“What has happened to your face?”
“You are in one of the worst slums in London, alone,” he went on, not answering her question. “Have you any idea what could happen to you here?”
“I do not plan to stay long.”
His teeth snapped together, and he inhaled and exhaled through his teeth.
“I am not a complete fool, and am carrying my pistol and a knife strapped to my thigh, my lord. So you can leave, and I will be quite well.”
He stared at her for long seconds. “You carrying a pistol and a knife is meant to reassure me, is it?”
“I can shoot better than you,” she snapped back. “Now leave me, and I shall see to my business, and you can go and do what people like you do.”
“People like me?” The words had a low dangerous growl to them.
“Oh, for pity’s sake just go. I shall be fine.” Tilly turned and walked away before he could stop her.
“You don’t honestly think I will leave you here alone, do you?”
“Yes. We don’t even like each other.”
“I don’t like many people. That doesn’t mean I want them to be robbed, beaten, or worse,” he snapped back.
She kept walking, chin raised, ignoring him. Then a thought came to her, and she stopped. “Whyareyou here, Lord Talbot?”
“Ambrose,” he said. “And I am here because I am looking at the piece of land that we discussed in the meeting the other day. The one that would make an excellent housing complex.”
“Is that close by? I should like to see that also.”
“That way,” he said, waving a hand over her shoulder. “But right now I want the whole truth as to why you are here, Tilly.”
“What happened to your face?” she repeated.
“Last night after the musicale, I went walking, and when I reached the clubs, I checked that outside door again. Someone was there, and they struck me.”
“Dear Lord,” Tilly whispered.
“Exactly, but right now is not the time to discuss that. I insist you tell me why you are here, Tilly.”
He looked as immovable as the buildings surrounding them. His large shoulders were encased in a deep grey overcoat, and she could see very little beyond them. His hat made him taller, the expression on his handsome face a little meaner, not that she was intimidated.
“It’s none of your business,” she said.
He folded his arms, widening his stance, which told her he was not about to move until she told him what he wanted to know.
“Oh, very well,” Tilly said after looking left and right. People were staring at them now. “If you remember I toldyou about a woman called Ruby who visited me when we opened The Iris. She was looking for her sister, Fern, who used to work in the gentleman’s club.”
“And what? She lives here, so you came to question her further?”
“No. I offered her a position in The Iris. We need a seamstress and another maid. She said she would like to work there but never returned. I was worried about her.”
“You met her once, and now you’re worried about her?”
“What of her sister? Perhaps whatever is going on below the clubs could be why she is missing, Ambrose.”
“Finally, she uses my name,” he muttered. “And while I want to hear more of this theory, I fear here, on this particular street, is not the place to hold this conversation, so come. I shall return you home.”
She stepped back out of his reach. “I’m not leaving until I see her.”
