Twenty-nine

Strong arms helped us back to the safety of the stairway. Even as I stood on the solid wood of the landing again I felt myself swaying.

“You’re all right now, ladies,” the helmeted figure said. “You’re lucky that we got here when we did, and that Higgins is such a crack shot.”

Another constable reached out to scoop up Bridie into his arms. She cried out in fear.

“It’s all right, darling. These nice policemen are here to help us,” I said. “They’ll take you down to the ground again. We’re following right behind.”

“Just a minute,” Katherine said. “I’m feeling faint. I have to sit down for a moment.”

“That’s what comes of wearing corsets,” I said, helping her to the step.

“You mean you don’t?”

“Never have,” I said.

“But don’t your insides rattle around? That’s what Mother said would happen if I didn’t.”

“I’ve never felt them rattling around yet,” I said. “Put your head down until you feel better.”

“Thank you, Molly.”

I perched on the step beside her and put my hand on her shoulder.

“It was all so horrible, wasn’t it?” she whispered.

“Very horrible,” I said. “Especially for you.”

“For me? It was you he was trying to kill.”

“But you loved him once,” I said. “I had no second thoughts about fighting for my life.”

“I still can’t believe . . .” she began and put her hand over her mouth. “I thought I was so strong and brave but . . .”

“You were, very strong and brave. You had to make some horrible choices out there. Your parents would be proud of you.”

“I’m not going back to them,” she said, looking up suddenly. She got to her feet. “I’m recovered now, thank you. Let’s go down.”

As we made our way down the steps a man came up toward us, taking the steps two at a time. In the dim light of the flashlight behind us I took in the unruly curls, the square jaw, and for a horrible moment I thought that it was Michael, and he had somehow survived the shooting and the fall. Then as he came closer to the light I recognized him.

“Daniel!”

“Thank God you’re safe,” he gasped as he saw me, and he grasped my shoulders as he fought to regain his breath. “I came as soon as I heard.” His gaze went past me to Katherine. “You must be Miss Faversham. I’m Captain Sullivan of the New York police. I’m glad to see you safe and sound. What happened to Kelly?”

“Higgins shot him, sir. Fell into the drink,” one of the constables said.

“Good work, boys. I passed the little girl at the bottom of the tower. She’s with her brother.”

“Her brother? What’s he doing here?” I asked.

“He was the one who came to find me,” Daniel said. “Smart lad, that one. He came home and found the note that Kelly left for you and came to tell me right away. I was out on a case unfortunately, so they sent a constable to fetch me and dispatched sharpshooters straight to the bridge.”

“We could have handled it without your men, you know,” I said. “Katherine and I had the situation under control.”

“Oh, you did, did you?” Daniel gave me a quizzical look.

“Absolutely.” I picked up my skirts and pushed past him to descend the final flight of steps.

When we reached the bottom of the tower and came out onto the dockside we found that a crowd had gathered. It took me a while to pick out Bridie, standing to one side, holding Shamey’s hand.

“Molly!” they cried and ran to me.

I knelt to hug them both, and couldn’t stop the tears from streaming down my cheeks. “You see,” I said to Shamey through my tears. “You see how good it is to go to school now? You might not have been able to read the note.”

We were laughing and crying at the same time. I looked up to see Daniel watching us. I got to my feet.

“I’d better get these children home now. It’s past their bedtime.”

“I’ve a carriage waiting,” Daniel said. He took my elbow and steered us though the crowd.

“Don’t we need a statement first, sir?” one of the constables asked.

“The morning will do, Higgins. You get back to HQ and make your report. I’ll join you as soon as I can.”

Daniel handed us into the carriage, then climbed in himself. It was a tight squeeze. I took Bridie on my lap and Katherine balanced Shamey on hers. Daniel was beside me. I was aware of the pressure of his body against mine. Would I never get over these stupid feelings when he was near me? I stroked Bridie’s hair and pretended I didn’t notice him.

“I suppose it’s a waste of time to ask, but what in God’s name made you decide to climb a half-built tower with a man like Kelly?” he demanded.

“The answer to that is simple,” I said. “He took Bridie.”

