Heart Burn (15 page)

"Did you ask her to dance?" I asked.

"I did. She refused me."

Well, well. She was quite a remarkable woman. I doubted Samuel was used to being refused any request he made of a lady.

I continued to watch her as Samuel and I dodged other dancing couples. Miss Charity and Cara proved quite popular with the gentlemen, but none of them remained to talk for long. She wrote their names on her dance card, they bowed and walked off. After every greeting, Miss Charity rubbed the back of her gloved hands, as if conscious of the scars underneath. They weren't visible of course, but she seemed all too aware of them. She looked remarkably beautiful in her white gown, although its styling was simple with few embellishments or adornments like the gowns of the other ladies. Not that it mattered. Indeed, she could wear a sack and still have men ogling.

I sought out Jack and found him dancing with the limping girl. She wasn't a good dancer, due to her impediment, but he led so well that most of her mistakes were smoothly covered up. He smiled at her and they chatted the entire time, although his gaze frequently searched the room. It would settle on me and he would smile or nod. It wandered to Lord Wade often too, and once, it settled on Miss Charity. She looked away quickly, but not before I saw that she'd been watching him with an odd expression that I couldn't decipher.

"Would you like to sit down?" Samuel asked when the music finished.

A gentleman approached before I could answer. "Is your c-c card full, m-madam?" he stuttered. "I'm sure it is," he added, blushing. "I j-just hoped…"

"I have this dance free," I said.

The fellow beamed and bowed over my hand. "Th-thank you, M-Miss…?"

"Smith," I said.

"Hannah?" Samuel prompted. "Are you sure you don't need to sit down?"

"Quite sure." I felt a little heavy in the limbs and a headache bloomed behind my eyes, but I was otherwise well enough for one more dance.

He departed, and the musicians struck up another waltz. My partner, Mr. Fuller, danced well and fortunately I didn't make a fool of myself. We didn't speak much, mostly because it seemed such an effort with his stutter.

At each turn, I sought out Jack, but couldn't find him. His partner was once more seated on her chair, talking and giggling with a friend who'd joined her. Yet Jack wasn't nearby or among the other groups at the edge of the dance floor. It wasn't until the end of the dance that I spotted him in the corner of the room near a large Greek urn. He was talking with Charity, their heads bent close to one another.

It wasn't this that shocked me, however. It was their touching. She'd removed one of her gloves, and Jack was holding her hand. His thumb caressed the burn scar I knew to be there, over and over.

She suddenly withdrew her hand and pressed it to the side of his face. He closed his eyes, and I saw his chest rise and fall with his heavy breathing. She let him go and touched his hand again before putting her glove back on and disappearing into the refreshment room. Jack slumped against the wall, his head bowed, his hair falling over his eyes. My heart ached to see him like that, but it ached even more for what I'd just witnessed.

If I wasn't mistaken, there was still some affection and understanding between he and Charity. Something that couldn't be ignored. Something tender, despite Jack's reassurances to me that all of those feelings were in the past. I knew he'd hurt Charity, perhaps even given her the scars on her hands, yet she hadn't flinched from his touch.

This meeting must have been pre-arranged via the letter she'd sent to Frakingham. The contents of that missive had disturbed Jack, angered him even, although he didn't seem angry now. Only distressed and a little sad.

Samuel approached, breaking my concentration. "Hannah, did you enjoy your dance?"

I nodded and smiled, but my gaze wandered back to Jack.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I don't know."

"Is he all right?"

"I haven't spoken to him. Samuel, what do you think Jack will do after…after I'm gone?"

"Hannah," he murmured. "Don't think like that."

"I must. I must stop thinking of my own worries and start thinking how my death will affect him."

He folded his arms and glared at me. "What are you talking about?"

I could see he wouldn't understand, and I wasn't sure I had the energy to explain it to him. Besides, what I had in mind involved Charity, and I suspected Samuel was beginning to develop some feelings toward her. He wouldn't like my suggestion that Jack forget me and pay court to her once more.

He would only ask why, and I would have to tell him that I thought them well suited. I would also have to tell him that I planned on pushing Jack away from me and into her arms. It was something I
had
to do, even though my chest hurt just thinking about him with another. It was time I started considering Jack and his future. He would mourn me when I was gone, but if he had Charity, losing me wouldn't devastate him.

