by Shelley Gray
And though she was nervous to say yes, she realized that was from a great many things that didn’t have anything to do with Mr. Owen Howard, society gentleman, police detective, and no doubt the object of more than one lady’s affections.
“I’m only afraid of embarrassing you. Not of being with you,” she admitted. “Is that wrong?”
For the first time, something bright and unhidden shone in his eyes. “Katie, I promise, what you just said could never be more right. I feel the same way about you. So may I escort you to Miss Carstairs’s home?”
“Yes, Mr. Howard. I would like that very much.”
He held out his arm for her to take. She took it, thinking of how right it felt to be by his side.
Only as they left the building and she caught sight of Sergeant Fuller watching them did she flush. Perhaps Fuller had been right. There was a very good chance that any sort of relationship between her and Owen was going to be perceived by most as very wrong.
CHAPTER 29
The New York State building, located to the west of the Palace of Fine Arts, was glorious. It was large, a brilliant white, and looked as if the architects had dubiously combined a large mansion with an Italian villa. It was sumptuously decorated, boasted two towers, and had a second-story banquet room that was decorated in shades of cream and gold.
Eloisa had visited the building more than once, of course, but this was the first time she’d been invited to attend a party there.
Her parents had declined the invitation, as did some of the most high in the instep sticklers of Chicago society. Many felt that the denizens of New York had built the awe-inspiring edifice as a deliberate snub to the people of Illinois, showing that while the World’s Columbian Exposition might have its home in Chicago, it would have been much better for everyone if the site of the fair had been in New York City, like most had wanted in the first place.
As for Eloisa, she had far more important things on her mind at the moment than whether or not she should be seen mixing with the high steppers from New York society.
Actually, at the moment, she was far more concerned about making sure Katie Ryan was enjoying herself. And then there was the small matter of feeling just about everyone’s eyes on her face wherever she went.
She’d chosen to wear ivory, hoping that her gown, practically glowing in the sea of dark gowns and black tuxedos, would both complement the also-glowing White City buildings as well as detract a good bit of attention from the marks on her cheek and jaw.
She’d been wrong.
No matter to whom she talked or smiled, the other person’s attention was first drawn to the angry red marks on her cheek. An uncomfortable silence usually followed, accompanied by a few probing questions.
Only then could conversation about the fair and the party and trivial gossip ensue. Usually it was stilted and strained. Eloisa supposed she couldn’t blame them. Her marks served as a reminder that the public areas of Chicago were not safe. But hitting even more close to home was the fact that Eloisa was a symbol of all of them.
The privileged, the blessed few. The select gentlemen and ladies who were supposed to be insulated from the rough-and-tumble life so often reported in the Chicago Tribune. They were supposed to be immune to such things.
And they had been . . . until the Society Slasher had begun to terrorize them all.
The only silver lining in her appearance was that it was so remarked upon that very few people were concerned about the identity of her escort, Lieutenant Detective Sean Ryan. Those men and women who knew he was a policeman acted as if they were glad he was staying by Eloisa’s side.
Others only took note of his appearance, saw that he was handsome and wore a well-cut suit, and kept conversation geared toward trivialities.
Still others were more intrigued by the youthful beauty of Katie. She was wearing one of Eloisa’s gowns, and the blue in the fabric accentuated her bright-blue eyes, dark hair, and winsome smile. She looked adorable, and was comporting herself well. No one there had any idea Katie was from a part of Chicago most of them didn’t even know existed.
After they’d been there for an hour, Sean, who had been checking in with the uniformed officers standing watch at the entrance, smiled at her. “How are you faring, Miss Carstairs? I’m sorry I had to leave you. I know I promised not to leave your side, but it seems even here I have to be a lieutenant.”
“Think nothing of it. I’ve been having a wonderful time watching your sister create quite a stir.”
“Truly?”
Eloisa hid a smile. Sean looked as if he wasn’t sure what to think about his sister creating such an impression on the crowd. “Very much so. I have a feeling she’s having an evening she won’t forget anytime soon.”
Eloisa watched him scan the crowd and locate his sister, who was standing prettily next to Owen while they were talking to Reid Armstrong and his fiancée, Rosalind. “I’m glad Owen is staying by her side.”
“Sean, I think it’s more of a matter of him not wanting to leave her side.” She lowered her voice. “He’s smitten. I’m sure of it.”
“I’m afraid he is.”
“She’s a wonderful young lady.”
Something passed in his eyes before he seemed to gather himself and look her way. “What about you?”
“What about me what?” she teased.
“Are you regretting your decision to come here with me?”
“Actually, I am not. Before you returned, I was just reflecting on how glad I am that you encouraged me to come. It has been awkward, seeing as how my scars seem to be about three steps ahead of me. But now, at least, people are talking about what they see and not merely sharing stories about what they think happened to me.”
“Yes, the truth is always better, I think.”
“I’m slowly learning that—though I fear I’ve gotten used to not only practicing deception with others but deceiving myself.”
“How so?”
