Kathryn Albright – The Gunslinger and the Heiress (страница 12)
They turned the corner and passed a grocery with boards on the windows and then, farther down the street, a sad-looking milliner’s storefront with nothing but empty hat stands in the windows.
Her steps slowed. “I was informed business was doing well here.”
He glanced sideways at her. “A month or so ago land prices started coming down. Your stake in the Hotel Del might not have been timed the best. People ’round here are selling out and leaving.”
She nearly told him the truth then—that there was no money invested, although it had been her wish to advance a small sum. Grandfather had refused. In the end, she held to her own counsel and let Caleb assume what he would. Better too little information than too much.
They walked a while before he spoke again. “So are you going to tell me anytime soon how you got your voice back?”
It was inevitable he’d ask. She had prepared an answer—enough to satisfy his curiosity and no more. It was the “more” she wanted to avoid.
“You said it had been a while,” he prompted.
“Nearly four years ago.” She could see him calculating back. “It was the hypnotist. I saw him for over a year, going back weekly. Grandfather was not happy about that—he thought him a charlatan at first. But the man, Mr. Donniger, was adamant that it would take more than just a few visits, that each session built on the last. And something... I guess a small change, a small insight each time, made me keep going back. Six months into the therapy, I uttered my first word.”
Caleb blew out a low whistle. “So it worked after all. I was of the same mind as Dorian about the hypnotist.”
“I remember.”
They stepped around the corner of a brick warehouse and the sea air swirled around her skirt. Quickly she clutched her bonnet, tying the ribbons more securely beneath her chin. The strong odor of fish filled her nose. They were close to the wharf. Another block and the sparkling harbor water greeted them, along with one tall sailing ship and a steamer vying for a place at the long dock. Halfway down, passengers crossed over a slanted gangplank to board a ferry. Along with the people, several buggies were lined up to make the trip.
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