“You could have come to me for help, as young Seamus here so properly did.”

“And when he spotted the first police uniform, what do you think he would have done with her?” I demanded. “Anyway, we had no idea we were going up to a place like that. The note said the end of Delancey Street. I didn’t think about the half-built bridge.”

“That’s one more of your nine lives gone,” Daniel said. “I hope it gave you enough of a scare up there to seek a more sensible occupation in the future.”

“Something like a companion, had you in mind?” I said, turning away from him. “I find such jobs to be more of a strain on the heart.”

“You did very well, Seamus, my boy,” Daniel said, leaning past me to ruffle Shamey’s hair. “Your father will be proud of you. If you go on like this, I might be able to use you as a messenger when you get a little older.”

“Really?” Seamus leaned forward to look at Daniel. “How old do I have to be?”

“You have to have enough schooling so that you can read longer notes with harder words,” I said and saw Daniel’s smile.

The bright lights of the Bowery flashed past us. A theater performance had just ended and the crowd spilled off the sidewalk forcing our horse to slow to a walk.

“Where can we take you, Miss Faversham?” Daniel asked Katherine.

“She’s staying across the street from me, with my friends,” I said.

“Ah. Across the street. A good thought,” Daniel said. “And may I say, Miss Faversham, or rather Mrs. Kelly, that I commend your bravery tonight. I can only tell you that you’ve had a narrow escape in more ways than one. The man you married was a dangerous thug, wanted by police both here and in Ireland. Had you stayed with him, you would soon have become part of one of the most violent criminal elements in the city, from which there would have been no escape.”

“I realize that,” she said, “and I suppose I should be grateful, but it’s all been rather a shock. I did love him, you know. You can’t just stop loving someone, just like that.”

I could feel Daniel looking at me.

“No,” he said. “You can’t.”

Katherine sighed. “I expect I’ll get over him with time. I come from tough stock, you know. My father fought in the Khyber Pass.” She gave a sad little chuckle. “I’ll be all right.”

The carriage slowed and came to a halt.

“We’re here,” Daniel said and lifted the children down, then assisted Katherine and myself from the carriage. His hand lingered against mine. When I tried to pull mine away he was looking at me again.

“Are you going to invite me in tonight?” he asked.

“I think not. The children are tired. But thank you for escorting us home.” I gave a correct little nod of the head, equal to anything Miss Arabella Norton could produce.

The children had run ahead to the front door. Seamus opened it and the worried look melted instantly from his face. “Oh, so there you are. I wondered where on God’s earth you’d all got to. I’ve been worrying about you.”

“We’re all just fine, Seamus. And these children are ready for some bread and milk and bed.”

Seamus looked past me to Katherine and Daniel and the carriage at the end of Patchin Place.

“We had a little excitement. No doubt the children will tell you about it in their own good time,” I said.

“I’ve had a little excitement of my own,” Seamus said. “I got a job at last. I’ve been hired by Macy’s department store to carry out packages to carriages and automobiles during the Christmas season. And if that works well, they’ll keep me on in the stock room.”

“I’m pleased for you, Seamus,” I said. “Go inside, children. Say good night to Miss Faversham and thank you to Captain Sullivan.”

“Good night, Miss Faversham. Thank you, Captain Sullivan,” two voices chanted in unison. “Daddy, you’ll never guess what . . .” I heard animated voices as they went into the kitchen.

“I’ll be off to bed then,” Katherine said. “Thank you again, Molly.”

“Do you want me to come with you, Katherine?” I asked.

She glanced at Daniel, then at me. “No, I think not,” she said, and walked across Patchin Place to Number Nine.

Daniel and I were left standing together in the darkness. “I must go and fix that bread and milk for the children,” I said. “Thank you for bringing us home and thank your men for coming to our aid.”

“Molly,” he said urgently, “I’ll tell her, I promise. Don’t do anything rash.”

“If you mean marry someone else, it wouldn’t be rash. It would be a carefully thought through decision. I don’t make promises lightly.”

“Promise me that you won’t make a commitment to another man until I’m free to ask you myself. If I get down on my knees and you tell me that you choose another man over me, then I’ll go away and never bother you again.”

