Chapter 30 #2
“It’s not what I think of you!” Brendan protested, his voice rising.
“It’s what everyone else will think. Theo Stein—the son of Mrs. Stein, I presume—is financing your business, arranging your accommodation, wining and dining you, and larking about on the streets of Englewood!
” With each point, his voice rose, and Maggie flinched.
He made it sound sordid, and it wasn’t. At least, she wouldn’t let it be.
A couple of kisses, she told herself, was not an affair, or even an entanglement.
And she would not let Theo kiss her again.
He’d promised not to without her permission, and she would hold him to it.
Their relationship would be purely business, and she would make sure everyone knew that. She would make sure Theo told them.
And she really wouldn’t let him kiss her ever again…
“And what,” she asked, once she’d regained some of her composure, “do you believe people will think about me?”
“Maggie…” Brendan sighed, shaking his head, his ire replaced by a weary sorrow. “You are an intelligent and practical woman. You must know how it could look.”
“Am I not to allow a gentleman to invest in my business?” she demanded.
“A young, handsome gentleman who is seen out with you socially? Who flirts with you shamelessly right in the street?” he replied heatedly. “Yes, you are allowed, but you must acknowledge there might be consequences.”
“Then that is for me to acknowledge,” Maggie declared recklessly, “and accept. Not you. You aren’t my keeper, Brendan O’Donaghue.
” Her voice rang out she feared childishly, and she blinked to keep just as childish tears at bay.
She was hurt by his words as well as his attitude, and yet she knew he had a point, as much as she hated that fact.
“I know that full well,” he replied quietly.
A silence stretched between them, heavy with a misery both of them felt but could not share.
Then Brendan continued in an even quieter voice, “I may not be your keeper, but I think, considering our association, I deserve the truth. Is there nothing between you and Theo Stein besides his investment?” He held her gaze, a hint of challenge in the hazel eyes she knew so well. “Truly, Maggie?”
Maggie felt a revealing blush rising to her cheeks as she forced herself to keep his gaze. “Nothing,” she repeated defiantly, but she could tell Brendan didn’t believe her. She didn’t even believe herself, but she wanted it to be the truth. At least, she thought she did.
Brendan let out a soft sigh of sorrow, and she hated feeling like she’d disappointed him. She was angry with him, but she was even angrier with herself, and then angry with him all over again for making her so.
“As you wish,” he said tiredly, and turned toward the door, only to have it flung open by Danny.
“What’s going on here?” he exclaimed as he looked between their two dour faces. He took off his cap, tossing it carelessly on the table.
“I have wonderful news,” Maggie told him, her voice both brittle and bright.
“I’ve found new lodgings, right in the Loop.
You’ll have your own room, and there’s running water and a flush toilet, besides.
” She made her mouth curve up in a smile that seemed like a mockery of what she truly felt.
“We can move in a few days. Isn’t that good news? ”
“In the Loop?” Danny’s eyes didn’t brighten the way Maggie had expected, and his mouth had taken the kind of sulky set she hadn’t seen in months. “I don’t want to live all the way downtown,” he complained. “It’s miles from Jackson Park.”
“The Exposition will be finished in a few months,” Maggie protested. “Then you can find work closer to where we live, if you so choose.”
“I don’t want to leave Englewood,” Danny returned stubbornly.
“I like it here. All my pals are here, and I know the area. And Da is more likely to find us here, as well,” he added, his voice rising plaintively.
“Since he’s living locally. We could come across him on any street corner!
Besides, what about Brendan?” He glanced at Brendan, whose expression had remained impassive.
“Danny…” Maggie tried to keep an impatient edge from entering her voice. She knew her brother could be stubborn and even childish about such things. “You knew we were hoping to move from here.”
“What’s wrong with this place?” Danny thrust his chin out.
“This new accommodation is much more suitable,” Maggie insisted, trying to keep her tone reasonable. “And comfortable, as well. And it’s affordable, so you really don’t have any choice.” She let a little iron enter her voice. “We’re moving.”
Danny glared at her, his chin still thrust out. “I’m not a child anymore,” he told her. “I’ll be sixteen soon enough. I don’t need to move just because you say so.”
Maggie recoiled at the venom in his voice. She’d dealt with his temper and feisty ways plenty of times before, but this felt different—not so much a childish tantrum as the will of a man. And he was choosing against her.
“Then where are you going to go?” she demanded, trying to hide her hurt. She feared she knew the answer before Danny stated it, as if it were obvious.
“With Brendan.”