The kind I’ve always been.
Phoebe let out a snort in the quiet carriage. Will could say whatever he liked, however he liked, but he wasnotthat person anymore. Not since the day he strolled into the back garden and ruined the little fantasy she had been carefully constructing in her heart by rattling off the list of extravagant homes he would inherit as if it were all a terrible inconvenience and not the stuff of fairy tales. And what had he gone and done with that twist of fate? Nothing of importance. When the time came, he simply took his seat in the House of Lords and blithely supported an agenda he once would have declared immoral.
He was just another man in a bespoke suit with too much power and not a clue what to do with it.
“Here we are, miss.”
Phoebe blinked in a daze and turned to the speaker. It was his coachman. She must have dozed off. Not surprising, given that this carriage seat was softer than her own bed. She quickly sat up and let the man hand her down. They were right in front of her building and the curtain fluttered in the window of her second-floor flat. Blast. Marion must have seen her. And there was no hiding who she had been with. Phoebe cast a frown as the Ellis crest glinted in the moonlight. How on earth could a piece ofwoodmanage to look so superior?
She thanked the coachman and swiftly headed up the front steps, until the thought of Will still sitting alone at the table back in the pub brought her to a halt. Phoebe knew something about lonesomeness. Of how one could feel alone even while surrounded by people. And title or no, there was no mistaking the expression on his face.
“See that His Grace makes it home safely,” she said over her shoulder, and turned away just as a look of surprise flashed on the coachman’s face.
Phoebe tried to enter the flat as quietly as possible, but her effort was for naught. Marion stood in the entryway with her arms crossed and a thunderous expression on her face. No wonder her students called her Mad Marion behind her back.
“You were with that duke again, weren’t you,” she said without preamble. “Don’t deny it. Your students were gossiping about him before they even made it out of the building. Unless someotherwell-dressed toff just happened to be hanging about the school.”
Phoebe winced. “It isn’t what you think.”
Marion raised a mocking eyebrow. “And what, pray, would I be thinking? You only disappeared forhoursbefore getting out ofthe finest carriage I’ve ever seen. I suppose you were inside playing checkers?”
It had been a very long day and Phoebe lacked the patience to deal with Marion’s usual sarcasm.
“I’m not involved with him.” Phoebe pushed past her into the flat and took off her coat. “Not that it would be any of your business if I was,” she added, unable to control the defensive note in her voice.
“You’re acting like a child,” Marion scolded.
“And you’re acting like my mother!” Phoebe shot back. “I told you before, the duke is a family friend. He had some information for me that could help with finding Alice.”
Marion remained unconvinced. “That he needed to relay in person until nine at night?” She then let out a sigh. “Sorry. I—that wasn’t fair. I was thinking of myself. Of what happened.”
Phoebe’s irritation faded. Marion had an ill-fated love affair last year with a promising law clerk who was all but engaged to his boss’s daughter—and had no intention of throwing the girl over for her. Marion had immediately ended things and insisted she was better off, but there were still moments when she couldn’t hide her broken heart.
“I know,” Phoebe said softly. “But this isn’t like that at all. Truly. He just wants to help.”
As she said the words, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Perhaps she had judged him a little too harshly back in the pub.
“All right then.” Marion gave her a thoughtful look. “What does he know about Alice?”
Phoebe relayed everything that had happened up until they found Mr. Felton’s body, as the inspector insisted they keep it between them. But Marion was still shocked.
“I can’tbelieveyou went back to the building.”
“We found a lead.”
“What, some woman who sounds like nothing but trouble?” Marion clucked her tongue. “If Aliceisinvolved with her, then she really is as good as gone.”
Phoebe’s mouth dropped open. “You would cast her aside so easily?”
“That is the way of things,” Marion said with distressing finality. “She will have ruined what little reputation a girl like her has by now anyway. And there is no returning from that. Not around here.”
Phoebe crossed her arms. “I refuse to believe that.”
Marion gave her an enraging look of pity. “You have always been an idealist. And I admire that so much. But you need to be realistic.”
Phoebe could only laugh to herself, given that Will had called her a cynic only a few hours ago. Perhaps she was a mixture of the two. A cynical idealist.
“And there are other girls you can still help,” Marion continued. “Girls who wouldn’t dream oflookingat a fallen woman, let alone inviting one into her home.”
