“It is not an inquisition,” Gray said with a calm he was far from feeling. Being in this house near Ellen and Leopold Nightingale should have been a straightforward interview. It was turning out to be anything but.
“Yes, well, whatever it is, are you done?” Ellen said. Her face was a closed off mask.
“For now,” he said.
The large dog got to his feet with a grunt and went to Ellen and Lord Seddon. Gray rose too, then bowed. “If you can think of anything more from that night or your dealings with Mr. Nicholson, I would be grateful if you contacted me.” He handed her his card.
He held it in the middle, so her fingers brushed his when she took it. Both gloveless. The contact shot up his arms, and because his eyes were on her, he saw the moment she flinched.
It should not have made him happy that he wasn’t the only one who felt something when they touched, but it did.
“Good day to you both.”
The siblings nodded but did not follow him from the room. When Gray reached the street, he took his first deep breath. There was something deeply disturbing about Ellen Nightingale but even more so was his reaction to her.
Was she like his aunt? The rational part of Gray’s mind said that was not possible and yet his aunt had convinced him otherwise. That look on Ellen’s face had reminded him of Aunt Tilda.
Was he imagining things?
CHAPTERSIX
“Ithink Bud’s apple cobbler is superior to any I’ve eaten before?” Teddy said from his position seated on the floor with his back against Ellen’s chair.
“And yet, you’re not getting anymore,” Leo said.
The Nightingale family was in their favorite parlor after their evening meal. Once, they would have been preparing to go out, but now they played games or lounged around furniture reading.
Ellen’s brothers sometimes left the house to find entertainment. She’d told them once she’d wanted to go. Leo had laughed, explaining that their circumstances might have changed, but she’d not enter a drinking or gambling establishment while he still had breath in his body.
“Why can’t I have more cobbler, Leo?” Teddy asked.
“Because I want the last piece,” Leo said. “But we will share.”
Theodore was sixteen, and still growing into his body. He tripped over most things, and especially his feet. His hair was darker, and he had Ellen’s eyes. He was also the mischievous Nightingale, and constantly tormented his younger sisters.
Once he had confided in Ellen that he liked this life better than the last one, as it was a great deal more fun. Mainly because his elder siblings were around a lot more and spent time with him, where once they hadn’t.
Teddy, Matilda and Fred knew they’d left their mother behind in the country and their father was dead, but had been given no other details of what occurred, and they were determined to keep it that way until they were adults.
“I think Detective Grayson Fletcher could be a problem.”
“What?” Ellen put her finger on the page she’d been reading so she knew where she was. “He is surely just doing his job?”
Leo was seated before the fire watching Alex and Fred, who were playing checkers at his feet. Matilda sat on the sofa reading beside Ellen, sideways, with her legs wrapped over the arm. Chester had his head in her lap, having his ears ruffled.
“He’s dangerous. There’s something about him that sets my teeth on edge,” Leo said.
There was something about him, and she’d felt it that night she’d found Mr. Nicholson. Detective Fletcher was far too handsome and disturbing.
Ellen did not like the flutter she’d experienced in her belly when their fingers had touched. It was a good thing that she would not see the man again.
“How can a detective who Plummy said is one of the most respected in Scotland Yard cause us trouble?” Alex asked. “Surely he will find who murdered George Nicholson, and it will absolve Uncle Bram?”
“Plummy is a fool who knows little about anything,” she scoffed. “And as yet, I’m unsure what the detective is.”
“But our local constable is an excellent font of information. After all, Plummy is an even bigger gossip than many we encountered in society. I saw him today and questioned him about Fletcher,” Alex said.
“What did he say?” Ellen asked. Not because the detective had intrigued her but because it was always good to know who you were dealing with.
