I raced through the now-empty main hall. My footsteps echoed off the marble tiles. The porters at the front doors exchanged shocked glances. I could imagine the sight I must have presented—a flushed ball of purple silk and rustling skirts. No matter. I whisked past them and flew out into the Philadelphia night. My feet thudded on the theater’s stone steps. Despite the stormy breeze that hit me, I sweated beneath my gown.
Jie lounged against the same streetlamp, and at the sight of me she straightened.
I jogged to her. “What’re you doing here?” My ribs heaved against my corset as I strained to catch my breath.
“I was waiting for you. Your maid isn’t so nice, yeah? I went to your house to find you, but she wouldn’t tell me where you were.”
“What’d you do?”
“I said I’d rip out her eyes and knock her teeth loose if she didn’t tell me.” She scowled, and the bruise on her cheek from the library attack made her look positively menacing.
I laughed a full, bubbling, stomach laugh. It was the first time I’d done that in weeks, and it felt good.
“I need your help,” Jie said when my chuckles subsided. “I don’t think I can trust Daniel tonight.”
Fear flapped into my throat like clawing bats. Daniel is a murderer.
“Wh-why?” I gulped. “Is there something wrong with him?”
Jie popped her knuckles. “Just something funny. I dunno. This factory makes him... makes him skittish. We need another hand in case things go wrong.”
“And you thought of me?” The fear in my throat eased back.
She shrugged. “Why not? You got legs and arms like the rest of us—you just need some trousers.”
I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. “All right,” I said. “But let’s get away from here before I’m caught.”
“The men you came with.” She pointed to the theater. “Where are they?”
“Occupied.”
She flexed her arms. “Perfect. Let’s go.” She grabbed my hand and towed me into the street. “I’ll hail a hackney. Since you’re wearing that silly dress, we can’t walk to the Exhibition.”
“No one wears silly gowns in China?”
“Oh yes,” she said. “We have silly clothes too.”
“You’ll have to show me one day.”
She heaved open a hackney door and shot me a toothy grin. “That’s a deal. But first we have to survive tonight.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“I fear you have wasted your time by coming,” Joseph said a half hour after I’d fled the opera house. He pinched his lips together. “I don’t know what Jie has told you, Miss Fitt, but we do not need you.”
I huddled under my cloak, wishing Joseph would turn his worried gaze elsewhere. He, Jie, and I stood in the lab. A lone lantern flickered from the worktable.
“She’ll be a lookout,” Jie said. “We go in the factory, and she stays outside.”
“No.”
“We need her help.” She waved toward me. “What if Daniel loses his nerve?”
Joseph stood taller. “Daniel will be fine with only you. I trust him. And this is not Miss Fitt’s job, but it is our job.” His gaze flicked to me. “You have been a great help to us before, but there is too much risk for you this time.”
“But—” I started.
“Please.” His lips twisted down with apology. “I appreciate the offer. Truly, I do, but you should leave.”
“No.” I felt like an idiot standing in the middle of the laboratory dressed in layers of silk with a trail of lies snaking behind me. “I can help. Besides, it’s my brother who’s missing. I have to do everything I can to save him. It’s my duty.”
Joseph shook his head. “Miss Fitt, we are in a difficult place right now. The Dead grow strong, our help is limited to men who run and scream at the sight of a walking corpse, and we are about to break the law—something I have never done before.”
“Which is why I can help.”
His eyebrows drew tightly together. “No—do you not see? Ultimately, your presence here only complicates matters. You are a woman of... well, of high society.”
I inched toward him, winding my fingers in my skirts. “So? You’re a gentleman, so you must understand that society has nothing to do with the Dead!”
His shoulders sagged. “You misunderstand. The consequence of injury to your person—it outweighs the need for your help. Daniel will be fine with only Jie.”
“No,” I pleaded, though I saw the logic of his argument. “No.”
“Miss Fitt, we do not need your help, and I think it best you go. And this is not a request now. It is an order.”
I dropped my eyes and swallowed. My breath shook as I tried to keep my exterior calm. I had thought—no, I had hoped Joseph would want me here just as Jie did.
Bricks of defeat hung over my shoulders, threatening to drop at any moment and crush me. I’d made a risky escape for nothing. Daniel wasn’t even here for me to question. Joseph did not need me, and I would succumb to frustrated, useless tears if I did not keep breathing.
I turned and shuffled from the lab into the dark emptiness of Machinery Hall. I didn’t even bother to lift my gown from the floor.
I would have to hire a hackney home and sort out my newest tales of deceit. Clarence would need to be dealt with. Mama too...
A figure formed in the shadows. My heart jolted, and I threw my hands up, ready to fight. But it was only Daniel.
“You scared me,” I said.