by Shelley Gray
“What does your family think of your decision? Are they proud of you?”
“No. But my father is a hard worker and he has appreciated my work ethic. He took me out to dinner when I made detective last year.” He shrugged. “They also know that I haven’t given up my place. I still help out the family by representing them on boards. I still go to gatherings and social events too.”
“Which is what you meant by you and Miss Carstairs being in the same circles.”
“Yes. She’s a friend to me. A kindred spirit, if you will. We are both hoping to be more than pretty faces. More even than what our relatives expect from us.”
“I’m glad for you then.” And she was, but now she felt even more at sea about him. He was far above her on the social scale than she’d ever imagined. He’d also beaten odds to do what he thought was important.
She, on the other hand, had barely started living. So far all she’d done was study as much as she could in the hopes of having a better life.
He glanced at her, his gaze slowly warming. “Do you have a better understanding now of why I asked your brother if I could spend more time with you?”
His voice was gentle and kind. Tender. Everything she’d ever wanted. But she was still reeling from his story.
And reeling more from her own insecurities. “No, sir. Now I have even less of an idea of why a gentleman like you would ever look twice at a girl like me.” The moment the words left her mouth, she steeled herself for his rejection.
He said nothing for a full minute, then pulled her to the side of the street. Away from the majority of the people.
This was now the second time he’d done this. “Detective Owen, forgive me, but we have things to do.”
“Miss Ryan, forgive me, but there is something you need to explain to me before we go another step farther.”
Only with great effort did she keep from gaping. “What is that?”
“What have I done that makes you think I am a liar?”
A liar? “Nothing,” she blurted. “Of course you’ve done nothing.”
“Then why, when I tell you my whole story, reveal to you that I am really nothing more than the third son born into a wealthy family, did you not realize that you are exactly worthy of me?”
He didn’t see himself, she realized. He didn’t see his worth, his value, his looks, his demeanor, his kindness. He didn’t see everything that made him so much more than simply the product of his birth.
“You must know you are more than those things.”
He looked around, seemed to notice that they were drawing more than one curious look, and exhaled. “Forgive me. Eloisa has been injured, your brother is beside himself, you’ve witnessed some terrible things, and we are on the way to tell two people their daughter has been brutally attacked. And here I am, trying to have such a conversation with you in the middle of the street.”
Katie didn’t know where this was going. She had no idea what would happen between the two of them, what would even happen between the two of them the following day. But she did know that whatever was happening between them was more real than she’d originally imagined.
“Perhaps when this is over, you might consider taking me out for that tea?”
His brown eyes warmed. “I would like that above all things, Miss Ryan. Thank you.”
And with that, he guided her back into the fray, signaled for a hack, and helped her inside. “Take us to Sable Hill,” he told the driver.
The driver raised an eyebrow. “Quite an address you’re going to.”
Owen shared a smile with her. “You don’t know the half of it.”
CHAPTER 26
The first thing Eloisa became aware of was that she was comfortable. More comfortable than she could remember being in weeks. So much so, she was reluctant to let go of the curious daze she’d cloaked around herself. She was sure waking up out of the stupor would mean the return to her reality. The one where her evenings were accompanied by an increasing feeling of uneasiness, her sleep was littered by nightmares, and her mornings were an exercise in an attempt to pretend she’d actually slept.
But as she stretched her toes, she knew returning to reality was inevitable. As inevitable as the air turning colder or the White City eventually becoming a distant memory.
As she gradually opened her eyes, Eloisa focused on the bright sunlight shining through the sheer draperies, fluttering through an open window.
The breeze felt soothing on her skin. Giving in to temptation, she stretched, wiggling her toes against the smooth sheets. Enjoying the feel of freedom.
She smiled. Stretched her neck. And then winced as a sharp, burning pain sliced through her awareness.
Confusion settled in as she tried to remember when she’d last hurt so badly.
Of course, that had been the morning after Douglass had forced himself on her.
No matter how much she enjoyed the feeling of luxuriousness, she gasped. Attempted to focus on where she was, which unfortunately wasn’t her bedroom at home.
“Eloisa?” a sweet voice called out.
She didn’t recognize it.
With effort she moved her head toward the voice. Stared at the young girl with the pretty blue eyes and the brush of thick bangs over her dark eyebrows. “Katie?” she murmured, trying to place the girl in her life. “Miss Ryan, is that you?”
“It is.” Smiling brightly, Katie jumped to her feet, then scurried to her side. “I’m so glad you remember me. I was worried for a moment that you wouldn’t.”
Eloisa’s cheeks hurt too much to smile. But even so, she couldn’t help but be charmed. “Of course I remember you.”
Looking around the room again, she continued, “Forgive me, but I don’t know where I am.” Taking a guess, she said, “Is this your room?”
A blush suffused her cheeks. “Goodness no. You’re at my sister Maeve’s house. Owen and Sean weren’t too eager to take you right home until you got your bearings.”