“Deception can be so very dark. So much so, it’s often a struggle to enjoy the light of bare truth. So I’ve been hiding in the dark.”
She had been thinking about how she had thought no one would see her pain if she stayed hidden on Sable Hill, about her evasion with Juliet, about the way she’d been afraid to even tell her mother about Douglass’s attack. And she realized she’d been deceiving herself. She’d taken to pretending she was fine, especially when she’d finally made the practically heroic effort to leave her house. But she hadn’t been fine, and now she saw her actions for what they were.
Sean looked at her intently before he responded.
“Deception can feel like a comfortable cloak at times, I imagine.” He looked around the room. “It’s like this place, I suppose. It’s beautiful and pure white and grand.”
“It says a lot about the people who built it.”
“And for the people who paid for it too, I imagine.”
“Always.”
He grimaced. “However, many of the surrounding buildings are already almost empty. Soon these white buildings will only serve as memories of another time.”
Unable to help herself, she felt the raised lines on her jaw with her fingers. “As will my scars. Perhaps one day I’ll forget they’re even on my face. Only a look in the mirror will remind me of being attacked.”
“Or perhaps you won’t view them as unsightly reminders.”
“What else would I ever think of them as?”
“As part of yourself. As a mark of bravery. As a sign that you became more than you ever thought you would be.”
“More than I ever thought I would be,” she murmured. “That sounds an awful lot like something you said when we first met.”
“I guess it’s a sentiment that I’ve adopted over time. I had to, you know. My origins were not conducive to attaining big dreams.”
“Yet you are on your way. You are a lieutenant, after all.”
“That, I could imagine.” His gaze warmed. “Standing here with you? Going to your
home and offering my escort to a gala such as this? It is all beyond my wildest dreams.”
“Being in the company of a man such as you is that way for me.”
“Is being so close to an Irish detective more than you ever imagined, Eloisa?”
“No. Being so close to a man who cares so much for me is.”
All humor fled his eyes. “Once again, you render me speechless.”
“And once again, you make me wish I was simpler.”
“Because?”
“Because I want you to want to be near me again.”
“That is not something you ever have to doubt.” He took a breath, visibly steeling himself to say his next words.
She leaned closer, rested her hand on his forearm, knowing that their intimate conversation was no doubt causing more than a few raised eyebrows. But not caring about that at all.
Not caring at all.
“Eloisa,” he murmured.
“Yes?”
“Lieutenant Ryan!” a voice called out, piercing the low murmur of conversations. “Detective Howard, I’m going to need you too.”
Sean pulled away, turning to the entrance of the banquet room. And there was Sergeant Fuller, looking pale and out of breath. And sooty?
“Report. What happened?” Sean barked as he strode across the room, Owen meeting him.
“Fire!” Fuller called out. “There’s a fire in one of the buildings two away.”
Aware of the women crying out behind them, Sean glared. “You know better than to set a panic like this. Watch yourself, man.”
“It’s a bad one, sir,” he said contemptuously.
Owen inhaled in frustration. “Where do you want me, Ryan? Here or at the fire?”
“Here. We can’t do anything to stop a fire, but we’re going to need to get everyone away from this area. You start directing everyone down these stairs. I’ll take care of getting them out of the building as safely and quickly as possible.”
“Fuller, where are the other uniforms?”
“Two are here. I sent two others to get close to the burning building, to make sure we keep everyone away.”
“Good thinking. The two here can help Howard. Let’s go,” Sean ordered as he ran down the stairs, knowing he would report the sergeant to the captain when all was said and done. The man’s cheekiness was bordering on true insubordination.
The moment he reached the bottom, he felt as though the wall of people was flowing down the stairs in an unstoppable crest. There was no way he could have even slowed them down—especially since Fuller had also not followed him as Sean had expected. The most he could do was attempt to get everyone to use caution so no one would get hurt.
Stepping to one side, he motioned for everyone to leave. “Exit and follow the directions of the officers outside,” he called.
“What is happening?”
“What are we going to do?”
“What about the party?”
“Are we in true danger?”
The questions were aimed at him with the force of verbal spears. Each one pointed and painful.
“Your questions will be answered later. For now, please don’t hold up,” he said again and again.
Only his training and experience helped him keep focused on his job and not search through the crowd for Katie and Eloisa.
And with that, he realized he had to put his trust in Owen to make sure they exited the second floor. He had to trust Eloisa and Katie to look out for each other.
And more than ever, he was going to have to trust the Lord to look out for the both of them. He couldn’t leave, and he couldn’t search for them. He couldn’t protect them like he ached to do.
As one elderly lady tripped and he reached out to break her fall, Sean realized the Lord already was looking out for them. He already had drawn them into his comforting embrace. He’d given them each other, and he’d given Fuller the foresight to run to them and warn them about the fire.
The Lord was already watching out for them. Now Sean dared to hope that, at this moment, it would be enough.
CHAPTER 30
This way!” a uniformed policeman called out from the back of the room. “There’s another exit. Some of you head this way.”
Eloisa, swept in between two panicked women and their somewhat alarmed escort who happened to be walking with a cane, couldn’t have switched directions even if she’d wanted to.
