City of Betrayal

Book 7: A Counterfeit Lady Novel

by Victoria Thompson

Genres: General Fiction; Historical Fiction; Mystery; Historical Mysteries; Female Sleuths

Synopsis

Elizabeth Bates's latest con just might change the course of history in an all-new Counterfeit Lady Novel from USA Today bestselling author Victoria Thompson.

A year has passed since Elizabeth Bates ran her last con. Life has been simpler, although not nearly as exciting, but she has thrown herself into working to get the 19th Amendment ratified by thirty-six states to become the law of the land. Since every other Southern state has already rejected the amendment, it seems unlikely Tennessee will be an exception . . . but it's their only hope, so the suffragists descend on Tennessee for the final battle.

Elizabeth’s ability to interact with difficult men and to persuasively explain all the advantages of allowing women to vote—all skills she perfected as a grifter—have made her a valuable member of the team. But she would never have expected the lengths to which some would go to keep the vote out of women's hands. She'll need to devise the perfect con or the suffragists' life's work could all be for nothing.

Release date: December 5, 2023

Publisher: Berkley

Print pages: 320

Sample

CHAPTER one

I knew it would be difficult, but I never dreamed it would be impossible," Elizabeth Miles Bates said, staring at the letter she'd been reading.

Her mother-in-law looked up from her knitting. "Are you talking about passing the amendment, dear?"

"Yes, I am. I'll never understand those people who are so dead set against allowing women to vote."

"What does Miss Paul's letter say? And I'm sure she doesn't say it's impossible."

Alice Paul was the leader of the National Woman's Party, the more radical of the two organizations that had been working for Woman Suffrage. Their demonstrations outside the White House had gotten many of their volunteers jailed. Elizabeth and her mother-in-law were among them.

"You're right, she doesn't say it's impossible," Elizabeth admitted, "but it is going to be nearly impossible. I thought that since thirty-five states have already approved the amendment, we could easily get the one more state that we need to make it the law of the land, but Miss Paul makes it clear that there is only one state left that might actually approve the amendment, and that state is Tennessee."

Mother Bates frowned. They both knew that almost every other Southern state had already rejected the amendment, and Tennessee was likely to join them. "Why is she so sure it comes down to Tennessee?"

"Since eight states have already rejected it, that leaves just five states that could approve it. We know North Carolina and Florida will never approve it, and the governors of Vermont and Connecticut have refused to call a special session of their legislatures even to vote on it. That means Tennessee is the only possible state left."

"If only we hadn't lost in Delaware," Mother Bates said sadly.

"That was such a disappointment. We were so sure . . ."

"Then we must be sure we will win in Tennessee. Is that what Miss Paul advises?"

Elizabeth looked down at the letter she still held. "Not exactly, but she is calling on all her volunteers to help in whatever way they can."

Mother Bates stopped her knitting needles and stared at Elizabeth. "Did she ask you to go to Tennessee?"

"Yes, she did," Elizabeth said with a sigh.

"That's a great honor. She knows how effective you've been in convincing legislators to vote for the amendment."

Elizabeth and Mother Bates had traveled to several other states to help lobby for the amendment. "Not in the South, though," Elizabeth reminded her.

"Then Tennessee will be the exception."

Elizabeth looked at the letter again. Miss Paul was quite eloquent in her praise of Elizabeth's ability to convince reluctant officials to support Woman Suffrage. If only she knew that Elizabeth's skills came from being raised by a con man to become a con artist herself. She could lie without blinking and charm even the most unappealing gentleman. When she had married Gideon Bates, she had thought her days of conning marks was over, but she had found her skills could come in handy in getting justice for people who could never get it any other way. She had used those skills several times to help her friends.

It had been almost a year since she'd run a con, though, unless she counted lobbying politicians for Woman Suffrage, which she probably should.

"I don't know what Gideon will say," Elizabeth murmured.

"What I'll say about what?" Gideon asked as he came into the parlor.

"Darling, I didn't hear you come home," Elizabeth said, jumping up to give him his welcome-home kiss. Mother Bates tactfully averted her eyes. "How was your day?"

"Boring as usual." Gideon was an estate attorney, so he rarely did anything exciting. "And don't change the subject. What is it you think I'll have something to say about and is that a letter you're holding?"

"It's from Alice Paul," his mother said helpfully.

Elizabeth sent her an exasperated look, which she ignored.

"Ah, I see. Where does Miss Paul want to send you now?" he asked, taking a seat on the sofa and pulling Elizabeth down beside him.

"Tennessee," Elizabeth said.

