Chapter 19

CHAPTER NINETEEN

C yn hadn't seen Leo again since the Raven ball, as she had come down with a stuffy head and sore throat, so that had been an excellent excuse not to leave the house.

Being housebound was a double-edged sword for her. She had time to read and be with the children, but on the other hand, there were her thoughts that kept circling back to Leo and the kiss they'd shared.

Both had brushed it off, but that kiss and the feel of being pressed to Leo's hard chest had been unlike anything she'd experienced before. It made her long for more. Long for something she'd never felt.

Kenneth had married her so his children would be cared for and happy when he died, which the doctors had told him was imminent due to his weak heart. He'd assured her it would be a marriage in name only, as he loved another—his mistress.

"Letitia has called, Mother," Meg said, running into the room where Cyn was reading on a sofa. Actually, there was very little reading happening; it was mostly thinking about Leo and that kiss and the Phoenix Agency .

Was Alex right? Was she really in danger? Leona had ominously claimed that the Baddon Boys and, more importantly, their leader, the Wolf, were suspicious of a lady that was interfering by helping the girls leave them. Kenneth had then shown Alex those symbols. It was all too close to the truth, and she had no idea what to do about it.

"Wonderful. I am ready for company. Do you wish to go to the park for a walk? I'm sure we can persuade Letitia and perhaps see what vendors we encounter along the way."

"Oooh, spiced cake!" Meg shot back out of the room.

"Off you get, Berry, you are turning my legs numb." She shooed the cat off her lap, and Berry glared at her, then stalked away to find somewhere else to sleep. "You have the best life, you lazy creature."

Brushing hair from her skirts, she went to meet her friend.

"In 1610, Galileo observed four ‘stars' near Jupiter with his telescope, Letitia," Simon was saying when she tracked her friend down.

She and Simon were looking through the telescope that Kenneth had purchased. He'd passed his love of astronomy onto his son and daughter.

"Hello," Cyn said, drawing all eyes. "What has you here today, Letitia?"

"Charles and I are going to the country for a visit with his brother. As we took Simon and Meg with us last time, which our five nieces and nephews loved, I wondered if they wished to accompany us again?"

"Oh, well?—"

"Yes!" her children shrieked.

Cyn hated when Meg and Simon were away from her but was not selfish enough to make them stay, especially with what was going on with the agency at the moment. It was perhaps a good time for them to leave for a while .

"I shall miss you all, but yes, of course. If you wish to accompany Letitia and Charles, I have no problem with that," Cyn said.

She was hugged by her children and then Letitia. Her friend's eyes then narrowed. "You look washed out, and when did you last have your hair styled?"

"I've been sick."

"You do look peaky, but we will take a walk in the lovely fresh London air, and then you shall rest when I take these two away for a few days."

Simon wrinkled his nose. "It smells of smoke outside, so it is hardly fresh air."

Letitia waved her hand, dismissing his words. "Now off you go to collect your things. We shall walk somewhere, and hopefully there will be some sweets in our future."

"As you wish, Your Majesty," Cyn said, dropping into a deep curtsy with a mocking smile on her face.

She tidied her hair, pulled on her long coat, and then left her room, only to find a Mulholland coming down the long hallway toward her. His face was serious, and he looked angry. His hair told her it was Monty.

"Good day to you, Monty. Is everything all right?"

"You'll pardon me for interrupting you, my lady, but there is a problem with a few of your household staff."

"What has happened?"

He looked uncomfortable now.

"Come, Monty, please speak plainly."

"Lilly, one of your maids, is not being fairly treated by your senior staff, Lady Lowell."

"That's a serious accusation, Monty, considering they have been in this household for many years, and I've never had another staff member complain before."

Color flushed his cheeks. "I understand I am new to your employ, my lady, and you have no reason to trust me. "

"I did not say I don't trust you, Monty. Now please tell me what is going on," Cyn said, and then she sneezed, but not because she was nervous; this was the residue of her stuffy head.

"Lilly and Jeremiah, your footman, were found together in a compromising position. They are now being confronted by the other staff members."

"Oh dear, really?" Cyn whispered. "Where is this confrontation taking place? Please take me there at once."

They hurried down the stairs and found Letitia, Simon, and Meg awaiting her.

"You go on. I'll see you soon. I have a staff matter to deal with first, Letitia. You two, behave yourselves."

"Are you sure you don't need my assistance?" Letitia asked.

"Quite sure. Purchase me a wedge of spiced cake, and I will meet you at the park. Prue, you accompany them."

Cyn heard the raised voices as she descended the stairs into the kitchens. Reaching the small dining area where the staff took their meals, she found her butler, housekeeper, and cook on one side of the table, and on the other, Toby Mulholland, Jeremiah, her footman, and Lilly, the maid.

"She's to be turned out at once!" Hadleigh was saying in a tone she'd never heard him use before.

"Good day to you all," Cyn said, drawing their eyes and a few gasps.

"My lady!" her butler said.

"What is going on, Hadleigh?"

"A small staff matter, my lady. I have it in hand." His face was flushed red.

"I'm sure you do, but I wish to know what it is you have at hand, please?" Cyn said the words in the tone Kenneth had taught her to use when she wanted something done.

