Nothing, except that he knew he held one in his arms and the safest thing had been to bring her to the Barnums’ apartment in the museum. But he couldn’t escape the feeling that he was depositing her inside a cage and there was nothing to be done about it.
Now she was there in Charity Barnum’s threadbare parlor, and he stood outside holding the tray, listening to the grief in her voice. As he listened, the dream inside him died a little, for anyone who loved her dead husband so much had surely not come all that way just to see Levi Lyman again.
Hope would not leave him entirely, for hope is a clinging, tenacious thing, almost impossible to dislodge. She might not have traveled all that way for him, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t convince her of his value.
First, though, he had to keep her safe from Barnum. This couldn’t be like Joice Heth again. Levi wouldn’t let it be like that again.
Levi straightened and went into the room with his face carefully neutral. He was a showman, after all. In that he and Barnum were two pod-peas.
Amelia and Caroline were snuggled on the sofa like puzzle pieces finally united. Charity gazed at Levi as he entered, and he saw so many things in her eyes—bewilderment, disbelief, mild embarrassment. She had the red-nosed wet look of someone who would like to cry but is determinedly squashing that impulse.
The atmosphere seemed thick with unsaid words, and it was Levi’s impression that most of those words were Charity’s. He let a smile turn up his mouth in hopes that it would make the others smile, too.
He was a performer, playing his part. It was his performance that had sold Joice Heth to the world. For the first time that thought heartened him. Barnum would never be able to sell a mermaid to the public without Levi. That meant Levi would always be with Amelia, making sure Barnum treated her well.
And he’d always be with Amelia. That was a reward in itself.
“How are you feeling now? The cook sent this for you,” he said, presenting the tray with a flourish.
Caroline wriggled away from Amelia so the mermaid could take the tray. Amelia set it in her lap and wrinkled her nose at the dish.
Levi laughed at her expression, and all the ladies looked at him in surprise, even little Helen. His laugh cut through the miasma of unspoken things, made it dissipate. Caroline laughed, too—the laughter of a child who doesn’t know why she’s doing it, only that the grown-ups are and she wants to be a part of it, too.
“I don’t like beef tea, either,” Levi confided to Amelia. “Caroline, do you think you could go to the kitchen and have a pot of regular tea made up?”
He cut his eyes to Charity, who nodded.
“And bring lots of sugar,” he added, winking at Amelia.
She gave him a startled look, though he didn’t know if it was because she was surprised he remembered or just because he’d winked at her.
“And can we have some bread and butter also?” Caroline asked, abandoning her new friend for the delights of ordering tea just like a grown-up.
When Caroline left, Levi asked again, “And how are you feeling now, Mrs. Douglas?”
She stared at him with those eyes, those very straightforward eyes, and said, “That is not what you wish to know, Mr. Lyman. You wish to know why I am here after I was so rude about your offer.”
Charity shifted, her petticoats rustling. She was clearly uncomfortable with this degree of frankness.
Levi, though, was already accustomed to the mermaid’s ways. It felt natural to meet her honesty with his own.
“Yes, I wondered that.”
Amelia took a deep breath, and Levi felt she stood on some great precipice. He wished he could tell her that he was there beside her and that he wouldn’t let her fall.
“I wish to accept Mr. Barnum’s offer of employment. And I have some terms of my own as well,” she said.
Of course this was why she came. She wanted something, and Barnum could give it to her. Levi remembered the simple cottage in Maine, the handmade furnishings, the threadbare dress she wore. She needed money. Well, he would make certain that she got it. This would not be like Joice Heth again.
Perhaps if he repeated it to himself enough times it would be true—not like Joice Heth, not like Joice Heth. Barnum wasn’t going to take Amelia and make her perform even if she didn’t want to. He wasn’t going to cheat her of money for his own benefit. Levi would be there to make sure of it. Though the person who needed to hear that this would not be like Joice Heth was Barnum. Barnum’s memory could be dangerously short.
“Should I speak directly to Mr. Barnum, or do you represent him?” the mermaid asked.
Levi did not think it was a good idea to bring Barnum in at this stage. He might scare Amelia off. Not that Barnum wasn’t any good at negotiating deals—he was, exceptionally so—but Levi didn’t think Barnum’s hard tactics would work in this case.
“Mr. Barnum intended for me to represent him all along,” Levi said easily. “And I’m certain we can come to terms that suit everyone. There’s just one small matter we need to resolve before any performance.”
Amelia understood him immediately. “I have to show you that I really am a mermaid.”
Charity gave a little gasp, and Levi and Amelia both turned toward her. Levi had half forgotten Barnum’s wife was in the room. The world had narrowed to just him and Amelia.
Charity’s face reddened. “Surely you don’t believe such nonsense, Levi! It’s one thing for this woman to tell stories to Caroline, but you should know better. You’re a grown man.” She turned to Amelia. “And you, Mrs. Douglas—if I had any idea that you were planning to deceive my husband in such a way, I would not have had you in my parlor.”
“It’s not deception, Mrs. Barnum,” Amelia said. “And I can prove it.”
Levi knew it had cost Charity something to say those words, especially when she was usually withdrawn in company. He also knew that anything she said was less about Amelia than it was about Barnum. Charity endured more than anyone, scraping by while Barnum pursued fame, fortune, and the general fanfare of his name. Barnum also wasn’t averse to mocking Charity when with others. It was likely the best thing for her that Barnum wasn’t often in the family apartment.
“It’s not a humbug, Charity,” Levi said, but gently. He didn’t want to dismiss her as he’d seen Barnum do so often.
“Of course it is! It’s just another one of Taylor’s ridiculous schemes, and this woman is a part of it. There are no such things as mermaids,” Charity snapped.
Amelia only shook her head and said, “I’m sorry you think so.”
Levi stood. “Perhaps we should discuss this elsewhere. You shouldn’t get so excited in your condition, Charity.”
“Sit down, Levi Lyman,” Charity said. “I know better than you what I can and can’t do in my condition. It’s not appropriate for you to take this woman somewhere else after placing her in my care. Besides, if she’s here to speak to Taylor, then there is no better place than his own parlor.”
Levi could have pointed out that these statements clearly contradicted her earlier feelings, but he sensed that Charity was in uncharted waters. She knew very well that Barnum was a regular old confidence man and that he recruited folks to perpetuate his legends.
But Amelia was something else, something different. Even in the conviction of disbelief Charity could sense that, Levi was certain. He’d felt it himself when first in Amelia’s presence.