Chapter 14
Harvard College
January 1854
Victor rattled the iron gates that led into Harvard Yard until the gatekeeper stepped up to speak with him. The man was clearly exasperated, his long sigh more like a groan. “You again.”
“Of course it’s me,” Victor said. “I’m not going to stop until you let me speak to my brother.”
“It’s not for me to say whether or not you can go to his room.”
Victor wanted to slap the man silly, preferably with something like a frying pan. They’d had this conversation repeatedly during the two weeks the students and professors were away on holiday—and in the week since they’d been back—but the guard refused to listen to him.
“I can’t obtain permission if you won’t let me inside.”
“Maybe you’ll change your mind and send your brother a message. Or at least give me his name.”
An icy raindrop splashed on Victor’s face, and he flicked it away. “I want to surprise him.”
“It’s my job to snuff out surprises.” The guard’s eyes narrowed. “And people who try to climb the fence.”
“If you’d unlock it, I wouldn’t need to climb.”
The man stepped away without another word. Victor rattled the gate again, shouting for him to come back, but the guard ignored him.
His arms crossed over his coat, he stepped under the nearby tree where he’d spent much of the last three weeks waiting for Alden to walk through the gate. He’d failed in his repeated attempts to climb the fence, and he’d failed to even catch a glimpse of Alden and Isaac.
The sunlight faded as he watched the gate, and rain began to pour from the sky, veiling the iron slabs before him with a hazy gray. Isaac was behind the gate, protected by this imbecile who refused to let Victor pass. Perhaps Alden had even told the man to keep him locked out.
But they wouldn’t keep him out forever. Eventually he’d find a way to get in.
He stood up a little straighter under the tree, a new idea forming in his mind. He could go straight to the police chief of this little town and tell him that Alden Payne was harboring a runaway. Then he’d smirk at the keeper when the chief demanded he unlock the gates. Perhaps he’d tell the chief that the gatekeeper was collaborating with Alden to steal his slave.
He stepped away from the tree, intent on finding the station until he heard the clamoring of a dozen voices, laughing and shouting as if they had more drink than sense running through their brains.
Victor smiled when he saw the large group of students dressed in long coats and bowler hats round the corner. Perhaps he wouldn’t need the police chief after all.
The students didn’t seem to notice him as he elbowed his way into the middle of the herd, the rain dousing all of them. And the keeper didn’t notice Victor either as he unlocked the gate. He seemed anxious to get the rowdies off the streets, back inside his fence.
The men floundered into the muddy yard, and Victor laughed along with them as they wobbled in unison toward the dormitory.
Once they were inside, Victor asked one of the men where Alden Payne’s room was.
“Third floor,” he directed sluggishly. “But Alden’s not there.”
“Where is he?”
The man leaned against the paneled wall. “He—”
Victor watched with disgust as the man slid down the wall, landing with a thud on the polished floor.
Victor stepped over the man and rushed upstairs. Another student directed him to Alden’s door, and he found it unlocked so he walked inside.
There was a student working at the desk, reading by an oil lamp. His pulse began to race until the man turned around. The drunkard was right. Alden wasn’t here.
“I’m looking for Alden Payne,” he said, angry that his brother-in-law had eluded him.
“He’s gone.”
“Gone for the night?” Victor pressed.
“No. He didn’t return to school after Christmas.”
Victor balled up his fists in his coat pockets. Had Alden really taken Isaac away to free him? Self-righteous fool. He had no idea how well Victor cared for him. Isaac wouldn’t be treated that well in Canada or anywhere else.
If Alden took him north, Victor would search all of Canada if he must to find him.
The man glanced at the open door. “We’re not permitted visitors here after dark.”
“I’m his brother,” he said as he closed the door behind him. “The family was concerned when he didn’t send word that he’d arrived safely back to school.”
The student studied him. “Alden doesn’t have any brothers.”
“Brother-in-law,” Victor said, frustrated at having to explain needless details. “I married his oldest sister.”
“My name’s Patrick. Alden and I have been roommates for almost three years.”
“Then you must be concerned as well.”
“Not exactly.”
Alden wanted to shake the man’s shoulders until the information he was withholding dumped out of him. “His parents will be heartbroken if I can’t tell them where he’s gone.”
Patrick rose from his chair and moved to a desk on the opposite side of the room.
“A letter came for Alden over the holiday.” He picked up an envelope and handed it to Victor. “Your family will want to read it.”
Victor looked down and saw that it had already been opened. “What does it say?”
“It’s from Judah Fallow. He said he’s relocating his practice to Sacramento City.”
“Who’s Judah Fallow?”
Patrick paused again, and Victor felt as if he might explode.
“Who’s Judah?” he repeated.
“He was an attorney here in Boston until a year ago,” Patrick finally explained. “When he left for California, he offered Alden an apprenticeship.”
Victor stared down at the envelope before looking back up. “You think Alden went to California?”
Patrick nodded slowly. “I’m certain he did, but the dean doesn’t know.”
“How can you be so certain?”
He glanced at the door and lowered his voice. “I saw him the week after Christmas, walking toward the wharf in Boston with a black boy.”
“Go on,” Victor urged.
Patrick collapsed back down into his chair. “My curiosity got the best of me, and I followed them to the gangplank of a ship preparing to leave for California.”
“Blast,” Victor muttered. Of course, Alden had to complicate what should have been a simple search. “Why haven’t you told the school?”
Patrick blanched. “Alden’s always been a stellar student. I didn’t want to ruin his reputation.”
“I suppose you’ll be at the top of your class now?”
“Close to it,” he admitted. “I just assumed that Alden’s family knew where he went. I wasn’t trying to keep it secret from them.”
“I’ll tell his parents.”
Patrick opened the door. “You best leave now, or we’ll both be in trouble.”
Coward, Victor thought as he clutched the envelope in his hands.
“How exactly did you get inside the front gates?” Patrick asked.
Victor shrugged. “I walked through.”
And he walked right back out. The keeper tried to catch him, but he slipped away smoothly, blending into the darkness.