Seeing Danger (Sinclair and Raven #2)(12)

Lilly couldn't imagine what this woman could possibly have to hide.

“Excellent. I would be most grateful if you would do so.”

“I assume the house is for the children in some capacity?”

“Yes, we treat any sick children there and offer beds and food for those in need.”

“How wonderful.” Essex looked genuinely interested. “Is there a possibility that I may call around there sometime, and drop off the things I have for the children? I would also like to offer my help if a child is sick or injured. I have quite a bit of knowledge in that direction.”

Lilly wondered if this was what it was like being stomped over by a herd of cats. These Sinclairs did not seem to understand the word no, and gently but forcefully persisted until they got the answers they sought. However, she was surprised that a woman of noble birth knew about healing, and while she had no wish for Essex Sinclair to know too much about her life, she was not one to look away from such an opportunity. The children were often sick enough to warrant calling for a doctor, and yet most doctors had no wish to treat children like the ones who frequented Temple Street.

“Yes, well, if you wish.”

“Excellent. I shall await word from you as to what day suits you best.”

Biting into a savory, Lilly contemplated how she was to bring her life back under control and eradicate Lord Sinclair from it. Many hours later, when she was lying in her bed, she was no closer to finding the answer.





CHAPTER FIVE


Dev could hear the laughter as he walked down the long hallway of his uncle's home three mornings after the night he had kissed Lilliana Braithwaite. The nursery was on the top floor and rightly so, considering the noise coming from inside it. Reaching the doorway, he leaned on the frame and looked inside.

“If seventeen frogs hopped seventeen miles and they covered five miles per hour, then how long would it take them to reach Ambrosia Pond? Which I happen to know is the biggest pond in Europe.”

His younger siblings were seated around a table; Somerset perched with one leg beneath her. Warwickshire sprawled, looking like Cambridge, long legs taking up the majority of room under the table. Dorset, who rarely sat still, bounced in her chair. Each was silent as they thought through what their tutor, Mr. Linues, had asked them.

Dev had always believed his sisters should be schooled as thoroughly as his brother, and until they had arrived in London and accepted their aunt and uncle's support, he and his elder siblings had undertaken that task. He also knew his views were very different from the rest of society’s. His uncle surprisingly had followed them and employed Mr. Linues, a young man with a solemn demeanor behind which sat a wry sense of humor.

“How many frogs are there, and is the road often used?”

“There will be no delaying tactics to put your sisters off, thank you, Master Warwick.”

Dev laughed silently. His younger siblings, like their elder brothers and sisters, had lively intelligence. It was only recently he, Cam, Essie, and Eden had found out that they also shared their heightened senses. It had been a blow, as they'd believed them untouched; now, however, they had to teach them how to live with the gifts they had.

Nodding to Mr. Linues, Dev quietly withdrew and went to hunt out his sister. He and Cam lived next door in the other house their uncle owned on the street. They spent most of their time here, especially now their aunt and uncle were away traveling the countryside. It was a beautiful home filled with rich colors and lush furnishings, but more importantly it had plenty of food, and growing up this had not always been the case.

“Breakfast has just been served, my lord.”

“Pennyroll.” Dev nodded to his uncle's butler as he appeared before him. “Do you know the location of Miss Sinclair?”

“She is in the breakfast parlor, my lord.”

Excellent; he could eat and talk to his sister at the same time. He hadn't slept well again, his dreams plagued with visions of Lilly in his arms, her lips pressed to his. Lilliana naked beneath him as he made slow sensual love to her. Lilliana sitting draped across his thighs while he kissed her breasts.

“I shall have another place set for you at once, my lord.”

Nodding, Dev kept walking. Bloody woman. He’d been better off thinking her a simpleton; at least then he had known peace. Since finding out she was not who he had originally thought, she had taken up residence in his head. Then there was the matter of that night he had found her on the street.

He thought he had everything straight in his head about that, but then, he wished she would confirm it.

“Surely the hour is too early for such a scowl, brother?”

“Morning, Essie.” Dev walked around the table to kiss his sister and then picked up the plate the maid had just placed on the table. Heading to the sideboard, he began to lift covers. Once his plate was full, he seated himself across from his sister.

Essie was the gentlest of the Sinclairs and the most comfortable to be with, in Dev's opinion. He’d amended that to usually, after their conversation three nights ago. She rarely raised her voice and could actually sit still and silent for longer than two minutes at a time. They ate in companionable silence until Dev had cleaned his plate and rose to refill it. He then watched his sister savor a mouthful of food before swallowing.

Her heightened sense was taste. She could tell any ingredient with just a mouthful. She could also taste fear, anger, and other emotions, especially if they were being experienced by one of her siblings.