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Lily entered Saunders Factory and was pleased to see Charles Saunders standing near the time punch greeting his employees as they came in. There were only a handful of men who worked here, and the women saw Mr. Saunders as a sort of father-figure. He was a kind man if not a little dramatic at times. Everyone knew about his gastric ulcer, mostly because he had not stopped complaining about it since his diagnosis.
If Mr. Saunders was here, it meant two things. Firstly, he was feeling better. Perhaps Edward had gotten him to stick to his diet again, which was a good thing. People liked having him around. He brought a certain energy to the place that was very much needed. The work here could be boring, and Mr. Saunders knew that. Taking the time to walk the floors and shake hands with his employees was something not many bosses would do, and it did not go unnoticed.
Secondly, it meant Edward was probably at home. She knew he'd been wanting a rest since his return, especially with his own illness to contend with, though he had looked quite well at dinner the other night.
Lily could still not believe that she had embraced Edward as she had. When he'd told her that he was not engaged, her first reaction had been pure relief. Any and all thoughts of propriety had fled from her mind. She had wanted only to take him into her arms and keep him there, not caring who saw.
Eventually, she'd come to her senses and pulled away.
You mean ran off.
Yes, yes. Her brain was working overtime today. She had run off, it was true, but what else was she supposed to do? She couldn't hold Edward forever; she didn't have the luxury. Plus, she had feared that Ray was on his way home; he often wondered in sometime after supper but before nightfall. She had taken a slight risk staying for supper at Caroline's and had not wanted to risk anything further.
Besides, Edward's lack of an engagement was irrelevant. She was still married. There was nothing to be done. She could pray that Ray would die, but it was such a vile prayer that she thought God might strike her dead instead were she to do that. Robert Shannon's lawyerly help was not an option... there were no options.
She would have to love Edward from afar.
Her breath stopped short in her chest.
Love?
Had she just used the word 'love?' Impossible. Like, perhaps, but love? She hadn't known Edward long enough, nor did she know him well enough.
You know him better than most.
"Oh, shut up," she muttered to her brain.
"What?" Della said, coming up beside her.
Lily looked over at her. "Nothing. I was talking to myself."
Della pursed her lips. "Are you still upset about Mr. Saunders?"
"What?" Lily snapped her head up. "What do you mean?"
Della narrowed her eyes. "I was referring to young Mr. Saunders and the way he yelled at you recently."
"Oh, that," Lily said, relieved.
"Yes, of course, that. What did you think I meant?"
Lily shrugged. "I'm not upset about that anymore. Edward apologized."
Della stopped walking. "What did you just say?"
Lily blinked.
Della broke into a big smile. "Edward? Since when are you two so familiar?"
Lily blushed and looked quickly away from her friend's eyes. "I meant Mr. Saunders."
"Lily," Della chided, "what are you hiding from me?"
"Nothing," Lily said and upped her pace. She kept her head down to avoid Della's stare. It was not until she walked smack into Bridget O' Malley that she realized the consequences of walking so fast without looking ahead of her.
"Ouch!" Bridget called, with a slight Irish accent. Her hair was red, though not as red as Lily's own. It was more of a strawberry-blonde that she kept tied up in a loose bun. She was only marginally liked by the other girls, for despite her pretty appearance, she was known to have an uneven temper and a stodgy personality.
But there were those who felt that way about Lily as well. Since she never worked directly with Bridget, she preferred to hold back her impressions of the woman. That was a difficult thing to do though, when Bridget was looking at her as if she'd like to punch her.
"I'm sorry," Lily said.
Bridget continued to glare at her then turned around and said in a loud voice, "It's no wonder she walked into me. I can smell the whiskey on her breath from here."
Lily's mouth dropped open, and she stared at the woman's back. "I don't drink whiskey."
"Oh, my mistake then. It must be gin." Bridget cackled loudly and a few of the other girls cackled with her.
By lunchtime, it would be all over the factory that Lily had been drinking on the job. The fact that there was no truth to it would matter little to a group of women whose only means of entertainment were the threads of gossip they heard here at work. Most of the time such gossip was harmless, but drinking on the job was a serious offense. Not only would it paint her as a lush, it would get her fired.
