The Rebellious Rake (The Notorious Nightingales #4)

Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

R am stared at the woman who was sending him a look so suggestive, he feared his trousers may catch fire.

“I’m dreadfully sorry about last night, but I can see you have suffered no ill effects.” She and her companions giggled. Clearly they knew what Lady Tidley got up to, unlike her husband.

Suddenly Ram felt far more uncomfortable than he had yesterday morning about the man he was. Did these women think him a promiscuous plaything? A man with little substance but of course excellent prowess between the sheets. The vision he suddenly had of himself made him feel a little queasy. Until that moment, he’d never taken the time to look too closely. No good ever came from self-examination.

“Perhaps tomorrow night?” Lady Tidley said, giving him a suggestive look.

“I think not. Good day, ladies,” Ram said, ignoring the flash of anger Lady Tidley shot his way .

Seconds later, he dropped into a seat that put his back to the women.

“So that was where you were last night,” Gray said.

“Do either of you have moments in your life of clarity, where you see yourself in an unflattering light?” Ram asked.

“I have,” Gray said.

“No. I’m far too shallow to ever come to negative conclusions about myself,” Alex said. “Ah, look at this pretty lady who is about to take our order. Good day to you.”

Ram rolled his eyes as the young lady blushed.

“Lashings of tea and scones. Plus, I think mince pies, the savory type,” Alex added.

“So what is this epiphany?” Gray asked when the lady had finally left with the long list of Alex’s requirements.

“I’m shallow,” Ram said.

Alex snorted. “No you’re not. You’re a man who has no wish to make a commitment and so is having dalliances with women who will not force a ring on your finger.”

“And that piece of advice comes from experience,” Gray said. Alex simply smiled.

“But of course you never behaved so atrociously?” Ram raised a brow.

“Of course not,” his cousin said. “Or I was discreet.”

“Do either of you know Flora’s plans now she is in London?”

“Evasion, nice work,” Alex drawled. “And I do not know much.”

“You seem awfully interested in her,” Gray said. “I did wonder if that interest sprung from?—”

“She saved my life last night,” Ram interrupted him. “I feel like I should know something about her.” In fact, he’d been intrigued about Flora since she’d arrived; he’d just had no reason to ask about her until now. And after last night, he was desperate to know more details .

“I don’t know a great deal, as she has yet to confide in any of us about what is going on with her,” Alex said “We used to visit the Thomas family years ago when Mother felt it time to do so. Our grandparents were displeased when Aunt Heather decided to marry a vicar and not a nobleman, so we did not see a great deal of them.”

Flora’s father was a vicar. He hadn’t known that about her either.

“To be honest, the visits there weren’t my best memories. We were forced into being nice to Madeline, Charles, and Flora, who in turn—and justifiably so—thought us spoiled and indolent.”

“I can’t imagine you Nightingales being like that,” Ram said.

“We were hideously behaved,” Alex said, and then his face creased into a smile. “Excellent, you put that right there in front of me, my dear.”

Ram watched a huge tray of food be lowered to the table.

“Back to you, Ram,” Gray said after they’d all eaten their share. “You have to watch your back.”

“I will, plus I have a large shaggy dog to watch over me now.”

“Now be off with you, Cousin. Your city needs you,” Ram said.

“I will speak with you later,” Gray said. “I have a few more things I want to discuss with you.”

“Go and protect someone who needs it, Gray,” Ram said. “And then go home to your family.

Gray’s smile was soft at the mention of Ellen and Alice.

Ram told himself that was not a tug of jealousy burning inside his chest.

“Come, Ram, we will go to the meeting and see what our investment has yielded,” Alex said after they’d eaten everything on the tray .

The meeting was to be held in one of the warehouses Maxwell Huntington owned, of which there were many, or so Ram had been told. The man was one of the wealthiest in England. He’d then married into the Sinclair family, and that wealth and status had grown.

When he and Alex arrived thirty minutes later at the warehouse, there were about twenty people standing inside the large open area. The scents of spices and dried flowers mixed together to create a smell that took him back to India. He took a deep breath in.

“Don’t do that, your eyes will start watering,” Alex complained.

“I grew up on that scent,” Ram said, feeling a deep tug of longing for what he’d once had with his family’s servants and their children. He didn’t miss anything else from his time there, but those people had taught him the value of a friend.

“Hello.”

“Cam, how are you?” Alex said, shaking Cambridge Sinclair’s hand. Ram took it next.

Cam was mannered like Alex, and both families had said, the less time they spent together, the better it would be for everyone.

“You both know my wife,” Cam said as a woman joined them. Slender with a sweet, soft smile, she acknowledged them. “Emily is the intelligent one of the two of us and here to write an article for the paper, as I tend to waffle.”

“But we love you for it,” Emily said, shooting her husband a look.

Love. Ram saw these two had also married for that.

