“She was walking home after our trip to Gunter’s, and it was about to rain. We stopped,” Dimity said as both Zach’s and Mary’s voices rose.
“Where was she?”
“About thirty minutes’ walk from the townhouse,” Beth said. “She looked off. Pale and shaken too.”
He didn’t like to think of Ruby pale and shaken.
“We asked her if she was all right,” Freya said. “She had been crying, you see, and was clearly distressed.”
Everything inside Forrest rebelled at the thought of Ruby crying. How was it possible that in the space of an hour since he’d said goodbye to her and she’d left the house, something had happened to make her cry? When he’d last seen her, she’d been fine. Even Fairfax had ventured to say she seemed happy now when Forrest had sought him to ask after her.
He did that far too often, but the butler never so much as blinked, he just gave Forrest his opinion on how he thought Miss Knight was that day.
“We tried to get her to talk to us, but she said she was all right. We said we’d drive her the entire way to Nobby Lane, but she leapt out of the carriage when it slowed to allow another carriage to pass. She said she had seen a friend.”
“Nobby Lane is an hour walk, Forrest,” Nathan said. “You need to speak with her and demand she take a hackney home.”
“Many people walk for an hour, and longer each day,” Forrest said, although he agreed with his cousin.
“But not your Miss Knight.”
“Something was most definitely off with your Miss Knight,” Dimity added. “And considering she had been fine not a few hours earlier, you need to find out what.”
“She is not my Miss Knight, she is Ella’s Miss Knight,” he corrected. “But I will of course talk to her. I know she has an hour walk, and I have offered a hackney a few times, but she refuses.”
“You are right in that many are forced to endure long walks to and from work each day,” Mary said, interrupting her argument with Zach briefly to offer that opinion.
“You don’t think we know that?” Zach demanded. “Because we live a life of luxury that we are not aware of the horrors out there on the streets of London for many?”
“Of course you don’t know that,” Mary scoffed.
“Zach,” Gabe cautioned.
Mary had no idea what the Deville brothers had been doing for many years and likely never would.
“You need to do something about her, Forrest,” Beth said.
“Mary?”
“Very amusing.” She glared at him.
“What, precisely, should I do about Miss Knight?”
“I think you know what. We all certainly do,” Freya said.
“Stop.” He raised a hand. “All of you gather around,” he added, loud enough to bring everyone, even Mary, to a halt. As she was friend to these women, she was probably in on it anyway.
“I do not now, nor will I ever have feelings for Miss Knight. I have chosen not to marry again, so please, let this end here. No more meddling.”
“Is she not good enough for you then?” Freya asked.
“As I have just explained I have no wish to wed, Freya, I’ll ignore that silly statement.”
“Sorry.” She sighed. “We just think she’s lovely and would be good for you.”
“I know you are doing this from a place of love.” They all nodded solemnly. “But one marriage is all I am equipped to deal with. Please respect that.”
They all nodded again, and he thought perhaps he’d actually got through to them. And then Zach spoke.
