Seeing Danger (Sinclair and Raven #2)(79)

How had she lived for so long without these people to fill her life?





CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX


“We have sweets, Lilly.”

Dev smiled down into the eager face of his sister as she talked to the woman at his side.

“Yes, your brother told me about them, and I'm hoping you will see your way to letting me sample one as I have not eaten a lot of sweets before.”

They were standing outside the small wooden building that housed the revolving cinema, along with the rest of the people wanting to get inside out of the cold. It was a new experience for Lilly, coming here with the entire Raven/Sinclair family, but she appeared to be handling the situation well.

Wrapped up in a long emerald coat of Essie's, she looked young and beautiful, and she was his.

“They are so sweet they make your tongue curl, Mrs. Maricold says.”

“Marigold, darling,” Eden said, pulling Warwick's woolen hat down to cover his ears.

“And she says that Pennyroll has the record of eating more than ten pieces in one night.”

“Pennyroll is obviously a man of hidden talents,” Lilly said.

“Right, the doors now appear to be opening,” Dev said. “We shall proceed in an orderly manner to the front door. All children are to take the hand of an adult, please.”

“Forever hopeful, brother,” Cam said, loping up behind Dev.

Taking Lilly's hand, Dev then took a twin and they made their way toward the entrance.

The weather in London had turned the last week. A brisk wind whipped around their ankles, and he was glad they would all soon be inside the theater, as it looked as if the skies were about to open and they would be wet through in minutes.

“It's exciting, isn't it, Dev?”

“It certainly is, darling.”

Dorrie skipped and hopped beside him while Lilly walked as she did everything, now she was no longer hampered with yards of ill-fitting material: with a natural grace. Warwick, he noted, had taken her hand, which was interesting. At eight years of age, his youngest sibling was fiercely independent and did not willingly cuddle or hold hands with anyone who was not close to him. Lilly, it seemed, had found a place in his affections.

They filed through the doors and moved into the theater. It was softly lit inside, and they could see the stage, which appeared to be illuminated from beneath. There were plenty of patrons already in their places. The children whispered loudly about whatever they saw, their chatter increasing in volume with every word.

“Please come this way, your Grace.”

A man appeared and bowed deeply before James. Dev raised a brow as his nose touched his knee.

“What can I say, people want to impress me,” his brother-in-law drawled softly. “Such a shame a few of you fail to understand that with my title should come respect.”

These words produced snorts from Dev and Eden, the only ones to hear.

“My name is Mr. Rolland, and I am the proprietor of this amazing performance you are about to see.”

He wore a battered top hat and bright red jacket. His mustache was waxed to curl up on the ends and covered the upper half of his mouth.

“How does the mermaid move around London if she has no legs?”

Samantha, who was hanging on to Eden's hand, gave Mr. Rolland a searching look to accompany these words.

“She goes straight back to the sea when the show is over, my dear,” Mr. Rolland answered.

“But how does she know when to come back for the next show?”

“Someone must be able to speak mermaid,” Dorrie added, a frown creasing her forehead as she tried to work through the weighty problem of mermaid communication.

“And so it begins.” Dev sighed.

“What begins?” Lilly said, fighting her laughter.

“The questions,” Essex whispered. “It will be endless throughout the performance, and for about a week after. They are insatiable when something interests them.”

“They will dissect everything, from the mermaid's tail to how the revolving floor moves,” Cam whispered in her ear. “Supposedly we were the same, or so our mother told us.”

“But if she has no legs then she can't walk, and I've tried getting about on my belly and it is not easy. It would surely take a day to travel here from the water,” Warwick said.

“She is collected from the sea each day,” Mr. Rolland said in a voice that was beginning to sound strained.

Dev knew the look in his eyes, like game trapped in a hunter's sights, because he'd been there a time or two himself.

“But what if her tail dries up, surely that would be dangerous,” Dorrie added. “I've heard that when a fish is left out of water it dies. Why doesn't that happen to the mermaid?”

“Can I urge you to take your places along with the other spectators, as the show is about to begin!” Mr. Rolland sounded desperate now.

“I've thought about hiring them out to the Foreign Office to interrogate enemy spies.”

Lilly laughed as Dev had intended her to.

“I think they are sweet and show an intelligence that seems to be lacking in their elder siblings.”

“You will pay for that comment later, my love. However, now we must gird our loins for the delights of Mr. Rolland's Circus of Strange and Ridiculous Curiosities.”