Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Ada could admit that Jonny had won that last round.
He had so shocked her by determining the truth that no one else had considered — at least, not until she had shared it with them.
It took her a minute to calm down before she could rejoin her friends.
Lily had taken one look at her and asked her what was wrong, but she had brushed it off. Ada hoped she had been convincing enough, although she was uncertain if any of them truly believed her.
She had refused to even look at Jonny the rest of the evening, although when they had all said goodnight, she had seen the smug smile he sent her way.
She had managed to avoid him for the rest of the week — even avoid mention of him — and was equally glad she didn’t have to see David, although her parents had made a few comments about seeing the family again soon.
As they sat at dinner one evening, Ada had stolen a few glances at her father, wanting to ask him what she hadn’t been able to get off her mind — whether he was still involved with Sharpe, and whether she should be expecting any late-night visits from Sharpe’s enforcers as they had been subjected to years earlier.
She hadn’t been able to bring herself to do so, likely because, deep within, she knew the truth.
She had debated whether to attend the latest Manchester Central game, but eventually, her wish to see her friends won out over her desire to avoid Jonny Tate.
Of course, he was impossible to ignore on the field. He was so fast, so powerful, so perfect for his position as half-back, moving the ball to where it needed to be, playing a mix of both defense and offense.
She’d had a taste of what it felt like to be out on a field like that and knew that it could become addictive.
“What has you so captivated?” Emmaline asked, leaning forward to look into her eyes.
“Honestly, I was thinking of how much I’d like to get back on the football field,” Ada said with a rueful smile.
“We will soon enough,” Emmaline said with confidence. “Just have to find a few more women to agree to play, and then we can get another practice and match together.”
Ada nodded, although she knew it was a difficult prospect with so many women uncertain about playing a sport when they had been told for so long to have nothing to do with it.
She returned her attention to the field, catching motion out of the corner of her eye. Wait — was that person pointing at her?
She looked around, becoming more observant of her surroundings. Come to think of it, that wasn’t the only person who had attention on her.
“Emmaline,” she said. “Are people staring at me?”
Emmaline looked around. “Of course not…” she trailed off. “Actually, maybe a bit.”
“Why?”
“I have no idea.”
Ada’s heart picked up its pace slightly.
“It’s nothing,” Emmaline said firmly. “Absolutely nothing. You’ve done nothing wrong, so whatever it is, it’s just rumors. We’ll figure it out after the game.”
Ada nodded, although she wasn’t quite as certain as her friend.
But Emmaline was right. There was nothing she could do now, nor was there anything she could say to protest.
Ada tried to focus on the match, her gaze following Jonny's powerful strides as he chased down the ball, but the prickling sensation of eyes on her made it nearly impossible to concentrate.
The Liverpool team was putting up a fierce fight, their forwards dancing around the Central defenders.
The score was tied 1-1 with only minutes left on the clock.
Suddenly, Colin broke free with the ball at his feet.
He charged toward the goal, Liverpool’s defense scrambling to catch up.
The crowd surged to their feet as he wound up for the shot and— Goal!
Manchester Central had scored in the final seconds, stealing the victory 2-1.
Their supporters erupted into cheers while the few Liverpool fans who had made the trek groaned at the loss.
Ada barely registered the win, her mind still spinning with the strange attention fixed on her. As the stands began to clear out, she turned to Emmaline.
"I need to get out of here," she said urgently. "People are talking about me. I can feel it."
Emmaline frowned in concern. "I’d say let them talk all they want, but I suppose we should figure out what has them so intrigued. Let’s go. Lily, Minnie, are you coming?"
The four women gathered their things and hurried toward the exit, Ada keeping her head down. But she couldn't block out the snatches of conversation swirling around her.
"...her father was thick as thieves with Blackwood, I heard..."
"...wouldn't be surprised if she's taken up the family business..."
"...always thought there was something off about that one..."
Hot tears pricked at the corners of Ada's eyes. She didn’t know how it had happened, but somehow her name had been sullied. Had Sharpe done something? Or Will? Or— no. Jonny wouldn’t do that to her… would he?
They all thought she was just like her father, that she was involved in the criminal enterprise when she was the one in her family who had been tasked to take them out of it, who wanted nothing to do with any of it and had, in fact, always hated that her father had done this to them.
The injustice of it all made her want to scream.
As they walked in the weak afternoon sunlight, Ada took a gulp of fresh air, trying to steady herself. Emmaline laid a comforting hand on her arm.
"Don't listen to them," she said fiercely, apparently having heard the mutterings herself. At least Ada didn’t feel like she was going mad anymore. "They don't know anything. We'll get to the bottom of this, I promise."
Ada managed a grateful nod, but inside she was reeling. What had she done to deserve this? And more importantly...what was she going to do now?
Jonny frowned as he watched Ada and her friends beat a hasty retreat from the stands. Something was wrong; that much was clear. He'd noticed the pointing and whispering too, seen the stricken look on Ada's face.
As he made his way toward the changing rooms, he overheard a knot of men talking in low, conspiratorial tones. Jonny slowed his pace, straining to listen.
"...Jones girl, up to her neck in it, or so I hear," one man was saying.
Up to her neck in it? In what? Did this have something to do with Carter?
“Tommy?” He nudged his friend as he was about to walk by him, oblivious to what was happening around them. “Do you hear that?”
“What?”
He gestured to the group of men they were walking by.
Tommy slowed, tilting his head as though it would help him to hear better.
“Who are they talking about?” he asked, wrinkling his nose.
“Ada.”
“Our Ada?”
“Yes,” Jonny said, his nostrils flaring slightly. “Our Ada.”
