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Benedict looked up, surprised to find me waiting there.
I noticed Felicity’s steps halt, and she said, “Who are you speaking to?”
“Benedict,” I answered.
The man in question paused on the landing in front of the private parlor. “I have, thank you. Are my brothers in there? I was told you were all dining together.”
Felicity appeared over my shoulder in the narrow, dim stairwell. “James has gone out, but Henry is inside. We are retiring for the night.”
“I will see you to your rooms, then,” he said, starting toward us.
My heart fluttered at his nearness and the impending scent I knew he would still carry.
“Did you have an eventful evening?” I asked, keeping my steps slow while Felicity went on ahead of us, turning out of sight with the stairs. If Benedict could tell I had missed him for the last few hours and was glad to see him again, he made no comment on it.
“Not as eventful as I had hoped.”
My fingers tightened around the skirt I had lifted to avoid tripping. “Is the entertainment in Bath unworthy of your sophisticated taste?”
“Not in the least.” He took my arm and stopped me. I looked over my shoulder at him, though he was still beneath me, and I had to look down to hold his gaze. “What did you think I was out doing, Thea?”
“Finding . . . entertainment?”
His thick eyebrows bunched together and grooves lined between them. I dropped the hem of my skirt and pressed my thumb over the grooves on his forehead until they cleared. I had never been tall enough to do that before, though I’d wanted to a handful of times.
His eyes were glued to me, and he swallowed. “I went out to gather what information I could about your half-brother, and the firm that represented your father, so we would be prepared when we meet them.”
My hand dropped to my side. He had done that for me? “What did you find?”
“Nothing. That is the odd thing. Given the letters, it stands to reason that Archibald Danvers lives in Bath, but no one has heard of him. Robertson and Sons, on the other hand, has an immaculate reputation. No one I spoke with who knew of the firm could say anything but the best about them. They are widely known and reputed, I’m afraid.”
“You’d hoped they were crooks?”
“If either of them were, then you’d have a chance of keeping the entirety of your inheritance. As it stands, I’m afraid—”
“Thea?” Felicity asked from the top of the stairs.
“Coming,” I said. I turned away from Benedict and continued to climb the steps, then paused and looked at him over my shoulder. He remained where I had left him. “Thank you.”
“You needn’t—”
“Thank you, Ben.”
He nodded once. “You’re very welcome.”
Felicity stood at the top of the stairs and watched me approach, a furrow on her brow. “Everything is well, I hope?”
“Oh, yes,” I said lightly, passing her and continuing on toward our rooms. Hannah and Fanny, Felicity’s maid, were to share a trundle in my room and awaited us there. “Benedict heard this evening that Robertson and Sons has a good reputation.”
“At least we know we are doing business with good, honest people then.”
Though we knew nothing of my half-brother or if he was the trustworthy sort. “Yes, at least we know that.”
* * *
The following morning I could not eat my breakfast, instead devouring the note sent over by Mr. Robertson until I had memorized every inky black loop and flourish made by his quill pen. Felicity reached over my arm and rested a hand over the paper. “If you do not eat, you will not have the strength to face him.”
“She is correct,” James said kindly. “You ought to have something to sustain you.”
