“Come in and have tea,” I said. “I still have a bit left from Mr. Li.” A Chinese man I’d done a kindness for had rewarded me with a gift of exquisite leaves directly from China.
Daniel was already shaking his head. “Things to do, and I’m late.” He closed in on me under the stairs, which was also agreeable, though I realized he merely wished to not be overheard.
“You are good to help, and I knew you would be,” he said in a low voice. “But have a care with my brother. He has taken a collar and proclaims himself a virtuous man, but his motives are not always clear.”
“Yes, I gathered that.”
“Did you? All I heard was his smooth tongue trying to convince you he’d reformed.”
“My dear Daniel, my head is not easily turned by a handsome gentleman,” I said. “He tried too hard to be convincing.”
Daniel relaxed. “I know you are no fool, but Errol can be beguiling.”
“What intrigues me more is that you have said not one word about him. Nor made any mention you had a brother at all.”
Daniel’s grin flashed. “Foster brother. There is a saying—Least said . . . soonest forgotten.”
“It is Least said, soonest mended. You are evading the question.”
“I am.” Daniel’s eyes glittered in the darkness. “I will tell you all about dear brother Errol another time, when we are warmer and cozier, and I am not in such a rush. For now—do not trust him. He has the voice of an angel, but Lucifer was once an angel, remember.”
The warning made me shiver—or perhaps it was the wind. “You sound dire.”
“Errol was a bad ’un once, and I have no reason to suppose he’s changed.”
I grew more curious. “How long since you’ve spoken to him?”
Daniel rubbed his chin. “Ten years? Possibly. I’d hoped it would be longer, but today he too easily found me. Have a care of him, Kat.”
He leaned closer and fulfilled my earlier wish by kissing me lightly on the lips. The merest brush, but a spark jumped inside me to ease the cold.
Daniel drew a thick-gloved finger across my cheek. “Good night, Kat.” He paused, as though he’d turn and go, then he said, “I missed you.”
I could have responded with something sentimental, such as, I missed you too. Please don’t stay away so long again.
But sentimentality embarrassed me, and I said instead, “You missed my cooking, you mean. If you scrub yourself up, I might have a scrap to spare you when next you decide to darken my door.”
Not rebuffed in the slightest, Daniel released me and laughed. “I missed you indeed. Good night, Kat.”
He doffed his cap and dashed up the stairs with an energy unnatural for so late an hour. His laughter floated back to me, rich and deep, warming me in the damp darkness.
I skimmed inside on light feet, through the silent scullery, pots gleaming from Elsie’s skill, to find Mrs. Redfern standing squarely in the middle of the kitchen.
“Mrs. Holloway,” she greeted me.
I stifled a yelp of surprise then slid out of my coat in pretended nonchalance. “Mrs. Redfern. Have you not gone to bed?”
“I prefer to be the last to retire.”
I heard the steel in her voice. Mrs. Redfern had been the housekeeper next door until that household had moved north to Liverpool. Mrs. Redfern, wishing to stay in London, had accepted a post in this house, as we’d had a vacancy.
Mrs. Redfern was efficient, fair, and competent, but like me, she brooked no nonsense. I was used to coming and going somewhat as I pleased—Mr. Davis, while he was curious or disapproving of my unplanned outings, did nothing to stop me. Mrs. Redfern was a bit more exacting.
“I beg your pardon,” I said, trying to sound contrite. “I did not realize you’d waited up for me.”
“I only wished to bolt the door.” Mrs. Redfern moved past me into the scullery and did so, giving the scullery itself a quick glance before reemerging. “I have no intention of being a telltale, Mrs. Holloway, but I happened to notice you returning with Mr. McAdam.”
My face warmed, and I busied myself hanging up my coat and dripping hat. “He was good enough to walk me home in the rain, yes.”
“More than that, I think. Tess was gleeful you’d slipped out to meet him. She is romantic.” Mrs. Redfern’s tone indicated she would never be so. “Do have a care, Mrs. Holloway. Mr. McAdam is an unsavory sort, and Mr. Davis agrees. Consider that this man asked you to see him on such a night, so late. I speak only as one concerned.”
I had considered it, and I’d rushed straight into the darkness to find him. Perhaps I was not so impervious to charming gentlemen as I’d claimed to Daniel.
Mrs. Redfern seemed to be waiting for an explanation—or apology perhaps? “His son told me it was important,” I said. A truth.
“And was it?”
“I believed it so.” I had no intention of regaling her with the full tale.
“I fear that you will come to grief over him,” Mrs. Redfern said, her sternness relenting a bit. “If it is ever hinted that you are less than respectable, Mrs. Holloway, you could lose your post, and what would become of you?”
Her concern was real, and she was right. In spite of her rigid manner, I knew Mrs. Redfern spoke out of worry, not admonition. At least, not much admonition.
“No harm done,” I said, trying to sound cheerful. “I did go out to speak to Mr. McAdam, but as we were also conversing with a vicar, my virtue was in no danger.”
“A vicar?” Mrs. Redfern looked alarmed, as though convinced I was about to elope with Daniel.
“He is a . . . friend . . . of Mr. McAdam’s,” I said quickly. “Nothing untoward. The man is on the board of the Foundling Hospital, in fact. Good night, Mrs. Redfern.”
She regarded me in grave suspicion but at last gave me a stiff nod. “Good night, Mrs. Holloway.”
Mrs. Redfern remained in the middle of the kitchen as I departed for the long climb to my bedchamber. I heard her closing doors behind me, and it grew very dark as she put out the last of the lamps.
* * *
* * *
I was weary in the morning, but arrived on time at my post to prepare breakfast. Tess, a surprisingly early riser today, had already begun the bread for the day and a pan of sausages and potatoes for the staff.
Mrs. Redfern hurried through on her way to supervise the maids upstairs, the woman fresh and hearty, though she’d retired after I had. She barely glanced at me as she went about her duties, never saying a word about our encounter.