Chapter 8
The next days passed by and Irina enjoyed every minute she had with Jack. They spent the nights together in either
her or his bedroom. During the days, Jack often took some time to talk to Irina, play chess or just be with her. He
enjoyed the times when she was reading in his study while he was working. Just her presence made him feel happy.
Then the night of the ball at Drake's house had come. Irina had agreed to accompany Jack when he had asked her to.
He had explained to her the reason and despite what had happened between her and Mr. Drake, she had said yes.
Deep inside she knew, that it probably would have been a good time to tell Jack about the incident with Mr. Drake –
just in case – but yet she didn't. She just didn't want it to seem as if she needed him to solve her personal problems.
Maggie had helped her to choose her outfit for the evening, and the day before the ball she had called for Gina to
complete Irina's outfit with small accessories. The woman had arrived with dozens of small pieces of jewelry and
hair decorations, and as Irina had refused to pin her hair up as every upper class woman did, they had come up with
a beautiful thin pearl net with crystals worked into it.
It was now one hour before the ball and when Irina entered the living room where Jack was reading a book, he just
stared at her for a whole minute. Her outfit was gorgeous, although her dress was pretty plain without the usual
decorations that were fashion this season. Her brown hair curled around the skin of her shoulders, the pearls, that
were worked into her hair completed her outfit in the most perfect manner.
"My God..." he murmured and finally got up. He went to her and kissed her fiercely. "How do you expect me to pay
attention to what Lincoln says to me when you're looking so breathtakingly seductive?"
She laughed close to his lips and kissed him. "Well, would you rather if I changed?" she mused and he held her
softly.
"No..." he whispered, his lips trailing a path to her ear. He was satisfied when he heard her catch her breath and felt
her clasping his shoulders.
"Jack, you shouldn't... you'll ruin my outfit."
"Well, then we just don't go... we could spend the time with something more pleasurable." He uttered into her ear
and she giggled and brought some distance between them.
"I don't think the president would accept THAT as a reason for you not attending."
He smiled at her, then he suddenly took a small box from his table. "Turn around..." he whispered and she did as he
wanted.
Softly, he laid a beautiful necklace around her neck and closed it in the back. Irina felt with her hand and looked in
disbelief at the glamorous piece of jewelry.
"My God, Jack..." she whispered.
"For you..." he whispered into her ear.
She looked at the diamond that was neatly worked into the golden chain in the front. She turned around in his
embrace and looked at him seriously.
"That's so beautiful. But you needn't do something like that, I'm just..."
"Shhhh..." he silenced her and his lips searched hers tenderly. "I want to give you something and I thought, you
could wear the necklace tonight."
"I will..." she whispered, her hands framing his face when she kissed him again longingly.
"You look so perfect. You will make every other woman jealous of your beauty tonight." He whispered and she
laughed.
"You're flattering me. I'm not even wearing a fashionable dress."
"And yet you make me want to carry you up into my bedroom and make love to you."
"Maybe I should change then... how scandalous would it be, if you carried me out of Drake's house." She mused
and he kissed her hand softly.
"I'll try to behave." He smiled and she touched his lips with her thumb.
"So, how long do you think will we have to be there?"
"A few hours... not that long. I will try to get out as soon as I can." He took her arm and smiled softly. "Shall we?
The carriage is already waiting in front of the house."
"It would be my pleasure," she replied in the most elegant manner and made him laugh at her overstated portrayal of
a lady.
They spent the time in the carriage chatting, softly holding each other's hands. When they had reached the house of
Mr. and Mrs. Drake, Jack got out of the carriage, helping Irina to get out.
When they passed by the butler at the entrance, Jack nodded courteously. The butler knew him – actually there was
hardly anyone among the upper class in the city who did not know him – a fact, that bothered him, for everybody
did just see what he was, not who he was.
They entered the house and were lead into the huge entrance hall, where the ball took place.
"Jack Bristow!" Drake went towards them as he recognized Jack. "We were already betting whether you would
attend or not. And tonight in company of a charming lady..." His eyes fell on Irina and he cut himself off as he
recognized her. Irina didn't look at him but smiled at Jack, avoiding Drake's eyes.
"Miss Irina Derevko, what a pleasure." Drake said with a strange tone in his voice and took Irina's hand to kiss it.
She gave him a forced smile.
"Pleasure is on my side." She felt the urge to pull her hand away from his lips. Jack could feel the tension between
her and Drake and noticed the sudden change in her behavior.
