Love.The word beat into Hannah’s head as she stole through the snow, the wind howling above her as she made her way through the near empty city and away from Sol.
Why did he have to say the words? Did he not understand how dangerous it was to her? How her craving for such emotion, where it could not be, could lead to nothing but misery?
And yet he would not stop, fighting a battle that could not be won, shredding the will she needed to cling to, to keep moving, to survive.
It was funny that anyone thought her fearless. Because she was the opposite—she only understood when to be brave and when to run away, and back there, it was time to run. If not to save herself, then to save him. So that was what she would do. After she’d completed her obligations to Frederick and smoothed over any issues Sol might have with his employers, she’d remove herself from his life and stay where she belonged.
She clutched her cloak tighter as the wind howled around her, stinging through every patch in her petticoats. In all her years, Hannah had never seen such weather in London. Even in December.
And while she needed to speak with Frederick, she was best off first visiting the Berab house—well, the house where Roger Berab lived though it belonged to his late wife’s family—because of its closeness. Barely able to reach the door through the snow, she managed to leave a hastily written note with the bleary-eyed butler.
Gritting her teeth, she pressed farther east. Time to finish things. And if it nagged at her that Frederick Weiss had proven to be more familiar with the darker parts of London than she’d previously believed, well, why she should it? He also had access to its bright parts. And resources she couldn’t boast in a thousand years.
Who better to protect Sol than him?
Though it was quite early, the sky was still dark as she approached the Weiss house, this time from the front entrance. Martin, unsmiling as before, opened the door before she could even knock. He led her into the same office, where Frederick was waiting, impeccably dressed despite the hour, the odd mirrors reflecting the firelight.
“You must have news for me, Miss Moses,” he said, glancing up from his desk as she entered. He motioned to the chair where she’d sat the last time.
“I do,” she said with a nod. “I have found your brother.” She sat, folding her hands in her lap. “He’s very much alive, though injured. However, he will heal. He has good care and—”
“Where is he?” Frederick demanded, his tone sharp enough for her to wince, despite having been talked to in much harsher tones most of her life.
“He’s in Aldgate proper,” she said. “On Mitre Street, near the square. He’s being tended to by one of thecommunity’s former midwives. After his meeting near the docks, he was attacked and—”
“Someone tried to rob my brother?” he asked with a frown. He pressed his fingers together then touched them to his lips. “I warned him to be careful of thieves, to pay attention to his surroundings, but did he listen…” He tutted, shaking his head. “And now he’s been injured? Did they take his purse as well?”
“His purse wasn’t taken,” Hannah explained. “Nothing was taken, actually.” She bit her lip as the man glared, as if the information somehow displeased him. An odd response.
Though perhaps it was due to the hour. After all, no one enjoyed being woken from a decent sleep.
She cleared her throat so she could continue relaying Sol’s message. “He did not believe it to have been a robbery at all.” She tugged on her ear. “He said it seemed more… personal.”
The man’s eyebrows arched. “Did they say anything to that effect? Did my brother insult one of them? Get into some sort of fisticuffs? He’s not prone to bouts of temper, though he’s made some odd choices as of late.” His scanned her person with a sniff.
Hannah’s back stiffened. He wasn’t incorrect, exactly, but there was something… off about his reaction.
“Who would want to hurt Sol? He’s a nobody.” He shook his head then rose and strolled around the desk, bending in front at her, looking down his nose. “Unless you’ve gotten him into some sort of trouble.”
Hannah’s face heated. “I—I don’t believe so.” She tugged on her ear as she searched her mind for any veracity to the concept. She felt like a fool for not having considered her own enemies. There were peoplecertainly unhappy with her, and while she’d not mentioned Sol, he’d made his presence known by hanging about her shop…
“So I will repeat myself—how does he know it was personal?” Frederick asked, interrupting her thoughts.
“They seemed more intent on killing him than on anything else, even after he ran,” she said with a shrug, suspicion working its way through her gut.
There was a pause. “And who told you that?” he asked finally, tenting and folding his fingers, his voice level but she could see the warning lurking beneath his smooth veneer.
“He did.”
Frederick took an audible breath and his face softened. “I’m going to let you in on a small secret concerning my brother, Miss Moses.” He leaned forward, as if sharing a confidence. “Solomon has had, since childhood, an unfortunate penchant for dramatics, in the hopes that I’ll pay him more attention.” He gave her a small smile. “Something I always do, as he is my brother. So I fear that he’s decided to create a situation where I will need to intervene and give all my focus to him.”
Hannah held back a gasp. “Are you suggesting that he hired men to attack him?”
Frederick shook his head. “No. I’m not. I’m suggesting that he most likely happened upon them and insulted them in some way but left that fact out of the retelling as he knew you were going to speak with me.”
She stared at Frederick, her mind unable to quite reconcile the picture he was painting with the man she knew.
If she hadn’t spent so much time with Sol, perhaps itwould have made sense. She bit her lip. Or perhaps he was right? Perhaps she’d lost all her senses in thrall to their relationship and couldn’t see what was real or what she wanted to. After all, Frederick did know his brother a great deal more than she.
