All of them gasped. She wasn’t sure she would actually find a lover, but she wanted to pretend for now she would. She was tired of worrying about what others thought or what her husband wanted, for that matter.
“You can’t really be planning to seek out a lover,” Annie said scandalized.
Of course, as she should be, Clara thought. Sam was her brother. She realized what she’d said was highly inappropriate. She stood and said, “Perhaps not a lover, but I am ready to have fun and now I have my husband’s permission to do so.”
“Clara...” Mercy started.
“I understand this may be awkward for you, and I appreciate everything you have done for me, but I think it is time for me to accept my marriage for what it is. If you will excuse me, I think I will return home,” Clara said.
With that, Clara walked away, her head held high. Her heart hammered in her rib cage. She wasn’t sure what she should feel right now, perhaps sadness. Should she be shedding tears that her husband didn’t want her? She pressed her lips together as she made her way to her carriage. No sadness wasn’t what she felt. It was anger. Bloody Kincaide!
~
Sam walked into the Kincaide Travel building in a foul mood. The damage to theSS Delphinwas causing all types of problems with their schedule. He was happy that their most recent ship theSS Asterwould be sailing to New York in the next week on its first voyage.
Every time he saw the ship he was reminded of Maggie and Joseph. He and his siblings had named the ship after them. They would have loved it. He smiled; well, they would have but Maggie would have given him a hard time about the decor. All of their ships were overly lavish, but they had taken it up a notch with the SS Aster. She would have rolled her eyes and told him it was too much, that he was trying too hard.
He missed her so much. He loved both her and Joseph but as a former pickpocket herself, he and Maggie had formed a special bond.
His thoughts were interrupted by Abigail, who peeked out of her office and said, “You have a letter, and Mr. Tomlin and I wanted to speak with you about an idea we had.”
He sighed and Abigail immediately recoiled. “It doesn’t have to be now. I’m sorry to disturb you.”
He cursed himself inwardly for being the cause of Abigail’s reaction. She had grown stronger and stronger every day now that she was away from London, but he knew the scars she had from Dolan lay just below the surface. Sam forced himself to smile and ignore his foul mood. “Of course, I have time for you and Mr. Tomlin.”
Mr. Tomlin ran the day-to-day operations of Kincaide Travel from Liverpool when Sam or Jack couldn’t be there, which was often. He was an older man who seemed very old-fashioned but surprisingly had not complained when Sam had insisted Abigail be given work in the office.
Sam entered Abigail’s little office and Mr. Tomlin stood beaming.
“Hello, sir. Abigail has come up with a splendid idea. We wanted to run it past you.”
Sam maneuvered his large frame into one of the small chairs and Mr. Tomlin sat in the other. Abigail made her way around the desk and then pulled a stack of journals out of a drawer, and Sam realized they all contained prints of theSS Delphinon the cover.
“Where did you get these?” Sam asked, intrigued.
Abigail and Mr. Tomlin smiled at each other, and she said, “I was speaking with Mr. Tomlin about how we could help offer something new to the passengers who travel with Kincaide Travel. We came up with the idea of journals. They could use them on the ship but also take them home with them.”
“She says ‘our idea’ but all I did was give her the money to get this first batch of journals printed,” Mr. Tomlin said.
She smiled at Mr. Tomlin and then turned back to Sam. “There is a new type of printing called electrotyping that one of the printing shops is using. It helps reproduce art such as your drawing of the ship, quickly. I spoke with the shop, and they said, if you like them, for a reasonable price they could supply enough journals for every voyage on every ship.”
Sam sat back amazed; Abigail had come up with such a clever idea. Not that she wasn’t smart, she clearly was, but just a few weeks ago he could barely get her to speak or look anyone in the eyes. He held the journal in his hand, looking at theSS Delphinprint. It made him think of his wife and hisSS Delphindissection. For a brief moment he wondered what she would think of the journals. He pushed the thought from his mind.
“I think this is a very inventive idea. Let’s start with theSS Delphin. We can add them before her next voyage and see what the travelers think. She is still getting repairs, but she should be ready for her next sail date. If they seem to like them, we can add them to theSS LarkandSS Aster,” Sam said.
Abigail clapped her hands in excitement. He smiled at her and stood, taking one of the journals. “I would like to keep one.”
“Of course,” she said.
He walked to the door and turned one last time to see Mr. Tomlin and Abigail grinning at each other. He smiled. At least one thing was going well. “Really well done Abigail.”
He was striding down the hallway toward his office, when from her office door, Abigail said, "Mr. Kincaide, I almost forgot. You have a letter."
She practically skipped over to him and placed it in his hand. She beamed at him. “Thank you again, Mr. Kincaide, for taking the chance.”
He smiled, before heading to his office. Once settled, he looked at the handwriting and saw it was another letter from Addie. The Ball of Sin was in two days. He didn’t want to know about his wife’s adventures. Still, unable to stop himself, he unfolded the letter and read,
You dolt. I am not sure what game you're playing with your wife, but rumor has it that Sebastian Devons plans to make her his lover the night of the ball. Do you really not care?
