“Mags,” she said, not really hoping but needing to ask anyway. “I don’t suppose you have tickets to the lodge ball tomorrow?”
Mags sighed, chin dropping into her palm. “Golly, don’t I wish. I’ve never been, and I hear they’re a smashing good time.” She sat up straight suddenly. “Would you take me with you?”
“Mags, I just asked you for tickets,” Vivian reminded her impatiently. “How’m I supposed to take you when I can’t get in myself?”
“I can get us tickets,” Mags said eagerly. “I know who always gets extras. It’s just he’s refused to take me with him. Says he doesn’t want to be stuck babysitting all night.” She made a face. “I’m notthatmuch of a kid, you know.”
“’Course not,” Vivian said. She’d have said whatever she thought she needed to get those tickets. But it seemed true enough to her—she’d had no idea how old Mags really was when she first met her.Though maybe that was just the confidence of someone who wore real diamonds and knew her daddy would always pay her bail money. “Do you really think your friend would help us out?” Vivian hesitated. “How much do tickets cost?”
Mags gave her a shrewd look. “How ’bout you do me a favor and take me with you so my pal doesn’t say no. And I get the tickets all sorted out. What do you say?”
It was an easier favor than the others that had crossed Vivian’s path in the last few days. “You’ve got a deal.”
“Peachy.” Mags grinned, lifting her glass in another toast. “Now, any idea why that handsome bartender of yours is looking daggers in this direction?”
“Because my break is long past done,” Vivian said, closing the notebook and tucking it under her arm to return to Leo. “Where should we meet you tomorrow night?”
“We?” Mags frowned. “How many tickets do you need?”
“Let’s say three, if you can?” Vivian said. “One for each of us, plus I’ll bring a fella?”
“Oh sure, that’ll be fine. How about you and your fella swing by my parents’ house tomorrow night, around nine? Just pull over across the street and flash your lights twice so I know it’s you.”
“Will do.” Vivian stood, stretching out her back. “Thanks, Mags. You’re a swell girl.”
“I sure am,” Mags said cheerfully, already scanning the crowd for her next partner. “And Viv? You’ll want to wear something grand. Folks go all out at these things.”
Bruiser George didn’t turn up until half an hour before last call. The band was winding down, giving anyone who wanted it a chance to find a new friend and persuade them onto the floorbefore the night ended. Dancers were pressed cheek to cheek, bare necks and arms glowing with perspiration while their tired feet slid along the floor. Vivian was gathering half-empty glasses from a table when she spotted George across the room. For a moment, in spite of the sweet love song that filled the air, Vivian tasted bile in the back of her throat.
She hadn’t realized, until that moment, that she was so afraid of him.
But she wouldn’t let him see it. When he caught her eye over the heads of the dancers, Vivian didn’t look away. If a dog was trained to attack, they’d only jump faster if they could smell your fear. He raised his brows in a silent question, and Vivian jerked her chin, pointing to his left. Leo had just spotted him from a table by the dance floor, where he’d been nursing a gin cocktail so he wouldn’t stand out too much while he waited.
With any luck, now that she didn’t need to ask for Hattie’s help, Leo would hand over the letter and that would be the end of it. Vivian waited until she was sure they had seen each other, then turned away.
That was when she spotted Honor by the dance floor. She’d been busy with a couple that Vivian thought she recognized, which probably meant they were people who got their photos in the society pages from time to time. But they were heading to the dance floor, and Honor was standing with narrow eyes and tense shoulders, watching Bruiser George make his way down the stairs and toward Leo.
Vivian stopped next to Honor. “He’s not here to make trouble.”
Honor didn’t jump; she didn’t let herself show that kind of surprise. But Vivian saw the quick movement of her eyes, darting toward Vivian to see who had spoken, before she turned. Vivian frowned. It had been gone almost too quickly to see, but for a moment, she had looked stricken—maybe even guilty. It was an expression she’d never seen on Honor’s face before.
“Oh?” Honor asked, cutting her eyes back to where Leo and George were chatting, bodies turned just enough away from the crowd that it was almost impossible to spot the moment that the letter changed hands unless you knew what you were looking for.
“I owed his boss a favor, remember?” Vivian said, hoping she had imagined that flash of guilt. “Leo’s making a delivery for me so I don’t have to deal with him.”
Honor nodded, her face as impassive as though the news meant nothing to her. She was already turning away, as quickly as if she couldn’t wait to put distance between them.
Vivian took a step back, stung. She had come over as a favor, so Honor wouldn’t worry about Bruiser George’s presence at the club that night. She might as well have saved herself the effort. She was about to storm off when Honor turned to look directly at her for the first time. “Are you okay?”
Her concern sounded genuine, and it made an achy knot clench inside Vivian’s chest. She wanted to tell Honor what had been happening. But she was too proud for that. “I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“As long as you’re not—” Honor’s hand rose; for a moment, it looked as though she would brush her fingers against Vivian’s cheek, or maybe smooth back the dark curtain of hair that had fallen in front of her ear. Vivian tensed, too caught by surprise to pull away. But Honor noticed the flinch and dropped her hand.
Vivian sighed, tired of things feeling so strained between them. Desperate to think of something to say, she started with the first thing that came to mind. “Hey, any chance you know a thing or two about the Ham—”
But Honor was already walking away. “You’re supposed to be working,” she called over her shoulder. “And so am I.”
The heat of the dance hall couldn’t stop the chill that slithered its way down Vivian’s spine. For a moment, as Honor had turned away, Vivian had seen that same stricken look flash across her face.