"So, where is your charming wife?" he asked to pull Drake's attention away from his beautiful company.
"Oh, she must be over there with Mrs. Hemingway and her husband." He answered and looked around. "Jack, let me
introduce you to one honorable person from New York. He is a distant cousin of mine, but one of the most famous
gentlemen..." Drake kept talking and pulled Jack with him.
Jack shot Irina an apologizing look and she smiled encouraging. Then she looked around, feeling a bit lost. She
moved to a corner next to a group of men who were chatting about the latest happenings in the south, but wasn't
really interested. Nobody seemed to care for her, even more, they seemed to ignore her presence on purpose. Even
Mrs. Drake just shot her a short look, frowned her forehead and turned her head away with a hint of annoyance on
her face – a behavior that was absolutely inappropriate since she was the hostess this evening and should take care
of a guest who was standing alone somewhere.
Well, Irina couldn't blame her. If Drake had told his wife what she expected him to have told her, Mrs. Drake's hate
towards her was understandable, even if the facts were not true.
Irina spent the time by observing the couples on the dancing floor and the small groups at the sides who were
chatting courteously, but actually nobody looked as if they really had fun. Jack was involved in a conversation with
the friend of Mr. Drake – he seemed a little annoyed, but Irina didn't dare to interfere. She sighed and was just
thinking about going into the garden when a voice startled her.
"Miss Derevko, what a pleasure to meet you here." Will Tippin smiled at her and kissed her hand well-behaved.
"Would you like to dance with me?"
She gave him a thankful smile, for nothing was more humiliating than standing on the side without anyone paying
attention to her. Will knew that. He pulled her onto the dance floor and smiled at her.
"I'm sorry for their behavior." He finally said. "But their bark is worse than their bite."
"I'd be happy if they barked," Irina replied humorously. "But they're still at the state of ignoring me at all."
Will laughed and looked at Jack. "I see, Jack was introduced to Mr. Brown."
"Obviously."
"I went through that at the last ball. He's the most boring man you could ever meet. He came here fifteen years ago
from Ireland and was so poor, that he had to sleep on the street. Today he's one of the most famous men of New
York and he thinks of himself as the personification of success. Too arrogant for me."
Irina laughed heartily and Will looked over at a group of women.
"Do you want more lessons about the guests?"
"I'd enjoy learning about them." Irina smiled, really having fun.
"If you want some good advice, stay away from those ladies over there. They're the worst in gossiping in whole
Boston. If you want to spread a message all over Boston, just tell it to them. My newspaper couldn't inform the city
faster. Oh, and that gentleman over there... he's a bit crazy if you ask me. The woman next to him is his Boston
wife, but he's also married to a girl in Tennessee, in New York and Chicago and rumors say, that he got married last
week to a woman in Washington." Will continued to introduce Irina to the various persons, and was glad to cheer
her up. He had heard some people talk about her and he knew, that she had to feel totally wrong in this place.
When the music stopped, he led Irina to Jack and Mr. Brown.
"Good evening, Jack... nice to see you Mr. Brown. How is your business doing?"
What now followed was a monologue in which Brown told Will every little detail about his latest losses and wins,
followed by stock information. Jack smiled gladly at Will, for now he was free to pay attention to Irina. He pulled
her aside and pressed her hand.
"Sorry to leave you alone for so long."
"Jack Bristow! What a nice surprise! Jahaaaack!" A loud voice could be heard behind them and Jack closed his
eyes.
"What did I do to deserve this?" he growled and turned around, pulling on a mask of courtesy.
"Miss Katya, what a pleasure to see you. May I introduce you to my company? This is Miss Irina Derevko."
Irina smiled at the woman with the dark brown hair. She estimated her to be in her age, but the other woman didn't
make any effort to introduce herself, even more she didn't even deign to look at Irina – an insult that couldn't be
topped by anything else.
"Jack, I missed you at the ball last month. I didn't know how to get through all those boring conversations without
you..." She described in every little detail how boring the last ball had been without him and what would have been
better if he had been there, linking arms with his while doing so and ignoring his attempts to go away.
When Irina saw how Miss Katya practically threw herself onto Jack without the slightest hint of behavior despite he
obviously had female company, she finally pierced the woman with her eyes.
