Chapter Two

“Are you sure about this?” Rosamunde whispered to the sketchy man beside her.

I was foolish to trust him.

She really had to be better with regards to who she put her trust and belief in. But when he’d told her there were two children being readied to be sold, she’d ignored any internal warning and had gone with him to do what she could to save them.

This part of town wasn’t for her. Dark. Seedy. Dangerous . Even in daylight she didn’t feel safe. Definitely not with the man she’d erroneously come with.

He scowled at her but didn’t say a word. His black mustache twitched and she was fairly certain that was because of the creatures living in it. Swallowing down her revulsion, she lifted her eyebrows as her father did when he expected to be answered.

It worked.

“Of course. The brats will be by here soon. They were lured with the promise of food.”

She understood that. Even if she didn’t look like she had missed any recent meals, she understood hunger.

“They better be.” She drenched those three words in as much haughtiness as she could manage.

One good thing about the freezing weather, it took her focus away from the fear trying to worm its way into her limbs. And her hunger. As they waited, she skimmed the area, taking it all in.

Sure her house wasn’t furnished with the newest and best furniture or trappings, however, she wasn’t hovering over a barrel for heat. People here had shoes that couldn’t even properly be called that, more like wrappings.

This was most likely going to be the last time she would be able to assist anyone. Before her father had gotten lost in his gambling lust and tossed away the family fortune early the previous year, she had saved her weekly stipend, which had left her with some money. Her parents hadn’t asked her for any after the first time when she’d said no.

Part of her felt guilty for lying but the rest of her didn’t. It was their job to care and protect her, not the other way around.

The wind kicked up, bringing with it the acrid stench of waste, coal, unwashed bodies and rotten food. Thankfully her scarf was around her mouth and nose to help temper the smell, but still, it wasn’t enough to stop her eyes from watering.

Shifting her feet, she adjusted a tiny bit to help ward the wind from slamming into her face.

“Where are they?” she questioned the man beside her.

“Keep your knickers on, lady. We don’t wear the fancy timepieces as people of your ilk do.”

People of her ilk? Really?

“I have other things to do today. People are expecting me.” That part wasn’t true, but maybe it would help her stay safer if the man with her thought so.

He lifted a hand and pointed. “There. They’re coming.”

Squinting again, she looked into the stinging wind and biting snow to see two children shuffling along the walk toward them. Heart breaking for them instantly, she took a step only to be hauled back by the man at her side.

“I think you be forgetting something, my lady.”

She winced at the pain radiating out from where he’d grabbed her and she glared at him. “You will get your money.”

His grin was anything but friendly. She could smell the rotting of his teeth and see the black covering the ones he had left.

“Now.”

She’d not bothered with a reticule, thinking it would be far too easy for someone to yank it off her and run with her coin. Reaching beneath her coat into a pocket—one she’d added—of her dress, she withdrew the amount for him and dropped it into his waiting hand. Then yanking free of his grip, she hurried across the street toward the children.

They were boys and she put them about six and ten. Both looked up at her with wariness in their expression. The eldest held the hand of the younger and was defiant.

“Hello,” she said softly.

“We dinna take anything of yours.”

The fire of the eldest was impressive. Her older siblings never did a thing for her. They sure as heck wouldn’t protect her.

“I know that. I have a place to take you that will get you out of the cold and give you some warmer clothing as well as food.”

“I cold, Jacob.” The smaller of the two glanced up to the elder boy.

He patted the one at his side on the shoulder but never looked away from Rosamunde. “What’s it going to cost us?”

Tears burned her eyes but she refused to let them fall. They shouldn’t be so exposed to the harsh realities of life at such a tender age.

“Nothing. I know you don’t know me, but I have some friends who run a home that helps children like you without anywhere to go.” Friends wasn’t exactly the right word for it, but she’d made an almost-friend with someone who volunteered there. Keely St. Martin.

That has to count for something. Right?

“We won’t go to a workhouse.”