Be polite yet firm if you want respect .

Everyone started speaking at once. Cyn raised a hand.

"As Toby is the last to enter this household and likely has not formed allegiances to anyone but me and my children, he will speak." She nodded to the large Mulholland, who was currently wearing the same expression as his brother had earlier. "Speak plainly, Toby, and tell me the truth," Cyn added.

"Lilly and Jeremiah are in love." This was greeted by scoffs from her three senior staff members. Cyn sent them a quelling look that shut them up. "Lilly has found herself in a compromising situation." His face was now flushed red.

"She must go!" Mrs. Tipply, Cyn's housekeeper, said.

Lilly was pale but not weeping, and Jeremiah was at her side. Cyn noted they were holding hands. She wondered briefly what that would be like. To have a man who loved you so much, they would stand at your side and hold your hand while hell rained down all around you and your future was suddenly uncertain.

"And Jeremiah can stay?" Cyn asked her housekeeper. She was then rewarded with three nods from her senior staff. "Why?"

They frowned.

"When clearly it takes two people to make a baby. Why is it Lilly must be dismissed and not Jeremiah?"

"She's the one at fault," Mrs. Peel, the cook, said, folding her arms over her heaving chest. Indignant, her face was now flushed with color.

"It's her fault," Cyn said slowly.

"Exactly," Hadleigh said.

"I don't agree," Cyn added. "It is the fault of both parties, and unlike you three, I will not be tossing my staff out on the street because they made an error of judgement that is going to result in a child." The last word came out with a snap to it. "They will be staying, and we will be supporting them. If that is not the case," she said, raising a hand when her housekeeper opened her mouth, "it will not be Jeremiah and Lilly who are dismissed. I hope I've made myself clear?"

Shock was the only word for the expressions on her staff's faces.

Cyn turned to Lilly and Jeremiah. "Do you both wish to marry?"

"Yes, my lady," they said together.

"Excellent. Then we will see if we can expedite that. Both of you will come to my office tomorrow morning, please, to discuss this matter further. You may now go about your business, as I wish to speak to my butler, housekeeper, and cook. Toby, we are leaving the house shortly. Please wait for me by the front door."

"Very well, my lady." He bowed and then left. Jeremiah and Lilly did the same with haste.

The silence that followed was loud with disapproval from her staff.

"Out on the streets of London at this very moment there are women with babes who are living there, as they have no one else to care for and support them. Often it is men who have put them in that position." She made eye contact with each of them. "I have never believed a person should be punished for a moment of weakness, especially not because she is a woman and the one who suffers a far worse fate than a man when she is found to be with child."

"It's the way of things, my lady."

"Men have made it that way, Mrs. Peel, but that does not mean it is right," Cyn said. "You all like Jeremiah and Lilly, but because she is with child—something that was not her fault alone—you were willing to toss her out on the street in a heartbeat to an uncertain future and let him stay. That was heartless of all three of you and disappointing."

They met her words with silence .

"My beliefs do not follow those of others of my birth, and I will not have Lilly put on trial and found guilty for an act that two people partook in. Nor will I have her babe punished. Now, you three have until tomorrow to make your decisions."

"What decisions, my lady?" Hadleigh asked, clearly confused now.

"Whether you will accept Lilly and allow her to continue working here until she no longer can, or whether you wish to leave my employment. Because make no mistake," Cyn added, "I will be keeping a close eye on this situation, and if you do not treat her with respect, as I have already stated, it will not be her employment that is terminated."

Leaving behind her stunned senior staff members that had been a part of this household for far longer than her, Cyn walked from the room and headed for the stairs.

Reaching the front entrance, she pulled on her bonnet and then tugged the ribbons so hard, one snapped.

"Drat."

"Can I help, my lady?"

"I am merely angry, Monty. Let's go," she added, stalking out the front door.

Seconds later, she was walking down her street with Toby and Monty several paces behind. Stopping, she waited for them to reach her. "Walk at my side, will you, please? I have no wish to get a crick in my neck."

They did, flanking her on either side, keeping their strides small to match hers. Cyn felt suddenly tired. Too much emotion could do that to a person. Kenneth had once told her that, which was why he rarely showed any.

"Thank you for supporting Lilly and Jeremiah, Mulhollands."

They didn't speak for several minutes as they walked past the impressive facades of the homes that shared her street. Cyn knew some of her neighbors but not many. If she was honest, she did not have a great many friends. Letitia and Charles. Lewis too, but most of the people in her life were acquaintances. She often felt lonely and was ashamed of the emotion, as she had so much.

"We had four sisters, my lady." Monty said. "One died in childbirth far from our home. She died alone, as our father would not let any of us be with her. She was unwed, you see."

"I am so sorry," Cyn said, touching each of their arms. "That must have been a terrible time for you all."

"It was, and it is why we were supportive of Lilly," Toby added. "Thank you for supporting her also, my lady."

Why those words made her want to weep, she had no idea, but they did. Or perhaps it was for the brothers who lost a sister in such terrible circumstances.

"I know you are men, so I'm of course excluding you from this next statement, but a great many men are fools."

"You will get no disagreement from us," Toby said.