David pulled a card from his pocket and handed it to Lewis. “This has the location of my rooms, and the second address is my office.”
“Waddley Spice and Tea,” Lewis read on the card. His eyes narrowed as he studied David.
David sighed. “Yes, I was involved in that mess earlier in the year. My employer, the former Mrs. Waddley, now Lady Branstoke, asked me to investigate her late husband’s death.”
“I’ve read the reports,” Lewis said. “Nasty business, that. And what of Miss Rangaswamy? Where might I find her if necessary?”
“I know the Earl is not currently in residence in London; consequently, I plan to take her to Sir James Branstoke’s townhouse. It’s just off Berkley Square. I know that is what Lady Branstoke would want. Though they are not currently in town, at least they are closer.”
David gave a short, wry laugh. “If I didn’t take Miss Rangaswamy to them, I’m sure I would receive a chilling dressing down from my lady. But I expect the Branstokes will be in London before nightfall tomorrow.”
Lewis nodded. He looked over at Miss Rangaswamy. “We will find him,” he assured her, his tone soft and—David thought—surprisingly kind.
* * *
Outside the Bow Street office,the temperature had plunged with approaching night. Rani tried to conceal her shivering from Mr. Thornbridge. As a servant, it would not do to draw attention to herself. In India, she had learned that the hard way with her previous employer and the bruises she received. She grabbed the edges of the fabric of her pallu over her head and held it together under her chin.
I am no one,she reminded herself. She hadn’t been brought up to know that; however, she quickly learned her place when her cousin turned her out of her uncle’s house and she’d had to seek employment.
I am no one!
It was Krishan who must command her thoughts.
She let Mr. Thornbridge hand her up into a hackney carriage and took the rear-facing seat. She bowed her head down, huddling into herself, determined to ignore the cold like her uncle Abhijit and the other ascetics of her country could do. But her body convulsively shivered, and tears leaked from the corners of her eyes at her weakness.
“My God! You are freezing!” David exclaimed, his voice rough. He unbuttoned his coat and shrugged out of it. “Come here, let me wrap this around you,” he said as he pulled her over to his seat and draped the coat around her shoulders.
“No! No!” she protested, pushing the coat away.
“Yes! What good should you be to your charge if you should catch a chill?” he asked. “How stupid can I be that I have not seen how cold you must be, and you have borne it without a word,” he remonstrated himself aloud. He wrapped his coat around her shoulders, pulling the edges together in front of her, buttoning two buttons to cocoon her within its folds, and pushing the collar up alongside her head. When he was happy at her wrapped appearance, he leaned back in his seat.
Rani wanted to reject the coat. She wanted to be as the other ascetics, denying her body’s discomfort, but the warmth of his body still radiated within the fabric of the coat. She savored the warmth but berated herself. How wicked was it for her to enjoy the little comfort with Krishan missing?
She looked down at her lap. She hoped Krishan had found some warmth. She was terrified for him. But what could she do? Was she wrong to trust this stranger? She did not know what to do or not do. Sometimes her fear rose in her throat, threatening to strangle her. But then she prayed, and the vision of Krishan’s sweet face came to her mind to calm her. She closed her eyes as more silent tears ran down her checks.
* * *
David lookedout the carriage window. They were near the Branstoke townhouse. With the Branstokes at Summerworth Park, the knocker might be off the door. If it was down, they would need to go to the back servants’ entrance. Best to assume it was down.
He rapped on the carriage roof. The driver slowed the carriage and opened the hatch.
“Yes, guvnor?”
“Let us off at the mews entrance instead.”
“Certainly, sir.” The roof hatch closed.
David settled back in the seat next to Rani. “The door knocker will be down—they won’t hear us at the front of the house. We’ll go through the mews to the back entrance.”
He looked at her huddled in his coat. “Are you all right, miss?”
She nodded briskly. “Just so much to think. My mind is full and fearful,” she sorrowfully said.
“I know. Mine, too. But we need to think positively. To have faith. You have come a long distance with determination and grace. It will not be for naught. You shall see,” he whispered, hoping he was right. He could not imagine what this tiny woman has endured since she left India, traveling alone with a young child coming to a strange country. And now this tragedy of the lost boy. And not just because he was Soothcoor’s nephew.
David felt the carriage slow and then stop again. He reached across Rani to open the door. He rose, looking out at the empty street. The lamplighters had been down the street, though it wasn’t full night yet. Small pools of light lined the street while the maw of the mews entrance remained dark. He hopped down from the carriage, then turned to help her down.
So enveloped in his coat, she looked like a tree sapling. David had to smile. With her arms enclosed, he knew she could not reach for his hand to help her descend from the carriage. He picked her up as he had at the Bow Street office and set her down on the pavement.
