“I suppose.” Phoebe shrugged. “But even you are only one man. This is a problem that will take more than a single duke to solve.”
“There’s that cynical streak again,” he said after a moment.
“Hardly. If I were a true cynic, I don’t think I’d be working at my school. Or standing here.” She turned to him then. “I still have hope that my students’ lives can be improved. But I know that for so many their days are filled with unnecessary pain, loss, andendless drudgery. That won’t ever change. At least, not in the ways that would make the most difference in their lives. Perhaps you call that cynical, but I’d be a fool to think otherwise.”
Just as his eyes began to soften with pity, Phoebe looked back to the building and straightened her spine. She wasn’t interested in any cloying remarks from him. She had enough of those from her mother. “Now come along, Margrave. We don’t have time to waste.”
Seven
Will froze in place as Phoebe marched across the street with the kind of determination decorated generals spent a lifetime honing.
Whowasthis woman?
In so many ways, she was little more than a stranger to him, yet she remained hauntingly, relentlessly familiar. Though he knew next to nothing about how she spent her days or the path that had led her to this broken-down corner of London, there were still flashes of the impetuous girl she had been—not to mention the beguiling young woman he had been a bit of a fool for that fateful summer. Will had known her once, and he couldn’t ignore the growing need to know her now. To understand the person she had become during their time apart.
She had nearly reached those derelict front steps before he remembered to move. He hurried over with a speed he usually reserved for the ring of his boxing club. There was no need for a duke to hurry when everything was brought to him. But just as Phoebe lifted her skirts to take that first step, Will was beside her, offering his hand.
“Allow me,” he said as he braced one foot on the step. As she turned to him, he saw the hesitation in her gaze until her glovedhand slid against his waiting palm. Will’s fingers closed over hers and something like an electric shock jolted down his arm. If Phoebe felt it, she gave no indication.
She had not wanted his help, but Will would do his best to convince her he could be of some use. Together they gingerly ascended the steps and entered the building, where they were greeted by the choking scent of mildew and decay. The only source of light in the cramped entryway was whatever could filter in from a cracked window above the front door. Will squinted at the staircase before them. It looked even more hazardous than the one outside. There were broken planks and holes in nearly every step.
Will turned to Phoebe. “You came herealone?” He couldn’t help his scandalized tone. Itwasscandalous.
She didn’t bother to respond and instead moved toward the stairs. “Her flat is on the third floor.”
Will followed closely behind, prepared to catch her the minute she took a wrong step, but Phoebe moved with a careful confidence that could only come with experience.
“Sunday wasn’t your first visit to this place.”
“Especially after Alice’s mother took ill,” Phoebe replied without looking back at him.
“That’s how the maintenance man knew you,” Will added. “And what you were doing here.”
To this she merely nodded. They continued on in silence, though they were surrounded by noise. The walls must be paper thin, as the din of conversations, the rattle of cookware, and the cries of a child filled the dank air. Will scrunched his nose against a particularly pungent aroma he couldn’t begin to place as they passed the second floor.
“Do you know where he is now?”
Since the man clearly wasn’t busy doing his job.
“His room is in the basement, but he drinks,” Phoebe explained. “I’m hoping he’s in a stupor. I… I wasn’t so lucky last time.”
Will was shocked that she spoke of such degeneracy so casually, and then annoyed with himself for being naive.
“Go on, then.” She glanced back to give him a wry smile. “Tell me how much you disapprove.”
Will rolled his shoulders. Like hell he would. “You’re a grown woman,” he said. “You can do as you like.”
“Yes.” Her smile turned into a grin as she turned away. “My thoughts exactly.”
Just as they reached the third-floor landing, an old man entered the hallway. Phoebe leaned closer to Will and the softest hint of her fresh scent kissed his nose.
“That’s Alice’s neighbor,” she whispered. “He wasn’t home on Sunday.”
Phoebe shifted away to approach the man, but Will caught her shoulder.
“Let me. He may be more willing to talk to a man.”
Phoebe looked primed to argue, then relented. “You’re probably right.”
