Dawn on a Distant Shore by Sara Donati

under
Schuyler in the last war, and so did Nathaniel," Runs-from-Bears pointed
out.
    "Nathaniel fought
with our Kahnyen'kehâka warriors," Falling-Day corrected him.
    Elizabeth said,
"In any case, the idea of Nathaniel as a spy for France is absurd, and I'm
sure they are aware of that. It is only an excuse to hold them there."
    Hannah's face
crumpled. "They hang spies."
    "No," Otter
said quickly. "At least, not straight off. Iona says that Carleton himself
is supposed to question them, but he won't be in Montréal before May. So
there's enough time for Bears to get up there with the gold." He cast an uneasy
glance in Liam's direction, but the boy was watching Hannah, and clearly had
not understood.
    Elizabeth held out an
arm and Hannah came to her, her face a misery. "Squirrel," Elizabeth
said, using her Kahnyen'kehâka name. "Do you hear? There is time." Pray
God , she added to herself, her mind racing madly over the few facts she
had, and a hundred questions that could not be answered.
    Falling-Day turned to
Bears. "You will start north tomorrow. Surely the gold will help."
    "The gold will do
no earthly good at all," said Elizabeth softly, smoothing Hannah's hair.
"Bears has no way to know whom to approach. Is that not true?"
    Reluctantly,
Runs-from-Bears nodded.
    Hannah pulled on
Elizabeth's sleeve. "There must be a way."
    "There is a
way," said Elizabeth firmly. "But there is no time to waste. There is
somebody in Albany who can help."
    Bears raised a brow.
"Phillip Schuyler won't be any use in Montréal. He and Somerville are old
enemies."
    "Perhaps General
Schuyler could not sway Somerville," Elizabeth conceded. "But I doubt
even Somerville would ignore the son and heir of the chief justice of the
King's Bench."
    At this switch to
English, Liam sat up with a quizzical look. "By God," he said.
"Who would that be?"
    "Cousin Amanda's
husband, Will Spencer, Viscount Durbeyfield," said Hannah. "You remember,
Liam. They came to visit with Elizabeth's aunt in the summer. They haven't gone
back to England yet."
    "Spencer is in
Albany?" Otter asked.
    "Yes," said
Elizabeth. "I had a letter from them recently."
    "Well,
then," said Liam with a great sigh of relief. "Send Will Spencer to
Montréal. He's a lawyer, ain't he? He'll get them out of gaol."
    Falling-Day was
watching Elizabeth closely, her head cocked to one side. "Bone-in-Her-Back,"
she said quietly, using Elizabeth's Kahnyen'kehâka name. "Would you send a
man to do work that needs a woman's understanding?"
    Elizabeth swallowed
hard. This was the question: would she have her cousin go to Montréal to try to
achieve a political end to this situation, or would she take it in her own
hands? The part of her that was still an English lady of good family could barely
conceive of the idea that she might travel so far in the middle of winter on
men's business, but there was another part, a stronger voice in her now. And
Falling-Day heard it, too, and understood that Elizabeth could not chance
Nathaniel's life, could not stand by while others fought for him.
    It was unthinkable,
and she would do it anyway.
    "I would
not," Elizabeth said. "I cannot."
    "Thayeri,"
said Falling-Day. It is proper so .
    For the first time
that day, Elizabeth felt she could breathe.
    At the open bedroom
door, Curiosity said, "You goin' to take those babies into the
wilderness?"
    Elizabeth started, and
came to her feet.
    "How could you
even think of such a thing? You always talkin' about bein' rational ."
    "Curiosity,"
Elizabeth said. "Let me tell you--"
    "I heard enough.
Don't need to hear no more." And Curiosity turned on her heel and disappeared
back into the bedroom.
    "She is the one
you must convince," said Falling-Day, reaching for her sewing. "She
is the first step in this journey."
     
    In the bedroom,
Curiosity was elbow deep in soapy water and dirty swaddling clothes.
    "You don't have
to do that," Elizabeth said.
    Curiosity hummed her
disagreement and never looked up.
    Elizabeth said,
"The way