It wasn’t said as an insult as it would have been if Leo asked, but with the innocence of a child who was simply asking. “No, I just don’t know what Crabbett Close games are, Teddy. I’ll add to that I’m not sure I want to.”
“It’s capital fun. You’ll love it,” Fred said. She tugged on his hand, and he found himself following her.
“Why are all these people gathered?” Gray asked as they approached the circle of grass in the middle of the close.
“Hurry it up back there,” Alex called over his shoulder.
“What am I hurrying to?”And why?he added silently. The real problem here was that he didn’t want to leave. This family welcomed him into their home. He’d eaten a meal, and they’d asked him to call them by their first name. All of it had warmed something that had been cold inside him for so long. Even while he thought the entire family was mad, he had enjoyed being part of it for a brief moment in time.
“If you truly wish to run, I’ll create a distraction.” The words were whispered in his ear.
He’d thought Ellen had been in front of him, but she’d doubled back when he wasn’t looking. Her eyes held a spark of mischief. Cheeks flushed, she was smiling. The woman was beautiful, and he could only imagine what the men in society had thought of her when she graced ballrooms. They must have fallen over themselves to get her attention.
“We shall not think badly of you if you wish to leave, Detective Fletcher—”
“Gray,” he said. “After all, your family set the informal guidelines, so we should at least adhere to them.”
“And you don’t like to be informal, do you?” Ellen asked him.
“I’m not always formal,” he made himself say, sounding stuffy even to his own ears. “I just have no call to be otherwise. My job, my life, it is the way I live.”
Why was it he couldn’t shut his mouth today?
“Oooh, there is Nancy, and she has a bowl of sugarplums!” With this shriek, Fred released his hand. She, Teddy, and Matilda were then sprinting through the gate toward the gathering of people.
“We once lived our life without emotion,” Ellen said as they walked over the grass. “It wasn’t until I had joy, love, and fun in my life that I realized how much I was missing.”
“I did not say I lived without emotion.”
But he did. Gray mapped his days and liked them to run in the order he’d thought they should, with slight variations, of course. Nothing usually ran to a complete plan. Take today, it had turned into mayhem.
“I am glad then that you do,” she said.
“Now, will you tell me what is going on here, Ellen?”
They had stopped behind the group that had gathered in the middle of the grass.
“Everyone present lives here in Crabbett Close,” Ellen said. “Uncle Bram has owned this house for many years. He bought it before he married Aunty Ivy. When we were ready to come back to London, this was where we came. The residents are unlike any people I’ve ever known.” She was smiling again.
“When we arrived, we were nervous, but Uncle Bram said Crabbett Close would be good for us. The residents were marvelous. They were welcoming and accepting immediately. Most have lived there for many years. Some are retired, others still work in varying positions, and they are very social. Over the years, many traditions have started. This is one of them.”
“This?” Gray asked, looking about him at the people. Some wore cloaks, others shawls, a few in their shirtsleeves.
“The Crabbett Close games.”
“I beg your pardon?” He shot her a look as she giggled. The sound was sweet.
“Just listen.”
“I think I should go.”
“Then do so if that is your wish,” Alex said from his other side. “But in doing so, you will miss out on the opportunity to eat some truly superb taffy cake and drink mulled wine. Plus, you will laugh louder than you have in many years, is my guess.”
“Do I look like I need to laugh, then?”
Both siblings nodded. Well, that told him. Gray clearly came across as uptight and formal as he was.
“Perhaps it may be best if he observes, anyway. It may be too much for him,” Leo said, moving to stand beside his sister.
