Speakeasy, Speak Love

by Sharon G Clark

  “I didn’t know you’d be here. I’m supposed to turn her over to the housekeeper. Is that you?”

  “No, she left a little while ago. I stay on full time for whatever needs to be done. My room is attached to this one by way of the washroom.” Fiona scowled. Brigid must have noticed. “No, Fio…Finn. Daddy still works at City Hall, and even Jimmy wouldn’t dare risk his wrath. I’m safe.” Fiona couldn’t do anything other than take her word, even if she doubted Mr. Connor’s job would protect Brigid for long.

  “I wouldn’t bring you the pain with Finn’s reminder on purpose,” Fiona said. “Things got bad with Da, and I just couldn’t be a servant in someone’s house. I had to do something, and all Finn’s clothes were there for the using. As soon as I make enough, I’m going west.”

  Squinting an examination, Brigid stared at her face, looking for fresh bruises, Fiona guessed. Then Brigid asked, “Your father still beating you, blaming you for his own mistakes and failures?”

  “When he finds me, yeah, but I can take it better than before.” Fiona smirked. “Mostly, I just stay out of his way. He’s usually too canned to notice what day it is, let alone whether he’s seen me recently.”

  “Hope he drinks himself into a hole and never comes out. Just don’t want him taking you to the grave with him. You shouldn’t have to get better at taking a beating, Fiona. That’s not right.” Brigid tenderly pulled the bedding back over Thelma. She gazed at Fiona with a sad expression. “You work for the Grahams now?”

  Taking a step back, Fiona looked down at Thelma, so small and helpless, currently staring up at the ceiling with vacant eyes. “I’m doing odd driving jobs as a delivery boy named Finn. I didn’t know about this or what was happening, Brigid. I just watched that man and woman leave his office. I waited for him to call me in for some emergency job change. When Jimmy went into the office— Well, I don’t know, something wasn’t right, so I busted in, claimed being worried about the stuff in the truck. I didn’t stop them—” Fiona took a deep breath. “Eldon told me to bring her here to the house. She’s intended for a brothel I suspect from overhearing Jimmy’s conversations with the other guys. But I never guessed little girls were involved.”

  “You broke in on them? They could have killed you.” Fiona nodded dejectedly. Brigid came over to Fiona and wrapped her in a hug. “Fiona—”

  “It’s Finn, please. Have they brought girls here before?”

  “Not in this state and never this young. Jimmy’s involved, so it isn’t entirely surprising. The few others seemed fine, almost accepting,” Brigid said.

  “Accepting of what?” she asked.

  “I figured they owed Mr. Graham money and had to work if off through indenture,” Brigid said. “They told me they’d only spend the night, before going to work at the businesses.” Brigid gave a sneer. “I assumed the restaurants.”

  Fiona bit her bottom lip. “I can’t leave her here. This is wrong.”

  “We can only do what we’re told. If we go against Mr. Graham, we’re dead. So now I ask, how do you think it’ll go for you when they find out you’re a woman?” Brigid indicated the bed with a toss of her head. “You’ll get that and worse for trying to pull one over on them.”

  She’d already come to the same conclusion earlier. “I have to do something,” Fiona whispered hoarsely. “I…somehow I have to help her. I can’t let them—anyone—do that to her again.”

  “They won’t.” Fiona spun around to see Margaret standing in the doorway. She entered the room, walked to the bed, and sat down at the foot, her gaze never leaving the girl. “Do we know her name?”

  “She hasn’t spoken, yet, but El—” Fiona felt herself panic inside, wondering how much Margaret overheard. “Her name is Thelma.”

  Margaret nodded. “Finn, I need you to go get our doctor.” She gave Fiona the address. “His name is Dr. Matthews. Tell him I sent you and he’ll come. Explain as much or as little as makes you comfortable telling him.” She must have felt Fiona’s hesitation. Margaret turned to look directly at Fiona. “It’s okay, Finn. Right now, we have to help Thelma. Together.” She gave a weak smile. “Brigid will keep me company until you return.”

  With one last glance at each of them, Fiona went to get the doctor.

