Chapter 55
FIFTY-FIVE
Geneva was relieved when Christmas dinner was finally at an end and she could escape to her room.
These days, it was the only place she could be alone and examine her feelings.
She was nearly at her door when she encountered Dennison, who appeared to be waiting for her.
He looked angry and agitated, and brandished the watch she had collected from the jeweler.
“Are you quite all right?” Geneva asked as she stopped a few feet from him. Something in his demeanor frightened her, and she didn’t dare come closer.
“Your father gave me this,” Dennison replied.
“Do you not like it?”
She was confused by his reaction, since any employee would be happy to receive such a beautiful and valuable gift. It was a mark of her father’s regard for his valet, a show of gratitude for his excellent service.
“Oh, it’s a fine watch, my lady,” Dennison said furiously. “But I know what it means.”
“What does it mean?”
“I’m to be dismissed. Made redundant.”
Geneva stared at the man, unsure how to reply. “Perhaps I can speak to Mr. Bellamy. Surely he will require a valet if…”
She didn’t finish, but Dennison knew what she meant.
“He won’t,” Dennison snarled. “He has no intentions of staying here. He’ll be gone the minute his lordship breathes his last. All of us put out without notice.”
Geneva balked at this announcement. “Did Mr. Bellamy tell you this?” she asked quietly. Surely Jesse wouldn’t have told his valet of his intentions.
“He didn’t have to. It’s obvious to anyone who cares to look. He’s just biding his time until he can get his hands on the inheritance.”
“I think you’re jumping to unfounded conclusions.
It’s not common knowledge yet, but Mr. Bellamy has asked me to marry him.
Things will go on as before,” Geneva said with more conviction than she felt.
She didn’t want to admit to the valet that nothing had been decided and that his future was now in her hands.
Dennison shook his head. “It’s you who’s jumping to conclusions, my lady. Nothing will be the same, and by this time next month this house will be closed up, everyone gone.”
“I will have a word with Mr. Bellamy,” Geneva promised. “I’ll see that you retain your position.”
“You do that,” Dennison said, his voice low and menacing. “And don’t let me down, or I might have to find my own way to assure my future.”
He stalked off, leaving Geneva shaken. She had never seen this side of Tom Dennison before, and, now that she had, the last thing she wanted was to petition Jesse to allow the man to keep his position.
She wanted him gone, dismissed for good.
She assumed her father had made some provision for his valet, but she had no intention of asking.
It pained her to speak to him of money, particularly now, when her own future and the livelihoods of the people she felt responsible for were still uncertain.
At this moment, Tom Dennison was not among them.
Fearing he might return, Geneva hurried to her room and shut the door. She stepped away, hesitated, then turned back and locked it. She no longer felt safe in her room.