“I was,” he said.
When he didn’t elaborate, she filled in the blanks on her own. “You were following me?”
“It wasn’t so much following, as going in the same direction. I had business to tend to in that particular area of London. When you left the party and I noticed your usual companion absent, I did what any gentleman would do. I saw you home safely.”
“You followed me,” she said again. How could he have followed her all that way without her sensing him there?
As if he knew what she thought, he smiled. “I can be quite invisible when I want to. And I know those alleyways as well as you.”
One did not earn a reputation like Wild’s without the ability to disappear, of course.
“I had concluded my business, and that’s when I saw smoke coming from the building into which you had vanished. The door was locked, but I heard pounding. With my associate’s help, we broke the door in. I brought you here, to one of my establishments, to recover. The rest…well, you know.” He waved his hand around the room.
“Is Bones…?” She could still hear the echoes of his furious howling; still feel his heavy hand slamming into her over and over again. Wild’s eyes narrowed.
“No one else got out. The fire had consumed almost everything by the time my men broke through the door. We were almost too late to save you and your friend. The entire block is gone now.”
Bones. Could he really be dead?
That meant she and Becky were free from him. And Nic…had he been searching for her? What if he thought she perished in the fire? “I need to let someone know I’m okay.” Then she remembered that Wild knew Nic. He had alluded as much at Lady Carstair’s party. “Can you bring him here?”
Wild looked at her curiously, a small smile on his lips, as if he were testing her memory. “Who would that be?”
“Nic. But you knew that already, didn’t you? You two have talked before. Nic mentioned it the night before the fire. Where is he? Is he working for you now? You better not have hurt him.” She started to push upright, but the room swam in her vision. Her own body’s betrayal forced her to lie back down, breathless and weak. “I need to see him.”
“I last spoke with your friend a day before the fire. I waited for him to accept my generous offer, and had also hoped he would convince you to join us as well. Things…took an unexpected turn, though, and I assure you that I’ve not been in contact with him since.” Arista watched Wild carefully. Was that a tic at the corner of his eye? It happened so fast she couldn’t be sure. Perhaps the fog in her head was clouding her judgment.
“I will have a few men ask around, discreetly of course, and if they hear any word, you will be the first to know. For now, you must concentrate on your recovery. You are alive and free, my dear. The world is at your feet. All you have to do now is take it.” Wild smiled again. His eyes sparkled and Arista found herself caught up in the vibrancy she saw in them. Her own lips lifted in response.
“I have not made my decision yet.” Her reply was a test. To see if his charm would be replaced by anger.
But his smile did not falter. “Perhaps after you’ve eaten we can discuss the terms more clearly in the garden?”
Arista glanced at the window, and saw it was dark outside. Time remained tangled in her head.
“Thank you.” He was giving her a choice, something no one else had ever done. Her entire life had been dictated by other people, for their own gain. It slowly started to sink in that with Bones gone, Arista was free. Free to do as she wanted.
She could choose to work with Wild, and it would benefit her in ways she had only ever dreamed. Nic had wanted the power that went along with the money, and though she denied it, there was always a measure of satisfaction when Lady A brought a member of the aristocracy to their knees.
If Wild were telling the truth. That remained to be seen. So far, he had done nothing to make her think otherwise.
A knock came at the door. The maid hastened to open it at Wild’s nod. “I have business to attend to, but I’ve asked the staff to draw a bath for you to enjoy at your leisure. The door locks from the inside for your protection. When you’re ready, just ask Cecily to show you to the garden.”
A line of servants marched into the room. Each carried two steaming buckets of water. They disappeared behind a painted screen in the corner, and poured the water into something back there. After the last person left, the maid from before moved beside Arista. “Would you be needing help, miss?”
“Help?” Arista’s gaze darted between Wild, the maid, and the screen.
“With your bath, miss?” The maid crossed the room and folded the screen back. A waist-high copper tub sat in the corner, steam rising from within. They expected her to bathe in that…monstrosity?