I looked up at his earnest face and suddenly laughed. “Daniel—I’ve a feeling you’re full of blarney. You won’t tell her. Oh, you’ll have great intentions, but when you see her and you realize what you’d be risking and what you’d be giving up, then you’ll suddenly become tongue-tied again.”

“No, Molly. Not this time. I swear to you. I love you. I can’t live without you. I beg you, don’t rush into a marriage you’d regret. A lifetime is a lot of years to live with someone you don’t love.”

“And a lot of years to wait for something that may never happen,” I said.

“Just tell me you do still love me and that if I come to you free and available, you’ll not send me away.”

I looked at him and had to smile. “Oh, Daniel. Like Katherine said, you can’t just stop loving somebody. There will probably be a place in my heart for you for the rest of my life. But that doesn’t mean I can’t find happiness with someone else.”

“Not the same happiness we two can have together.”

“No, probably not the same kind of passion. But passion often dies, doesn’t it? Mutual affection and companionship can last forever.”

“You can get those from a dog,” Daniel said.

“One thing you should understand, Daniel,” I said. “If I marry Jacob, I won’t be settling for second best. I would be marrying him because I believe we could be happy together.”

“No, Molly. I won’t let you marry him. I’ll burst into the ceremony and carry you off if I have to.”

“Oh, Daniel.” I had to smile again. “If you come to me on your knees before I’ve made the trip to the altar, I might listen to what you have to say. Other than that, I’m not promising anything. Good night, now.”

I moved to make my escape but Daniel was quicker. He grabbed me and crushed his lips against mine. I tried not to respond but my body took over and for just a moment I was one with him, pressed against him, the warmth of his body flowing through me. Then I controlled myself and pushed him away.

“That wasn’t fair, Daniel. Go home.”

“Does he set you on fire when he kisses you? Does he make you feel the way I do?” he demanded.

“There’s more to life than kisses.” I fled to my front door and slammed it behind me, leaving him standing on the cobblestones outside. Once inside I rested my forehead against the cold oak of the door. Not for the first time I wished I had never met Captain Daniel Sullivan.

The sound of lively children’s voices came from the kitchen.

“And then you’ll never guess what the policeman did!”

I envied their ability to rebound from tragedy or terror.

The next morning I was awakened by pounding on my front door. I put on my robe and made my way downstairs. Jacob stood outside, a newspaper in his hands.

“I’ve just seen today’s paper,” he said, waving it at me as he came into the house.

The headline in the first column of the New York Times read, DANGEROUS RESCUE ON NEW EAST RIVER BRIDGE. I scanned down the text. Two young women attempted daring rescue of a child, taken up there by a madman. Situation resolved by fearless, sharpshooting New York police. It mentioned me by name.

“What were you thinking?” Jacob demanded.

“Michael Kelly had Bridie with him. He wanted to trade her for Katherine. I went along to make sure Bridie got down safely.”

“You’re lucky to be alive. I went to take a look for myself this morning. Those few planks along the side of the cable? That’s what you were on?”

I nodded. “And it wasn’t very pleasant, I can tell you.”

He put his hands on my shoulders. “Molly, please listen to me. No more of this reckless behavior. I can’t live, worrying about you every time you’re out of my sight. The moment I saw this I thought that I should have been there, I should have saved you.”

“I don’t intend to make a habit of it, I assure you. In fact I can positively guarantee that I’ll never climb up a half-built bridge again.” I attempted a laugh. “You don’t have to worry about me, Jacob.”

“Not worry? Since I’ve met you a woman was killed by mistake in your place, you were almost burned to death in a fire, and then almost hurled to your death from a bridge. What is there to reassure me that you’re not to be worried about?”

“Let’s just hope that my future cases are more mundane.”

“Let’s just hope there are no future cases,” he said firmly. “Molly, I want you to give up this absurd idea right now. If you want a job, I can find you one that will challenge you and use your talents. The women’s trade union league could use someone fearless and articulate like you. You’d be doing a real service, Molly. Making a difference. What do you say?”