"In the summer? It gets awfully hot down there in the summer."

"It gets awfully hot in New York in the summer," Elizabeth countered.

Gideon shrugged. "I'm just warning you. Why does she need you in Tennessee?"

"Because it's our only hope." Elizabeth and Mother Bates took turns explaining the situation and how dire it now appeared.

"Does Miss Paul really believe Tennessee will approve the amendment?" he asked when they finished.

"We don't know, but I think we can all agree that they must," his mother said.

"I hope they know that," Gideon said with a grin.

"They will when we tell them," his mother said.

"We?" Gideon echoed.

"You can't think I'd let Elizabeth go to Tennessee by herself when I could help, too."

Elizabeth gave her a grateful smile.

Gideon frowned. "You need to know what you're getting into."

"We've done this before," Elizabeth reminded him.

"Yes, but not when it was down to the wire like this. Some of the other fights have been hard, but the Antis will bring out all their dirty tricks for this one," Gideon said, using the nickname for those who were anti-Woman Suffrage. "Politics can be an ugly business, and when so much is at stake, it gets even uglier."

His mother smiled a little. "Surely, you don't think those Southern gentlemen will do anything unpleasant."

"Oh no," Gideon said. "They'll be smiling very sweetly as they stab you in the back."

"But we have to go," Elizabeth said. "After all we've done for the Cause, we can't sit by now and just watch. What if we lose in Tennessee? I'd never forgive myself for not doing my part."

"I'm not saying you shouldn't go," Gideon said.

"And I'm very happy to see that you also aren't telling her she can't go," Mother Bates said with some satisfaction.

"I wouldn't dare," Gideon replied with a smirk.

Elizabeth knew her father had warned him that forbidding her to do something only guaranteed that she would do it. "Then we'll go."

"And I'm going with you, too," Gideon said.

"Do you think we need your protection?" Elizabeth said in surprise.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that, but I'm sure the Suffs can use some male help. Those legislators can be difficult to track down, and they go places that ladies can't go. As a member of the Men's Ratification Committee, I feel it's my duty to volunteer."

"What about your law firm?" Elizabeth said. "We don't even know how long it will take."

"Mr. Devoss will insist that I go when I tell him I'm needed to protect my mother."

"Gideon," Mother Bates scolded, but Elizabeth noticed her cheeks were pink. Mr. Devoss was very devoted to her mother-in-law.

"Do we know Mr. Devoss's stand on Woman Suffrage?" Elizabeth asked.

"I believe Mother convinced him to support it," Gideon said.

His mother glared at him, but he ignored her.

"Then he will certainly let you go to Tennessee," Elizabeth said. "It shouldn't take very long, should it? Surely only a few days. It will be a special session of the legislature and they'll only be considering the amendment."

"Do we know when it will be held?" Gideon asked.

"Not yet. Miss Paul isn't even certain the governor will call it. He's afraid if he shows he supports Woman Suffrage, he won't win his primary on . . ." Elizabeth glanced at Miss Paul's letter to verify the date. ". . . on August fifth, so it will be after that."

"Tennessee in August," Mother Bates said with a mock shudder.

"Another reason the legislators won't want to linger," Gideon said. "But won't they need people there ahead of time to get the legislators to pledge their votes?"

"According to Miss Paul, the Tennessee chapter of the Woman's Party is sending their members out across the state to find the men at their homes and get their pledges."

"So they'll know how many votes they have even before the session starts," Mother Bates added.

"What if they don't have enough?" Gideon asked.

"Then they'll start trying to convince those who wouldn't pledge or who seemed undecided to vote to approve," Mother Bates said.

"And keep those who did pledge to vote for it from changing their minds," Elizabeth said.

"No easy task, I'm sure," Gideon said. "Don't forget that very powerful forces are determined to stop the amendment from becoming law."

"How could we forget?" Elizabeth said. "The railroads and the whiskey men and the textile manufacturers. They're all afraid that if women get the vote, they'll want to end things like corruption and child labor."

"The whiskey men can't still be worried that women would insist on Prohibition since we already have it," Gideon argued.

Elizabeth smiled wisely. "It seems they're worried women will insist that the laws are enforced."

"Ah, I see," Gideon said. "But Tennessee was already dry for years before Prohibition."

"I hope you aren't too surprised to learn that law wasn't really enforced, either," his mother said.

"I can see I should have gone with you on these trips sooner," Gideon said. "I'm hopelessly naïve."

"Not hopelessly," Elizabeth said, patting his arm. "We'll make sure you're properly educated by the time we go to Tennessee. We have a few weeks, if the governor isn't going to call the session until after his primary."

