Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“You need to come home. And you need to come home now.”
Ada stared at the man standing at the door of Jonny’s house.
Her father.
“What are you doing here?” she asked in measured tones.
Jonny was due to return from work any minute now, thank goodness.
He didn’t like to leave her alone during the day, but he didn’t have the type of job that allowed her to accompany him.
She spent most of her days with Minnie at Tommy’s blacksmith shop, or with Lily or Emmaline, but they were busy and she always liked to return at the same time Jonny would arrive home.
It had only been a few days now, and she wasn’t entirely sure that his schedule was always the same.
She hoped today wouldn’t be one of those days he was held up.
“I am not marrying David Carter,” she said, sure that was what her father had come to collect her for. “We already went down that path.”
Her father rubbed his forehead. She was actually surprised he had come himself and hadn’t sent one of his servants or employees to fetch her. Perhaps he had been sure that she would have refused them.
She would do the same to him.
“Ada. As of right now, no one knows that you have been staying here. We can still save your reputation. But now is our only chance. The Carters are going to take the accusations against you public.”
“And that is the family that you want me to marry into? One who would throw me to the wolves at the first opportunity?”
“They feel slighted,” her father said, looking around him. “Can I please come in? I—”
“No,” came a voice from behind her father, who whirled around to see Jonny standing there, arms crossed over his chest. “If Ada hasn’t invited you in, then you cannot come in.”
“You,” her father said, his face darkening with rage. “You have ruined her! You—”
“I only see her for the woman she is, one capable of so much more than you want of her,” Jonny said, stepping forward, causing Ada’s heart to glow for him that much brighter. “You were the one who tried to dim her spirit. That’s on you. Not on me. Now, time to leave.”
Ada’s father sighed, as though realizing that he had lost any chance he had at a battle against them. But he tried once more to save himself.
“The Carters are going to publicly announce Ada as the woman who shot Blackwood.”
Jonny snorted. “There’s nothing to prove it, and no one would believe it.”
Her father looked back at Ada, who bit her lip.
“Actually,” she said. “There could be a chance it would be believable.”
“What do you mean?” Jonny asked sharply.
“Well,” she said, wringing her hands together slightly. “There was this one time when we were watching a shooting competition. Among the boys, of course. They were all terrible, and I knew I could beat them, so once they had all finished…”
“Ada walked up and shot right in the middle of the target,” her father said, with both pride and resignation.
“Everyone saw how well I could shoot,” Ada said. “It was the topic of many a conversation for quite some time, although of course most of it was wondering why I would have such a skill.”
Jonny’s brows furrowed.
“The Carters would be idiots to say such a thing. Where will they sell their iron?”
“There’s high demand for it,” Ada’s father said in resignation.
“Ah,” Jonny said, “so you need them more than ever, or else your business is at risk.”
He shook his head at that, and Ada knew exactly what he was thinking — that they didn’t care about her but did about their business. She had to let go of that embarrassment for now. This was Jonny, and he was as angry for her as she was.
“Where are they now?” he bit out.
“The Carters?” her father said.
“Who else?” Jonny said, his nostrils flaring in annoyance.
“They’re going to announce it at the Manchester Chamber of Commerce meeting.”
“When?”
“Now.”
“Where?” Jonny demanded.
“The Free Trade Hall,” Ada’s father said. “It’s on Peter Street.”
“I know where it is,” Jonny said grimly. “Ada, I’ll be back.”
“I’m coming with you,” she said, already swinging her cloak around her shoulders.
“You don’t have to.”
“I know,” she said. “I want to.”
He didn’t argue with her as she stepped out the door, making sure it was locked behind her as the three of them hurried down the street in silence. Ada wondered about what Jonny planned on doing, but she didn’t want to ask in front of her father.
She just hoped that he didn’t do anything to put himself at risk.
It was the last thing she wanted.
But with Jonny, one never knew for sure.
Jonny was fuming as they approached the Gothic building, its intricate stonework and pointed arches of red brick and stone grand and imposing.
Very little, however, could make him stand down. Especially when he was defending someone he loved. Yes. Loved.
He held the door open for Ada to enter, letting her father take it on his own as they stepped inside the spacious hall, its high ceilings adorned with decorative plasterwork, large windows allowing natural light to flood the space, focusing on the wide stage in the middle of the main hall, where one man currently stood, speaking to the group of people in front of him, all sitting in chairs.
It didn’t take Jonny long to spot the Carters, sitting in the front row of the meeting.
