“Well, we’ve plenty of girls that’d be happy to have the work. Would ye like me to see who might be readily available?” Her eyes were already scanning around the room taking in the girls at hand.
She started to rise when a slim young girl approached them, her blond hair pulled back neatly from her face.
With a quick curtsey, she said, “I beg yer pardon, Mum, but I couldn’t help but overhear. Please, Mum, I could do with the work, and ye know me to be honest and hard working.”
Mrs. Farthing turned to Seth in question. Though the girl seemed nice, there was something in her demeanor that felt off somehow. Perhaps it was her forwardness or that she had been listening to their conversation, but he brushed it aside, happy to have found someone so he could finish his other errand and get back to Phoebe. “Sure, if you think it will be a good fit.”
Mrs. Farthing looked the girl up and down. “Och, she’s a hard worker that one, and smart enough, too. I’d say she’ll do. Her name is Anne.”
“Thank ye, Mum, Sir. I promise I’ll not disappoint.”
Chapter Seventy
Despite the fact that William had done all the work gathering the evidence against Victor, he would not be allowed to participate in the bastard’s interrogation. Murdock had personally made sure of that. Instead, he was left to spend the last two hours pacing the corridor, unable to control his anger and frustration.
William let his mind wander over the latest bits of evidence he’d found at Gabriel’s, trying to determine if the attack on Gabriel Hughes was in any way related to Niles’s murder. Up until now, he’d been working under the assumption that the murder was related to the blackmail and theft, however, Brown’s testimony had not implicated Victor in Niles’s murder. Could it be the evidence he had found was not actually evidence for the murder? But surely there would have to be some connection. After all it was Gabriel who had the spare key and combination. Could Gabriel have been put in jeopardy because the murderer thought he may have a way to decode the formula?
And then there was Lilly. He would need to try and find her again. She had been with Gabriel recently and might know who would wish Gabriel harm. As much as William liked her, there was a good chance she could also be involved in some way. He know wondered if she was aware of Niles’s relationship with Gabriel.
William’s thoughts were interrupted by footsteps making their way down the corridor. He looked up to see Murdock heading his way, accompanied by another man, who looked vaguely familiar. William’s heart sank as he placed the face.
“Inspector Thomas. I had not thought to see you so soon.” Alexander Barnes stood before him, a faint smile on his face. “I do hope you’ve been giving my offer some thought.”
William mentally cursed the sudden involvement of the SS in his case. “Why are you here, Mr. Barnes?” William had all too good an idea what he may be doing here, and if it were indeed the reason, he truly thought he may be capable of murder himself.
“Just tending to some business. Good day to you, Inspector.” Barnes tipped his head in farewell and walked on with Murdock in tow.
Murdock opened the door where Nelson was currently interviewing Victor. He then stepped out of the way so Barnes could get by, though he did not bother to go any further than the doorway. “I’m afraid this interview is over. Lord Fenwick, you are free to go.”
William heard Nelson protest, but Murdock barked at him to keep quiet. Only a moment later, Victor strode out of the room, his solicitors trailing behind him.
As he passed William, he paused to say, “Have yourself a good day, Inspector. And if you do see Phoebe, please be sure to give her my regards.”
Chapter Seventy One
Seth returned to Phoebe’s home, having hired a nurse to care for Gabriel. She seemed a competent and sturdy woman in her mid thirties, pleasant and polite. “Martha, would you please put Ms. Emily in the room next to Gabriel’s, and show her around?”
Martha nodded. “Yes, sir. Also, the new girl you sent, Anne, is already here and getting settled. The Lady is upstairs with her brother and Mr. MacKay.”
“Thank you.”
Seth headed upstairs and found Phoebe at Gabriel’s bedside, with Gavin sitting opposite her. “How is he, love?” Seth was happy to see Phoebe looking in better spirits. The distant look in her eyes was nearly gone, and some of the color had returned to her cheeks. He took a seat by her side and gave her a smile when she reached out and took his hand, giving it a squeeze.
