*
He knocked at the door and was greeted by the butler who gave a quick bow and led him into the parlor less brusquely than before. "The missus will be with you presently, sir," he said with an unusually servile voice. The butler then left without another look at Jack, who sat down on the sofa and waited.
Only a minute passed by before Faith fluttered into the room. She was wearing a simpler gown this time, but it did not detract from her innate beauty. Her face was worn with worry, and the dark circles under her eyes told Jack that she spent a sleepless night thinking of her brother. However she still gave him an inviting look and stood before him, waiting to hear his story.
“I’m sorry we weren’t able to get a hold of your brother,” Jack told her. “The note was a fake. It was that moneylender Brinker trying to pull the wool over our eyes and make us pay a ransom for a man he didn’t even have.”
“Please, tell me in detail, what happened last night? I could barely sleep a wink not knowing if Lawrence was safe or not." She then sat down next to him on the sofa and waited impatiently for him to begin his story.
“Miss, it was a long night," he said. Jack threw the packet of ransom money down on the table before telling her what had transpired. He was careful to omit his more violent actions.
At the end of the story, Faith said, “I’m sorry to hear that you didn’t get Lawrence back. But I am glad you came back safely.”
Jack was heartened to hear that from her. “At least we now know that Abbott is certainly the man we are after."
“I always knew Abbott was a bad man for Lawrence to be with,” Faith said in agreement. She reached for the packet of money on the table, her arm lightly brushing against his knee. "I'm glad you brought the money back, Father was worried that you were going to run off with it."
"That would have been foolish," Jack replied. "If I left with this money, I would have spent it in less than a year. If I was known as a thief, I would have a hard time finding a job as a detective.”
“A year can be a long time if you are with the right person,” she replied quietly, averting her eyes.
“I would be tracked down eventually,” Jack said, oblivious to her suggestion. “No one can hide forever, even with all the money in the world." He stopped as he finally realized what she said.
She continued to look away and spoke in low sad tones. "Sometimes I wish I could hide away forever. This house can be so lonely. Now with Lawrence missing and my father's poor health - I just don't know what I am going to do anymore." Faith darted a shy look at Jack and leaned closer towards him.
Jack felt his throat tighten and felt awkward at her nearness. He thought that he must not be tempted to take advantage of a woman in her position. It could never work. "Well, I don't know what to say" he replied nervously. "Now don’t you worry, I'm sure Lawrence can be found. Ezra and I are getting closer to finding him. We have several new leads to follow." He started to make his leave. "I should get going now. Give my regards to your father."
"Do you have to leave now?" Faith asked. She stood up and grabbed his hand. Her hand was cool as she lightly brushed her fingers back and forth against his wrist. "If you ever do have to run away, please take me with you. I don't know how much longer I can stand being here. Just think, we can take this money and go far away from here. Then we can get away from this city and away from this war."
Jack looked at her in disbelief. This girl really wanted to leave her father behind with his illness. The burden of her duty to her father, now a sick old man, must have finally broken her nerves. He looked at her and pulled her hand towards him. “Now, Faith, don’t think such thoughts,” he said quietly. “I’m not planning to go anywhere until I find out what happened to your brother and those plans.”
She leaned closer to him and tilted her face towards him. Her eyelids fluttered and she then pulled herself hard towards his face.
Jack gave a little shrug and took her into his arms. “You’re making it hard on me, missy,” he whispered. He kissed her deeply on the mouth and brought his hand up to her cheek. “But you still can’t expect a kiss to make me change my mind.”
“You can at least let me try,” she said. She kissed him back and darted her tongue lightly into Jack’s mouth. She then took his hand, gently guiding it and letting it fall on her right breast. She whispered into his ear. “Please.”
There was a polite cough from the door. They both quickly pulled apart in surprise and faced the butler. He looked at them sourly.
His voice was cold as he spoke. “Miss, your father wishes to see you. He wants to know if anything was found out last night about your brother.” He gave Jack a vindictive look as he turned away.
Faith picked up the packet of money and then quickly walked towards the door. Her voice was high and nervous as she spoke. “I’m really sorry, Jack. I really must go see Father. Please, we’ll have a chance to talk later.”
Jack’s voice was thick when he answered, “I would like that, Faith.”
She smiled back at him. “Help me and I’ll be good to you.” Her cheeks were flushed as she left the detective alone in the room with his thoughts.