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A thoughtful expression crossed Lily’s face. “His daughter? He must like her very much.”
Carmen nodded. “He adores her. She’s practically his entire world. The governess told me that Lady Nora doesn’t quite take to people so easily, so they were surprised that she liked me.”
“Well, whatever you did, it paid off!” she said. “Cheer up now.”
“Yes,” Carmen said but she couldn’t help but look behind her shoulder. Only darkness greeted her, but for a terrible moment she almost expected a limping man to walk out of the thin layer of mist.
“What are you looking at?” Lily asked.
“Nothing,” Carmen replied, still disturbed by the tune that she had heard earlier. It was one of the very first tunes that he had taught her to pick up on the piano. But Carmen was distracted from her thoughts when Lily took both of her hands in hers and twirled her around in the empty street. “Cheer up now,” she coaxed. A bubble of laughter escaped Carmen’s throat and she let herself feel relieved for once. Lily was right. Things were beginning to fall into place.
That night when they went back home, they gathered all the women in the small kitchen. Carmen stood in front of the hearth and roaring fire and watched the women trickle in one by one and take their seats. It was well past dinner and Carmen could see the look of curiosity on their faces. Not wanting to delay things for any longer, she cleared her throat. “I have some welcome news for you all.”
Every single pair of eyes turned to her without her having to even raise her voice. These women revered her, and she hoped to become even half of the woman they thought she was. “The Duke has decided to let us go forward with the music hall. Work resumes from tomorrow and…” Carmen took a deep breath. “If everything goes well, we shall be able to have our first show at the end of next week.”
Following her announcement, there was a volley of claps and cheers and surprised shrieks. Women pulled each other in for hugs and some even started crying at the news. Carmen’s own lips curved up in a smile to see the happiness that exuded from the entire room. From the side, Lily nodded at her encouragingly.
“That’s wonderful news,” Elaine said. “But I can’t help but wonder, why did he change his mind all of a sudden?” A few women look at her curiously. The back of Carmen’s neck prickled uncomfortably under their gazes.
“He had his own reasons for trying to shut this place down, but he has come to see the err of his ways. Rest assured; he shall not be any further conflict in our cause.”
“I shall hope so,” Queenie said. “But surely you must have said or done something to have brought such change in him.”
Carmen shook her head. She hoped none of these women suspected the nature of her relationship with Arthur. “You cannot change a man’s mind. He must change it himself.”
“Well, of course,” Kate said with a shrewd expression. “But surely your womanly wiles had something to do with it.”
“No,” Carmen said firmly. She knew that her explanations would do little for their curiosity, but she didn’t want them to think that Arthur had changed his mind because of the nature of their relationship. He had assured her he hadn’t, but she didn’t expect anybody else to understand that. “We have a long day tomorrow. If anybody else thinks to question me, do it now and head back to your beds.”
There were grumbles in response, but the women didn’t stop to question her any further. “Well done,” Remi said. “You told me not to be a rich man’s whore and yet here you are.”
Lily’s head whipped between them. “What on Earth are you suggesting?”
“She’s sleeping with the Duke,” Remi said matter-of-factly. “There is no other way she would make him change his mind.”
“I told you,” Carmen replied with gritted teeth. “That’s not what this is about.”
“Maybe you can fool all the other women but not me,” Remi said. Gone was the innocent woman who had come there for the first time looking for help. There was something fundamentally different about her now as if something inside her had hardened. “I know the truth.” With that she left.
Carmen collapsed on the chair next to her. She hated the way Remi had spoken to her. Lily sat down next to her. “Is Remi correct in her assumptions? You can tell me.”
She shook her head. “I’m not sleeping with the Duke but…” She explained everything to her friend who listened to her patiently. When she was done, Lily took a few moments before she spoke again. “Well, that’s an odd situation indeed. You’ve exchanged a couple of kisses secret. Has he asked anything else of you? Has he…”
Carmen shook her head, getting an inkling of what she was trying to say. “He hasn’t forced me in any way, and I don’t know what it is that is between us.”
“How do you feel about him?”
“Well at first, I thought that he was a rude gentleman with no manners for people lesser than him, but I know now that’s not true. He has his issues but he’s trying to deal with them as best as he can.”
“It sounds like you know an awful lot about him,” Lily said.
“It’s not like that,” Carmen protested.
Lily squeezed her hands reassuringly. “You don’t have to explain anything to me. I just want you to be careful. Don’t hurt yourself.”
Carmen nodded but deep down she knew that she had already set off that path. She was already expecting things of him even though she knew perfectly well that a man of his standing could offer nothing more to her than secret dalliances in his alcove. They would be nothing more than that.
