“No.” Mel took a step back. “I don’t understand how... I did everything to protect her.” She sank onto the bed, looking at Will as though her world had ended.
“Who’s Daisy?” Mary leaned in to Jasper to ask the question, presumably not to interrupt Will, but Jasper wouldn’t know.
Will cleared his throat. “Daisy is Mel’s sister. Mel took up this life so Daisy wouldn’t have to. Daisy went missing a while back, and Mel’s been working to get in with Ben’s gang so she could get information on her sister’s whereabouts.”
The compassionate Mary Will knew and loved made a small noise. She was finally putting all the pieces together about things not being what they seemed. And, knowing Mary, probably feeling guilty for judging.
Mary sat on the bed beside Mel. “I’m so sorry about your sister. I guess we have more in common than we thought.”
Will’s chest tightened. She was such a good woman. Oh, to be able to deserve her.
“This doesn’t mean I’m coming to any tea parties or those suppers you folks have for the poor at the pastor’s house.” Mel shot Mary a harsh look but then took her hand. “But I thank you for your kind thoughts.”
Mel brought her attention back to Will. Eyes narrowing, she once again resembled the tough-as-nails woman who’d threatened him with a gun when he’d first met her.
“If she was the plum used to tempt you...”
“No.” Will took a step back. “I absolutely am not the father of her child. Yes, I was involved with your sister, but I courted her properly, taking no liberties.”
If only his words didn’t break Mel’s heart. Her face filled with the kind of lines that made her look older than her years. All the hard living she’d done caught up to her in that moment.
“She was in a convent school,” Mel whispered. “I’d worked so hard to be able to afford that school for her. Where she’d learn how to be a lady and have the kind of religious upbringing that would teach her right from wrong. Why would she...”
Mel looked around the room. “And with Ben?”
One more question Will wished he had the answers to. Now that they were in the middle of trying to rescue another young lady from Ben’s clutches, it was even clearer that they had to stop Ben—before anyone else was hurt.
Chapter Nineteen
The heartbreak coming from Mel made Mary wish she hadn’t been so quick to judge. She thought back to all of Frank’s sermons and how, even when she questioned why they were giving charity to one of the most notorious brothels in town, he often told her that the road to sin was often paved with desperation.
Had Mary spoken up about Ben to begin with, he might never have had the chance to ruin Daisy.
Mary swallowed the lump in her throat. So many ways Mary’s mistake had hurt others. She’d barely begun to atone for what she’d done to hurt her family, but how could she fix the way in which she’d wronged Daisy and the child she carried?
Glancing over at Will, she realized that perhaps she’d also wronged Will in another way. Had Will loved Daisy? His words about their courtship seemed to indicate such. It was just as well that the secret feelings Mary harbored for him were never to be expressed or acted upon. Though Mary might have a fondness for him, his heart was already spoken for.
“Ben is a con man,” Will said as he crossed the room. “I’m sure your sister isn’t the first woman he’s tricked out of her virtue, and if we don’t do something, I’m sure she won’t be the last.”
Will was right. They had to do something. But after realizing just how badly following her own heart kept ending, Mary wasn’t going to make any rash decisions. She took a deep breath, then sent a prayer heavenward.
“What do you suggest we do?” she asked, looking from Will to Jasper, then at Mel. “If Rose is kept in a locked room next door, how do we rescue her?” Mary took Mel’s hand. “And Daisy. How do we help her?”
Someday Mary would have the courage to tell everyone that this whole mess was all her fault. She’d been so intent on protecting herself from harm and from Ben’s false accusations. How would any of them ever forgive her?
She’d ruined the lives of every single person in this room. Well, all excepting Jasper. But if she hadn’t caused this damage, Jasper would be at home with his bride.
Mary looked over at Jasper. “You really should go home now. It’s your wedding night. Emma Jane will be worried.”
“I saved her reputation,” Jasper said, scowling. “I’ve done my duty. We both agreed that this is the extent of our marriage. Emma Jane expects nothing.”
The matter-of-fact tone Jasper used put an additional heaviness on Mary’s spirit. It hardly seemed fair that Emma Jane had to resign herself to this. But at least Emma Jane had a husband. Jasper might be angry about the marriage now, but he’d come around. They’d find their way and someday might even have children.
For Mary, such a thing was impossible now.
Colt let out a long snore, as if to remind everyone that he was in the room.
“You’re sure he’ll stay asleep?” Will looked at Colt as though he’d just as soon put a bullet in the other man. Mary didn’t blame him. He had, after all, made it clear that he’d do the same to Will.
But surely, all this killing wasn’t the answer.
“All night, and probably all day tomorrow,” Mel said with a grin. “I’ve used it on a few of my customers. They all leave, happy as can be about the entertainment, never knowing that all they did was sleep. Best nights’ sleep I get sometimes, that’s for sure.”
Now that Mary had stopped judging Mel for her profession, she had to admit that Mel reminded her a
