Love and Other Wicked Games (A Wicked Game Novel) (17 page)

“Ah. Well, I’m sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but…”

“But what?” Ellie pushed their joined hands into his side.

“But you don’t always leave much to the imagination. At least not around me anyway.”

“What?”

“Oh, well I can’t read people like you can. I’m not always right... come to think of it I’m not usually right at all.” He laughed to himself and nudged her head with his forehead. “But I can read
you
a bit. Enough. This place is very unique and I know you love a good bit of uniqueness.”

“And how do you know that?”

“Well, you’re here with me aren’t you?”

And checkmate.

“What?”

Ellie furrowed her brow. “I didn’t say—Did I say that out loud?”

“Ohhh. Yes, ma’am. I believe that you did.”

“And what are you going to do about it?”
Kiss me. Please, God. Kiss me. Kiss me now.

“Relish.”

“Relish?”

“Yes. It’s a truly fulfilling feeling. Is it not? To relish in satisfaction. “

“Do you like being satisfied?”

“Ehh.” He shrugged his shoulders.

“What?”

“I suppose so. But how does that saying go? It’s better to give than receive? Yeah...” He winked at her. “Now that’s some satisfaction.”

Sometimes he said these things, things her mind did not fully understand but things that her body understood instinctually as if he was speaking a secret language made just for her. Made just for the two of them. Her heart throbbed and pounded in her chest stealing her breath, and for a long time all she could do was concentrate on walking and trying to breathe. It was quite the task with him warm by her side, but she didn’t have to distract herself for too long. Not too much later, just as he had stated, the pub came into view.

The pub was not at all what Ellie had expected, despite Cal’s determination that she would love it. There was no mistaking that it stood in contrast to the other buildings in the area but the front of the building was rather tepid, with light grey stones making up the majority of its structure. Its lines were straight and clean and it stood tall without the need for a magical force, but nothing about it screamed out to her that it was special. Every day she walked by other buildings in Manchester that were more deserving of recognition this this one. Perhaps it was unique for its area but that did not make it unique enough for her to love.

“I don’t get it,” she said to Cal as he ushered her inside through the massive wooden door.

He just smiled, though she wasn’t sure why.

The inside of the pub was no more special than the outside, perhaps even less so. There was a dirt floor, obviously cleaner than the one at the inn, but a dirt floor none the less. A small fire burned in the back corner and filled the room with a slightly sooty smell. Patrons of all ages and dress crowded the tables in the main room talking in a low buzz.

Cal nodded to a few patrons, even shaking hands with several people as they walked through the room. A few times he had to let go of her and step away and each time she felt herself pulling in his direction like a magnet. She didn’t want him to be away from her, even at that little distance and for that little time. Each time though, he came back to her, taking her against him with an unconscious effort that seemed to build and amass.

“Ehh! Cal, old friend!” a man called from behind the bar when he caught sight of them walking through the room. Something devious sparked in the man’s eyes when he saw Ellie and he added, “Your room is still ready for you upstairs… if you should, uhh, if you should need…”

Cal’s mouth twitched. “Not tonight.”

“But you’ll be sure to let me know?” the man smiled, trying to goad him on playfully.

“I will. But not tonight.” Cal’s hand twitched in Ellie’s.

“Room?” Ellie asked leaning into to him, feeling slightly wicked. And slightly jealous.

“Sometimes meetings run late and it’s more convenient just to stay here. And sometimes my Uncle can be… overbearing…and…and…”

“Oh, I’m sure,” Ellie rolled her mouth around. “Do… do you have much need of a room at a place like this?”

She let him put his hand on the small of her back and lead her through the group of people in the small room towards the back door where everyone was funneling through.

“Not anymore…” he whispered.

She was glad he couldn’t see her face right now because it was flushed with color. She put her head down with a smile.

As they shuffled through this back exit Ellie realized that it wasn’t a door at all but a large open archway that had to be about ten feet tall. She looked up at it as they passed under, leaving the small room of the pub and stepping into the massive area behind it.