  SO MANY EMOTIONS swirled inside Margaret. She couldn’t believe what she’d overheard, yet deep down she always suspected some of the atrocities linked to her brother, some she’d hoped weren’t true. Yes, she’d overheard Finn and Brigid. All of it. Finn was a woman, not a boy with feminine attributes. The flood of relief nearly had her trembling with excitement. And, she heard Eldon was almost as despicable as Jimmy in the lack of morals category. Margaret couldn’t think of many redeeming qualities of the horrid man, which was one of the reasons she kept rebuffing Jimmy. Granted, it wasn’t the most important reason. Living a lie is one thing to contend with in life. Living a lie with someone you despise is entirely another.

  However, she never expected or suspected Eldon to do something like this.

  “Brigid.” Brigid stood just behind her, wringing her hands. “It’s truly all right.” Margaret stood. “We need to clean Thelma up, and make her as comfortable as we can before the doctor gets here.”

  “Miss Margaret?”

  “You get some soap and water, maybe a nightdress. I’ll get her undressed.”

  Brigid touched Margaret’s arm lightly. “How much—”

  Margaret shook her head firmly and said, “That’s not important right now. We have to get her ready for when the doctor arrives.”

  “It is important,” Brigid said. “Mr. Graham—”

  “Mr. Graham what?”

  While Brigid gave a dreadful squeak of alarm, Margaret turned toward her brother, but not before noting Thelma’s body going rigid. “Mr. Graham will probably be angry, I’m sure is what she’s worried about, Eldon.”

  Eldon appeared confused. “Why are you here, Babs?”

  Margaret noted he never asked about Thelma’s condition and avoided looking directly at her. “Why are you?” She should have considered that if she were able to approach quietly, then anyone else could as well. Not that she expected it of Eldon in his own house.

  Shifting uncomfortably, Eldon said, “I, uh, I came looking for someone to make me a sandwich, but I can wait. Um, where’s Finn?”

  “I sent him to get the doctor.”

  “What for?” Eldon asked too sharply.

  Margaret glared at him. “In case you hadn’t noticed, a strange child is in this house, and she isn’t well.” He bit his lower lip, a sure sign of him formulating the pros and cons of his next remark. For Thelma’s sake, and before Fiona came back with the doctor, Margaret had to get him to leave. Since Eldon prepared a lie, she’d beat him to one. “Finn said,” she noted Eldon stiffen, “the girl was wandering around, lost and acting, what he called, funny. Fearful for the child’s safety, he brought her here. That’s all we know since the girl hasn’t spoken at all.”

  “Why not take it to the hospital?” Eldon asked. Margaret wanted to slap him for pretending Fiona had the option available to her. Not that she suspected the hospital would be any use to an abandoned child if the excuse were legitimate.

  “Finn’s still a kid, Eldon. Probably didn’t think everything through in his panic.”

  “I see,” Eldon said, beginning to back out of the room. “Don’t worry about lunch.” He started down the hall, turned quickly and said, “Have Finn come see me when you’re through with him running your errands.” Margaret nodded. Certain Eldon walked far enough away, Margaret closed the bedroom door on any more unwanted visitors and inquiring ears.

  When Margaret returned her attention to Brigid, she detected the trembling of her body. “Please, Brigid, relax,” Margaret whispered. “I would never do anything to harm Finn. Her secret is safe with me. She should be safe from Eldon’s retribution if that’s what he intended. I guess he gave specific orders to her, none of which included my knowledge of this matter.”

>   While they awaited the doctors’ arrival, Margaret and Brigid tended to Thelma, trying to make the silent girl more comfortable, at least.

  It wasn’t too long before a tentative knock came at the door, and Brigid opened it to Dr. Matthews and an anxious Fiona, who hovered in the doorway. “I’ll just wait out back,” Fiona said, worriedly glancing at the bed.

  “Just a moment, please, Finn.” Margaret turned to address the doctor. “Anything the child needs, please see to it. Brigid will take any direction required of you. If you need anything else not available in your bag or the house, I’ll send Finn for it. If she needs to go to the hospital, we’ll take care of that, too.” Grasping Fiona by the elbow, Margaret left the room and closed the door behind them. “We need to talk,” Margaret said firmly. She could feel Fiona tense beneath her grip.

  If the situation wasn’t as tense and wrong as it was, Margaret would be grinning from ear to ear at the knowledge she wasn’t losing her mind. She wasn’t falling for a mere boy, but a young woman. One more innocent in nature than a street child from an abusive home should be. Again, her heart did a flip. Maybe she was more aware of the darker side of life than Margaret believed of her. Fiona was softened by her compassion, not necessarily weakened by it.