"Maybe he'll schedule it for later in the year, when it will be cooler," Mother Bates said hopefully.

"Oh no, we want it as soon as possible so women have time to register to vote in the November elections," Elizabeth said. "Just think, they'll get to vote for a new president this year."

"But only if we can convince enough of those Tennessee gentlemen to support the amendment," Mother Bates said.

"I have every confidence that the two of you will succeed and all the women in America will be able to vote in the November election," Gideon said.

Elizabeth decided she needed to kiss her husband again, and this time Mother Bates didn't even look away.


Is there something good in the gossip column today?” Anna Vanderslice asked as she breezed into the Bateses’ library to find Elizabeth studying the newspaper.

Elizabeth looked up and smiled at her friend. "I'm sure there is, but I haven't gotten to the gossip column yet. I'm looking for some news about Tennessee."

Anna plopped down on the chair opposite Elizabeth's. "You don't think a New York newspaper will have news about Tennessee, do you?"

"Not usually, but the Tennessee primary election was two days ago, and the governor won his contest, so I'm hoping he'll call the legislature into special session pretty soon."

"That's right. I almost forgot. Are you still planning to go?" Anna asked, pulling off the gloves ladies were required to wear even in summer to protect their hands. Then she started fanning herself with them. "I asked your maid to get us something cool to drink. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all. It's very warm today, although Gideon keeps warning me it will be much hotter in Nashville."

"You'll be too busy to even notice," Anna predicted. "I should go with you."

"I would love that," Elizabeth said, "but who would look after your mother?"

Anna sighed. "I know. I can't leave her. She's lost interest in just about everything. She won't even see her friends when they call. It's gotten even worse since my classes ended and I'm home all the time now. She is content to let me wait on her hand and foot. I don't know what I'll do with her when I go back to school in the fall." Anna was attending college, studying to be a teacher.

"Does she still . . . ?" Elizabeth started but caught herself.

"Does she still talk about David all the time?" Anna finished for her. "Oh yes. Sometimes I can hardly bear it."

David was Anna's brother who had died in the flu epidemic almost two years earlier. He had also been Gideon's best friend. "I'm so sorry," Elizabeth said.

"Yes, well, let's not dwell on that," Anna said with forced cheerfulness. "Did you find out anything about Tennessee?"

"Not a word, not even in the front section."

"Why would it be in the front section with the real news?" Anna asked with mock amazement. She was as involved in the Cause as Elizabeth was, having been imprisoned with her and Mother Bates as well. "Everyone knows that news about Woman Suffrage belongs in the women's pages."

"I thought maybe because it involved the governor and politics, they might put it in the front, but no, nothing."

"I'm sure Miss Paul will let you know as soon as she hears. And you can go on short notice since you don't have to . . ."

Elizabeth looked up in surprise when Anna stopped in the middle of her sentence. "Since I don't have to what?"

"Nothing," Anna said sheepishly, not quite meeting her eye.

That was when she realized what Anna had been about to say and why she hadn't said it. "Since I don't have children to worry about," she finished for her friend.

"I'm so sorry," Anna said quickly, obviously ashamed to have brought up the sensitive subject. Elizabeth and Gideon had been married well over a year with no hint of a baby, a lack Elizabeth mourned, albeit quietly.

"That's all right," Elizabeth said with a false smile. "I don't have children yet, so I should take advantage of that freedom. I just hope we have enough time to make our travel arrangements. The Woman's Party is low on funds, so I don't think Miss Paul will be wasting money on long-distance telephone calls or telegrams."

"Low on funds?" Anna scoffed, taking Elizabeth's hint to change the subject. "Won't Mrs. Belmont help them out?" The wealthy Mrs. Belmont was the main benefactor for the Party.

"I don't know, but Miss Paul also asked me for a donation when she wrote to invite me to go to Tennessee."

"She's always asking for donations," Anna reminded her.

"This one sounded a little desperate, though. I know she'll want to go to Tennessee herself so she can direct the volunteers."

"Yes, this is much too important to leave it to anyone else."

"Which is why I sent her some money," Elizabeth said.

"I'll send some, too, although it won't be much. Mother still refuses to understand that we need to economize since we don't have David to support us anymore."

"That's kind of you. I do wish you could go with us."

Anna smiled mischievously. "Yes, we could have a wonderful time with those legislators. Do you think we could run a con to get them to support the amendment?"

Elizabeth gave her a disapproving glare. "I should never have let you kill me." As part of a con, Anna had once pretended to murder Elizabeth, which had ironically saved Elizabeth's life.