The Traitor's Wife: A Novel by Allison Pataki Read Free Book Online

off her features, and the sight of Peggy Shippen made Clara freshly nervous. She stared on, admiring Peggy’s genteel features, her soaring hair, her perfect attire.
    Caleb distributed the plates of meat evenly along the table andClara watched, studying his graceful movements, the way he served the family members without getting in their way as they sipped their wine. Judge Shippen was greeted reverentially by each member of the family as he took his spot at the head of the table and led the group in a short prayer of thanks.
    Beside the judge sat a man with a very similar likeness and a heavier frame. “That’s Doctor William Shippen.” Caleb was back by Clara’s side, whispering into her ear as they watched the family. “Doctor William is the judge’s brother.” Judge Edward was like his cousin, Doctor William, in many ways, but seemingly more of a deflated version—as if there was less flesh on his bones and a wearier spirit shining through his eyes.
    “Doctor William, unlike his brother, is known to be supporting the colonies,” Caleb explained.
    Clara nodded. This was a well-known piece of gossip. “But Miss Peggy seems to have openly loyalist tendencies,” Clara whispered, thinking back to the conversation she’d had earlier with her new mistress.
    Caleb considered this, his features folding into a casual, cockeyed grin. “Well, how many colonial men do you see in Philadelphia wearing store-bought suits, ready to serve her Champagne and caviar?” He stepped away to deliver a platter of sturgeon to the table.
    Across from Doctor William, occupying the middle of the table, sat the Shippen girls, Peggy and the other young lady whom Clara knew to be Betsy. She was a less striking version of her younger sister. Like Peggy, she dressed à la française, wearing a silk gown of light lavender with a yellow stomacher. Her hair was fixed in a low bun that seemed simple beside Peggy’s elaborate pouf . Her eyes were the same blue as her younger sister’s, but less alert, and as Clara observed their body language she determined that Betsy tookher cues from her sister, as if Peggy were the elder of the two.
    At the opposite end of the table from the judge sat the lady of the house, dressed in a simpler style than her two young daughters. “That’s Mrs. Margaret Shippen,” Caleb said, returning from the table, “the judge’s wife.” She wore a plain gown of plum-colored silk with no ornamentation, her neck covered by a white linen neckerchief that seemed all the more modest beside her daughters’ exposed bosoms. Mrs. Shippen had graying hair and wore nothing on her face except a tense expression, but she listened attentively as her husband spoke.
    “The French may be clamoring to enter into the war on the side of the colonies.” The judge took a slow, deliberate sip of wine, his lean fingers clutching the silver cup tightly. “But I tell you, brother, they will not. They can’t afford another war.”
    “Brother.” Doctor William’s voice boomed in comparison to the judge’s meek tones. “You have the kind and timid nature that assumes, I believe incorrectly, that monarchs arrive at their decisions by determining what is right and prudent, not by what is beneficial to their Empire. A chance to remove the British threat from this continent and ensure his hold over Canada? Of course Louis will join the war. The French have made that apparent after the colonial victory at Saratoga.” Doctor William paused. “Edward, am I expected to eat this meat by itself?”
    Caleb picked up the bowl of potatoes that Clara had not yet delivered, placing them in her hands. “Your turn, Clara Bell, they’re asking for the potatoes.”
    Clara hesitated. “Must I go in?”
    “You lived in the countryside swarming with Iroquois and you’re afraid to serve some potatoes?” Caleb teased her. “Follow me.” Caleb picked up a bowl of cranberry relish and led her into the dining room.
    The eyes of the judge and Mrs.