“The broiled bluefish is delicious,” Oliver said with a smile from across the table. “How is your halibut?”
“It’s wonderful,” I said honestly. We sat near the back of the restaurant, not far from the kitchen. Already I’d spotted several members of the old families here tonight. “I didn’t expect such a treat.”
Oliver smiled at me. He looked rather handsome, dressed in a suit of far better quality than he’d ever owned back in New Bedford. He’d done well for himself, and I couldn’t help but feel a certain amount of pride on his behalf.
“I wanted tonight to be something special,” he said. “You know I spoke to your mother before I came here. She expressed certain…hopes.”
The halibut turned to lead in my stomach. I set aside my fork and picked up my wine glass. Of course she had. It was what I’d feared from the start.
“At the time, I kept my response to her vague,” Oliver went on. “Before the Bedlam went down, I think our families half expected us to wed when we grew old enough. After…”
“Everything changed,” I said numbly. No doubt Oliver was right, and Papa would have encouraged us to unite our families even more closely than they already were.
But he died in the cold sea, alongside Mr. Young, and took all his hopes for the future with him. We lost our comfortable house, forced into a series of increasingly shabby lodgings. My brothers found what employ they could; in factories or on ships. I had been fortunate enough to have the skills to take clerical work. The pay was poor, so I’d come to Widdershins, hoping to find a better position.
Failed to return Dottie’s kiss, when I had the chance.
“Everything changed,” he agreed. “I’ve enjoyed our correspondence over the years, of course. But it isn’t the same as actually seeing someone. Hearing her sweet voice.”
I stared fixedly at my half-eaten fish. I wished I could stop time, or make Oliver stop speaking. Beg him to at least wait until we were somewhere private. But I felt frozen; unable to move or speak.
“I know this is rather sudden,” he went on. His voice was gentle, as if he knew my thoughts. “And I won’t press you for an answer tonight. But my life has been lonely, and to know I had a darling wife waiting for me in New Bedford at the end of all my travels…it would mean everything to me.”
My heart flinched from the thought of marrying Oliver. He was handsome, and a good man, but I felt no passion for him.
When I met Persephone, feelings had crashed down over me like a wave. An irresistible force, a riptide dragging me out to sea, away from everything safe I’d ever known.
So what was I to do about it? Wait, in the vain hope she might feel the same? I wasn’t anyone to inspire passion. Certainly not in someone like her.
I’d waited years for Dr. Whyborne to speak, and I’d end up waiting a lifetime for Persephone. Oliver was here, now. I didn’t have to wait for him to act. If I took up his offer, I’d have a good life. An actual home, not just a room in a boarding house. A friend to spend the evenings with. Children.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I need time to think.”
“Of course.” Oliver sat back. “I won’t mention it again, until you’re ready. But at least say you’ll return to New Bedford. This town is no place for you.”
I looked up in surprise at the dark tone that had entered his voice. “But my job at the Ladysmith…”
“I’ve heard too much about that place in the few days since I arrived.” Oliver’s smile was gone now, his expression grim.
“What’s wrong with the Ladysmith? It’s a fine museum. The best museum in America,” I added staunchly.
Oliver’s mouth tightened. “I know you want to think the best of everyone, Maggie. You always did. But my encounter with that librarian made me wonder what other sorts of people you might be exposed to there. So I asked around.” He shook his head. “The man you’re secretary for. Dr. Whyborne. I’ve heard some very unsavory rumors about him.”
“Then they’re lies.” What Oliver had heard, I couldn’t fathom. Certainly it couldn’t be anywhere near the truth of the matter, that he was a half-human sorcerer. “Dr. Whyborne has always behaved as a perfect gentleman for as long as I’ve known him.”
“I appreciate that you have a loyal heart,” Oliver said, but I could tell he didn’t believe me. “Ordinarily, I would think it a good thing, but in this case I fear it’s made you na?ve. But even if I’m mistaken about him, this town…surely you can’t be happy here.”
I had to force my hands to relax and not crease my skirt. “And what is wrong with Widdershins?”
“The people are unpleasant.”
“Eccentric,” I corrected him.
“This morning’s newspaper contained a mention of grave-robbing, as though it were as commonplace as a stolen pocketbook.”
“These things happen,” I temporized.
“I found out exactly how many people have died in that museum of yours.”