‘So . . .’ Kane settled back in his chair. ‘May I ask why you want to work as a waitress, Miss Hutton?’
For a moment she wondered if he was laughing at her, but the somewhat rugged male face gave no sign of it. He had the sort of face which made it impossible to determine how old he was, but she thought around the middle thirties. He was tall and well-built, and his hair was thick and dark, almost black, but his eyes were a bright blue. His complexion was severely pock-marked, but for that, he might have been considered good-looking. Aware that she was staring, she said quickly and with transparent honesty, ‘I don’t want to work as a waitress, I need to.’
‘Ah.’
She poured milk into her coffee, adding two teaspoonfuls of sugar – a luxury – before she added, ‘The proprietor was partly right, as it happens.’
‘Call him Horace. Everyone does.’
‘I – I do want to be an actress but I don’t have wealthy parents as he suggested.’
‘No?’
Her tongue was running away with her. It was the warmth and smell of food and not least the easy way Mr Gregory had with him. But he was a man, a stranger, and she shouldn’t be talking so freely. She bowed her head, sipping at her coffee which tasted wonderful, and feeling uneasy again.
It was a moment or two before Kane went on, ‘What have you done about furthering your desire to work in the theatre, Miss Hutton?’
Feeling this was safer ground, she told him of her efforts over the last weeks without mentioning when she had arrived in London or anything more about her personal circumstances. Their meal came, two large plates of ham, devilled kidneys, steak and eggs with a side plate of warm rolls and small slabs of butter. Sophy had to restrain herself from falling on the food, but somehow she managed to pick up her knife and fork and eat in a manner Miss Bainbridge would have approved of.
Nevertheless, as Kane watched her while appearing to concentrate only on his own breakfast, he thought, She’s hungry. Damn it all, the girl was ravenous. What the dickens was going on?
It was towards the end of the meal, when Sophy had all but cleared her plate, that he spoke again. ‘I hope you don’t think I’m being impertinent, Miss Hutton, but you mentioned that your parents are not wealthy. Do they know you are here today?’
The question took her by surprise. Now her stomach was full for the first time in weeks, she was wondering how on earth she could have been so foolish as to put herself in this position. She should have walked straight out of the restaurant after the altercation with Horace, but it was too late now. Panic made her throat dry, and she took a sip of coffee. ‘My parents died not long after I was born,’ she said carefully. It was the story she had decided to tell if anyone asked. ‘My aunt and uncle – my mother’s brother – brought me up. They weren’t in favour of my becoming an actress so I am at present in lodgings.’
‘I see.’ Not as much as he wanted to, but it was a start. He would guess she was roughly seventeen or eighteen, maybe a trifle younger, but the mantle of innocence that sat on her made him wonder how she had survived thus far. He could think of a handful of men on the fringe of the entertainment business who would snap her up if they got the chance, and for purposes other than putting her on the stage. She was tailor-made for one of the high-class brothels. Such men were like leeches, hanging round the theatres hoping to snare ingénues like this one, their naivety and freshness their downfall. And this girl was extraordinarily lovely.
His mind made up, he said, ‘Forgive me for saying this, Miss Hutton, but I am assuming you are now outside the protection of your family and therefore in something of a delicate position.’ As Sophy went to speak, he held up his hand. ‘I’m sure you are quite capable of looking after yourself in the normal way of things, but if – as I surmise – you are all alone in a strange city with limited funds, I think we could both agree that is not ideal.’
Her cheeks fiery, Sophy said stiffly, ‘I have no intention of allowing myself to be’ – she had been about to say ‘used’ but substituted it for the words he had spoken earlier – ‘taken advantage of by men, I do assure you.’