Chapter 39 – The Walk Home

Eleanor led Haley through the streets, down to the coast, and out onto the end of the longest pier. The ocean shivered and rustled out from under their feet to the ends of the horizon, carrying a subdued reflection of the sunset above it.

Eleanor gazed out at the water for a minute, then she sat down on the boards, letting her legs dangle over the water. Haley dropped beside her without uttering a word.

Lady Serrs felt strange about that. A part of her wanted to stay there all night to test him, but her curiosity and restlessness proved to be stronger than her perverseness. After only a few more minutes, she stood up. Haley rose and followed her.

Various staircases led up from the east side of the port. Eleanor chose one at random. It took them away from the water and into the back streets of a quiet neighborhood. These were the old streets—some of the first ones ever laid in the city. They were little more than paved paths that wound between the buildings.

As the daylight faded, more lamps were lit along their route, and they ran into fewer people. Since they were surrounded by homes, there were no taverns or businesses to attract outsiders. Eleanor and Haley might have been the only strangers in the whole neighborhood.

“I love walking at night,” Eleanor said.

It was the first thing she’d uttered on their walk. Her voice was barely loud enough to break the silence.

“Do you do it often?” Haley asked.

“Sadly, no. I’m usually busy—but any chance I get. Any excuse.” She took a breath of the cool air.

“Why do you like it so much?”

“It’s freedom.”

It also had a tang of excitement, but when she was alone, there were times when the excitement would tip into fear. But that night, the sound of Haley’s footsteps made her feel safe.

She glanced over and saw he was looking at her.

“Well?” she challenged. “What do you do for fun, Mr. Haley?”

“I’m afraid I don’t have much free time for myself.”

“You never take any breaks?”

“When I get the chance, I travel up to my aunt and uncle’s manor in the country.”

“Do you like the country?”

“I like the change. I feel fortunate that I can divide my time between the city and the country, and I don’t have to pick between the two.”

“And what do you do there?”

“I walk—of my own volition, Miss Serrs,” he said with a smile. “I also ride. I drive whenever I get the chance, and sometimes I play billiards with my cousins. My uncle is brilliant at checkers. I take him on at least once every time I’m there.”

“Do you win?”

“Never. Not once. And yet I keep at it.”

“Imagine the celebration when you win.”

“If I win. If. I think it’s mostly a tool I use to keep myself humble. With whatever time I have left, I like to read.”

Haley wasn’t ignorant of the impact his words would have, so he was watching Eleanor’s face when it lit up with excitement.

“What do you read?”

“Uh…I prefer adventure stories. Or mysteries.” He glanced at her. “Why are you smiling like that?”

“Why are you blushing?”

The inspector’s cheeks ached as his blush deepened. “It’s not exactly respectable literature, is it?”

“That’s probably why it’s so enjoyable. Have you always read adventure novels?”

“When I was growing up in France, my mother was desperate to make sure I was fluent in English. We always spoke it to each other, but she didn’t think that would be enough, so she bought me books in English, and since she wanted me to read them, she bought me all the adventure books she could find. English, American—anything she could get her hands on.”

“Did her plot work?”

“I think I’m passably fluent. Don’t you?”

“Tolerable.”

“On the other hand, she does blame herself for the fact I’ve become a policeman. It’s tragic to hear her go on about how too many mystery books can ruin a man.”

“Is she right? Did all those detective stories ruin you?”

Haley made a face as he considered the question, then he looked at Eleanor. “Between you and me, maybe a little.”

Eleanor grinned.

“You won’t tell her I said that, will you?”

She laid a finger over her lips.

“What about you, Miss Serrs? What do you like to read?”

“Everything!”

Haley had to keep himself from laughing. He didn’t want her to think he was laughing at her, but her enthusiasm was delightful. “Everything?”

“Well, almost everything. Adventure, mystery, math, science—natural sciences—I’m afraid I don’t have much taste for philosophy—medicine, novels, children’s books—all of it.”

“That’s quite a broad list.”

“The trouble is that I get so fascinated by things, I’ll study them every moment I can for weeks or months, then I pass on to something new.”

“Is that a problem?”

“I don’t know. I think it might be a character flaw. And I’m running out of places to store my books.”

Now Haley laughed.

They talked about books for several streets, then Eleanor spotted a staircase that led up into the darkness. Trees had been planted along both sides, creating a vaulted tunnel of thick summer leaves.

“Come on.” She touched his arm to get his attention. “I want to see where it goes.”

She darted away. Haley climbed after her.

The scene at the top was another old neighborhood street. Between the buildings on the right, they could see bits of the ocean, and above them, the stars.

