Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

" G ood day to you, Lord Seddon," a loud voice boomed to the Nightingale siblings when they approached the town house that they were considering taking a lease on. The man coming toward them was short and wide. His moustache was impressively waxed, and his clothes stated he was a man of means, which Leo was sure was the intention.

"Mr. Taylor, I presume?" Leo said, holding out his hand. "This is my brother, Mr. Nightingale, and sister, Mrs. Fletcher."

"Wonderful," he said, bobbing his head. "Wonderful indeed," he added with another head bob. "And it is a lovely day to view property. I always say looking at a new investment when the sun is shining is the only way," he added. "As you will have noted upon approach, there is not one house that is not up to the high standards set by the residents of the street. Riffraff will not be tolerated."

"Riffraff?" The word had come out of Ellen's mouth coated in ice.

"From a class far beneath yours, Mrs. Fletcher," Mr. Taylor said, beaming as if he'd said something complimentary. The look on Ellen's face told Leo that was indeed far from the truth.

"Because we were lucky enough to have been born into wealth in no way makes us better than those that were not," his sister snapped.

Leo looked at Alex, and they exchanged a silent communication to stand back and let Ellen say her piece.

"Of course it does," Mr. Taylor said, still smiling.

"Mr. Taylor." Ellen raised a finger to wave at the man. "Shame on you for believing yourself better than those that have had to fight for their very survival through no fault of their own."

"As a woman, I'm sure you feel?—"

"I would not continue this conversation, sir," Leo snapped, no longer willing to remain silent if the man was about to insult Ellen. "My sister is far more intelligent than either of her brothers… for that matter, most of the members of our family. Be very careful how you speak to her, Mr. Taylor, or this appointment will be over before it has begun."

The man paled. "Apologies, no insult intended," he said nervously.

"Shall we take a look inside?" Alex asked, his tone clipped as well. "Perhaps you can keep your opinions strictly to details about the house going forward."

"Wonderful idea," Mr. Taylor said quickly.

Leo looked at the buildings on either side of the one they were about to enter. Both were all white with black iron railings running along the front. They went below the street level and above it two stories.

"We have many people interested in leasing the property, you understand," Mr. Taylor said, getting into his sales pitch. "I've put everyone on hold just because I knew you were coming today." He beamed at them again, although there was a nervous edge to the man now as he bobbed his head.

"Of course you did, and we are extremely grateful," Alex said, doing what he did best, lying while smiling. He was the Nightingale most likely to stop an argument and could manipulate most people into giving him what he wanted before they realized it.

Leo looked to the small brass plaque above the door of the property to his right. He read the words The Phoenix Agency .

"What is the Phoenix Agency, Mr. Taylor?" Leo asked.

The man coughed and then cleared his throat. "Ah, well, as to that, my lord, it is an agency."

"I can see that. But what kind of agency." Leo kept his eyes on the man as he asked the question. His discomfort had just increased, and it was not from Ellen's earlier words.

"Well"—his head bobbed—"I believe it helps place young ladies into positions," the man said quickly.

"Something that many agencies across London do, sir. Why does this particular one make you uncomfortable?" Leo asked in a polite tone. His brother and sister remained silent, happy for him to ask the questions.

Nightingales had learned to back one another's intuition many years ago.

"Uncomfortable? What?" His laugh was more a high-pitched squeal. "Not at all. They are wonderful people and doing an excellent job for those who need to find employment."

"How long has this building we are about to enter not had tenants?" Alex asked suddenly.

Mr. Taylor was now sweating. The Nightingales often had that effect on people.

"Ah, well, things are taking some time to?—"

"How long, sir? "

"A year."

"Because?" Leo asked.

"I have no idea." The man was busy riffling through a ring of keys he'd just pulled from his pocket. "W-would you like to see the property?"

Leo took pity on him, and after a final glance at the Phoenix Agency, he followed his siblings down the stairs inside the property.

The ground floor offered two rooms, with a door outside to a small garden. The first floor had three more, and the second, a further four. It was tidy and spacious, and for what his siblings felt they needed in their family, it would be perfect, except for the niggling doubt he had about the Phoenix Agency. He could see no reason why someone had not taken on this property.

"I'm going next door to see what that agency is about before we make any decisions," he whispered into Ellen's ear. "I expect you to hound the man until he gives us the lease at a vastly reduced rate after his misconception that you are a brainless female, which if I'm honest…" She smacked his arm.

