But he put his hand on Kitty’s shoulder and reminded her, “Kitty came here to find you, in the dead of night, after she gave up the greatest love of her life, for the sake of his happiness and that of his bride-to-be. I think we should applaud her, pour another tot of brandy, and discuss how she might best go on from here.”
Generously, he refilled all their glasses, except Lissa’s whose was untouched and sat down.
Lissa reached out for Kitty’s arm and gave it a squeeze. “Ralph is right and I’m being righteous. I’m sorry.” She smiled a little tearily at her lovely young man and was grateful for his kind and reasonable approach. Lissa hadn’t had much love growing up and knew that her responses, especially toward Kitty, could be interpreted as unfeeling, though it was because there was little leeway for sentiment when life was harsh and difficult. Lord knew how long she and Ralph would remain in their unsatisfactory nether world, unable to marry because of the impecunious situation which had seemed on the cusp of change a few months ago but which had stagnated. Tonight was the first opportunity she’d had to spend a few hours away from her duties toward Miss Martindale, and she’d hoped to spend it in Ralph’s arms. But Kitty deserved sympathy.
“It was a brave thing you did, Kitty, if you truly loved him. For, of course, you’ll not have his support and that places you in a precarious position. What will you do?”
“I still have my job. My wages have gone up at the theater, so I won’t be on the street. Silverton would not accept the ruby necklace I tried to return to him.”
“Lord, the one that Debenham gave his wife, and which caused all that trouble when she sold it and he went hunting it down so he could use it to pay a gambling debt?”
Kitty nodded. “You know the story, then? Nash gave it to me when he asked me to marry him.”
Lissa shuddered again at the thought that her own once-innocent little sister had been the mistress of the rakish Lord Nash before moving on to his friend, Silverton.
“But when I rushed off from the church, thinking it was a sham marriage, my necklace was recognized by the friend of a woman of dubious repute whom I shall not mention in your hearing, Lissa.”
“You mean, the woman who runs the brothel in Soho, Maggie Montgomery?” Lissa forced herself to utter the shameful words as she stared defiantly from Kitty to Ralph. “I’m not so protected or precious I can’t utter truths when they’re required.”
“It was actually Mrs. Mobbs who recognized me and who is Maggie Montgomery’s friend. She was my landlady when I first came to London, and she also finds homes for motherless babies, so she’s not a bad woman, but Maggie Montgomery is, and she knew Lord Debenham was searching for the necklace that Nash had procured from a visit to…Maggie Montgomery’s.”
Kitty’s bit her lip as she recounted the story which Lissa hadn’t heard in such detail. Indeed, its very sordid nature made her blanch though she kept her thoughts to herself.
“Lord Silverton was doing the noble thing, looking after me following my mad flight from the church—”
“Looking after you?” Lissa put her head on one shoulder. “So you ran straight from the church where you were to marry Nash, and into Silverton’s….arms? And thereupon became his mistress. What? A month ago? Six weeks? And now it’s all over?”
“Silverton and I had been friends far longer than that!” Kitty ground out. “You make it sound grubby and coarse, and it was anything but that. Anyway, Silverton paid twice over for that necklace to ensure I was safe from Debenham and Maggie Montgomery and anyone else who had evil intentions. And now he’s insisted I keep it.”
“Was your parting amicable, Kitty? He wasn’t…violent when you wanted your freedom?” Ralph’s concern made Lissa feel guilty. Of course, she should have been equally concerned about this part.
“Oh, he begged and was torn, but he knew he had his duty toward his family first, and that Miss Mandelton was relying on him. He didn’t want me to go and begged me to reconsider, and I nearly lost my resolve, but all the time, at the back of my mind, was the image of my life turning out like Mama’s.” Kitty put her head in her hands and hunched over the table. “I want a loving family with children who can grow up proud of who they are. As much as I love Silverton—and I do, passionately—I couldn’t condemn my children to the life you and I have lived, Lissa.”
Lissa swallowed. Awkwardly, she put her hand on her sister’s soft, golden hair and stroked it, realizing she’d never done such a thing since Kitty had been a little girl.
And as she thought about her sister’s words and considered her sacrifice, she realized that what Ralph had said was true. Kitty was to be commended for her brave and noble sacrifice.
Chapter 10
Kitty hunched over the table with Lissa and Ralph on either side of her in Mrs Nipkins tiny dwelling.
She had always felt her sister’s disapproval keenly, but there was nothing she could do. She wasn’t going to become a governess like Lissa. She hadn’t the patience. And didn’t it make far more sense to trade on the talents she did have?
She wiped her streaming eyes with the back of her hand and thought of what she must do now. She’d only just parted from Silverton, but it felt like a lifetime. He’d insisted there was no urgency for her to leave the lodgings he’d leased for her, no doubt hoping she’d change her mind.
But Kitty was so terrified of losing
her resolve to do the right thing that she knew she couldn’t stay there while Silverton was in town. All it would take was another distressing visit like the last when he’d arrived unexpectedly, pleading with her to stay with him, and she’d weaken.
So tomorrow she must start looking for a new abode. In the meantime, her loyal maid Dorcas was packing Kitty’s things and making her own inquiries as to a suitable place for them through the friends and contacts the poor thing had made when she’d been indentured to Mollie Montgomery.
Kitty and Dorcas’s friendship had been cemented when both had just arrived in London from the country and found lodging with Mrs. Mobbs, but while Kitty’s star had risen, and she’d become the most celebrated actress in the country, Dorcas had been tricked into signing a contract that forced her to serve in Mrs. Montgomery’s wicked house of ill repute. Kitty and Silverton had tried to rescue her, before she’d been given her freedom on condition she perform some villainy for Mollie. Kitty still worried that somehow Mollie and her henchmen would find Dorcas and threaten her into some dubious business that would serve their ends if she didn’t return to her previous hated life.
She was about to thank Lissa and Ralph for their kindness, when to everyone’s obvious shock, there came another rap upon the door followed by a breathless voice.
“Mr. Tunley? Are you there?”
Kitty gripped the tabletop and glanced at Lissa. The voice belonged to a woman; a young woman by the sound of her cultured tones. Kitty’s mind whirled. Perhaps Silverton had enlisted the help of a female friend to beg Kitty to return. But no respectable young lady would venture into these alleyways after dark. No, this couldn’t be about her.