Nessa Read online

  “Yes?” He leaned forward in his chair and tilted his head at her awkwardly.

  “Could we start again?” She locked eyes with him, knowing she had to stay completely confident during this exchange.

  Oscar stared at her for a while, silently. “You really must have had some talk with my father.”

  Nessa was thrown back against the chair with the force of his words. He couldn’t be implying what it sounded like he was implying. She scooted to the edge of her chair. They were close enough now that she could feel the heat from his body. “Your father and I merely discussed business. Turns out he and my father knew each other very well.”

  Oscar narrowed his eyes. “I’m sure. I’m also sure that you didn’t discuss me, or my marital status, at all.”

  Nessa never blinked. Never took her eyes off his. She stood. “You’re a pratt.” She shook her head, her anger bubbling dangerously close to the surface where she knew, if it reached, it would spill over and spew out of her mouth. Self control had yet to become a strong suit. “You really think you’re that special.” She stepped toward him so that he actually had to change his position so his face wasn’t in her skirt. “Well, I’m here to tell you you’re not. I happen to already have a man that I’d like to marry. You’re of no interest to me.” The bubbles were tickling her. Provoking her to needle him. “You’re not as handsome as you think, Mr. Straus.”

  The shadow that passed through his eyes was very satisfying. Nessa almost smiled and turned away, but she somehow knew that wasn’t what she should do. She needed to wait him out. Hold his gaze and force him to respond. So that’s what she did. She did let a satisfied grin escape when he finally spoke.

  “Fair enough.” He stood. Bringing himself to his full height, which was considerably taller than she was. She had to look up at him now. “If you’re not here for me, then why are you here?”

  Nessa let the smile she’d been holding in fully escape. She could feel her cheeks reddening. The thought of saying the things she needed to say in order to be honest with him was making her feel exposed. She may have been naive and sheltered in the past, but she wasn’t anymore. She tapped into that newfound strength. “I’m here because I believe we can help each other.” Nessa turned from him and walked slowly to the fireplace, where she eventually refocused her attention on him. “You have been groomed to be a businessman. You’ve learned at the hands of the very best, and I need you for that knowledge.”

  Nessa paused and watched.

  “So, you do…”

  Nessa silenced him with a hand. She made her way around the room, looking at the paintings and other fixtures as she spoke. “I need to learn what you’ve learned. Know the secrets you do. Be able to handle myself in business, and you…” She raised her eyebrows, giving him a look of pure pity. “You need my help with women.” His face was so easy to read. He was getting very angry with her. She knew he was about to explode. “Before you go getting upset, think about it. You’re not getting any younger, and you’ll need heirs so that all of this doesn’t just go away.” Nessa once again roamed the room with her eyes. “I’ll help you find a wife if you help me build my business.”

  Oscar got up from his chair and came to stand before her. “You really think I need someone to help me find a wife? I’m the most wanted man in town.”

  Nessa smiled but felt badly about it. What she was about to say didn’t make her feel good, but the same part of her that told her not to break eye contact told her to say the words anyway. “They don’t want you for you, they want you for your money.” Her words and tone were harsh, and she could see that they cut him deeply. It pained her. She softened her voice. “But I can help you. I know there’s a wonderful man inside you. We just have to find him.”

  Oscar stared at her for a long time before he nodded and turned from her and toward the door, but he turned back before a full moment had passed. “Who is and where is this man that you would rather be with than me?”

  Nessa shook her head as sadness overwhelmed her. She had been so proud of how she’d handled Oscar, and now she was brought to devastation by a simple question, a question that, had she not been a spoiled brat, she’d have answer for, or a good one anyway. “His name is Henry, and I have no idea where he is.”

  Oscar nodded. “So we’re friends?”

  Nessa nodded. Tears were filling her eyes. Thinking of Henry and how far she was from finding him made her skin feel tight. Like she was stretched too thin. “Friends.”

  “I plan to pay a call to a potential match tomorrow evening. Would you join me?”

  Nessa was taken back by the thought. She wasn’t sure that accompanying him on something of this nature was in either of their best interests. She thought about what people’s reactions would be, but then her mind drifted and she thought about how she really should see him with a woman to help determine what exactly the issue was. After all, his father was only so reliable. His son could have been someone completely other than what he thought.

  She nodded. “I will.”

  Oscar smiled hugely. He really was a stunningly attractive man, even if she’d told him otherwise. “I’ll fetch you around four. We’ll be dining with her and her family. I’ll send word to them that we’ll have an added guest.”

  Nessa nodded once more and looked down as she blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall. When she’d composed herself and looked up, Oscar was gone. In his place was the man who came when the chain was pulled. “Miss, Mr. Straus has a carriage waiting for you in the front.”

  Nessa walked toward the door. “That’s very kind of him but unnecessary. I’ve brought my horse. I’ll return as I came.”

  The man looked stunned as he escorted her to the door and opened it wide. “Very well, then. Good evening to you.”

  Nessa turned back to him as she stepped out the door. “And to you as well, sir.”

