by Vella, Wendy
“I-I cannot ask, but thank you.”
Nicholas was out of his chair as she turned to go.
“What is it? Tell me, please?”
He had played cards with Mrs. Potter for the last two years, and she had a lively wit and shrewd mind. But now her shoulders were bowed and her face lined with grief; he did not like to see her this way.
“Come, Mrs. Potter, you must tell me what else is distressing you.”
“It’s my son-in-law, Bill. He was late to work yesterday as he was comforting my Jane, as she’s n-not recovering as quickly as she ought. Today he lost his job because of it.”
People, Nicholas realized, were extremely cruel. He knew that, as he’d once been one of them.
“Because he missed an hour or two at work?”
She nodded.
“What does he do?”
“Works with horses, my lord.”
“Have him come here when he can. I shall speak with him and see if there is a place for him in my stables.”
She cried then, pressing the back of her hand to her mouth.
“I-I cannot thank you enough.”
“If he is a hard worker, then it will be me who is grateful to you.”
His butler chose that moment to appear.
“Mrs. Potter is unwell and needs to see to her family. She will not be here for the remainder of the day. I assume the household will cope?”
“Of course, my lord.”
“Look after her, Hopkins. And when she returns tomorrow, she will have her son-in-law with her. I wish to meet with him,” Nicholas said softly, so only his butler heard.
“I will ensure it happens, my lord. Come, Mrs. Potter, we shall see you home.”
After they’d gone, Nicholas sat and stared at his plate.
Was it possible someone was stealing children? Nicholas knew most things were possible, but something as depraved as this... had human nature sunk so low?
Deciding that he needed to do something, he called for his horse and left the house minutes later. He would go to the watch and speak with someone about his concerns. It would be a start.
The journey to the watch house was not overly long. He nodded to several people as he rode through the busy streets.
As he approached one of the more popular roads for shopping, Nicholas saw a pretty pink ribbon fluttering under the chin of a lady. She appeared to be watching two young men swagger by. At her side was another woman, who he thought was her maid.
Nothing unusual in that, this was, after all, Bond Street, the place to be seen. However, a trickle of awareness told him to take a closer look. She turned, as if sensing him, and he saw it was Kate Sinclair.
Nicholas pulled his horse to a halt.
“Good morning, Kate.”
“Hello, Nicholas.” She tipped her head back to look at him.
“Are you here alone?”
Nicholas dismounted and moved to stand before her.
“Did you see those men prancing down the street, Nicholas? Quite a sight, don’t you think?”
Definitely nervous.
“I did, and they looked foolish, but then you are standing on Bond Street, and it is the place to be seen.”
“Is it really?” Her eyes shot right to a men’s fashion establishment.
“Are you here with Wolf?”
“No. Good lord, look at that bonnet!”
He didn’t, instead keeping his eyes on her.
“Surely you are not here alone, Kate?”
“Not exactly.”
“Then who, exactly, is with you?”
“Alice.”
“And where is she?”
She exhaled loudly.
“Kate.”
“Oh, very well. In there.” She pointed to the right.
“She’s in a men’s fashion establishment? Is she perhaps purchasing a gift?”
“No.”
“Wanting to take up wearing breeches?”
“No again.”
Looking around him, Nicholas found a young boy milling nearby. Waving him over, he handed out a few coins and asked him to hold his horse.
“I shall return shortly.”
“Where are you going?” Kate looked worried.
“Inside the shop.”
“I am her lookout. She will not be happy if you do.”
“Why is she in there?”
“Barty. We came upon him while we were out strolling.”
“Why do I not believe you were out strolling without a reason?”
Her sigh was loud. “How is it you know us so well on such a short acquaintance?”
“Behave while I retrieve your sister.”
“I always behave.”
“The sensible sister, then?”
Her smile was sly. “I wouldn’t go that far.”
Snorting, Nicholas left her to enter Tetley’s, a place he often frequented.
Why he was concerning himself with the Sinclair sisters’ activities when his intent had been to avoid one of them, he wasn’t sure, but he was, and especially after finding Alice in that lane... alone.
“Good day to you, Lord Braithwaite.”
Nicholas nodded to the proprietor, who stood behind a counter.
“How may I help you today?”
“There is a woman in here. I wish to speak with her.”
“It’s most unusual, you understand, to have them in here.” The man didn’t look pleased.
“Perhaps she is purchasing a gift?”
“Perhaps.” The man looked doubtful.
“I will do my best to remove her for you.”
He nodded, then pointed to a room off this one. Nicholas headed that way, and as he approached, he heard Alice’s raised voice.
“She is concerned, Barty, and surely has every right to be.”
He found her behind a cabinet. Her back was to him, which allowed him to study the man she spoke to without her realizing it.
Sweating, red eyes, and there was a faint odor of alcohol coming from him. If Nicholas was not mistaken, the man was in the grip of a ripping hangover, or was ill. He went for the former, as he had personal experience of the condition.
