Chapter 6
His lips felt soft pressed to hers, and so warm. Liquid heat slid through her, filling all the cold spaces inside. It made Tilly want to grab the lapels of his jacket and press him to her so she could feel all of him.
“Tilly,” he breathed against her lips and then kissed her again.
Her hands did go to his lapels then, and she held him closer. Every thought in that moment but one fled: I need him. And it was that which had her wrenching free. Then she ran.
“Tilly, wait!”
She didn’t, instead running back to The Iris Club down the dark passage. Back to safety. Back to sanity, where she would give herself a stern talking to.
“Damnit!”
She looked back to see him clutch his shoulder, clearly having walked into something. In his other hand, he held her lamp. It gave her the chance she needed. Fleeing, she reached the entrance to The Iris Club and stepped through, shutting the door quickly behind her.
Pressing her back to it, she waited for the thud of a fist, but it never came. Closing her eyes, Tilly pressed a palm to her chest as if she could stop the rapid rasps of her breath.
“Dear lord, what just happened?”
It was just the shock of what they’d discovered. Yes, that was why they’d kissed. Why she’d forever have the memory of his mouth on hers and the way her knees had felt weak. She’d wanted to stay there in his arms for the foreseeable future.
“Tilly, you are a fool,” she told herself.
She pushed off the door, secured it and the bookshelf as best she could. She would come back down with a lamp and replace the books later. She was unsure who to tell and what to do about what they’d discovered.
There was definitely something sinister down there, and Tilly felt that evil was at work and likely had been for some time.
But right now she had to push that aside and do what needed to be done.
This club was her responsibility, and she would ensure it was a success, even if she had the urge to go home to her bedroom, lock the door, and never leave again.
The fingers she pressed to her lips trembled. “Collect yourself, Tilly.”
She inhaled through her nose, then exhaled loudly. It was just a kiss. There was no need to make too much of it, and no one saw or would ever know what happened between her and Lord Talbot.
But he knows.
The first time she saw him again would be hell, but Tilly was strong. She’d get through it, as there was no other option when the man with whom she’d been indiscreet was her best friend’s brother.
Tilly left the room and made her way back up the stairs. Loud, raucous laughter greeted her as she reached one of the larger parlors. Stepping inside, she found it full of women. This sight settled her.
“Oh, Tilly.” Violet hurried to her side.
Lord Talbot’s sister, Tilly reminded herself once more. She prayed her friend never heard about what had just happened.
“We are playing charades, of all things, and it’s fabulous fun.”
“I can see that. Has the tea arrived?” She never hid anything from Violet, and yet she couldn’t tell her what she’d just done with her brother. It would change everything between them.
“Crabbett Close resident to your left,” Violet whispered.
“How do Thursdays suit you, Miss Wilson? I’ve found a nice little parlor for our knitting club, and of course we’ll bring food with us, so you’ve no need to supply any,” Mrs. Greedy said, moving to stand before Violet and Tilly.
She still wore layers of scarves, but the one around her head had been lowered to her neck.
She no longer resembled an ancient Egyptian mummy.
“Excellent,” Tilly said.
“I’d like to post a notice somewhere. Are you thinking to have a board for such things?”
“Such things, Mrs. Greedy?” Tilly reiterated, sounding dimwitted, but after what she’d just been through, her mind was all over the place.
“Well, we’ve discussed it, the other ladies and I, and we think you should hold lectures in The Iris,” Violet said.
“Lectures?”
“Yes, lectures,” her friend said with more force, which Tilly was sure was meant to jog her memory. It didn’t.
“Things are changing, Miss Wilson, and you’re at the forefront of that with your club,” Mrs. Greedy said, then sucked her lips into her mouth again. “We thought perhaps getting a lawyer in to offer useful information and answer questions. Also, someone you may know who runs their own finances?”
“Well, I think that all sounds wonderful, don’t you, Tilly?”
“Oh, indeed,” she said when Violet jabbed a pointy elbow into her side.
Mrs. Greedy smiled, looking ten years younger. “Excellent.” She then wandered off.
“Are you all right, Tilly?” Violet whispered. “It is not like you to be so vague.”
“Yes. I just have some things on my mind, but I think her ideas were sound, don’t you?”
“Very much so, and Cyn has already put her hand up to come and speak about managing finances and investment opportunities.”
