Boots pinching his toes, he kicked at the cobblestones. Oy, he was a schlemiel. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he worked to calm his breath so he could keep his wits about him as he traversed the remainder of the dark streets to his lair. To dream of her for as long as he could.
With a sigh, he curved around another corner, head down, his legs pumping once more. He wove around the narrow back lanes, pushing off cellar doors. Finally, he was nearing the synagogue, darting through the last alleys, when a hand reached out and tapped his shoulder. The touch jolted his already keyed-up senses, sending him spinning around. Skidding to a halt, he pitched forward and downward, onto his knees.
“Fancy meeting you here, Mr. Ellenberg,” a voice said from above him. A now familiar voice.
Wincing at what would most certainly be cobblestone-patterned bruises, Aaron lifted his head to stare at the man whom Isabelle would marry in mere days, and sighed. “What do you want, Weiss? Besides scaring me half to death. You shouldn’t sneak up on people like that. I could’ve been holding a knife.”
“First, I strolled, didn’t sneak. Second, if you had one, you’d probably have put your own eye out. And third, I prefer ‘Mr. Weiss.’” The other man gave a derisive sniff, hands folded over his well-tailored jacket. “That’s what you used last time we spoke, when you wanted information out of me.”
Aaron blinked up at the other man.
“Did you truly think that you, a man I don’t know, could visit my house three times in less than two weeks and not arouse suspicion?” the other man continued. “Luckily, I have a talent for hunting down information myself.”
Oy. Just oy. And fuck. Aaron swore in his head as his mind raced, searching for some way to respond.
Fortunately, Weiss, being not short on words, gave him more time.
“I hear you might have two hundred pounds rather soon.” Isabelle’s soon-to-be husband eyed him knowingly.
“You know about that?” Aaron asked, finally finding his voice again as he rocked back so he could get up on his knees. He coughed for a moment before staggering to his feet, suddenly settling on complete annoyance as his primary emotion.
“I know many things, including the fact you have a second employer.” Weiss’s eyes flashed in the darkness. “Though I might need your assistance as well.”
“No, you don’t, you fucking lucky mamzer.” Aaron leaned to the side and spit on the stones, hating himself as well as the other man and the situation.
Weiss didn’t flinch. Instead, he stepped forward, cocking his head. “Am I?”
“She’s going to marry you.” He stuck his hands in his pockets once more, pressing the fabric into the pads of his fingers. “She likes you far better than anyone else.”
A snort from his companion. “That’s not exactly a compliment. Who exactly is my competition? Roger and Louis Berab? They might have the pedigree of pedigrees, but what else? Boring. And old. Both of them.” Weiss gave him a half smile through the gloom at his own joke.
“They aren’t bad to look at, though.” Aaron toed the ground, eyes downward to hide his own smile.
“Compared to who? I’d take my brother and I in that bet any day.” A full grin from the other man that wasn’t at all obnoxiously charming. “Though I’m not sure that’s something particularly important to Isabelle Lira.” The other man gave him a hard stare, the charm and put-on comradery gone. “At least not for more than a few minutes of pleasure in a library, or in a, say, garden.”
Blast.Panic rocked through Aaron. He swallowed, stepping back, raising his hands as if in surrender. “I don’t know what you believe you know . . .”
“Oh, save your breath, Ellenberg.” Weiss scoffed, waving a dismissive hand at him. “Half the community knows you’ve been shtupping her or are close to shtupping her. You’re all just lucky it’s the good part—the part with the sense to look the other way instead of scolding, lest the gentiles find out and use it against her. Or, considering how important she is, us.” He glanced up, scanning the skyline as if there was actually someone there and as if he could see them.
And an outline of a man appeared against the sky. Aaron squinted for a moment before it winked away.
A million curses released in his head. He stared at Weiss as a breeze blew between them, ripping through the puddles on the ground, spraying droplets over each of their boots.
“We took precautions against pregnancy,” he finally blurted.
“I—I don’t need to know that.” Weiss closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Why not? It should matter to you if you want her.” Aaron spread his arms wide in frustration as righteous indignation beat below his ribs. “You do still want her?”
“Yes. Obviously. I have the same information that I had when I found you.” Weiss breathed and clasped his hands together. “What happened between the two of you is immaterial to what she and I could be if we married. As I said, she’s perfect. She’s a clever woman, charming, ambitious, and knowledgeable about the way of the world. Beautiful too. She’s an ideal wife for me.”
Naturally. Aaron crunched down on his back teeth. “And what of her? Are you ideal for her?” Could he make her happy? Would he even care if she wasn’t?
“I would give her all she could want. I’d build the life that we’re both supposed to have.” The other man laid his palms flat before wagging a finger at Aaron. “And if you think about it, you know I’m correct.”
Aaron stared at the cobblestones so he’d not have to acknowledge the truth in the words.
“I can join with her and accomplish all our goals.” Weiss widened his stance. “No one would work harder to make her business more successful. No one else would support any efforts she might have regarding society and politics. My family may not have communal prominence, but we are positioned for it, and I am ready to take up any mantle she desires.”
