The Way of Beauty by Camille Di Maio

Author:Camille Di Maio [Maio, Camille Di]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fiction, Historical, Romance, 20th Century, Family Life
ISBN: 9781503950122
Google: NTBaswEACAAJ
Amazon: 1503950123
Goodreads: 35995496
Publisher: Amazon Publishing
Published: 2018-05-01T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

Vera jumped at the sound of the knock.

She and Will had made their home in this one-room tenement near Houston and Second. They’d been back in New York for only a week, and she’d not met any of the other residents in this building yet. Surely no one was coming to borrow a cup of sugar that she couldn’t afford to have.

She’d just gotten off a shift at her new job. She’d been lucky to find another factory position so soon. If there was one good thing to be said about the war, it was that jobs for women were more plentiful than they’d been before. She was making asbestos mattresses. Not for sleeping on but for wrapping the boilers of battleships. The work was exhausting, her fingers were worn and cut already, and the summer heat was just beginning to make its appearance. But it was worth it to be able to have daytime hours so that she could walk Will home from his new school and be with him in the evening. She left him every morning at four o’clock and had taught him how to put together a simple breakfast before letting himself out.

She would kiss his rosy cheeks one at a time before she left. He slept too deeply to know it, but she hoped that somehow, subconsciously, he felt how much she loved him.

Knock, knock.

Her muscles tightened. Only Victor knew they were here, but she didn’t want to take any chances.

“A game, Will,” she whispered. “Let’s play a game. Slide under the bed and see how long you can stay there without making a sound.”

Thankfully, he obeyed, and when she couldn’t see anything but his bare heels, she covered them with a blanket and walked over to the door.

She smoothed her hair back and took a deep breath.

“Vera.”

“Victor!”

She exhaled and threw the door open to invite him in, then called out to Will, “You can come out, sweetheart.”

“Have a seat,” she said to her guest. She wiped the table down with her apron, as she’d not yet had the time to launder the two dish towels that she owned. “Can I make you some tea?”

Victor sank into the wooden chair, his shoulders slumping.

“No. I can’t stay long.”

“So you got my note. About where we are.”

“Yes. My sister gave it to me right away.”

“Is Lady Pilkington looking for us? For Will?”

He nodded.

“The Pilkingtons—including Pearl’s parents—have hired two investigators. And the staff has been questioned. No one but Angelica and I know where you are, though.”

Vera’s chest tightened, and she had to hold her hands together to avoid their shaking. Investigators. It would be only a matter of time until they were found.

She took a breath and steadied her voice so as not to scare William, who was driving his toy train along the threadbare arms of the sofa. “They’re that determined to get him back. But it will be just a matter of time before Pearl returns, and when she does, she’ll want Will to be with her.

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