by Wendy Vella
“I may be angry with you, but you need to eat. You’re thin and pale.”
“I’m always pale,” Emily protested.
“However you have not been as thin lately,” Cam said, filling her teacup. He then added two teaspoons of sugar.
“I’m perfectly capable of doing that for myself, Cambridge, and I can hardly help that I am naturally thin... or pale!”
“Now, Emily—”
“She should still be in bed,” Cam interrupted his sister.
Emily glared at him. “Just because you are a man, Cambridge Sinclair, does not mean you are stronger than I, and thus able to rise from your sick bed sooner.”
“Yes it does.” His words were accompanied by a small smile. It wasn’t the usual one he gave her laced with menace; this one was gentle, and it unsettled her.
“That will do, both of you.”
Emily tore her eyes from Cam and looked at James, who had just returned. Was Cam right, could her behavior be hurting him?
Emily acknowledged that she did treat him differently to Max. Max was like her, a child born out of wedlock, and she did not feel alienated from him like she did James.
“Eat up now.” Cam nudged Emily’s plate closer.
“Yes, in this I agree with him. You must eat to regain your strength, Emily.”
“I will, thank you, James.”
“If you are up to it, Emily, I have asked Dev and Lilly and the others over to hear your story, as I think it best we all understand what happened so we can find who is responsible.”
Emily shivered at the thought of recounting that day, but she simply nodded. James was right, they did need to know if the culprits were to be caught.
After the meal had finished with no more arguing, Emily followed James and the others to his office, a large room where the family spent a great deal of time.
The ceiling was high, with the farthest wall holding floor-to-ceiling windows that streamed in sunlight—when there was sun, that was—making the room a wonderful place to sit and idle away a few hours with a book, of which there were many. Lining two walls, high enough that a ladder would be needed to reach the top ones, there were enough books in here to appease any interest. The furnishings were of rich, deep reds and blues with woven patterned rugs scattered on the polished wooden floors. It was a room that Emily secretly loved, but she did not spend a great deal of time here, as James was usually occupying it.
Soon the room was full of Sinclairs and Ravens. Dev sat beside his wife, Lilly, who looked lovely with her fair locks and beautiful smile. In her arms was Mathew, their son, a happy little boy who had the Sinclair coloring. Eden was holding Isabella, who had brown curls and showed signs of being a beauty like her mother. James, Cam, Max, and Essie were also seated throughout the room. Everyone was here to listen to Emily recount what had happened the day of the abduction.
“Give me that child,” Cam said. He was seated in a chair to her right. Lilly handed him Mathew, and the boy settled back happily against his uncle’s chest. A comfortable place to be, Emily remembered.
“I have told them what happened until you stormed out of the lecture,” Cam said. “So start your story from the moment you were abducted, Emily.”
“I did not storm out. I had no wish to spend another minute in your company, therefore I left the building... discreetly, and with great composure.”
He let out a great big bark of laughter. Cam didn’t do anything quietly.
“Now, where was I?”
“I told them about the paper you wrote.”
“You didn’t!” She glared at Cam. “You had no right.”
“He had every right,” James snapped. “Why did you not tell us of this interest you have in astronomy, Emily?”
If only they knew all of it.
“I—ah, well as to that, I did not want to bother you.”
“Why would you studying astronomy bother me? In fact, had you told me I would have been delighted, as it interests me also.”
“Does it?” Emily wasn’t sure what to make of that.
“Me, however, it bores witless, so don’t even try and tell me about it,” Max said, smiling at her.
“I would like to read this paper.”
She nodded to James, but said nothing further. She had educated herself where possible, and since coming to live here had continued with that, but James had been educated at the best school, by the best scholars; she would not feel comfortable with him reading her paper. Of course there was every possibility he had read her work without realizing it. Every morning in the newspaper.
“Drink this tea please, Emily,” Essie said, handing her a cup. “I’ve had it brewing for you. It will continue to help with bruising.”
She heard the collective group sigh. They had all been subjected to Essex Sinclair’s potions and tinctures.
The cup was warm as she cradled it.
“Bottoms up.”
Ignoring Cam, she took a sip, and found it surprisingly sweet. There was the earthy taste of herbs, and whatever else had been brewed in there, but it wasn’t unpleasant.
“I put some honey in.”
“How come she gets honey?” Cam said as he pulled a funny face at Mathew. The little boy gurgled with laughter.
The picture was an appealing one, she could not deny that. The handsome man and his nephew. He’d be a wonderful father when the time came. She pushed aside the depressing thought that she’d never have children, as it had been her choice to make; no one else had influenced her.
“I like her. Now be quiet, and hopefully Emily will be able to get through her story without interruption.”
“Highly unlikely,” James stated.
“I was walking—”
“On that matter, Emily,” James interrupted. “I do not approve of you gadding about London unescorted. Or slipping out of the house without first notifying any of us where you are going.”
“Two seconds, that has to be a record even for us,” Max said. “However, in this I agree fully with James.”