“It’s not one. How about you come with me to see it and if you have no wish to stay, we can come back here?”

The boy pulled out a knife and pointed it at her, keeping it hidden from the others on the street. Not that she thought anyone would interfere.

“You try to hurt me or my brother, lady, and I will make you bleed.”

“Fair enough.” Now all she needed to do was get a coach for them. She licked her lips and spun in a circle to see where she could hail one. Worrying her lower lip as she gazed around, she sighed when she saw one at the end of the street. “Come along.”

Head high, she struck off like she did this all the time. People watched her but no one said anything. She waved to the driver and he lifted his eyebrows but hopped down as she approached.

After giving him the address, she gestured for the boys to climb in first, then she followed, grateful when the door closed. The boys had taken the side she would normally be on—her stomach didn’t do so well when she rode backward—but she let it go. Right now, the important part was getting them to the shelter.

Outside the snow fell heavier and she shivered before stilling. She had no reason to complain. She had more clothing than the two boys with her. The youngest looked to be sleeping against his brother, who watched her with an eagle-sharp gaze.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Because neither of you deserve to be on the street.”

“Not taking us to your house though. Trying to be good, but not willing to bring two urchins beneath your roof.”

“If I had my own place I would. As it is, I barely have the roof over my head that I do.”

He pursed chapped lips before shrugging as if her unexpected honesty didn’t mean anything to him.

The sky darkened and she wished she were home, warm and safe. A small snort escaped. She was neither in her childhood home.

The carriage slowed to a halt and the door opened. Accepting the hand of the man waiting, she stepped down and looked around. Fat flakes fell, chilling her with each touch to her skin.

Digging into her pocket once more, she pulled out money for the hack and paid him. With a tip of his hat, he got on his way, leaving her and the boys in front of the large building. The brick showed signs of wear and tear, four floors that she could see and numerous windows that currently had some coverings on them.

Smoke billowed from the chimneys on top of the roof. Part of her longed to reach for the boys’ hands to walk them in but knew that would be rebuffed. “Let’s head in.”

The false cheer she injected into her tone wasn’t missed by the boys, she knew, given how they watched her out of the corners of their eyes. Even so, they fell in behind her as she mounted the three steps leading to the heavy door.

She pounded on it and suppressed another shiver as the wind kicked up around them, swirling more snow and sleet into her exposed skin.

Rosamunde stepped back as the door was yanked open. A dour-faced woman stood there. The white bonnet on her head contained more starch in it than anything Rosamunde owned.

“Yes?”

“I’m Rosamunde Fletcher and I’m here to see Keely St. Martin.”

Blue eyes narrowed but the woman stepped back, waving them in. Making sure the two boys followed her out of the cold, she gave them as much of a reassuring smile as she could manage. They trailed the woman to a sitting room.

A warm sitting room.

“Wait here and don’t let them two touch anything.” She turned around and stomped off. Impressive, given how thin she was.

“Wonder if I’m allowed to touch anything,” she muttered conspiratorially to the boys, gesturing them closer to the fire burning in the hearth.

“She wouldn’t like it.”

“Hungry, Jacob. I’s hungry.”

Jacob wrapped an arm around his little brother and put him closer to the heat. “I’ll get us something later. Right now we have to wait.”

She joined the boys by the heat and held her hands out, willing herself not to moan as the warmth penetrated her skin. Movement by the door had all of them turning. Without thinking, she put herself between whoever was coming through the door and the boys. After all, they were her responsibility now.

A slender woman stepped in, her dress of dark muslin fitting her in ways that Rosamunde wished clothing could fit herself. A smile lifted bee-stung lips before the woman hurried across the floor.

“Rosamunde. I didn’t think I would see you again. I’m glad you stopped by.” A frown. “Why did you stop by?”

Keely St. Martin was a stunning woman. Bronzed skin and eyes the color of Keely’s father’s expensive whiskey. Her dark hair had been plaited and hung forward over her left shoulder.

