“It’s worse than that.” Mama rose and poured herself a glass of water from the pitcher. “These men don’t only pay me for the tumble.” She drank the whole glass. “I become their mistress, their dirty secret. Meanwhile, I collect material on them.”
“Material?” Angeline propped an elbow on the vanity, needing support. The pain in her arm was almost forgotten.
“Compromising letters and paid bills because they take me out to dinner or to fancy hotels. Sometimes they rent a room for me in a fancy area. I also take photographs of them and me together when they’re too drunk to understand what’s happening. Sometimes they’re daft enough to agree to have their photographs taken.”
“I need a moment to think.” Angeline rubbed her aching forehead. The revelation was too much.
“I know, love.” Mama stroked Angeline’s shoulder. “It’s all true. There’s no stock market.”
“But for what purpose would you collect— oh, goodness.” She breathed hard, and her throat ached all over again. “You blackmail them.”
Her mother nodded. “Not all of them. Only those who deserve it. No one cares if a gentleman has a mistress as longas the relationship is kept quiet. The nastier the gentleman, the more eager he is to keep his dirty secrets quiet.”
The shock caused Angeline to pause for a long moment. Mama had spoiled her since she was a child. Even when Angeline had worked as a waitress, she couldn’t say her life had been harsh. She lived in a nice house, and food filled her table. But blackmailing people wasn’t her idea of leading a happy life. Not to mention that she wanted a husband and a family. If Mama’s scandalous life came out, she and Angeline would never recover. They would be shunned and might end up in prison.
“Mama.” She licked her dry lips. “What you do isn’t simply illegal. It’s wrong.”
“Wrong? Who’s worse, those men who don’t hesitate to be unfaithful or me? Do you think I would let those pigs put their dirty paws on me without having them pay the consequences? They deserve it. I tried to live only on the fares they gave me, but it wasn’t enough to provide an education for you.”
Oh, no. Angeline pressed a finger to her temple as guilt lifted its nasty head. Her mother had solicited herself so that Angeline could study.
“What if what you do comes out? Tricks and plots like blackmailing people have the tendency to be discovered. What would happen to us? We might be arrested or, at the very least, become outcasts, and no man would touch me with a barge pole. I’ll never get married.”
Mama’s eyes narrowed to slits. “And? It wouldn’t be a loss. You can’t trust men. Do you think that just because a man marries you, he’s going to love you and care about you? He’ll discard you as soon as he grows tired of you and will find someone else younger and fresher.”
“Just because Father was a scoundrel, it doesn’t mean every man is like him.” Although the word scoundrel was a too-nice word for her father. Felon or crook was a more appropriate term.
Mama was officially the widow of a gentleman. The truth was that no one knew where Angeline’s father was. He’d left when she’d been a toddler. Likely, being a criminal, a drunk, and addicted to opium, he had died in an opium den. Angeline didn’t care. She felt guilty sometimes about her lack of care, but she didn’t remember anything about him, and he hadn’t shown himself in over twenty years.
Mama sat again on the stool, her shoulders stooping. “I don’t want you to make the same mistake as I did. Marrying, that is.”
“Right, because blackmailing people isn’t a mistake.” Angeline didn’t want to discuss the value of marriage now. That was unimportant compared to the monumental revelation Mama had dropped over her shoulders.
She took another moment to digest the news. “Lord Havisham? Does he know that you are a… a…”
“Harlot? You can say it. I don’t care.”
No, Angeline wouldn’t use that word for her mother. “Are you his mistress? Is this why he didn’t want to see me in his box?”
She gave a reluctant nod. “I haven’t been with him yet, but tonight was the opportunity to plan our first meeting. He offered two tickets for the play, inviting you although I told him clearly you weren’t to be touched or informed of my probable liaison with him. Initially, he agreed to everything. He said we would have a normal night at the theatre and pretend to be only business partners as long as you were present. I thought he wanted to talk to me during the intermission, but he had other ideas. He told me he wanted a taste of what I could offer. Hence, you had to stay out of his box.”
“What?” Angeline put a fluttering hand on her chest. “That’s awful.”
Mama didn’t flinch. “No, it’s normal.”
“Why did you take me with you tonight of all nights?”
“I didn’t know he would have prevented you from entering the box. I wanted you to have a proper night out and enjoy the play. But then the fire broke out, and you disappeared, and the thought of losing you was too much.” A sob shook her. “I had to tell you the truth, make you understand why I’ve never taken you with me, and if something had happened to me, tonight, you would have been all alone with all the horrible things I did. The thought of those men I blackmailed coming after you because of me scared me to death. Without me to protect you, they would hurt you…” She sobbed harder. “I can’t even think of what they would do to you.”
“Heavens.” Angeline’s throat tightened, but not because of the fire. “You’re alive and well. But you must stop this blackmail business. It’s dangerous.”
“It’s our livelihood.”
“We don’t need more money,” she whispered. “We have enough in our account to live decently for a few years.”
“And after those years have passed?” She regained some colour. “What I do?—”
“It’s dangerous.”
