Adrian sank back ina comfortable chair in front of the fireplace in Brookhaven’s parlor, staring down at the dozen small faces that surrounded him. He never came to Brookhaven in the daylight and only rarely allowed himself to do so in the early evening, like tonight, but when he did, the children greeted him as though he was Santa Claus and Jesus all rolled in one.
His mask didn’t seem to frighten them, though of course most of them had lived through more terrors than any child should have to. Besides, he’d rescued each and every one of them, in one form or another, so they were all in on the secret together. Not one of these children would ever mention his visits, for fear that the authorities would begin to watch the home. They let him come here and read to them, and sometimes they sang for him.
Tonight he was readingRobinson Crusoeto a group of the younger boys. Defoe’s novel had been a favorite of his when he was a child, and he’d wanted to share it with them. They gave him their rapt attention, bright eyes locked on his mask as he read about the shipwrecked man.
Fiona had told him when he arrived that the boy he’d most recently rescued had finally broken his silence and told Vanessa his name. He was pleased to see young Gabriel seemed to be enjoying the story, and when he’d finished reading and ushered the rest of the boys to bed, he urged Gabriel to stay behind for a few minutes.
“Do you like it here?” he asked the boy gently when the rest of the group had left. “Are you settling in well?”
Gabriel stared at his feet and nodded, color creeping into his cheeks.
“Let me know if there’s anything you need, anything I can do...” Adrian trailed off, feeling a bit uncomfortable as the silence stretched between them. This boy reminded him so much of himself, the things he’d been through, the silence he’d chosen to combat his pain...
“Thank you, sir,” the boy whispered as Adrian started to turn away. “Thank you for what you done for me.”
Adrian blinked back a sudden prickling in his eyes. “I just want you to be safe, Gabriel. I want you to be happy.”
“Miss Bourke comes to see me,” the boy offered shyly. “She’s real nice to me.”
“That’s good,” Adrian said helplessly. “She’s a lovely woman, isn’t she?”
“She’s good,” Gabriel whispered fiercely. “Don’t say she’s lovely, ’cause she’s more than that. She’s good. She made me hot chocolate. She makes the best hot chocolate in the world.”
“Does she?” Adrian put his hand on the little boy’s shoulder and squeezed lightly, touched by his impassioned defense of the woman he’d come to love so much in such a short time. He obviously equated “lovely” with his past, with the whores who infested the gentlemen’s club Adrian had taken him from. “You’re right. She is a good woman.”
And lovely. Lovelier than words can describe. Though he’d been making an effort, recently, to do so. He wondered what she thought of his pathetic attempts at poetry.
“You should have her make you some chocolate sometime,” Gabriel told him innocently. “It really is the best.”
“I should,” Adrian agreed, knowing he’d just lost the battle he’d been fighting within himself for weeks. “I definitely should.”
* * * *
VANESSA PRESSED HERforehead against her bedroom window, staring through the pouring rain at the dark street below. More than a fortnight had passed since Prometheus had last come to call, and she’d lost hope of seeing him again.
She wasn’t sure why she felt such an aching sense of loss. She didn’t even know what he looked like, had only shared a few hushed conversations and that one amazing kiss, yet the loneliness she’d sensed in him had touched her in a soul-deep way. For those few minutes she’d spent in his company, the loneliness in her soul had briefly subsided. Perhaps it was the danger that surrounded him, but he’d made her feel alive.
Hardly a moment had passed in the last few weeks that he hadn’t been on her mind, always lurking in the corner of her thoughts, even when she was on stage. Discovering his identity had become an obsession.
Unfortunately, she had very little to work with. If he didn’t return, her desire to find out who he was and explore a further relationship with him would be in vain.
All she knew was that he was tall, a bit over six feet. His hair was a dark, sable brown and wavy, brushing his wide shoulders, and his eyes were blue or green.
Of late, she’d found herself focusing on the mouth of every man she met because if there was one physical characteristic she knew she’d recognize, were she to see it again, it was his mouth.
She closed her eyes, remembering the way he’d kissed her. Such passion and promise... She couldn’t imagine going the rest of her life without experiencing that again.
A nearby thud startled her out of her reverie, and she opened her eyes to find a hooded figure standing on the ledge outside her window, staring at her through the rain and glass. She lifted one hand to her throat, her pulse racing with excitement. Had she summoned him with her longing, or did he feel it too? For a long moment they just looked at each other, and then she hastened to open the window and let him in.
“What were you thinking?” she exclaimed as he clambered through, bringing the scent of rain and wet wool with him. “You shouldn’t be leaping across rooftops in the rain. You’re lucky you didn’t fall to your death.”
He closed the window and then leaned against it, the faintest hint of amusement gracing that beautiful mouth. She realized she’d never seen him truly smile. “Does this concern mean you’re pleased to see me?”
Stepping forward, she brushed her fingertips along his jaw, skimming across his cold, rain-slicked skin. He caught his breath, and she jerked her hand back as though she’d been burned. “I half-feared you were a dream,” she told him, explaining her actions with a shaky laugh. “I was staring out the window, wishing you’d come back...”
“I like the thought of you dreaming of me, Vanessa,” he said softly. “I like it very much.”
She dropped her gaze, embarrassed. “I’m pleased you’re here. It’s been weeks. I thought I’d seen the last of you.”