Her eyes went to the beautiful woman seated between Tabitha Varney and Lady Sinclair. Cyn, who was actually Lady Seddon, had lived alone and managed her late husband’s finances for many years before she married into the Nightingale family.
“That’s very kind of her.”
“Right. Well, we shall make up a roster for speakers, and the information board is another excellent idea. I’ll make notes,” Violet said before walking away to rejoin the others.
“I’d be grateful!” Tilly called after her. She really needed to shake the fog from her brain, but so much had happened today, and it was not even afternoon. She was struggling to make sense of it all. But she was not ready to discuss any of it yet. Not even with Violet.
Looking to the doorway, she saw two more women enter and gritted her teeth to stop her mouth falling open. Lady Crisp and her daughter were here with Ellen Fletcher.
Tilly shot Ellen a look, her brow raised. Her friend shrugged.
“Lady Crisp,” she said as she moved to join them, then dropped into a curtsy.
“Miss Wilson,” Lady Crisp acknowledged her. “We wish to join your little club.”
The way she said “little” wasn’t exactly dismissive, but it was close.
The Crisp women were snobs. They barely acknowledged her at social functions and spoke loudly about people, hoping others would overhear them.
Self-important, puffed-up shrews, Violet had called them.
Tilly couldn’t understand their motivation for seeking membership in her club.
It made absolutely no sense, especially considering Lady Crisp’s husband often made his thoughts clear about women stepping outside what he considered their place in society.
“That’s very kind of you, but can you tell us why?” Tilly asked, shooting Ellen another look, which brought her friend to her side. Ellen then put her arm through Tilly’s.
The question clearly surprised the woman, no doubt because few people would challenge her, as her husband was a viscount.
Mother and daughter shared a look, clearly at a loss for words, as an awkward silence settled over them.
“You’ll forgive me for asking, but it is a question we put to all new members,” Tilly lied. “But you have to understand, it is important all members of The Iris Club feel comfortable here.”
“And you do not believe I will be capable of that?” Lady Crisp snapped.
“Frankly, no,” Tilly said, and felt Ellen tense beside her. “But I will put your name on the waitlist because at the moment we are full, but if your wish to become an Iris lady is genuine, then we will of course be pleased to have you join us, once a spot opens up.”
“I think you are lying,” Lady Crisp declared. “Your club cannot be full so quickly.”
“I assure you I am not,” Tilly lied.
“I rescind my request!” the woman declared in a shrill tone. “You should be honored that one such as I would even grace this doorstep. But then, a plain little thing like you has never been worthy of our time. Your parents are odd, as are you. Come, Lucretia, we will leave.”
“But Father—”
“At once!”
They stormed out of the room, chins high.
“That went well,” Ellen said. “Why was she actually here? That woman does nothing without motive and for effect. I can’t come up with a single reason she’d want to be part of The Iris Club, especially considering she showed her true self before leaving.”
“I don’t know. It’s exceedingly odd.”
“But you were amazing!” Ellen said, hugging Tilly. “That witch won’t like it, but I’m so proud of you for questioning her intent.”
She allowed Ellen to drag her to the group of women who had fallen silent as they listened to the conversation she’d just had with Lady Crisp. They all congratulated her on her handling of it.
Tilly drank the tea Violet handed her and hoped that was the last shock of the day, as she wasn’t sure she could cope with any more.
Lord Talbot had kissed her, and Tilly had wanted more. Pushing that thought aside, she focused on what was going on in those rooms they had inspected.
What if whoever was entering that horrid place below them through the door they’d locked was a danger to her members?
Then there was Ruby, and her sister, Fern, who had been missing for years. Was it possible her disappearance was in some way involved with what went on down there? That she was harmed— No, don’t go there yet, Tilly.
“Tilly, I’ve been talking to you for the last few minutes, and you didn’t hear a word.”
She looked at Violet, who had moved to take the seat beside her.
“Are you sure nothing is wrong?”
“Absolutely. I am just working through the things we need for the club. It’s quite the endeavor, Vi. Until we have been running awhile and have processes in place, there is much to think about.”
“And you’re worried about the repercussions of refusing Lady Crisp and her daughter membership, aren’t you?”
“We said from the start anyone could join, Violet, but I turned them away.”
“Which is your right because they are horrid women,” Violet said, “and we don’t want their type in here. You did the right thing, Tilly. What I don’t understand is why they want to join?”
“I must admit that confuses me too. It makes no sense.”