Rose's hand was clasped firmly within William's as he led her up the metal staircase and onto the wide platform. His eyes darted back and forth, in a constant state of heightened caution, likely on the lookout for Gallagher or anyone who might be in his employ.

Rose followed William in a daze, feeling much like a small, lost child. What were they doing here? It made no sense.

At last, her promise to ask no questions could no longer be kept. Pulling to a stop, she wrenched her hand away from him. “Victoria Train Station?” she demanded, the pitch of her voice elevated due to her distress. “William, why are we here?”

He didn't answer, instead opting to turn in a full circle, scrutinizing every person on the platform through narrowed eyes. Seeming satisfied, he ushered Rose to the far side and positioned her behind a pillar. “Stay right here,” he instructed. “Don't move. Keep your eyes on the stairwell, alright? I'll be back in two minutes.”

At a loss for words, she had no choice but to obey. Unsettling thoughts swirled around in her mind like angry wraiths in the night. What was William up to? Was he planning to hide her somewhere? Would he also go into hiding? That seemed unlikely, as he had no luggage. So, what were they doing at the train station?

With each passing second, Rose liked the potential answers less and less.

A train arrived, the billowing black smoke from its coal engine causing a pungent cloud in the air. The locomotive screeched to a halt, its breaks engaged. Rose watched as uniformed train managers emerged from the cars and began assisting passengers down the steps and onto the platform. The crowd swelled and migrated toward the exits, a sea of strangers.

Just as Rose's mind began to enter a panic, William returned. In his hand, he carried two slips of stiff paper.

Rose stared at the slips, confused and affronted. “What are those?” she questioned, her voice shrill.

“Your tickets,” he replied.

“My tickets?” she echoed. “Tickets to where?”

“You'll board this train,” he said, pointing to the locomotive that had just arrived. “It'll take ya as far as Leeds. Once you get there, you'll switch trains and ride to York.”

Rose gaped at him, beside herself. “You cannot be serious. I will do no such thing, William. I'm not leaving Manchester!”

“Yes, you are,” William argued. He took her hand and placed the train tickets along with a stack of pound notes onto her open palm. “You're leavin', Rose. I know ya don't wanna go home to your mum, so you're goin' to East Riding of Yorkshire. Once ya get off the train, hail a taxi. You can stay with that grandmother of yours. At her manor.”

“Violet. Grandmamá Violet,” Rose whispered. A wave of numbness came over her, and she stared helplessly at the tickets and money in her hand. Flummoxed, she slipped them into her pocket.

“Aye, Violet,” William repeated. “Told me you were always welcome at her estate. So, that's where you're goin'.”

“But...I…” Rose began. Her words failed her and she shook her head in dumb shock. “I don't understand. After everything we've been through, William... We hit one hiccup and you want to send me away? Why?”

William wrapped his hands around her arms and pulled her close. “I don't want this, Rose,” he told her, his expression pained. “To lose you is the last fuckin' thing I want. If I had me way, I'd keep ya holed up in Warwick Hall and never let ya outta my sight. But this is no ‘hiccup,’ love. You're in danger. Real danger.”

“And so are you!” Rose protested, her panic mounting. “You're in danger, too, William. You and your family. Elijah was shot! Archie is—!” Her voice broke and she bit back a sob. Pausing to take a breath, she forced herself to swallow, and went on: “Archie is dead. Yet you... All of you are staying. Facing the problem. Fighting. Why can't I? Why must I leave?”

The grip on her arms tightened, and the commonplace stoic look in William's eyes was replaced by a mournful gleam. “Because it's not safe for you to be anywhere near me, Rose,” he told her. “It's me that's puttin' ya in danger, so, I'm gonna let ya go. It's what I shoulda done for Clementine, but I was selfish. Not this time. I'm not havin' ya stay only to lose you the way I lost my wife. Get on the train. Please.”

“No,” Rose said. The threat of tears stung her eyes, and she willed herself not to blink, lest they should fall. “I won't. You're staying, therefore I'm staying. End of story. I'm not afraid.”

The tension in the skin around William's eyes softened by a fraction. “I know you're not, love. But I am. One bullet, one second: that's all it took for me to lose Clementine. I can't lose you. I need ya safe. And ya will be. Get on this train, and Rose Appelbaum ceases to exist. She disappears off the face of the earth. Gallagher will never find her. So, go to York. Be Rose Sinclair. Live your life, in safety, away from Manchester.”

The sting in her eyes became too much, and Rose squeezed her eyelids shut to pacify the intrusive prickle. Against her will, tears snaked down her cheeks. Her mind raced in an illogical jumble, grasping for any reason that may convince William to let her stay.

