Levi looked shocked. “You’re no animal, Amelia. Barnum was wrong.”
“I know I’m not,” she said. “It’s not that my feelings are hurt over it. But he was correct in that people would—and do—view me that way. That’s why you haven’t seen those ‘church ladies,’ as you call them. They’re not worried about the corruption of children. They just think I’m a clever fish who can do tricks.”
He frowned, obviously unhappy with her characterization of herself, but he didn’t pursue it. “I’m going to talk to Barnum about those guards of his. They’re perfectly fine at thumping heads, but they clearly can’t see trouble when it’s right in front of them. Describe this man to me and I will stay all day tomorrow. When I see him, I’ll have the guards remove him under some pretext.”
“Perhaps he won’t return tomorrow,” Amelia said, though without conviction. The staring man didn’t seem the type to go away without being told to do so.
Levi didn’t bother to contradict her.
Amelia did her best to be cheerful at dinner, but Charity glanced at her several times with a little frown and Amelia knew she hadn’t succeeded. Barnum’s wife waited until Caroline had left the table—attendance at the museum had tripled since Amelia’s arrival, which meant Charity was finally able to hire a nanny to help with the children—and then asked Amelia what was wrong.
“There was a man at the museum today. He was behaving in a very strange manner,” Amelia said carefully. She didn’t want Charity to worry, but she didn’t want Barnum to dismiss her concerns.
“What do you mean by ‘strange’?” Charity asked.
“He kept returning throughout the day, after every one of my resting periods,” Amelia said.
Barnum, who’d been perusing the evening papers in search of mentions of the museum, looked up at that. “Was he coming back into the saloon from the egress? I put those signs in the museum so that wouldn’t happen.”
He referred to the large signs posted near the exit of the last few saloons that read This way to the Egress. Barnum knew most folk didn’t know the meaning of the word and thought they were being led to a wonderful new exhibit. Instead they found themselves outside the museum with the new knowledge that egress meant exit.
Amelia shook her head. “No, he was following in with the first crowd every time the exhibit reopened. Then he would stand there for the duration until the doors closed.”
“He must have been paying the entrance fee every time he reentered,” Barnum said. He didn’t seem remotely concerned about the man’s behavior. If anything, he appeared pleased that one person would pay the ticket fee repeatedly.
“Barnum, why didn’t your guards notice this fellow?” Levi asked. “I thought you wanted them there to keep Amelia safe.”
Barnum appeared discomfited. “Of course. That is why I hired them. But it doesn’t appear that her safety was in danger. He didn’t approach the glass or threaten you in any way, correct?”
“No,” Amelia said. “I don’t think his behavior could be considered normal, though. His stare was quite uncomfortable.”
Barnum waved that away. “I can’t have a paying customer removed because he made you uncomfortable.”
The unsaid phrase was especially not one who is willing to pay for the privilege multiple times.
“Taylor,” Charity said with a glance at Amelia. “The man might be disturbed. If you won’t have him removed, then at least you might warn the guards about him.”
“Warn them about what?” Barnum said. “That he’s staring too long at the mermaid?”
Amelia had been afraid of this: that Barnum wouldn’t take her seriously. He wouldn’t understand unless he saw the man’s eyes. His eyes were burning.
“I’m going to speak to the guards tomorrow,” Levi said, and said it in a way that brooked no further discussion.
“Be careful,” Barnum said. “I don’t want you drawing the attention of any of the crowd. Someone might remember you as Dr. Griffin.”
“There’s no worry about that,” Levi said. “We’ve said Dr. Griffin has returned to London, and anyway everyone is too busy looking at Amelia to care about me.”
“Just be cautious,” Barnum said. “Perhaps I should be the one to have a word with the guards. What did you say this man looked like?”
Amelia described the staring man (the burning man), though it was clear that Barnum was more concerned that someone might discover Levi was Dr. Griffin than about any danger the man might present to her.
“Taylor, perhaps Amelia should stay with us again,” Charity said. “I don’t like the idea of her alone at the hotel, especially now that Levi isn’t there any longer.”
“She’s got to stay there!” Barnum said. “Every day the reporters wait to see her, and then I have a chance to talk about the museum.”
Barnum had taken to walking Amelia from the hotel to the museum every morning. There were many fewer reporters now than there were three weeks ago; perhaps the newspapers no longer saw the value of a Barnum quote.
In any case, while the mermaid was still popular among the public, her attraction was dwindling for the reporters. There were only so many times one could describe her clothes, Amelia reflected, and since she would not talk, they had nothing else to write about.
Every day one or two out-of-town reporters appeared, but their remits were not indefinite. They stayed for a day or two, observed the exhibit, talked with the determined few who stuck it out in the hotel, and then left for their hometowns.
Despite the increased attendance at the museum, Barnum clearly still felt there was some advertising value in her staying at the hotel. If it meant one more person would buy a ticket who wouldn’t otherwise, then it would be worth it to him.
Levi walked Amelia back to the hotel that evening, as he always did. They didn’t talk, for they couldn’t risk anyone possibly seeing her speak in public, and Levi couldn’t come up to her room as he had done when he played Dr. Griffin. One of Barnum’s guards would meet her outside the hotel and escort her upstairs.
As Amelia walked, her arm tucked into Levi’s, she felt like someone’s gaze was scorching the back of her neck. She looked over her shoulder, expecting to see the staring (burning) man, or perhaps even her long-lost traveling preacher.
There were still folk about, but not as many as during the day, and they all seemed engaged in their own business. No one waited and watched.
Now you’re being fanciful, Amelia thought. Why would the man wait for her outside the museum?
Why, though, would he return hour after hour to watch her swim around the tank? Was he a religious zealot, as Levi suspected, or was he just so fascinated with her mermaid self that he would pay any amount to see her again and again?
Neither one was a comfortable choice, Amelia thought. They each meant a kind of obsession, and obsessions could be dangerous.
She leaned closer to Levi. He was warm, and she felt so very, very cold.
That night she pulled the curtains of her room a little tighter, letting not a sliver of light in. It took her many hours before she was able to sleep, for she knew that when she slept, she would dream of him, dream of his staring burning eyes and his thin hands like claws grasping for her.
The next day, the burning man returned. Barnum had kept his promise to speak to the men who watched over her (Charity had insisted upon it), and Amelia saw the two guards confer briefly when the man entered the saloon for the first time. But they were under orders from Barnum not to approach him unless he physically threatened Amelia.