Not overly tall, the sainted Barty was of a solid build and had a pleasant face. Nicholas disliked him immediately and had no wish to delve into the reasons why. Especially as they all likely centered on the woman before him.
“I am a man and can do as I wish, Alice. My actions are of no concern to you or my sister. I shall return to Briarwood when I am ready, just as I will wed you when I am ready!”
Her gloved hands were clenched into fists at her sides, and anger held her rigid. Nicholas wished he could see the fire in those green eyes.
“Don’t you dare dismiss me in such a way. You are behaving in a selfish manner, Bartholomew. And let me assure you of this: I will never wed a man with so little respect for himself and his family!”
“I will not be dictated to by you... a woman.”
“A friend,” Alice ground out. “A friend who is worried because you are draining your family’s coffers dry.” Her voice was a low, angry growl now.
“How dare you discuss such a thing with me, Alice Sinclair, and in public. Your brother needs to teach you some manners, and were I to wed you—”
“Which you never will,” Alice interrupted him.
Nicholas acknowledged the words made him happy but had no right to.
“Then there is nothing further to be said between us. Good day, Miss Sinclair.”
Nicholas stepped to one side as the no longer sainted Barty stormed around Alice and by him, then out the door. She didn’t move or watch.
“Brainless, addlepated fool.”
“Very possibly, but more importantly, why are you standing in a men’s fashion establishment with a man and no companion?”
She’d spun to face him as he began to talk, and Nicholas could see she was upset. Her face was tight, eyes bright with unshed tears, and her fingers were now flicking furiously.
Sweet, innocent, and far too disturbing for Nicholas’s peace of mind, she looked as any proper young lady should, in a cream dress with lavender ribbons.
“What are you doing in here, Nicholas?”
“Shopping.”
She looked around her.
“Oh well... yes, well I shall leave you to that then.” She bobbed a curtsey and prepared to walk around him. Nicholas had other ideas, stepping in front of her.
“Are you and your beloved having a tiff?”
“That is none of your concern, my lord.” She had herself under control once more.
She was close, so close he could watch the rapid rise and fall of her chest. Perhaps not in total control, Nicholas realized.
“Step aside, please. My sister and maid await me outside.”
“And yet you were in here with a man. Did you think that a wise thing to do, Alice?”
“Very likely not, but it was a necessity, and again I would like you to keep this... this incident to yourself.”
“It seems I am to keep a great many things concerning you from your brother’s ears. What do I get in return?”
“I don’t think two things is a great many.” She raised her chin. This woman would never admit to anything. She had backbone, and he had no doubt that sometimes that was to her detriment.
“This would be a good color on you.” She pointed to a bolt of fabric. The color was a hideous mustard. “Mud brown and horse excrement green are the rage this season, I believe.”
Before he could answer her, she’d picked up the bolt of fabric and slapped it into his chest, then stormed past him and out the door. Replacing the fabric, he followed, catching up with her outside on the street.
“Again, you are behaving in a reckless manner, Alice. One wonders when you will learn from your mistakes.”
“I was not being reckless. My sister was keeping watch. Furthermore, my actions are no concern of yours, my lord.”
“Yet it was I who found you... again.”
“Again?” Kate said as they reached her side.
“I have no idea what he’s talking about. And why did you tell him where I was, Kate?” Alice gave her sister a fiery look now.
“He’s persistent.”
“I’m not sure why.” Alice glared at him. “But it doesn’t matter, as we are going to The Trumpeter now.”
A carriage pulled up beside them. Nicholas opened the door.
“Good day, Nicholas.”
“Good day, Kate.”
The maid followed her inside, and then he was left standing with Alice. She made him feel like a cat with his hair brushed the wrong way.
“Show more caution, Alice, I beg of you. I ask this of you as a friend of your family.”
Could they be friends when all he could think about was ravishing her? Friends were all they could ever be, Nicholas reminded himself.
He took her hand to help her into the carriage.
“I do not do this deliberately, my lord. It is something I must do... to help an old friend.”
“You speak of Bartholomew?”
She nodded.
His fingers tightened around hers as she moved closer to take the step up into the carriage.
“Ask for help then. If not of your brother, one of the others, or me.”
Her eyes caught and held his.
“I cannot, as I have promised another.”
“Promised another what?”
Before he could question her further, she was inside. Short of following or lifting her back out, there was little Nicholas could do but shut the door behind her.
He stepped back to watch the carriage drive away.
Retrieving his horse, he headed to the watch house, thinking about the dilemma that was Alice Sinclair. He didn’t want to spend time in her company, but he didn’t want her in danger. Did he dare speak with Wolf on the matter?
Twice now he’d found her alone in places she should not be. Granted, this was not as bad as the last one, but still, she could not keep blithely ignoring society’s rules, or eventually someone would realize, and her reputation would be in tatters.
He would leave it for now, but if he heard she had left the house alone again, he would no longer stay silent.
