Ellen did as he asked.
“You go with her, wee beastie,” she heard Mungo say to Chester.
She looked over her shoulder and watched the dog follow the big Scotsman toward the kitchens.
The house was the first real home the Nightingale siblings had lived in. The previous one had been large, prestigious, and they’d never really felt comfortable in it. Her parents had ensured their children were always subdued and quiet. Appearances had been everything to the late Lord Seddon.
This home was very different. Scuff marks, toys and books, and often a coat or pair of shoes were found in the hall. The walls and cabinets held her uncle’s collections from years of traveling around the world. 11 Crabbett Close was full of all the things they loved, including the people.
The walls were painted in rich colors and trimmed with gold. An enormous mirror was the last item hung on the walls before descending the stairs. Aunt Ivy said this was to ensure they could check their shoes matched.
Treading the green-and-gold carpet, she took the next set of stairs up to the third floor. Her room was at the end of the hall.
Opening the door, she walked into her sanctuary. Painted in soft mint green, there was a long shelf attached to the wall holding all her favorite books. In the corner, a piano Uncle Bram had insisted on buying her. A window overlooked the street below, and when they’d first come here, Ellen had spent hours just sitting and looking at life going on outside.
She washed the blood from her hands and tried not to look at the color the water had gone. After a quick look in the mirror, Ellen was tidy, and she then left to face her family.
Leo and Alex were up here with her, and the next level down held the younger members of their family and Uncle Bram and his wife. Taking the stairs down to the second floor, Ellen opened one door quietly and poked her head inside. She found her three younger siblings. They were reading with Bonnie, their nanny.
“Good night, everyone,” Ellen said. They all replied, and then she left, closing the door again.
On the ground floor, she made for the parlor the family used to gather in and heard the voices as she approached.
All conversation stopped as she entered another room painted in a deep rich sapphire. Ellen saw her two older brothers and Mungo debating something. Chester was stretched out before the fire on the rug.
She welcomed the warmth from the fire that blazed in the hearth and headed for it.
“What has happened, Ellen?” Leopold asked. “Mungo said something has, but said he’d leave it to you to explain.”
Ellen moved to the fire and held out her hands. Finally, she felt some of the ice in her veins thaw as the heat warmed her.
“I’m well, Leo, as you see. It has been a trying evening, however.”
He was the biggest. Broad-shouldered, hair darker than Ellen’s blond locks. He wore a scowl most often and usually said exactly what he was thinking and damn the consequences. Once, he’d been a very different man.
“Well, tell us what happened then,” he demanded.
“Leo, for pity’s sake. If you will back up a step, she may,” Alexander, next in line from Leo, said. He came closer and took her arm. As tall as his brother, he had brown hair and eyes, like Fred.
Tugging Ellen around Leo, he led her to a chair and then nudged her down into it.
Even-tempered, gentle for the most part, and the peacemaker in the Nightingale family, Alex braced his hands on the seat he’d lowered her into.
“Are you well, Ellen?”
“I am unharmed, Alex.” She patted his cheek.
“Here now, she needs a cup of tea. You lot leave her alone until she’s got that,” Miss Bud said, entering the room with a huge tray, which Mungo took off her and placed on a small table before Ellen.
Mungo and Miss Bud, or Bud as she insisted they call her, were the only two staff in the household who knew all there was to know about the Nightingales. Where Mungo was tall, Bud was short, close to Ellen’s height. Slender with a head of long black curls she pulled back in a severe bun. They’d never been able to guess her age. Her nature was no-nonsense, and no one disobeyed her.
Constable Plummy adored her, but she had no interest in him. However, he was not to be deterred.
Tea was served, and plates filled with food, and then Miss Bud left.
“Now, speak,” Leo growled.
“I went to drop off a book to Mr. Nicholson that I had loaned and found two boys in the bookshop.” Ellen went through everything she’d seen.
