by Abigail Agar
“M-M-Miss Blackwell!” he shouted, his tone desperate.
“Mr. Sinclair,” she sighed.
“Y-you must give me a chance to explain—”
“Yes, I know. You men and your chances to explain. My goodness, how I tire of hearing that. May I ask when it is that I am allowed my chance to simply be angry? Am I always to set aside my own feelings for the sake of your chances to explain?” Pippa asked, taking a step towards him, unafraid of appearing aggressive.
“No, I am not trying to prevent you from being angry. It is just that I want you to know the full truth and to know what it is that led us to this moment. You see, it is not as you think it is. I have not done what you think,” he told her.
“You have not done what I think? Tell me, Mr. Sinclair. What do I think? Because I just heard you speaking with Mr. Brooks and you certainly have not behaved in the fashion you clearly wished for me to believe. You told me that he did one thing when he actually did another. And beyond that, you made every possible effort to lead me to believe that I was being a fool,” she said, attempting to steady herself despite her fury.
“Honestly, Miss Blackwell, you are mistaken. I really was trying to look out for you. You see, I had every reason to believe that Mr. Brooks was lying to me about his care for you. I thought that he was making it all up, that he really was going to try and harm you. I wish that I could say otherwise; that I could tell you he really does care enough, but—”
“You are going to try and blame me now?” Mr. Brooks scoffed.
“Worry not, Mr. Brooks, I am perfectly aware that this, too, is a lie. I would not sink to believing this man who cannot even bring himself to admit his mistakes even when he is openly caught. I simply do not understand why this foolish nonsense is continuing instead of the far easier act of confessing a mistake and moving on,” Pippa said.
“Indeed, Miss Blackwell, I believe that it would be the wiser act. However, this man is rather determined to continue trying to defend himself instead of admitting that he really did make a grievous error in lying to us both,” Mr. Brooks said.
“No! That is not true. You are not listening to me. I assure you both that you are mistaken. I have done nothing wrong. I promise you that I am only trying to do what is best for us all. I wanted the truth to be known. You see? I am a truth-seeker, not a liar. It is just a fact that I believed Mr. Brooks was still going to enact his original plan. I was wrong,” he said, laughing nervously.
“You were selfish,” Pippa shot back. “You think that this is how you ought to treat someone you claim to love? Why did you not tell me that Mr. Brooks had a plan but claims he has abandoned it? If you still had suspicions, you may have told me that much, but to insist that he was trying to do this? You have proven yourself completely untrustworthy.”
“No, no, no!” he shouted in defense.
Pippa shook her head, finished with all this nonsense.
“I am sorry, Miss Blackwell. I am truly sorry for having betrayed your trust and making you think that I am this dreadful fellow you believe me to be. I assure you that it is not what you think, but you clearly do not believe me. Allow me the opportunity to prove to you that this was all for your own good,” George said.
“For my own good? You cannot lie to someone and claim that it is for their own good. It does not work that way. You are being dishonest without apology,” she said.
“But I did just apologise. I am sorry for having hurt you and making you think that I am this horrible wretch you believe I am. But it is his fault, I assure you,” George said, looking at Mr. Brooks who scoffed in reply.
“Oh, good heavens, Mr. Sinclair! I cannot understand what it the matter with you! What are you trying to say? Do you really want to continue with these excuses? I have already made it clear to you that I simply want you to confess and apologise, but you are making this all far too complicated. I wish that you would accept responsibility for your behaviour. That is something I could more easily forgive,” Pippa told him.
“But he is turning you against me! Do you not see it? We could be so happy together if you were not blinded by the things which Mr. Brooks is saying and doing. You would understand that you and I belong together. I love you, Miss Blackwell. Is that not enough for you? Can you not see that this is exactly what most people dream of?”
Pippa stared at George in astonishment. How could he be so delusional? Was he mad? She had no idea what to say to him and stumbled to find the right words.
“I honestly do not know if you are foolhardy enough to believe what you are saying or if this is all just an effort to confuse me. Do you really think that Mr. Brooks is to blame for your mistakes? I do not love you, Mr. Sinclair. I have never loved you. There is no beautiful love story here between us. You and I are very different from one another and we shall never have anything between us aside from derision.”
Pippa hoped that her words were enough of a warning to get her point across. The last thing in all the world she wanted was to have to face any more of George’s peculiar claims. There was no reason for him to behave this way, but it was a sign that his character was deeply flawed and Pippa could not bear to be anywhere near him any longer.
