Deception at Sable Hill (30 page)

Quickly, Sean rattled off Maeve’s address before glancing at Owen. “Take care of Katie. See you soon.”

Owen gave a mock salute and was turning away when the driver motioned the horses forward.

In the silence of the buggy, Sean thought about fights he’d been involved in when he was young. The hazing he’d endured being a new recruit. The things he’d seen on his beats, the things he’d done, all in the name of supposedly protecting the city’s fine citizens.

He’d gotten knifed, been hit, thrown himself on men attempting
to flee, and had once even had the misfortune to be on the wrong side of an escaped pig from the stockyards.

But none of it, none of it had ever given him the feeling of terror he’d experienced today.

“This Slasher’s a bad one,” Stone said after silence had settled on them. “I hope you catch him soon.”

“No one hopes that more than me,” Sean said. Absolutely meaning every word.

“I’m sorry you are forced to babysit me,” Katie said to Detective Howard when they at last made their way from the train station.

“Babysitting is a bit harsh, Miss Ryan.”

“You are being forced to watch over me. I don’t know what else you would call it.”

He winked as they walked out into the broad sunlight. “An honor.”

Her cheeks heated at the flattery. And it was very kind, if rather too effusive. She decided to ignore it. “Do you understand why Sean is making me stay with you? I would have thought it would be better for everyone if I simply went on home.”

“He has his reasons,” he said evasively. “Now, please stop dwelling on it. We have more important things to do besides debate whether or not you should be by my side.”

“What do we need to do?”

“You and I need to go over to Sable Hill and inform Mr. and Mrs. Carstairs about Eloisa’s attack.”

“My brother isn’t going to talk to them when he takes her home?”

“Your brother is taking Miss Carstairs to your sister’s home.”

“To Maeve’s?”

“Her house is closer than Sable Hill, I believe.”

“Well, it is that.” They were walking down the street, walking on the makeshift sidewalk, really just a long strip of lumber that was just elevated enough so women’s hems would be saved from the worst of the dirt.

To her surprise, Owen was keeping their pace at an even, almost leisurely pace. She was grateful for that. She wondered if it was for her benefit or if he wasn’t in much of a hurry to talk to Miss Carstairs’s parents.

“Do you know them very well?” she asked after they crossed another block.

“Eloisa’s parents?”

“Yes.”

He shrugged, then at last nodded. “Well enough. Eloisa and I frequent the same circles.”

She wasn’t exactly sure what he meant. Oh, she understood the gist of it, but the way he phrased things made it sound as if there were more between them than she’d guessed.

Or maybe, perhaps, even less?

“Are we going to walk all the way to Sable Hill?”

He chuckled under his breath, just as he stepped a bit closer to her and took her arm. “No, Miss Ryan. Walking there would take most of the day and we don’t have time for that. I just, uh, wanted to give us both a few minutes of peace before we grabbed a grip car.”

His lengthy reply embarrassed her. It sounded as if he were taking care to explain things to her, as one would a child. “Sorry.”

There were more people around them now, which made sense since they were nearing the financial district. Detective Howard’s expression became harder, giving off a further hint of an aura that stated firmly to one and all that no one should mess with him.

“No, I’m the one who should be apologizing. I sounded short with you, didn’t I? That certainly wasn’t my intention.”

Katie knew she should point out that she was nothing to him, merely another obligation bearing down on him on top of an already difficult day.

And because every other topic of conversation she could think of seemed to be a minefield, she asked something that would hopefully give her more information about him but not create another crease of worry around his eyes. “Detective Howard, why would someone like you become a policeman?”

They crossed an intersection before he replied. “I’m surprised your brother didn’t already tell you my life story.”

“Sean’s not one for divulging private information.”

He glanced her way. “No, I suppose he is not. Well, the short of it is that I am not the oldest son in my family. Or even the second. I’m number three.” His lips thinned. “My father owns a manufacturing facility. It does rather well. There was plenty of expectation for my eldest brother to take after him. And he did.”

“What about your next brother?”

He shook his head. “Sam isn’t one for business, but he has a good head on his shoulders.” She gazed up at him in time to see him frown. “No, that isn’t fair. He’s bloody brilliant. Smartest man I know. He became a lawyer.”

“I see,” she said. Though she still really didn’t. Running a company and being a fancy lawyer were both respected professions. Being a policeman was definitely not. Even she knew his job was a far cry from where his father no doubt had expected him to go. To make matters worse, he wasn’t even in charge. He was a detective, which was a matter of honor for someone of her family, but it had to grate on a man like Owen to be paired with Sean Ryan.

And to make matters even worse, her brother was technically his superior.

He grinned. “If you see, then you are definitely ahead of the rest of my family. They don’t see what I’m doing at all. And as a matter of fact, I don’t blame them.”

“So what did happen?”

He glanced at her, his handsome face looking apprehensive. “The fact of the matter is that the Lord blessed me with good looks—best in the family,” he added with a grin. “My mother said she used to tell everyone she met that the Lord had blessed her with her own angel.”

“I bet you did look angelic as a baby,” she murmured without thinking.

He grinned. “I did. But, uh, what I wasn’t all that blessed with was a brain.”

“What?”

“I’m smart enough, of course. It’s not like I was born with a defect of some sort.” He shook his head. “But schooling was hard for me. Especially hard. I had a difficult time learning to read. I still don’t read all that well, and sometimes when I write, the letters get turned around.” His voice lowered, deepened. “My dad used to say I got all the beauty and none of the smarts.”

“That’s horrible.”

“It was true.” He shrugged. “However, it turned out that I might not be able to write things all that well but I can figure things out with the best of them.”

“And so you decided to become a policeman?”

“And so I decided to work for a friend of my father’s in his store.”

“You were a shop worker?”

“Briefly. On the third evening I was working, a pair of hooligans
came in and stole some of the merchandise. My boss summoned the police—which I thought was a waste of time.”

“Why?”

“Because even five years ago much of Chicago believed that the police weren’t all that capable of keeping order. Worse, they were considered to be mostly crooked. Anyway, what did happen was that your brother was one of the men who showed up at the shop.”

“I had no idea that was how you met!” Their conversation was certainly a revelation.

“We didn’t hit it off real well at the beginning, but your brother did recover the merchandise. And I suddenly realized that I didn’t want to have my day’s goal to be about selling lots of things to people who didn’t need them. About a month after the incident, I asked your brother to meet me for coffee.”

“I’m surprised he met you. Sean isn’t one to meet anyone for coffee. He’s usually all about work.”

“I was surprised too. Surprised but relieved. And to this day, no matter what happens, I’ll always be grateful to him for doing that. Otherwise I would have really made a fool of myself when I went into that precinct office and asked to be hired.”

“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

T
he 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?”