"Excuse me, Miss Katya – that's your name, isn't it? Since you seem to not know much about behavior and manners
let me tell you a little bit. I don't care about your affront to not introduce yourself and I will see it as a simple
mistake on your part. But for your information, Mr. Bristow is not interested in having a conversation with you right
now, since he was just about to talk to me – as you should have noticed, being the intelligent woman you seem to be.
Now, I would like to say that it was a pleasure to meet you, but unfortunately I hate to lie – so would you just excuse
us now?"
Katya stared at her with her mouth open, then her eyes fell on Jack whom she expected to be as outraged as she was
about Irina's affront. But Jack smiled at the woman at his side, then he looked neutrally back at Katya.
"Miss Katya." He bowed slightly, and then, without taking any more notice of the outraged woman, he and Irina
went away to an empty corner. Jack couldn't hide his grin and kissed Irina's hand softly.
"Compliments..." he whispered while looking deeply into her eyes. "I've never met anyone who managed to stop
this person from talking. Thanks for rescuing me." His lips touched her pulse and Irina shivered and looked around.
"Jack," she warned. "Somebody could see us."
"Nobody is paying attention." He whispered and pulled her closer as if he was just talking to her. "And if they do,
they'll think we're just having a private conversation. That's neither unusual nor scandalous, since you are the
woman I arrived with."
She laughed softly as he teased her earlobe with his tongue, then broke free.
"You're unbelievable," she scolded, not really serious.
"I hope you mean that in a good way," he mused and took her hands from behind, pulling her closer to his body.
"In the best way." She flirted back and leaned her head against his chest. "Miss Katya is watching us, and I'm afraid
she's going to kill me if she finds me alone somewhere."
He laughed and shook his head. "I never did anything to encourage her, on the contrary. Therefore her jealousy is
totally unfounded. Now, will you give me the honor of dancing with me?"
"It would be my pleasure." Irina replied and Jack locked their arms and led her to the dance floor.
"By the way," he started as they were dancing more closely than was usual, but neither of them cared. "I really liked
the way you talked to Katya."
Irina smiled, and felt like drowning in his dark and tender eyes. "I just reacted as every woman would have done.
She insulted me on purpose."
"No, every other woman wouldn't have said anything, but cried later with her friends about her humiliation. One
thing you should know about upper class – nobody tells the truth here, insults are rewarded with a forced smile."
"Oh... do you want me to act like that?" Irina asked concerned and he smiled.
"No. Never... I like your spirit, temper and your honesty." He noticed that some of the people around them were
already looking at them and since he didn't want to worsen Irina's situation, he brought some distance between
them.
From the corner of his eye, he noticed Katya talking to some women, who gave Irina and him furtive looks over and
over again. Surely, Katya was angry and felt humiliated, but in the end it was her own fault. She had tried to insult
Irina in the worst way, but Irina had countered her and used her own weapons against her. Jack was sure, that she
would take revenge and he knew he didn't like that thought, for he had experienced that Katya could be really mean
in her revenges.
It had once taken him over a week to re-establish Will Tippin's reputation, when he had unconsciously insulted
Katya by refusing to visit a museum with her. He decided to talk to Katya and make his position clear. There was no
way he would accept that she ruined Irina's reputation.
"What are you thinking?" Irina asked and he turned his attention back to the beautiful woman in his arms.
"I was thinking that it was probably a mistake to come here." He murmured and smiled softly. Before she had the
chance to answer something, the voices grew louder from the direction of the door and Jack and Irina turned when
the music stopped.
"Mr. Lincoln just entered the room!" Someone next to them said lowly to his dance-partner and Jack took Irina's
arm.
"Come on... let's greet him."
"Jack, I'm not sure... I mean, it's your honor and he shouldn't see you with me."
Jack stopped abruptly and turned to Irina. They were standing just in front of the door to the garden and after having
scanned her face, Jack pulled her outside without hesitation, so they had a moment of privacy. Outside, he pulled her
into a deep kiss, then held her eyes softly.
"Irina, I wouldn't have asked you to be my company tonight if I hadn't wanted you to be by my side. I don't care
what those people think." He whispered, his hand resting softly at her cheek.
"You didn't hear them talk..." Irina contradicted. "I heard some words of what they think about me... and you,
because you dare to appear on an occasion like this with a..."
He cut her off with his hand which he laid to her lips. "Don't say that."
