He settled his hand on my sleeve for a brief second. “If he comes after me, I plan on standing my ground. I will have my sayin court, and if I must spend a decade in jail, so be it. At least I will do so with conviction on my side.”
While I admired his fortitude, I feared the very outcome he predicted. Knowing Moran like I did, he would face the accusations head-on. I both admired and despaired of his stubborn nature. Regardless, we had no choice but to wait and see the outcome.
Chapter Four
The Right Honorable Miss Bernice Namath
I entered the boarding house where I rented a flat and took the stairs to the third level. The clean but serviceable stairwell was clear of refuse, unlike the first flat we rented after moving from our ancestral home. Added to the stench of my previous abode was my obnoxious landlord, a man fond of bringing loose women back to his flat. My current landlady was quiet and hard of hearing, which was a blessing since I had four rambunctious younger sisters. Removing my hat and gloves, I tried to still my shaking hands. The interview went as well as to be expected but the arrival of the Met caught me off guard. My guilt over perpetrating a crime by not disclosing my father’s demise to his heir weighed heavily on my mind.
“Birdie, you’re home.” My sister Eloise peeked into the hallway and smiled at me in expectation. A year younger than I, she had lovely blonde hair and a sunny disposition. Together, we had taken on the challenging task of supporting our siblings. “Well?” she asked.
“I need a sherry.” I walked past her, needing fortification to calm my nerves. The savory scent of soup drifted from the stove in our small kitchen. The main room of the flat was spacious, and there were two bedrooms, one shared by the girls, ages fourteen to seven, and the other shared by Eloise and me.
She shut the door behind me.
“You didn’t get the position?” Eloise frowned, taking my hat and gloves from me. Her once beautiful hands were chapped from physical labor. The hospital never shut down, and she worked erratic shifts, anything to bring home more funds.
“I did, but it isn’t without complications.” I moved to the decanter and poured a sherry for each of us. The ruby liquid in the cheap crystal was very different from the custom glassware I had sold to supplement our income. Every half-penny counted.
“I am on pins and needles.” She settled into her favorite wing-back chair and tucked her shawl around her shoulders. Hand outstretched, she accepted the glass from me.
The room was chilly because we couldn’t afford to use much coal until the children returned from school. It stretched our budget to send them to school, but I didn’t wish to deprive them of an education. “I am sure you are. Well,” I plopped down into the chair across from her, my feet pinched from wearing stiff shoes. “First of all, Mr. Moran is, well, a curmudgeon, if truth be told.” A curmudgeon with eyes that looked right into my soul.
Eloise winced and drank from her glass, smoothing the apron she wore over her serviceable navy skirt. “Ugh. He is old and unpleasant?”
“Quite the contrary.” I shook my head, trying to suppress the surge of excitement that held me enthralled throughout the interview. “Well, he is rather abrupt in his manners, and he does scowl a lot.”
“You said he was a curmudgeon, I assumed he was old.” She laughed and drank more of her wine.
He had been much younger than I anticipated, and the way my body sparked at his simple glance added to my anxiety. “No, he isn’t old, and some might say he is handsome, I suppose.” Those arresting eyes had been direct, and I liked his forthrightness a bit too much.
“A handsome curmudgeon. Very interesting. However, you are upset, so I assume things didn’t go as planned.” Her expression stilled and grew serious. She frowned into her glass, her whitened knuckles giving away her concern. The odd hours she worked at the hospital were physically and mentally demanding. I feared for her health since she was exposed to a myriad of illnesses. One of the reasons I wanted to succeed was to get her out of the hospital so she could work in an office like me. In my mind, the agency would become the foundation of change for my family. As the daughter of a baron, I would use my influence to get my foot in the proverbial door at reputable businesses and fill their open positions accordingly.
“I obtained the position, and he didn’t squabble over my salary, indeed he offered me more.” His demand for secrecy was my greatest concern. In hindsight, I should have asked more questions, except it was hard to remain on point under his intense scrutiny. He had warned me that he was a hard task master, thus the reason for a larger salary. Perhaps it was a weakness on my part, but I wanted to prove to him that I could handle whatever he threw at me.
“He offered you more?” Eloise’s earlier grimace disappeared, and curiosity lit her eyes. “How much more?”
“A third more.” I pressed my lips together, my thumb playing along the stem of my glass. I pulled the piece of paper out of the cloth bag tied to my wrist and handed it to her. “Here, see for yourself. There is a caveat, however.”
“Did he make advances on you?” Eloise stared hard at me, clutching the employment agreement in her hand. She had gone through three positions as a governess before finding work in the hospital as a nurse. During her time in domestic service, it came to light just how many degenerate heads of households preyed on pretty faces.
“No, no, nothing like that. He, well, he kept asking me if I was prone to fainting.” It was a very odd conversation to have until the inspector showed up. Ashton aroused my deepest fears and uncertainties about my plan to cover up my father’s death. Except I had to think about my sisters’ welfare. They were all much younger than Eloise and me. My father remarried after my mother died, but my stepmother passed away giving birth to my youngest sister, a child of seven.
“I would hardly think not, you are rarely rattled, which is why I am concerned that you seem rattled now.” She leaned forward, her gaze locked on mine. While her expression remained serious, eagerness shone in her eyes. “Please, tell all.”
