Chapter 3

Three days after the tea, Eileen summoned me alone to a private room at the Kane estate.

The table was covered in jewelry, silk, and leather trunks custom-made in London. She took my hand, looking for all the world as if her heart ached for me. "Ivy, I know you've been treated badly. That boy Leon is spoiled, that's all. I've already given him a good scolding. Once you're married and have a home of your own, he'll settle down."

I kept my eyes lowered, as meek as ever. "Mrs. Kane, I don't want to make things hard for Leon. If he and Clara care for each other so much, why force him to marry me?"

Eileen's hand went still for a moment.

"I've watched you grow up. Don't you know how fond of you I am?" She pushed a family wedding guest list toward me. "Your father is the most trusted businessman in Blackbridge. When Leon takes over the family, you'll be mistress of the Kane household. Clara's just a tavern singer. She isn't even fit to show her face at the head table."

"But Leon doesn't see it that way." My eyes filled with tears. "I'm afraid that even after I marry him, I'll still have to watch him take Clara's side again and again."

Eileen finally lost her patience. "Both families agreed to the engagement. It can't just be canceled. The wedding will be held in ten days, and I'll oversee it myself. I promise you, Clara won't be in your way again."

She said it with absolute certainty, because she couldn't afford to wait any longer. Richard's health was getting worse, and the Kane family's capos were already discussing who would succeed him. Up north, Ronan controlled rail transport and was steadily winning the backing of the old guard. If my family withdrew its support, how could Leon compete with his older brother?

When I left the estate, Eileen even had her driver take me home. The next day, lawyers from both sides came to my father's study with the formal wedding agreement. My mother knew nothing of the scheming behind it. Now that the date was finally set, she was overjoyed. She chose the fabric for my gown and planned the seating chart herself, and if she could have, she would have replaced every flower in the house with the white camellias I loved.

As she measured my hem, she said, "You've had your heart set on him for so many years, and now you're finally marrying him. I'm so happy for you."

I looked at myself in the mirror and didn't tell her that it had been a long time since I'd chosen clothes with Leon in mind or tried to find out what he liked. The love I'd spent ten years holding on to had died the day he pinned that brooch on Clara.

On the afternoon the wedding agreement arrived, Leon burst into our house. He didn't even take off his coat before cornering me in the hallway. "Did you beg my mother to move up the wedding? Ivy, do you have no shame at all?"

"Mrs. Kane decided that." I looked at him. "If you don't like it, take it up with her."

"You know perfectly well I love Clara, and you still want to force me to marry you. You think once our names are in the marriage register, I'll want to touch you?" Leon looked at me with open disgust. "Let me tell you something. Even after we're married, don't think you get any say in what goes on between her and me."

"But Mrs. Kane said Clara won't be staying in Blackbridge after the wedding." I pretended to hesitate. "Apparently, a casino down south needs a resident singer. She's already had her lawyer arrange a job for Clara and a one-way ticket south by sea."

Leon's face changed. "What did you say?"

"She also said that if Clara refuses to leave, she'll make her answer for collecting debts under the Kane name." I added softly, "You know there are a few IOUs with her signature on them."

Leon was silent for a moment, then turned and left. He didn't even stop to curse me again. To him, the slightest hurt to Clara mattered more than all the humiliation he'd put me through.

My mother came out of another room, worried. "Ivy, are you really going to marry a man like that? I always knew he was spoiled, but after seeing him like this today, I'm afraid you'll never have a single day of peace."

I took her hand. "That won't happen, Mom. From now on, no one will be able to treat me like this again."

Late that night, I went to my father's study on my own. He had the freight ledgers spread out and took off his glasses when he saw me.

"Dad, do we really want Leon to take over the Kane family?" I asked. "He can't even handle a little birthday dinner. Once he has control of the workers' wages, the railway business, and the livelihoods of everyone who depends on the Kane family, how will he treat them?"

My father didn't answer right away. He'd spent half his life doing business in Blackbridge, and he knew how many innocent lives a bad leader could ruin. He closed the ledger and said after a long while, "Whatever you want to do, tell me first. Don't take risks on your own."

I didn't tell him every detail, but I saw him slowly nod.

Lucy knocked and came in with a reply from the north, its envelope dusted with coal soot.

I opened it. Ronan had written only one word.

"Yes."