Rose met his gaze for a moment before she looked back at Abby. “I used the address from your last letter. Does Uncle Edmund live here?”
Cass snorted and Abby winced. “No, he—I don’t live there anymore. Does he know you’re here?”
Rose shook her head. “No, I—no one knew I was coming. My parents, of course, but they think I’m in Boston.”
Boston?Ben’s mind grabbed onto that piece of information and held tight, but Abby kept speaking.
“Well, it is a surprise to see you. Where are you staying in New York?”
Rose bit her lower lip. “I had hoped with you.”
“She can’t stay here, Abby,” Ben said, glaring at Rose, but both women ignored him.
“I could go to stay with your father and mother, if you prefer,” Rose said, “but I was hoping to spend time with you. We were so close as children—”
“You can’t see them,” Abby interrupted. “They’ll ask about me and they can’t know.” Abby gazed up at Cass, and Ben wished to wrap his arms around both of them, to keep the fear haunting their eyes away as long as possible.
“I wouldn’t say anything,” Rose insisted. “I did not know you had… alternative living situations.”
Ben’s lip curled at the barely disguised disapproval in her tone. “She needs to leave,” he repeated, hoping that one of the women would listen to him this time.
“Shehas a name,“ Abby snapped, “and she’s my cousin.”
Rose lifted her chin towards Ben with a triumphant gleam in her eyes. “Thank you. And I swear, I will say nothing to your family. I merely need a place to stay.”
“How long are you staying?”
She hesitated for a long moment. “Not long, I don’t think. I have booked return passage to London in a month’s time, so I will need to be in Boston by then.”
Abby glanced up at Cass, who maintained her unfocused stare at a point in the distance. “I suppose you can stay,” Abby said, “although we haven’t much space.”
“I can sleep on the sofa. I’m not picky. But I could use some tea, as I’m quite parched.” She gave Cass a significant look.
Ben snorted, and Abby and Rose shot him an eerily identical glare.
“Then you’re welcome to stay, as long as you need. I would never turn out family.”
Not missing the significance of Abby’s words, Cass and Ben exchanged a look, and Cass settled gingerly into the chair at Abby’s side, sliding their hands together under the table. Rose’s eyes widened as her cheeks flushed. “I’m incredibly grateful. Has my trunk arrived yet? Oh, but I suppose it’s gone to your family’s address.”
Abby’s brows furrowed. “You sent your bags ahead?”
“Yes, some kind boys at the dock offered to deliver it for me. They claimed to know your family well.”
Awkward silence fell as Rose beamed. After a long pause, Abby cleared her throat. “Rose, those boys… Were they in uniform or anything?”
“No,” Rose replied, “in fact, they looked rather shabby. I thought they could use the employment.”
Cass exhaled audibly and Ben stepped away to lean against the wall, fighting the amusement pulling at his lips.This girl won’t survive a week in Brooklyn, let alone a month.
“Oh, sweetheart.” Abby dropped Cass’s hand to grab Rose’s. “The boys on the docks will steal anything they get their hands on. I’m afraid your things…”
Rose pressed her lips together as the color drained from her face. “Are gone,” she finished, a tremor in her voice.
“It’ll be fine,” Abby said. “I can take you to the shops tomorrow, and you can borrow from me—”
“I haven’t any money left. There was a man on the ship, and he said he could help me exchange my pounds for American coins…” Rose trailed off, squeezing her eyes shut and releasing a sound somewhere between a groan and a squeak.
Abby jumped from her seat to crouch at Rose’s side, then wrapped her arm around her cousin. “We’ll take care of you.” She fixed Cass with an intense stare. “Won’t we?”
