Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

" W hat are you doing here, Lord Seddon?" Cyn demanded, fighting the urge to sneeze. Leo was in the Phoenix Agency; it was almost too hard to believe. Dear Lord, surely he was not the man Lewis said was looking at leasing the property next door?

"Stand still, Cyn," Lewis snapped as he attempted to wrap his handkerchief around the wound on her palm. "You are bleeding." Her friend then shot Leo a look, which she was sure would be a glare. "And you, sir, are on private property."

"Exactly," Cyn said. "I suggest you leave," she said, battling to subdue the rapid beat of her heart at seeing him again. Be nice, Cyn, she reminded herself. He has suffered far more than you, plus you are now an adult and can behave as such. "Please," she added, which had his brows drawing together in a frown.

"What is going on, Hyacinth?"

"Lady Lowell," Cyn said. "And what do you mean what is going on?" She congratulated herself on the polite tone. She could do this. Talk to him like she did to other acquaintances in society most evenings.

"Of course, forgive me, I am used to calling you Hyacinth." He bowed slightly, keeping his eyes on her the entire time.

"Ouch!" Cyn hissed as Lewis pushed down on the cut she'd received from a nail sticking out.

"It needs to be tight to stop the bleeding," her friend said.

"Can I be of assistance?"

"I am well, thank you, my lord. Lewis will fuss and?—"

"I do not fuss," Lewis scoffed. "You have a cut, and I have no wish for you to track blood through the agency."

"It is a mere scratch. Don't be dramatic, Lewis."

"It may need a stitch, Cyn. Perhaps you should see a doctor," Lewis said.

"Listen to your friend," Leo said.

Cyn shot him a look. Now he was not dripping wet and hunched from the cold, he appeared bigger. Broad shoulders in the immaculately cut black jacket. His face was harder too, his cheekbones more pronounced. Why had he not grown a wart on the end of his nose, or at least a mole that had long hairs sticking out of it? But no, there he stood, handsome and far too disturbing.

"Do you own the Phoenix Agency, my lady?"

She didn't hide that the building was owned by her… or more importantly, the Lowell family, and yet she rarely discussed what was the true purpose of the premises.

"Yes, Lord Seddon, I do." Was he like so many of her peers, who believed a woman should be painting badly and stitching useless things no one would ever need?

"And I believe you help women seek employment?" he asked. In one large, gloved hand, he held a hat, tapping it slowly against his thigh. The other held a cane, as many noblemen did these days.

"Let me see your cut. Having younger siblings, I am quite handy in a medical situation." He lowered his hat and cane to a cabinet inside the door and then moved closer .

"Lewis is more than capable of tending it, my lord. Thank you," she added, reminding herself that manners were important even when you were off-balance.

"Let me see," he demanded. Hyacinth did not respond to demands anymore.

"I have said that is not necessary," she said with a snap to her voice now.

"You're definitely not the woman I remember," he said. "That lady had far prettier manners."

"She is long gone."

"Is your husband to blame for that?" The words were spoken softly.

She whirled on him, anger surging to life. Lewis let her go as she faced Leo. "My husband was a good, honorable man. I will not allow you to say otherwise, Lord Seddon."

Those brown eyes studied her. "Forgive me, I did not mean to suggest he wasn't."

"I'm not sure what the words ‘is your husband to blame for that' meant if not an insult." She was not someone who lost control, and yet seeing him here, at her agency, was doing that to her.

He exhaled slowly. "Forgive me. It was wrong to speak about the late Lord Lowell that way. I always found him a good man."

She nodded.

"I had thought never to see you again," he said softly.

"At least you have learned to swim since we last met," Cyn said in the same tone, attempting to ease the tension between them. They were both clearly still uncomfortable being in each other's company.

He snorted. "Indeed, at least I can be of some use to someone."

Which meant what?

Lewis cleared his throat, and Cyn knew that, for a brief moment, she'd forgotten he was there, because Leo was standing before her. It had always been like that with him. He could make her forget to eat; such had been the love she'd had for this man once. Not now, however. She was not that silly fool anymore.

"There is brandy upstairs, Cyn. We can wash it with that," Lewis said.

"Oh, very well."

