Jesse nodded again. Arthur rubbed his palms together as he walked to the door. As soon as he pulled it open, Charlotte slipped inside. Jesse’s cheeks burned. Charlotte had to have known that the two of them had been engaging in some sort of physical intimacy. Arthur, though, seemed not to be embarrassed in the least, even when Charlotte reached up to fix the last stray lock of hair that Jesse hadn’t managed to push back into place.
“Thank you,” Arthur said. “Are people looking for me?”
“Yes, but—” Arthur interrupted her with an exaggerated groan. Charlotte leveled a look. “Butnot who you probably think. One of the fair’s organizers showed up. Mr. Mitchell.”
Arthur’s face fell.
“You’re joking,” Arthur said.
“I wish I was.”
Arthur let out a huff. “Once the time reached eight fifteen or so, I feltcertainthat none of the organizers would come. What respectable person shows up to a party more than fifteen minutes late?” Arthur’s eyes flew wide, and his head snapped toward Jesse. “Oh my word, Jesse, that isnothow I meant it. Really, I can’t believe it came out like that. You’re a perfectly respectable person.”
Jesse let out a fast breath through his nose, almost a laugh, his mouth curling into a small smile even though his stomach was still topsy-turvy from the shock of Charlotte’s sudden knocking.
“It’s fine, Arthur. I know you weren’t trying to criticize me,” he said.
Well, mostly he knew that.
Arthur’s shoulders sagged a little with his next breath. “Thank you,” he said before facing Charlotte again. “Where is he? Upstairs?”
“Actually, no. He’s in the parlor. I’m not sure if he’s here for the party, exactly. Or, maybe he is, but Patrick said that he wanted to speak with you privately.”
Arthur looked over at Jesse. “Will you wait here?”
Jesse managed a nod.
Arthur hurried over and pressed a kiss to Jesse’s lips. Jesse’s heart stuttered as heat rushed to his cheeks. Holy hell, Arthur had kissed him right in front of Charlotte! Jesse’s head was still swimming as Arthur turned to leave.
Before Jesse could recover from the shock of being kissed in front of another person, Arthur and Charlotte were gone. And then Jesse was left alone.
After some time passed, Jesse started back toward the sofa and sat. One half hour went by. Jesse began to pick at his cuticles.
He startled when he heard a sudden click and turned to face the door.
A girl came into the library, seemingly lost in thought. It took her an extra second to notice Jesse, and then she let out a soft yip, staggering back a step.
“Arthur told me to wait here,” Jesse blurted out.
She seemed to relax a little and shut the door behind her. “Oh.” Narrowing her eyes, she took a tentative-looking step forward. “Are you Jesse O’Connor?”
Jesse crooked an eyebrow. “Yes?”
She nodded a few times as though taking this in. “I’m Arthur’s daughter.”
“Emma.”
She nodded once more. Before Jesse could reply, one corner of her mouth ticked up to form what looked like a teasing smile.
“You’re my father’sforever friend,” she said.
Jesse’s eyebrows shot up. “Hiswhat?”
“Just something he called you once.” She shrugged and continued toward the sofa. “He likes to believe that he’s clever, but I think I know what it means. I’ve heard him mention you to Charlotte a few other times, too, when they thought that I wasn’t listening. I know a lot more than they think.”
Jesse tried to swallow past the swell of fear that had settled in his throat. Emma heaved a sigh.
“I won’t tell anyone,” Emma said, rolling her eyes. “Mind if I sit?”
