Page 85 of A Lady’s Guide to Mystery and Mischief

“She’ll turn up,” Oliver said, sounding more confident than Grey felt.

Grey’s response was cut short by the slowing of the carriage. Another glance out of the window told him that they’d arrived at Willow House. Farah shot by him as he climbed out onto the pavement, Kalila trailing behind her. The door was flung open by Dalia, who was quick to explode into conversation.

“You’re welcome to stay at Rosewood,” Oliver was saying. “Or Willow House, if you prefer. That one isn’t my invitation to extend, but—”

“I should go home,” Grey murmured, eyes on Farah’s back.

Was this it, then?

“Let us give you a ride, at least,” Oliver said, clapping Grey’s shoulder. “It won’t be any tr—”

He was interrupted by Farah, who came rushing up to them, her face flushed and her eyes glossy with tears. “She’s here! In London!”

Oliver’s eyebrows crept up his forehead. “Jennings wrote you?”

“No, Helena did,” Farah said, tripping over her words. “It’s quite obvious she thinks I don’t know a thing about where she’s been. Or hasn’t been, I suppose. But she did write to invite me to dinner tomorrow. Aunt Dalia said the note arrived not two hours ago.”

“Well, there you go,” Oliver said as Farah dashed up the steps to rejoin Kalila and Dalia. “All is well, just as I predicted.”

Still rooted in place, Grey saw Dalia wrap an arm around Farah and bring her into Willow House. When she disappeared behind the door, his heart splintered. Was this it? Could such a life-altering period of his life really end in such a miserable whimper?

He should have said something, made some sort of plan before they’d reached London. Instead, he had allowed her space, not wanting to overwhelm her when she’d so clearly been struggling to cope. It wasn’t as though he would have been as much a comfort to her as Kalila was.

You might have tried to be. Coward.

Kalila heaved a huge sigh once she reached Grey and her husband. “Farah wanted to come to Rosewood, but I told her to spend the night here. Now that the panic has worn off, she’s about ready to fall to pieces with exhaustion.” Her owlish gaze flickered to Grey, a small smile on her face. “She made me promise to bid you good evening, Mr. Montgomery.”

Grey blinked, unsure of how to respond.

“You’ll see her tomorrow,” Kalila added.

Grey’s voice came out in a croak. “Will I?”

“Yes, you will. Mr. and Mrs. Jennings have invited you to dinner alongside her. Something about Mr. Jennings having offended you at a ball?”

“Oh,” Grey said. “Yes.”

The truth was that he would have accepted the invitation whether or not he’d been owed an apology. Anything to see Farah before she decided to return to Gloucestershire for good.

“I feel we’d be hard pressed to find a person in London Jennings hasn’t insulted,” Oliver said with a disdainful sniff.

“Indeed,” Kalila agreed. “He’s certainly not the type to attract friends.”

“A shame, though.” Oliver helped Kalila into the carriage and stepped aside to allow Grey in. “I wanted to invite you for supper tomorrow, Grey. Yet another thing Jennings has snatched away from me.”

Grey chuckled at Oliver’s mock offense. “I can assure you, I am not the type to be engaged in the evenings. Any other night will do.”

“Never?” Oliver pried, settling down beside Kalila.

“Never.”

Oliver grinned. “Well, London’s loss is my gain. Now, where are we off to?”

The trip was, blessedly, a short one. It occurred to Grey how strange it was for him to have lived in the general vicinity of Farah’s family all these years. How many times had he missed her? Hundreds, possibly thousands of times. He could picture it with ease—Farah strolling down the road, arm linked with Kalila’s, while Grey—

While Grey worked. Back bent, never straying from his desk.

He thought about work now, about how much of it awaited him. It should have comforted him, knowing there was something to go back to, but it didn’t. All it did was remind him of before—because there was a before now. Before Farah, after Farah. How could he ever go back?