"Your storage room is full," Leo said as Lewis led the way around him and back out the door, with Cyn following.

"Hold it up so it doesn't bleed through the bandage and all over you and the agency floors, please," Lewis ordered her as they walked out of the room and then to the gardens.

Cyn was aware of Leo on her heels and fought the urge to look over her shoulder at him.

"Don't trip, Cyn."

"Yes, thank you, I am quite capable of walking up the stairs with an elevated hand," she said to Lewis.

Cyn had met Lewis the day she'd been standing on the street looking up at the plaque being attached above the front door. He had asked her what the Phoenix Agency was, and she'd found herself talking to him about it and her plans for the women she wanted to help. Before she'd known what she was about, Cyn had hired him to help her run it. Not once had she regretted that.

Lewis was kind when kindness was needed and strong when required also. The women loved him for his forthright manner, and Cyn counted him as a friend.

They entered the upstairs, and she thought Leo would walk out the front door and leave. He didn't and followed her into the small parlor Lewis waved her to.

"I am quite all right, my lord. You may leave."

"Hello! "

"In here, Ellen," Leo called, his eyes on Cyn. "Come and say hello to an old friend."

Every muscle in Cyn's body clenched as she heard the footsteps. She then sneezed. Damn. Ellen Nightingale had once been a friend, and it was through her that she'd first been introduced to Leo.

Her eyes went from him to the door, and then two people walked through it—Alexander and Ellen Nightingale.

Smaller than her brothers and slender with lovely blond curls, Ellen had been the epitome of a debutante, just like Cyn had been. They'd been drawn together from the start, and possibly that was because they'd been popular, but she had also liked Ellen's humor, when she let it out. They'd often giggled over ridiculous things.

When the Nightingales' life had imploded, Cyn had not only lost the man she loved but a friend too.

"Hyacinth?" Ellen stopped beside Leo. "Is it really you?"

She nodded. Ellen then took a tentative step closer, holding out a hand to Cyn.

"It is lovely to see you again. Leo told me what happened the other night, and I'm so pleased he was there to help you when you fell into the water."

"Yes, I was very grateful." Her voice sounded odd, like a rusty door hinge.

"You look different. Older, which is silly, because of course you are, but still so beautiful," Ellen said.

"As are you," she managed to get out around the tightness in her throat.

"I am married to Detective Grayson Fletcher," Ellen added.

She'd missed her friend. Not with the bone-deep ache of missing the man she loved— thought she'd loved, but Cyn had pined for Ellen also .

Ellen moved closer and then grabbed her in a hug, wrapping her arms around Cyn and squeezing. "I've missed you."

"Well now, this is a surprise," she heard Alexander Nightingale say. "Imagine Lady Lowell being here, in the building next door to the one we plan to purchase."

"Alex," she heard Leo growl.

Cyn backed out of the embrace, and Ellen's arms fell away, as did her smile.

"Hello," Alexander said, moving forward next. She remembered he was usually smiling or flirting with young ladies when they'd been in society together. "Lovely to see you again, my lady."

She curtsied and then turned to face Lewis, whose eyes were wide, enquiring, and flitting around the people now in the room. He'd have plenty of questions later.

"This is Mr. Crowe," she said, waving her good hand his way.

They greeted him.

"Do you have the makings for tea here?" Alexander asked.

"We do," Lewis said before she could deny it. "I will make some."

Drat. How was she to get rid of these people now? Being near them made her remember the connection they'd once shared. They made her feel off-balance.

"Mary will return shortly," she said, giving Lewis a hard look. "We have an appointment also arriving soon."

"Plenty of time, as we usually take tea at this hour, and if she returns, she can join us," Lewis said calmly, which had Cyn wanting to snap her teeth together. We've never had a set teatime. What's his game?

"I will just pop out to that tea shop we passed on the corner and see what I can find for us to eat," Alexander said. "We shall have a tea party. "

"They have wonderful iced buns there," Lewis said, clearly unaware that these were, in fact, the last three people she would like to take tea with. Cyn shot Leo a look; he was looking at her with the same guarded expression.

"Do they really? Well now, that seals it," Alexander said. "We have to secure the lease on the property next door. I will be back shortly, Lewis, so go and brew that tea."

