She rushed to her room, digging through a case before snatching a jar and coming back out. Tristan waited for her outside with Milly.
“Can’t you take the salve to her?” he said to Milly. “She shouldn’t go up there at this time of night.”
Milly shook her head and frowned. “She’s our resident nurse.”
Tristan ground his teeth. No, she was not. This place wasn’t safe for her. If any of the men recognized her...
Flick popped out of her room, her feet swift with purpose as she climbed the back stairs to the top floor. Just as he thought, the hall was hazy with smoke and crowded with women and gentlemen.
“Get behind me,” he placed himself in front of her, shielding her from the people before they passed, but this was hardly protecting her identity. “Which door is it? Never mind.” He could hear the weeping from here.
Milly knocked. “Miss Smith is here,” she announced.
Flick caught his eye, chewing her lip. “I don’t have my mask,” she whispered.
“We’ll be quick.”
The door opened enough for Flick to slip through.
“She’s alone in there, correct?” Tristan asked Milly.
“She’s not working tonight.”
He nodded, reassured but keeping his senses open for anyone who might drift too close and overhear.
The weeping quieted. Tristan could hear Flick’s soothing voice as she calmed Lucia.
“How does one get burned with curling tongs?” he asked out of curiosity.
Milly sent him a confused frown. “You heat them in the fire, then wrap the hair around the hot metal to form the curl.”
“That’s wildly dangerous,” Tristan said.
Milly shrugged. “I use them all the time. I’ve burned myself, but it heals. Beauty requires sacrifice.” She tapped her chin with a fingernail. “I have a question.”
“About?”
“Why is Miss Smith dressing up and going to the gaming floor with you? Are you courting her?”
Tristan scowled. “No.”
“Then what is it?”
“No business of yours is what it is.”
She scowled at him. “She’s not like us, is she?”
“Mind your tongue, Milly,” he warned.
“Who is she?”
Tristan turned to face her. “A special guest of Mrs. Dove-Lyon. That is all.”
Milly shook her head at him. “She’s being matched, isn’t she? To be married to a gentleman? But she’s...”
Tristan said nothing as she worked the particulars out. It wasn’t as if he could stop her from guessing.
Milly nodded. “I don’t know how I didn’t see it before.”
