Prohibition

Chapter 36

Raymond was dressing and contemplating his next move when the telephone rang. "Hello?" he said, lifting the receiver to his ear.

"Hello, Raymond," Helen's voice said from the other end of the line. "Are you busy?"

"Not really. What do you need?"

"Can you come over in, oh, an hour or two?" Helen asked. "I have something I need to ask you."

"Okay." Slightly puzzled, Raymond said goodbye and hung up the telephone. What did Helen need to ask him that could not be said over the telephone? Was she in some sort of trouble?

An hour later, he arrived at Helen's house. A maid ushered him into the drawing room where Helen was waiting for him.

"Raymond," she greeted him, smiling. "It's so good to see you again. It seems like forever since we last saw each other."

"Yes." Raymond smiled wanly. "New Years', wasn't it?"

"Yes." Helen twisted her fingers together. "You and Evelyn seemed to be getting along very well then."

"Not anymore." Raymond dropped into a chair by the drawing room fireplace. "What did you want to ask me?"

Sitting down beside him, Helen produced a creamy square of paper from the pocket of her dress. "Have you gotten one of these?"

Raymond stared blankly at the piece of paper. "I have no idea what that is."

"I didn't think you would." Helen handed it to him. "The Collins are having a huge charity ball a week from now—"

"And this is an invitation to it." Raymond stared down at the card, wondering why his chest suddenly ached. Surely, he couldn't be hurt that Evelyn hadn't invited him. Could he really have thought she would, after everything that had happened?

Helen studied Raymond's face. "You didn't get one?"

"Why would I?" Raymond handed the card back to her, wishing desperately that he could throw it into the fire. "We haven't spoken in weeks."

"I know," Helen said quietly. "She told me when I was helping her plan the guest list."

"I see." Raymond fell silent for a moment, staring broodingly into the fire. So, she had told Helen, had she? Again—what did he expect? Anything and everything Evelyn said about him, he certainly deserved. Still...

"Was that your question?" he asked finally.

"No." Helen leaned forward in her chair, her eyes twinkling. "This is my question: would you like to go to the party?"

"What?"

Helen grinned. "We're all allowed to bring a date. Roy will be out of town on business the day of the party. So, I thought, why not take you instead?"

"Thank you, but no." Raymond shook his head. "I won't intrude on Evelyn like that."

"Why?" Helen asked. "You want her back, don't you?"

"Yes, but—"

"But what?" Helen cut him off. "You weren't above chasing her and chasing her a few months ago. Yes," she said, catching the surprised look on Raymond's face, "she told me about that too."

"What didn't she tell you," Raymond muttered.

"Not much. Why won't you go after her?" Helen persisted. "Don't you want her to be happy?"

"I'm not arrogant enough to think she can't be happy without me," Raymond said. "And I won't pursue her because I don't deserve her. Before...I was wrong in what I did. Maybe I 'won' in the end, but I should never have pushed and pushed her like that. I see that now—because of her. She softened me," he said, a slight smile playing around the corners of his mouth. "Maybe if she hadn't, I would still be willing to pursue her now. But I won't. I want nothing more than for her to be happy, but I can't give her that. Going to her now would only be selfish. I hurt her...and I must live with the consequences."

"I see." Helen stared up at him, a strange look in her eyes.

"Do you, though?" Raymond pressed. "Do you really? I get the feeling that you don't."

"I think every woman wants to be pursued by the man she...cares about," Helen said. "And I think you're making a mistake."

"Don't you see—that's why I won't pursue her!" Raymond burst out. "I can't. She cared about me. She trusted me. She told me things, about Charlie, about her...She opened her heart to me, and I betrayed her. I won't open that would again. We're finished."

"Do you think that wound is closed?" Helen snapped. "Do you think she's perfectly fine, now that you're gone?"

"No," Raymond admitted. "But I can't change that. I'd only make things worse."

"You—" Helen started, but Raymond held up his hand. "No, Helen," he said with finality. "I'm not going to the party, and I'm not going to pursue Evelyn. Thank you for the invitation. I'm sorry I couldn't give you a different answer."

"Charlie will be there."

Raymond froze in the act of rising from his chair. "What?"

"Her father insisted on inviting the Ascotts. Mr. Ascott has connections all across the globe, apparently, and Mr. Collins needs to make use of them. So, they're coming to the party—where Evelyn will be forced to play hostess to them all night long, so that Mr. Ascott will help her father."

Raymond squeezed his eyes shut, his breath coming in short gasps. How could this be—his world was tumbling to the ground once again? He had thought his mind was made up! He had convinced himself to move on and leave Evelyn alone. He was supposed to never go near her again! Now...oh god, what was he supposed to do now?

"That damn scandal," he growled, his hands clenching into fists. "That goddamn fucking scandal..." Why had he done nothing to stop it? He was a law enforcement officer—surely, he could've forced the newspapers to stop printing news of Mr. Collins' scandal. He should've known it would affect Evelyn. He should've thought ahead. He should've done something—anything. But how could he have anticipated this would happen? He had meant to stay away, he really had. But how could he leave Evelyn to the mercy of Charlie? Oh god, what he would do her!

"Raymond?" Helen prompted. Slowly, Raymond opened his eyes. "I'll go," he said. In his ears, his voice sounded strange—so detached, so numb.

"Good." Helen smiled. "I know Evelyn will appreciate it."

"No, I don't think she will. But I'd rather make her angry one more time than leave her alone with Charlie."

"I'd rather you did too." Helen stood and handed Raymond the invitation. "Here. All the details are on here."

"Thank you." Raymond accepted the invitation. "I'll see you then."

"Okay." Helen walked with him to the front door. "I'm glad you decided to come," she said, just before Raymond left the house. "I think you're making the right decision."

Raymond smiled. "We'll see." Then he left. His heart was thumping furiously, and his whole body tingled—and not just from the sudden change from warmth to cold. He was going to see Evelyn again! Of course, he couldn't—wouldn't—be with her, but he could see her—and, maybe, that would be enough. If he could stop Charlie from getting to her, from hurting her further, it would be. Never in his life, had Raymond been content with enough. Always, he had wanted more—and, usually, he had gotten it. Now, enough was all he had. And he would have to content with it.