"Bridget," Lily said, going after her. Della reached out her arm in an effort to stop her, but Lily shrugged her away. "I haven't been drinking, whiskey or otherwise."
Bridget stopped and turned to face her. The women who had already punched in for the day slowly began to circle them, much like a grouping of vultures. Hurried whispers ran from one woman to the next. Those who were still punching in looked over to see what the fuss was about. Their eyes widened when they saw Lily and Bridget standing off against one another.
"Lily..." Della warned. She had her hand on Lily's shoulder now, and Lily felt her trying to pull her back.
"I'll not have her spreading rumors about me," Lily said, anger bubbling up out of her like thick tar.
Perhaps it wasn't just Bridget. Perhaps it was everything that had happened to her in the last few days. Her fight with Edward—correction, her fights with Edward, how many had there been anyway?—her realization that she would be stuck with Ray for the rest of her life despite having no feelings for him other than hatred and fear, knowing in the back of her mind that her body had been so battered and bruised that she would almost certainly never bear a child.
Her list could go on and on, but Lily chose to end it there. If she went any further with it, she would almost certainly start crying. Then Bridget would be able to say whatever she wanted about her and no one would believe otherwise. Tears were not shed amongst factory workers unless there was a reason. Since Lily was unwilling to share her reasons, they would have only Bridget's lies to go by.
Bridget's hands had left her hips and clenched into fists. She was holding them at her side. Lily looked down at her own hands and realized they were also clenched into fists.
"Lily, come on," Della tried again. "Let's go. I need your help in the office today."
Mr. Saunders was watching them now, too. Lily could see him from the corner of her eye.
"I'm not going anywhere until she apologizes," Lily said.
Bridget laughed, which only made Lily's temper flare that much more. She wasn't known as a troublemaker, but something inside her had snapped.
Bridget smiled. It was too wide and too perfect to be real. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised by your attitude. Lushes like you aren't known for their sweet temperament. I'm surprised you've been able to hold down this job as long as you have. I'm certain the next one you take will be better suited to you. No doubt you'll have plenty of back alleyways and cheap hourly rooms to keep your spirits up."
She turned around and started away. Lily lunged forward and shoved her.
Bridget stumbled but caught herself. She turned around, the expression on her face far more than simple anger or hatred. She looked as though she wanted to cut Lily from navel to neck. She lunged forward herself now, her hands pushing hard against Lily's chest.
Unlike Bridget, Lily was unable to catch her balance. She tumbled to the floor and landed with a hard thud. Della cried out, as did a few of the others. Lily tried to push herself up, but Bridget jumped on top of her and pushed her back down. Lily pushed up with her hands at the same time Bridget pushed down with hers.
Bridget's fist collided with Lily's jaw. It shook her but only a little. It was nothing compared to what she suffered at Ray's hands. Her own hand flew up and smacked right into Bridget's nose. Blood gushed out and Bridget fell back off Lily's chest. She had no intention of stopping though. Bridget simply stood up, wiped her nose with her hand, and lunged at Lily again.
They tumbled back to the ground and began to roll around, slapping at each other's faces, pulling out their hair, screaming at each other. The other employees moved out of the way as they rolled toward them.
Suddenly, a pair of strong hands gripped the back of Lily's dress and yanked her backward. She looked up to see not Mr. Saunders, but Edward. She hadn't even seen him come in. He was glowering at her.
Mr. Saunders had taken hold of Bridget, though he wasn't holding her nearly so tightly. If Bridget had wanted to get away, she could have. Lily, however, was certain that if she tried to move even an inch in Bridget's direction, Edward would have her either over his knee or over his shoulder as he carried her off.
"Who started this?" Edward asked.
Bridget shouted, "She did!" and pointed her finger at Lily.
Unfortunately for Lily, she was right. Several the other girls pointed their fingers at her as well.
Edward looked at Bridget. "Go get cleaned up," he told her. Then he turned his attention back to Lily. "You come with me."
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