A Rose for Laura by Callie Hutton

14

Keniel berated himself after he'd dispatched a carriage to pick up Laura. He should have gone, too, and had planned on it since he'd already warned her regarding the neighborhood being dangerous for a lady at night.

Much to his annoyance a crisis had erupted between two of the players right before it was time to send for her.

Mr. Winston and Mr. Rawlings had almost come to fisticuffs over each accusing the other of cheating. Since all games were watched closely by the staff, a player cheating was next to impossible. Of course, when players were in their cups and losing money, all reason seemed to leave their heads.

Dante had taken Mr. Rawlings to another area of the room while Keniel escorted Winston to the dining section on the gaming floor to separate them and calm them down. Both of their carriages had been sent for, so it was merely a nanny sitting job for him and Dante.

He checked his timepiece again. Assuming Laura was ready on time, and given the amount of enthusiasm she'd shown at his invitation, he was certain she would be, the carriage bearing her should arrive soon.

He stood and clamped his hand on Winston's shoulder. "Your carriage should be ready by now. I'll escort you outside.”

The man looked up at him, bleary-eyed and swaying slightly. "I didn't ask to leave."

"No." Keniel moved his hand to the man's elbow and pushed so he would stand. "I'm asking you to leave."

The stubborn man stood and dug his heels in. "Why do I have to leave? It was that Rawlings who was cheating."

Keniel shook his head. "It matters not, Mr. Winston. We don't allow squabbling or fighting in the club. I suggest you head for your home and sleep off all the liquor you've had tonight."

Winston tugged his elbow from Keniel's hand. "Who are you to tell me to leave? Merely an employee. A manager, not an owner. I insist on speaking with a Rose brother."

Keniel placed his hands on his hips. "You are speaking with a Rose brother."

He looked at him in drunken confusion. "What?"

"I said you're speaking with a Rose Brother. Now move along."

"I don't know what you're trying to pull here, but I want to speak with Dante or Driscoll."

"They're busy." Keniel clamped his hand over Winston's forearm and moved him forward. "Do not give me any more trouble, Winston. I don't want to take the step of banning you from the club, but I will if you don't cooperate."

To Keniel's amusement, Winston leaned back and took a swing at him. Luckily, based on the man's level of drunkenness and belligerence, he'd been prepared for such a thing, and grabbed Winston's arm, pulled it behind him and moved it up just enough to cause pain.

"Ow. Leave me alone, man."

Keniel bent to speak into the man's ear. "Now walk across the gaming floor to the front door. Then quietly and peacefully enter your carriage and go home. You are on a thirty-day suspension starting tonight."

Keniel dropped Winston's hand, not wanting to embarrass the man, but gave him a shove to start moving. Winston wisely walked ahead of him, only stumbling a little, mumbling about men who pretended to be what they weren't.

Once they arrived outside, Keniel escorted the drunken gambler down the steps to his waiting carriage. After he settled inside, Keniel closed the door. "Have a good evening, Mr. Winston. See you in a month." He slapped the side of the carriage, and the driver moved the vehicle forward. He breathed a sigh of relief that the encounter hadn't escalated.

He took the steps two at a time, barreled through the gaming floor, taking a quick note that all seemed well, and Dante was even sitting with Mr. Rawlings while the man enjoyed a drink. It appeared their confrontation had gone better than his. He entered the doorway leading to the staircase to the upper floor and the side door to the outside steps where the carriage would arrive.

"Keniel." One of the kitchen employees grabbed his arm as he tried to whiz past.

He tried to quell his impatience. "Yes?"

"A woman arrived who said she was looking for you. Nearly ten minutes ago."

He'd told the driver to fetch him before letting Laura leave the carriage. He would throttle the man the next time he saw him. "Where is she?"

"I brought her up to the dining room. I hope that was all right."

He breathed a sigh of relief; glad she hadn't been turned away which was the club's policy. "That was perfect. Thank you for doing that."

When he arrived at the upper floor dining room, he found Laura wandering the room, examining everything. Her curiosity made him smile. So different than what he'd expected from a woman of her class.

As usual, there was a pot of tea and a pot of coffee, along with a tray of sandwiches and biscuits on the sideboard. During the evening, the brothers did not indulge in more than one alcoholic beverage, but hunger could be pacified with a quick break upstairs.

"Good evening, Miss Benson."

His greeting had her turning, a bright smile on her face. "Hello to you, Mr. Singh." She strolled over to where he stood and to his surprise, rose up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek, the now familiar soft flowery scent emanating from her filling his nostrils. "Thank you for inviting me."

He would have much rather preferred a real kiss but given where they were and the chance of someone walking in on them, he kept his hands and mouth to himself. Later, perhaps.

"Thank you for coming. I have some time, and I'd like to give you a tour of this floor and then show you where you can watch the gamblers." He took her hand and, fingers clasped together, they left the room.

He started at the end of the corridor, pointing to a door on his left side. "That is a bedroom that we use on occasion if needed. While Driscoll's wife, Amelia, worked here, she used that room."

He opened the door and she peeked in. "It's lovely." She studied him. "You had a woman working here?"

"Twice, actually. Amelia was a dealer on the vingt et un table for a couple of months. Then when they were working on an assignment for the Home Office, Dante's wife, Lydia, stepped in for a short time."

"The Home Office? That sounds like an interesting story."

"And a secret one."

"Oh dear, maybe you shouldn't have told me."

