The Opening Night Murder by Anne Rutherford

letter. I’m certain Mr. Farthingworth must have known enough of my circumstances, given he was there the night I left home.”
    Daniel only grunted and drew on his drink. “You’ve changed since I last saw you. The Suzanne I once knew would have announced the situation loud and clear, and devil take the hindmost.”
    “I had to change, otherwise I would die. And certainly so would my son.” There was a long pause, then she said, “Your son.”
    He looked over at her, then away. The lines in his face seemed to deepen, but he said nothing.
    Finally she asked, “Why did you invite me here today?”
    “I wanted to see you again.” He said it with a warm smile, as if she should be pleased he’d favored her with his attention.
    “Why?” Attention was well and good, but money would be better, if some were in the offing.
    “Why did I want to see you again? I’ve always wanted it. Since I left for York with Charles, and especially during the time we were on the Continent. I’ve missed you.”
    The sentiment touched her, and she felt the old feeling rise, but she tamped it down as useless to her. “I’ve certainly missed you, as well. I could hardly breathe for eighteen years of having no support and no father for Piers.”
    “I couldn’t help that.”
    “Your helplessness didn’t change our need.” She took a deep draught of her ale and said, “Is your wife still living?”
    He nodded.
    Suzanne’s heart sank, and only then did she realize she’d harbored a tiny hope he would be a widower ready to marry her. She tucked that dead wish away, never to entertain it again. “Children?”
    He shook his head. “None came before I left London, and I haven’t been back since. So…no children.” Then he said, “You ask to know whether I would support you and Piers.”
    “You owe us. You owe him.”
    “I’ve no money. Since the death of her father, my wife has lived comfortably these years with her brother, and it’s only by force of law she’s returned to me.” Suzanne mentally cursed the law that chained Daniel to that woman. “While following the elder Charles during the war, then his son in exile, I’ve had no income other than what could be begged from those on the Continent who hate Puritans. The very clothes we wore on our entrance to London were provided by Parliament so we wouldn’t appear to the commons as beggars unfit to rule.”Suzanne then noticed the outfit he wore today was the same as he’d worn yesterday, but with the gold braid removed from the green cloak. He seemed to be telling the truth, and had more than likely sold the braid for cash.
    “So you say no, you cannot support us.”
    “That is so. As I said, there is no money even to support myself.”
    “I cannot go back to the brothel. Even if it were still there, my days of selling myself are over. Certainly I would starve on what I could get for my aging body. Anymore, I can no longer attract even a Puritan rotted with lust and hypocrisy, one too ashamed of himself to be seen with me in public.”
    Daniel grinned, and suddenly reminded her of the youth he had once been. “Nonsense. You’re still quite attractive.”
    Suzanne surprised herself by blushing, though she noted the word “still” had the same mitigating power as “handsome.”
    “What of Piers? He should be old enough to provide an adequate living.”
    “Adequate is different things to different people. And besides, Piers hasn’t yet found employment, so there’s no question that the living he currently provides is inadequate by any standard.”
    Daniel considered for a moment, then said, “I’ll make some enquiries, though there will be a great number of more worthy men seeking positions, and finding a place for a young man with no connections and little experience will be difficult.”
    “He’s you for a connection.”
    “Not so much as one might think. Nobody knows I have a son.”
    Were she still able to blush with shame, she would have. “They