Page 32 of Charlotte's Reckoning
Staying bent over made breathing easier. Seth turned only his head to check the boardwalk across the street where he’d left her. Mesmerized by the fire, a crowd had gathered, but he didn’t see the girl with the mass of dark wavy hair among them.
With the heavy smoke stinging his eyes and blurring his vision, he hadn’t recognized the woman on the stairs. Then she stumbled, and her cloak fell open, revealing a raised, red welt on her pale skin where a whip had wrapped around her thigh.
“I should have let the son of a bitch burn to a crisp,”he muttered hoarsely.
A group of the Palace’s ladies huddled nearby, their faces etched with shock and dismay, some with indifference, as they watched the place they worked but also lived turn to cinders. Farther down the street, a smaller group of men, including guards he recognized from the brothel, gathered around Heloise. She was shrieking at a large black man, so tall he towered over everyone. Before he could grasp the reason for the public dressing down, a deafening crash obliterated all other sounds as the building collapsed in a spectacular shower of burning debris.
Guilt consumed him. He’d left the injured young woman to fend for herself on the street. He needed to find out what happened to her.
Seth approached the nearest guard. “Excuse me. The dove from the attic. Did she make it out?”
The soot-covered man glanced his way then put his head down and grumbled, “Don’t know nothing about no whore in the attic,”while walking away.
Heloise overheard and marched toward him, bombarding him with questions. “What do you know about Jade? Did you see her? Where? When?”
The madam’s once-scarlet gown was now mostly black from soot. He couldn’t help but stare at the neckline and the spectacle of her massive breasts jiggling with each step, on the verge of spilling out.
Impatiently, she snapped her fingers in his face. “Boy! Did you hear me? I asked where and when you saw her.”
He looked up, and instead of being offended by her attitude, he noticed the heavy makeup she used to conceal the deep grooves around her mouth and eyes. Her failed efforts and sour expression made her look old and haggard.
Her manner irked him, loud, coarse, and what really ate at him, referring to a grown man as a boy. His curiosity about the girl stopped him from tellingher off. “She was on the top floor where the fire began, attempting to save the man she was with. He sustained severe burns.”
Heloise glanced across the street to where a white-haired gentleman was tending to the injured. “Augustine was one of my best clients. The doctor sent him to the hospital, but he wasn’t hopeful about his chances. Butsuch is life,”she declared flippantly. Then, refocusing on the issue at hand, she asked, “What about the girl? Have you seen her since the attic? I must find her.”
“She went down the back stairs with everyone else. With all the smoke and confusion, I haven’t seen her since.”
Her lips twisted into a scowl, deepening the surrounding wrinkles—not a good look. “I’ll find the little bitch,”she fumed, “if I have to search the entire city house by house.”
Madam Heloise was not only greedy, as he had experienced firsthand, but also a vulgar, heartless old shrew. He hoped the girl was long gone and well rid of her.
“Why is she so important to you?”he asked, curious.
His suspicions altered her demeanor. “All my girls are important,”she declared, but the words felt hollow, and her eyes held a hint of unease. “I am more than the souteneur and mistress of the house; I am their friend and confidant.”
A harsh snort escaped Seth’s lips at the monstrous lie; his manner was as abrasive and rough as hers. “You should take better care of them, then. Your best client used her harshly, marking her with his whip.”
“Was she bleeding?”
“Not that I could tell.”
“Too bad,”she uttered under her breath.
“Your concern for your friend overwhelms me,”he observed caustically.
“You misunderstand, Mr. Hartigan. If she’s hurt, she may go to the hospital where I could locate her. She’s new to the city, and I’m all she has. Thank you for watching out for her.”
Her sudden display of sweetness rang false. She repulsed him, and he wanted to get away—fast.
“I must see to my brother. Can you direct me to an undertaker?”
She glanced down at Judd, shrouded in a blanket at his feet. “My condolences.”Her response was flat and felt disingenuous. “Hillman’s Mortuary is located three blocks north on Broadway. He is quite reasonable.”
With him of no further use to her, the madam left him without another word.
Seth crouched and lifted his brother in his arms then started the arduous task of burying the last of his family. His parents and brother were dead, andhis uncle was missing. Thorn was the last to see him, which didn’t leave him with a good feeling.
He looked down at the lifeless figure in his arms. “What do I do now, Brother?”he asked, his voice gruff with emotion.
