The Gentleman and the Thief (The Dread Penny Society #2) - Sarah M. Eden Page 0,94
he’d have liked to. “We’re family, Randolph. I’ll always pull you out of the suds.”
Randolph leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “The entire time I was tucked away, I kept thinking what a bit of unearned luck it was that Cora and Addison were away from the house that day. And when Parker told me he’d sent Eloise to you . . .” He took a deep, shaking breath. “Thank you, Hollis, for being steady all these years. I know I haven’t always acknowledged it. I’ve accused you of being unreliable, yet I didn’t worry the moment I knew my little girl was with you.”
It was, quite possibly, the nicest thing his brother had ever said to him. “Miss Newport took exceptional care of her, bringing her to me and refusing to leave until we could safely reunite her with her mother.”
Randolph looked up at him once more. “I’ve treated Miss Newport rather dismissively. I’ve worried so much about appearances that I stopped paying any heed to simply being a decent person.”
“You’ve always been more than ‘decent,’” Hollis said.
Randolph didn’t appear reassured. “Is Cora disgusted with me?”
“She is worried about you. And she has missed you. Beyond that, I don’t know her feelings.”
Randolph squared his shoulders. “I’d best go begin mending what I’ve shattered.”
Hollis nodded. “She and the children are at Thurloe Collegiate School. Miss Newport arranged with the headmistress to house and protect and care for them.”
“Miss Newport seems a remarkable lady.”
“She is precisely that,” Hollis said.
They both rose, then stood a moment in awkward silence. Hollis hoped they would regain a degree of comfort with each other in time. Perhaps even overcome the tension that had marked their interactions for years.
“Off with you.” Hollis tipped his head toward the door. “Cora will be eager to see you.”
With another long and awkward nod, Randolph slipped out. Hollis wandered to the front-facing window and leaned against the frame, looking out on the street. London was turning colder. Hollis would have fewer Society events to attend. He hoped he’d gained enough of the Dreadfuls’ confidence to remain busy on behalf of the DPS. And if all went according to the hopes of his heart, every free moment he had would be spent attempting to prove himself worthy of Ana’s regard.
When he turned from the window to leave the room, he found Ana standing on the far side. She could not have come in through the doorway without his noticing. And she hadn’t come up the front walk; he could see it quite clearly.
She’d sneaked in.
“Am I to play host to the Phantom Fox, then?” he asked with a smile.
“Your brother was taking absolutely forever to settle himself into his carriage. Climbing in through a window was faster.”
He moved toward her. “None of my windows were open.”
“They weren’t unlocked, either,” Ana said.
He tried to hold back his laughter but failed spectacularly.
“Not many gentlemen would be pleased to hear a lady had broken into his home,” she said.
“Not many gentlemen are as brilliantly astute as I am.” Hollis held his hand out to her. “What has brought you to visit? Besides, of course, the challenge of opening my locked windows.”
She laid her hand in his. “I have checked the list of those taken up by the police last night. Serena, the housekeeper I promised to help, wasn’t among them.”
He walked with her to the small sofa. “Perhaps she escaped.”
Ana shook her head as she sat. “She told me she had children, likely somewhere in that house. She wouldn’t have simply slipped away without them.” She released a pent-up breath and leaned against him. “The Mastiff likely dragged the lot of them to wherever he’s doing his dirty work now.”
He set his arm around her. “I wish I could say that was unlikely.”
“I broke my word to her,” Ana whispered. “She and her children are suffering because I failed her.”
“You did all you could.” He turned enough to pull her into a true embrace. “We’ll keep an ear to the ground, darling. Someone will find her, and we’ll get her out.”
“Do you promise?”
He kissed the top of her head. “I swear to you. And I, too, know what she looks like. I’ll watch for her myself.”
She released a tight breath. “I just hate the thought of her and her little ones suffering.”
“We will find her; I know we will.”
Ana stretched up enough to kiss his jaw. “Thank you.”
“You know, I enjoy your visits far more than my brother’s.”