For a while, they didn’t talk. Haley was trying to be considerate while Eleanor gazed at everything. A street and a half later, Eleanor broke the silence.

“I think the streets are nicer away from Center Street.”

“Certainly less busy.”

“But this is the nicer part of the city. I suspect you know more about the rougher areas.”

“My work brings me into contact with them a lot,” Haley admitted.

“What do you do when you’re not chasing Penn?”

Initially, Haley was reluctant to talk about his work, but Eleanor never shuddered or grimaced. There was nothing but curiosity in her eyes. Because of her persistent questioning, he wound up talking about it at length.

When he caught himself describing various blood splatters and what you might be able to deduce from them, he stopped.

“Miss Serrs, are you sure you don’t mind hearing this?”

“I’m the one who asked, Mr. Haley.”

“I know, but…”

He wasn’t sure what he meant to say, but he felt certain that most people would not approve of the conversation.

Eleanor instinctively understood his unstated objection.

“I know,” she said. “My friends have all told me I’m ghoulish and unladylike for being interested in this kind of thing. And that I’ll frighten away the men. But I don’t know if a person can help what they’re interested in.”

Haley considered that.

“You know,” he said, “for you, it’s only a hobby. I found it so interesting, I made it my job. I think that, of the two of us, that makes me the more ghoulish one.”

“And probably less ladylike.”

“Probably.”

Eventually Haley was able to distract her enough to ask her more about her own hobbies. When he did, he was dismayed to see Eleanor’s face lose all its animation.

“I’m afraid that line of conversation is a dead end,” she said. “You’d have an easier time talking about the weather.”

“How so?”

“You know my life. It’s walking and reading.” Her face brightened slightly. “I guess I dance as well.”

“Do you enjoy it?”

“The dancing?” Her face brightened further. “I think I do.”

“A woman in your position would probably get a lot of invitations—”

“Yes, but those are to proper parties and balls. The worst of my nature is that I enjoy dancing, but I wish I could do without the parties.”

Haley smiled. “I can see how that would be a problem.”

Eleanor skipped in front of him and turned so she was walking backward with her hands twined behind her back. “Mr. Haley, do you dance?”

“Yes,” he said warily. “Why?”

“Mr. Penn said that he didn’t think you would.”

“Should I ask why the two of you were debating my dancing skills?”

“Probably not.”

“Miss Serrs, I learned to dance in two different countries, so I likely know more than you, and I definitely know more than Penn.”

“Well, you know what he would say—knowing the steps doesn’t matter if you never do it.”

Haley took two massive steps forward to catch up to her. He snagged her right hand with his left and put his other hand on her waist.

“Go on,” he said. “Name any step.” She was laughing too hard to answer, so he said, “What? Not up for it? I thought you enjoyed dancing, Miss Serrs.”

“Let’s start out easy then. The waltz.”

“Viennese or caprice?”

Haley proved he was more than a match for the challenge. He even knew the dance Eleanor had learned in the Dancing Glass. When she had named every step she could think of, he started offering up ones she’d never heard of.

Their last dance was another waltz. Eleanor knew the steps well enough Haley didn’t have to instruct her. He led her through several measures of nonexistent music, then came to a stop. But he didn’t let go of her hand or her waist, and he kept his eyes on hers.

Eleanor could only tolerate a few seconds of this attention before she dropped her gaze. “Are there any others?” she asked.

“Give me a minute. I’m thinking.”

“It’s all right, Mr. Haley, you’ve proved your point.” Eleanor pulled out her skirt and curtsied. “Thank you for the dances, sir.”

Haley bowed and let go of her hand.

She added, “And if I ever see Mr. Penn again, I’ll be sure to set him straight.”

“Thank you.”

“You didn’t mention dancing among your hobbies,” Eleanor said as they continued walking.

“I didn’t think of it. As I was growing up, it was more of an expectation than a hobby.”

“You don’t enjoy it?”

“Sometimes I do.”

When he looked at her, Eleanor felt her cheeks grow warm.

He looked away. “But if I’m being honest, I have to admit you’re right; I don’t often get the chance to dance. I still have a few friends and relations that remember me when they send out formal invitations, but as often as I accept, I have to decline because of work.”

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“Wait—does that mean you have a tailcoat?”

“I can’t decide if I’m insulted by how surprised you sound. Yes, Miss Serrs. If you must know, I own several. I wasn’t disowned by my family, so I have to have something to wear when I show up to their events.”

“Oh.”

The answer was simple, but there was the light in her eyes, and a slight upward arch at the edge of her mouth. Part of Haley wondered what she was thinking, the other part decided it would be better not to ask.