The night air hit her, cool in the rushing wind, and at once she was overwhelmed with her surroundings. Ellie gasped.

This area was roughly three to four times the size of the main room in the pub and it comfortably held what already seemed to be upwards of one hundred people. The surrounding walls were made of the same light grey brick as the front of the building and stretched up several stories with balconies and walkways on all sides. Dark, curved, wrought iron railings lined the balconies and multitudes of people were now resting on them looking down to the area below. In the center of the courtyard a fountain flowed and bubbled peacefully while a fire crackled in a massive fireplace in the middle of the back wall. The smell of pitch and spice and roasted meat filled the air.

Ellie took a deep breath, turning her gaze towards the sky, and it was only then that she realized the extent of the beauty of this place.

It was a courtyard. A true, open air courtyard unlike anything she’d ever seen in Manchester. The entire expanse of the sky was breathtakingly raw. She hadn’t seen stars this clearly since the night before her family left the village she grew up in. That night she sneaked out of her room, went to the nearby fields of soft grass, and laid down. She spread her arms out and just breathed. The world flowed into her and through her, and she was content. More than content.

The same thing was happening to her now.

The steady hum of conversations echoed against the walls in a comforting vibration. Everything glistened vibrantly—above her and around her and within her—filling her with such an extreme sense of place in this universe.

“Ellie? Are you—”

“Shh!” She held up a finger to silence him as she continued to try to take it all in.

Ellie felt a surge of compassion for these people rise up inside of her. She hadn’t even talked to anyone and yet she already knew there was such a sense of community and caring here. This place and the people in it were moving her in ways she hadn’t been prepared to feel.

And Cal… the thought of him was moving her again as well. She realized all at once that he had taken their brief time together to actually get to know her in ways that no one ever had, and maybe never would. He had looked past the nerves and insecurities to find something special and valuable inside of her. And then he’d brought her along to this meeting, possibly at great risk, because he knew just how much it would mean to her to have the chance to help. It was more than she could have ever hoped for.

She quietly thanked the Universe for Cal and then she quietly cursed him.

Damn him
. Damn him to whatever hell might have him because he had been exactly right. She loved this place.

But she wasn’t about to let him in on any of that just yet.

***

Cal continued to closely watch Ellie as he had been all night, but now as he stood within earshot he was finally beginning to relax.

He’d worried about her from the moment they met up earlier in the evening when he hadn’t been able to tell her ‘no,’ all the time they walked through the workers’ district to the pub, and then even still once they’d arrived at the pub. He’d been certain he could protect her from any outside force that might come upon them but he knew he would not be able to protect her from herself.

He’d realized, not too long after meeting her for the first time that Ellie felt and understood the world at a much deeper level than most other people did. This was just what she needed in order to connect with the workers and learn from them what he needed her to learn, but he was also worried how this ability might hinder her. This place and all the people who lived here carried such an intense air about them that he was afraid how she would react to it all and how it would affect her.

It was sometimes hard for him to break the habit of feeling responsible for everything around him, of feeling the need to step in and take control and protect, but he should have known better by now than to worry about her in this way. Only three days in and he already knew that Ellie could mostly take care of herself. She had an innate knack to overcome any situation that was put to her and this situation was no different.

After exploring the outside courtyard with wide and curious eyes—he’d been right, she loved this place, even though she was stubbornly choosing not to mention it—she found a large, empty table and sat down, unbundling her food. She didn’t approach anyone and she didn’t say a word, but before Cal knew it the people came to her. Yes, she had a table full of food. Of course that attracted them to her initially, but there was something else to it all because once they were there with her she had to keep them there. And she did. Without flinching, she did.

Ellie and the table were soon surrounded leaving little more than standing room. Cal was forced to step away from her to leave room for the others, but he stayed close enough to listen in on the conversations.

“They really pay you that little?” Ellie frowned with genuine concern. “I never used to believe it when my… family told me.”