“He actually awoke, even if it was for just a moment. That’s good, is it not?” She sounded desperate for some reassurance that her brother would be all right.
“That’s remarkably well, my dear. I’m sure he’ll be coming around any day now.” His heart lifted when she smiled at him, and he gave her hand a squeeze in return.
Once Gabriel’s nurse, Emily, came into the room, they decided it would be best to get out of her way. Leaving the room, they ran into Anne who was busy sweeping the hall.
“Anne?” Phoebe approached her with a smile, setting some of Seth’s concerns at ease. “I had not realized you were the new maid. I do hope you’re getting settled with little difficulty.”
“No problems at all, Mum. When I heard ye were looking for help, I jumped at the chance.”
“Well, I’m glad of it. How is your sister doing? I heard she was safe.”
Anne blushed a bit but said, “Lilly’s doing fine, Mum. I’ll let her know ye asked.”
So the girl was Lilly’s sister… Seth had not realized. Anne headed down the steps, leaving the three of them standing there.
“I think I might call it an early night.” Phoebe looked exhausted, and it would do her some good to catch up on her sleep.
Seth ran a hand down her arm. “Aye. I think we could all do with turning in early for the night.”
As they bid Gavin a good night’s sleep, Seth noticed Phoebe glance at Gavin.
Phoebe turned towards their room, when Gavin said, “A word if ye would, mo charaid.”
Seth gave Phoebe a gentle smile, and said, “I’ll be but a minute, love. You go on ahead without me.”
Gavin waited until Phoebe had entered her room and closed the door, before putting a hand on Seth’s shoulder. “Ye’ll give her time, aye?”
Seth cursed. “I ken ye’re just worried about her, but ye said it once, aye? ‘Twas enough.”
“There’s one more thing. If ye’ll not be needing me, I may head home for a bit. Maybe get a head start on seeing Moore and Clarke’s order settled.”
Seth looked away, knowing Gavin was leaving because of the tension between them. “I do wish ye’d stay, mo charaid. I know I’ve been a difficult bastard to deal with as of late, and I apologize for it.”
Gavin nodded. “I havena been any better, aye? I just dinna want to be overstepping my bounds with two of ye, and I’m afraid it’s been too easy to do just that with what’s happened. If ye’re sure I’ll not be getting in the way, I’ll stay a wee bit longer. Good night to ye.”
“And to you.”
Chapter Seventy Two
While Phoebe waited for Seth, she poured herself a large glass of Viridis and drank it in a matter of minutes, hoping it would be enough to settle her nerves. More importantly, she hoped by sensitizing herself, it would keep her anchored in the here and now rather than letting her mind retreat to what had happened.
Gavin said she should give herself time to heal and come to terms with what happened, but she knew herself too well. If she did not deal with the matter as soon as possible, she would let herself withdraw, and let the problem take on a life all its own, until it became too large an issue for her to tackle. No. As difficult as it may be, she needed to see this through, and needed to do so now. She needed to replace the images in her head with new ones— ones of Seth.
She heard Seth come in, and glanced over her shoulder at him, trying to look at him as if doing so for the first time, hoping her love for him would conquer her fears. He was more handsome
than when she had first met him, some of his young boyish charms giving way to the strength of manhood; his jaw line more defined, a leaner look to his face, the skin a bit more weathered. However, his eyes were the same; kind and intelligent, his love for her a flame that lit them from within.
Though she was not fully corseted, and could probably loosen the laces of her dress enough to manage wiggling out of her gown on her own, she instead mustered her courage. “Love, I don’t suppose you could give me a hand getting out of my gown?”
“Of course.” He came over and stood behind her, tugging at the laces that criss-crossed up her back. Her heart beat faster with each lace undone, until the gown came loose, held up only by her arm pressed over her chest. Taking a deep breath, she turned around to face him, and then let her gown fall to the floor, so she stood there naked before him.
“Phoebe…” His eyes quickly ran the length of her body before looking away and refusing to look back. “Please. You need not do this, love.”
