Chapter 16 #2
“Until it’s another man’s job.”
We stared at one another for a moment and then he glanced at the theater. “Why did you come here?”
I licked my dry lips, not sure how much I wanted to tell him. He’d already seen the worst parts of me, why not tell him the rest? “My mother used to be an actress here.”
He studied me, frowning. “Is she still here?”
“No.” I played with the fingers of my glove. “The man at the stage door remembered her but said she hasn’t been here for fifteen or twenty years. The last he heard, she—she started a brothel in Soho.”
“Oh.”
The look of surprise and shock on his face was too much. I turned away from him and started walking back toward Trafalgar Square, tears burning my eyes. I hated the reminder of who I really was, and seeing his response only made it worse.
Alec was suddenly at my side, slipping his fingers through mine as he held my hand. “I’m sorry, Keira.”
I wiped my cheek with my free hand and couldn’t look at him. “I know you think less of me—”
“I could never think less of you.” He pulled me to a stop.
“Don’t you understand?” He gently turned me to face him.
“There is no one I think more highly of than you. Nothing in your past could change how I feel about you, especially nothing that you had no control over.” He lifted his hand and wiped a stray tear on my cheek with the back of his finger, swallowing his emotions.
“I’m—I—” He paused and shook his head. “I only want the very best for you.”
My skin tingled where his finger had trailed, and longing swept through me. That one kiss on Christmas had set a fire in my heart that could not be quenched by anyone other than Alec—yet I forced myself to not let thoughts of him continue.
People passed by, staring at us as we faced one another in the street.
“The best thing for me would be finding my mother,” I said, forcing my thoughts back to something I could control. “I have to talk to her, to understand who I am and where I came from.”
“I am not taking you to a brothel, Keira. We don’t even know which brothel she might own.”
“How can we find out?”
He let out a sigh. “Somerset House is not far from here, perhaps a five-minute walk down the Strand. I went there last time I was in London on business. It’s a general register office for the City of London and they might have information about your mother and her whereabouts.”
“Will you take me?”
Alec smiled. “I have a feeling if I say no, you will find a way to get there on your own.”
I returned his smile.
“Come.” He continued to hold my hand as we began walking farther from Buckingham Gate. “We need to be mindful of the time. Aunt Maude would never forgive me if I didn’t have you back before the Duke of Severton came to call.”
“I do not anticipate that the duke will call.”
“He’ll call. I saw the way he was looking at you last night.”
His words made me feel uncomfortable, but whether it was because it was Alec saying them about another man, or because I didn’t want the duke to pursue me, I wasn’t sure.
It didn’t take long to reach the register office, but they had not opened for the day, so Alec took me to a café across the road, and we had eggs, toast, and coffee.
We didn’t talk about the ball the night before, or the plans Aunt Maude had for the upcoming season.
Instead, we talked about our childhoods.
I told him what it was like growing up in Five Points and he told me about his life in Boston.
“My father was a minister,” he said. “I always felt I was being scrutinized by his congregation, but I didn’t mind too much.
There were some good people who surrounded our family and loved both my parents and me.
They provided clothes and food when we were running short and made me feel like they valued my father. ”
“Clothes and food?” I frowned. “Wasn’t your mother from a wealthy family?”
He nodded as he held his mug of coffee in hand.
“My grandfather disapproved of my father and his profession. He warned my mother that if she married him, he would cut her off and that’s exactly what he did.
Uncle Edmund inherited everything. But he and Aunt Maude had no children, so he began to sponsor my education and left his business to me. ”
“I didn’t realize—”
“That I also grew up poor?” He smiled, though it was sad.
“Perhaps not in the same way as you, but we often went without food or heat until someone stepped forward and provided for us. Father wasn’t a proud man, but he didn’t like begging for charity, either.
God was—and is—a faithful provider. We never suffered long and now I ensure that my parents have a monthly stipend that guarantees they are never cold or hungry again. ”
“They’re both still alive?”
“Yes. I haven’t seen them in some time, but I write to them often.”
I wanted to meet the people who raised Alec into such a fine young man, but I kept those thoughts to myself and noticed someone entering the records office.
“It looks like it’s open.”
Neither of us moved right away, and I suspected he didn’t want our unexpected breakfast to end any more than I did. But we were running out of time and needed to get back to 7 Buckingham Gate before we were missed.
Alec paid for our meal and then held the door open for me as we stepped onto the Strand and crossed the street.
The General Register Office was large and already busy as we entered. A secretary pointed us in the right direction, and we were soon standing near a desk as we waited for a clerk to gather information for a woman named Nellie O’Day, born approximately 1840.
It took longer than I hoped or expected, but eventually he returned. He was a young man with a mustache and an eager expression.
“I think I may have found who you are looking for,” he said.
“We have no birth records for Nellie O’Day, but I found one marriage record for someone by that name.
Thankfully, the marriage record has a lot of other helpful information.
She was married on June 30, 1865, right here in the register office, to a man named Daniel Farmington.
Her full legal name on the record is Nellie Elizabeth O’Day.
She was born on May 18, 1837, in Dublin, Ireland, and her occupation at the time of her marriage is listed as actress. ”
My pulse escalated. “She was married?”
“That’s how it appears.”
The record said nothing about her being a brothel owner. Perhaps Bernard had been wrong. He’d said it was only hearsay, after all.
“Do you have an address for Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Farmington?” Alec asked.
“I knew that would be your next inquiry, so I took it upon myself to find it for you.” He passed a piece of paper across the desk. “They live in Islington, a suburb of London.”
“She’s still alive, then?” I asked, my mind spinning with so many questions. At least I wouldn’t have to visit a brothel.
“I believe so. I did not find a death record, but that could be registered at a different location.”
“Thank you.” Alec took the piece of paper and slipped it into his pocket.
“My pleasure,” the clerk said. “Come again if you need more assistance.”
Alec offered his arm, and we left the register office.
“May I please see the paper he gave you?”
“No.” He smiled at me as we turned toward Trafalgar Square. “I know you too well. If I give it to you, you’ll try to sneak out again and go by yourself. I will take you there at the first opportunity.”
“Today?”
He gave me a look. “You will be far too busy today.”
“Then when?”
“We’ll go as soon as we have a free moment and can get away. I promise, Keira.”
I let out a sigh, knowing I could trust him, but not wanting to wait any longer than necessary.
“Promise me you won’t go alone,” he said.
“I won’t go alone. I promise.” I wanted his support as I faced my mother, because I wasn’t sure how I would be received.
She’d abandoned me and probably never expected to see me again.
But it was a chance I had to take.