“We’ll go and get whatever you need, then we’ll get on a bus. Saints preserve us, we gotta get out of his reach. Today.”
I feel dizzy. ’Tis not the baby in my belly that has me out of sorts, but the rest of it. We’re like fish in a net, caught up in this terrible mess. Damien leads me down an alley I haven’t seen before, and I follow blindly. He knows the back ways from when he was a lad. Somehow he gets us home, and we stop across the street from my apartment, out of sight.
“What are we meant to do now?”
“Mother of God, Rosie. Anyone could have read the paper by now,” he whispers. “We’ve no time. Ready?”
We tear across the street and up the stairs, then we drop onto our bed like stones. I’m puffing so hard I almost choke. Sweat drips down my face.
“We didn’t kill anyone! This is awful! I would never,everhave killed Mrs. Evans! She was grand to me. She hired me, and she stood up to Mr. Carboni for me. She tried to protect me. Oh, Damien!”
Damien regards me with an odd tilt to his head. “Did you do something yesterday to make him mad? Because all of a sudden, he’s after the two of us. Faith, I don’t think he’d much noticed us before.”
I’m suddenly overcome with guilt. I swallow hard, cutting off the sobs, because now I know ’tis all my fault.
“Holy God,” I say with a sniff. “I did, Damien. I didn’t mean to, but see, I… I went to clean his room when he was at the police station, but he got back quicker than I expected, and he caught me there. He asked me if I’d seen his gun—”
“And you had! You told me about that. What did you say?”
“I swore I never saw it, but I don’t think he believed me. Doesn’t matter, because I never touched it. Anyhow, he told me the gun was missing, and that I was the only one near it but him and his thugs. I’m not to blame for it being gone. I’ve no idea where it might be.” I stand up and reach under the mattress, sick with dread. “But, Damien, I’ve something worse to show you.”
I hold out the little book.
“What’s this?”
“It’s Mr. Carboni’s diary. I know how much he paid to buy buildings and warehouses, I know he transferred his money out of banks before the Crash, and I know what folks owed him. I even know how much he paid you for your deliveries.” I swallow as he takes the book from me, stunned. “Bianca is on the list, too, the stupid girl, and Mrs. Evans. The first time I saw the list, last week it was, he was planning to file a grievance against her. It also said he was going to ‘solve’ her. Well, now she’s dead, and when I looked at the listyesterday, she was crossed out. The thing of it is, Damien, I think he really did ‘solve’ her.”
Damien starts turning pages. “Rosie, how come you got this?”
I tilt my head back so I’m staring at the ceiling, with its blackened beams. “When he got back from the police station, I was still reading it. I’d no time to put it back where it belonged, so I shoved it down my uniform. Oh, Damien,” I say, and he looks up from the book. “The man never leaves me alone. He’s like a dog, isn’t he? He corners me, watches me.” I curl my lip, disgusted. “He pants over me like a dog as well, if I’m honest. And when he asked me about you—”
“He asked aboutme?”
“He did, and I said we were engaged. He was fair raging at that. He asked if I’d leave you if he offered me the world.” I see the hard flex of Damien’s jaw. “I told him no. I’ll never leave you, Damien. Then I got out of there. As soon as he noticed the notebook was gone, he must have put you and me in the headlines.”
I see the moment when it all comes together for Damien, and grim determination sets into his face. He puts his hands on my cheeks and kisses my lips softly, then he rests his brow against mine.
“I wish you’d told me he was frightening you,” he says quietly.
The words twist in my heart. “I couldn’t, Damien. I didn’t want to even mention you because I feared he’d come after you. You’re all that matters to me.” I swallow. “Granny taught me to be tough when I need to be. He frightened me, sure, but not enough for me to put you in danger.”
He sighs. “I’m meant to be there for you, Rosie. I’m meant to take care of you.”
“You do,” I assure him. “You’re taking care of me now.”
His green eyes look straight into mine. “Aye. I am, and I will. Everything changes for me and you today. I’ll keep you safe. Grab what you need, and we’ll go. He’ll not bother you again, Rosie.”
I drop under my bed to pull my money box from its hiding spot, and I hand it to him. He has his own little bag inside his coat pocket, and nowhe pours my money into it, keeping all we have next to his heart. I rush around and collect a few clothes, though I haven’t much to worry about. When I think I’m done, I grab the photograph of all of us chambermaids, standing at attention beside Mrs. Evans, and I slip it into his bag. It feels like forever since that day. I remember how special I felt, standing next to her, staring at the camera. Then her giving each chambermaid her own copy, well, it feels like another lifetime. Damien gives me the photograph taken of the waiters, and I stuff it into a sack with the rest. The last thing to go in is the black leather book.
I take a deep breath. “I’m ready.”
That’s when the building’s door crashes open and boots stomp up the stairs. I fear the police have arrived, but in the next instant, Bianca bursts into our room, her face red as a tomato and slick with tears. She has a bag slung over her shoulder.
“Help me!” she cries.
We stare at her in confusion.
“I’m sorry, Bianca. We can’t help anyone,” I tell her. “We’re leaving.”
