I'm sorry,” she said, softly. “Do the others know?”
“Not the whole story,” he ran his hand over his face. “I don't know what's come over me, my apologies.”
“You don't know what's come over you?” Lola chuckled. “I'm the one sitting here not controlling my emotions, which I have been trained to do.”
“I've never told anyone the whole story,” Morgan smiled at her. “Perhaps we're kindred spirits.”
“Ha,” Lola answered. “Perhaps we are just tired. We should get back to the house, to see if they need help.”
“He looked pretty bad,” Morgan said, as they walked towards the house.
“Aye,” Lola said. “He broke his nose, I think, which he'll lament.”
“That's our Captain Halloway,” Morgan said. “Always concerned about his looks. I keep telling him to focus on the sea or something.”
“The sea,” Lola took a deep breath. “Which he's going to have to realize he shouldn't go back to. It's getting too bad, I think. My husband looked much calmer than he used to, so he's clearly dealt with it many times.”
“Aye,” Morgan said. “It's...frequent He's not...” he cleared his throat. “Sorry, this is delicate. He's not likely to survive that, is he? Long term?”
“No,” Lola said. “He's not. So it's important that he spend time with his family now, and I think he'll start to realize that.”
“If we can sort this mess out.”
“If we can sort this mess out,” she echoed, as they let themselves back into the grand manor. Annabelle was just coming down the stairs, and Lola winced as she saw her beautiful ball gown was covered in blood. “Oh my.”
“It's alright,” Annabelle looked exhausted. “He's alright; he just fell on me on the way up. I was going to come get you, he was asking for you.”
“For me?” Lola asked. “Was one ball gown not enough for him to ruin?”
Annabelle cracked a smile.
“Well, he's done your husband's outfit in as well. I think he's quite proud of it, really.”
“So he's alright, then?” Lola asked. Annabelle sighed.
“He's awake,” she said. “And we're grateful for that.”
“I'll go right up then,” Lola said, turning to Morgan. “Thank you for the talk.”
“Anytime, Miss Montclair,” he gave her a mock bow and headed into the parlor. Lola turned to Annabelle, to find her staring at her.
“What?” she asked, surprised.
“That was odd,” Annabelle said, giving her a strange look. “What were you two talking about?”
“Why?” Lola asked. “We were just talking. He seems kind.”
“Mm,” Annabelle said, and Lola rolled her eyes.
“You of all people should not be bothered by my unconventional friendships.”
“I'm not,” Annabelle said, although she clearly had other thoughts. “Go on up. It will be good timing because Shauna would like to get Gwendolyn to bed.”
“Right,” Lola took the stairs carefully, not wanting to trip over her gown. She rounded the grand staircase, and pushed open the door to the bedroom to the left of the master. It was odd that he wasn't in the master bedroom, in his own house, another reminder of what a mess they were all in.
Aaron was on top of the covers, his clothes still blood soaked and his face only half awake. Shauna was sitting on the bed, holding his hands, and speaking softly. When Lola knocked on the door, she turned.
“Oh, wonderful,” she said. “Can you stay with him a moment? I'm just going to get Gwendolyn ready for bed and then I'll be back.”
“Certainly,” Lola said, as she advanced forward. “Do you want to bring Gwendolyn in here?”
“Not right now,” Shauna patted her husband's hand. “Don't tire Lola out. Don't move, in fact.”
“Mm,” he managed, as Lola sat at the edge of the bed, taking Shauna's spot. She leaned against the bed post, and they fell into silence for a few moments. Lola and Aaron had always needed very few words. They chose to use many most of the time, but every once in awhile, she enjoyed their communication in just brief looks and raised eyebrows. Finally, she nudged his leg.
“What a mess,” she said, echoing Morgan's words. He raised an eyebrow, and moved to prop himself up on his elbows. “No, don't,” she warned him. “You can talk to me from there.”
“How badly?” his voice was sore, no doubt from vomiting half his meals.
“How badly did we make a mess?” she asked. “I don't know. We tried to cover your face, but the families know. And it's possible some of the nobles do.”
“Ugh,” he closed his eyes. “I have to get back to sea, Lola. It is too dangerous for me to be here. I should have never come.”
“If you want my opinion,” she said. “And I'm not sure that you do...I don't think there should be a sea life for you anymore.”
His eyes flickered, and she held up her hand.
“Listen to me,” she said. “Wesley loves you, the crew loves you. However, you can't captain a ship if you're limp on the deck. I know you want to be out there....but there's a home for you here, too.”
“I can't...”
“You can,” she said. “I'm the only one who is going to be blunt with you. If you had died tonight, Aaron, and you know that you could have, would you be happy with the amount of time you've spent with Shauna and Gwendolyn?”
