Olympia decided that sharing a morning meal with a man she was strongly attracted to was a dangerous business. Brant had slipped in, unseen as planned, to join her for the breaking of their fast. Yet, even though her two young nephews and Thomas were with them, there was an intimacy to it all that she could not shake. He sat across the table from her dressed as many a man would be to enjoy his first meal of the day, but Brant in his shirtsleeves was a sight she found far too tempting. The fact that he kept looking at her hair, which was only lightly tethered back just as it always was so early in the morning, and his gaze warmed each time he did so, only added to that temptation.
She had seen little of him in the past two days and realized she had sorely missed him. It was strange that she would feel so when they had kissed little and been in each other’s company so rarely after that day she had gone to warn him of the threat to his sister. He had come round for tea and cakes each day so that they could exchange the information each of them was so busy gathering but it was as if he was trying to put, and keep, a distance between them. It would be a wise thing to do but she knew she could not hold to it. It made her heart ache.
She forced her attention to her nephews Artemis and Stefan in the hope of pushing aside her hurt and confusion. At nineteen and seventeen, respectively, they were more men than boys, but she was still very wary of involving them in what could prove to be a very dangerous situation. It had surprised her when the call for help she had sent out the moment she had returned to London had brought them to her door with Penelope’s full approval. They had been a part of the group that had first uncovered the ugly truth about Faith’s disappearance and Lady Mallam’s part in it. Penelope was well aware of how dangerous this new trouble with the woman could be.
“Ashton also wished us to come,” said Artemis, smiling faintly when Olympia scowled at him for using his gift to guess at how she felt, and then he looked at Brant. “Ashton wanted to come but Pen is drawing close to her time and, he worries. This babe appeared too quickly after the twins and he does not want to leave her alone.”
“Understandable,” said Brant, pleased that Ashton still stood by him and feeling a pang of envy over all his friend now had, but he hastily smothered it before any of the gifted people he sat with could sense it. “I am not quite sure how you can help me, however.”
“We lived here for years when it was not such a respectable place and we learned a great deal about even less respectable places when we were sorting out all of Pen’s troubles.”
“Made a few less than respectable friends who could help us now as well,” added Stefan. “Know who to talk to and all.”
“Ah, of course.” Olympia nodded as she spooned some clotted cream onto the sweet buns Enid had made. “I, too, had thought of making use of the boys.”
“What boys?” asked Brant.
“The boys who have just arrived,” Artemis said and then frowned. “Something is not right.”
Brant was just wiping crumbs from his mouth when Enid opened the door to the breakfast room and four ragged boys hurried in. It amused him a little when he was introduced to each one with all the formal courtesy that would have been used had he been meeting fellow members of the aristocracy. The Wherlockes and Vaughns obviously did not stand high and aloof on some pedestal of good breeding but treated all people with dignity until, he suspected, they lost the right to such respect. He supposed he should not be so surprised as the families had some of the most loyal servants he had ever known, ones who acted more like family than servants.
He took a good hard look at each boy as he shook their hands. Beneath the dirt and poor clothing were the signs of bloodlines that might not be completely common. The biggest of the boys, Abel Piggitt, looked to be on the cusp of puberty. He was tall with blond hair and green eyes as well as fine-boned features that made him almost pretty. Daniel Ashburner was ten, information the boy felt compelled to share as he was introduced, with dark red hair and brown eyes that gave him a look of sweetness Brant was certain the boy knew how to use to his advantage. Smaller than Daniel, yet undoubtedly close in age, David Ewen had black hair and gray eyes as well as a somber mien that made Brant want to make the boy smile at least once. Giles Green, clearly the youngest of the four, had black hair and eyes nearly as blue as Olympia’s, making Brant wonder if this was yet another Wherlocke or Vaughn by-blow. Each boy acted and spoke in a way that told Brant someone had seen to some schooling for the boys.
“Enid, I believe we shall need some more food,” said Olympia as she waved the boys toward the table.