“How’s that?”
“Where did you serve?” Her gaze went to his missing fingers.
He grimaced and slid his hand under the table. “That happened when I was a boy. The military wouldn’t take me without a full hand. I would have been there otherwise. I would have been proud to fight.”
His shame pulsed hotly across the table, and she rushed to cool it. “Of course you would have. I’m sorry I assumed. How did it happen?”
“An accident.”
Hundreds of hushed conversations with wounded men had taught her to follow their cues. “I understand if you don’t want to talk about it.”
“It’s all right,” he said, softening slightly. “I barely notice it anymore, though it was hard when I was young. I had to learn to do a lot of things all over again, and the other kids, well, you know how they can be.”
“That must have been very difficult,” she replied, meaning it. How awful for a boy to have to experience such a thing, then to suffer at the hands of his friends because of it. “Children can be cruel. What about your family? I imagine they helped you along the way.”
His face clouded. “To be honest, I didn’t come from what you might call a loving home. My older brother drowned in the river when we were young, and my parents… they were never the same after that. So I learned to stand up for myself. The only way you can get hurt is if you letpeople get away with it, right?” He sipped his whisky. “My parents died years ago, and I’ve been on my own ever since.”
Instinctively, she reached for the hand he’d left on the table. “I’m so sorry, Ernie.”
He turned his hand over so her fingers rested on his palm, then he folded his on top. “That’s nice of you to say, Adele. I don’t talk about my childhood much. Thinking about it reminds me of the family I never had.” A moment of silence passed between them, then Willoughby straightened and recovered his charm. “Here I am rambling on about my little life when I’m dining with a war hero. I feel truly humbled in your presence.”
She started to look away, embarrassed, but something in his expression released butterflies in her chest. “Now you’re just being silly.”
“Not at all.”
The waiter appeared just then with their meals. “This looks delicious,” Adele said, smiling up at the server, but his attention was entirely on Ernie.
“May I get you anything else, Mr. Willoughby?”
“Another whisky.”
He was off like a shot, returning within seconds with Ernie’s order.
“They’re really efficient around here,” she noted, cutting into the chicken. She closed her eyes briefly, savouring the flavour. The chicken was moist and tender, the creamy sauce exquisite. “This is divine.”
He nodded, a bit of lamb on his fork. “I’m pleased it’s to your taste.”
“It’s delicious,” she replied. “Did you say you knew the owner?”
He swallowed, dabbed his mouth. “Manny Watson. We do some business together.”
“What line of work are you in?” she asked.
“The export business. I work with taverns and such, here and in Detroit.” He tapped his knife against her glass. “How’s your whisky?”
“It’s lovely,” she replied, then realized what he was inferring. “Oh, you’re in the liquor business?”
He smiled. “I am indeed.”
She sat back, intrigued. She’d never have imagined this man with his smart suit and affable manners would be a rumrunner. She’d had a much different impression of those men. Evidently, she had much to learn.
“You’re surprised?”
“A little, yes,” she admitted. “I mean, I don’t have a problem with alcohol, obviously”—she touched her glass—“but I am curious. I’ve heard so many rumours. Is rum-running as dangerous as some say?”
“Dangerous? No, no.” He tilted his head slightly, considering. “Well, I suppose it can be, depending on what you’re doing. There are rivalries in every business, and thanks to Prohibition, there’s a lot of money at stake, so things can get heated. But I’m in a position of authority, so I look out for my employees.”
“Like Dickie,” Adele said. “That’s good of you. To be honest, I’ve come to think of Prohibition as a failure. Just because booze is banned, that doesn’t stop people from drinking. As a nurse, I see evidence of the ways people get around the rules every day.”
