Page 57

The marchioness tried to give her a reassuring smile. “Just think. This time tomorrow, all of this will be behind you.”

“Yes.” Evelyn forced a smile. “You’re right.” But it didn’t bring her an ounce of comfort.

*

Ollie paced back and forth in front of The Harp & Thistle.

It was now late enough that the crowd inside was winding down.

This would be a good time to go in and confront Victor, since he wouldn’t be so distracted by a demanding crowd but also wouldn’t knock Ollie out in front of people.

But Ollie still couldn’t bring himself to do it.

With endless patience, Eamon leaned against the brick wall of the building and watched Ollie pacing.

“You can carry two barrels of beer on your shoulders,” Ollie mumbled to himself.

“You have never failed at befriending even the most unlikable person.” He reached the end of his pace and turned back around.

“You’ve never met a dull evening you couldn’t lift.

You’ve never failed to make even the most unattainably beautiful woman giggle and blush.

” He stopped and turned to Eamon. “Don’t repeat that one to Evelyn. ”

Eamon nodded with a twinkle in his eye.

“You are loyal to a fault,” Ollie added.

Eamon interrupted. “No insults.”

Ollie sighed. “You are loyal.”

“Aye.” Eamon gave him a nod of approval.

“You are… What else am I?”

Eamon pushed off the wall. “You are a handsome fella, though admittedly, I’m biased. You have the ability to be wide awake when everyone else is asleep. You were an excellent thief when you were wee and with the proper training could join me again in the family business.”

“No.”

Eamon circled his hand in the air. “Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, then. Are you ready?” He gently nudged Ollie in the direction of the door.

But Ollie didn’t protest. He had come to realize his uncle was very good at nudging Ollie when he needed an extra push.

Ollie took a few deep breaths, clenched and unclenched his hands, then went into the pub.

No one was at the piano this late because the atmosphere needed to wind down to get people to leave at close.

Dantes, Victor, and Ollie’s replacement, a younger man Ollie didn’t recognize, were behind the bar and didn’t notice his entrance.

Not far from where Dantes was putting away clean glasses for the night was their regular Billy.

Billy had a half-full pint in from of him.

Ollie went over to the empty space beside Billy and could sense his uncle following.

Billy looked up at him and grinned widely, evidently happy to see Ollie again. But just as he was about to say something, he saw Eamon.

Ollie had to force back the amusement caused by Billy squinting between the two men.

Billy then said with slurred wonder, “I can see into the future,” before looking down at his pint.

“I think that’s enough for the night,” he added while carefully rising to his feet.

“Ollie.” He gave a goodbye nod to Ollie.

And then he said to Eamon, “And Ollie again” before stumbling his way to and out the door.

The amusement didn’t last. Dantes noticed Ollie first and put his full attention to him.

“Hello,” Dantes said, guarded. His attention went to Eamon, where his eyes briefly widened. But he immediately looked back to Ollie and proceeded to ignore their uncle.

“Hello,” replied Ollie, also guarded.

“Some dinner, eh?” Dantes was trying to lighten the mood, but something felt off. Ollie wondered what had happened after he’d left.

“Yeah. Some dinner.” Glancing down the bar, Ollie watched Victor fill up a pint before telling another one of their regulars, “That’s it.

You’re cut off after this one.” Ollie shook his head, knowing that extra coin was too tempting to Victor to deny one last sale.

Victor then caught Ollie’s gaze, and something exchanged between Victor and Dantes.

Victor came over, his expression giving nothing away.

Victor eyed Eamon for a long moment but didn’t acknowledge him.

Eamon seemed happy keeping back as support to Ollie, not interference.

Ollie had never felt support like that before. He of course knew, no matter what, his brothers would always be there for him when it mattered most. They had shown that briefly at the dinner tonight. But Eamon almost seemed proud of Ollie. Something he had never felt from his family before.

No. He had to remember family didn’t require blood. Evelyn supported him, too. Even if she wasn’t with him in person as Eamon was now, he knew Evelyn would always support him.

Victor was strung as tight as a piano string. “If you’ve come to inquire about your job, one more week should suffice to cover up your errors.”

Ollie wanted to argue back. Stick up for himself. But all he could say was “All right,” because Ollie had to resist the urge to run away.

Upon this, he stilled.

