Against the Tide (35 page)

It was the cook’s day off, but Lydia’s appetite had returned with a vengeance, and she had a craving for macaroni with cheese. Bane insisted they were up to the challenge. From her work at the
bakery, Lydia knew how to fire up the stove, but she had never been trusted with handling the food. Bane had even less experience, but plenty of confidence.

“After all, we have a recipe book and all the proper ingredients,” he had said. “How hard can it be?”

An hour later, the formerly pristine kitchen was strewn with milk spatters and bread crumbs. Lydia sat at the worktable and stared at the sad results of their labors. “How can macaroni be both burned
and
undercooked?” she asked as she stared at the scorched crust of cheese that covered the crunchy pasta.

Bane lounged against the wall of the kitchen, completely useless, as he had been all morning. “I don’t know, but the sight of you with flour on your face while you pout at that mess is quite charming. Well worth the trouble we went through.”

“What trouble? I did all the work, the only thing you did was read the instructions. You must have read them wrong.”

“My reading skills are perfect,” he said. “You bear full responsibility for that catastrophe.” He pushed away from the wall and sauntered toward her, amusement twinkling in his eyes as he brushed flour dust off her nose, then leaned over to kiss her. “It is going to take a brave man to marry you, Lydia Pallas.”

He tossed the words off in an offhanded tone, but Bane never said anything he had not carefully thought out. Lydia’s eyes widened as she pulled back to stare at him, looking for a trace of mockery, but his smile was warm and his eyes were full of pride.

“Are
you
the brave man, Bane?”

“Indeed I am. And I can think of no higher privilege than sharing my life with you.” He reached inside his pocket and set a simple gold band on the counter. “Are you up for it?”

The smile that lit her face was so broad it almost hurt. “So you don’t think I am addicted to opium anymore?”

Bane shook his head. “I think you have conquered that particular battle. Now that the Professor is safely locked away, I can settle down anywhere in the world, but the only place that holds any attraction for me is right beside you. There are more battles to fight, more laws to be passed. I would like to work toward those goals with a wife by my side. And I’m afraid no one but you will do.”

Lydia’s heart raced so fast she could hardly sit still. For so many lonely months she had longed for a normal life with Bane, and now here he was, offering himself to her with joy on his face.

She must not let him get the upper hand. It would be a terrible way to start a marriage. “Why would I marry a man so much prettier than I? It would be a daily humiliation.”

The warmth in Bane’s eyes did not flicker. He kissed the back of her hand and winked at her. “Think of all the embarrassment I will suffer marrying someone who is wealthier than I. People will say I married you for your fortune and that you married me for my looks. It is a dilemma.”

She could not stop grinning at him. “I suppose we should get married just so we can make each other miserable.”

She expected him to meet her with a typically irreverent quip, but Bane’s next words made her heart turn over. “Lydia, I want us to be married because you are the other half of my soul,” he said simply. “I never felt complete until I joined forces with you. Now I can’t imagine a life without you in it.”

She supposed she ought to say something equally reverent, but the lump in her throat prevented her from speech. Bane understood, and she smiled as his arms closed around her.

S
IX
M
ONTHS
L
ATER

T
he evening was cool and clear as the carriage rolled down the street, rocking gently as it bumped over the cobblestones. “I don’t have much of an appetite,” Lydia said to Bane, whose face was outlined by the bright moonlight streaming through the carriage window. How could she have an appetite when she was so nervous?

As always, Bane could sense her anxiety. “You’ll do fine, Mrs. Banebridge,” he said with confidence. Lydia could still barely believe she was married to this astounding man, but she had the gold band on her finger to prove it. “Last night you met three senators, two chief justices, and the Secretary of the Treasury, and you dazzled them all. Tonight will be child’s play in comparison.”

The glittering event last night had been at the Library of Congress to celebrate the largest donation in the library’s history. The books and manuscripts from Professor Van Bracken’s house were on display at the impressive gala attended by the most prominent members of Washington high society. The Professor had mounted
a futile legal battle from his cell on a remote island prison off the coast of Florida. He claimed he purchased the books lawfully and the government had no right to seize them. Legally, he was correct, but the government had estimated that the Professor owed thousands of dollars in uncollected taxes for two decades of smuggling opium. Since he could not pay that debt, the government had legitimately seized his assets to serve the public good.

Lydia was glad the books were no longer locked away in a secluded fortress where only one insane man had access to them. She implored Bane to keep her role in apprehending the Professor quiet, wishing only to forget about those horrible days in the mansion. Bane had honored her request for anonymity from the public, but everyone closely associated with the case was aware of what she had done.

Which was the cause for this evening’s dinner. “Just a small, intimate gathering,” Bane assured her, but could anything be small and intimate at the White House? The First Lady had heard of Lydia’s role in acquiring the treasure trove of rare books and wanted to welcome her to Washington.

Lydia sat a little straighter and adjusted her skirts. This was the world she had signed up for when she had joined her life with Alexander Banebridge’s. Two months after they had married, Bane had pulled some strings to get her essay about the abuse of opium in orphanages published in a national journal. The public exposure shamed the Crakken family into taking action against its continued use in their orphanage. The incident was Lydia’s first success in attacking the scourge of drug abuse, and she was eager to continue fighting the battle wherever it led. Most of the time she and Bane lived very modestly, having moved back into her apartment on the top floor of the Laughing Dragon. They traveled from city to city to promote legislation and groom the right sort
of political candidates to run for office, but Lydia always loved coming home to Boston.

