.

“Or maybe it’s just decoration?”

“It’s the only decoration on the dress.”

“We didn’t examine the whole dress, though,” Jaime pointed out. “For all we know, there’s something hidden in the fabric or sewed into the hem or something.”

“Great. So now we have to break into a dry-cleaning shop,” said Theo.

Jaime checked the time on his phone, stood, stretched. “We don’t have to break into anything because I have to go back to Hoboken or Mima will kill me.” He couldn’t bring himself to use the word home.

Tess tossed the journal she’d been reading aside and stood, too. “Okay. Maybe we can take this up again tomorrow? Want us to come to you this time?”

The twins still hadn’t seen Jaime’s new apartment, but Jaime wasn’t ready for that. “Your grandpa’s notes are all here. It’s not like I’m going to ask you to drag them all the way out to New Jersey.”

Tess bit her lip, but didn’t say anything. At the door, she gave Jaime a hug. Nine gently nibbled at his fingertips, as if he were the one who needed comfort.

“Be careful,” Tess said, as he put his hand on the knob.

“You sound like my grandmother,” Jaime said.