"But it's true..." she countered. "I am what I am, and I can't change it. I won't change it, nor will I try to hide my
past. And that's why those people will never accept me in their society. But you are one of them, Jack. You belong
here... don't ruin everything you achieved in your life for me."
He looked into her eyes and just wanted to tell her that he was willing to ruin so much more if he could just be with
her, when Will stepped out onto the terrace.
"Here are you! Sorry to disturb you, but the president has arrived. He's looking for you, Jack. I told him I would
find you."
"Sure..." Jack murmured and looked at Irina, silently asking her to come with him. She shook her head slightly. Jack
couldn't blame her, for he knew she had been right about what she had said. He turned to Will and nodded. "Let's
go."
When Will noticed, that Irina wasn't going to follow them, he stopped, his eyes looking at her expectantly. "And
Mr. Lincoln would be pleased to meet the charming woman, who managed to catch Mr. Bristow's interest. Do you
really want to insult the president by not greeting him?"
"Are you joking?" Her voice expressed her disbelief.
"No." Will said. "I just mentioned you when I was talking to the president and now he wants to make your
acquaintance."
Jack turned around and offered her his arm. "Shall we?" he asked and couldn't hide the happiness from his voice.
She was still hesitating, but finally took Jack's arm. She trusted Will to tell the truth and she knew that it would be
indeed offensive to refuse to meet the president if he had asked for her.
When they entered the room, Jack noticed Irina's nervousness and laid his hand onto hers in a reassuring gesture.
"Don't be afraid. Abraham Lincoln himself is the son of poor people. He was lower class once. And as far as I
know, he is a very friendly person."
"But you never met him..." Irina stated dryly and Jack shook his head.
"No." He simply confirmed and the woman sighed. Jack pressed her hand. "Just be yourself, as always. He won't be
able to resist your charm and intelligence... not to mention beauty."
She laughed, thankful for his encouragement.
Abraham Lincoln was a tall man, his whole feature showing a certain strength. He smiled at Jack when he saw the
man approaching him.
"Jack Bristow," he announced clearly delighted by Jack's presence. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you." The men
shook hands, then Lincoln turned to Irina. "And your company. Madam, allow me to say you, that you're putting
every other woman in this room into the shade with your beauty and elegance?" He kissed her hand gallantly and
Irina couldn't help but blushing slightly at the compliment.
"Thank you, Sir." She replied courteously and Lincoln looked at Jack.
"It's a pity that I don't have as much time as I want. I'd love to get to know you and your beautiful fiancé better."
Jack smiled back, but before anyone could say something, somebody from the group who had gathered around the
president laughed sarcastically.
"Fiancé? She's his cheap whore, nothing more." Although the sentence wasn't meant for everybody to hear, it was
unfortunately spoken in a moment of total silence. For an almost endless embarrassing moment, the words hung in
the air. Irina lowered her eyes to the ground as an awkward silence fell over the hall. Jack held Irina's arm to prevent
her from leaving the hall, then he smiled at the president as if nothing had happened.
"If you visit Boston again in the near future, I'd be happy if you visited my house."
Abraham Lincoln nodded and laughed. "I will certainly do that. Let's talk about that later when we have a little
more privacy. I have some other people who are desperate to talk to me and if I don't fulfill their wish, I'm afraid
they will be swarming around me the whole evening." He looked at Irina, whose expression showed clearly that she
wanted nothing more but to leave the hall. He took her hand. "Madam, I hope I'll see you later as well." His voice
was reassuring and his eyes were scanning her worried.
Irina looked at him and forced a smile. "Sure..." she said weakly and he pressed her hand, then he turned to the other
people. Jack locked his fingers with Irina's and she glanced at him, her smile weak, her face pale.
"I know what you're thinking." He finally said, pulling her out of the mass of people.
"Really?" she asked and he led her to a group of armchairs in a corner. They were now free to talk since everybody
was surrounding the president.
"I'm sorry that happened."
"Don't be sorry. It wasn't you who said that... actually I should have seen something like that coming."
Yes, me too, Jack thought silently, but didn't say it. For a moment he regretted having agreed to attend this ball
tonight – even more having brought Irina here to get rid of annoying flirtations.
"Do you want some water?" He was kneeling in front of her, scanning her pale expression in worry. His hand was
still holding hers.
"Yes..." she murmured and he got up and made his way to one of the maids to get Irina a glass of water.