“Wasn’t I badgering you about what you do, Miss Serrs?”

“You were. And I decided it’d be more fun to make you dance in the middle of the street with no music to prove Penn wrong.”

Haley snapped his fingers. “That’s right. We have to add ‘amusing yourself at my expense’ to your list of hobbies.”

“That’s not fair! I’m usually very respectful.”

“Yes, you are. So what else would you do, if you could do anything?”

Eleanor’s smile disappeared. Haley’s stomach sank as he listened to her stammer out her answer.

“I-I don’t…know. No one’s ever—asked me that.”

She lowered her head to gaze at the ground as they walked.

Haley was silent for a few steps, then he said, “If I became a detective because I read too many mysteries, then considering everything you’ve read, it shouldn’t be difficult to imagine a few options.”

“Penn says he’s trying to turn me into a thief.”

“Miss Serrs, I’m going to ask you, as a personal favor, please don’t do that. Please.”

Eleanor laughed. “All right, Mr. Haley. But only because you asked.”

“Thank you.”

They discussed her potential as a mathematician, but she dismissed it because she was too easily distracted. She decided she wouldn’t make a good doctor because she cried too much and thought it might upset her patients. One idea after another was suggested. By the time they reached the edge of Eleanor’s neighborhood, they were discussing what it would take to fund an Egyptian archaeological excavation.

“I’m not boring you, am I?” she asked.

Haley was amused by the question. “I can’t imagine how someone with so many interests could be boring.”

Her next statement brought the inspector up short.

“I bored Massey.”

Eleanor stopped and looked back when she realized she couldn’t hear Haley’s footsteps. When she saw his face, she flushed and stared at the ground.

“Please, Mr. Haley, don’t bother objecting. I know you must have talked to him by now, so I suspect you already know it’s true. I’d prefer not to pretend.”

“You prefer plain speaking.”

“Yes. Even if it isn’t very flattering.”

Haley stepped up to her side. “I’m sorry for my reaction. I’m surprised you knew. I thought he would have hidden it.”

“He tried, but it’s hard to hide. The eyes glaze and it takes a fraction of a second longer for them to respond. I tried to be engaging and discover his interests, but it didn’t work. So much of what I said bored him, after a while, I was too nervous to say anything.”

“You’re very observant when it comes to people, aren’t you?”

“It helps.”

“Miss Serrs, what did you think of Massey?”

“I already told you—he was polite and considerate—”

“And I think you observed more than that.”

Eleanor took a breath. Her eyes narrowed as she thought back on her experience. “He liked to think he was clever. And funny. He reminded me a bit of Edward, but with teeth.”

“With teeth?”

“Eddie is sometimes cruel, but it’s because he’s thoughtless of other people. I got the impression that Ryder would be mean because he didn’t care all that much about other people—it…it wasn’t often. Please, I don’t—”

“Please, go on.” Haley’s voice was soft.

After a second, Eleanor obliged: “I knew he didn’t like me much. I think he was relieved when I refused his proposal.”

When Haley didn’t say anything, Eleanor looked over at him. “What are you thinking?” she asked.

“I wish everyone I talked to was as observant as you. May I ask you for another opinion?”

Lady Serrs shrugged.

“Tell me about Fitzmon.”

“Gervase is highly intelligent. And proud. Proud like my father. He didn’t mind me in the same way he doesn’t mind most people. He didn’t dislike me—it just didn’t matter to him whether I was there or not.” She put a hand to her forehead. “Which was so strange, because he talked like our marriage was already settled.”

“But you refused him.”

Eleanor shook her head. “Not like that. As we were courting, whenever he talked about the future, I was in it.”

“What about Penn?”

Eleanor laughed. “Ryce Penn is a rude little imp, a scofflaw, and every bit as much of an attention-seeker as you said. He deserves to be put in jail for at least a decade! All the same, I can’t help but like him.”

Haley’s hands went cold, and the air seemed to stall in his chest, but he still said, “And Winfield?”

Eleanor turned her eyes up to the sky. “Dominic was thoughtful. He had a quiet sense of humor, and he was respectful. He could be cynical…but of all of them, he was the one I liked the most.”

“Did you ever tell anyone that?”

“No. Edward might have guessed, but you’re the only person I’ve told.”

“Miss Serrs, I know that Fitzmon told you about the bet.”

Eleanor lowered her head. “I thought you might.”

“Did you ever tell anyone else about it?”

“Oh, no. That’s not something a woman is going to brag about—that the only way a man could be induced to approach her was through a wager? No.”

“Did you ever confront Massey or your cousin about what they did?”

“What would be the point?”

“Did you tell Winfield that you knew?”

“No.”