He looked away and she knew she was striking a cord.
“Let us protect you,” she said, softly. “Like you protected everyone else.”
He cleared his throat.
“Do you have another dramatic plan for me?” he asked. “Because faking my own death was a show stopper.”
“Let me think,” she squeezed his hand. “I'll come up with something to keep you home, in the country, and enjoying the rest of your life.”
“Gilles...”
“I'll come up with something for that too,” she said. “How dare he march in and try to take something he had no claim too.”
“And Tannoy?”
“Oy, well, he has a different case,” Lola answered. “I can focus on Gilles because I think I can fix that scenario.”
“Lola,” Aaron warned her. “Don't do anything to compromise....”
“Can you just rest?” she asked him. “How's your nose?”
He put his hand up to his bruised face, which made him wince and distracted him.
“Is it terrible?”
“You're horribly scared for the rest of your life,” she rolled her eyes. “It will heal, same as every sailor who’s ever broken his nose. Worry about that, hmm?”
“Lola,” Aaron grabbed her hand. “If something happens to me, you will take care of them?”
“Of course,” she said. “But nothing is going to happen to you, so don't worry.”
“You don't know that,” he said. “It could be tomorrow, it could be tonight. Ah,” he shifted and she could see pain cross his face.
“What is it?”
“Trauma,” he said, dismissing it. “But it could not be next time.”
“Shauna and Gwendolyn will be taken care of,” she said, and they fell into silence again. “I had a good talk with Morgan Ouiseau just now.”
“Oh?” he said, surprised. “About what?”
“About life,” she shrugged. “He's got quite a story.”
“He's not been open about most of it,” Aaron replied. “But I knew there was a tragedy, and I knew there was grief.”
“There is,” Lola said. “But perhaps I'll let him share that with you when you are well. Your job for now is to recover, alright?”
“My ship...”
“Is that not what your first mate is for?” she asked. “He will take care of it. And if it comes that you are off so long that they need...to find other ways to survive, they will.”
His eyes widened.
“Lola!”
“Aaron, you can't keep doing this!” she said, frustrating. “You know that I love you with all of my heart. You are like my brother, and you have always been kind and generous. But the one thing that you have never done is accept your reality. The sea was not supposed to be life for you forever, do you not remember? The discussion was to have fun while you could, while all was well.”
He looked away, and she could see that she had struck a nerve.
“And what about you, Miss Lola?” he asked, staring at the wall. “You promised you'd never give up the stage, not for anyone.”
“I'm not,” she protested.
“Have you done as many shows?” he asked. “This year versus the year you married Wesley?”
“No...but...”
“But what?” he asked. “You never cared what people thought of you, and now, you do.”
She went quiet, picking at the blanket in front of her.
“What do you think I'm going to do?” she asked. He always knew when she was planning something drastic, sometimes before she even knew herself.
“I don't know,” he admitted. “But if I agree to take care of myself, you have to do so as well. Do the best thing for you, Miss Lola.”
“Sometimes the best thing is not the easiest thing,” she responded.
“I know,” he said, letting out a long breath. “Go on, I need some sleep.”
“You want me to leave you alone?” she asked in surprise. Aaron was one of the only people on earth she knew who didn't need any personal space. He constantly preferred to be in the company of others, although he could sometimes be selective as to who that someone was. “Are you going to throw yourself out a window?”
“No,” he wiggled his eyebrows at her and she laughed. “I'd just rather have some time to think about this. I know that you're right, Miss Lola, but it's a hard reality to accept. Especially when you consider I can't exactly come home and do whatever I wish. I'd have to hide in the country, and everyone would have to come to me. And that is if my identity isn't blown or my cousin does not kill us all.”
“Are you really that afraid of Gilles?” she asked.
“Only when I'm not here to defend my family,” he answered.
“All the more reason to stay home,” she replied, as she pulled her long legs off the bed. “Have you seen my husband, by the way?”
“Likely trying to get my blood off of him,” Aaron answered. “I apologized to him when I realized what had happened...”
“He's probably more upset about his clothes being ruined than anything,” Lola said, trying to reassure him. “I'll speak to him.”
“Lola,” Aaron called to her, just before she reached the door. “Don't give up your title because you don't think you've earned it.”
Her blood ran cold.
“That's not why I'd do it,” she said.
“But it is what you're going to do?” he asked, and she shivered. How did he always know?
“I don't know,” she admitted. “I really don't.”
“Don't leave me out of it,” he said. “We can talk about it.”
“Of course,” she said, with a tight smile. “We can talk about anything.”
She left him then, her heart hammering in her chest. She hadn't known that was what was running through her head, until he said it. Now that it was out in the open, she knew there was no going back.