Sinclairs married Ravens in one of life’s strange anomalies. Ram had no idea why, only that they were good people, and for him that was enough .

“You have arrived just in time,” Cam said. “Find a space to stand, and my brother-in-law will do what he does best.”

“Which is what?” Alex asked.

“Appear pompous and impress people. However, don’t tell him I said that.” Cam pulled a bag out of his pocket and held it out to Alex. “I have lemon drops to sustain me until this is over. Would either of you care for one?”

Both Ram and Alex took a sweet.

“Now, when is the next Crabbett Close wedding? I spoke to Mr. Greedy the other day; he and my sister Essex were discussing healing,” Cam added.

“I’ll be sure to send you all an invite,” Alex said.

Happy with that, Cambridge and his wife wandered away.

“Hello, Alex! There will be food after!”

Locating the woman calling to him, Alex waved back at the Duchess of Raven, a dark-haired beauty who stood with more of her family.

“How refreshing to see so many women in attendance,” Alex said as they moved to the rear of the group.

Women were unheard of usually in such situations, and yet Ram knew Maxwell Huntington was a forward-thinking man when it came to equal opportunities for both sexes.

“The scandal,” Ram murmured. “What will society say?”

Alex snorted as he sucked loudly on his lemon drop.

Ram let his eyes roam over the heads before him, attempting to work out if he knew anyone, but as most wore hats, he couldn’t be sure.

“It’s a blessing for you being tall, Mr. Hellion. The rest of us will have to make do with listening.”

The man who had spoken those words now stood beside Ram.

“Mr. Douglas?”

“Aye, ’tis me. I’ve brought Mr. Peeky, too, but he’s fond of a chat, so he’ll find us eventually. We’ve come on behalf of the Crabbett Close consortium.” He said the word without pronouncing the t .

“You have a consortium?”

“He’s just said they have.” Alex elbowed Ram in the ribs. “Uncle Bram helped them set it up and told them about this investment opportunity.”

“Well then,” Ram said when nothing else came to mind. Why he was surprised to see a Crabbett Close resident here, he had no idea—after all, they were everywhere all the time.

“I hear you had some trouble. It’s my hope all is good now for you and Miss Thomas?” Mr. Douglas said.

He wore a cap, scarf, worn jacket with patched elbows, and baggy trousers. On his hands were fingerless gloves.

“Yes, thank you. We are both well.”

“At the moment, but who knows when they’ll strike again. Ramsey and Flora must have a care,” Alex said. “It’s my hope our neighbors will keep an eye out for them.”

Mr. Douglas nodded slowly. “You’ll be sure on that. I’ll pass the word.”

Ram spun to glare at Alex, who smirked up at him, still sucking loudly. “The Crabbett Close residents are like their very own watch. Gray will be pleased I took the initiative to secure your safety, Ram.”

“It will be you who needs protection if you keep this up,” Ram said in a dark tone. Alex merely smiled by way of a reply.

“If I could have your attention, please!” These words were spoken by the large, imposing figure of Maxwell Huntington. Beside him stood the Duke of Raven, his brother.

“Bloody impressive, those two,” Alex whispered. “And to think they came upon each other late in life.”

“I didn’t know that. ”

“I’ll tell you the story when we have time, as it’s a long tale,” Alex added. “I wish we had more lemon drops.”

Ram’s eyes went back to the man talking. Tall, well-built, age had only softened his face with lines. Both he and the duke next to him were Ravens, who were respected in both the business world and London society and were friends of the Nightingales. To Ram, this was because all of them were odd, in the very best way, and unconcerned about conforming to society standards.

Max outlined the profits, which everyone was happy with, and Ram listened while scanning the people once more. This was likely to be his lot in life now, checking those closest to him in case they were in any way connected to those that had come after him the other night.

His search stopped on the bonnet beside a tall man. It was the color of a deep red wine. He’d seen hundreds of bonnets in his time, so why did this particular one draw his eyes? The woman began to turn, and Ram felt a hum of expectation and knew the reason why as she talked to the man to her left.

Flora.

“Charles and Flora are here somewhere. Uncle Bram told me this morning they were coming,” Alex said at the exact moment he’d realized who the woman was. “He’s a little worried about them, to be honest. He said something seemed to be bothering them, but as we have never been excessively close, I’m not sure how to approach the subject.”

“What do you think is wrong?”

“I don’t know, but I felt it last night when I saw them together. Something felt off.”

“You only saw Charles briefly, surely?”

“Yes, but I can sense things like that sometimes, as can the others when we are close or someone we care about is not right. ”

“Ah, I see,” Ram said, not seeing anything. “And clearly they are business minded also.”

“They are,” Alex said. “Their father passed, and that alone would be enough to make them sad, but something is nagging at me to suggest it is more.”

“And you have no answers?”

Alex frowned. “I don’t. It’s perplexing.”

“Hasn’t someone visited you with insights?”

