by Jen Turano
“And while I’m sure you’d love to launch into what that furthermore entails,” Norman hurried to say before Beatrix could continue, “I’d like to return the conversation to something I believe is more important, that being the reduction in pay you mentioned earlier. You never said how much of a reduction you’re going to take.”
“That’s hardly more important than what I was going to say, but if you must know, fifty cents a week.”
“I suppose that’s not too extreme,” Norman said slowly.
“It is when you were only making seven dollars a week to begin with.”
Norman blinked. “Forgive me, but did you say seven dollars . . . a week?”
“I did.”
“I feel a distinct urge to run down Mr. Marshall Field and have a nice chat with him. And before you argue with me about that, you should know that I live near Mr. Field on Prairie Avenue. Given the extravagance of his home, he’s certainly capable of paying his employees more.”
“I’m sure he is capable of paying more, but I don’t want you to seek him out. Besides, he’s not at the store today. I heard he’s spending his time over at the dry goods warehouse on Madison and Market.”
“Then that’s where I’m heading,” Norman said before he took off, pretending he didn’t hear Beatrix’s protests.
Striding around a group of ladies wearing enormous hats, he headed down the sidewalk, intent on getting to Madison and Market as quickly as possible.
A hand on his arm had him slowing his pace right as he got to the corner of the Marshall Field & Company building.
“You really can’t run down Mr. Field to have a chat with him,” Beatrix argued, her hand tightening on his sleeve. “He won’t appreciate your interference in what is really only a small matter of one of his employees being disciplined for leaving her department.”
He ignored that as he looked to the left and then to the right, coming to a complete stop when the traffic rumbling past him on State Street made it all but impossible to cross the street. “But Mr. Field is, without question, paying you too little.”
“He pays all his female employees too little, but that’s an accepted practice, at least from what I’ve been told, because working women enjoy the reputation that comes with being an employee at Marshall Field & Company.”
“But you’re being required to accept a decrease in what is already an unacceptable wage to begin with. Aren’t you concerned that the decrease is going to leave you in an uncomfortable financial situation?”
“A loss of fifty cents a week will not ruin me financially.”
Norman frowned. “But you’re making very little as it is, and—”
The rest of what Norman wanted to say was interrupted when a man stumbled into him, which had him stumbling into Beatrix, which sent her careening into the street, right in front of a large delivery wagon.
Chapter 16
Norman felt someone grab him around the waist, but unfortunately that action did not break his fall. Instead, it got him to the ground more rapidly, which lost him the opportunity of getting to Beatrix.
Thankfully, Theo rushed past him and hauled Beatrix out of the path of the delivery wagon just in the nick of time.
Getting to his feet, he strode to Beatrix, looking her over with a sharp eye.
“Were you injured?”
She shook her head, her attention directed over his shoulder. “Where’d he go?”
“Where’d who go?”
“The man who pushed you.”
Norman frowned. “No one pushed me.”
Theo jerked her head toward a man who’d all but flown past them, his bowler hat bobbing through the crowd of people. “I think your Pinkerton man believes otherwise.”
“I thought after the chat I had with Agent Cochran earlier that the Pinkerton men would let me know when they were trailing after me, but apparently I was wrong about that,” Norman said slowly, squinting after the man who was, indeed, one of the Pinkerton men his mother had hired.
“And here I thought you were simply pretending not to notice him,” Theo said, eyeing him suspiciously. “It’s concerning, your behavior, but now is not the time to discuss it.” She turned to Beatrix. “Are you certain you weren’t injured? I was rather rough when I grabbed you.”
“And thank goodness you did,” Beatrix said, dusting off her skirt. “I would have been trampled for certain without your intervention. But let’s get out of this crowd. I can’t think with all these people swarming around us.”
“I have a better idea,” Norman said. “I’m of the belief that a nice cup of tea, paired with an even nicer meal, does wonders for clearing a person’s head.” He offered an arm to Beatrix, then offered his other to Theo. “Shall we repair to Kinsley’s? It’s only a few blocks away.”
“Oh, I adore Kinsley’s,” Theo exclaimed, tugging him into motion as she nodded to Beatrix. “They serve the most delicious oysters there, and I must admit that I’m ravenous because Norman and I neglected to eat any lunch today.” With that, she increased her pace, practically dragging him and Beatrix down the sidewalk.
It took all of ten minutes to get to Kinsley’s, a well-established restaurant that offered different amenities on different floors. A guest could dine in the lunchroom or adjacent restaurant on the first floor, enjoy a meal at one of the two cafés located on the second floor, although one of those cafés was strictly for men, or reserve a private dining room on the upper levels.
“It’s charming,” Beatrix said, stopping to admire the striped awnings that covered the entrance door.
“Wait until you taste the food,” Norman returned, heading after Theo, who’d already walked into the restaurant and was speaking with the maître d’. He gestured for them to follow him as he took them to the lunchroom and gave them a table by the window.
After holding Beatrix’s chair for her, Norman went to do the same with Theo, but she was already seated. “I was going to help you.”
“You usually don’t bother to assist me into my chair.”
“I’ve held your chair for you at numerous society events,” he said, taking his seat.