"I can do that," Ellen whispered with an impish grin. "I will have him eating out of my pathetic female hands in no time."

"I have no doubt."

Leo excused himself and walked back outside. He then took the few steps to reach the next property and was soon knocking on the front door. When that failed to get a response, he tried again. Since no one answered, he was just about to return to his siblings, but then Leo heard a voice coming from inside.

Trying the brass handle, it turned, and he entered. If this was a brothel or some other place of ill repute, he wanted to know, as his family would not be leasing the property next door.

Inside the entranceway were olive-green walls and a red oriental carpet. He counted three doors off the long hallway. As he approached, a man appeared through one of the doors.

"Good day to you, sir," he said, moving to the reception desk. He had a wide mouth and large brown eyes all set in a long angular face that oddly worked. His hair was bright red and curly.

"Good day. I knocked, but no one answered," Leo said.

"All are welcome here at the Phoenix Agency. However, we only find placements for women, I'm afraid. Therefore, you must have come to the wrong address."

"This was my intended location. I am looking at leasing the property next door and wanted to enquire as to the nature of the Phoenix Agency." To Leo, it seemed a simple enough question. However, the smile fell from the man's lips, and his eyes narrowed.

"Nature?" The word came out a great deal cooler than his tone had previously been.

"Nature," Leo repeated. The word hung in the air between them, but he did not back down.

"We are an agency, sir," the man snapped.

"Yes, but what is the agency for?"

The man straightened his shoulders, which gave him at least three inches over Leo, who was well over six feet himself.

"For?" the man asked.

He had not thought the question a difficult one; clearly it was.

"Look," he tried again. "I just want to know who our neighbors will be. I am not asking you to introduce me to everyone who works here or show me your accounting," Leo snapped .

A loud bang reached them from somewhere below.

"We are having alteration work done," the man said. "We are an agency for placing women into work, sir. I hope you don't find that too offensive. Now, if you will excuse me, I must see if I am needed."

Leo blinked. Had he just been dismissed? He watched the man he'd offended by asking a simple question stalk away from him and back through the door he'd recently exited.

"All I asked was what was the nature of this business," Leo muttered, looking at the now-closed door. Clearly the man was sensitive.

Another loud bang was followed by a muffled yelp of pain.

It wasn't that he didn't believe the man about what went on here, but then would he have said what they were using the premises for if their intentions were nefarious?

Leo had come to his suspicious nature late in life, but it had stood him in good stead many times. Something was niggling at him like a loose eyelash.

He looked around the space but saw little else except the desk. Leo thought briefly about going behind it to see what he could find and then thought again. Not the best way to treat your neighbors, if indeed they decided to take the lease on the property next door.

He heard raised voices. Surely someone was in need of his assistance? Those voices sounded panicked. He was now duty bound to investigate.

Opening the door, he walked into a room where coats hung on hooks. Beyond that, another door stood open and led outside. As there was no sign of the man in here, he surmised he'd left. Following, Leo took the stairs down.

The garden was small and held a few plants. A wooden fence separated this area from the house next door the Nightingales were inspecting. The other side of the garden had a wall with stairs up to the street level.

"I told you to wait for me, Cyn! Now you have hurt yourself." That was the voice of the man Leo had just met, and it was coming from inside.

"It is nothing but a scratch," a woman said. Do I know that voice?

"That is more than a scratch."

"Don't fuss, Lewis. Did we just have a visitor?"

"Indeed, we did. A man who wanted to know the nature of our agency, as he is looking at the property next door. He had a snooty, arrogant way about him."

So, on short acquaintance, I come across snooty and arrogant, Leo thought. That was harsh considering they'd spoken no more than a few words to each other. Although his family was always stating he had a resting scowl that could scare most people away.

"Excellent, just the sort of neighbors we need, considering our clients," the woman said. He knew that voice, just not who it belonged to.

Moving through the door, he stepped inside and was met with a room full of discarded household items ranging from an ugly sofa the color of moldy apples to several uncomfortable-looking chairs. Circling around the ugliest vase he'd ever seen, he saw a door that must lead to another room. Reaching it, Leo looked inside.

The room was cluttered like the one he'd just walked through, but it was the two people standing in the corner with their backs to him that caught and held his attention. The prickle of awareness had him clearing his throat.

The woman turned so fast, she stumbled; the man who had spoken to Leo steadied her. Hyacinth's eyes then locked on him.