“Out of the way. Out of the way.” A man called out, and all heads turned to the end of the street. A dozen Met constables, led by Stark and Ash, were approaching.
My pulse leaped at the sight of Ash. He never stayed mad at me long, but this time might be different.
“Disperse everyone.” Stark motioned to several men. “Get the traffic moving before we have a riot on our hands.”
Ash hurried to my side, his face flushed from the cold. “Is this man bothering you?” he asked.
“Someone else is bothering me more,” I said under my breath.
From the tilt of his mouth, he heard my comment. “Once we get this situation cleared up, we will talk. Right now, I think it is wise for you to go inside. We will handle this.” Ash didn’t wait for my reply but marched to where Brown stood. He glared at the older man. “Either you get down, or I will drag you down.”
“You can bend my body to your will, but you will never change my mind about the Lord and the work He has ordained me to do.” Brown made no move to comply.
“Come down.” Stark stared up at his grandfather without a hint of compassion in his expression.
Brown sneered at Stark. “You are defending the sinner. You were always a disappointment to the cause.”
“Come down, or I will have my men arrest you.” From his cold countenance, Stark was having none of it. He had told me he had no respect for his grandfather. No doubt he was embarrassed on the man’s behalf. My respect for him grew.
The other constables had wrangled the protestors together, and, one by one, they left. Many of the bystanders had since moved on and like them, I needed to move on from Birdie. It cut into my gut every time I thought of letting her go. She brought light into my life and challenged me, always brightening my days.
“Moran, please go inside,” Ash said.
With a nod, I turned on my heel, content with the knowledge that he would come to see me. He was my rock in a sea of uncertainty, and I loved him. I truly loved him. If Birdie was right, I might actually beinlove with him. After sending her away, it became clearer that I had stronger feelings for her. Losing Elizabeth had been a blow to my pride. Losing Birdie ripped a hole in my heart, one I wasn’t sure I could ever repair.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
The Right Honorable Miss Bernice Namath
I stared straight ahead while carriages and other people rushed by me on the busy street. My conversation with Moran rolled around in my head, and I didn’t even bother to stop the tears from falling. He had no idea my heart was broken. Or perhaps he didn’t care. He had told me who he was when I first met him, and I hadn’t taken him seriously. Of course, the man I had come to know was nothing like the man he pretended to be.
“Birdie, wait up,” Eloise called from behind me. I slowed my steps and blinked back tears. She reached my side, the apron she wore for work still protecting her grey skirt. The serviceable waist-length frogged coat had frayed sleeves. Nobody would even guess by the looks of it that she was a baron’s daughter.
“Eloise. I thought you had to work today.” I didn’t want to cry, except it was hard not to. He had promised me nothing nor made a single commitment toward me. Yet I yearned to be with him even now. I had thought myself capable of having an affair without involving my emotions like men do. Apparently, I miscalculated.
Her brow shooting up, she skimmed my face and laid her hand on my arm. “I am between shifts. What are you doing away from the office?”
The loaded question was nearly my undoing, and I tried my best to gain control over my roiling emotions before attempting to answer. “I was released from my position.”
“What? Oh my goodness, what happened? I thought things were going well.”
“They were, but something happened today, and I am afraid our secret might be out.” The panic I experienced earlier returned, fear quickening my steps once more. We turned onto Milk Street, and I halted mid-stride. Two constables stood at the front door of the boarding house. Alarm shot through me, and I longed to flee until the taller one locked eyes with me. The instinct to run in the opposite direction nearly overcame me, but that would simply give them incentive to use brutality. “Eloise, I think it might behoove you to leave. Go to the school and get our sisters. I will take care of this.”
“No, I am not leaving you. We are in this together,” Eloise’s shaking voice gave away her own panic.
