8:20 am – The Ballantyne

I was summoned to Levi's office first thing this morning. He was not even there when I arrived—he had, however, asked that I be given cheese and biscuits to eat while I waited. This was quite the treat since my usual breakfast consists of bland porridge and, if I am incredibly lucky, some sugar. I felt like a little queen sitting at Levi's desk stuffing myself with warm rolls and sharp cheddar.

When he did arrive it was clear he was considerably distracted. He didn't speak to me right away; instead, he focused his attention on some paperwork that was clearly overdue for the theater. I munched on the food and watched as he signed form after form, barely even bothering to skim their contents before doing so.

"Careful or you may sign away your soul." I teased.

He glanced up at me. "Would be rather hard since I don't have one."

I tore off another bite of biscuit and leaned back in the winged armchair. "May I ask why it is you've brought me here."

He held up a finger and signed two more formed before he walked to his office door and handed them to a waiting Chester. "Tell Lucius that I'm sorry for the delay on the records. It won't happen again." He said to the neph before he walked back into his office and shut the door behind himself.

I sat up and set what was left of the roll onto the tray in front of me, "Records? Like our records?" I said through a mouthful of crums.

He nodded and circled his desk before taking the seat on the other side from myself. "I've been preoccupied and I forgot to sign them and send them to him. He'll be cross if they are too terribly late."

I nodded and popped another sliver of cheese into my mouth. I nearly moaned from the pleasure of it. Levi noticed and smiled to himself, "Happy with your breakfast?"

"So very happy, thank you."

This earned me another smile. "I thought you might like that. It's a change from your regular meal." He eyed the food but didn't move to eat any of it. 

I tapped the top of his desk with my fingernails, index to pinky finger and back in a quick rhythm. "So why am I here?"

He wrinkled his nose, annoyed. "How impatient of you."

"It is all very mysterious," I told him. "My being summoned here at such an odd hour, the breakfast, the fact that you haven't combed your hair..." I made a show of running my gaze across his appearance. "What have you been up to my friend?"

His lips once again curled into the shadow of a smile. "I have a gift for you, one that you will have to be patient to use."

"Oh?" I clapped my hands together, "What is it?"

"You see, in the stack of papers I just sent to Lucius is my signed will."

I sat back in my seat disappointed. "A will?" I'd hoped for a new dress or an invitation to some mysterious party. To my credit, I schooled my face into one of pleasant interest and said, "Do you plan on dying?"

He smirked at my expression but did not answer my question. "In my will I bequeath the Ballantyne and what remains of the rent for the building, to Chester Astaroth."

"Chester? Chester Astaroth? Of all the sorry—"

"It is my hope that Lucius will not find this document until after I am gone, at which point it will be legally too late for him to do anything. The theater will go to the son of Astaroth."

"And this is my gift?" I said incredulously. "You would hand my care over to the son of sloth? Chester will not protect me against Lucius. We will be lucky if he doesn't accidentally get himself killed, the poor fool—"

"Rosalie Gressil." Levi swiped a biscuit from the plate and went to work slicing it open and spreading jam across the middle of one half. "Rosie," he said, lifting the food to his mouth, "if you would only be silent for five minutes I could tell you everything."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Fine. Speak."

He waited, chewed. Finally, when I thought I might burst if I didn't speak again, he leaned across the desk and placed a small cream envelope in front of me. "Inside," he said, "You will find nearly half of the money I possess, a new birth certificate and a ticket to the United States."

I placed my palm on the letter, but did not take it from off the desk. I could barely hear myself speak over the sudden rushing in my ears. "Why?"

"In a few days, I will be gone and you may find yourself in need of protection. This is the last that I give you. I can do no more for you than this."

I looked down at the envelope, my freedom. "You want me to flee the country?"

He eyed the papers beneath my hand and said softly, "I want Miss Adeline Foster of Yorkshire to flee the country."

"And go where?" I said softly, 

"Wherever you please as long as you get out of Europe."

"Lucius can find me—he'll just track me down." I swallowed and pulled my hand away, leaving the gift on the desk unaccepted. "If I run he will kill me."