She smiled thankfully at him when he returned and handed her the full glass. "You know... actually a glass of vodka
would do better now." She finally announced and he laughed and kissed her hand softly, glad that she was in the
mood to joke again.
"Sorry, but they don't serve vodka here."
"You know, that was exactly why I didn't want to join you... I mean, what will Lincoln think of you now?" Irina
shook her head sadly, but Jack locked his fingers with hers and touched her cheek softly.
"He will think of me as an honorable man with a woman of dignity and intelligence by his side. Your whole
behavior reflected nothing else."
"Thank you, but you don't need to just say that to be nice."
"I'm not!" Jack reassured and played with her fingers. "Every other woman I know would have broken down
hysterically. But you behaved very dignified."
"Actually I wasn't far from fleeing the room." She replied and closed her eyes. Jack sighed, trying to find a way to
make her happy. He hated himself for having asked her to go with him. He should have spared her a situation like
this – it was his fault.
"Hey..." Will Tippin joined them and let himself fall into an empty armchair. "Unbelievable, isn't it? One man
enters the room and everybody behaves like he is a god." He tried to solve the tension, that could clearly be felt, but
all he managed was to make Irina smile shortly. He handed Jack a glass of wine he had brought and Jack sat down
on the third armchair.
They kept silent for a long time, just observing the happenings. When the first euphoria about the president's arrival
had passed by, the orchestra started to play again, reopening the dance floor. It didn't take more than a look at Irina
for both of the men to know, that she was absolutely no longer in the mood to dance.
The three people straightened out, when Abraham Lincoln approached their table, the group around him now
dissolved – although everybody in the hall was still following him with their eyes and observing every movement he
made.
Lincoln smiled at Irina and looked at Jack then.
"Do you allow me to ask your charming company for this dance?"
"Of course." Jack replied and the president looked at Irina.
"Madam, would you express the honor to me to dance with me?"
For a moment Irina just stared at the man, not believing the words she heard. For a split second she was about to
refuse, but then she remembered her manners and nodded kindly.
"It would be my pleasure."
She took the hand Lincoln offered her and followed him to the dance floor. Jack and Will followed them with their
eyes, then Will laughed.
"Now that is going to piss Katya. Bet?"
"Will!" Jack shook his head, shocked by the language his friend used.
"What? She has been talking about Irina the whole evening long, and believe me, it weren't kind things she told. But
despite Katya's best efforts, Lincoln seems to really like Miss Irina."
Irina felt uneasy, dancing with the president when all eyes were focused on them.
"You're an excellent dancer if you allow me to say that." The man said well behaved and Irina smiled slightly.
"Thank you, Sir... so are you."
"Miss, may I give you advice?"
Irina looked at him in confusion; his eyes were lying warmly on her. "Those people over there don't know anything
about you, or the motives why you did certain things. You shouldn't give a penny on their opinion. I remember,
when I was in my twenties, I had a really hard time proving that I was not just some stupid boy from a peasant
family who could neither read nor write. But I went through with it. I'm sorry for the humiliation you had to go
through earlier, and I deeply respect that you chose to go the same way I did."
"Thank you, Sir." Irina murmured. "Will you allow me to ask you a question as well?" she asked and he nodded.
"It's concerning your politics... you said once, that all you want was reunifying the union, if that included freeing the
slaves, it was okay, if it was without it was also okay. So, what's your actual opinion on slavery? I was just
wondering, since you seemed to be very neutral and slavery is a topic nobody can be neutral about. Of course it was
the most logical thing to do, for if you had said that you wanted to free the slaves, you would have had the south
against you, if you had said the contrary, the north wouldn't have accepted you as president. But what do you really
think?"
He laughed heartily. "Miss Derevko, you're indeed one of the most extraordinary women I've ever met. Morally I'm
against slavery, but sometimes political reasons force you to do things differently. Are you interested in politics?"
"Oh yes, very much." She replied and he smiled.
"Extraordinary for a woman."
"My father insisted on me attending a school and always know about the latest happenings. He always said that
every citizen, no matter which gender should know about what's going on, since in the end, in a democracy every
single citizen is responsible for what is happening in the country."
"A wise man. My parents used to say the same thing, that's why I had the chance to attend a school."
When the music ended, Mr. Lincoln led Irina back to her chair, chatting and joking with her. The tension had been
broken. When Irina sat down in her armchair, Lincoln looked at Jack.