“I was hoping you had room to take on two more.” Rosamunde sidestepped and let Keely see the two boys behind her.

* * * *

Bryn bit back his irritation. He knew that Falcon had the same feelings. They’d been everywhere he could think of and there was no sign of his sister. Having visited all her usual haunts when she was in town, both the good and the bad, he was no closer to finding her than he’d been when they started. At least a few of the places he’d have been furious to find her at, she’d not been.

Falcon’s features became harsher and harsher the deeper into the slums they progressed. The cold slammed into them and sleet had begun to fall.

“Perhaps your mother heard wrong.” Falcon kept his eyes trained on the area around them. “And Keely is safe in the country.”

Anyone could hear the hope in the man’s words and personally, Bryce agreed with his friend. But he would be angry first that he was spending his time searching for her here, in town.

“You know I wish that were the case, but Mama is…”

Falcon nodded. “I know.”

And it was true. He and Falcon had grown up together for most of their lives. Their mothers had both had a hand in raising them. Well, Falcon’s adoptive mother. His birth mother had passed in prison. And they didn’t speak of her.

“Which leaves me with one conclusion.” They continued walking shoulder to shoulder, having given up riding in a carriage a few streets ago. Most people were giving them a wide berth for a variety of reasons.

“Keely is here in town.” They shared a glance and said at the same time, “Somewhere.” Bryn refused to give any credence to the fear someone had picked her up and she was being held against her will.

He loved his sister but she had a stubborn streak the size of the ocean. Much like him, she’d had a stigma placed upon her because she didn’t have the pale white skin of the majority of the women here. He knew, however, how behind closed doors men tended to enjoy the things they disparaged in public.

“We could go in different directions and see if we—”

“Get your hands off me!”

The words that broke into Falcon’s statement would have been enough alone, but the thread of fear lacing the voice kicked him to move faster. Not that he had to check to see if his best friend was with him, as he knew Falcon matched him step for step as they thundered up a side street to where the cry had originated.

Not too far from the Thames, this wasn’t the best area of London. It contained a lot of workhouses and unsavory people frequented this area. Still didn’t mean he would ignore someone who needed help.

He ran up to the two large men who were making good use of their sizes to try to get what they wanted from a young woman.

“Oy!” He needed their attention on him, not the woman.

They glanced at him and their sneers turned to scowls. “Stay out of this. You don’ want any of us.”

Pockmarked faces. One had all his teeth, even if they were stained, while the other missed more than he retained. Bulky without being fat, they were imposing figures. At least he assumed they would be for someone far smaller. Like the female they were scaring.

Without slowing down, he stepped between the men and the woman, grasping one man’s meaty wrist in his hand and applying pressure until he released the woman’s wrist.

“What I don’t want is to see two men trying to force themselves on a woman.” He took her hand in his, rubbed his thumb along her exposed skin before nudging her behind him. His pulse kicked up two notches at the initial contact but he didn’t take his eyes off the men before him. It didn’t make sense. He wore gloves, there was no reason that touching a woman should affect him in any way.

“Look away then. You’re dressed far too fancy to be familiar with these streets.” He wiped his hand under a red bulbous nose, smearing the yellowish substance resting there.

“My clothes mean nothing about how familiar I am with anything.” The woman behind him stepped back and Bryn tightened his hold on her before putting her hand on his coat, curving her fingers around the material. He wanted to know she was safe. But he also wasn’t foolish enough to think these men were going to simply allow them to amble away.

Falcon strolled around them, hands in his pockets, looking casual as he surveyed the four of them standing there. In that moment, Bryn could see the arrogance that wealthy men had when dealing with people they didn’t feel were their equals. He’d seen it enough on his grandfather’s face while he was growing up. And on his father’s face when he dealt with idiots.

But on this cold winter’s day, he could see it plain as day on Falcon’s face. Even though he wasn’t a member of peerage, Falcon had grown up around them and learned from the same men Bryn had. His nut-brown hair sat perfectly styled even though cold snow and wind whipped around. Fit from their bouts in the boxing ring, Falcon missed nothing with his dark gaze, and Bryn hadn’t ever trusted another man to have his back as he did this one.