Her skin felt alive as the Viridis teased each nerve awake in the cool air of the room. She took a step towards him and out of her dress, so their bodies brushed against each other. “That is where you are wrong. I do need to do this, Seth, for I will not allow him to retain his hold on me.”
“Phoebe…” Though she could hear the despair in his voice, his hand did reach out to her, the tips of his fingers running down her arm, her skin rippling with goose flesh in response.
She forced herself to look him in the eyes, to hold his gaze, to keep herself in the moment. It would be too easy for his touch to turn into a nightmare if she did not anchor herself to him. She reached up and started to undo the buttons of his shirt, but he halted her progress by gripping her hands.
“Phoebe, please don’t. I cannot do this.” He looked down at her pained, sending her stomach plummeting.
“Oh.” She looked away, suddenly feeling desperately exposed, tears welling up and running over. “I’m sorry. I had not realized.” She had not thought that what happened with Victor would change what she had with Seth. But of course it would. How could it not? She was just too stupid to have not thought of it.
He pulled the blanket off the foot of the bed and wrapped her in it, pulling her into his arms despite her struggles to get free. “Och, love. I am so sorry. About everything, aye?” He sat her down on the edge of the bed, sitting by her side, and taking her hands in his. “Ye should not have done it, Phoebe.”
Phoebe pulled a hand free to swipe at her tears, her cheeks flushing with a spark of anger, her tone firm. “I did what I needed to do to keep you safe.”
With hurt in his voice, Seth said, “Letting me hang would have been more merciful than having either one of us go through this.” He got up to pace before continuing, his hurt now anger. “I want to murder the bastard for what he’s done to you. Try as I might, I cannot get the images of him touching you out of my head. And how can I when the evidence of what you endured is still there upon your person?”
She pulled the blanket tight around her, not realizing he’d been able to see the bruises and marks Victor had left, even in the dim light of the fire.
“Then you stand before me, offering me yourself after such sacrifice, and I cannot touch you without thoughts of the bastard coming to mind. I cannot stop it, Phoebe, and I’m right sorry for it, for I’m not worthy of you or your love.” Sounding defeated, he said, “Perhaps, with time…”
Seth gently took her hands in his. Tears were streaming down her face, but she could not bring herself to look at him.
“I do love you so, Phoebe.” She heard his voice catch, and knew if she were to look into his eyes, she would see tears there as well.
She let her hands slip out of his, then took the ring off her finger and handed it to him. Her voice was barely a whisper. “Get out, Seth.”
Chapter Seventy Three
Gavin had just poured himself a drink when there was a knock at the bedroom door. He was shocked to see Seth standing there in a right ole’ state, and could not recall having ever seen his friend looking so distraught. “What’s happened? Is it Phoebe?”
“She’s called off the engagement and has asked me to leave.” Gavin pulled his friend into the room and sat him down in front of the fire. He poured Seth a large whisky and handed it to him, before picking up his own glass and taking the seat across from him.
“What happened, mo charaid?”
Seth shook his head, unable to get the words out, drowning himself in his drink. Finally he managed to say, “I could not do it. She wanted me to, but I could not. I keep seeing that bastard take her, keep seeing the marks he left on her body.”
Gavin had a sinking feeling. “What exactly are ye saying happened?”
Seth finally looked up at him. “She wanted me to take her so she could stop herself from thinking of Victor, but I could not do it. I could barely bring myself to touch her. She gave me back my mother’s ring and told me to get out.”
Gavin felt a surge of anger run through him. “Are ye trying to tell me that after all she did for ye, ye canna touch her? Ye’ve rejected her because of the sacrifice she made?” He thought of the look on Phoebe’s face when he carried her from Victor’s, and could not control his anger any longer. Without waiting for Seth’s answer, he reached over, hauled Seth to his feet, and sent a fist flying at his face.
By the gods that felt good.