If he was going to make efforts to push her into this position, she would make the effort to push back. There was no reason for which she needed to cater to his whims.
“Mr. Sinclair, I think it is best if you leave at once,” Pippa said.
“Ha! Leave? Me? I work here. You have no business here. You have seduced two men and now you are upset about getting caught in between us? If anyone ought to leave, it is you, Miss Blackwell. I do not know what you think you are doing, but I have had just about enough of your antics,” George accused, straightening his posture as if he was the one who had been made the victim.
“What did you just say? I have made no efforts to seduce anyone. I just wanted to enjoy writing my book and then I wanted to see it published. The two of you have been the ones to get in my way. Constantly,” she said.
“In your way? That is quite harsh,” George said.
“It is the truth. You and Mr. Brooks have both done so,” she declared, although when she looked at Mr. Brooks, she gave him the faintest hint of a nod as a signal that she was still grateful for him. Hoping that he understood the gesture, Pippa continued.
“I was simply minding my own business, enjoying my hobby, wiring stories. No one told me that I had to cater to the whims of two men who simply want whatever they want and cannot give me the freedom to have my own life. Between Mr. Brooks trying to steal my work and you trying to convince me that I am secretly in love with you, I cannot help wondering if I have any existence at all?” she said.
“Existence? What are you going on about? Of course you do. You are the one who has rolled right over our identities. You have made yourself the primary focus of our attention. It is maddening,” he argued.
Pippa was, once more, at a loss. There was no reasoning with him. Perhaps he really was insane. Had he simply been hiding it for all this time? Had he always been like this and she had given him the credit of believing that he was a decent man? Why was he so willing to openly refute everything they said?
But before she could even begin to think about a response, George rounded on Mr. Brooks again.
“I cannot believe that you would try to do this. You lied to her, took advantage of her work, and you stole from her. Now, you find it within yourself to steal from me? You have taken her affection as if it belonged to you. You have no idea what you have done or that I shall never forgive you for it,” George exclaimed.
“There is nothing which I am able to do about that, George, but you can rest assured that you are not going to get through this easily. I am appalled that you have always been such a dreadful fellow and I was not aware of it. I should not like to think that I entrusted you with my shop only to find that you are this madman,” Mr. Brooks said.
“You do not know what you are saying. I am a good man. Just because you
are trying to make me look bad does not change that,” George insisted.
Pippa looked at Mr. Brooks and he returned the expression. It was clear that they were both perfectly exasperated and exhausted by this whole ordeal. It was confusing and strange that George would be so catastrophically determined to push his agenda on them and make these strange declarations.
Indeed, she wondered if he were mad or selfish or if he was simply trying so hard to find an excuse for his behaviour that he was throwing the blame wherever he could.
There did not seem to be a way to calm him down. Pippa found herself wondering if he were finally going to accept his responsibility or if he would fight until his very last breath, declaring himself innocent of all wrongdoing.
When she took a deep breath and winced in anticipation of what was going to come next, Pippa saw that Mr. Brooks had balled his hands into a fist. She was frightened by what he might do, but she hoped that he would not take action in a way he would regret.
“Please, Mr. Sinclair,” she said, trying to get his attention before Mr. Brooks did anything more. “Please think about what you are doing and what you have done. Think about the reality. I have told you that I do not love you and that is all there is to it. I still cannot understand this argument.”
She was anxious, as if he were a deadly weapon, ready to explode.
“All I want is for you to accept responsibility for your actions. There is no reason to keep fighting. Just admit that you lied, and we may all move on. Or if you will not accept responsibility, will you at least leave? There is nothing for you here, no reason for you to stay.”
George glared at Pippa. There was a hatred in his eyes that she had never seen before.
“I did nothing wrong. If you are foolish enough to trust this man, that is your problem,” he said.
Pippa opened her mouth to protest, but it was too late. George had one more thing to say.
“You are an immoral young woman who met with Mr. Brooks in private and I have no doubt that he earned your trust in ways which shall ruin you for good.”
Chapter 35
“How dare you? What did you just say to her?” Doyle shouted. He could hardly believe what he had just heard. George’s words were ugly and heinous. He was making the sort of accusation which could get Miss Blackwell into very serious trouble. She could be cast out by her family over something like this.
“You heard me!” George yelled back.
“You had best be more respectful to her. How dare you speak to her that way? What makes you think you have any right to treat her with such appalling manners?”
