by Nina Rowan
“That’s…er, I borrowed it from James last night.” Embarrassment heated Talia’s face. “It was chilly and I…I’d forgotten my wrap.”
“Oh.” Sally’s confused—and somewhat intrigued—expression cleared. “James is so chivalrous, isn’t he? Do hurry up, Talia.”
“Who is here, Aunt Sally?”
“Your brother!”
“My…”
The words faded as Talia’s throat closed over. A thousand thoughts flew through her mind—explanations, reasons, rationales—even as she knew the ugly truth to her very bones.
James had done it. He’d told Alexander her secrets, betrayed her to keep his promise. And now Alexander was here.
Chapter Sixteen
Nicholas?”
Talia stopped on the stairs, shock flooding her at the sight of the disheveled, long-haired man standing in the foyer. He wore a ragged sailor’s coat, torn trousers, and boots that had tracked muddy footprints over the marble floor. For a moment, she could only stare at him, hardly daring to believe he was truly back.
He lifted his head to look up at her, and then a wide, gleaming smile broke through the darkness of the bristly beard covering his jaw.
“Hullo, brat.” His deep voice boomed through the foyer. “Aren’t you a sight?”
“Aren’t I a sight?” Talia hurried down the stairs, her heart racing with a combination of relief and excitement. “You look as if you’ve crawled from a swamp!”
Nicholas scrubbed a hand over his beard and chuckled. “Likely I have.”
Talia reached the bottom step and threw herself at her brother, laughing with delight as his arms closed around her and lifted her clear off the ground. Love filled her, washing away the despair she’d felt only a few moments ago.
“You smell dreadful,” she remarked, hugging him tight and not caring that his filthy coat was sullying her dress.
“Fresh off the boat, milady. Just landed at the East India Docks not an hour ago.”
“Why didn’t you send word that you were coming?”
“I didn’t know I was.” Nicholas set her back on her feet and held her at arm’s length to study her. “Intended to set a course for Greenland, but heard there’s a prospect of a northwesterly gale so rather than risk the steamer transport, the commander ordered us back to London.”
“How long will you stay?”
“Don’t quite know.” Nicholas shrugged out of his coat and tossed it to the waiting Soames, who barely managed to suppress a grimace as he caught it. “Commander might change his plans, so I’m to await orders.”
“Come in, come in.” Sally, who had followed Talia back downstairs, opened the morning room door to usher Nicholas inside. “Your father will be so disappointed he missed you.”
“The old bird is out and about again, eh? Good to know.”
“Shall I have a bath drawn, milady?” Soames asked dryly.
“Please.” Talia wrinkled her nose at Nicholas, even as happiness and love buoyed her spirits. “Send tea in as well, Soames.”
“And food,” Nicholas added.
Talia followed her brother into the morning room, suppressing the urge to pepper him with questions until he’d had a chance to settle back in.
“Do you know when you’ll receive your orders?” Sally asked.
“Should get word within a day or so as to what’s planned next.” Nicholas flopped down on the sofa and put his booted feet on the table, ignoring Sally’s glare of disapproval. “Was hoping to have enough time to visit Bastian, meet his new wife.” He scratched his bristly beard. “Has Alex returned?”
“He and Darius are both still in St. Petersburg,” Talia said.
Nicholas paused to look at her. “They’re all away?”
“They’ve been away for months now, and Papa left a few weeks ago.”
“Left you alone?”
“I’m not alone. Aunt Sally came to stay until Papa returns. Everything has been fine.”
Nicholas frowned at her. Talia frowned back.
“You left three years ago, Nicholas,” she reminded him. “Not terribly concerned about leaving me alone then, were you?”
A sudden tension coursed between them, diluting the happiness of their reunion. Talia turned her attention to the tea tray when the maid deposited it on the table. Nicholas swallowed the tea in a few gulps and studied the plate of scones and muffins.
“Where did you last visit, Nicholas?” Sally asked brightly.