But that didn’t stop her from looking around for Katie. At first she didn’t see her slight figure, but then the bright-blue dress caught her eye.
She cried out in relief. “Katie!” she called, hoping her voice would carry over everyone else’s frantic calls. When Katie looked in her direction, Eloisa hoped and prayed she’d turned her way in response to her call.
With a touch of hopefulness in her voice, she added, “Katie! Go down the back stairwell and I’ll meet you outside. Yes?”
Katie stared at her blankly, but then was directed to go toward the uniformed policeman by Quentin Gardner.
Eloisa breathed a sigh of relief. Now, at the very least, she could tell Sean that she did see his sister leave the banquet room.
“You’re blocking our way,” a rather rotund lady yelled in her ear. She started, then realized it was now time to find her own way downstairs to safety. As more people pushed and shoved, as well as one of the more dainty females constantly threatening to succumb to vapors, Eloisa let herself be led down the front stairs. The journey was incredibly slow as too many people jostled and pushed one another. Everyone seemed to feed off others’ panic, illustrating, to Eloisa at least, that though the majority of them were products of many years of deportment classes, all of that learning went out the window when survival was at stake.
The most she could hope for was not to be tripped or trampled upon as they all reached the landing between the two floors, paused to take a breath, then continued their descent.
When she at last got to the ground floor, she ran out the open doorway. There, the assemblage had scattered like hundreds of red ants, spreading out in a hodgepodge maze of pairs, trios, and quartets. She looked around for Sean, but nowhere could she make out his handsome profile.
She darted around the back, looking for the other exit. When she located it, with a small trickle of people calmly walking out the door, she looked around for Katie.
But Katie was nowhere to be found.
She tried not to panic. After all, it was more than a little understandable that Katie might not have heard Eloisa’s directions. But she’d seen Quentin directing Katie to a back exit, and something didn’t feel right.
A crack to her right made her jerk her head, and her mouth dropped open when she saw the sight before her. The Missouri building on the other side of the Pennsylvania building, which was right next to where they were standing, was in flames. Sparks and ash were flying. Before her eyes, she saw the trees around the Kentucky building catch fire. The sight was both awe-inspiring and completely frightening.
“Eloisa?” a voice called out.
She turned to see Quentin Gardner striding toward her, a set expression in his gaze.
“Quentin, I’m so glad to see you,” she said, grasping his arms.
Gently, he enfolded her in a quick hug. “I’m glad you made it out of the building, Eloisa, but you must leave the fair this minute. Come on, I’ll take you home in my rig.”
“I can’t leave just yet.” Clasping him harder when he attempted to shake off her hands, she looked at him beseechingly. “Upstairs, you were directing a friend of mine toward the back staircase.”
“I directed many people that way.”
“Do you remember a young girl in a blue gown? She has brown hair and blue eyes.”
He looked at her blankly. “I vaguely remember seeing someone of her description standing with you and Owen Howard at the soiree, but I certainly don’t remember guiding her downstairs.”
“No, no, I saw you talk to her. I saw you show her where to go.”
“Eloisa, I don’t remember. As soon as the policeman told me to bring people his direction, I directed everyone near me to him. And then I got out of there as fast as I could.”
“I need to find her.” She scanned the area, but didn’t see any uniformed officers. “I’m going to go around the front and look.”
This time, it was he who gripped her hard. “I really must insist that you leave with me. I’m sure that girl is well on her way home by now.”
“No. No, she wouldn’t be. She’s Lieutenant Ryan’s sister, you see.” She gazed up at him, hoping he’d understand that she needed to stay in the area until Katie was located.
A crash followed by a flash of light, sounding like an explosion had gone off, suspended their conversation. Screams littered the air as the few people in the area started running toward the streets.
Quentin’s gaze turned as hard as his grip. “Let’s go. Now.”
Using all her force, she twisted away. “No!” she cried. And in that moment, she realized she was going to fight for herself, for what she believed in, and for what she wanted.
Quentin jumped back. “I’m sorry if I scared you, but we must—”
“No, you must go. Please do. I understand.”
“I can’t in good conscience do that. If something further happened to you . . .”
If something further. That said it all. And so, though she knew what he meant, and that he had her best interests at heart, she realized she could no longer simply exist as a victim.
Therefore, she lied. Pointing to a uniformed policeman in the distance, she said, “I know that man. He is a friend of Lieutenant Ryan’s. He’ll know where Katie is.”
“Eloisa—”
“I’ll be fine. I’ll be in good hands, Quentin, thank you.”
And with that, she walked toward the officer, at least until Quentin melted into the crowd. When he was out of sight, she circled back to the front of the New York State building and scanned the few people still there.
It was becoming hard to see anyone or anything with great certainty. Not only was it dark, but now the Kentucky building, in addition to the Missouri building, was engulfed in flames. Ash and smoke filled the air, making it difficult to breathe. Though every survival instinct inside her screamed retreat, to follow the last of the crowd out of the fairgrounds, she held firm.