“It’s very tempting, Jacob. I will think about it.”

“Just promise me you’ll stop trying to be a detective.”

“But I’m not trying to be one,” I said as the realization came to me. “I am a detective. I’ve just concluded two cases satisfactorily. I’ll have earned two hundred dollars—not bad for a month’s work, wouldn’t you say?”

Jacob shook his head, but he was smiling. “Molly. What am I going to do with you? I don’t want to let you out of my sight for another moment.”

I turned away from him. “Jacob, I . . .”

“I’m sorry. That was stupid of me,” he said. “I promised I wouldn’t put you in a glass case, didn’t I? It’s because I care so much that I—”

“Jacob,” I interrupted and looked at him this time. “This talk of marriage makes me uneasy. There’s something you should know. I like you, Jacob. I admire you and respect you, but I’m not sure that I can love you.”

He looked down at his hands. “I see,” he said. “Cannot love be learned and grow over time? If our match had been arranged by the matchmaker, we wouldn’t even know each other before the ceremony, and yet many such marriages are truly happy ones.”

“I’m sure they are, but that would be a risk I wasn’t willing to take. I will only marry for love.”

There was another long pause.

“Is there someone else?”

“Yes, and no.”

“That policeman,” he said sharply. “The one who shouted at you.” He looked at me for confirmation and I nodded. “He shouted, as I did, because he’d been worried for you. Do you still love him?”

“I’m not sure, but I have experienced what love feels like, and I’m not ready to settle for less.”

“Then why did you not marry him?”

“Because he wasn’t free.”

“Ah,” he said quietly. “So are you’re trying to tell me that you don’t want to marry me?”

“I don’t know, Jacob. I really don’t know what I want. That’s the trouble. I want to be fair to you as well as fair to me, so that if I decide to marry you, it will be because you’re my true choice and not because I’m settling for second best. You do understand that, don’t you?”

“I understand.” He paused, staring past me out of the window. “And I commend you for it. You will let me continue to visit you so that I can woo you and sweep you off your feet?”

I laughed, making him smile too. “You do not need to woo me. You have nothing to prove to me. It is I who has to decide what I want from life and to shake off the ghosts of the past. But I look forward to continuing our friendship and seeing where it might lead us.”

His face lit up. “Then I am content.”

“Thank you. You are a very dear person.” I put my hand to his cheek and leaned forward to brush his lips with a kiss.

“I’ll have to get used to that beard, someday,” I said.

A week later a letter arrived from Ireland from Major Faversham.

Dear Miss Murphy,

I can’t tell you how relieved my wife and I were to receive the letter from you and from Katherine. To know she is alive and well and to discover that she is no longer married to that bounder has lifted our spirits considerably. Of course, we had hoped that she would return to us immediately, but she has promised that she will keep in touch with us via letters and may be coming home soon. Thank you for your splendid work. Enclosed please find a check for twenty-five guineas.

A little over a hundred dollars! I was on my way to becoming a successful woman. I ran across the street and burst into Sid and Gus’s house waving the envelope. I found them all at the kitchen table, enjoying the morning coffee and hot rolls ritual.

“A letter from your parents, Katherine. They were so thrilled to hear from you.” I stopped. A strange man was sitting at the kitchen table with his back to me. “Oh,” I said, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize you had company.”

The man rose to his feet and turned toward me. “Company, you call it? It is I, darling Molly, come home to the bosom of my loved ones.” And the dashing, irresponsible, loveable, infuriating Ryan O’Hare stood there, dressed in a black velvet jacket with a large diamond pin in his purple silk cravat.

“Ryan!” I ran to his arms. “How wonderful to see you. We have missed you so much. Have you finally brought the play to New York?”

“It is due to make its glorious opening at the Victoria Theater next week—don’t say anything about bad omen in the name. It was the one theater that was free and willing.”

“Why should it be a bad omen?” Katherine asked.

Ryan made a face. “I had to leave England in a hurry after the queen was not amused about my satirical play about Her Majesty and Albert.” Then that brilliant smile flashed across his face. “I must say it was deliciously wicked. I had the both of them to a T, in all their boring glory. I even gave them plaid sheets on the marriage bed.”

