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The first time Henry meets with Nora Holleran, he’s got his sister with him. Using her is the most logical way to get into a dress shop without looking suspicious.
The letter he’d received from Alex had simply given her name and address; Henry was left to assume she was another member of the ring.
“Oh, Henry!” Bea gasps dramatically and Henry has to tamp down the urge to roll his eyes. An actress his sister is not. “I’ve heard such wonderful things about Miss Holleran. Can we please go in? I’m in desperate need of a new dress for the party at the summer solstice.”
“A little much, Beatrice,” Henry murmurs out of the corner of his mouth. Aloud, though not quite as aloud as his sister, he says, “Of course.”
Henry pulls open the door and allows Bea to enter. There are three other people in the shop: a girl, likely in her mid to late teens, an older woman whose nose is turned up at a rather voluminous dress, and a woman who looks vaguely familiar but whom Henry can’t place.
The woman he assumes to be Miss Holleran bustles out of the back with a wrapped parcel. “Mrs. Langley,” she says, her voice gravelly and low, “I’ve got your package ready for you.”
The old woman sniffs and takes it. “Much obliged, Miss Holleran. I’ll be sure to tell Lucy you send your regards.”
“Please do,” Miss Holleran says and Henry can tell by the tightness at the corner of her lips that she doesn’t mean that at all.
Nora glances up and meets his eyes, the tightness on her face morphing into a slow smirk. Henry has to bite back the urge to gulp nervously. Luckily, she moves on to the younger girl, who asks her a multitude of questions Henry can’t begin to understand. His sister, however, looks terribly interested. To his shock, she inserts herself into their conversation. The girl looks nervous at first, probably because Bea’s accent is still as strong as it was the day they left England, but she quickly loosens up and engages with both Nora and his sister, chatting happily about … fabrics or something.
Henry is already regretting coming here despite the letter from Alex telling him it was quite necessary.
Henry feels like a total knob just standing in a dress shop while his sister speaks with the proprietor, who is likely to be one of Henry’s new contacts. He’s got no interest in the clothing nor does he have anything to contribute to the conversation.
He can feel his mind wandering where it usually does when he has a free moment: to Alex.
He wants to know how Alex knows Miss Holleran. He hopes it’s because of June but he can’t be certain. Alex has been gone a long time and despite their private meetings, there’s nothing to say Alex is abstaining while away. He knows Alex has a preference for both men and women - or doesn’t have a preference? - and with him at war, he’s probably lonely and—
“Henry.” His sister’s voice, sharp, cuts through his daze. The young woman has left the shop and now it’s just the one who looks somewhat familiar along with him, Bea and Miss Holleran. “I was asking what color you thought would be most appropriate for grandfather’s party.”
“Oh, erm,” he begins, wincing. “Something … summery?”
“He’s dreadful at this,” Bea tells Miss Holleran with a grin. “Really, I’ve no idea why I brought him in here.”
Miss Holleran clearly looks him up and down. “Whatever the reason, Miss Mountchristen, I’m certainly glad you did.”
Right.
Miss Holleran moves around the shop with ease, showing off ideas and colors to Bea, but her eyes keep coming back to him. It’s making him more nervous than it probably should; they’ve only just met, at Alex’s insistence. There’s no way she’s actually …
“Mr. Mountchristen,” she calls and Henry turns to meet her gaze. “I actually tailor men’s clothing as well. I can see you’ve got a seam coming loose.” He absolutely does not . “Why don’t you come back into my dressing room and I’ll take care of it for you?”
For a moment, Henry panics. He can’t be seen going into the back room with a woman he barely knows at all. Rumors would—
His wild thoughts are cut off when Nora glances meaningfully at the other woman in the shop out of the corner of her eye and then back to Henry. “It’ll only take a moment or two. And Miss Mountchristen can finish looking at the dresses to choose one for the party in the summer.”
Henry glances at his sister and then at Miss Holleran. Not trusting his voice, he nods and motions to the curtains separating the front of the shop from the back.
There’s no way this goes well for him.
As soon as the curtain swishes closed behind them, Nora is grabbing him by the jacket and pulling him so he crowds her against the opposite wall. She’s short, barely up to his shoulders, so his entire body is covering hers.
It’s the first time he’s ever been in a position like this with a woman and all it does is confirm that he is very, deeply, uninterested in women.
It also scares the shite out of him because someone could see them .
The way Miss Holleran is smirking up at him tells him that’s exactly what she’s hoping will happen.
“Bend your head a little closer,” she murmurs, bringing her leg around his to hook an ankle behind his calf.
“What’s happening?” he murmurs and is slightly embarrassed to hear a tremor in his voice.
“That woman out there is Colonel Marsh’s wife. She comes in occasionally. Never buys anything.”
“Gathering information,” he finishes.