Emily glared at Cam, who had obviously told her brothers about the lectures she had attended.
“We will come back to that. Now continue, Em,” Essie said gently.
She told them everything she remembered, which surprisingly was quite a bit.
“He spoke a language?”
“The man who grabbed me did I think, Max, but I could understand very little. I did not get a look at his face, as I was forced facedown on the floor at first, and when I turned, he was climbing through the roof to get Cam.”
“You must have been terrified,” Eden said.
She had been, and wondered if she’d ever see her family again.
“Do you have a feeling they were targeting you deliberately, Emily, or was it random?”
“Random!” Cam roared at Max’s words. “How the hell can you suggest it is random?”
“Calm down, Cam,” Dev said.
“James and I spoke with our friendly Bow Street Runner,” Max continued. “Mr. Brown told us concern is growing, as three women have been abducted and disappeared entirely without a trace. They believe they are being sold, and put on ships, heading for God knows where to be enslaved as concubines.”
The thought made Emily queasy. There could be no worse fate as far as she was concerned. To be enslaved to a man... or several, for their pleasure for as long as they wished it.
“Christ!” Cam’s face paled even more.
“Quite,” James added. “And that is why Max asked the questions he has.”
“I’m not sure,” Emily said. “I don’t remember the man mentioning my name.”
“There are a few options.” Max looked grim as he continued. “One is what I have just mentioned; the other is that whoever took you knows the money and power your brothers have and has decided to ransom you back to us.”
“Lord, I hope it’s the first one,” Essie said. “I could not bear to think Emily was still in danger.”
“We must all be
diligent,” James said looking grim. “We have employed the services of Mr. Spriggot, and he will be looking into the matter for us. It is hoped he can track down the man thrown from the carriage, or the driver first, as it is likely they were just hired help. We have told him to use the manpower required to get a result, Emily. Whatever this is, we want it dealt with immediately. I want to reassure you, however, that no further harm will come to you.”
“Ouch, you little blighter,” Cam said, shaking a finger. Mathew had just bitten him, and it was just the moment for him to do so. Everyone laughed, but inside Emily felt cold, because while she hoped this was a random act, something inside her said it was not.
CHAPTER SEVEN
She’d just said the one word, guilt, which left him no wiser and a great deal more frustrated. What the hell was she guilty over, and what did it have to do with James?
Cam watched Emily gather Isabella into her arms and hug her close. She was scared that the abduction had not been an isolated incident, just as they all were.
Several days had passed since Emily’s abduction, and the anger inside him still raged on. His body had yet to recover fully, even though Lilly had healed the worst of his pain. But it was his head that had not returned to normal. He was struggling to push aside the thoughts of Emily being taken right off the street in front of him. He would wake, cold with sweat, at the memory of the carriage rolling into the water, and he unable to find her.
Her saw her terror as she looked up at him through the roof of the carriage. The desperation to reach her, save her, that he’d experienced that day was fresh in his mind. He wondered if he would ever be completely free of those memories, the consuming fear that she would drown before he could get to her. He prayed, fervently, that whoever grabbed her had been working randomly; the other possibility was not one he wanted to consider.
“You must show caution now, Emily, until we have this matter resolved,” James said to her. “As must we all.”
She wouldn’t look at her brother, looked instead at the child in her arms. Isabella was smiling at her, her hands reaching for a wisp of hair that had come free of the simple bun Emily wore at the back of her head.
Guilt. The word could mean so many things. But whatever it was, it stopped her from getting close to James.
Her white dress was a simple style with no adornment, and around her shoulders was a thick rust-colored shawl to ward off the cold. He watched as she muffled a yawn; he had seen her wince several times as she moved. Twinges that, like he, she felt after what they had endured. Her pallor told him she needed her bed, but he wasn’t about to suggest that again, because as was often proven, she would seek to do the opposite.
“So, just to clarify, she is not allowed to leave the house again.”
“Pardon?” Emily turned her eyes on him as he spoke. “I will not be made a prisoner in James’s house.”
She’d said he was pale, but he doubted it was anything when compared to her. Emily was a walking ghost, fatigue written in every line of her face.
She could have died. The thought turned him cold.
“It is your house also, Emily.”
She turned from him to James.
“Of course,” she said in that polite little voice that annoyed Cam. She never used it on him, only when the others were near.
“We are not about to make you a prisoner, Em,” Max said, stepping into the conversation.
Cam had come to love the man like a brother since his marriage to Essie, but there had been a time when, like James, he had been closed off to the world. It had taken his sister Essie to find the key to unlock his darkness and pain.
“However”—Max raised a hand as Emily smiled—“you will not leave the house without a maid and a footman.”
“Oh now, that is ridiculous.”
“Ridiculous how?” Cam said. “Someone took you from beneath my nose and I could do nothing to stop them, Emily. For pity’s sake show some sense and acknowledge you are in danger, and for once let your family care for you, at least until we understand what is going on.”