“It is all your fault! You are the one who ruined it. You need not give me any lectures when you are the one who took her from me. She would have been courted by me if you had not tricked her like this. You have fooled her into thinking that you are a good man and that she ought to like you and respect you, but you and I both know that there is no reason at all for her to feel that way,” George insisted.
“I have done no such thing,” Doyle said, calmly.
“Oh? Well, you ought to know that I have never once felt any true respect for you. I think you are the worst man in all of England. I detest you. I detest everything about you,” he said.
All of this came as such a surprise to Doyle, watching George unravel like this. Where had been the warning signs? How could he possibly have known that he had hired a lunatic to work in his shop and that George was as mad as a hatter? Was he always like this? Had he ever been sane?
Doyle watched this entire situation unfold with confusion and curiosity. He felt awful for Miss Blackwell, who had been utterly caught up in the middle of it. If George and Doyle had not both fought for her interest, maybe none of this would have happened this way.
She deserved better than this. She should not have been subjected to this level of immaturity and Doyle felt terrible that she was suffering as a result of the competitiveness that George was pushing. It was unfair that she should have to listen to the two of them and that George was making accusations against her because of his misplaced affections.
It was not right. Doyle wished that he could rescue her, but there was nothing he could do, and it saddened him greatly. He just wanted to get rid of George, to make him leave.
“Enough, George. You must go,” Doyle said.
“What? Why? You cannot stand to face the truth? Well, I am going to tell you the truth anyway. Here are the facts. You really were a fool for hiring me. I hate working here. I wish that I could escape this awful place and that I had never come to work for you to begin with,” George spat.
“It is very easily dealt with. Leave,” Doyle said.
“I have not finished! You must let me say what I want to say. I will leave when I am ready to leave.”
Doyle took a step back and gestured to Miss Blackwell to do the same. She was already moving. They had no idea how unstable George might actually be, but he was clearly not to be messed with when he was on such a rampage as this.
“You have no idea what you are talking about, Mr. Brooks. You think that this is new? That I have only just become angry and bitter? No! You are the reason for all of this. I hate working here. I detest being around you. Not only that, but I have not read even half the books I have claimed to,” George ranted.
“Ah, well, that explains it…” Doyle remarked, dryly. “A well-read man could never be such a madman.”
“What did you call me? I am not mad! I am a simple, reasonable man who has been poorly treated by you and this woman you are so fond of. You think that you have done me any sort of good, but you have only caused me harm at every turn. I did nothing wrong. Nothing!”
Doyle sighed and shook his head as George continued his ranting.
“These books? These silly, nonfiction tales of history and whatnot? They are terribly boring! They have nothing of value in them. I cannot understand why you would waste shelf space on these volumes,” he continued.
At that, Doyle could not remain quiet, thinking this was just pure, unreasonable nonsense.
“If that is true then why are you even here? If you have no love of books, why would you choose to work for me?” he asked.
“My family needed the money. There is no other reason. I had to find work and you were looking for someone. My family said that a bookstore was respectable enough place to find work that I ought to come here,” he explained.
That too made sense. No wonder George had come to work there despite his dreadful attitude.
“So, you mean to tell me that you never wanted to work here and yet you have taken advantage of this opportunity for employment and make a mockery of my business because you are too selfish to simply let go and allow this place to be free of your antics? My goodness, I have never met a man such as you. I do not want you here any longer, George. Will you please be gone? I do not ever wish to see you again,” Doyle told him.
“You keep trying to cast me away, but I am the only reason the shop has done this well at all. You really think young ladies come here for the books? They do not! The come here for me. They want to know men like me. Trust me, you need me here. I am the only one who can charm your customers,” George insisted.
“And I am telling you to get out of here. I do not want you in my shop any longer, George. You are not welcome at Brooks Books ever again,” Doyle said.
George stood taller and let out an angry, bitter growl. For a moment, Doyle thought that he may turn truly violent. This had been a fear since the conversation first became heated, but it was now looking like a greater threat than before.
The man was clearly unstable. His love for Miss Blackwell had undone him. Every piece of him which stood in opposition to Doyle was enough to cause George great wrath. For some, strange reason, he was incapable of reason.
“I will not forget this!” he shouted. “You may think that you have gotten the best of me, but I can assure you that this is far from over. You have no idea the wrath I shall bring down upon you. I have more tha
n enough friends who would be by my side in an instant to get rid of you once and for all,” George said.