Was this what Evelyn felt when she got so upset, she had to run? He still didn’t like the thought of running after her, but if this was even close to what she felt, he couldn’t really blame her for it. Not fully, at least.

It felt awful. Fear and self-loathing rolled into one.

Ollie swallowed and pushed the thought away for now. Because he had to take care of something else first. And for some reason, connecting with Evelyn in this odd way boosted his confidence.

“Actually, no, it’s not all right.” Ollie forced the words out. “I’m not coming back.”

Both Victor and Dantes stilled.

His heart began to race because this was a major decision. But he pressed on, the confidence mounting further. “I’m going on strike. For the foreseeable future.”

Victor’s jaw tensed to an alarming level. Dantes looked between the two of them and seemed to realize he was going to have to be mediator, as he had been so many times before.

Ollie took a confident step forward. “You had no right throwing me out of my own business, Victor. And Dantes…” It pained him to have to confront Dantes. “You should have stood up for me. You knew it was wrong.”

Dantes, with his terrifying size and scarred face, bowed his head. “You’re right. I’m sorry, Ollie.”

It was, really, all he’d wanted. “Thank you,” Ollie replied. He put his attention back on Victor. “I still own a third of the business. I still get a third of the profits.”

Victor didn’t respond.

“Victor,” Dantes warned.

Victor ground his teeth hard. “You think you’re better than us, do you, Ollie? That you don’t have to work here?”

“No,” Ollie immediately cut in. “I love this place. But life has changed in a way where I must decide between family and my business. And for now, family is winning out.”

“Family?” Victor scoffed. “We are your family.”

“No. I mean my family. I mean my wife.” He wasn’t going to tell them that the marriage was a farce because he was going to convince Evelyn to really marry him.

It didn’t matter if it took hours, days, or years.

How he would convince her, he wasn’t sure just yet, but he would find a way.

“I have to figure out what family is, first and foremost. That is my priority right now and I don’t want anything to take me away from that. ”

Victor inhaled sharply through his nose. “This is your doing, isn’t it?” Victor directed the question to Eamon.

“The lad’s nearly thirty years old, Victor, Christ,” was all Eamon replied with.

“He doesn’t know any better.”

“Bollocks!” Ollie exclaimed, trying to hold back his anger. “I’m a lot more capable than you give me credit for. Maybe I’m shite at maths, but I’m brilliant at interacting with other humans, which you are horrifically terrible at by the way.”

Victor could only scowl because he knew Ollie was right. “So, you’re quitting your job to be with your wife? Isn’t that grand for you.” And he turned and walked away.

Ollie was proud of himself, and he felt that pride pumping in his veins. It felt shiny and bright, like he could conquer the world. But he could also see Victor was hurt. A surprising outcome. But why the somewhat-terrifying man was hurt, Ollie couldn’t say.

“He’ll be fine,” Dantes said, evidently understanding. “You know how he is.”

Ollie nodded tightly.

“I’m glad you’re back.” He paused. “I mean, not here, but in general. You’re really not coming back?”

“Not for a while yet. Maybe, down the road, I’ll figure out a time that works. Earlier hours, you know? But I need to talk to Evelyn about all of it first.”

Dantes rubbed a hand over his jaw. “You really got married?”

Ollie hesitated again. Maybe someday he would tell his brothers about the fake license. But for now? “Yes. I really got married.”

“Congratulations, then.” Dantes poured out three shots of whiskey, handing one to Eamon.

Eamon seemed taken aback by this, but then appeared happy to be included. Dantes said a few kind words, wished Ollie luck, and they threw back their drinks.

“I don’t even want to know what you’ve been up to all these years,” Dantes said to their uncle with genuine amusement as they set their glasses down.

Eamon laughed heartily and the two began to catch up. It was clear they enjoyed seeing each other.

But still, Ollie felt a draw to Victor. Something wasn’t quite right there. He looked down the bar to where Victor was, and he seemed oddly sad. An emotion he would never pin on the man.

Leaving behind Eamon and Dantes, Ollie began walking toward his brother, then when Victor left the bar area for their office, followed him back there. In the office, Victor was standing in the middle of the floor staring at the fireplace.

Ollie noted the tintype of their parents had been brought down from upstairs and now sat atop the mantel. The businessman who was set to use the upstairs flat must have moved in.

“You can take that,” Victor said, noticing Ollie’s gaze. “If you want.”

“Shouldn’t it be in here?”