  Once outside, Margaret noticed dusk had fallen. Practically dragging Fiona toward the back yard, Margaret kept walking until she reached a stand of trees at the back, which worked as a property divider. It also had a stone bench behind the oldest and thickest tree, one she often used to relax and think. Margaret knew no one watching from any of the windows would be able to see them, and with night falling, it would be more impossible. She lightly pressed Fiona onto the bench.

  “Damn, Finn, you should have told me,” Margaret said. She decided it probably best to help maintain the charade by using Fiona’s alias. No sense in making the charade more precarious by a slip of pronoun that could be overheard.

  Fiona blinked in bewilderment. “About what my boss did? How I didn’t do anything to help, even knowing what happened to Thelma?” Apparently, guilt riddled Fiona.

  Margaret suspected Fiona understood exactly to what she referred. However, what caught her attention was the way she worded the question. “Why didn’t you call him my brother, or speak of him by name?” Turning away, Fiona shrugged. Then, Margaret understood. Placing a hand on Fiona’s thigh, she said, “Thank you, for trying to temper words to protect me. You have to be the sweetest person I know. And I’m glad you’re not an Ethel.” Fiona gave a grunt to her reference for an effeminate male. “Please, Finn, look at me,” she said, placing a hand under Fiona’s chin and turning her head until they faced. Margaret noticed fresh tears in Fiona’s eyes. The compassion and guilt she saw in the light brown eyes were nearly her undoing. Glimpsing the gravity of Fiona’s emotions, Margaret felt a pull on her own. She shivered at the intensity of her attraction to this simple, yet complex, woman.

  “I should get you back into the house,” Fiona whispered, mistaking her physical reaction as from cold. Neither moved. Did she feel the same warmth of attraction, the same comfort in their physical contact? Margaret hoped so. Since the moment in the alley, Margaret hadn’t been able to get Finn out of her head, her body heating at the mental images of her memory, of the subsequent fantasies. Fantasies exciting and nauseating her simultaneously, truth be known.

  “In a moment, please.” Margaret felt she could drown in the honey-gold depths of Fiona’s eyes; get lost in the incredible swirl of emotions there. Before she could think better of the action, Margaret lightly caressed Fiona’s cheek, then leaned forward and kissed her expressive, full lips. The contact was as if a flash fire had consumed her. One of them moaned, though Margaret couldn’t tell whom. She wanted more, and deepened the kiss; suddenly feeling starved and craving a taste of every morsel she could get.

  Fiona pulled away, breathing heavily. Now, her expression showed remorse, shame. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

  Attempting to get her own breath under control, Margaret gave a soft laugh. “Shouldn’t have turned my insides to mush giving me the best kiss of my life?” She intended to make Fiona feel better with a quick peck on the lips. The feelings invoked by Fiona’s returned kiss were like being zapped by electricity.

  “I shouldn’t have kissed you at all,” Fiona said, barely above a whisper.

  “Finn, I kissed you. You’ve nothing for which to be sorry. And honestly, if I had known you weren’t a boy before today, I’d have done it sooner.”

  Frowning, Fiona shook her head. “But you’re a girl, and I’m a girl.”

  Margaret waggled her eyebrows. “That kiss was from no girl I ever knew.”

  “I know it’s not right, not normal.” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “We could be sent to jail.” She paused. “Or worse.”

  Clasping Fiona’s hands in her own, Margaret stared her right in the eyes. “Finn, honey, that kiss was the most ’right’ thing to happen to me in a very long time. It may not be acceptable to some people, but the kiss wasn’t wrong in any way. And only we know.” A horrible thought occurred to Margaret, more frightening than the threat of jail or the sanatorium. Just because she was attracted to Fiona, didn’t mean she returned the feelings, even if she dressed as a boy. With an awkward smile, Margaret added, “The only thing not right was my taking advantage of you. Guess it must be a Graham thing. I’m sorry. I hope you’ll forgive my behavior. I just—”

  Placing a trembling finger to Margaret’s lips, Fiona said, “I’m sorry if I'm a knucklehead. The last time I kissed—” Fiona exhaled a long breath. Margaret decided to leave the story for another time so didn’t encourage Fiona to finish the thought. “Right or wrong, I’ve wanted to kiss you since I saw you in the alley. Thank you. And, for the future, don’t ever categorize yourself with your brother. You’re nothing like him.” Standing, Fiona gazed down at her nervously. “This isn’t safe. Eldon or Jimmy, anyone could find us. I won’t see you hurt. Right now, I need to be ready to take the doctor home.” Her brow furrowed. “Or maybe the hospital.”