  Oscar couldn’t believe his father. The one female he’d met, in more years than he cared to think about, that he actually found endearing, and his father had interfered. He wondered who Henry was, though. He wasn’t sure the man was true. Who would shake a woman like Nessa Dobbs. She was beautiful and strong-willed. She was everything he’d ever wanted. She would make the perfect wife for him; he just had to figure out how to convince her of that.

  He watched out the window as she ignored the carriage his father had arranged for her, and she mounted the horse she must have ridden there on. He shook his head. She was more than strong-willed, she was something completely other.

  His father came from down the hall and stood behind him. “She’s something, isn’t she?”

  Oscar nodded. “Yes, she is.”

  “You two worked things out?”

  He nodded. “As best we can. We’ll be taking her to the McCarthys’ with us tomorrow.”

  “What about Genevieve?”

  Nessa had ridden away. Oscar had watched until he could no longer see her hair flowing off her back. He turned and faced his father. “What about her?”

  “Well, her father seems to have it in his head that you two would be the perfect match.”

  Oscar shook his head and kept shaking it. “I doubt it. From what I know of her, she’s trite and trivial. Beautiful, of course, but what’s to keep me engaged other than staring at her?”

  “You should give her a chance. Perhaps there’s more to her than that.”

  Oscar stepped around his father, heading toward his room. “Perhaps.”

  Lillian fretted over every detail of Nessa’s dress. She fussed with her hair and the way she’d spun it up into a tight twist on the back of her head. “I’m not the one in line for marriage to a Straus, Lillian. There’s no need for this.”

  Lillian shook her head in a fury. “But you’ll be with them. You need to be nothing but exactly the best.”

  Nessa returned her head shakes, which did nothing but cause her pain as Lillian was still pinning her hair. “It really isn’t like that once you’re with them.” She
lifted a hand to a sore spot on her head. Lillian had been tugging and pulling on her most of the afternoon. She was getting a headache from it all. “Now, I have no idea where we’re going, and I’m trying not to be nervous, so let’s talk about something else.”

  Nessa knew that she’d been clear with Oscar, and the fact that he was taking her with him to see someone that would potentially become his wife was a nice show of faith. She had lain in bed thinking about Henry, wondering where he was, but those thoughts became intermingled with questions about tonight. She wondered where they were going. If they’d find her a suitable friend for Oscar. If the female he was going to spend time with would be upset. She worried herself to sleep by the wee hours of the morning and woke with a start as Lillian ripped her covers off and pulled her from her bed.

  Nessa had told Lillian everything the night before. The woman seemed more excited than Nessa could remember ever seeing her. She didn’t miss the relief in her eyes when she heard about the business though. “I always knew there was more to him than most understood. He was a good man, your father,” she’d told her. Nessa agreed. He was a good man, and she wanted him to be proud of her. This new path she was on. She thought he would be.

  Lillian had pulled her from her bed and set her straight in a tub of water, where she instructed Nessa to bathe. They spent the day chatting about the evening and getting ready. Nessa was exhausted as she argued with Lillian about Oscar being a more than suitable potential husband for her.

  “I don’t understand why you’re going to help him find a different wife. Why don’t you just marry him?”

  The older woman tugged on a few stray strands of her long, blonde hair before tucking them tightly into the twist and pinning them there.

  “Because we’re not compatible.”

  Lillian scoffed. “Compatible. Not compatible. That means nothing. You can make any relationship work if you want it to.” She lifted her eyebrows and narrowed her eyes. “Why don’t you want it to?”

  Nessa stood from the chair. She shook her head and said, “I didn’t say I didn’t,” when what she was thinking was, because I love another. I have tried to force a relationship before, and it didn’t go well. I don’t want to do that again. Nessa lowered her chin to her chest and sighed. Henry. Her dear Henry. She needed to find him.

  Though they were upstairs, they could hear when the Strauses’ carriage arrived. Lillian, being the only help she had, had insisted that she be the one to rush down the stairs to greet them. Nessa sat breathing and trying to calm herself for a moment before she got up and followed Lillian’s path to the front door. She descended the staircase slowly, watching as Oscar came into view piece by piece. He really was very handsome.

  She smiled widely at him as she put her feet on the first floor.

  “You look stunning,” he told her as he came forward, reached for her hand, and brought it to him, kissing it gently.

  She smiled wider. “Thank you.”

  “Ready?”

  She nodded as Lillian beamed from the doorway. The woman hadn’t taken her eyes off of Oscar. She’d noticed every tiny detail, Nessa was sure of it. Lillian was sometimes more observant than was good for her.

  Henry sat in his room. The entire house was in a tizzy over the Strauses’ impending visit. He quickly found it was best for him to stay out of the way. He had borrowed a book from one of the ushers and a was lying on his bed reading it when there was a knock on his door. “Yes?”

  The door opened, and Pearl stood smiling at him as he sat upright. “Pearl? Is everything all right?”

  She was small and quiet. She nodded with a bright smile, her already pink cheeks lighting up and highlighting her freckles. “Cook would like to see you. Says you’ll be needed to help in the dining room tonight. The Strauses are bringing a guest, so we’ll have to set and care for an extra place.”

