Norman blinked. “Forgive me, but did you say seven dollars . . . a week?”
“I did.”
“I feel a distinct urge to run down Mr. Marshall Field and have a nice chat with him. And before you argue with me about that, you should know that I live near Mr. Field on Prairie Avenue. Given the extravagance of his home, he’s certainly capable of paying his employees more.”
“I’m sure he is capable of paying more, but I don’t want you to seek him out. Besides, he’s not at the store today. I heard he’s spending his time over at the dry goods warehouse on Madison and Market.”
“Then that’s where I’m heading,” Norman said before he took off, pretending he didn’t hear Beatrix’s protests.
Striding around a group of ladies wearing enormous hats, he headed down the sidewalk, intent on getting to Madison and Market as quickly as possible.
A hand on his arm had him slowing his pace right as he got to the corner of the Marshall Field & Company building.
“You really can’t run down Mr. Field to have a chat with him,” Beatrix argued, her hand tightening on his sleeve. “He won’t appreciate your interference in what is really only a small matter of one of his employees being disciplined for leaving her department.”
He ignored that as he looked to the left and then to the right, coming to a complete stop when the traffic rumbling past him on State Street made it all but impossible to cross the street. “But Mr. Field is, without question, paying you too little.”
“He pays all his female employees too little, but that’s an accepted practice, at least from what I’ve been told, because working women enjoy the reputation that comes with being an employee at Marshall Field & Company.”
“But you’re being required to accept a decrease in what is already an unacceptable wage to begin with. Aren’t you concerned that the decrease is going to leave you in an uncomfortable financial situation?”
“A loss of fifty cents a week will not ruin me financially.”
Norman frowned. “But you’re making very little as it is, and—”
The rest of what Norman wanted to say was interrupted when a man stumbled into him, which had him stumbling into Beatrix, which sent her careening into the street, right in front of a large delivery wagon.
Chapter 16
Norman felt someone grab him around the waist, but unfortunately that action did not break his fall. Instead, it got him to the ground more rapidly, which lost him the opportunity of getting to Beatrix.
Thankfully, Theo rushed past him and hauled Beatrix out of the path of the delivery wagon just in the nick of time.
Getting to his feet, he strode to Beatrix, looking her over with a sharp eye.
“Were you injured?”
She shook her head, her attention directed over his shoulder. “Where’d he go?”
“Where’d who go?”
“The man who pushed you.”
Norman frowned. “No one pushed me.”
Theo jerked her head toward a man who’d all but flown past them, his bowler hat bobbing through the crowd of people. “I think your Pinkerton man believes otherwise.”
“I thought after the chat I had with Agent Cochran earlier that the Pinkerton men would let me know when they were trailing after me, but apparently I was wrong about that,” Norman said slowly, squinting after the man who was, indeed, one of the Pinkerton men his mother had hired.
“And here I thought you were simply pretending not to notice him,” Theo said, eyeing him suspiciously. “It’s concerning, your behavior, but now is not the time to discuss it.” She turned to Beatrix. “Are you certain you weren’t injured? I was rather rough when I grabbed you.”
“And thank goodness you did,” Beatrix said, dusting off her skirt. “I would have been trampled for certain without your intervention. But let’s get out of this crowd. I can’t think with all these people swarming around us.”
“I have a better idea,” Norman said. “I’m of the belief that a nice cup of tea, paired with an even nicer meal, does wonders for clearing a person’s head.” He offered an arm to Beatrix, then offered his other to Theo. “Shall we repair to Kinsley’s? It’s only a few blocks away.”
“Oh, I adore Kinsley’s,” Theo exclaimed, tugging him into motion as she nodded to Beatrix. “They serve the most delicious oysters there, and I must admit that I’m ravenous because Norman and I neglected to eat any lunch today.” With that, she increased her pace, practically dragging him and Beatrix down the sidewalk.
It took all of ten minutes to get to Kinsley’s, a well-established restaurant that offered different amenities on different floors. A guest could dine in the lunchroom or adjacent restaurant on the first floor, enjoy a meal at one of the two cafés located on the second floor, although one of those cafés was strictly for men, or reserve a private dining room on the upper levels.
“It’s charming,” Beatrix said, stopping to admire the striped awnings that covered the entrance door.
“Wait until you taste the food,” Norman returned, heading after Theo, who’d already walked into the restaurant and was speaking with the maître d’. He gestured for them to follow him as he took them to the lunchroom and gave them a table by the window.
After holding Beatrix’s chair for her, Norman went to do the same with Theo, but she was already seated. “I was going to help you.”
“You usually don’t bother to assist me into my chair.”
“I’ve held your chair for you at numerous society events,” he said, taking his seat.
“Which is expected because those are society events.” Theo gestured around the room. “This is just enjoying a quick bite to eat, and you’ve never held my chair for me when we take time out of our day to eat.”
Norman frowned. “Why have you never pointed that out to me before?”
“Because that would have reminded you that I’m not a gentleman.”
“I’m well aware you’re not a gentleman, Theo.”
Theo shrugged. “Perhaps, but