"My compliments, Bristow. If I wasn't already married, you would have a serious competitor." He sat down and
Jack smiled at Irina, not taking the words as an insult. "So, let's talk about my next visit in Boston. I will be busy the
next month, but I plan to return to Boston in six weeks."
"And I'd be honored if you would be my guest for an afternoon." Jack replied.
"I will certainly accept that offer. By the way, I was impressed by the success of your last strategy. I myself couldn't
have planned that march better."
The men started to talk business now and Irina half listened, half observed the other people in the hall. She caught a
killing look from Katya, who smiled coldly at her. Irina smiled back friendly, not willing to react to that
provocation.
She spent quite some time by just observing, listening with interest when the conversation turned away from the
happenings of the last battle to actual political discussions. Finally, quite some time later she felt the need to stretch
her legs and smiled apologetically.
"Would the gentlemen excuse me for a little moment?"
"Of course," the three men answered almost at the same time and got up until she had left the table. Irina went to a
small group of women, Mrs. Drake among them.
"Good evening." Irina greeted friendly in an attempt to conquer the hostility. She failed. The women just looked at
her with frowned foreheads. Irina decided to ignore their unwelcoming reactions. "Mrs. Drake, I was just
wondering, do you have a room where I can rearrange my appearance."
"Sure, just out that door, along the corridor. The last door to the left," she replied coldly and Irina smiled.
"Thank you. How are Philip and Dana doing?"
"Fine." Was the short answer from Mrs. Drake that didn't hide that she was unwilling to talk to Irina more than
absolutely necessary. Irina smiled.
"Well then... see you." She left, hiding the feeling of sadness behind her smile. She had already asked herself more
than once what she was doing here. She wasn't part of this world. When she went away, she couldn't miss the last
words the women said about her.
"It's scandalous that the humble people are allowed to attend occasions like this. I've heard, she slept with many
people to get that high..."
"Yeah, she has not the slightest hint of manners, otherwise she would know that she's not wanted here."
Irina was glad when she was out of reach. She knew that the words had been well-chosen for her to hear and meant
to hurt her. Although she respected the president and his advice, she was not sure that she really wanted to belong to
those people. Nothing of this meant anything to her. Not the dresses, nor the glamorous events or the fame – she did
all this only for Jack.
She strolled along a huge corridor with large paintings on the wall. Surely the restroom had been made at the end of
the corridor so everybody would see the expensive wall decoration. Irina took her time when refreshing herself, not
really looking forward to returning to the ball room. When she left the restroom, she read the texts that were written
under the pictures carefully, studying every single piece of art. Some were portraits, others were paintings of
pastoral landscapes, the typical art of the eighteenth century. Irina didn't doubt that these paintings had their value.
She turned right into a smaller corridor to study those paintings as well.
Fascinated by the incredible work of the artists, she didn't notice the man who stepped out of a dark room into the
dim corridor without making any sound.
"Good evening, Miss Derevko!"
At this unexpected address, Irina spun around, thinking her heart would stop beating from shock. "My God, Mr.
Drake. You scared me..." she murmured and smiled apologetically. "I was just admiring your wall paintings. I didn't
mean to violate your privacy in any way..."
"Oh, feel free to look around and admire the art." He granted and looked at her for a long time, then he smiled. "We
have some more paintings over here." He announced pointing at the darker part of the corridor. We just didn't light
this part with candles for it would have been an unnecessary waste. But if you want I will show them to you." He
sounded honest and behaved like a gentleman, yet Irina was not sure whether to trust him or rather return to the hall.
Finally she decided that, after his gentlemanly behavior, it would be extremely rude of her to turn down his offer. So
she nodded courteously.
"It would be my pleasure." He took a candle off the wall and went further along the corridor. Irina followed him.
Darkness didn't actually scare her, but if she was in company of a man she didn't fully trust she felt a little alarmed.
"Here we have a portrait of George Washington. It was the first portrait ever painted of him, therefore it's especially
valuable. That's why we didn't hang it in the main corridor. And here is the signing of the Declaration of
Independence. This declaration was the base of our country and includes every right and law we live after today."
He lectured her and Irina smiled friendly, although he treated her like she was a five-year-old school girl who didn't
know a bit about history. But she didn't want to insult him by interrupting his explanations. So she patiently endured
the ten minute monologue about how the new republic was founded, although she knew all details by heart. He
continued to explain the paintings to her and when they had reached the end of the corridor, he put the candle in one
of the holders at the wall.
