Page 65 of Immortal Rose

Mrs. Silver swatted him on the shoulder with a rag.

“He thinks if I have my own household I’ll stop turning up at this one,” Reddy told her. “You’d really deprive yourself of my delightful company?” He turned to Theo. “Say, wouldn’t you much rather work in a great big palace? I know a princess.”

Theo swung his gaze up toward Foxcourt so quickly he sent a shower of soot down onto the floor. Brigadier sneezed.

“That is a possibility,” Foxcourt told him. “It’s your choice.”

The boy seemed to consider this, then shrugged. “It’s working for one toff or ’nother. Less to clean in a smaller house.”

Reddy shot him a look of utter betrayal before turning to Foxcourt. Suddenly he seemed altogether more serious. “He is a child.”

And in a perfect world, a child would need not ever work. In our world, however, working in a household like Reddy’s would earn Theo a good wage, grant him the opportunity to learn more valuable skills, and provide a safe bed to sleep in.

“I’m not!” Theo insisted, jutting his chin out. “I’m grown enough to know I’ll work harder than the likes of ye ever has!”

Reddy sputtered.

“There will be no decisions made until after dinner,” Mrs. Silver said firmly.

Her declaration was underscored by a door scraping open again. The Longmount brothers emerged from the servants’ hall, hastily straightening their livery.

“There you are,” she said, stirring one of the pots. “Willie, Tommy, can you please see that this young man is scrubbed within an inch of his soul and find him something better to wear?”

“Of course,” Willie answered, exchanging a curious look with his brother. As he shifted a crate, his coat sleeve rode up, revealing a curious hint of a black tattoo snaking down over his forearm.

“Cor!”

The room’s attention swung back to Theo, whose focus had latched on to the footman’s arm. His eyes widened until I feared they might truly bulge out of his skull.

“Language,” Foxcourt chided.

“Cripes,” Theo amended, still staring at Willie. “You’re—”

“Going to scrub you until you’re as pink as a wee piglet,” Willie finished, gripping the boy’s shoulder.

Satisfied, Foxcourt looked to the cook again, who seemed to be doing her best to ignore him. “Mrs. Silver—”

“Yes, I will send up a tray to you both so that you may rest and change,” she said tersely, tossing a small scrap of fish to Brigadier. “And you will allow our guest a moment to rest.”

Between the dying King and the narrowly foiled attempt on my life, there was simply no rest for the weary, or a woman impatient to get on with it. I was more than keen to pore over the Treasury and start my work. The sooner Immortal Rose was complete, the sooner I’d be out of this house and out of harm’s way.

“I’m fine, truly,” I said. “In fact, I think—”

Mrs. Silver turned to me, her eyes glinting as they reflected the fire burning in her stove.

“All right,” I said meekly.

After a moment, Foxcourt gave a stiff bow.

“My lord,” Mrs. Silver said coolly, “a member of the staff would like to speak to you in your study, after.”

“I expect so,” he said with a small sigh.

“Looks like the day was a success, at least?” Reddy said, nodding to the Treasury as I retrieved it. He leaned a hip against the worktable, crossing his arms over his chest. “I had quite a busy day as well, I’ll have you know. First, I treated myself to a few flavored ices—the shop on Bow Street was so overflowing with ladies in their finery, I was nearly swept away by a tide of pastel skirts and just about lost my eye to a parasol—”

“Really?” Theo asked, intrigued. “Which one?”

Fleming chose that moment to enter the kitchen. “Oh! Good evening, my lord, Miss Lockwood.”