“Aye.” The man standing to her right ruffled his copper hair. “And if it’s not bad enough that they take us for an arm and a leg in our pay, then they want that much and more back in rent!”

“Wait. Are you telling me that you don’t own your—” she cleared her throat, “—homes?”

“Lord no! As if we could afford something like that.” The woman on Ellie’s left, whom Cal had determined was the first man’s wife, laughed so loudly she woke up the baby at her breast. She cradled the patch of his bright hair, rocking him, as she quietly continued. “As is, most of us have to share with several other families just to get by. We each get a room. Well, some of us do. Mostly it’s really more like three quarters of a room, one family taking in another family’s overflow… Though, that’s not even always true either. The O’Connor’s don’t even have that. Eight of them share one room with three more from a few different families…”

“I honestly can’t even imagine.” Ellie’s bottom lip shook a bit but she took a deep breath and carried on before anyone besides Cal was able to see it. “So if none of
you
own the homes, who
does
own them?”

“Who do you think?” came the voice of a second man standing off to the side with his arms crossed. “Same people who own everything around here...”

“The mill owners?” Ellie asked, slightly off put by the tone of his voice.

“Of course… And the factory owners and the merchants and the wealthy business men. Anyone and everyone but us… What do you care anyway? You’re not one of us.”

Cal perked up.
Well, there’s the one
, he thought. He’d been certain there would be some tension due to their presence here. There always was at least one person looking for trouble when Cal came to these meetings alone. But things had been going so well for Ellie, he’d forgotten for a moment the inherent danger in bringing her here. He readied himself in case she needed him but the woman at Ellie’s side beat him to it.

“Ach. Cool yourself, Sean,” the woman said raising her hand up behind her. “She’s only trying to understand.”

“Why? What’s it to ya, lass?”

The woman answered for Ellie again. “She’s already told us all about her dear friends and how they’ve lost loved ones in those mills. And how one of her friends made it out of this life because her family worked hard to make it possible. And how her other friend told her about our cause and she promised to help so that none of these deaths would be in vain...”

The man called Sean took a step towards Ellie, regarding her with a suspicious glance—one that did not even make Ellie flinch—before addressing the mother again. “And how do we know she’s not spinning us a tale, now Caitlin? None of us know her and this story sounds a bit too perfect to me...”

“Does it matter if we know her or if her story is true or not? I for one don’t care a lick. You know what I do care about? Kindness and compassion—two things we sorely need ‘round here, especially in these tough times. And I also care that she’s here and she’s willing to help this cause and us. All of us. Even the filthy lot of us like you, Sean.”

He tightened his jaw. “And how do you know she really wants to help?”

Caitlin’s jaw gaped at the question and she looked at Sean in disgust as if she couldn’t believe she was actually having to explain. “Can’t you feel it? Coming right off her. Such caring. Such... Love. That’s what it is then. Love.” The woman looked to Ellie. “We don’t feel that much around here so there’s no mistaking it when it comes around.”

“I feel it, dear,” Caitlin’s husband agreed as he squeezed her shoulder. Several other people smiled and mumbled the same causing Ellie’s face to turn a brilliant shade of red. Sean looked at everyone as if they were crazy.

“I don’t feel anything.”

“Well, I wouldn’t think so,” Caitlin said. “You’d need a heart.”

The man clenched his teeth at the chiding. “I don’t trust her, and I’m telling you there’s something strange about this.”

“Well, the hell with you Sean. You can do as you wish, but I for one am not too proud to take the help. I say we’re lucky to have help with this cause in any way, from anyone. Isn’t that the point of all of this anyway?” Caitlin gestured with her free arm to all the people around her.

“Exactly,” Ellie now added with a gentle touch on Caitlin’s arm. “I thought that was the entire point. Coming together, working together, because we’re stronger together than we are alone. And when we work together it doesn’t matter who is who or where we came from. We’re all the same and we’re all equal.”