“Thank you, Lord Elbrook,” the man said. He gestured to a waiter, holding up two fingers. A moment later, the man approached the table, holding two large glasses of brandy.
Lord Cromwell took a glass and handed the other to Daniel. He nodded to the waiter, who left as abruptly as he had arrived. Then, the thin man spoke again.
“I do hope you do not think me untoward,” he said. “But I could not help overhearing your Earlier conversation.”
Daniel flushed, taking a hungry drink from his glass.
“My sincerest apologies, Lord Cromwell,” Daniel said. “My father and I often do not see eye to eye, and I apologize that our discussion disturbed you.”
Lord Cromwell sipped his own glass. Then, he shook his head.
“Not at all, Lord Elbrook,” he said. “I know a few things about disagreements with fathers, as it happens.”
Daniel frowned. The man was nice enough, but Daniel could not understand what he wanted with Daniel. Surely, he had not just come to Daniel’s table to express his sympathies.
Perhaps he intended to ask Daniel about some business deal and was merely using this as a way of beginning conversation.
“Oh?” Daniel said. He smiled at the man and watched him with wary patience. He did not wish to be rude to him, but he was unsure of what else to say.
“Indeed,” Lord Cromwell said. “My own father was very harsh and brusque. Cruel, you might say.”
Daniel swirled the brandy his glass and studied the man. Now, more than ever, the man intrigued Daniel. Was he a friend of his father’s? Or, was he just a man seeking kinship?
“Is that so?” Daniel asked, taking another drink. He could, indeed, relate to the man’s words, but he did not wish to speak with a stranger about his troubles with his father.
“Quite so,” he said. “He was very strict with me when I was a boy. He was never one for sparing the rod. And, as a young man, he fiercely objected to me pursuing my interests and passions.”
The brandy was going straight to his head, and the man’s words seemed like an echo of Daniel’s own thoughts about his own father, particularly in the years since George’s death.
“Are you sure that your father and mine are not the same man?” Daniel said with a chuckle.
The tall man laughed, as well.
“From what I heard of your conversation,” he said. “I briefly believed that you were speaking to my father.”
The two men shared a hearty laugh and raised their glasses to one another in a toasting gesture.
“When I lost my true love to illness, it almost seemed as though my father was pleased about it,” Lord Cromwell said, his eyes becoming distant and sad.
Daniel looked at the man with great sympathy.
“Your wife died?” he asked.
The man shook his head.
“Alas, we were not yet married,” he said. “She was taken from me before we could be wed. It left me a broken man, indeed.”
Daniel nodded silently. Despite the man’s amiable demeanor, Daniel was beginning to feel a bit awkward. He rarely even spoke this candidly with Lucas, and he had been Daniel’s close friend for many years.
Fortunately, the man seemed more eager to speak his mind than to get a response from Daniel.
“My father became even more horrible after my beloved died,” Lord Cromwell said, his voice beginning to take on an edge of anger and bitterness. “One would not have thought it possible, but he become crueler. Beastly, even.”
The man gestured for more drinks, finishing his own rapidly. Daniel opened his mouth to protest, but the man seemed to no longer even see him. When the drinks arrived, Daniel nodded to the waiter and pushed his full glass to the side, hoping the man did not notice.
“It sounds as though you do know something about harsh fathers,” Daniel offered, hoping to bring the man back from the pit of negative emotions he clearly had bubbling just beneath the surface of his friendly personality.
The man shook his head, seeming to bring himself back to the present. He looked at Daniel and smiled again, the same smile Daniel had seen as the man had approached his table.
“Do forgive me, Lord Elbrook,” Lord Cromwell said, looking a little sheepish. “I do carry on, do I not?”
Daniel gave him a little chuckle.
“It is quite alright,” Daniel said.
“You are a very kind gentleman, my lord,” Lord Cromwell said. “I want to thank you for indulging an old mad man.” He raised his glass again and took a sip. Daniel raised his first one which, thankfully, was nearly empty. The man was once more amiable, but Daniel could not help squirming uncomfortably. He prayed that the gentleman would leave soon.
Just then, the man stood, and Daniel breathed a small, relieved sigh.
“I should be going,” the man said, putting his half empty second glass on the table and bowing, albeit a bit unsteadily.
Daniel jumped to his feet, anxious to get the man on his way.
“Thank you for the drinks, my lord,” Daniel said, returning the man’s bow.
“You are most welcome, young Lord Elbrook,” the tall man said. “And I wish you luck in all your endeavors, and in your pursuit of happiness and love.”
Daniel forced a smile.
“Have a wonderful evening, Lord Cromwell,” Daniel said.
With a final nod, the man walked slowly out of the club.
What an odd man, and an odder farewell, Daniel thought as he watched the man leave. He waited a moment, to ensure that he would not encounter the man as he made his own exit, then he left for home.
Chapter 18
The following night, Daniel donned his Specter mask and went to the theater to rehearse for a performance the following night.
The instant he arrived, he found himself wishing that he had chosen to skip the rehearsal. He had barely gotten the backstage door closed behind him before he heard a shrill, angry voice.
“Where is she?” Daniel heard Allison shriek.
Daniel groaned softly, and briefly considered sneaking back outside and disappearing before anyone noticed him. Then, he heard Rose’s voice, gentle but strained.
“Now, now,” Rose said. “I am sure that there is an explanation for this.”
“An explanation, indeed,” Allison said, stomping her foot. “That meddling wench is the explanation.”
Daniel put on a big, kind smile and stepped toward the diva actress.
“Come now, Miss Beets,” he said calmly. “What is this all about?”