“It doesn’t mean death, just the prospect of it,” Alex added quickly.
“You couldn’t have said that first?” Leo glared at Alex.
Gray couldn’t die, she wouldn’t allow it. Her chest was burning, and she felt nauseous as the thought of the man she loved hurting or worse.
“Bud, get Ellen’s cloak and bonnet, please. We are going out,” Leo said.
“You’re not going anywhere.” Mungo appeared to stand beside the housekeeper. “Your aunt and uncle are gone from home with Lottie. They will not wish you to leave without their knowledge while you are both hurting.”
“We have to, Mungo. Gray is in danger,” Ellen said.
Panic made it hard to speak. What if he was hurt? What if… no, she would not think of that. She had to get to him. She’d pushed him away, but Leo was right, she should have tried to talk to him.
“Very well, but you’ll do nothing without me, and we leave word for Bram,” Mungo demanded. They all nodded, but like her, she knew her brothers would have their fingers crossed.
They would do what was needed to find Gray and keep him alive.
Ten minutes later, she was in the carriage with her umbrella and her brothers, heading toward his home and praying she was not too late. Praying the man she loved was there so she could tell him she wanted a life with him.
Wanted the chance to try.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-FOUR
Gray was like a man possessed. He’d been out every night since Ellen and Leo’s attack to find who had done it, but so far, he had nothing. But he would find who was responsible because he would not stop until he did.
He’d spent several hours at Scotland Yard reading through files and asking questions of his colleagues about the Baddon Boys, learning nothing new.
He had to find the men who had hurt Ellen. That was the only thought driving him. That and the need to find George Nicholson’s killer, because he was convinced that Ellen’s attack and the murder were related.
Leaving Scotland Yard, Gray’s empty stomach had forced him to get nourishment, so he’d gone to Miss Patty’s Tea Shop for the second time in three days. This was where he’d sat and talked with Ellen the day she’d been upset. When he’d kissed her. He felt closer to her but not close enough.
Gray didn’t need people, but he needed her. Life without seeing Ellen Nightingale lay before him, barren and endless.
Pulling the small diamond pin from his pocket, Gray rubbed his thumb across the gem. He shouldn’t have taken it, but he’d known it was hers when he’d found it outside her bedroom door.
“Why are you here, Gray?”
He was so preoccupied he hadn’t seen his cousin approaching. “I’m taking tea, Ramsey. It’s what you do in these places.”
“You look like hell.” His cousin pulled out a chair and sat across from him. He then picked up a scone from the plate before him.
“Talk to her, Gray. You love her, and she loves you.”
He’d been too hard on Ellen, Gray knew that now. Fear had made him do it. He had to go back to Crabbett Close and speak to her.
“I’d just come to that realization actually.”
Ramsey smiled. “So, it is love, then?”
Gray nodded. “I need your help, Ram.”
“Really? Well, now as it happens, I have the day free. Do tell, cousin? I am all ears. Do you want me to plan your wooing of Ellen?”
“No. I have that covered. This is to do with the Nicholson case.”
He’d thought long and hard about how to approach Olivia Nicholson again because after seeing her with that man, he knew he needed to. Gray just wasn’t sure how to get her alone, or to ensure he didn’t terrify her into silence.
“I have to interview George Nicholson’s sister again. I want you to come with me because women like you—”