Irina stepped aside as she noticed that he had closed the distance between them. His eyes were resting on her and she
tried not to return the look, for she knew he would take it as encouragement. Why had she agreed to his offer?
When she felt the wall at her back, she decided to switch to defense.
"Thank you for your vast explanations, Sir. But I shouldn't keep my company waiting for too long." She wanted to
pass him by, but his arm stopped her. When she tried to pass by his other side, he imprisoned her in between his
arms in the corner.
Irina turned her head aside when he lowered his head to her.
"I beg your pardon, Mr. Drake, but I'd really prefer to return to the hall now!" she insisted.
"Do you know what the people are saying about you?" he whispered into her ear and played with a strand of her
hair, unimpressed by her desperate attempts to push him away from her. "They're saying what I told them about
you. That you are a whore... selling your beautiful body to the men who pay the most. And isn't that fact?"
"No, it isn't!" she replied still friendly, but with a certain sharpness in her voice.
"My information proves otherwise... I have been told everything about you by my dear friend Reignold. I think you
know him..."
"Bastard!" Irina hissed, forgetting about manners.
"Such a bad word from the lips of a lady..." He shook his head. "Proving your harbor origin, I guess. But I will
forgive you for the insult and give you a chance. We could really have fun."
"You should have fun with your wife!" Irina replied irritated, which made him laugh.
"That shouldn't be your problem. But you could be a little nice to me and I could do some kind of... let's say
damage-control concerning your reputation. If I say that I was wrong and the rumors I heard about you concerned
another woman, you could have your job in my house back and teach my children. And do me some favors of
course. You have to be really good if Bristow keeps you that long." His eyes went down her body in the most
impudent way. Irina tried to escape from within his arms, but he had seen this coming and held her around the waist.
She started to hit his chest, but he caught her fists laughing.
"You seem to be hot-tempered. I like that..." he murmured hoarsely. Irina tried to free her arms, trembling with fury,
but also fear.
"Mr. Drake, let go of me at once, or I swear, I'm going to scream... which I would hate to do, since it would put us
both into an embarrassing situation. So please... let me return to the hall, and I'll forget about this incident."
He laughed amused and his thumb stroked over her lip. "Do you really think you could threaten me, you little slut?
You could have had it differently, but obviously you prefer the rough way." With these words he pressed his lips to
hers in a harsh and brutal way, silencing her screams and pinning her to the wall. She fought him desperately and
tried to kick him, but her dress prevented her legs to be able to move freely. She moaned in pain as he grabbed her
hair to keep her from defending herself, his mouth silencing her painful scream.
"James!"
The shrill voice of his wife made James Drake startle and he let go of Irina, who was still leaning against the wall.
He spun around, looking at his wife and two other ladies – friends of Malory Drake. All three women were staring at
them with wide eyes.
"Malory, it's not what you believe it to be." James Drake said, running his hand through his hair. "Miss Derevko
asked me to explain the paintings to her, and I didn't think about any intention other than interest in art in her
question. But when we arrived here, she tried to seduce me... I'm sorry, I should have said no, but she insisted
and..."
"Not true..." Irina said, her voice trembling as her whole body did. "That's a lie..."
"Miss Derevko, you call my husband a liar? One of the most honorable men in Boston? How dare you?" Malory
Drake looked at her, her expression cold. "My husband told me that you have already tried to seduce him once and
he refused. Shall I tell you what happened here tonight? You're a divorced woman now, in need of money. So you
begged Jack Bristow to take you here tonight to look for new – " She shot Irina a disgusted look before coming up
with an appropriate word. " – customers."
"No..." Irina contradicted desperately and felt her voice break, but Mrs. Drake didn't even listen to her.
"James, I want you to throw this person out of this house." She demanded and the man grabbed Irina's arm. Irina
started to fight him.
"You son of a b," she screamed, forgetting about all manners. "Tell her what happened, tell her the truth, that
you were trying to rape me!" Tears flew down her cheeks, but she didn't even pay attention. Mrs. Drake was deaf to
her words.
"You must have a fair amount of front to tell such blatant lies," Mr. Drake said coldly and dragged her with him.
They crossed the main corridor, Irina still desperately talking to Mrs. Drake, swearing to her that she had never had
interest in her husband. They didn't enter the main hall, but went directly to the front door. More and more people
were drawn out of the main hall to the corridor by the tumult that was obviously going on. They were curious to
know what the noise was about.
