Page 31 of To Heist and to Hold
While it was well known in society that he was feared for his power, that he could make a man wet himself with one well-timed glower, his effect on those weaker than he seemed to suggest something else entirely.From the kitchen maid, Mary, to Mr.Ferris heading the boxing ring build to Mr.Kendal in charge of the playbills and advertisements, she had seen him treat them with nothing but respect.Something that showed in their comfortable way of interacting with him, in the relaxed lines of their faces when they spoke to him, and in the way they went about their work without fear.If he was at the root of the cheating, she had not seen a hint of it.
The next moment she downed the remainder of her tea in one long swallow, using the burn of the hot liquid to shock herself back to her senses.What, did she expect the man to advertise that he was a swindler?One could be kind to those working for one and at the same time steal from others.Didn’t even the worst criminals have people they had fooled into thinking they could not possibly be guilty?
No matter how she tried to tell herself that Ethan was the great big villain that she had gone into this believing him to be, she could not reconcile that image with that of the man who had held her so tenderly after she had fallen apart in his arms.
“You are strangely quiet this afternoon,” Sylvia said in her ear.
“What?Oh!”Heloise’s face burned as she turned a wide, false smile Sylvia’s way.“My apologies.I’m afraid I was woolgathering.”
“No apologies needed, my dear,” the other woman replied gently.
That gentleness gave Heloise pause.While Sylvia was kind to them all, while she cared for them all, gentleness was not part and parcel of her personality.
Euphemia leaned forward and handed her a plate full of pastries and fruit.
“Woolgathering is all well and good, but you must eat,” she said with sternness colored liberally with affection.“I don’t believe you ate a bite this morning before our departure, and I know you did not eat after your return.”She grinned.“I asked.”
Laney gave her a look of mock horror.“You braved asking Strachan?”
“What, do you think I would willingly don that particular hair shirt?”Euphemia’s laughter was like bells, a strange thing indeed coming from her lips, seeing as she still wore the makeup that had changed her from a sweet, unobtrusive woman to the quietly handsome Herbert.
“No,” she continued, “I asked Helena in the kitchens.”She took up a strawberry and plopped it into her mouth, giving them all a look that said,And I shall do the same for all of you if you don’t eat your fill.
The next half hour passed pleasantly, with no more mention of Dionysus or anything relating to their plans for that place.Which should have eased Heloise’s mind.Yet she could not help noticing that, on occasion, the other women sent curious, concerned glances her way.Perhaps it’s nothing, she told herself firmly as Iris, in the process of reaching for a small sandwich, looked at her out of the corner of her eye.Mayhap I’m imagining things, she thought as Euphemia’s laugh faltered ever so slightly when she looked her way.
But she could not ignore the strange way Laney pressed her hand, nor the tighter-than-normal hug Euphemia gaveher when they bade each other farewell.They knew, they all knew, and were worried about her, a realization that should have given her some relief that she did not have to tell them but instead filled her with dismay that they could not even stomach bringing the subject up to her.None of them had wanted her to seduce Ethan, after all.But she had seen no other way.
“Oh, but I need to get out of this disguise,” Euphemia said, tugging at the limp cravat at her throat.“I feel positively filthy.”
“Shall I help you?”Iris asked, hurrying toward her, nearly upending the whole of the tea table in the process in her eagerness.
“Absolutely,” Euphemia replied with a smile.Waving their goodbyes, the two women left, Laney quickly following.Leaving Sylvia and Heloise quite alone.
And then Sylvia, patting Heloise’s arm, made to leave as well.And Heloise found she couldn’t take it a moment longer.
“Is no one going to ask me how things are going with Mr.Sinclaire?”
She tried her best to raise her head high and feign unconcern.But her voice wobbled horribly until it faded off entirely, a complete and utter betrayal.Sylvia heard it, if the way she pressed her lips together in compassion was any indication.
“Anyone can see you succeeded,” she said gently.“Just as anyone can see that you don’t wish to discuss it.”
She came to stand before Heloise and took her hand.Now that they had gotten it out in the open, Heloise could see the stark worry in the other woman’s eyes.Warmth filled her chest, tears burning her eyes.She could not recall the last time anyone had worried about her.
Oh, she was certain that at one time, when she had been small, her mother had worried for her, loved her.But then shehad died, and her father had been too busy surviving to think of his only daughter.When he had died several years later and she had gone to live with her uncle and his wife, they had let her know in no uncertain terms that she was under their protection only due to familial duty.So she had kept her head down and worked hard to justify her place in their home.When she had left their house and married Gregory, his only concerns had been for his sister and his business, in that order.His wife, he had been fond of saying, was like a well-made broadsword, useful and strong and not needing much maintenance.She had been proud of it then.It had meant she had succeeded in earning her place in his life.
Now, however, with Sylvia looking at her as if she truly mattered, with the memory of the concern in the other Widows’ eyes still fresh in her mind, she saw it for the empty success it had been.
“I will, of course, be here for you should you wish to talk things over,” Sylvia said before Heloise could begin to understand this new ache coursing through her chest.“As will any of us.You know we are here for you.”
Feeling suddenly raw and vulnerable in the face of such kindness, Heloise cleared the tears from her throat and pulled her hand from the other woman’s grasp.“Thank you, Sylvia.”
“Of course,” she murmured with a small smile.The worry adding to the lines of her face, however, did not ease.If anything, those lines deepened, bracketing her mouth, hugging her eyes.“But know that, should Mr.Sinclaire mistreat you in any way, you need only say the word and we shall converge on Dionysus with all the fury of… well, the Furies.”
Laughing softly, she winked and made her way from the room, leaving Heloise to thoughts that were much too tender for her to know what to do with.
16
Mr.Sinclaire, sir?”