"With the money in that envelope, you should be able to live, undetected, for quite some time. If you lay low, stay near churches and keep an ear out for trouble, you should be able to manage. You would not have to disappear forever Rosie, only until you have been forgotten. In time, Gressil will have another child and your usefulness will fade. If you leave London, go to a new place where no one knows you, you could make a life for yourself. No one ever need know of your past or of your reputation. You wouldn't have to sell yourself, sell your body, to survive. You could be whoever you wanted to be—surely you want that?"

I did want that.I remember the first time I was made to be with a man, made to work for my father. Even years of preparation hadn't prepared me for what that had been like, for what it had been like to glimpse my future. This was my life and would always be my life. I would be a whore until Lucius or my father grew tired of me and I was killed. I was very lucky, perhaps, I might one day run a brothel and force other ladies to do the same degrading acts. But that was as far as my dreams could bare to stretch. 

This. This ticket away, it was everything I'd never hoped to dream for. It was what I'd been too afraid, too ashamed, to pray for. I wasn't sure I even had the guts to take it. I looked to Levi, my only friend in this desolate world. "But what of you?"

"I will be fine." He smiled, but it didn't seem to reach his eyes. "Don't trouble yourself with me."

"May I ask what it is you are planning?"

"I'm not planning anything, Rosie. I am only preparing myself for what is coming."

Ominous words. The words of a demon who had lived through centuries, eons, and seen so many things he could not even bring himself to speak of. He was looking at me as if all those years had brought him to this moment, this event, whatever it was. My voice was scarcely a whisper as I said, "And what is coming?"

He smiled, sadly. "Just promise you'll go to America?"

"I don't understand—"

"You don't need to. Just promise me, Rosie."

There was a loud knock at the door and I jerked upright and twisted in my seat to face the door, knocking what was left of the plate of biscuits and cheese on the floor. Levi stood up and walked to the door, throwing me a sidelong glance as he did. 

This was not an expected visitor. He fashioned a smile that was so poised he himself might have been an actor, and then he opened the door. The curve of his lips only faltered slightly as he took in Satan himself.

Levi did not even blink in surprise, he only smiled and opened the door wider, an invitation. "Lucius, to what do I owe the pleasure?" 

The devil's malicious eyes found me sitting in the office and he sneered. "I am making a house call and thought you might like to come along." He spoke to Levi, but he was still looking at me, those green eyes ranking across my body like fingers of ice.

Levi nodded. "Yes, I was just finishing up here." He gestured to where I sat frozen in front of his desk.

Lucius stepped into the room. "And what were you two discussing?"

Levi followed him inside. "I was just congratulating the daughter of Gressil on how well she's done since her arrival in London. She's nearly helped double the theaters income and she's already tripled our average—"

"Is that right?" Lucius's hands skimmed over my shoulder, up my neck and gently caressed the angle of my jaw before he ran his fingertips along the shape of my lips. My instinct was to pull away, to put distance between the snake and myself, but I held firm. 

"Yes, sir." Two words never took more effort to speak. 

"How impressive of you." He lowered his hand to my shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze. "I'm not at all surprised. You are such a lovely girl. I'm sure you do well with the gentlemen."

Levi spoke up from near the door. "Rosalie was just leaving."

"Oh, how very disappointing. I might have found a way to congratulate you myself." The very thought of what he might be trying to imply made my skin crawl. "Or maybe I could get a taste of the wonderful services you provide, eh?" 

My gut clenched and I worried I might vomit. I forced myself to move slowly as I stood up and turned to leave. Just as I was about to move past Lucius, I remembered my gift from Levi. My lifeline, my freedom. I turned quickly and grabbed it from the desk. I began tucking it into the bodice of my gown when Lucius caught hold of my wrist. "Now, what do we have here?"

I hesitated but Levi did not. "It's her bonus—just a small compensation for all the work she's done."

I had enough sense to nodded in agreement. Lucius did not unhand me right away; instead, his gaze went to my dress where my neckline was askew. He was lewd, but I was used to such attention.

He is just another man. He is just another man. Treat him like he is just another man.

I straighten and flashed him my sweetest smile. "Like what you see?"

He smiled back and relinquished his hold on me. I pulled the envelope away and stuffed it into the front of my dress, giving him a show for good measure. I was supposed to be a high priced whore, after all. I could play the part for a few more days if that is what Levi required of me. 

Without saying another word I turned on my heels and walked past him. I caught Levi's eyes as I headed out the door and although neither of us could speak, I think we both knew that I would do as he'd asked.