  Henry hated working in the front of the house. He had to wear tighter-fitting, stiff clothes and comb his hair in an unnatural pattern. He had to walk perfectly straight and quiet. Cook had called on him a few times to help with the occasional ball or other function since he’d been there. She’d told him it was because he had a kind face and people felt comfortable with him. He didn’t care how people felt about him. He just wanted to be outside. To do his job. His regular job. Everyone had been telling him how incredible it was to work in the front. The wages were much higher. He’d known that and never cared. He wasn’t a stable hand only to support himself, he did it because he loved it. It was part of who he was.

  He knew that Genevieve would be in rare form. From what he’d heard, this dinner had been arranged by Mr. McCarthy in hopes that the young Mr. Straus would take to his daughter, and with their eventual union, he’d increase his social status immensely, which would increase his wealth. Henry’s stomach turned.

  “Thank you, Pearl.” He got up from the bed and offered a small smile. She left with him following along in her wake.

  The hallways were crowded. People were bustling and running through them in chaos. Henry focused on his task and made his way to the kitchen without running into anyone. “Great, you’ve brought him along. Thank you, Pearl.”

  Cook looked him over. “You’ve got to change, boy.”

  Henry’s irritation was getting the best of him. He didn’t like being out front at all. He hadn’t had plans to be, so why would he have changed into his stuffy suit? “I’ll be ready in time.”

  Cook shook her head. “You’ve got to be ready now. They’re arriving shortly, and you’ll be helping with drinks.”

  Great, Henry thought. Perfect. Now he could spend the evening spilling drinks on people instead of standing in the corner awkwardly. “I’ll return in a suit.”

  Cook turned away from him and back to preparing whatever was in the biggest pot on the stove. “See that you comb your hair as well.”

  Henry stood at the door to the sitting room, his stiff collar rubbing coarsely against his throat. The Strauses had arrived, and he’d been tasked with settling them in and serving first drinks. Once finished, he’d return to the kitchen and dining room to aid in serving dinner.

  He held his breath as the men entered the house and were directed toward him. Mr. Straus, whom he’d seen before briefly while driving Miss McCarthy, came in first, followed by the man that must have been his son. What he hadn’t seen from his position was that Oscar Straus wasn’t the last person to enter the house. Behind Oscar, there was what looked to be a lovely lady. She was just coming into view as his mind asked questions like, “Why would a man bring another woman with him while meeting a potential match?”

  His heart had kicked up, and his palms had started to sweat. He didn’t understand it. He didn’t ever get that nervous. He swallowed hard against the tightening in his collar. He closed his eyes and took a breath. When he opened them, his world tilted and everything went silent.

  Chapter Six

  It had been her he’d seen the other day. It had to be, because there she was, right in front of him, but on the arm of another man. His breath was caught in his chest. He couldn’t speak. He tried to smile and failed, so instead he stepped aside and ushered the group through the door into the sitting room.

  He wanted to escape. Run far and fast, anything to be away from that room with her in it. Pearl came hustling through with a tray full of cups and a fine teapot. She stopped short when she saw him, whispering, “Are you alright? You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”

  Henry looked back into the room. He could feel her eyes on him, it was the best and worst feeling he’d ever experienced. He pulled in a breath as he turned to find her eyes. He locked his onto hers as he quietly whispered back to Pearl, “I have.”

  Pearl offered him a soft smile, though he thought he saw her lip quiver out of the corner of his eye. Nessa was there. He was in shock. He held her gaze for a long time, until Genevieve came to stand beside him. She touched his shoulder. “You’re awfully pale.”

  He didn’t have anything to sa
y. Just nodded toward where Nessa was sitting. He knew she’d looked when he heard the gasp beside him. After what felt like a long time, Genevieve whispered, “I’ll find a way to get her out here. Don’t go far.”

  Henry wrenched his gaze from Nessa’s and turned toward their friend. She smiled hugely and nodded. “Leave it to me. But after you shut these doors behind me, don’t leave. Make sure you stay. It shouldn’t take long.”

  Henry wasn’t sure what to do. His thoughts were a jumbled mess, and his heart, well, he’d never been more aware of it. It had hurt terribly when she’d left. He hadn’t known at the time why she’d left or if she’d return. He hadn’t heard anything from her. He’d had to go on with his life, finding a new post, new friends, even thinking about courting another woman. He knew he wanted to be married someday. That couldn’t happen if he didn’t find someone suitable. But in that moment, he knew that the hurt he’d felt when she’d left was nothing in comparison to the hurt he was feeling now. She’d been there and hadn’t looked for him. She hadn’t spoken to anyone, even Genevieve, because if she had, she’d have asked about him. It was one of the reasons he’d agreed to work for the McCarthys. Keeping watch over Genevieve was just an added bonus.

  It was like someone had crudely stitched together the place where his heart had been torn in two, leaving gaps and causing it to prickle as the thread made new puncture wounds. Then seeing her arm entwined with his—and of course it had to be him, Oscar Straus, the most handsome, eligible man in all of New York—a totally new crack had formed in the façade of his heart. He exhaled strongly and nodded to his friend. No matter what happened, he had to make sure she was safe.