Cyn looked from Ellen to Leo and could not find a thing to say after the two men had left. She excelled at social chitchat in the evening, but it had all deserted her.

"I'm sorry for what happened." Ellen broke the silence first.

"There is no need. I understand why you left London." Her words sounded cool and composed. Kenneth had taught her that too. He'd schooled her on hiding her emotions along with money management and being a great deal stronger than she'd been when he married her. "We have all grown up, and there is no need to speak of that time."

"But I'm truly sorry we left you without a word, Hy—Lady Lowell," Ellen said.

Cyn kept her eyes on Ellen; it was easier than dealing with her brother. She hated how aware she still was of him. He was nothing to her now but an acquaintance and hopefully someone she rarely saw going forward.

Don't take the lease on the property next door.

"It matters not, really. Please don't give it another thought."

"I understand you have two children," Ellen added.

"I do. They were my late husband's children and are wonderful." They were her life, in short. She had never loved anyone quite like she did Simon and Meg. Perhaps the only time she'd loved someone as fiercely was when she'd loved the man in this room .

"She has hurt her hand, Ellen," Leo said. "But won't let me look at it."

"It is fine, as I told you." She glared at Leo. He simply raised a dark brow.

"Let me see, Hyacinth."

"There is no need to fuss, Mrs. Fletcher. I will pour some brandy on it." Cyn backed away as the Nightingale siblings approached. "We keep some in the cabinet there for clients," she added, babbling. She was usually controlled, but not now, today, with these two close.

A large hand reached over her shoulder as Cyn opened the cabinet and grabbed the brandy decanter.

"You will let us look at your hand, my lady." Leo said the words into her ear, and she refused to shiver. Instead, she sneezed.

"Do you still sneeze when you are nervous?" Ellen asked. "Or are you reacting to something? Mungo, he lives with us, reacts to lavender."

"Yes, it is the dust in the air," Cyn lied.

"Let me see your injury. It may fester if it is not treated and need to be lopped off." Ellen grabbed her hand before she could stop her and began to unwind the bandage Lewis had applied. She then tsked. "This needs cleaning, my lady."

"It will not fester." She tried to tug her hand free, but Ellen held on.

"Here." A large hand held out a square of white linen.

"Pour some of the brandy on it, Leo," Ellen ordered. "Then we will place it under the bandage and rewrap it. It will do for now, but when you get home, have it cleaned, and I'm sure someone in your household has ointment."

Cyn tensed when Leo placed the pad on the wound, but as his fingers didn't touch her skin, she relaxed slightly, then hissed out a breath as the alcohol stung. Ellen efficiently rewound the bandage .

"Thank you."

"You are welcome." Ellen smiled.

Dressed in pale sage green, her old friend was the epitome of elegance and beauty. Beside her brother, they looked as prosperous, titled people should look. But they weren't that anymore. They could be prosperous—she wouldn't know—and they were titled, but they no longer walked in society.

"I'm back!"

Leo's eyes rolled, and Ellen laughed as Alexander's voice reached them. Family and love, she thought. She'd always envied them that. Her parents were old and spent their time in the country, and her older sister lived away from London now, settled not far with her husband and four children. There were ten years between her and Penelope. Cyn tried to see them a few times a year, but she could not always make it work.

Alexander Nightingale burst into the room with his arms full. "They had apricotines—I must tell Ram. In fact, it all looked delicious, so we will be returning often after we take the lease on the place next door."

"If we take the lease," Leo added.

"Tea," Lewis said, entering behind him.

"Why are you looking at leasing the building next door?" Cyn asked, because maybe she could dissuade them. She moved to a chair across the table from where Leo and Ellen stood.

"To run our businesses from," Alex said when no one else spoke. "We are no longer the indolent noblemen you once knew, my lady."

"I'm sure there are a great many things different about all of us from the people we were," Leo said.

She had to agree with that. Leo was somber, and even Ellen seemed different. Alex, she was sure, had changed, even as he seemed the same.

Should she tell them about the Phoenix Agency's clientele? That would surely change their mind about taking the property next door, and that had to be a good thing.