Chapter ONE - Weebly

Boston. The day had grown warm, and a steady wind
blew in off the harbor, carrying the scent of rain.
He walked back up Water Street and School
Street, passing King’s Chapel once more, and also the
Granary Burying Ground, before turning onto Beacon
Street. The night before, while waiting for Ezra Corbett
in the merchant’s sitting room, Ethan had remarked to
himself how much nicer Corbett’s home was than his
own. Now, walking past the mansions at the base of
Beacon Hill, he wondered if Corbett felt the same way
when he came to call on men like Berson.
Referring to these manors as houses failed to do
them justice. They might have been situated within the
bounds of the city, but they resembled the country
estates of Braintree, Milton, and Roxbury as much as
they did even the finer houses of the North End.
Beacon Street itself was clean and pleasant, offering
fine views of the hill. There were no beggars asking for
coin or miscreants lurking in alleys. Each house had its
own stone wall and iron gate, and the grounds
surrounding the homes were neat and well tended.
Abner Berson’s home was no more grand than