They hadn’t found one mention of birds in the office of the ornithological society. They had, however, found a cabinet full of racing slips.
England’s revenue department listed both the Feathered Friends society and the Caritas benevolent aid society as subsidiaries of an Ariadne Corporation. The government showed its business office address as a townhouse in Chelsea. Julius wanted to see who entered the building.
Max cleared his throat. “As I remember, you didn’t ask me to come. You pounded on my door and dragged me out of bed to accompany you on this arse-crack of dawn adventure.” He yawned. “The office wasn’t going to go anywhere. We could have waited until morning.”
“It is morning.” Julius narrowed his eyes, but the tramp limping down the sidewalk passed by the office.
“Sure, now.” Max tilted his head. “What got you up so early. I would have thought with that lovely bit of flesh warming your bed, I would have to be the one dragging you out.”
“Shut your mouth about her.” Julius shifted. “And she wasn’t in my bed.”
“Ah.” Max nodded. “Still kicking them out when you’re done.”
Julius jerked his head around and glared at his friend. “What in the blazes are you talking about? I don’t kick women out of bed.”
Max crossed his arms over his chest and dipped his chin. “When’s the last time you woke up next to a woman? Shared breakfast with her?”
“I eat breakfast with Amanda all the time.” Along with Lady Mary, and a footman or two lurking about. But Julius could see that Sutton might have a point. “So, I don’t like to linger. Nothing wrong with that.”
Max flipped the edge of the curtain up and peered out the window. “Your problems go well beyond lingering, and you know it. You don’t even want a woman’s arms wrapped around you.” He turned back to Julius and gave him a sympathetic smile. “Staying in the same bed with someone isn’t a promise to spend the rest of your life together. It just means you regard the woman well enough to greet her in the morning.”
Dropping his gaze, Julius ground his back teeth. Amanda didn’t think he didn’t respect her. She couldn’t. Although, he’d been such a right sot last night, who knew what she thought. Aside from thinking he was a fuckwit. That had been fairly clear.
And he was. He’d overreacted to Amanda’s request. Lost his temper. And it was all because of those damn ropes around his wrists.
He tugged at the cuffs of his sleeves. He could still feel the hemp scraping his skin. Embedding in his wrists. Sweat broke out on his forehead. It was something he never wanted to feel again. But if he didn’t overcome his fears, he could let his friend down a second time.
He never should have let Max go into the catacombs alone, not when they were chasing men who didn’t hesitate to kill. The shame of that was crushing. Drinking himself senseless hadn’t helped. And making Amanda use his ropes on his body damn sure hadn’t been the answer.
If something didn’t change, he would have to resign from the Crown’s service. He was a liability.
“This woman of yours,” Max began.
“Careful.” He wouldn’t let anyone talk about her as though she were a light-skirt. Not even his friend.
Max rolled his eyes. “She means something to you.”
Something that wasn’t meant to be. The bitterness of the situation almost choked him. A woman like Amanda needed a man by her side. Someone who wouldn’t run scared when things became serious.
Waggling his eyebrows, Julius tried to inject levity into his voice. “They all meansomething.”
Max leaned forward and got in Julius’s face. “Do not make light of this. You roused me from bed so now you get to listen to me. Tell me, how many times in your life have you cared for a woman? Someone who has actually meant something to you? And don’t give me some bullshit joke.”
Julius remained silent.
“That’s what I thought.” Max settled back. He picked up the flannel-wrapped brick at his feet and tucked it under his coat. “You of all people should know how short life can be. How easily someone you love can be ripped away.” Max stared out the window, his eyes unseeing. “Don’t let what happened in Japan consume you so much that you can’t take the happiness that is offered.”
Julius hesitated. “I never knew you lost anyone.”
“I didn’t.” Max stared bleakly into the distance. “I was the one doing the ripping.”
They sat in silence and watched London come to life. Julius turned his friend’s words over in his mind. He knew they were logical. But fear wasn’t logical.
“There.” Max scooted forward on the bench seat. “Someone’s opening the office.”
Julius leaned forward and peered through the mesh curtain. An unassuming man in a wrinkled coat fumbled with a large brass key at the front door. “They never look like criminal masterminds, do they?”
Max was already halfway down the carriage’s steps. “It doesn’t matter what they look like. They all bleed the same.”