Little by little, she began to recall some of the day’s events. She had a vague recollection of a doctor stitching her, then she remembered riding in a coach with Sean.
“I see.” Though she didn’t at all. She would have thought Sean would want her resting in her own house and therefore out of his hair. However, she couldn’t help being very grateful that she hadn’t woken up in her own bed. At home her mother would have been too shocked by what had happened to Eloisa to do anything but retreat to her room. She would have been alone, with only Juliet in attendance. She and her maid were closer than ever, but . . .
Instead, she had Katie for company, and perhaps, her brother. She certainly hoped so! Though it might be improper, there was only one person she wanted to see at the moment. One person whom she knew she could completely trust.
“Is Mr. Ryan here, by any chance?”
Katie brightened. “Sean is. He went downstairs only about an hour ago. Until then, he was keeping watch by your side.”
“Is that right?”
“Oh, yes. After you were attacked, Sean wouldn’t leave your side. When the physician came, he patched you up enough to move you, then Sean and he brought you here while Detective Howard and I went to tell your parents what happened.”
Her head was spinning. “You went with Owen to my house?”
Katie nodded, looking unsure for the first time. “Yes. I hope you don’t mind,” she said hurriedly. “Sean didn’t want me to be alone and he thought Detective Howard would be the best person to talk to your parents.”
So her parents knew she’d been attacked at the train station. While in the company of Sean and his sister.
And they knew that she hadn’t been taken directly home.
What they had to say about all of it, she really couldn’t begin to fathom.
Somewhat in a less exuberant fashion, Katie said, “Well, um, as I was saying, while we went to Sable Hill, Sean brought you and Dr. Stone here. After Dr. Stone cleaned your cuts and stitched you up, my sister Maeve put you i
n one of her old house dresses.”
Well, that answered another question. She fingered one of the soft fabric sleeves. “I see.”
Katie cleared her throat. “I know this garment isn’t quite what you’re used to, but your beautiful dress was stained.”
“Ah.” There was so much she wanted to say, but Eloisa still felt too fuzzy to respond correctly. At the moment, she thought there was a very good chance she would say the wrong thing and hurt Katie’s feelings.
“You were really bleeding, you see.”
Eloisa felt her cheeks heat. It seemed she was still managing to say the wrong thing. “This is fine,” she said quietly.
But still Katie looked like she was worried that Eloisa was about to start complaining about the quality of the cotton.
“I’m obliged to your sister,” Eloisa added.
After biting her lip, Katie nodded. “Anyway, um, after Dr. Stone left and Maeve changed your dress, Sean came in here and sat with you.”
“In here?”
“Uh-huh. He sat here for a full two hours. Like I said, he was here until Detective Howard and I showed up.”
“Would you bring him here? Please?”
Katie gazed at her worriedly. “Of course. I’ll be right back. Do you need anything else?”
“Some water, if it’s not too much trouble?”
The wrinkle in Katie’s brow eased. “Of course I can bring you water. It’s not too much trouble at all, Miss Carstairs.”
Only when Katie left the room did Eloisa close her eyes again. Only then did she let all the ramifications of the afternoon settle in. She’d been attacked. Her parents had been informed. A man who was not a relative had kept her company while she was lying in a bed that was not her own.
Her mother was going to have a fit, and that was putting it mildly.
Mere moments later, Sean entered holding a glass in his hand. “I thought I heard you two talking.”
Katie smiled. “She just woke up.”
After returning his sister’s smile, Sean strode to Eloisa’s side. “I brought you a glass of water. Here, dear. Try to take a sip.” Before she could even think about it, he seated himself next to her on the mattress, curved an arm around her shoulders, and helped her hold the glass and take a few fortifying sips.
The first few sips stung like her throat was on fire, but then she was able to appreciate their soothing effects. “Thank you.”
He set down the glass, then carefully took her hand in between the two of his.
She knew she should yank her hand from his and remind him that never was it appropriate for him to be so familiar with her.
But for the life of her she couldn’t do what was right. His presence was too comforting for her to push him aside.
He scanned her hair, her face, the area of her neck and shoulders that was bandaged. As each second passed, his expression became more and more distressed.
And, if she wasn’t mistaken, ravaged by guilt.
At last he spoke. “Eloisa, I am so very sorry.”
“This wasn’t your fault.”
“I should have never taken you to a train station.”
“The train is perfectly safe. Hundreds of people—if not thousands—take it every day.”
He continued just as if she hadn’t spoken. “I should have never allowed you onto the platform without you firmly by my side.”
“I am a grown woman, Sean.”
“We both know that makes no difference.”
No, she knew it made all the difference in the world. She knew she’d been injured, but exactly what had happened was a blur. Now that she was getting her bearings back, she needed to know exactly what had occurred at the train station. “Sean, tell me what happened.”
He blinked. Obviously her confusion surprised him. Exhaling, he said, “The Slasher attacked you.”
