See chapter one for disclaimers.
Chapter Fourteen
After seeing Angel off with one of Belle's off-duty bouncers, a man by the name of Hank, Bobby remained at the table to finish his dinner and sip another shot of whisky with Terrence, who had joined him. When Terrence first came over, Bobby had started to apologize to Terrence but was waved off quickly.
"It's okay Bobby, I saw him too," was all Terrence would say. Bobby poured him a whisky after snagging another glass and they sat companionably for a while, trading stories. Terrence spoke of the influx of inexpensive Chinese whores, and the impact they were having on Belle's, which was minimal. Belle was even considering hiring one or two of the more high end girls, but had experienced difficulty in separating the women from the male members of their families, who demanded all of their pay. Seems they were being used as a means of support for the unemployed rail workers, and were a valuable commodity to their families. The fathers, brothers and in some instances husbands of these women gave them little to no freedom to make their own decisions. Belle had a strict policy on letting her girls turn a decent profit for their efforts. She was always open to adding a new face or two, and would continue to entertain the notion of an independent exotic beauty or two to add to the mix of girls she currently employed.
Bobby nodded thoughtfully throughout, recalling the difficulties his mother had known as a widow on her own before Bobby was old enough to knock sense into certain people for her. Bobby knew lots of women who were sillier than geese or dumber than sheep, and clearly needed a strong male influence in their lives. But more and more, Bobby had come into contact with women like his mother and Belle, both of whom were strong, intelligent and successful, and had gotten there mostly on their own.
Bobby told Terrence a somewhat abridged version of Jack's history -- what Bobby knew of it anyway. He'd let Jack fill in the holes later if he wanted to. Personally, Bobby thought that his Ma would make a much better audience for that sort of tale than Bobby ever would. She would stand ready to give him a hug, or to wipe away his tears or just listen to him. She knew so much more about those sorts of things, but if Jack decided Bobby needed to know anything, then he'd be ready. If Jack wanted to get angry and hit something, then Bobby would actually relish that sort of therapy. It always worked splendidly for him.
If Terrence wondered why this particular boy had caught Bobby's attention, he didn't ask, for which Bobby was grateful, since he didn't think he could explain it to anyone but family, and even then hesitantly. Bobby and Terrence chatted about other inconsequential things while the room around them got more boisterous as customers arrived after their own suppers elsewhere. Terrence eventually drained the last of his whisky, and with a tip of his hat as thanks to Bobby, headed outside to help watch over the main entrance. Bobby spent a few minutes at his table just watching the customers, trying to determine who might turn out to be trouble. None immediately caught his attention. Troublemakers tended to favor less fancy places than Belle's, and unless Bobby was mistaken, tonight would prove to be a peaceful one.
Bobby walked back upstairs, his belly full and his head considerably lighter. He hardly ever drank whisky on the nights when he was backing up Angel. In fact, it was rare that he let his guard down enough to get drunk at all. He wasn't sloppy drunk, since both Angel and Terrence had shared the bottle with him, but he definitely wasn't sober.
He smiled widely at one of Belle's girls as she descended the stairs from the third floor. She was nowhere near the paying customers, yet she already had a little extra shimmy in her walk. What was her name? Laura? Lara? Laureen? Whatever her name was, she was one fine looking woman, and had given Bobby the night of his life several months back. She boldly matched his smile and paused to stand with him on the landing between the second the third floors. She ran a hand across his chest to his shoulder before squeezing his biceps and whispering a saucy suggestion in his ear. Bobby felt the thrumming effects of her request through the pleasant haze of the whisky and regretted that he couldn't take her up on her offer. He leaned in for a consolation kiss, even as he shook his head no. When Jack was a bit better, after his fever broke, Bobby would seek her out and make up for this lost opportunity. The girl smiled as he moved away from her and swatted him playfully on the ass as his foot hit the first stair. He was still chuckling when he entered Jack's sickroom.