“Don’ we know you?”

The men gave a bit of space between them, like they were expecting to fight and looked for more maneuvering room. Bryn wasn’t concerned for himself, or for Falcon. But the miss behind him, currently holding onto his wool coat, she worried him. For several different reasons. She was silent and he didn’t know if the men had done anything to her before he and Falcon had arrived. Other than his sister and the few close childhood friends he’d had growing up, most of the women he dealt with would be crying by now.

He didn’t hear anything coming from the one behind him and she hadn’t moved.

Good, she can take direction .

“Doubt it.”

The stranger behind him trembled and her hand loosened on his coat. Bryn scowled at the men before dismissing them and turning to face the woman behind him. He stared at her, suddenly unable to catch his breath.

Fire ran up his spine, setting every nerve ending aflame. He drowned in the big green eyes that only held his for a moment before she blushed and ducked her head.

No, that wasn’t going to do at all.

“Are you okay, milady?”

Comments from behind him had him narrowing his eyes but he took a deep breath and remained looking at the woman who’d had the sane effect from looking in his eyes as if she’d simply coldcocked him. He lost his train of thought for a moment there, everything blanked out. Willing her to lift that incredible gaze back to his.

Delectable .

She shivered as the wind swirled faster around them. He frowned as he noticed her coat wasn’t as thick as it should be. Without hesitation, he undid his and slid free. Then he wrapped it around her shoulders. She wasn’t skinny like a lot of girls, but had curves his hands itched to explore. To the point he had to release her and clench his fists to keep from doing just that.

Even so, his coat dwarfed her. He grunted.

Her head popped up, eyes wide, and those pillowy lips parted. He had to stop himself from dipping down to kiss them.

“What are you doing?” She shook her head. “I can’t take this.”

“We were just going to show the bitch a good time.”

Fury pulsed through him. Bryn grasped the sides of his coat and tugged them closer together. “Hold it here.”

She obeyed, and he smiled before holding up a finger. Then he spun around, not bothering to look at Falcon, who’d stepped back by Bryn’s mysterious woman the moment he’d turned. Three steps and he was back in front of the men. Already knowing which one had called her a bitch, he left his fist fly.

The crack reverberated through the morning and the large man dropped like a stone. Bryn didn’t even bother to shake out his hand, just turned a cold gaze to the other man. “Anything you’d like to say about the lady behind me?”

“No.” A violent shake of his head. “Didn’ mean no harm.”

Bryn growled low and stepped toward him.

“Bryn.”

That was all Falcon had to say. He whipped back around to the woman, who looked all too freaking cute in his coat. Her skin seemed a bit too pale, even for it being winter. He wanted to take her home and get her warm.

“Are you okay?”

She gazed around him and sucked a sharp breath. Then she glanced at his hand.

“Are. You. Okay?” he reiterated.

Those green eyes, the color reminding him of the numerous fields he was lucky enough to see on trips in Ireland when he would visit his great-grandfather. Not strictly one shade but variegated ones that caught the light—and his heart.

Damn it, now he was waxing poetic.

“Fine. Thank you for your assistance. I should be going.”

He snorted and shook his head, even as he heard, “Goddamnit, Keely, what the hell are you doing down here?”

It looked like they’d found his sister. Grasping the hand of the woman in front of him, he brought her up along his side as he turned to see Falcon and his sister standing toe to toe.

Keely Lucina St. Martin. His baby sister who wasn’t a baby anymore but a young woman with a spirit that wasn’t ever going to be tamed. Her amber-whiskey gaze swung over to him then on to the woman at his side.

The scowl that had been present vanished and a grin tilted up full lips.

“Rosamunde. I was hoping I would catch you but you dashed off so fast.” A furrow appeared on her brow. “How do you know my brother?”