Free The Seer's Choice: A Novella of the Golden City by J. Kathleen Cheney

At least he seemed to know it was childish.
    “Obviously, it was a foolish choice,” he said. “I am sorry.”
    He sounded like he meant that apology. And what right did she have to be angry with him, after all? It wasn’t as if she’d asked him and he’d lied. Even though she knew he had a father, she still thought of him as an orphan. “ I’m sorry,” she offered. “I made a fool of myself over the Ferreira brothers and I didn’t want anyone to know.”
    The captain reached down and took one of her hands in his own. “We all make fools of ourselves from time to time. Don’t worry. Come on.”
    Her bag in his other hand, he drew her toward the door. He let go of her hand to ring the bell. “It should just be a moment.”
    In a surprisingly short time, the back door opened enough for a footman to peer out at them. “Captain Pinheiro?”
    “Yes, Luís. I’ve brought Miss Jardim here because I need to hide her somewhere safe.”
    The footman blinked a couple of times as if thinking that over, and then opened the door wide enough for them to come inside. “I’ll go fetch Cardenas.”
    Genoveva hated that the whole household was going to be woken because of her, but she held her tongue. It would be up to the butler to decide what was appropriate. The captain gestured for her to sit at the servant’s table in the kitchen where a single electric light burned brightly enough to illuminate the whole room. It was a sign of the changes wrought in the Golden City over the last six months. The electric company had rushed to provide its services to the wealthy households along the Street of Flowers.
    Genoveva sat on one of the benches at the well-worn table, very conscious of how the bright light must be highlighting her tired eyes, hastily pinned up hair, and straining waistband—without her corset, the skirt was tight around the waist. Captain Pinheiro sat down a couple of feet from her, his features showing his worry.
    “What do I do now?” she asked.
    He looked at her, a narrow line between his thick brows. “I’d rather you stay here tomorrow morning, at least until I can discuss what happened with Inspector Gaspar. I can’t force you to stay, but very few people know of my connection to the Ferreira family. I can’t imagine that he’d come here looking for you. They have a telephone here though, so if anything happens, they can call my office immediately.”
    “You want me to sit and wait?”
    “Yes,” he said softly. “I know that’s a great deal to ask of you, particularly since you’re the one being hunted. But it would be simpler for the rest of us.”
    Genoveva covered her face with her hands. What had she done to deserve this complication to her life? She’d almost felt like she had her world under control. After a moment, she gathered her nerve and lifted her head. “I can do that.”
    “I will place a call from the office to keep you apprised of what we’re doing.”
    She nodded. If it would make things easier on the captain, she would stay put.
    A large woman wearing a faded yellow dressing gown over her nightclothes came down the stair. “Mr. Rafael, what are you doing here at this hour?”
    Genoveva rose as Captain Pinheiro told the cook, Mrs. Cardoza, what she needed. “Mrs. Cardoza,” she said, “I’m sorry to be a bother to the household, but . . .”
    The woman waved her hands. “Our lady told us to keep a room ready for you, Miss Jardim. It’s no trouble.”
    “Thank you, Mrs. Cardoza,” the captain said. “I don’t think this man will look for her here , so it might be best to leave her here for a few days.”
    The cook smiled at him. “We’ll look after her, Mr. Rafael. Come, miss, you look like you’ve had a difficult day. We’ll put you up in one of the guest rooms.”
    Genoveva picked up her bag and found herself being propelled upstairs. She caught a last glimpse of the captain talking to the footman who’d opened the door, and then she was swept along the