Charlotte had spent the evening reading a book of poems aloud to the slumbering Jack and then knitting when her eyes grew tired. The repetitive motion and gentle clacking of the needles soothed her nerves. Every half hour or so, she wrung out the wet cloth she had placed on Jack's neck and wet it anew with cool water, replacing it after soothing his fevered skin. The laudanum had done its job, helping Jack rest peacefully as his body fought off the infection from the wounds on his back. Thankfully, the infection was a mild one, and her timely scrubbing had cleared it away before it could worsen. She would check it again when Bobby returned.
She smiled as she thought about Bobby Mercer. That one was tough as nails, and had enough anger in him to take on a wild grizzly bear if he got the notion. He was a very dangerous man. And yet he loved his brother Angel with the same degree of fierceness, and woe to anyone who treated Angel with disdain. She wondered what had happened to Bobby to seed the anger so deeply in his bones, and how he had come to call Angel his brother. Charlotte wasn't the type to pry, but the mystery of the Mercer brothers was just the thing to make her forget herself and seek out gossip. Perhaps Lucita knew something of them, having spent so much time with Angel? Charlotte didn't think Belle had spent nearly enough time with either of the Mercer boys to have learned anything, but could count on her old friend to share what she knew. Terrence would be useless. He didn't have a curious bone in his body, and besides, he was far too discreet to share anything he did know. Charlotte had just decided to seek out Lucita some time the next day and find out what she knew when Jack began to stir.
The boy shifted his legs beneath the sheets and pulled the pillow in his arms a bit closer to his chest, rubbing his cheek along its edge. Charlotte glanced towards the clock on the mantel above the fireplace and saw that it had been nearly twelve hours since she had initially dosed him. She would wait for him to wake up a bit more before trying to feed him some beef tea and get as much water into him as possible before giving him any more laudanum. He would probably still be hurting, but his head just might be clearer than before.
Thoughts of before got her to thinking about Bobby Mercer again. He was dangerous, it was true, but his anger had certainly served its purpose in the past. The night Belle's devil of a husband had nearly killed Belle, Charlotte thought that Bobby was an avenging angel sent from heaven to bring retribution down on the bastard's head -- and Charlotte had only seen him after the fight was over! Belle had confessed nearly the same feelings about Bobby's appearance to Charlotte that night, and together they decided that a man such as Bobby was best treated carefully. And then Belle went ahead and turned him into a friend! He was much too young to strike Belle's fancy, but Belle always did have a way with men of any age. She told Charlotte that Bobby Mercer had a deep respect for women, which she said came from his Mama, but Charlotte knew he was still a half-wild boy, grown up into a man and taught some manners, who could explode at any moment. She had caught a glimpse of just that sort of explosion that very morning, and never wanted to see that again. All in all, she was mighty pleased that he seemed to like her, in his own impudent way.
Jack murmured in his sleep, speaking nonsense words. Charlotte dipped the cloth into the now-tepid water and bathed his face and neck again. She brushed the cloth over his lips, pleased to see him lick at the moisture there. She moved to the kettle warming by the fire and carried it back to the bedside table, choosing some of the herbs on her tray to mix in with the bubbling water.
Jack's connection to Bobby was another mystery. She hadn't questioned Belle when she had asked Charlotte to prepare herself for an injured man who would be arriving shortly with Bobby Mercer. She had passed Angel Mercer in the hall as she went to prepare the room in which she now sat with Jack, and reckoned he had relayed the message. She half-suspected the injured party would be one of Bobby's victims, brought here in an impulsive act of compassion. She never imagined this poor battered boy, lost in a fever as he was cradled by the toughest man she knew. It seemed the savage protectiveness Bobby felt towards Angel had now encompassed Jack as well. The welts, bruises and cuts on his body told Charlotte much of Jack's story -- and confirmed for her their brief acquaintance. Bobby would never have harmed this boy. She was determined to draw out the rest of their story from Lucita and Belle the next day. She wet the cloth again and fed Jack drops of water before bathing his hot forehead and cheeks.
