The Courtesan and Mr. Hyde by Catherine Stein

Author:Catherine Stein [Stein, Catherine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, action, adventure, fantasy romance, paranormal romance, steampunk, steampunk romance, mystery, mystery romance, pulp fiction, vintage, vintage romance, science fiction, science fiction romance, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, mad science, mad scientist
ISBN: 9781949862409
Publisher: Catherine Stein, LLC
Published: 2022-06-27T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24

An Uneasy Compromise

Callie wanted to rage. Wanted to grab Hal by the coat and shake him and shout, “What are you doing here?” Especially with the way he stood there oh-so-calmly grinning like the fool he obviously was. Didn’t he care that this was dangerous? That he could ruin his reputation and his career?

She took a long, slow breath, summoning every ounce of self-control she possessed. This needed to be handled calmly. Rationally. Anything that drew attention to his presence would only make the situation worse. She would get him out of here, send him home, and that would be the end of it.

“Callie, is something wrong?” Valdez asked, stepping up and lightly touching her arm.

Callie glanced down at the puddle of champagne on the floor. “I was only startled. No harm done.” She turned to offer him her mostly empty glass. If she could send him off on an errand, she could seize a moment to talk to Hal. And hopefully drag him to the nearest exit. “Do you think—”

“Dr. Jekyll!” Valdez exclaimed at the same time, extending a hand to Hal. “What a pleasant surprise! I didn’t realize you moved in these circles.”

“I don’t,” Hal replied.

“Ah. First time guest? Nice to see some people value good sense over the almighty dollar when choosing friends.”

Callie’s jaw clenched. Hal had lost any claim to good sense the moment he’d made up his mind to come here.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Marc went on. “I’d been wanting to thank you for that speech you made a few weeks back at Pike’s dinner. Your explanation for why you couldn’t join the temperance union? It really made me think. I did some reading up on the matter, and I have to say, I absolutely agree with you. With all the smuggling that already occurs here at the border, I really can’t condone anything likely to increase it. Especially when we have other, more pressing problems. I’ve decided to put my money toward fixing other social ills, such as poverty, poor working conditions, and the like. The very things that often drive people to drink in the first place. We need to raise people up, not heap more rules upon them. Apologies if I’m carrying on, but you were the one who led me to this path, and I’ve been wanting to thank you for it. Much better to do it in person, I think, than in a letter.”

Hal stared at Valdez, his lips pinched into a thin line. “You agree with me.” He sounded not quite doubtful, but perhaps puzzled.

“I do. In fact, I’d be delighted if you would join me for lunch sometime this week. We can discuss ways to improve our city. I understand you’re conducting scientific research that might be relevant.”

Hal’s mouth curved into a self-satisfied smirk. “I’m in the middle of an experiment right now, in fact.”

“Are you? Is that why you’re here? Studying social behavior? I’d love to hear about it.”

The smirk grew. Hal’s gaze darted to Callie, then back to Valdez.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.