"I trust you to not spread the word and actually, since they are all married now, and Hunt with one child and another on the way, and Amelia due anytime, they've asked to be released from duty. As far as I know, Dante is still on their rolls, but hasn't been tapped for an assignment since his marriage to Lydia."

"And you. Are you on their list as well?"

"No. They had this all set up long before I left Jamaica." He wasn't sure he would want to be approached for such work. Poor Lydia had been stabbed on that assignment with Dante, and his brother had nearly gone crazy with fright. He'd never really thought of himself as suited for spy work.

* * *

They continued downthe corridor and reached the door for the office. Keniel opened it, and they stepped inside. Driscoll sat at a large wooden desk, overflowing with papers and ledgers. He appeared quite busy, frantically writing in a ledger book. He looked up with a panicked demeanor. "Oh, it's you."

"Is everything all right, Driscoll?" Keniel asked.

"Yes. No." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I don’t know." He took a deep breath and laid his pencil down. "Amelia wasn't feeling well when I left earlier. I wanted to send for the midwife, but she refused, said I was over-reacting."

"How soon is she due?" Laura asked.

"Only a couple of weeks, and I know they said most times first babies come late, but that doesn’t mean it can't happen." The poor man was pale and sweating.

Laura remembered thinking when she saw Amelia at Hunt's dinner that she looked ready to explode. It didn't surprise her that his wife might possibly go into labor early.

Keniel studied his brother carefully. "Driscoll, why don't you head home for the night? I don't think you're doing much good here."

He shook his head. "No, I can't." He gestured toward a pile of papers on his desk. "I have to enter all of these before the end of the night. Our solicitor is coming in the morning to pick up our books to go over."

Laura only gave it a moment's thought before she said, "I would be happy to do that for you."

Both men looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"I didn't invite you here to work, Laura," Keniel said.

"And I didn't agree to your compromise to help me find a new residence for the orphans, then have you end up housing ten squalling babies."

Driscoll's head jerked up as he regarded his brother. "Ten babies?"

Keniel nodded. "It's a long story."

Laura turned her attention back to Driscoll. "But to return to the matter at hand, Driscoll. If you show me what to do, I'm sure I can handle it. After all, I run an orphanage and take care of those books."

Driscoll stared at her. She could see his mind working as his eyes flickered. "You wouldn't mind doing it?" He wiped the sweat from his forehead.

The poor man looked as if his guardian angel had just arrived.

"I would not have offered if I minded. I can see you are concerned about Amelia, and I agree with Keniel that you won't get much done here worrying about her."

"Keniel?" Driscoll asked.

Keniel shrugged. "If she wants to do it, that's fine with me. She and I can do a tour of the club some other time."

Once more Laura bristled. As if she needed Keniel's permission to do some work! But rather than making a scene, she merely offered a tight smile and a curt nod. She moved past Keniel and leaned over Driscoll. "If you show me what to do, you can be on your way."

Keniel must have sensed her displeasure because he coughed and tugged on his ascot. "I will be…um downstairs if you need me."

She waved him off and pointed to the ledger Driscoll had open in front of him. "What is this?"

It took Driscoll about twenty minutes to explain everything to her. Much more than she needed to know to do the current job, but since she was familiar with accounting to some degree, she asked questions and learned a lot more.

"I'm sure I can handle this. Why don't you go on home and take care of Amelia?"

"Yes. Thank you. I really appreciate it." He stood and backed away from the desk. "If you are not sure about something, just leave it and I can probably take care of it in the morning before our man comes."

"I'm sure I will be fine."

Driscoll hurried from the room and Laura set to work.

Several hours later, Keniel returned to the office. He hesitated at the door and gave her a slight grin. "Am I welcome?"

She smiled back, having forgotten her pique. "Yes, of course." She stretched, not realizing how stiff she had become. "Do you still have tea available in the dining room?"

"Yes." He held out his hand. "Come, I will join you."

They made their way down the corridor to the dining room. Her eyes burned from squinting at numbers. "What time is it?"

"Nearly two in the morning. We will be closing in another hour."

She placed her hand over her mouth to stop a yawn. It didn't work. She shook her head as her eyes teared up. "I've been to many social events later than two in the morning, yet it feels a lot later when you are actually working, does it not?"

"Yes. Do you remember I said that taking care of the babies wore me out more than working here?"

Laura moved to the sideboard and fixed a cup of tea. "I believe taking care of babies is more work than just about anything." She looked over at him. "Would you like a cup of tea?"

"No. But thank you." He leaned his chair back on two legs, resting against the wall. "How is the ledger work going?"

Laura picked up a napkin and placed two biscuits on it, and carrying her tea, she joined Keniel at the table. "Quite well, actually. Driscoll told me a lot more than I needed to know to do this job, but I was plaguing him with questions because I've always had an interest in maths."

"Strange. It is unusual for a—"

"—Don’t say it."

"What?" He attempted to appear questioning, but the guilt was there as well.

Laura sniffed. "That an interest in maths is unusual for a woman."

"Why do you think I was going to say that?"

Her one eyebrow rose. "Were you?"

Before he got the chance to respond, Dante entered the dining room. "I just got a message from Driscoll."

"Is Amelia well?" Laura asked.

Dante ran his fingers through his hair. "I assume so. His note said she did go into labor, and he has no idea when he will return to work."

Keniel looked over at Laura. "It looks like you've got yourself another job."