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“What happened to you?” he asked in a low, deep voice. Carmen shuddered at the way his voice seem to play against her skin but quickly snapped out of it.
“Your carriage almost hit us, sir!” she said.
His frown deepened. “Do you seek compensation for it?” Was he trying to comprehend the situation or showing his dominance as most men did? Carmen thought the latter.
“No,” Carmen said. “We seek an apology.”
“My apologies,” he said. Carmen’s eyes widened in surprise. She couldn’t remember the last time a man had willingly admitted that he was wrong. “I informed my driver that he was driving rashly but it seems as if he was in a hurry to get us to our destination.” He looked pointedly at the footman and the driver, heads hung in embarrassment.
When she found her voice, Carmen said, “Thank you for that.” She offered a hand-made card to him, which he took. “We’re here advertising for our music hall. It would mean a lot to us if you came to see one of the shows.”
The man scanned through the flyer, then looked up. His face was stone-cold. “I’m sure you will find better patrons. This isn’t my forte.”
Carmen frowned. What is that even supposed to mean? “I assure you that we’re sufficiently trained for a performance as this.”
“I do not doubt your capabilities, madam. I simply do not wish to attend it,” he said coolly.
Carmen couldn’t believe that this was the same man that had moments before apologized to her. His face was stiff. She could swear that he looked afraid… Something was odd about this all.
“Papa!” the little girl spoke up. The little girl petulantly looked up at her father. “We must go. They’re working so hard for their show.”
“Thank you, little one,” Carmen said, grateful for any support.
The child beamed at her. “I would love to come see you.”
“And I’ll make sure to reserve a seat just for you, little one,” Carmen said.
The child’s eyes lit up and she clapped her hands. “That sounds delightful,” she said. Children her age are inquisitive in general, but she seemed perceptive as well. Carmen didn’t warm up to people easily, but she liked the child already.
“You’re not going anywhere, Nora,” the man practically snapped. Was Carmen witnessing a different man altogether than the one just moments before?
“But why?”
“I told you,” the man said. “We do not go to such places.”
“We don’t go anywhere!” the little girl pouted.
“That’s all right,” Carmen said, trying to placate the child. “You can come watch us perform later, like I said.” She handed her the flyer.
“We’re going back to the house now, Nora. We’ve had enough excitement for a day.” The man snatched the flyer out of her hand before the child could reach it.
“We didn’t even set foot out of the carriage,” Nora said. “We were supposed to be out for a walk and yet we have been inside the whole time!”
Carmen felt uncomfortable witnessing what she knew was a personal affair. She cleared her throat. “I’ll take my leave now,” she said politely. But it still struck her as odd that the man didn’t want to get out of his carriage.
“Let’s go,” the man said gruffly to the driver. He was obviously embarrassed by what had happened. After the carriage drove away, Lily turned to Carmen. “What was all of that about?”
“I don’t know,” she said as she watched the carriage disappear down the street. What a rude man he was! At first, she had thought otherwise, but then one simply couldn’t make a good assumption about a man. She did feel sorry for his child. “But I never want to see him again.”
