“I’m afraid so, Miss Talbot.” Nigel cursed softly and ran a hand down the back of his head. But Luna reached out and grabbed his arm, and for a moment, he was distracted by the warmth of her grip. His gaze shifted to fixate on the sight of her strong fingers, contrasting against the gray cloth.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “We’ll track it down.”
“How?” He shrugged dismally. “The trail vanishes just here.”
Luna considered for a moment, her brow set in a stern little line. Then: “I have an idea! Wait a moment, Mr. Grimm. I’ll be right back.”
Having donned her coat and hat, Luna returned to the sidewalk, cradling something gently in her hands. Mr. Grimm gave her a look as she drew near. “What do you have there?” he asked.
Luna held up her find for his inspection. “Houndsnose!” she declared. “Fresh from Garden. I thought I’d spied a cluster of them yesterday.”
It was a flower—a wild flower with a sturdy stalk and a big yellow blossom shaped like a long snout. It smelled a bit like wet dog but was pretty enough, and Luna happened to know it made an excellent tea for the treatment of bunions. But that was not to the point just now.
Despite Mr. Grimm’s deepening look of concern, Luna plunked the flower—complete with its whole root system, carefully preserved—down on the sidewalk, just where the dirt trail left by the tiger lily petered out. “Watch,” Luna said and held her breath with anticipation. She’d already taken time to secure the wildflower’s stalk with a leash of floral twine, which she gripped firmly with one hand. With the other, she made a little flapping motion. “Go on,” she murmured encouragingly. “Sniff it out, boy, there’s a good houndsnose.”
The flower sat on its thick taproot for a moment. Then, slowly, the yellow blossom began to twitch with interest. It bowed its petals and began nosing—for want of a better word—along the sidewalk. Suddenly, one arrow-shaped leaf flicked upright like a tail on alert. With a sudden burst of energy, the flower lurched down the sidewalk, tugging at the leash.
“There!” Luna cried, and turned a triumphant grin to her employer. “I’ll take it from here, Mr. Grimm!”
“Take what? Where?”
“I’ll follow the houndsnose, let it lead me to the tiger lily. I’ll be back with both of them before closing with any luck.”
Mr. Grimm’s expression shifted from bewilderment to deep concern. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be seen traipsing around the city with . . . with an animate flower on a leash.”
Luna shrugged. “No one pays attention to what anyone else is doing here in Eastside. They’re all much too busy with their own business.”
Even as she said it, a delivery boy on a bicycle zoomed by, ringing his bell loudly, followed soon after by a trio of gentlemen in smart overcoats, carrying on an intense conversation—mumble-mumble-the-economy-mumble—never casting so much as a glance at Luna, her employer, or the flower straining at the end of her floral twine. She lifted an eyebrow in a silent,See what I mean?
Mr. Grimm looked unconvinced. He sighed, however, and said, “Very well, Miss Talbot. But I’m coming with you.”
“Oh, no need, Mr. Grimm! I’m quite certain I can—”
“Our missing lily was in hot pursuit of Lord Bruxley, who has shown you demonstrative disrespect.” Mr. Grimm’s face took on stern lines, a contrast with his habitually shy demeanor. “I don’t want you trailing after that man and inadvertently giving himideas.”
Luna snorted. “That man doesn’t need any help formingideasall on his own.”
“Even more reason for me to accompany you.”
She opened her mouth to remind him of what she’d declared only minutes ago, about her ability to fend for herself . . . but Mr. Grimm was already sprinting back to the shop. In short order, he’d called to Debbie, “Watch over things, will you?” flipped the sign to CLOSED, and locked the door. He slipped the key into his waistcoat pocket as he hastened to rejoin Luna and the houndsnose. “Shall we?”
Luna hadn’t the heart to reject such determined chivalry. She turned her attention to the flower and said, “Go on! Find the lily, boy.”
“Boy?” Mr. Grimm queried as they set off at a trot, pursuing the animate plant. It moved with a strange, root-legged gait, not quite like anything in the animal kingdom, but quick.
“Itfeelslike a boy to me.” Luna shrugged, and added crooningly, “A very good boy, then!”
The leaf-like tail, still on alert, wagged slightly in response. But the nose-blossom remained close to the ground, and Luna could almost swear she heard sniffing sounds, actualsniffingsounds, despite the noise of the automagic cars zipping by. The plant led them up Addle Street, took a turn onto Pembroke, then paused for a long sniff around the base of a streetlamp. Luna feared it might be distracted by the interesting aromas left behind by city dogs, but then her eye chanced to glimpse a sliver of orange speckles.
Gasping, she crouched and plucked the tiger lily petal from the faded sidewalk bricks. She held it up for Mr. Grimm to see. His brow furrowed with deep concern. “We’re on the right track, at least,” Luna said.
“I only hope there will be something left of the fool flower by the time we find it.” Mr. Grimm shook his head bleakly. “Tiger lilies havenosense of self-preservation.”
The houndsnose wasn’t keen to leave the lamppost, but Luna tugged it in a few different directions until it seemed to catch the scent again. It set off in a hurry, directly toward the busy intersection of Addle and Pembroke. “No!” Luna protested, yanking the flower back before it was crushed beneath a passing automagic mobile. “We can’t cross here!”
“There.” Mr. Grimm pointed to the other end of Pembroke where a crosswalk lay. Luna picked up the houndsnose—whichwhinedpiteously and wriggled in her grip—and they hastened to the crosswalk.
When the light turned, signaling for them to cross, Mr. Grimm tucked a hand through Luna’s elbow. Luna tried not to notice. It was, after all, such a simple gesture, not really worth attention. And yet, despite her protestations of self-sufficiency, she couldn’t help a little warm flush of pleasure at that small sign of gentlemanly protection. It was rather nice, she admitted in the privacy of her heart, to have someone looking out for her again. Even over something as mundane as crossing the street.