James Drake pushed Irina so hard that she stumbled and fell to the ground.
"If you ever dare to put a foot into my house again, I swear to you, I will take measures." Malory Drake said loudly,
so everybody could hear it. The people around them were silent, watching the scene. "If you're looking for new
customers, look at the harbor, for that's where you belong. You are a cheap whore, nothing more!" She lifted her
hand to slap Irina in the face.
"Madam, I beg your pardon!" Will Tippin had managed to make his way through the crowd of people and hurried
towards the small group at the door. He had been talking to some gentleman near the door, when the scene had
caught his attention. Now he held Mrs. Drake's hand, preventing her from what she had been about to do. Mr. Drake
pushed him aside.
"Mr. Tippin, you are still young and so I give you some advice. You should choose more carefully where your
loyalties lie and I can assure you, this woman is not worth your trust. She tried to seduce me and god knows who
else. Wasn't she also dancing with the president? Who knows what kind of offers she made him to get him to dance
with her."
Excited murmuring could be heard from the group who had gathered to watch the spectacle.
Irina shook her head, trying to keep at least the last remains of her dignity, but didn't say anything for it was futile
anyway. The people in this room had already made the decision about whom they wanted to believe.
It didn't take much to make Will understand, that the situation was totally out of control, so he hurried away to get
Jack. His friend was way better in conversations like this.
Mr. Drake opened the front door and grabbed Irina's arm to push her outside into the rain that had started.
"Goodnight, Miss. And let me give you a last bit of advice. A whore has no place in the upper class, so why don't
you just return to where you belong." And with these words he slammed the door in her face.
Irina just stood in the rain for a minute, staring at the closed door. Then she slowly turned around, stepping down the
stairs. She didn't even notice the rain that was soaking her, ruining her hair and her dress. Her mind was in a
paralyzed state where she wasn't even able to cry, so she just went away from the house slowly.
When Will and Jack returned, the people were already going back into the hall. Jack was outraged and hurried to
Mr. Drake and his wife who were lively discussing with a group of people what had happened.
"Mr. Drake!" he said loudly and everybody could clearly hear the fury from his voice. "What happened here and
where is Miss Derevko?"
"I advised your... friend – " The way he emphasized the word friend made Jack even more furious. "- to leave, after
she had shown her lack of manners against me by asking me to sleep with her for money."
"Jack, she never did..." Will interrupted quick-tempered, but Jack stopped him with a warning look, then he turned
back to James Drake.
In the meantime, even Abraham Lincoln had joined them outside.
"Where is she?" Jack simply asked and as he didn't get an answer immediately, his eyes grew darker. "I asked you a
question."
"She left!" Drake simply answered and hearing the words, Jack turned without hesitating and headed to the door.
"Bristow," Drake's voice held him back. "I'm warning you. She is not a person, anyone of our rank should care
about. She is a whore and she behaved like one. It's time you remember your position!"
"Listen to me..." Jack grabbed him by the sleeve and pulled the man closer. "I don't care about how you are talking
about the women you have contact with – by the way, I'm sure there are a lot of names you wouldn't want me to
mention in front of your wife. But if you ever dare to insult Miss Derevko again by an inappropriate expression
concerning her origin, I will make sure, that your wife learns every single name, including birth dates. Are we
clear?"
Drake was certainly intimidated for a short moment, but he regained his courage after Jack had let him go.
"Bristow, I warn you! If you decide to leave now, this could have consequences for your reputation!" Drake's voice
was loud and clear and some voices from spectators grew louder now. Jack pierced Drake with his eyes.
"Well, in that case... enjoy the rest of the evening, gentlemen!" With these words he left the house, slamming the
door shut behind him with a loud crash.
For a moment the mass looked at the closed door, unable to understand Jack's choice, then the people returned to the
ball room, everybody lively discussing the happenings.
Only Abraham Lincoln was standing in the entrance hall, his eyes showing deep respect for Jack Bristow. He
seemed to be a man who cared about people, not ranks – that was a strength he valued higher than anything else. He
should probably think of Bristow for his parliament, since he would surely be highly respected by the people – well,
probably not among the upper class but the remaining eighty percent of the American people.
"Mr. Lincoln, Sir, don't you want to join us again?" Mr. Drake looked at him and Lincoln nodded.
"Sure." Then he followed Drake back into the main hall.
