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Chapter Nineteen
Arthur could see the worry slowly eat at her and he knew he was the reason behind it.
“I beg your pardon?” Carmen stammered, her eyes wide in astonishment.
“The music hall is yours now. You’re free to do whatever you please with it,” he said.
“You aren’t serious,” Carmen said. Instead of answering her, he shrugged. She shook her head vehemently. “Why?”
“Because I can…and I want to,” he said.
“But you bought it for a reason,” she said. “Then why?”
“You know my reason,” he said. “Besides there is no point shutting the hall down now. I know I can’t keep Nora away from music. You’re her teacher and honestly one of the best things that happened to her in a long while.”For me too, he wanted to say but couldn’t say it aloud.
“I have nothing to give you in return.”
“Let me put your mind at ease, you owe me nothing. I took something away from you out of sheer ignorance. I hope to make amends now by returning it back to you before it’s too late. Besides, I’m doing this for Nora.”
A strange expression crossed her face and if Arthur didn’t know better, he would think she was almost disappointed at his answer. He frowned to himself. He had done the right thing, hadn’t he? “You’re doing so much for her and I’m, in turn, standing in between you and your dream. I can see how much it is eating at you. Accept my apologies,” he continued.
“You don’t have to apologize to me, Your Grace,” she said. He hated the way she addressed him. He wanted to hear his name on her lips and wanted to hear it when he plunged deep inside her. He immediately hardened at the thought. They had kissed in several places of the house, but their encounters were usually confined to that. He was starting to want more but he didn’t want to push any boundaries between them. Besides he didn’t want her to think she owed him any favors for returning the place to her.
“Carmen,” he said. He stepped forward and brushed his knuckles on her cheeks. Her eyes closed as she savored his touch. “I have to go,” she whispered. “Nora is waiting for me.” Arthur nodded but he made no attempt to let her out of this confined space. He wanted this moment to stretch for a few more fleeting seconds, even minutes. He wanted to exist here with only her. Arthur didn’t know what he was feeling but was he too selfish in his expectations of her? She was like a salve to his soul, but did she feel the same way? These conflicting thoughts crowded his mind as he unlocked the door to the alcove and ushered her out.
* * *
By the time Carmen finished her lessons and headed out, the sun had set, and the sky was slowly turning dark. She shivered against the unexpected gust of wind as she walked down the streets, her bonnet clutched to her head so that it wouldn’t fly off unexpectedly.
As she turned the corner a few streets away from home, she heard a strange sound floating towards her. Someone was whistling an out of tune song. She froze when she realized that she had heard it before. A cold shiver ran up her spine, rooting her to the spot. It washim.
Her mind travelled back to years ago when as a new bride, she was travelling with Jaxon. He had promised to take her to his home where she would be taken care of. Instead, he had woken her up halfway through the journey and tossed her out of the carriage where another man was waiting for her. “If you love me,” he had said. “You will please him.” He had lost all his pretenses of being kind to her at the point.
At least before, he had begged her to entertain other men so that they could have enough money to live peacefully. But somewhere in the time when they had eloped and he had finally managed to bed her, he had shown his true face. He was a cold and cruel man.
Carmen’s senses brought her back to the present. She shook her head to clear it from the cobwebs of her past. “No,” she whispered to herself. “It can’t be. He can’t be here.” She hadn’t killed him but she had managed to injure him enough so she was certain that he would never hurt any other women. Had she been wrong?
The whistle seemed to draw closer and closer and a sheer terror clenched her stomach. She had a violent urge to be sick. “No, no, no,” she muttered to herself.
Just then somebody tapped her on her shoulder and she almost shrieked. When she finally turned back around, she was surprised to see it was Lily. She was giving her an odd look. “Carmen,” she said. “What’s wrong?”
“I-I thought that…” She shook her head. “I thought Jaxon was here and he had found me.”
Lily barked out a laugh. “Jaxon is here in London? Nonsense.”
Carmen’s nerves had settled by then. She couldn’t let the shadow of the man haunt her forever. “You’re right. I was just being silly.”
Lily put her arms around hers. “You look shaken up, you poor thing. Let’s go home. I’ll fix you a nice cup of tea.”
“Thank you,” she said. Then something occurred to her. “What are you doing here so late?”
“I was just down at the dock, picking up another shift,” Lily said. “Without you, we’re short of hands…and coins.”
Carmen felt guilty. She had got caught up in her dalliance with the Duke and almost forgot that she still hadn’t asked for her wages. They still had a lot of mouths to feed. But she could still fix it. “About that,” she said. “The Duke has changed his mind. He’s allowing us to go through with the music hall after all.”
Lily clutched her elbow. “That’s fantastic news! How did you manage to do it?”
Carmen gave her a small smile. “I didn’t. It was all because of Nora.”
