“My mind is at rest.”
“What has you here, Gray?”
“I thought to find a woman whose son I need to question about a series of robberies. So far, I have been unable to locate her.”
“Well, I will not keep you. But before I go, I need to tell you I have had two visions this morning.”
He held out his arm to her. Ellen looked at it.
“I do not bite, Ellen.”
She placed her fingers on it, and they started walking down the row of blooms.
“The roses are beautiful colors,” he said.
“Aunt Ivy loves them.” She stopped to order some to be delivered.
They walked on, and it was surprisingly comfortable to do so at his side, even though she was aware of this man more than anyone she’d met before.
“Grayson?”
The arm under her hand stiffened, then fell, leaving Ellen’s to drop to her side. Shooting Gray a look, she saw the tension in his face as the muscles in his jaw bunched. Ellen then glanced at the man coming toward them and felt her stomach clench.
With him was a woman. Ellen knew both people well. She and Gray stopped, and horror had her feet suddenly feeling like they were stuck to the ground. This was her worst nightmare. Facing her past.
“It is you,” the man, Lord Howe, said. He was now a few feet away, his eyes on Gray. “Why are you here at the flower market?” His eyes then turned to her, and she saw the flare of recognition. Their paths had crossed in society. He’d danced with her and had even shown Ellen interest for a while.
Panic slithered its fingers through her. She felt herself preparing to flee, but a large hand settled on her waist, holding her in place. Gray was supporting her, and suddenly she felt stronger.
“What has you with my brother?” he demanded of Ellen.
This was Gray’s brother. How had she not connected them? Lord Howe was the reason she hadn’t thought of the man as a Fletcher. He carried his father, the Earl’s other title as many elder sons did.
“I’m sure you meant to greet Miss Nightingale properly, brother?” Gray said in a hard voice.
Lord Howe’s bow was insultingly shallow.
“I must offer you my congratulations for your upcoming nuptials, Christopher. I have not received my invitation, but I’m sure that will be rectified soon. Ramsey paid me a call, and he has his,” Gray said, still in a tone that would shatter a diamond.
Lord Howe blustered, and his cheeks flushed with color. “Yes, of course. I wanted to personally deliver it to you.”
“Ah, that must be it then,” Gray said calmly. But Ellen felt the tension in the hand he held to her back. He was as unhappy to see these two as she was.
Christopher’s hair was lighter, and his body slighter than Gray’s, but the resemblance was there in the facial features of the brothers.
“And is this to be my sister-in-law, Christopher?” Gray asked.
“This is Lady Mary Smythe. Mary, this is my youngest brother, Grayson.”
It was obvious to everyone that Lord Howe was reluctant to introduce his brother, which Ellen found sad. Her family might annoy her excessively, but they were never ashamed of her.
“We are here looking at flowers,” Lord Howe said when a heavy silence settled over them.
“Really? That surprises me. I had no idea you were an expert on such things, Christopher.”
“I’m not,” Lord Howe gritted out. “Mary merely wished for me to accompany her.”
“And you acquiesced to her request. What an accommodating fiancé you are, brother.”