“Now,” came the short, portly man who stood at the front, hands clasping the podium in front of him, “is there any other business?”
Jonny watched the Carters as he sensed they were poised to stand, but first, a few other men stepped forward and addressed trifling matters.
Finally, when it seemed there was no other business, Mr. Carter, David’s father, stepped forward.
“I have business,” he said, raising his hand. Ada’s father started toward the stage, but Jonny put out a hand to stop him, shaking his head.
Carter stepped up to the podium.
“I would like to put forward a motion to remove one of our members,” he said, causing murmurings to begin through the crowd. “Information has come to my attention that proves Jones Ammunition is no longer a trustworthy member.”
The murmurings grew in volume as the other members began looking around the hall, someone finally spotting Ada’s father and pointing a finger at him.
“There he is! Defend yourself, sir!”
Another man stood up. “What is your accusation, Carter? We need more than that.”
A few others stood and began shouting back and forth, some in defense of Jones, others siding with Carter.
“Enough!” the portly leader finally said, returning to the stage, though he didn’t send Carter away. “Mr. Carter, please state your concern with the business in question.”
“Very well. I didn’t want to do this, but as I am being forced to,” Carter said with a sigh, his acting not exactly praiseworthy.
“Mr. Jones’ daughter is at fault for the murder of Barker Blackwood, who she shot with Jones’ own pistol and ammunition.
If he cannot control his own daughter, what will happen with anyone else who has their hands on his product? ”
The murmurings were now resounding through the hall, which seemed to have been built for its acoustics.
Jonny had quite enough of this, especially when some of the members seemed to recognize Ada and fixed their angry glares and accusatory fingers upon her.
Keeping Ada in his sights to ensure her safety, he strode up the stairs, much to the surprise of Carter and the Chamber leader.
“Enough!” he shouted, somewhat quieting the crowd. “This accusation is ridiculous, and I should know. Ada Jones didn’t shoot Barker Blackwood.” Everyone stared at him. “I did.”
Then everything erupted.
Ada sat, taking deep breaths through her nose.
She refused to leave the police house, no matter how many times Jonny had told her to go, especially now that Colin and Lily had arrived, although even as a solicitor, there wasn’t much that Colin could do right now.
Ada wished she could speak to Jonny alone, but Inspector Finch hadn’t allowed it. He had shown up at the hall so soon after Jonny’s announcement that Ada couldn’t help but wonder if there was more to it, if someone hadn’t summoned him there.
She couldn’t imagine how that would have been possible, however, if Jonny was the only one who had been aware of his own intentions.
She wasn’t sure how long she had sat there on that bench in the police waiting room, next to Lily and Colin, until finally, Inspector Finch emerged, followed closely by Jonny.
“Don’t go far, Tate,” Inspector Finch said, settling a curious stare on Ada before he turned and walked away.
“Ada,” Jonny said, stepping forward and placing a hand on the small of her back. “Let’s get out of here.”
“You’re not arrested, then?” Colin asked, and Jonny shook his head.
“No. I’ll fill you all in on everything tomorrow if you’re fine with that.”
Colin didn’t look fine, but he did nod before he and Lily disappeared into the night.
“Home,” Jonny said to Ada, and she knew he meant his own home, and not her parents’, to which she had refused to return after the police had taken Jonny away despite her father’s protests.
“Home,” she agreed.
They were silent until they arrived, and it was only when they entered through the door that Ada whirled around on him.
“I am so angry with you!” she said, pointing a finger into his chest.
“Why is that?” he asked.
“You took the blame for me! Why would you do that?”
“To protect you,” he said, clearly bewildered.
“I never asked you to!”
“Of course you didn’t. You never would, so I took it upon myself.”
“Why? Jonny, you could have been arrested. I would never have seen you again!”
Her voice became muffled as she banged a fist against his chest and tried to choke back the tears. She was furious that he would risk himself. He was a far more believable culprit than she was, that was for certain. It would have been better to let everyone suspect her.
“And what if I never saw you again?” he asked just as desperately, striding close. “You could have been taken. Sharpe could have heard of this and come after you. I couldn’t live with myself. I’ve told you, I would risk anything for you. Why will you not believe me?”
Her wrists caught in his hands, she stared up at him, desperate, pleading, angry, and in a fierce move, he ran his hands down her arms and caught her to him, his lips crashing on hers as their anger dissolved into a desperate kiss, raw truth in both of their breaths.
She knew the truth in his kiss — that they would face this together. No secrets. No distance.
They would be as one.