“There are a lot of things to be decided, but there are several I can tell you now. One, the emporium and the other businesses will go on as they are at this time. Two, Bill provided for Nora and their daughters in his will. They have nothing to worry about. Three, you will be seeing a lot more of me, as I try to understand all that’s going on with the businesses myself.”
“Are you really a molly?”
Robert turned toward the voice but no face stood out. “No.”
“What about that boy you were with at the funeral. Who was he?”
“A friend.”
Lucy snorted. Robert sent her a sharp look, and she sobered. He looked back over the group. “Bill Campion was like a father to me, and I will do everything I can to honor his memory. There are a lot of unknowns right now, for all of us. But I can tell you I will do everything I can to keep the emporium as the home it has come to be for all of us. Now. I suspect we will have the crowd of the ages tonight. Time to prepare.”
*
As usual, Eloiseentered her home through the servants’ entrance. At three in the afternoon, the kitchens were abuzz with preparations for afternoon tea and the evening meal, but the halls were quiet. She saw only one servant on her way to her room, a tweenie with an armful of fabric who never even noticed Eloise’s presence.
In her room, with the door closed, Eloise sank down on the bench at the foot of her bed with a long exhale. Fatigue gripped her. Despite how well she had slept in Robert’s bed, the last few days had wrung her dry. Her body ached, and despite the intense pleasure she had felt at Robert’s efforts, her soreness only added to her exhaustion. She needed a long hot bath and an even longer nap.
She stood and rang for Delie, then started when the maid burst into her room within moments, breathless and red-faced, as if she had dashed up the stairs in a rein-dropped gallop.
“Thank God you’re here!”
Eloise gripped her shoulders. “What has happened?”
Delie stopped and sucked in a breath. “Constable Lewis is downstairs, demanding to see the earl. Your mother is asleep.”
“Papa is not back yet?”
Delie shook her head, sucking in one more deep breath. “Mullens tried to get the constable to come back later, but he’s insistent.”
Eloise yanked at her cravat, then reached for the bell pull again. “Retrieve my puce day gown and lace cap.” She doffed her topcoat and waistcoat and shrugged out of the braces, as Delie ran into the dressing room, returning with the purplish brown crepe dress, cap, and a pair of short, black day boots. When a sharp rap came at her door, she stepped behind it, motioning at Delie. “Tell them to send a tea tray into the constable and let Mullens know I will be down shortly.”
Delie cracked the door and relayed the messages, then shut it and grabbed Eloise’s trousers as she stepped out of them, and Eloise unwounded the binding shirt. The day gown went on with stays but no chemise, and Delie laced it as Eloise slipped her feet into the boots. A quick braid twisted into a knot on her head was topped by the cap, and Eloise turned to face her maid.
“Am I at least respectable looking?”
“More so than ten minutes ago.”
“I am reasonably certain the constable has seen worse.”
“Not in this household.”
Eloise scowled at her. “Then I will try not to shock him too badly. Would you please draw me a bath while I am downstairs? It has been an eventful two days.”
“So I have heard.”
Eloise froze. “What have you heard?”
“That all of Society is humming with the news Lord Robert Ashton is actually the notorious manager of Bill Campion’s gambling hell and he will inherit it. Also, that the Duke of Kennet has disowned him.”
Her throat tightened. “What?”
“You did not know?”
“The first part. Not the last.” But she should have guessed when he took her to the rooms he had rented.Robbie—
“Also the Duke of Makendon has not ended his suit of Lady Lydia, but he has set out tasks Lord Robert has to complete to continue.”
And he still plans to help find Timothy.Her heart lurched. “I—I need—” Eloise stopped. Coherent thought failed her as her brain swirled with the information.
