Page 103 of The Notorious Lady

Grace settled back in her chair, feigning a calm demeanor.

“I am so sorry, Grace, I didn’t mean to do any of it!” Harmony burst into tears.

“Didn’t mean to do what? Betray me? Steal from me? Endanger my life?”

“I was scared!” she cried between sobs. “And h-he told me he would not give you up! He said he’d only take the money. He said I was not safe in your house, that I would be safer with him.” A hiccup.

“And when you found out he lied, then what?”

“He promised to look out for me and protect all other women. We all had a price on our heads for nothing that was our fault.” A hiccup left her body, and tears ran down her ruddy cheeks. “He said if you weren’t the killer, they would let you go anyway.”

Grace stood and Harmony flinched. The poor woman was too frightened of the world. Grace didn’t know exactly what had gone on in her past until she came to work at the brothel; perhaps she’d been abused. Most likely, she had been abused by Jamison as well. She’d met many men of his type in her lifetime. They promised young women everything, then hit them, demeaned them until they lost all worth, and left them to pick up the pieces. It seemed that Harmony had managed to leave him before that happened.

Grace walked around the desk and leaned her hips against it, facing Harmony. “Why aren’t you with him now?”

Harmony swallowed, her sniffles quieting. “I realized he lied. About everything. He bought a single ticket to the Indies and was going to leave me behind. He didn’t hide it well or didn’t think I could read. But I can read enough to understand what a passage to the Indies looks like. The night he was supposed to leave, I came to him and we made love and I… um… stole all the money back. Everything that was left. I stuffed his bag with cock rings instead.”

Now that was funny.

However, the fact that Harmony only did that when he wronged her didn’t escape Grace’s notice.

Harmony clutched the little bundle in her arms, then slowly released her tight grip and handed it to Grace. “There’s all the money that’s left.”

Grace took the bundle and dropped it onto the table without glancing inside.

“I am so sorry, Grace,” she cried. “Please, forgive me.”

For the sum she’d stolen, Harmony would hang. Ford would see to it. He would not forgive her for the fact she’d endangered Grace’s life.

“I understand why you did it,” she finally said.

Harmony’s liquid gaze was rounded in surprise as she looked at her. “You do?”

“Believe it or not, I’ve been in a similar situation once or twice, men trying to frighten me into doing their bidding. Some even succeeded.”

Harmony’s large blue eyes widened further.

“But I never chose to betray my friends.”

Harmony’s lips trembled, her eyes welling with tears once more. “Please, forgive me.” Her words were barely a whisper.

“I will forgive you,” Grace said evenly, “if only because I am alive to do so and not shackled in the gaol.”

Harmony ducked her face.

“Now get out.” Grace’s words were soft.

“I-I… I have nowhere to go,” Harmony croaked out.

“That is not my problem. I forgive you, Harmony, but I cannot trust you. And you know that I don’t let people I don’t trust close to me.”

“Grace, I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Harmony clutched at Grace’s hands. “I was scared.”

Grace nodded. “I know. And what about the next time you get scared?”

“What am I supposed to do?” she asked in a high-pitched voice that was barely audible to the human ear.

“You pick yourself up. You learn to accept the consequences of your actions and you find a way to move forward. Oh, and next time someone gives you a hand to help you when you’re down… Don’t bite it off.”