He’d like to say his, but that wasn’t anywhere near the truth.
Jonny stepped forward, ready to tell these men exactly what he thought about all of their suppositions, but Tommy placed a hand on his chest. “Wait,” he said.
“Let’s find out more about what’s happening, and then we’ll address it.
Saying something to these idiots will only cause a fight that we don’t need right now. ”
Jonny took a breath, knowing that Tommy was right despite his desperation to do something, even if it was just with this lot.
There was no discussion about it in the change room, but then, everyone in here had been on the field with him.
It wasn’t until the women met them afterward to make their way to The King’s Head that he learned more.
“What’s going on?” he demanded as they all entered the carriage together. It was a tight fit, but they managed it. Ada and Emmaline exchanged a glance before Ada bit her lip.
“There are rumors going around that I’ve been seen with someone from Blackwood — now Sharpe’s — organization,” she said. “They’re saying that’s why David won’t marry me. Because I’ve sullied myself with them.”
Jonny’s eyes widened. This was worse than he had thought.
“Do they know…”
He trailed off as Ada started whipping her head back and forth. The other men didn’t know that she was the one who had shot Blackwood. At least, as far as he knew.
He let out the breath he was holding. It would have been much harder had the rumor been the truth.
“This should all die down when people realize how wrong they are,” Rhys said.
Jonny nodded. “Your father was involved. Not you.”
“No one cares about the truth,” she muttered, looking out the window at others who were making their way in the same direction.
They rode in uneasy silence, no one having an answer.
“Where do you think the rumor began?” Emmaline finally said.
Ada lifted her head, but it wasn’t Emmaline she looked at. No, her gaze was directed straight at Jonny.
“I don’t know,” she said, staring at him. “Who would know about my family’s past and want to take the heat off of himself?”
Jonny straightened, squaring his shoulders as disbelief filled him. “You think I did this?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know,” she said, clearly exasperated as she pushed through the carriage door after the vehicle came to a stop, not waiting for anyone to open it for her.
“I can’t believe this,” Jonny muttered as he followed the rest of them. Colin heard and turned back to him with a slight wince.
“I know it wasn’t you, Jonny, but for whatever reason, she doesn’t trust you. Hasn’t from the start. Do you know why?”
“I have an idea,” he murmured, but Colin didn’t push him as they entered the crowded tavern to cheers from the patrons inside, most of whom had followed them from the game.
Even Liverpool and their fans were here, and they shook hands with the players, the teams on good terms. It had been a friendly, if competitive match.
They couldn’t ignore the glances sent their way, and Jonny slid into the seat next to Ada, who was staring into her drink.
“I had nothing to do with this,” he said as firmly as he could so she would understand how serious he was. Serious, and annoyed that she would believe such a thing.
“Never said you did.”
“I need you to know the truth.”
“Why?” she asked, those blue-green eyes meeting his. “Why does it matter so much?”
He wished he had an answer for her. One that he could admit to both of them. But at the moment, all he had to offer her was that he didn’t want to be falsely accused.
“I think it’s important we discover what actually happened.”
“Was it Will?”
“Could have been,” he said with a shrug. “No way to know for sure.”
“What would his motive be?”
He considered that for a moment. “It could just have been to draw attention to you, but…” He scratched his chin.
“But what?”
“What if they don’t want to see your father’s business legitimized? What if this marriage to David Carter would mean that your father could no longer supply Sharpe, and they want to keep that from happening?”
She quieted for a moment, and he could tell she was considering his words. The more he thought about it, the more convinced he was that he was right.
“That could be,” she admitted. “So, it was likely Sharpe or Will.”
For some reason, the thought that it was Will had him feeling guilty, even though it was no fault of his own.
A group of men began to walk up to the table, some of them stumbling, and Jonny instantly went on alert as they all seemed to be focused on Ada.
“What is she doing here?” one of them slurred, pointing to Ada.
“She is here with us,” Jonny said, sliding back his chair and standing. “Do you have a problem with that?”
“No one in with Sharpe should be here.”
“Didn’t know you owned this town. Besides, what makes you think she works with Sharpe?”
Ada was tugging at his arm, trying to get him to sit down, but Jonny was worked up from the game, which had been too close for comfort, and now someone thought they could come from his game and object to his woman being here.
Not that she was actually his woman.
But they didn’t know that.
“Everyone says so,” one of the other drunkards said.
“Which makes it true?”
The man shrugged.
“Listen up,” Jonny said, raising his voice so that anyone near them could overhear, “Ada Jones has absolutely nothing to do with Sharpe or anyone associated with Blackwood’s crumbling empire. It’s all malicious rumors, and if you repeat them, you’re no better than whoever started them. Got it?”
Murmurs sounded throughout the bar, as most within hearing distance had stopped what they were doing to listen.
“I said, do you get it?”
A few muttered yeses and shouts returned to him, and he nodded. “Good,” he said, before sitting down and crossing his arms over his chest.
The team was staring at him, likely because he was never one to voice anything aloud, let alone make a public declaration.
The trio who had approached them slunk off into the crowd, and he finally risked looking at Ada for her reaction.
“Can I talk to you for a moment?” she said, her voice strained.
Jonny sighed. He was sure he was about to get a verbal lashing. “Fine,” he said. “Where?”
“Outside,” she answered, and he nodded, standing and following her out, feeling the eyes of all of his teammates on his back.
They pushed through the back door instead of the front, into the small alley. There was not much back here, but it was quiet, and at least if she was going to yell at him, no one else would hear.
He turned to her, prepared to take whatever it was she had to give him.
He couldn’t have been more surprised when she leaned in and pressed her lips against his.