He directed his horse to the watch house, where hopefully he would find someone who did not have him feeling like one minute he was standing on his head and the next his feet.
Chapter Nine
Alice sat on her bed and read the letter that had just arrived from her friend Verity. It was the third such one, but this more desperate than the last two.
Verity was Barty’s sister, and Alice had been close with the Stillwater siblings since her adolescence.
My dearest friend, I write to you with my worries again as there is no one else, and I know you love Barty as I do. I must implore you again to keep the contents of this letter a secret. It has been almost three months now without word from my brother, and our mother is distraught. Our fears have deepened upon the arrival on our doorstep of Barty’s old school friend. He encountered him in London and said he feared he is gambling excessively and knows Barty has lost a great deal of money. As you understand our circumstances, dear Alice, you know our situation cannot afford him to do that.
“Oh, Barty.” Alice sighed.
He would never leave us so long unless he has been led astray. I fear the worst now. Drinking, gambling, and spending his money on things that he shouldn’t, Alice. What is to be done?
Alice knew that Verity wasn’t prone to exaggeration. The siblings were quiet, serious-minded individuals, so this behavior from Bartholomew Stillwater was out of character. Just as his behavior to her in that men’s fashion establishment had been. He was a man who loved his family and would never want them to worry over him.
She read the last few lines of the letter.
Our suppliers have not been paid, Alice. They have told me they cannot go on in this vein unless some kind of recompense is made.
Barty had professed his love for Alice years ago, and at the time she thought she reciprocated. Alice had always feared that marriage would expose her heightened senses and see her shunned or worse. Barty did not know about her differences, but she doubted he would notice them either, and perhaps that was why she had felt comfortable enough to one day be his wife.
Alice hadn’t believed herself one of those women who would find love. She’d want companionship and a friend who would eventually one day be an excellent father.
A memory of a searing kiss slipped into her head. That, she knew, was passion. But it was not for her. A comfortable life was a better option, but now she wondered if that was even a possibility.
“I want to box your ears, Barty,” Alice muttered, looked down at Verity’s desperate words again. How dared he put his family through this.
After Verity’s first letter, Alice had sent word to Barty’s lodgings, but there had been no reply. She then asked her brother’s driver to stop outside and listened. Leaving the carriage when she’d thought she had heard his voice a short distance away, Alice had walked in that direction, and instead run into Lord Braithwaite, and forgotten about Barty in her haste to return to her brother’s house.
Alice got off the bed and paced around the room. It was fast becoming obvious to her that she would need to solicit Wolf’s help, no matter how much Verity had asked her not to.
Verity did not want anyone aware of Barty’s shame but Alice. Which was all very well if she could talk sense into him, but as was proved the other day, he did not want to listen.
Leaving her room, Alice thought a cup of tea was just what she needed before planning her next move.
“Good morning, you hideous little creature.” Alice bent to pat the dog running toward her.
Hep was an ugly little black dog with bulbous eyes who worshipped the ground Wolf walked on. Her brother appeared a few seconds later. Behind him trotted Hep’s best friend and Rose�
�s dog, Zeus.
“What he loses in personality he makes up for in character, Alice.”
Large and handsome, Wolf had not always been as happy as he appeared today. In fact, after the war Alice knew he’d suffered, even though he’d not told her as much through their correspondence.
“Like you then?”
“Exactly like me.”
His smile alone could melt a thousand hearts, as it was not something he used readily. Wolf was the strong, silent type, a man those close to him could rely on. Alice was lucky to be one of those, even if she taxed him continually.
“I do not mean to upset you with my actions, Wolf. And I would never put myself in danger.” Well, almost never. “I am just taking a while to adjust to living in London. I had so much more freedom in Briarwood.”
“I know that, but what I don’t know is why you still insist on leaving the house without notifying me.”
“My destinations are harmless. The library and lectures. Nothing dangerous,” she said, because she had been to one lecture, so it was not an outright evasion of the truth. Her visits to find Barty had not been for that purpose, obviously, but they had to be done for Verity’s sake.
“This I know also. But you cannot continue these solo adventures going forward, Alice, or I shall be saddled with you forever, as no man will have a woman with a ruined reputation, not even Barty.” His smile told her he was being silly, but she knew better. Wolf rarely spoke without purpose.
Alice fought to remain as controlled as he.
“I took Kate with me last time, and my maid.”
“And yet I know you slipped out yesterday with no one accompanying you.”
Drat.
“From this day forth, you will take someone with you, and as it turns out, I have found just the person for that position.”
He smiled down at her, and Alice wanted to climb to her toes and slap him because she knew that look. He believed he had the better of her.
“Rose is calling for you.”
“No, she’s not, and lying is beneath you.”
“She has tripped and stubbed her toe.”
Wolf folded his arms and stood there, as immoveable as the building they currently resided in.
“Who?” Alice snapped.
“Two whos, actually. A maid and a driver.”
“I do not need people watching over me!”