  “Yes, you’re right. I’m glad one of us is thinking logically.” Margaret rose and linked her arm through Fiona’s. “We’ll finish this discussion later. Let’s go get an update on Thelma.” As they slowly walked back to the house, Margaret shared what she had told Eldon about the conversation Finn allegedly told her about Thelma’s presence. “After you return Dr. Matthews home, you’ll need to come back here and report to Eldon in his office.”

  “Earlier, how’d you know I was at the house? Or what possessed you to go to the servant quarters?” Fiona asked quietly.

  “Because, since you started working for Eldon, I watch for you. I’m pining away for a mere boy, which confused me no end.” Margaret shrugged. “Yes, I know, pretty childish.”

  “I think it’s cute.” Fiona promptly flushed bright red at the admission. Oh, Fiona got more adorable with every moment. Margaret knew she had to keep an eye on this one.

  Margaret stopped. “Gosh, I never asked you. How old are you really?”

  Fiona gave such a dazzling smile, Margaret thought she’d melt into a huge puddle of something warm and icky. “Well, Finn is about seventeen. Fiona, however, is twenty-three today.”

  “It’s your birthday? Why didn’t you say anything?”

  “Because it’s not important.”

  They started walking again. “I need to give you a gift.”

  When the arm Margaret held quivered, she glanced up to find Fiona chuckling. “I thought you just did, under the tree.”

  Chapter Ten

  IF FIONA HAD been a couple minutes faster, she might have been gone before Eldon made another immediate-presence-required request. She squeezed her eyes shut, silently praying this invitation didn’t involve watching a man killed or another rape of a child. This time, her arrival didn’t have her cooling her heels forever either, as Stan stood up as soon as she arrived, opened Eldon’s office door, and announced her.

  “
Ah, Finn, come in, kid, and have a seat,” Eldon said.

  “Everything okay, sir?” Fiona asked. She hated much of what Eldon did, but Fiona wasn’t ready to give up the money—or Margaret.

  “You’re a smart kid, Finn.”

  “Thank you.” Fiona frowned. Was a “but” coming? The other shoe ready to drop? Compliments from Eldon usually ended badly for the recipient of the praise. “I miss something, and you’re calling me on it?”

  Eldon shook his head. “What do you know of my business?”

  Like that wasn’t a loaded question. Fiona could play stupid and lose her job for being an idiot; or, could tell him the truth and know too much to continue breathing regularly. She figured playing dumb would be least likely to ingratiate herself with Eldon Graham. “See you got some mighty fine restaurants and nightclubs, but don’t see the blind tigers. See you own a couple tenements and hotels, but didn’t notice if they were panel houses and brothels.”

  Fiona suspected one of the panel houses was where Eldon intended to send Thelma. She was young and small, so would be perfect for hiding in the panels to pick the pockets of those otherwise occupied with the prostitutes. Much as it disgusted her, Fiona knew some men liked kids—boys and girls. She’d bring a high price, kids always did. Eventually, Thelma would get too big, and she’d be the one occupying the men. “I see you are important and an upstanding businessman, but don’t hear a word when folks call you mobster. Sir.” Fiona added the last for good measure. Politeness sometimes came in handy when the alternative was getting what Terry got—dead.

  “You have a lot of spunk, Finn. I like that.”

  “And I thank you, again, Eldon,” she said, hoping her voice didn’t betray how nervous she was getting. “There a point to this chat?”

  “Again, you’re very astute.” Eldon stood and peered out the window. “There are folks who’d be concerned with all you can’t see. I, on the other hand, am grateful for your poor eyesight. Need people I can trust, kid, and so far you fit the bill.” He turned and regarded her for a moment. “I’d like to add to your duties, such as run a few errands I only want us—as in you and me—to know about. I’ll amply compensate you for these tasks, of course. There’s no need for us to involve Jimmy and mention any of these extra duties. Think you can do that?”