“Mhm,” she agrees and brings a hand up to run her fingers through the hair at the back of his neck. Her other hand slips a piece of paper into the interior pocket of his coat. With a smirk, she shoves him backwards and tugs on a button. “Glad I could be of service, Mr. Mountchristen,” she says, her voice carrying slightly. All for show.
“We should see if my sister is ready,” he tells her, the volume of his voice matching hers.
With a swish of her dress, she passes him by heads back out into the main shop. Henry’s not positive, but he’s pretty sure his new cover is going to be a “clandestine” relationship with Miss Holleran.
Brewster’s going to have a field day with this.
–
He goes back to see Nora in early February. The roads are difficult to pass because of snow and ice but he knows with so many British in the city she’ll have a ton of information to pass on. Pez has been keeping a diary worth of notes and using whatever methods he can to get them to Henry, so he’s certain Nora has information as well.
Part of him wonders why she can’t get the letters to someone else; the other part knows why he’s most convenient.
When he walks into her shop, she’s alone. It’s not surprising given how cold it is outside, but it still makes him relax a little. They can be seen together through the window but there’s no need for him to be pressed against her.
He misses Alex.
“You’re looking well,” she tells him with a smile. “If not a little … frozen.”
“It’s bloody freezing out there,” he tells her, stepping closer. Doing this, meeting with Nora, makes him feel like more of a spy than meeting with Brewster does.
Then again, meeting with Brewster is a chore; meeting with Miss Holleran is … less so.
She doesn’t push him the way Liam does.
“Mrs. Marsh has been in three times this week,” she informs him as she pulls him into a hug and slips a folded piece of paper into the waist of his pants. He jumps a bit and she chuckles lowly. “Not even trying to hide that she’s spying for her husband.”
“Give her anything good?” he asks with a smirk, pulling back and taking one of her hands in his.
She shrugs demurely. “She may think there’s a contingent of rebels forming around a former loyalist down by the river. If she was listening as closely as I think she was, at least.”
Henry nods and brings Nora’s hand to his lips, smirking a little. It’s kind of fun doing this with her. “Care to show me the dress you’re preparing for my sister?”
“As if you’ll appreciate it properly,” she grins, eyes casting over to where someone is paused by the front window. Henry can’t tell who it is because they’ve got so many layers on, but he allows Nora to lead him into the back anyway.
They both need the cover of a relationship to explain why he’s in New York City so much.
–
It’s not until after their March meeting, in which Henry had taken Nora to Pez’s coffee shop, that he realizes exactly how well their cover is working.
“Never would have guessed you’d find yourself in a relationship with a lady in New York City,” Liam says as Henry approaches their meeting spot on the last day of the month.
“Oh?” he asks, a little grin on his face. “What’ve you heard?”
“That Stephen Mountchristen’s youngest grandson has taken up with a woman in the city,” he says idly, chomping down on an apple. “Nora Holleran.”
“Hmm,” Henry responds. “Who’d you hear that from?”
“More than one person,” Liam answers. “Okonjo’s coffee shop is an interesting place to take her on a date.”
“Percy and I are friends,” Henry shrugs. “Nice to give him some business while spending time with my, erm, ladyfriend.”
Liam barks out a laugh. “You couldn’t look more uncomfortable saying that.”
Henry glowers and pulls his most recent letter plus one from Nora and one from Percy out of his jacket pocket. “When are you going to camp?” he asks.
“About a week or so,” Liam says. “I have business I need to take care of before I go. Washington has me on a separate mission right now.”
“Why he trusts you, I’ll never know.”
Liam grins and chucks the apple core into the trees. “Because I am very, very good at seeing things I shouldn’t see.”
Henry’s face falls and his blood runs cold. He’s not sure if it’s a treat, an admission or just a brag, but he worries Liam has seen something about him that he shouldn’t have. “Are you?” he asks.
“I wouldn’t be spying for Washington if I wasn’t, Mounty,” he smirks.
“Stop calling me that,” Henry grumbles despite knowing it’ll never happen.
“Anyway,” Brewster says as he shoves the letters into what Henry hopes is a hidden pocket in his trousers but believes probably isn’t , “I should get going. Lots of information to gather. And plenty to relay too.” He smirks in a way that Henry is certain can’t be good. “Anything you want me to tell our mutual friend?”
“Everything he needs to know is in my letter,” he responds shortly.
“Somehow I doubt that.” Liam gives him a jaunty salute and heads back to his boat. “I’m sure I’ll be seeing you soon.”
“Lucky me,” Henry says flatly and his companion just grins.
“Bye, Mounty! Tell your ladyfriend hello for me!”
Henry scowls at him but doesn’t dignify his request with a response.
Liam’s laughter echoes through the cove and follows Henry all the way back to the house.