“Which is expected because those are society events.” Theo gestured around the room. “This is just enjoying a quick bite to eat, and you’ve never held my chair for me when we take time out of our day to eat.”
Norman frowned. “Why have you never pointed that out to me before?”
“Because that would have reminded you that I’m not a gentleman.”
“I’m well aware you’re not a gentleman, Theo.”
Theo shrugged. “Perhaps, but because you seem to hold women in less-than-high regard, at least as it pertains to their intellectual abilities, I didn’t want to take the chance that you’d dwell overly much on my being a lady. That might have eventually led to me being deprived of the scientific research I enjoy.”
“I hold your intellectual abilities in very high regard and value your input too much to ever want to discontinue our association.”
Theo began blinking rapidly, but before he could ask her if she’d gotten something in her eye, a server appeared directly beside her, handing her a menu that she promptly disappeared behind.
Beatrix received a menu next, but she set it aside and nodded to Norman. “You may order for me.”
“I don’t know you well enough to know what foods you enjoy.”
“But that’s what will make this more of an adventure. I may be pleasantly surprised by a dish I’ve never tried before.”
“Or you could be rendered nauseous if Norman chooses poorly,” Theo said, peering over the top of her menu.
“Which will only add to the sense of adventure,” Beatrix returned with a grin.
The sight of her grin had Norman’s thoughts turning somewhat muddled, but thankfully Theo launched into telling the server what she was going to order, that being oysters and fresh bread. By the time the server turned to him, his thoughts had returned to relatively fine form, which allowed him to order exactly what T
heo had ordered, but choosing chicken stew and salad for Beatrix, deciding it was the safest choice and shouldn’t render her ill, even if it wasn’t the most adventurous of meals.
Once they’d been served tea and coffee, Beatrix took a sip, then set aside her cup.
“Now that I can think clearly again, I’d like to return to the near disaster we almost suffered. I’ve been wondering if we might have been the intended victims of a pickpocket.”
“I did feel someone grab me around the waist,” Norman said slowly. “I just assumed that someone was trying to halt my descent to the ground.”
“Pickpockets are normally more stealthy than that, having practiced their trade to where their victim doesn’t feel a thing,” Beatrix said.
“How would you know that?”
“I often travel to Five Points in New York, where many a pickpocket has tried to relieve me of my valuables.”
Norman frowned. “What do you do in Five Points?”
“This and that,” she said, which was hardly helpful, but before Norman could voice a complaint about her less-than-informative response, she continued. “If you weren’t the intended victim of a pickpocket, though, I have to wonder if our accident was another attempt to part you from your research.”
Norman took a sip of tea. “As I’ve said more than once, there’s little likelihood the culprit now in possession of the faulty yet remarkably complex research has realized my duplicity.”
Beatrix opened her mouth, but before she could voice what was undoubtedly going to be an argument on her part, the server returned. That server then went about placing small plates and slices of bread in front of everyone before he bowed and walked away.
Beatrix buttered a piece of her bread, took a bite, and sighed. “Ah, delicious,” she said before she smiled at Theo. “Because Norman is obviously reluctant to entertain the idea that someone could still be after his papers, allow me to change the subject so we won’t spend our meal bickering. Tell me about the research you enjoy.”
Theo immediately looked delighted, probably because no one usually bothered to ask her many questions. While Theo launched into a discussion about chemicals and chemistry, her science of choice, Norman watched as she became more and more animated, that animation increasing with every question Beatrix asked her.
Five minutes later, Theo abruptly stopped talking and frowned. “I once overheard a society lady state that a person should never monopolize the conversation, something I’m certainly doing. So enough about me. Tell me more about Marshall Field & Company. What time do you arrive for work in the morning?”
“We’re expected to be at work a half hour before the store opens, which means I get there at seven thirty, and then leave between four and five.”
“That’s a lot of hours of work to only get paid what amounts to pennies more than a dollar a day,” Theo pointed out.
Norman set aside his cup and nodded to Beatrix. “You’re definitely earning a less-than-acceptable wage.”
“I’m in full agreement with that, but there are relatively few positions available to women in respectable establishments, which allows those establishments to pay their workers so poorly.”
“You can always come work for me,” Norman said, refusing to wince when he realized he’d just made a most impulsive offer, one that was quite unlike him to make.
Theo immediately choked on the sip of coffee she’d taken while Beatrix stared back at him, her mouth slightly agape.
Taking a second to butter his bread, as well as to think through the implications of what he’d just said, Norman felt an unusual surge of anticipation flow through him.
That he’d not had any intention of offering Beatrix a job was not in question, but oddly enough, now that he considered the matter, it held a great deal of appeal.
He’d been worried about her for days, but if she worked for him, he’d be able to keep an eye on her, which would then allow him to return to his work without the distraction his worrying had caused.
“What type of work could Beatrix do for you?” Theo asked, drawing his attention.
Norman shrugged. “I could use an assistant.”
Beatrix blotted her lips with her napkin, then sent him a smile that was filled with genuine warmth, one that left him feeling somewhat addled, which was not a feeling he was accustomed to in the least.