“Ryan, you are very naughty, we all know that,” Sid said. “I hope your American audiences haven’t been equally incensed with your new satire of the American lifestyle.”

“My dear, it goes over most of their heads. They laugh uproariously, not realizing they are laughing about themselves. It is too marvelous for words. You’ll all come to opening night, of course, as my guests—and to the party afterward. Everyone who is anyone will be there.”

“We wouldn’t miss it for the world, would we?” Gus said, looking around the table.

I realized with a great flood of relief that this was my normal life now. I could eat long, luxurious breakfasts and take hot baths and go to plays. I was no longer a sweatshop worker. I was Molly, a member of the artistic set of Greenwich Village.

“Let me have a roll and some coffee, please,” I said. “I’m positively starving.”

“And I have to haste myself in the direction of the Victoria Theater to see about the scenery,” Ryan said. “I gather there’s an annoying pillar that will have to go. Let us hope it will not bring the house down, literally.” He blew kisses and swept out.

Katherine was looking at me strangely. “I may have made a mistake,” she said. “I had thought that Jacob was the man in your life, and then I thought that perhaps it was the policeman, but perhaps I am wrong.”

“Ryan?” I laughed.

“My dear Katherine,” Sid said. “Everyone loves Ryan. Even Ryan loves Ryan.”

“Especially Ryan loves Ryan,” Gus added. “No, I think that Jacob might not be such a bad choice for Molly after all.”

“I’ve just told him I’m not ready to think of marriage yet. I’m not at all sure I want to marry him.”

“Quite right. Too earnest.” Sid set a cup of Turkish coffee in front of me. “And think what a hindrance it would be to your career if you wanted to marry. You need time to enjoy life first, Molly.”

“You’re right,” I said. “What is the rush? I’m sure husbands are an infernal inconvenience.”

I glanced across at Katherine who was looking pensive, fingering the locket she now wore again at her neck, returned by the repentant Ben Mostel. “I’m sorry,” I said, flushing. “How insensitive of us to speak of marriage, after what you’ve just been through. I expect you never wish to hear the word again.”

“Not for a long while,” Katherine answered. “But I can assure you I’m not going to be a widow and wear black. As a matter of fact, I am excited about starting life on my own, although I have no idea what I’ll find to do with myself.”

“We’ve told you that you’re welcome to stay here as long as you want,” Sid said. “You can fill the empty nest left by Molly.”

Katherine smiled. “You are most kind, but I have to leave New York, just in case my father comes looking for me. He can be very forceful, as I’ve told you. I will stay in touch with my parents, but I really don’t want to go home again.”

“Then you must go to Boston, of course,” Gus said. “I’m sure we can find something for you there. My family owns half the city. I’ll write some letters for you.”

“But I don’t want to go back to the upper-class life,” Katherine said. “Now I’ve seen how much needs to be done for poor working women, I’m anxious to do more for them.”

“Not back to a terrible sweatshop, surely?” I asked.

“Preferably not a terrible sweatshop,” Katherine agreed, “but I have to do something useful to give my life a meaning.”

Her words struck at my conscience. Was I being selfish if I didn’t continue to work for the union? As Jacob had said there was a lot of good I could do. Then Sid sat at the table between us, brandishing the silver coffeepot.

“I commend you, Katherine,” she said, “but I have to confess that my morning coffee and hot rolls and my friends, and Gus here of course, are what give my life meaning. I couldn’t exist without them.”

“Amen to that,” Gus said, and raised her coffee cup in salute. I did the same.

Just before Christmas I received a letter from Katherine.

I have settled in Boston. There is a thriving garment industry here as well as a large Irish population, so I feel well at home. Thanks to Gus’s connections, I am boarding with several other girls of good family who have started a league dedicated to improving the lot of female factory workers. We have started a branch of the garment workers union in several shops. We have just opened a clinic in one of the worst slums and staffed it with volunteer doctors and nurses. It is challenging, but satisfying work.

Thank you for everything. I hope we may meet again and I wish you well.

Katherine