“But Teddy!” she cried suddenly. “Teddy will think I simply left! That I chose to leave him! I promised him I wouldn't!”

William shook his head and smoothed a tear off her cheek with the pad of his thumb. “I won't let him think that,” he vowed. “Rose, listen to me. Listen, eh? I won't let him think you chose to leave. I'll tell him your family rang with an emergency and you had no choice.”

“But I…” Rose tried to argue, but the breathlessness that accompanied her tears wouldn't allow it. “I... But...Daphne,” she offered. “And the rest of my things. And my engagement ring.”

“Got that right here.” From the inside pocket of his suit jacket, William pulled a white handkerchief. He lifted the folds of cloth with care, revealing her engagement ring and the signet ring that had belonged to Dmitri. “Me boys and I will watch after Daphne. Smallest sign o' trouble, and she's on the next train. Ya have me word. I'll send your things once it's safe. For now, I'm returning these to you,” he said. Wrapping the white fabric around the pair of rings once more, he tucked the handkerchief into the pocket of Rose's dress. “Do what ya will with Dmitri's ring. Whatever ya deem to be right. I won't try to stop ya.”

Rose pressed her lips together and swallowed, her throat raw. “I will return it to Dmitri's family,” she mumbled. Her lips trembled as she spoke, destroying the diction of her consonants. “And I'll tell them the truth: Dmitri was shot and killed by a ruthless gangster in Manchester.”

William dipped his head in a resigned nod. “That's fair.”

“Indeed. Fair,” Rose continued. “A gangster named James Gallagher.”

Her remark elicited a look of surprise from William. His eyes widened, and he stared at her with a lifted brow. “Ya sure that's what ya wanna do?”

“Yes,” she affirmed. “It's what I ‘deem to be right,’ as you so eloquently phrased it a moment ago. Gallagher will never be punished for the death of Geneviève, William. He will never be punished for Archie. Left to the powers that be, he'll get away with murder. So, let him be punished for Dmitri, should the Kuragin family choose to retaliate.”

William nodded, a pensive frown on his face. He looked as though he wanted to say something, but he was thwarted by the sound of the train manager's announcement: “Platform two, eight-fifteen to Leeds! Boarding!”

“That's your train, Rose,” William said as he saddled the locomotive with a somber glance. “It's time. C'mon, love.” Taking Rose by the hand, he led her toward the nearest passenger car.

Rose yanked on his hand, imploring him to stop and turn back to her. “William, please! I don't want to go,” she pleaded. “I…” She shook her head and made a helpless gesture. “I care for you.”

“I care for you, too,” William said. His voice came out strained and hoarse, and he placed his hand on her cheek. “In me own fucked up, lacking way, I care for ya. More than you'll ever know. Which is why ya gotta leave, Rose. I need to know you're safe. So, get on the train. Do it for me. Do it for Teddy.”

The pressure in Rose's chest threatened to crush her, and she struggled to take a breath. “If I go, you... You'll forget me,” she said, her voice breaking.

“No, love,” William said. He caressed her cheek with a gentle touch and shook his head. “No, never. Couldn't forget ya if I wanted to. Now, I won't lie to ya by promisin' that I'll wait for ya. We both know I won't. That's the ugly truth of it. But I need ya to believe me when I say that you are unlike any woman I've ever known, Rose. And if there ever comes a time when it's safe for you to return to Manchester, I'll get on this fuckin' train me'self, and I'll come find ya. That's a promise.”

Rose covered his hand with hers and held his palm to her cheek. “Curse you, William Mercer,” she whispered.

Leaning in close, she stood on her toes, and accosted his lips with her own in a wanton, amorous kiss. His hand still on her cheek, he returned the kiss in kind, his mouth warm and full of longing as it moved against hers.

The train's whistle blew, and they startled apart.

“Last call for boarding!” the train manager shouted.

William released her, and she instantly felt cold.

“Go on,” he whispered, coaxing her toward the uniformed manager posted by the passenger car.

In a fog, Rose presented her ticket and watched in suffocated silence as it was unceremoniously punched.

“Up the stairs, Miss, and to your left,” the train manager recited.

Rose complied. Dazed, she climbed the first step. Then the second. Then the third, coming to a halt beside the doorway that led inside the passenger car. She turned.

Her eyes met William's. He gave her a pained, solemn nod, and she nodded in return. This was it. This was goodbye.

However, as she stared at the handsome, melancholy visage of the man who had been so many things to her, Rose made herself a promise: this would not be the last time she saw William Mercer's face.

When fate deemed it so, they would meet again.

【♜】【♞】【♟】

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