The carriage rolled to a stop and Bane sprang out to assist her. She grasped her taffeta skirt to the side so she would not trip on her descent. Who would have thought the shoeless girl from the
Ugly Kate
would ever wear taffeta? Lydia had three fancy dresses to wear to special events such as these, but most days she dressed simply in modest cotton dresses that would befit a fisherman’s daughter.

As she walked through the front door of the White House, she paused to glance up at the full moon. “Can you believe it, Papa?” she whispered.

Bane heard her comment and squeezed her hand. She still talked to the full moon, only now she was certain someone was listening. First thing each morning and last thing before she fell asleep at night, Lydia uttered a simple prayer to God, giving thanks for the gift of Bane and a wonderful new purpose in life.

A
lthough Admiral Fontaine and his team of translators are entirely fictional, the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) was real. Despite the dramatic advances in naval technology in the second half of the nineteenth century, the U.S. government believed the Atlantic Ocean was a permanent buffer against naval threats and lost interest in developing the navy. The government invested the majority of military funding in westward expansion by funding the army and allowing the navy to slip into decline.

Established in 1882, the ONI’s early activities were entirely aboveboard. Naval attachés were sent on observation tours to the ports of Europe, where they gathered shipbuilding intelligence. They asked for and were given copies of blueprints. They interviewed industrial engineers. They took photographs of ports and weaponry. When asked for comparable information about the American navy, the naval attachés were authorized to provide it. This was a time of peace throughout most of Europe and America, and such activities were not regarded with suspicion. The naval attachés scooped up technical manuals, product catalogs, newspapers, and engineering journals, sending them all home to be translated at the ONI.

As for Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup, it was first marketed
in 1849 as a remedy for teething babies and restless children. No mention was made on its label about the healthy dose of opium it contained, and Mrs. Winslow’s was wildly popular in Europe and America. Advertisements touted “It soothes the child, softens the gums, allays all pain . . . the little cherub awakes bright as a button.” By the late nineteenth century, Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup was listed as the cause of widespread drug addiction and began appearing on children’s death certificates.

Agitation for reform of such medicines gathered momentum in the 1890s, but was met with fierce resistance from politicians, pharmacists, and newspapers, who relied on advertising from drug companies. It was the slow and steady drumbeat of doctors, reformers, and a few brave politicians who ultimately enacted state laws limiting opiates in medicine. In 1906, the Pure Food and Drug Act outlawed “poisonous patent medicines” on a national level. Although opium could still be sold over the counter, the law forbade the sale of preparations unless the ingredients were listed on the label. After Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup was forced to list opium on its label, the company was met with public outrage. Mrs. Winslow’s eventually eliminated opiates from their medicine in 1915. No longer an effective medicine, the company went out of business in the United States but still sold the syrup in England until 1930.

1. At the beginning of the book, Lydia is attracted to Admiral Fontaine, but she never pursues him because she thinks he is above her. Have you ever felt this way in a relationship? Is it possible to develop a healthy relationship when there are stark differences in class, upbringing, and educational backgrounds?
   
2. Lydia’s parents loved her, but were they
   good
   parents? Love is a requirement for any good parent, but what other qualities are necessary to provide a child with a strong foundation?
   
3. Opium was a legal drug in the nineteenth century; it did not carry the stigma it does today. Does the legal status of a drug change the way people perceive the dangers of use? Is there less shame in becoming addicted to a legal drug rather than an illegal one?
   
4. Lydia and Bane bend the law when they slip inside the Custom House to look for the opium smuggler. What is the difference between things that are illegal and immoral? Are there ever times when a Christian should ignore a law in order to work toward a higher purpose?
   
5. Bane’s childhood in the Professor’s mansion taught him the safest way to live was through cool detachment from emotion. Lydia’s obsessive need for order is a reaction to her early years of instability. Do you have any quirks that are echoes of something that happened in your childhood?
   
6. Despite her terrible childhood, Lydia is an optimistic person. Psychologists credit a sense of resilience to people who are able to maintain optimistic attitudes through times of trauma. On the flip side, many people are pessimistic despite a slew of good fortune. Is it possible to change this orientation, or is it simply the way we are wired?
   
7. Lydia never actually forgives the admiral for his harsh treatment of her. As a Christian, is she obligated to do so?
   
8. Bane manipulates people like the admiral, the granite mine owner, and even Lydia in order to advance his crusade against opium. Is it ever ethically acceptable to manipulate people for a higher cause? Do you predict his manipulative ways will continue in the future?
   

The Lady of Bolton Hill

The Rose of Winslow Street

Against the Tide

The Lady of Bolton Hill
features Bane’s life of crime with the Professor and how he breaks away when he encounters a lovely minister’s daughter he has been ordered to kidnap.

Clara Endicott has made a name for herself as a journalist in nineteenth-century Baltimore, but she still remembers the young man—a poor factory worker—she adored as a child. When Daniel Tremain grows up to become an industry giant, Clara encounters him once again. Despite his astonishing corporate victories, Daniel cannot forget the woman he idolized from the time he was an adolescent. As their rekindled love begins to flare, a scheming young villain named Alexander Banebridge threatens to ruin them both. Can Clara unravel the mystery in time to save the only man she has ever loved?