“Why must we say anything?”
“We will need to explain why you are there,” Gray said.
“Say I’m also thinking of employing a housekeeper,” he muttered.
“Alone?”
“People live alone,” he protested. “I want to see the woman and get a feel for the inside of the place.”
“And why is that?” Gray said in a cool voice.
“Don’t answer that,” Bram said, stepping out the door.
“If you think for one moment I’m letting you break into the Holton Agency tonight, think again,” Gray snapped.
“If it gets my daughter back, we’ll be doing it,” Calder said, surprising Mungo. He’d been the rule follower growing up. “But I cannot accompany you there today, as I have met Mrs. Holton previously.”
“Agreed,” Mungo snapped.
And then he felt it, the slight stirring in the air, and instantly knew who stood behind him. Eliza Downing was close, and he hated the effect she had on him.
He made himself turn and look at her. “Go inside.”
“I don’t take orders from you, Mr. Mungo,” she said in atone that should have frozen him to the spot. It didn’t. Instead, it made him feel alive.
“Put your coat on?—”
“Please put your coat on, Miss Downing, if you are staying out here,” Bram said with a sigh.
She did, turning at Bram’s words and heading back inside, but his guess was, she did so only because she was cold.
“You’ve no need to be so rude, brother,” Calder Fraser said. “You were raised better than that.”
“What I’ve no need of is your opinion.”
“You’ll get it just the same,” his brother said. “I understand more than anyone that this is a fraught situation, but it is not Miss Downing’s fault.”
“He is certainly more hostile than usual at the moment,” Bram said.
“My niece is missing. Reason enough, surely?”
His friend nodded, and then his eyes went to the doorway, where Mungo knew Eliza now stood. He refused to look.
“I heard raised voices. Is all well, Mr. Nightingale?” she said.
“We are going to visit the Holton Agency, Miss Downing,” Calder said.
“Can I assist in any way with?—”
“You can’t go there or they’ll be suspicious,” Mungo snapped, cutting her off. Perhaps the words came out a growl, but who could blame him? The life he’d always lived had been turned on its head, and he couldn’t right it with his brother nearby, his niece missing, and Miss Downing living under the same roof as he did.
“I understand that, but I wanted to offer any insights I could,” she hissed back at him, her lovely eyes sparking withfire. “Perhaps you could try that occasionally and see how people respond.”
Bram snorted.
“I’m going to give lessons now, as we missed yesterday’s. Please let me know if I am needed in any capacity.” She shot Mungo a final glare before walking away.
“I’ll get the carriage,” Mungo said to the rest. He walked away before anyone could address him again.