“I can’t just make a person slide into my head, Ram.”

He thought about what he wanted to ask… had wanted to ask for some time now. “My father?—”

“No. I would tell you, Ram, I promise. But he has not visited me,” Alex said solemnly.

“Thank you.” Ram was relieved his father hadn’t shown up inside Alex’s head. He had no wish to speak about that man to anyone. “What was the Thomas family life like?”

“They seemed comfortable enough when we visited them,” Alex said. “Not excessively wealthy but happy in the vicarage and seemed to have quite the idyllic life, if I’m honest. We were totally obnoxious back then?—”

“Oh, has that changed?”

“Very amusing,” Alex said. “I used to think when we arrived that it must be nice not to have to keep up appearances all the time.”

“My mother and father were like yours,” Ram surprised himself by saying.

He’d hated the constant need to look and act a certain way when they stepped out of the house and into the company of the peers they knew who lived near them. It was like a little community of England to Ram’s mind.

“And so we are on track to make an excellent return,” Maxwell Huntington said, drawing their attention back to him.

They stood with the rest of those in attendance and listened as the returns and next investment opportunities were outlined.

Ram would be putting some of his funds into future investments; the rest he was purchasing a house with. A house and a dog. Some would say he could be termed respectable now…. Ram knew better. He had a long way to go to reach that.

Rising on his toes, he looked over heads again and found Flora talking to her brother, who in turn was frowning and shaking his head. She tugged his sleeve, and he continued to shake his head.

“Your cousins appear to be arguing,” Ram said.

“Where are they?” Alex rose to his toes as Ram nodded in the direction of the Thomases. “I wonder what about, and in public, no less. The very proper Miss Flora Thomas is not usually one to show overt displays of emotion in such a setting, but we are attempting to draw her out. Soon she will be yelling and offering her opinions in front of anyone, just you wait and see.”

“She’s already an opinionated woman,” Ram said, his eyes on the rigid line of Flora’s spine.

“I love opinionated women,” Alex said. He then returned his eyes to Ram. “Ah.”

“Ah what?”

“Ah, so that’s it then.”

“Alex, you are making no sense.” Ram glared at him.

“Actually, I am making a great deal of sense.” Alex smiled, and Ram had that feeling he got when he wanted to run very fast in the opposite direction.

“Well, explain, then.” Ram looked for Flora and Charles again. They were moving to the entranceway now. He wanted to intercept them. No I don’t. But his feet started moving that way, and his cousin followed.

“Flora is a lovely, strong-willed woman who would make anyone a fine wife.” He smirked, which Ram knew then was because Alex thought Flora would make him a fine wife.

“If the man was deaf and happy to be controlled by his wife,” Ram snapped. “Now go and grab what is being handed out, and we shall leave after I have said hello to your cousins.”

“The man doth protest too much,” Alex said.

“Shut up,” Ram said as Alex left him. He moved closer to Flora. As if sensing him, she turned, and even from the distance still between them, he saw her expression was unguarded. She was pale, and if he had to use one word to describe that look, it would be devastated. Before he could move again, he saw the man standing alone to one side of the entrance.

It was the man from earlier, he was sure of it, and his eyes were on Ram. Before he could take a step toward him, he’d turned and left.

Ram followed, but his route took him directly past the Thomas siblings. He couldn’t just walk right by Flora, so he stopped and spoke softly to her. “Are you all right?”

She turned her head to look at him, and he saw it again, the devastation. The soft pallor of the skin beneath her eyes held bruises from her sleepless night.

“Y-yes,” she said quickly. Coupled with what Alex had told him, he knew that for a lie, even if her hesitation hadn’t suggested it. But at least she did not appear in immediate need of anything.

“I shall be calling at Crabbett Close later. I will see you then. Charles,” he said more loudly, acknowledging her brother. Ram then left, weaving through the people until he was outside. Looking up and down the street, he located the man to his right. He’d just taken a few steps toward him when Alex stopped him.

“What are you doing? ”

“That man.” Ram pointed. “He was watching me earlier, after we left my house, and is here now. I’m sure of it.”

“And after what happened last night, you were going to simply run after him? I think not.”

“Alex—”

“No, we are not following to end in an ambush. I’m terrified of my brother-in-law, and should he hear you’ve been wandering about London after strange men, my life will be miserable.”

Ram looked back to the man, but he’d disappeared.

“Damn.”

“Come, we shall walk in the smog-laden London air while attempting not to catch a chill on our way to visit the property I think will be perfect for you, Ram.”

“Where are your cousins?” He looked around.

“They have left, as I could not see them when I looked about for you. Now, come, we can talk to Max about investing again soon. Let’s get you out of here, but never fear, I shall throw my body in front of you if there is any further danger.”

“You do know you are the most annoying man I know, don’t you, Alex?”

“I do my best.”

“Like I said, most annoying man,” Ram added.