Page 8 of A Case of Possession
“Your righteous man?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Oh, please, Lucien, I do listen to you.” She shook her head, mercurial mood changing, and the conspiratorial grin he knew so well lit up her face. “Go on, tell me. Who is he? Can I meet him? Is he handsome? How long has this been going on? He’s not married, is he? Are you in love?”
“Calm down, woman,” said Crane, laughing. “Er…that’s hard to explain, no, not precisely handsome but very appealing, about four months, not married, and…I enjoy his company. I’d call him a just man, rather than a righteous one, incidentally.”
“Interesting distinction. Does Merrick like him?”
“Very much. Likes him, respects him, and is just a little bit scared of him.”
“Really.” Leonora sat up straight. “What kind of man scares Merrick?”
“A just one, of course. You’d like him, Leo. Rackham, however, doesn’t, and has threatened to destroy him unless I pay up.”
That quenched the brief spurt of laughter in Leonora’s eyes. “Can he?”
“Possibly. I need to talk to him. My lover, not Rackham. So what’s he threatening you with?”
“He said he’d tell Eadweard everything. About Ahl and that week before I married him. He said he’ll tell Eadweard I’m not divorced, and you know, it will be dreadfully hard to prove I am, and even if I do… Eadweard doesn’t believe in it, he thinks that what God has joined, men should not put asunder. I know he loves me, but I think he’ll leave me if he finds out all this.”
“You could just deny it all.”
“I could try, but…well, if he started looking… It would destroy everything. He wouldn’t trust me again.” Her eyes were wide with hurt at the thought.
“No, probably not.” Crane felt a momentary sympathy for the absent Blaydon. “You know, Leo, the proper course at this point would be to confess everything. Either Blaydon will forgive it all and you’re happy forever, or he won’t but you’ll both know where you stand.”
“No.” Her voice was flat. “I shan’t. I don’t see that I deserve to have my chance at a new life spoiled by something that, honestly, thousands of other people do every day. Why should I live as a nun because I made a mistake seven years ago? How often did you get drunk and wake up in someone’s bed? What about that warlord?”
“Don’t remind me. I’m not arguing, but I’m not Blaydon either. And it won’t be any better if he finds out after you’re married.”
“That’s why I wanted to wait,” Leo said. “But Eadweard doesn’t want to. He wants children. I’ve told him I never could with Tom but he’s willing to take the chance.”
“Good for him. What exactly were you hoping this wait would achieve? How is this going to go away?”
She gave a little helpless shrug. “I don’tknow. I don’t know what to do.”
“How much have you paid Rackham?”
“Three hundred pounds, last week. He wants more. He sent a note this morning saying he’d call tomorrow. He must have seen that damned notice.”
“Hmm.” Crane frowned. “He asked me for five thousand.”
“Howmuch?”
“And…Merton’s dead, did you hear? Last week.”
“Good.”
“Yes, Leo, but he killed himself. And if anyone was susceptible to blackmail it would be him.”
“Oh,” Leonora said slowly. “So…Rackham killed the goose that laid the golden egg, and now he’s looking for more geese?”
“Or, he needs a lot of money fast. He’s given me till Friday to come up with the five thousand.”
“Someone’s on his back. Gambling debts? Opium debts?”
“My thoughts exactly.”
