*
Camille paused onthe Cock ’n Hen’s doorstep, the violent wind ripping at her bonnet as the drizzle of rain falling turned pounding.
As far as apologies went, this was long past due. So much had changed in the year since she’d left the rookeries—without a word to Scarlet or Syd—a lifetime in this harsh-paced, harsher-lived world beneath theton’s attentions.
Syd could have died from infection from her injuries. Scarlet may have left the tavern. The whole family may have moved back to Ireland now that the waves of devastating famine had ebbed.
She hadn’t so much as thought after her friends’ welfare to the paper boy on the corner, never knowing which informant worked for Madam Clarice and which worked for the local gang. Madam may have agreed to Camille’s request to stay away, but Scarlet and Syd would never have listened.
Camille rested a hand on the doorknob. Would Scarlet want to see her? She’d up and run away from her life here, including those she’d cherished like family. Knowing this visit would be the hardest, she’d stopped here, bypassing the Pony and the inevitable upheaval her presence would create with Madam, with Markus, withher mother. But now that she was here...
The doorknob turned before the door opened and Scarlet herself was there, leaning a hip on the frame, her mouth set in a grin, her ever-present rag flung over her shoulder.
“You gonna come in or just stand here and get soaked to the bone?” she asked.
Hearing her friend’s teasing tone made her stomach twist with new guilt. “That depends. Are you more or less likely to lecture me if I’m sufficiently wet and pathetic?”
Scarlet sucked a tooth and gave her a onceover. “Odds aren’t good either way.”
“Then I guess I’ll come in.”
Scarlet stepped aside and let Camille pass into the warm room.
*
“So that’s whathappened?” Scarlet rubbed her chin with her thumb and gave a low whistle. “No wonder Madam was the only levelheaded of the monsters.”
Camille set down her sipped wine on the bar, letting the sweet taste coat her dry throat. She’d given Scarlet the simple version of why she’d left—how she’d become with child, how she’d stumbled upon the killer one night on her way home from the Pony, how the killer had seen her face, even how she’d gone into hiding and come to live with her brother. And more: How she’d lost the baby and now couldn’t stay away from those she loved any longer.
Scarlet accepted her last statement with a nod and a smile.
“What do you mean,monsters?” Camille asked.
Scarlet huffed. “A whole lot of chaos happened when you left. You’d have thought Pops and Lucien were parents searching for a child the way those two grown men prowled through the streets, upturning every gaming hell and brothel thinking you’d been taken against your will. Syd damned near burned St. Giles to the ground.”
Camille winced at the mention of Syd; another apology she had to make. “Lucien too?”
Scarlet smirked. “You made an impression. Who knew Lucien was flesh and blood under all that brooding? And charming devilsisone of your finest qualities. Pops and Syd have a side bet going on how soon after you returned Lucien would wait until he proposed.”
Camille laughed at the predictable and comforting things that never changed. “What is your take?”
“I’ll make a fortune when you turn the Devil down.” Scarlet smiled at Camille’s surprise. “Lucien has no chance, not when a duke holds your heart.”
“How did you—”
“The man was beside himself when you vanished. In here every night begging for a word to anyone who’d listen. Saidhis girlwas missing. Wasn’t hard to put the two events together. Not when he described you down to the shade of the beautymark under your jaw.” Scarlet’s brows furrowed, the woman clearly lost in thought. “When you left him as well, I too thought you’d been abducted or worse. But then, a year ago, I caught some henchmen of Madam’s pilfering letters with your name on them, and I remembered you have a knack for surviving. Too smart to die.” Shadows formed in her eyes. “I know better than anyone how our secrets can destroy those around us.” The darkness fled and she shrugged. “I knew you had to have a good reason.” Her voice steeled. “That doesn’t mean you’re forgiven.”
Camille’s heart clenched at the mention of Renard and his nightly efforts of search. No one had ever offered so much of themselves to her well-being. In a way, he had become like a dark hero, sacrificing his life and compromising his morals to rescue her from the evils of this world. Worse, she cared for him still; neither of them should be forgiven.
“I know,” she said.
“And you better be prepared for an ear-bending lecture from Syd,” Scarlet said. “She’s gone and grown into a woman since you left, all ‘checking in’ and wanting to ‘talk.’ Damn miracle.”
“That’s why you aren’t skinning my hide?”
“It is a nice bonus.” Scarlet’s smile slipped, her actor’s mask falling away to show real feeling. “You worried us good, Cam. Don’t go expecting an easy welcome from the rest.”
“I’m to see Madam next,” Camille said. “And my mother.”