“The Malay Peninsula, my lady,” he said, around a mouthful of scone. “Charted the course of several rivers.”
“Lord Castleford tried to secure an expedition there, but was unsuccessful,” Talia said.
“Castle, eh?” Nicholas bit into a currant muffin. “Good man. Bit of a stick-in-the-mud, but worthy commander, from what I hear.”
“You’ve not commanded an expedition yet?” Talia asked.
“Don’t see the point, really. Too much responsibility. By hiring myself out, I can go where I please when I please.”
And never stop anywhere, Talia thought. At least James had a place to hang his hat—when he chose to use it, of course. Nicholas would always be welcome at any Hall residence, but he had no place to call his own.
“I’ll see about your bath and having a room prepared.” Talia stood and embraced her brother again.
“You look well, brat.” Affection softened the lines around his eyes. “I’m glad to see you.”
Talia patted his bristly cheek. “And I you. I’ll see if Papa’s barber is available as soon as possible. I’ve little doubt you have small creatures living in that tangled beard.”
She returned upstairs to see to the preparations for his stay, then let the servant Kinley take over to help get her brother into respectable shape again.
“Soames.” She hurried to the footman as he passed in the corridor. “Send word to Lord Castleford’s residence, please. Tell him that Mr. Hall has returned and he’s welcome to call this morning, if he’s available. If not, ask him to come for supper.”
She knew James and Nicholas would like to see each other again, and certainly the two would have plenty to discuss about their various adventures.
Her spirits lifted for the first time in weeks, Talia asked the cook to prepare more cakes and muffins she knew both James and her brother liked. She returned upstairs to ring for Lucy again, wanting to wear something brighter and prettier than the gray dress she had on.
James’s coat still lay on her bed. She hung it back in the wardrobe just as the maid appeared to help her change into a blue morning gown sprinkled with yellow flowers.
“Talia?” Aunt Sally emerged from the dining room as Talia descended the stairs again. “We’ve just got a note from James. He won’t be able to visit this morning.”
Disappointment speared through Talia. “Did he say why?”
Sally shook her head. “He didn’t say he’d pay a call later today, either, and declined the supper invitation. I’d have thought he’d be eager to see Nicholas again. It’s been years, hasn’t it?”
“Years,” Talia echoed, turning away from her aunt toward the morning room.
Her chest tightened. James had developed close friendships with all four of her brothers over the years, first with Alexander and then Nicholas, owing to their shared love of exploration. They’d spent many hours discussing shipping routes, maps of the colonies, weather conditions, expedition equipment, and provisions.
Any other time, especially with the two of them having just returned to London, James would have hurried over to see Nicholas and hear of his latest journey.
Which meant there could be only one reason for James to balk now.
Talia pressed her palms to her cheeks and closed her eyes. Images flashed behind her eyelids—James’s hands on her bare skin, her lips against his chest, their legs twining together. Heat filled her veins.
“Can’t decide if I feel like myself again or someone else entirely.”
Talia opened her eye
s at the sound of her brother’s voice. She smiled. With his dark hair cut short again and his beard shaved to reveal the planes of his face and wide mouth, Nicholas looked like the handsome brother she remembered. His skin was darker, and new lines had formed around his mouth, but his eyes still held that mischievous twinkle that belonged only to him.
“I knew you were still somewhere underneath all that hair,” Talia remarked.
Nicholas frowned and plucked at the sleeve of his gray coat as if it were some foreign material. “Bit of an adjustment, I’m afraid.”
Talia approached and reached out to straighten the crooked knot of his cravat. “I hope you’ll stay for a while.”
Only as she said the words did she realize how much she meant them. She’d missed her brothers for a long time, but that ache had deepened since James returned. Her shaky relationship with him reminded Talia just how much everything had changed. Having at least one brother back at home might provide her with some much-needed stability, even if she didn’t yet know how much she should reveal about Brick Street.