“You’re a far more complicated gentleman than I gave you credit for at first,” Beatrix began, “and while your offer of employment may be one of the nicest offers I’ve ever received, I’m afraid I can’t accept it.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t know the least little thing about inventions or scientific studies. I also have this propensity for landing myself in the most unusual circumstances, which could prove detrimental to your research.” She smiled. “You and Theodosia are seasoned scientists, and yet you still managed to blow something up that caused Theodosia to lose a good bit of her hair. The last thing you need is an assistant with no understanding of science, because, I assure you, I’d be more of a hindrance than a help. With that said, though, let me repeat that I do appreciate the offer even though I can’t take you up on it.” With that, Beatrix sent him another smile right as the server returned with their meals.
As they ate, their conversation turned to sights Beatrix wanted to see around Chicago, which was a surprisingly pleasant way to spend a meal, and before Norman knew it, dessert was being brought to the table—chocolate cake for him and Beatrix and apple pie for Theo.
“Would you look at all those women walking past the window,” Theo said, setting down her fork. “They’re wearing turbans on their heads, all of them in different colors.”
Beatrix swiveled around in her chair. “Oh dear. That’s Aunt Gladys and some of the women who live at her house. I completely forgot I was supposed to meet her after work because I’m attending a meeting with her this evening. I’ll be right back.” With that, Beatrix dashed away, still clutching her napkin in her hand.
“Have you ever met Miss Gladys Huttleston before?” Norman asked.
Theo took another bite of pie and shook her head. “Haven’t had the pleasure, but . . .” She lowered her fork. “I think that’s about to change, because if I’m not mistaken, Beatrix seems to be bringing her aunt to join us.”
Chapter 17
Norman rose to his feet as Gladys Huttleston bustled into the restaurant. She immediately took charge of the situation by telling the server the women with her would sit at the table adjacent to where Norman was sitting, while she would be joining her niece at Norman’s table.
Giving her turban a pat, Gladys settled her gaze on him and smiled. “Ah, Norman, fancy running into you again, and in the company of my niece.”
Clearly Edgar had not been the only one to witness his sprints past the Huttleston house.
Taking the hand Gladys thrust at him, he placed a kiss on it, then helped her into a chair. After she was settled, he moved to the table where five other turban-wearing women were standing, helping each of them into their respective chairs, which earned him smiles all around, and a batting of eyelashes from Mamie, the woman who’d flirted outrageously with him when he’d delivered Beatrix to Gladys’s house what seemed like a lifetime ago.
He didn’t hesitate to return to his seat beside Gladys, who barely waited until he sat down before she began peppering him with questions.
“How is it, Mr. Nesbit, that you’re currently enjoying a meal with my niece? Did you just happen upon her as she left Marshall Field & Company?”
Norman wasn’t certain, but he thought Gladys might have sent him the merest hint of a wink.
He resisted a groan, but before he could answer her question, Theo sat forward, setting aside her fork.
“Norman and I were shopping at Marshall Field & Company because I needed new gloves,” Theo surprised him by saying, although she might have immediately regretted speaking up when Miss Huttleston raised a monocle that was dangling on a chain around h
er neck, taking a moment to look Theo up and down before she nodded.
“Miss Theodosia Robinson, I don’t believe we’ve ever been properly introduced.” Gladys sent him a pointed look.
“Quite right,” he hurried to say. “Miss Huttleston, this is an associate—”
“Friend,” Beatrix corrected under her breath.
“Quite right again,” he muttered. “As I was saying, this is my friend Miss Theo—or rather, Theodosia Robinson.” He turned to Theo. “Theodosia, this is Miss Gladys Huttleston, Beatrix’s aunt.”
“You must call me Gladys, my dear,” Gladys all but boomed, leaning over Norman to thrust a hand at Theo, who took it somewhat warily, giving it a bit of a shake, which seemed to satisfy Gladys because she withdrew her hand and set her gaze on him. “You must call me Gladys as well, Norman. No sense keeping it formal, what with how you seem to be friends—or at least I hope so—with my niece.” She smiled fondly at Beatrix. “Poor Beatrix needs some friends here in the city, and I’d be much obliged if you’d step into that role.” She nodded to Theo. “You too, Theodosia, but tell me, dear, what happened to your hair?”
Theo raised a hand to the hair in question. “I’m afraid an experiment Norman and I were trying went horribly wrong, as in it blew up and singed off half my hair in the process.”
To Norman’s confusion, Gladys’s eyes began to sparkle right before she turned and waved to one of the women sitting nearby. “Did you hear that, Blanche? Theodosia has burned off part of her hair. That will make her an excellent candidate for your new product.”
Blanche, a woman wearing a turquoise turban, jumped out of her chair and hurried toward them, a distinct bounce in her step. She stopped directly in front of Theo, reached out a hand without a by-your-leave, and began inspecting Theo’s chopped-off hair, smiling in satisfaction a moment later.
“I’ve never seen hair in this state before.” Blanche bit her lip. “It’ll be tricky, but I believe I can fix it. Might have to shape it up a touch to get rid of the worst of the brittle parts, but I shouldn’t have to take more than an inch off.”