“Thanos has amazing knowledge,” Cynthia said. “We’ll tear up Judith’s letter and take it to him.”
“Thank you,” I said. “And please, Miss Townsend, if you receive further instructions about delivering the payment, send word to me or to Cynthia.”
I rose, ready to depart, but at that moment, Hubbard arrived. He rolled in a cart loaded with a teapot and cups plus my star bread, laid out on a plate and cushioned by a checkered cloth.
Bobby leapt to her feet, rubbing her hands. “You can’t leave now, Mrs.H. The repast has just arrived, thanks to you. It looks magnificent.”
“It tastes even better than it looks,” Cynthia avowed. “But Mrs.Holloway needs to race away.”
“Yes, indeed.” Miss Townsend, the exemplary hostess, left her stool and came to me. “You were kind to give us these few moments of your time, Mrs.Holloway. I will do as you instruct. We will find this letter-writing fellow and rout him.”
“Or her,” Cynthia put in.
“Or her,” Miss Townsend said. She held out her hand, and I clasped it politely. “Thank you very much for coming, Mrs.Holloway. And for bringing us your lovely bread. We will enjoy consuming it.”
I hoped they didn’t intend to stand about and admire it—enriched bread spoiled quickly—but I only squeezed Miss Townsend’s hand in return and gave her and the others my farewells.
I forbade Miss Townsend accompanying me downstairs, assuring her I knew the way. The three ladies were ready to forget about nasty letters and tear into the sweet treat, and so they should. Little was more important than enjoying good food with treasured friends.
Hubbard ushered me out of the studio, but he remained to serve the tea while I trudged down the many flights of stairs. A footman awaited me on the ground floor, guiding me out the front door.
Outside, I breathed a sigh of satisfaction. I had the rest of the day free, and I would spend it with Grace. I’d give her the little gift I’d bought her, and we’d talk and laugh and be a family.
I made my way east, skirting Grosvenor Square and up North Audley Street to Oxford Street. Crowds and vehicles surged around me as I walked along that busy thoroughfare packed with shops, houses, servants, and masters.
Despite the throng, I became aware, as I passed New Bond Street, that someone followed me. They were clever and furtive, but not enough to deceive me.
I ducked into the nearest lane, pressed my back against the brick wall there, and waited.
5
The fellow after me was sharp. He slowed outside the passage I’d slipped into and peered around its corner, perhaps making certain he was not walking into an ambush.
I left the shadows and stepped into his path.
“It’s rare that I catch you out,” I told the towering youth. “Why are you following me, James? Couldn’t you simply walk with me?”
James McAdam, Daniel’s son, grinned down at me. He was several inches taller than Daniel now, his voice deep, his handsome face guaranteeing many ladies would break their hearts over him. At nineteen, he was fully a man now, and who knew how long it would be before he announced he’d marry a lady he’d charmed?
“Sorry, Mrs.H.” James leaned his lanky frame against the wall where I’d hidden. “Dad’s asked me to look after you while he’s away. I’ve taken over much of his delivery route for him, so I have to watch you when I can.”
“Oh, did he just?” I asked in indignation, but I could not be surprised. Daniel was as concerned about me as I was about him, though I considered his danger to be far greater than mine. “I have been looking after myself for many years, thank you.”
James flushed but was not defeated. “It’s all my life’s worth to tell him I won’t do it. Besides, I want to make certain you’re well too.”
It was kind of him, and I climbed down from my pridefulness. “You are good to me, James, but you can call on me in the usual way, you know.”
“True, but when you wander through the metropolis on your own, who knows how many cutpurses and ruffians might mean you harm? I already warned one pickpocket away.”
My face heated in some embarrassment. I was usually keen-eyed, but I’d been distracted by worry for Daniel and these odd letters, plus eager to get on to see Grace, and hadn’t noticed.
“I am grateful,” I said with sincerity. “I am hardly wandering about the metropolis, though perhaps not paying as much attention as I ought. It is Monday, so you know I am walking with purpose to Cheapside.”
“I’ll go with you then, all right?”
I clasped James’s offered arm, which I noted had changed from a bony boy’s to a man’s solid limb in the few years I’d known him. He made me feel quite aged.
“I do welcome your company, James,” I told him. “And not only to keep the ruffians away.”