She dusted a nonexistent speck of lint from Nicholas’s lapel and went to the fresh tea tray that the maid had left on the table.
“So tell me everything,” she said, pouring him a cup. “Where you went, what you saw. I’ve loved the packages of books you’ve sent.”
“I’ve got more for you too, somewhere in my trunk.” Nicholas settled into a chair, folding one long leg over the other. “Thought you could use them for your schools. Last I heard from Bastian that’s your primary charity these days.”
“Has been for over a year now. I find it very fulfilling.”
Nicholas accepted a cup of tea, studying her from beneath his dark brows. “Bastian also wrote that you’ve shown no intention of marrying.”
Talia sighed. “Lovely to know my brothers are discussing such things with one another rather than me.”
“I’m discussing it with you now, aren’t I?”
“Very well, let’s discuss,” Talia said tartly. “You’ve not shown any intention of marrying either.”
His grin flashed. “Touché, Lady Talia.”
“Have you seen Darius recently?”
Nicholas shook his head, his gaze skirting away from her. If Talia hadn’t been watching him closely, she might have missed the faint tightening of his jaw. Her heart sank at the thought that there might be tension between the twins. Different as they were, Nicholas and Darius had always had a strong bond.
“He’s doing well.” She smiled, anxious to divert his attention from any unpleasantness. “I saw him last fall in Russia before he returned to London for a short time. Something to do with a cipher machine.”
“He’s back in St. Petersburg now?” Nicholas asked.
“Yes, Alexander and Lydia live not far from his residence on the Fontanka.” She paused. “You ought to pay him a visit.”
Nicholas shrugged, shifting in the chair as if it were uncomfortable. He seemed bigger somehow, as if all that time spent on ships and trekking through unknown lands had expanded his position in the world. Hardly a wonder that he’d feel awkward sitting in the frilly morning room again.
He wouldn’t stay in London long, Talia thought with a pang of sadness. Like James, he’d want to return to the open seas as soon as he could.
“What will you do today?” she asked.
“Pay a visit to the club, I suppose. Call on a few old friends.” Nicholas rubbed his chin, then looked surprised by the fact that his beard was no longer there. “Castle is still at his Arlington Street place?”
“Yes, but he sent word that he couldn’t visit today,” Talia said. Irritation pricked at her suddenly. “I’ll see if he can come tomorrow, perhaps. I’ll have John ready the second carriage for you to use while you’re here.”
She stood and approached him. “Please don’t be in too much of a hurry to leave.”
A frown tugged at his mouth. “You all right, then, brat? Not been horrid for you, has it?”
Talia shook her head. Yes, it had been horrid, but there was no point in telling him that. She no longer wanted to dwell on the past.
“I’d just…I’d like having you here,” she said. “Perhaps I can go with you to visit Bastian and Clara.”
“I’ll send word and see if they’re available. Would be a good trip, eh?”
“Indeed. I’ll see you at lunch.”
Talia bent to kiss his forehead before she went to request the carriages be prepared. Pleased at the thought of having family around her after James left again, she went upstairs and collected her things.
She stopped at the printer’s for a stack of notebooks and pencils, then the Exeter Hall offices of the Ragged School Union. Sir Henry wasn’t in his office, so Talia left the supplies on his desk along with a note before returning to the carriage. She went to Mudie’s Library for some new books and stacked them on the opposite carriage seat to bring to Brick Street.
After paying a visit to the modiste to check on a recent order, Talia found herself directing the driver to James’s town house.
Anxiety clutched at her as she went up the steps and rang the bell. The maid, Polly, answered, a dishrag in her hand.
“His lordship is in the study,” she announced importantly before allowing Talia to pass her.
Talia glanced around the house as she walked to the study. She was pleased to see that everything still looked neat and tidy after her decorating overhaul last week.
“James?” She knocked once and pushed the door open.