“Wh-what do you mean for once?”
At least she had color in her cheeks now, even if it had been put there by anger. Anger directed at him, which of course was nothing new. However, today, Cam realized, there was something else simmering between them. A tension brought about from what they had endured… and the kiss.
“That will do.” James tried to step in; Emily ignored him.
“I demand to know what he means.”
If she wanted the truth, Cam was happy to supply it, because her family sure as hell would not.
“That you are secretive and contained, and rarely let anyone watch over you. You walk about in silence, as if a loud noise will have you scuttling back to your room. Do you believe that speaking your mind will have you tossed out of the house?”
Her mouth fell open. Soft pink lips, Cam noted. The perfect lips for kissing.
“Enough, Cam.”
Max did not raise his voice, but there was strength behind the words.
“Very well.” Cam rose to his feet. “You may all dance about her, but I will not. She has been with this family long enough now to feel one of us. Equal in every way that matters, as Max does, and yet she still acts like a visitor. The only time she raises her voice is when I’m around.”
“H-how dare you!”
“How dare I speak the truth?” Cam glared at Emily. “How dare I say what they are thinking, but are not brave enough to voice?”
He walked out then, leaving a stunned silence behind him. For the first time in his life, he wished for his sister Eden’s gift of hearing. He could then listen to what was being said in his absence.
The front door opened as he reached it. “Thank you, Buttles. It is my fondest wish that your day is going better than mine.” He acknowledged the Raven butler.
“I have just polished the silver, Mr. Sinclair, and anticipate a meal in my immediate future.”
“The silver I could forgo, however the meal shall be splendid, I am sure.”
Cam walked out into the gray day, the frigid air slapping him hard in the face.
“Excellent. I left behind food and hot beverages,” Cam muttered. “My impetuous nature once again strikes.”
Pride had him walking out the gates. He could find plenty of food in his aunt and uncle’s house, or even his own, should he need it.
The street housed the Raven and Sinclair families—all of them, at least the ones important to him. It was an odd thing, but through a myriad of happenstance they had all landed here, housed within minutes of each other, and Cam had to say he did not mind. It certainly made things neat and tidy, and he was not forced to travel long distances to visit his loved ones. There was also the fact that he could wander from house to house and receive a meal at any given time.
It also gave members of society no end of amusement. In fact the Earl of Hamner was heard to say that someone should have the street renamed the Clan Close. As he was not the most intelligent peer of Cam’s acquaintance, the man had done remarkably well there.
“Hello, Cam!”
Turning, he saw his little siblings, accompanied by their maids. A long green ribbon was tied around Myrtle’s collar. The Sinclairs’ shaggy dog was walking obediently at Warwick’s side, likely because the boy had a treat in his pocket. The tension in Cam’s shoulders eased as he watched them skip toward him. Like their elder brothers and sisters they were also named after the places in which they were conceived. Not an easy thing to grow up with, but they had handled it by abbreviating them.
Dark hair and green eyes, like all but Eden, these three would be variations of their elder siblings as they grew. They were growing up fast, he realized, no longer the little siblings he had carried about on his shoulders or tucked into bed at night. The thought was a sobering one. Change, Cam knew, was inevitable. He saw it everywhere he looked, but today it felt harder to see in these three.
“Hello, my heathens, what ha
s you out here on such a day?”
They were wrapped in bonnets, hats, and gloves with scarves up to their ears. Dorrie and Somer were ten-year-old twins, a fact their brother constantly lamented, as at nine years he was often the butt of their mischievous natures.
“We are going to collect Samantha, and then go to the park,” Somer said. “If we’re good we can go for tea and cakes, Dev said, and as we always are—”
“No you’re not,” Cam scoffed, cutting her off.
“We are going,” she continued as if he had not spoken.
“Your nose will grow if you continue telling tall tales, Miss Somer, and your ears will fall off if you stay out here too long. Are you sure you wish to go to the park?”
“The problem is, Cam, as you are hurt, and Emily too, Dev said we weren’t to bother you, and he is doing something with James that may not be concluded in time. So we may just have to stay and play with Samantha.” Dorrie looked at him, her little face screwed up with concern. These three knew exactly how to get him to do as they wished, and even as that thought entered his mind, he was opening his mouth to agree.
“Shall I take you then?”
The whoop of joy was deafening.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
Cam took a hand each of the twins; his brother was now supposedly past holding his hand, or so he’d told him last week. This week could be an entirely different matter.
Walking with his little sisters skipping at his sides, and Warwick striding out in front, he felt the fiery emotions inside him shrivel to a small, tight knot.
He had been wrong to say what he had, but for years he had watched Emily act like the poor relation, sitting in silence through every family occasion. The only time she truly came out of herself was when she was with Samantha or his little siblings. Or when he challenged her.
Why does this bother me so much now? Because suddenly he was very aware of Miss Emily Tolly, which was a discomfiting thought on a frigid, bleak day.
“Are you all right, Cam?”
Warwick was walking backward now.