She heard a soft knock on the door just before Laura poked her head in to see if Charlotte needed anything. Charlotte thanked her and asked that some cold water be brought up for Jack's compresses. She heard Laura relay the request to the man who stood guard at the end of the hall and his acknowledgement before Laura shut the door again. A few minutes later, as she slowly stirred the herbal mixture to blend the medicinals in the tea, Bobby Mercer entered the room with a huge smile on his face. Charlotte longed to ask him about that smile, ask him about everything which so intrigued her, and wished she could affect the teasing manner that Belle and the other women here managed so easily and which yielded such fine results on the opposite sex. Instead, she raised an eyebrow at him, and quirked a half smile of inquiry. He raised his eyebrows right back at her and then winked. She turned back to the kettle before he could see her blush. Thankfully, Jack shifted again moments later, this time letting out a sigh, which drew Bobby's attention to the boy and away from Charlotte, giving her time to regain her businesslike composure. In all her years and experiences, Charlotte Spencer never had learned to flirt.
Bobby moved to the opposite side of the bed and hitched one leg up so he was resting at Jack's back. He reached out and pulled the cloth from Jack's forehead.
"Hey, Jackie, you waking up there, buddy?" he asked. Jack turned his head at the sound of Bobby's voice.
"He's been stirring a bit, but I don't think he'll wake completely. He's still fevered, but better than before. He's taken some drops of water, though, and I'd like to get him to drink as much as we can get in him before we let him sleep again," Charlotte told him. Bobby graced her with another smile, and together they rearranged the pillows around Jack so he was sitting up. The door opened and a girl from the kitchen entered with a jug of water, leaving as quickly as she had come. It was the busiest time of the night for serving girls at Belle's.
Between the two of them, Charlotte and Bobby cajoled, coaxed and downright forced a cup of water, a cup of beef tea and most of the cup of medicinal tea Charlotte had prepared for him earlier. Jack began to struggle in earnest against their efforts when they made him drink the harsh-tasting concoction. Even the generous dollop of honey which Charlotte eventually added to mask the bitter taste did nothing to help with their efforts.
Charlotte had maintained a steady stream of encouraging words and praise as they fed Jack each of the drinks, but Bobby adopted a different approach. He teased Jack, calling him a fairy princess, one who was waited on by long-suffering servants who were about to stage a protest. He used language that Charlotte might have objected to had it not proved so effective. More aware since drinking the water and the beef tea, Jack would turn his head towards Bobby's voice and his mouth would open -- whether to reply or object, Charlotte never knew, since she would push the cup to his lips and silence whatever words Jack might have attempted. Bobby found this pattern terribly amusing and taunted the boy all the more, laughing throughout. When Jack adamantly refused the tea, despite all their efforts, Charlotte poured a small measure of laudanum and showed it to Bobby, who launched into the most outrageous description of Jack's fairy princess-like attributes yet. Jack was tiring fast from his momentary lucidity, but gamely attempted to defend himself one last time. Charlotte and Bobby had the teamwork down pat by now, though, and the laudanum was down Jack's throat in moments, and all the boy could manage was a tired grimace.
Bobby sat back with a pleased sigh, then reached over and ruffled Jack's already messy hair.
"Don't worry, Jackie. You can get me back for this when you're feeling better. You'd better start eating more than tea for supper, though. You stay scrawny like you are and you'll never get the best of me."
"Will too," Jack whispered.
"Right. I've met alley cats bigger than you are, buddy." Jack merely sighed and closed his eyes.
"We're going to change your bandages now, Jack," Charlotte interjected before Bobby could taunt him any further. Thus far, Jack had responded well to Bobby, but Charlotte couldn't help but feel a twinge of concern that Jack acted so out of fear.
The gentleness Bobby displayed as he manipulated Jack so Charlotte could inspect and re-bandage Jack's wounds belied his earlier harsh words and eased Charlotte's concerns somewhat. She thought that Jack had fallen asleep by the time Bobby propped Jack's head onto his own shoulder and held him in a loose embrace as she attended to the boy's back. She was wrong.
All her concerns melted away as she watched Jack lift his arms and clumsily place them around Bobby's middle to return his embrace. Jack's contented sigh and the bemused expression on Bobby's face told her everything she needed to know about Jack's safety with Bobby Mercer. The accompanying pang in her heart, though, made her want to know so much more.