He was standing behind his paper-strewn desk, his hands clasped behind his back as he stared out the window at the back garden. At the sound of her voice, he turned with a frown. Talia’s heart stuttered. He looked tired, his eyes lined with dark circles and his hair a disheveled mess.
“I knew it.” She closed the door behind her and strode to the desk, irritation biting at her. “I knew you didn’t have any other plans, James. You wouldn’t come to see Nicholas because of all that has transpired between us.”
“Talia—”
“Did you think you wouldn’t be able to hide it?” Talia snapped, her hands shaking as she put them flat on his desk and leaned toward him. “That Nicholas would somehow know we’ve been intimate? Are you ashamed of what we did, even though I was the one who initiated it, the one who proved yet again that you cannot resist me? For the love of God, James, what kind of coward—”
“Talia!”
She stopped short at the harsh note in his voice. James muttered a curse, dragging his hands over his face and through his hair.
Behind Talia, someone coughed.
Oh, no.
She stared at James, her pulse thudding. He grimaced. Slowly, Talia turned to find herself looking at Sir Henry, Lady Byron, and…Nicholas.
Hot embarrassment swept up her throat and stung her cheeks. She couldn’t move.
“Lady Talia, I’ve…” James cleared his throat. “I had an appointment with Sir Henry and Lady Byron to discuss the patronage of the Brick Street school. Your brother just stopped by a half hour ago…unexpectedly.”
Talia swung her gaze to her brother. Nicholas just looked at her, his face expressionless. A torrent of memories barraged Talia of all the vile gossip that had followed their mother’s affair—whispers of her wanton behavior, her betrayal, her immorality. The scandal had driven Nicholas from London almost four years ago. Now he’d just learned that his sister…
“I’m sorry.” The apology came out on a choked gasp as she ran from the room.
“Talia!”
Ignoring the simultaneous calls from Nicholas and James, Talia rushed past a dumbfounded Polly back to the carriage.
“Talia, wait!” James thundered, his boots ringing against the marble floor.
“Go, quickly. Anywhere.” Talia snapped the order at the driver as she clambered into the carriage and slammed the door behind her.
She pressed her back against the seat and tightened her arms around herself, scorched from t
he inside out with humiliation.
How many times had she told herself that she would never be like her mother? How many advances had she fended off from men who believed that she was? How long had it been before she finally gathered the courage to stop hiding, to find a way to be useful to the world?
And yet that all slipped away with James, because no matter how often she tried to convince herself otherwise, she could not forget all he had been to her. She couldn’t forget how wonderful it had felt to love him.
Now on the heels of Lord Margate’s remark about Talia visiting James’s house alone, and with Lady Byron and Sir Henry knowing that she and James had been intimate…
God in heaven.
“Milady?”
Talia blinked, aware that the carriage had come to a halt on the side of the street. The driver John had descended the bench and was looking through the window at her.
“Any place in particular, or ought I continue driving round?” he asked.
“No.” Talia fumbled for a handkerchief. “Er…sixteen Brick Street, John. Wapping.”
He blinked. “Wapping?”
“Yes. Quickly.”
Peter’s stomach was tight with knots. He forced himself to approach Brick Street, though he dreaded having to face his sister. He knew Lady Talia had sent both Alice and his father word about her guardianship petition, but only Alice had responded with a note asking him to meet her at Brick Street that afternoon because their father would never allow him to return home. It was Saturday, so school was not in session.
It was yet another chance…one Peter didn’t deserve. At the very least, though, he would honor his word to Lady Talia that he would testify about the conditions at Newhall. And he would try to make amends with his sister.
He climbed the steps outside the blacksmith’s and entered the mildewed corridor. A man’s voice came through the half-open door of the classroom.
Peter tensed, his footsteps silent as he made his way down the corridor. This time, he recognized the voice without needing to hear it twice.
He eased open the door farther. Against the far wall, he saw the back of a man’s coat. Blond hair. A wide stance. The bastard Lawford.