CHAPTER 9

I refused the next three gentlemen who asked me to dance and headed away from Jack. I wasn't sure where I was going, but I needed cold, fresh air and that meant slipping out of the ballroom altogether. I parted from Samuel who went in search of Myer and found a small parlor blessedly empty of revelers. I opened the door leading out to the balcony and closed it behind me. The breeze rustled my hair and swept the heat from my skin, although not the deeper heat that swelled inside.

After a few minutes, I turned to go back. I spotted Jack through the glass door, scowling at me, although there was relief in his face too. I gave him a reassuring smile, despite my heavy heart. Somehow I had to convince him to spend more time with Charity tonight. It wasn't going to be easy.

I opened the door. "Have you been looking for me?"

"Everywhere." He rubbed his hand through his hair and down the back of his neck. "Don't disappear again, Hannah. You had me worried."

"I wish you wouldn't. I don't like to be smothered."

He flinched. "I'm sorry. I wouldn't usually, but considering your health…" He cleared his throat. "When I couldn't find you, I panicked."

Oh God, I couldn't do this. He didn't deserve to be treated so poorly. There had to be another way to push him into Charity's arms that didn't involve me acting cruelly. I just wasn't capable of it where he was concerned. "I'm sorry, Jack, I didn't mean to speak harshly."

"It's all right." He put his hand on the back of one of the leather armchairs. "Come and sit down. I'll fetch you a drink. I probably should go in search of Samuel too."

"Samuel?"

"I sent him off to look for you."

I sat down and he left, but not before glancing back at me, his eyes hidden by shadows.

The chair was comfortable and deep, my eyes heavy. I closed them and rested my head against the chair wing. Music and chatter combined in a melodic cadence that drifted through the house from the ballroom. It surrounded me, filled my head, and made me drowsy.

"Hannah?" Jack's voice nudged the sleepiness aside. "I've brought you a cup of tea and a glass of punch. I wasn't sure which you'd prefer."

I opened my eyes and accepted the tea. He placed the glass on the table beside my chair. "Thank you," I said. "I must have fallen asleep."

He crouched before me. "Would you like to return to the hotel?"

"No. It's much too early."

"You can rest in here for a while. I'll keep everybody out."

"Jack, I appreciate everything you're doing for me, but you should be in the ballroom enjoying yourself."

"How can I enjoy myself out there when you're in here?"

His words thrilled me and worried me at the same time. "Go and find Miss Charity and ask her to dance."

He sat on the chair opposite. "She won't dance with me. She doesn't want to."

"But you're friends. Good friends."

He looked down at his hands in his lap. "We were."

"You could be again. Those feelings couldn't have completely disappeared."

"Hannah, what are you talking about? If you're worried about Charity and me, you shouldn't be."

"Oh, I'm not." I shrugged and pretended indifference. "I just think you should keep trying to be a good friend to her. I'm sure she needs one."

"Perhaps, but—"

Samuel strolled in, cutting Jack off. "Are you all right, Hannah?"

"Perfectly," I lied. "Now stop fussing, both of you."

Myer entered the room too and bowed. I was taken aback to see him, even though I knew he was somewhere in the vast, crowded ballroom. He must have followed Samuel.

"Good evening, Miss Smith, Mr. Langley." His voice had the smooth quality that I associated with Samuel's but wasn't hypnotizing, merely resonant and pleasant to listen to.

"Myer," Jack said with a nod. The greeting may have sounded benign, but there was coldness in it. Knowing that Jack didn't trust him, I wasn't surprised. If Myer noticed, he gave nothing away.

I sipped my tea and watched him over the rim of the cup. He was not at all handsome, but he had a friendly manner and chatted easily. Jack engaged him in conversation about banking and finance. At least, he tried to. Myer dismissed his questions with a wave.

"I don't get involved in the day-to-day running of the bank," he said with a laugh. "Those things are best left to the experts, eh? My expertise and interests lie elsewhere."

"In the supernatural?" I asked.

"Yes, and hypnosis in particular. I'm thrilled to be working with Mr. Gladstone."

"What do you hope to achieve by studying him?" Jack asked.

"Perhaps I can find what links he and I, why are we both able to hypnotize with ease, that sort of thing."

"And if you find a link? What will you do then?"