“The Slasher.” It wasn’t that she didn’t believe him, she was having a difficult time understanding exactly how it could have happened. She’d only heard of the Slasher attacking women at parties or at events given by the upper crust of Chicago. In a train station? Dressed as she had been, in a simple day dress, looking much like every other woman in the area?
It sounded rather far-fetched.
“Are you sure about that, Sean?”
“Unfortunately, yes. Though other women have been victims of knife attacks before, no one else that we know of wields a knife so skillfully.”
That seemed an odd descriptor. “Skillfully?”
Though it seemed as if every word were being forced out of him, he murmured, “He cut your cheek, neck, and the area around your collarbone.” The muscle in his cheek jumped, letting her know just how difficult it was for him to keep his voice even and sure. “He did a lot of damage to your beautiful skin, Eloisa, but he didn’t thrust his weapon hard enough to sever an artery. It’s like he merely wanted to mark you.”
She wasn’t sure how his statement made her feel. She supposed she should be grateful to be alive. And she was, of course.
“Why did you bring me to your sister’s house?”
For the first time, he looked vaguely uncomfortable. “My sister doesn’t live far from the station. We needed to take you someplace close by, somewhere where you could be afforded some privacy. I didn’t want to take you to the hospital, and we didn’t have time to take you all the way to Sable Hill.”
His lips thinned, as if he were struggling with whether or not to give her any more information. “To be perfectly honest, I was so worried about you—I am so worried about you—that I didn’t want you to go home just yet. I will take you home presently. Forgive me, but I wanted to focus my attentions on you, not answering your parents’ questions.”
He might be surprised, but she didn’t blame him in the slightest.
Two days had passed and still Sean was no closer to the identity of the Slasher. Actually, the only thing he and Owen were fairly sure about was that the man had to be either someone in Eloisa’s close circle . . . or someone involved in the investigation.
Over and over he and Owen reviewed the different crime scenes, examining the lists of people present, even going over which police officers responded. The only thing they could agree on was that the Slasher had to have known Eloisa was going to be at that train station. Otherwise it simply made no sense for her to have been singled out. Her attack felt like a personal thing.
Unfortunately, that realization didn’t narrow their list of suspects all that much. Not only had he and Owen discussed their Sunday afternoon plans at the station where anyone might have heard them, but they’d also discovered Eloisa’s maid had told some of her friends at the park about Eloisa’s plans for the day. Any one of those maids could have passed on this information.
The case and his paranoia were starting to take their toll on him. So much so, he’d asked Owen to meet him in one of the back storage rooms of the Illinois building. It was easy to get to, one of the few places where it was relatively easy for them to talk without being interrupted, and they could be reasonably sure no one who was involved in the case would think to look for them there.
When Owen closed the door, he shook his head. “This is now the fourth time we’ve met here, Ryan. I spent less time at my desk when I was in boarding school than I’ve spent here.”
“Not even to visit? Not that I’ve been a frequent visitor here either.”
“Your sister has.”
“Katie?”
“Of course I’m referring to her.” Owen held up a hand. “And if you are gathering your wits to start lecturing me about being a proper gentleman around your sister, I’d caution you to wait. I’m in no mood to be talked down to.”
Sean fought off his smile. “I wish your desire to court my sister was all I had to worry about. No, I think we need to make a move and soon.”
Owen pulled open a leather-covered folder. After scanning a list of at least twenty-five names, he pushed it across the table toward Sean. “Here’s everyone we consid
ered.”
Sean read over the names, then came upon one he didn’t expect. “Your name is here, Howard. Is there something you want to confess?”
“Of course not.”
“Then, why is your name listed?”
Looking a bit sheepish, Owen said, “I wanted to be as thorough as possible. When we decided to catalog men who were at most of the crime scenes, I decided it would be wrong not to list myself.”
“I wonder if that’s significant.”
“It would be if I was going around stabbing people,” Owen replied, looking affronted. “However, I am not.”
“You weren’t anywhere near the train station when Eloisa was attacked.”
“You’re right. And I was too far away to even run back to the precinct before Katie got there.”
“You are calling my sister Katie now?”
“Fine. Miss Ryan,” he said impatiently before continuing. “My point is, we can’t think of anyone we can place at every scene. After the first two attacks, we started searching the surrounding areas for commonalities. We quickly determined that the sheer amount of people at every scene makes it virtually impossible to gather the names of every possible suspect or witness.”
Sean knew what direction he was heading. “Millicent Bond’s attack was too vicious for her attacker not to have clothes stained with her blood afterward. Whoever did that would have had to become hidden.”
“I agree.” Picking up a pencil, Owen said, “So may I cross off my name without any qualms from you?”
“Yes.” After Owen did the honors, Sean glanced down at the list again. “What makes it hard is that so many men in the force have been doing extra duty around the city. Too many of us have been too many places at the same time.”
“I think we need to focus on the officers who could mix in with a crowd unobtrusively. And men who are active in the social circles.”
“That’s a good point. A rough fellow like Barnaby would make most of the ladies nervous. Too nervous for them to allow him anywhere near them. At least not in a private alcove.”