Then Seth’s fist connected with his nose with such force that he staggered backwards, seeing stars. They circled each other like two animals, happy to tear into each other. They were equally matched, Gavin having the advantage of size, Seth that of speed. Seth dodged a fist to the ribs, landing a grazing punch. Gavin lunged at him, knocking him back enough to send the two of them crashing onto the end table.
Seth landed several blows to his gut, as he struggled to roll out of the way, the furniture blocking Gavin’s path. Sheer strength enabled him to knock Seth back, and he hit him with an upper cut. Before Seth had a chance to recover, Gavin lunged at him and they once again tumbled to the ground grunting, cursing, and pummeling each other.
At first Gavin couldn’t hear the feminine screams over his own yelling, but when he glanced away from Seth, he saw Phoebe standing there in nothing more than a dressing gown, looking irate.
Seth followed Gavin’s gaze, a curse upon his lips. He scrambled to his feet, then turned and gave Gavin a hand getting up off the floor, a scowl on his face. “Feel better?”
Gavin ran his fingers down his nose to see if it was broken. “Aye. You?”
Seth nodded, shifting his jaw back and forth. “Aye. I’ll do.”
And then Gavin turned to Phoebe with a look of apology, hoping she could find it in her heart to forgive him.
Chapter Seventy Four
After sending off the staff who had gathered at the commotion, Phoebe dragged the two miscreants to her room. She retrieved a tray with clean bandages, ointment, a basin, and a bottle of distilled alcohol.
She first checked each for any broken ribs, ignoring their protests, muttering profanities under her breath all the while. She then sat them down and moved to the more obvious, starting with Gavin. “Hand.”
Sitting across from her, Gavin protested. “Och now, love. Dinna fash yerself. ‘Tis only a few bruises and skinned knuckles.”
“Hmph.” Still fuming, Phoebe grabbed his hand and checked for any broken bones. Finding none, she held his hand over the basin and not without a little satisfaction, poured the alcohol over his skinned and cut knuckles. He cursed, and she smiled sweetly. “Serves you right.” She patted his hand dry, dabbed it with ointment, and wrapped it in a bandage. She then took her tray and moved on to Seth.
She looked him straight in the eyes, daring him to say anything, as she took hold of his hand and got to work. Feeling for broken bones, she felt up and down the length of his hand and fingers, pausing over the small finger of his left hand. “I’ll likely need to splint this one.” Still holding onto his hand, she p
ulled it over the basin and cleaned it with the alcohol. Though Seth muttered a curse under his breath, he did not flinch or pull his hand away.
When she stood to go in search of a splint, he held onto her hand. “Gavin, would you mind giving us some time alone?”
Gavin looked to her in question, and she nodded that it would be fine. With a look of warning at Seth, he got up and left.
“Phoebe…” The sorrow in his voice made her own aching heart bleed, but she would not give into her emotions, knowing things would be far worse when he left and she was alone.
Her gaze locked on his, refusing to look away, as she sat back down, the chair still positioned so they were only inches away.
“What is it you want, Seth?”
He took her hand in his and ran his thumb over the back of her hand, the motion soothing her frayed nerves, even as he started to speak. “I’m sorry, Phoebe. I’m sorry if I hurt you. It was not my intention.”
Tears threatened, but she blinked them back. “It does not change the facts. There’s nothing to be done if you cannot stand to touch me. At the very least you were honest about how you feel.”
“Phoebe, please give me another a chance. I’m devastated by what happened and quite frankly it feels as if my heart’s been torn from chest. But you’re the only thing that matters to me. Could ye not find it in your heart to forgive me, my love?” He reached out and touched her cheek, sending her tears flowing.
She pulled away and swiped at her tears, furious with herself for crying and furious with him for putting through this. She got up and paced the floor, unable to sit still. “I did what I had to do, Seth— to see you home safe. Though I can understand the issues you are facing, they are nothing compared to the hell I went through or what I’m now dealing with.” She stopped pacing to pin him with a stare. “You have only your imagination to supply you with the images—and I can tell you now, they are nothing compared to the reality of the matter.”
Viridis - A Steampunk Romance Page 26