Myer shrugged one shoulder. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"Perhaps you should cross it now, so that Samuel knows what to expect."

"Jack," Samuel said with a frosty glare.

Jack held up his hands. "I think Mr. Myer should know that if anything happens to you, I'll come after him."

Samuel rolled his eyes. "Have you mistaken me for Hannah?"

"Are you threatening me, Mr. Langley?" Myer asked mildly.

"I'm merely warning you," Jack said.

"And what will you do if I harm your friend?"

Jack appealed to Samuel. "Are you hearing this?"

"Gentlemen," I said. "Enough. This is supposed to be an enjoyable evening."

Myer held up his hands. "I apologize, Miss Smith. Of course, you're right. I do want to assure you both that no harm will come to Mr. Gladstone. My only weapon is my hypnosis and he's immune. As are you, Mr. Langley." The pointed accusation wasn't lost on any of us.

Jack grunted and said nothing. Samuel too remained quiet. It was left to me to fill the silence. 

"Are you and Mrs. Myer enjoying the ball?" I asked.

"My wife couldn't attend," he said. "Regrettably, she was feeling unwell."

"Oh. I, uh, I see." I cleared my throat and couldn't look him in the eyes. Was his wife truly feeling unwell or had he hypnotized her into staying home? I couldn't believe anything he said anymore in regards to her motivations.

"She suffers from a nervous constitution in crowded spaces. In many other ways, she's a strong woman, but in that she's weak. Social events distress her."

"You should remove her concerns under hypnosis," Samuel said.

"Will that help her overcome her nervousness?" I asked.

"Yes," both Myer and Samuel said.

"Dr. Werner's practice focused on helping ladies suffering from nervous constitutions and hysteria," Samuel added. "There
are
good applications for our ability, Hannah."

"Yes, of course. I didn't mean to imply otherwise." I set my teacup on the table beside me, and accidentally knocked the glass full of punch. It wobbled precariously, but before I could steady it, Jack was there. He righted it without a drop having been spilled.

"Thank you," I said as he sat back down.

He wasn't looking at me, however, but at Myer. Myer stared back at him, his mouth agape. He scooted forward on his chair and pointed a finger at Jack.

"Mr. Langley…" he began. He shook his finger and smiled curiously. "Mr. Langley, you were fast. Indeed, you were so fast that you saved the punch in the time it took me to blink."

I bit my lip. Jack became still. Only the Frakingham residents and the Beauforts knew of his unnatural speed. Indeed, even Jack seemed to have been unaware of how fast he was until I'd pointed it out to him. It had been a godsend while fighting the demons, but it only deepened the mystery surrounding him.

Now Myer knew. A man we couldn't trust. A man with an interest in the supernatural.

"It was nothing," Jack said with a shrug. "Yes, I'm a little quicker than most—"

"A
little
quicker? Ha! Mr. Langley, I can assure you, no man is as fast as that." Myer slid forward even further on his seat so that he was in danger of sliding off. "Will you permit me to time you?"

Jack laughed. "Mr. Myer, there is nothing odd in my speed. It's within normal limits."

"I beg to differ." Myer continued to shake his finger at Jack. "The speed, coupled with your immunity to hypnosis…Mr. Langley, forgive me, but what
are
you?"

"He's a freak," Samuel said, smiling. "Like the rest of us."

"I'm just a man," Jack snapped. His eyes flashed like two hard gemstones in the light. "Gladstone, shut it. You're not helping."

"Mr. Gladstone may be onto something," Myer said. "Mr. Langley, is your uncle studying you?"

"Of course not."

"Have you ever thought about subjecting yourself to study, either by him or…another?"

Jack gave a bitter laugh. "Meaning you? You heard what I think of Samuel studying with you, and yet you have the gall to ask me to subject myself to your tests. I don't think so, Mr. Myer."

"Why not? We may discover something about you that you didn't know. Or we may be able to hone your ability, make you faster."

"Why would I want to be faster?" He set his icy gaze on Myer. His face darkened, and I grew worried that he might unintentionally reveal his fire starting. If Myer thought him odd already, imagine what he'd think of
that
. "Listen to me. I'm not interested in being studied, either by you or anyone else. Neither is Hannah. All we want is to find a cure for her. Unless you can help, leave us alone."