“Oh. You’re an orphan? I’m so sorry.”
“Not an orphan,” Silas corrected. “Just no bloody family worth speaking of.”
Beside him, his friend buried his face in his hands.
Miss Danby, seeing that she was quite alone now, made a valiant effort to keep up appearances. “Do you, er, have much experience at card play?”
If they’d started with this question, Silas might have had a hope of saying the right thing. After all, he knew all the rules to any games they might offer here and he was good with numbers. Those were the only skills he would need, weren’t they? But it was far too late now. It had been too late from the moment she asked about his discharge.
“When we can manage to get a few minutes of rest from our duties, we often play cards at sea,” Silas explained. “I’m sure I can handle this.”
As he’d expected, this reassurance did nothing to salvage the conversation that was burning down around their ears.
Miss Danby gave a tight smile, speaking through clenched teeth. “Eli, might I have a private word?”
Time to put me out of my misery.
Silas rose to his feet and left them both with a curt nod. He shut the door behind him to silence their frantic whispering. He didn’t blame Miss Danby for turning him out, but that didn’t mean he wanted to overhear her reasons.
He would owe Williams an apology. After the man put in a good word for him, he’d gone and thrown it away.Typical.But what else could Silas have done? It was Williams’s own damn fault for telling them about his discharge from the navy. He shouldn’t have spread the tale if he didn’t want them asking questions about it. And once they asked questions, what else could Silas say?
He’d punched his captain and he didn’t regret it. The man was a bloody monster. The only thing Silas regretted was what the decision had cost him.
The door to the office opened again and Williams slipped out, shutting it behind him.
“Whathappenedback there?” he hissed.
“I told you I wasn’t good at small talk.”
“You practically terrorized Miss Danby! Were youtryingto muck it up?”
“Of course not.”
Or maybe I was.Silas didn’t know what he was doing anymore.
“She wouldn’t stop asking about my discharge,” he explained. “What was I supposed to say?”
“Anything butthat.” Williams passed a hand over his brow, looking tired. “Luckily for you, Miss Danby is exceptionally forgiving. She’s agreed to give you a chance, but you have to promise not to act that way in front of the ladies, understand?”
Silas was too stunned to reply. He’d thought he was done. More than thought it—he’dknownit without any doubt. Why should they want to give him a second chance?
Even his own family hadn’t given him that.
“No cursing.” Williams was still talking. “You aren’t at sea anymore. Be polite and don’t make any sharp remarks. Don’t mention your service or your family or anything else that makes you angry. And most of all, smile more.”
“Smile?” Silas echoed. He couldn’t be serious.
“Yes. It puts people at ease. You scowl all the time and it isn’t helping you.”
Silas heaved an enormous sigh and forced his lips to turn upward. It felt like his face was wincing.
Williams recoiled. “That’sworse,” he said. “How is that worse?”
“So no smiling, then?”
“Let’s just get you over to your table and I’ll show you the ropes. I can’t stay long, though. My mother is visiting and she’s been suffering headaches lately. I promised to stop by the apothecary for her.”
“I’m sorry,” Silas replied automatically. “I hope it’s nothing serious.”
