AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 24
Rosaline
“Surely there is something he could do,” Rosaline murmured as she crossed the road, heading toward her father’s shop. For four days now, Rosaline knew Chloe had holed herself up in her shop, not going out, and praying things would improve. Rosaline had hoped that perhaps with the passage of a few days, some people would calm down and realize that the rumors were all nonsense, but no such thing had happened.
Just the day before, Rosaline had gone to the shop and realized that Chloe had had to let Gretchen go. Chloe was tidying up a shop that really didn’t need tidying, for no one had been in.
I have to help her.
Rosaline knew she owed a lot to Chloe. She had been a true friend to Rosaline ever since they had met. Chloe had even given Rosaline the opportunity for happiness that she had not thought possible. Not just happiness in her job, but another kind of excitement too.
Love.
Since the ball, she had seen Lord Gloucester every day.
Oh, this happiness!
He was a truly kind soul, and what perplexed Rosaline so much was that he didn’t seem to mind if she didn’t know how to act on formal occasions. He also didn’t mind when she earned sideways glances from strangers for laughing a little too loudly. He had brushed it off saying that Rosaline was genuine.
“Not everyone is genuine in this world. They are too caught up in trying to be the be what the ton wants that they forget who they really are. Being genuine, now, that is the mark of a true friend.”
How right he was! Rosaline knew what she had to do. She had to find a way to help Chloe through this nightmare, to find a path that would hopefully work out on the other side. There was one person she could think of who might be able to help her friend.
“Father?” She opened the door of the shop to find that her father was not alone. He was standing in a back room, with the door ajar, talking to someone.
On this occasion though, Alfred didn’t wave madly at her, urging her to be quiet whilst he dealt with a customer. On the contrary, he didn’t seem to be aware of Rosaline’s entrance at all. He was too caught up in his conversation with the stranger. Rosaline could easily approach, feeling as if she was unseen.
Alfred was tense, that was plain to see. The other man was stern, refusing to be moved.
“I told you, you will get your money in due course,” Alfred muttered harshly.
“The article is written. It is done, as you asked.” The other man gestured at Alfred. His pale hair was slicked back with a heavy amount of wax, and he ran a hand over that hair, as if it was a habitual act done during times of frustration. “I held up my end of the deal, it is your turn to do the same.”
Deal? What deal?
Rosaline didn’t move a muscle. With neither man really aware of her presence, she felt as if she could watch on, unseen.
“I just need a few more days.” Alfred reached out his hands toward the man, trying to calm him. “Business is picking up, in time, I will have more.”
“I just watched two customers leaving your shop with their purchases. You have the money. You will give it to me now, or my next article will reveal exactly who told me what to say in my article about Miss Chloe Green.”
Rosaline stepped forward, closer to the back-room door.
No, it cannot be.
She kept going, until her hip collided with a table. The sudden sound of bolts of cloth rolling off their stands and falling to the floor was enough to earn the men’s attention at last. The loud thuds made her father and the other man dart their heads toward her and step out of the back room.
It is him. This stranger is the writer for the scandal sheet! And my father . . .
“Father?” Rosaline said, her eyes watching Alfred closely. “Tell me what I heard was wrong. Tell me you did not promise to pay this man if he wrote an article in the scandal sheets?”
Alfred said nothing, but stared back at her, agog.
“Money. Now.” The other man returned to business. “Then you’ll see my back.”
Rosaline glared at her father, feeling her breathing turn heavy, with her nostrils flaring, but it did little good. Alfred turned his back on her and reached for his till, pulling out a few coins that he passed to the man.
“Come back next week for the rest.”
