Chapter 15
She felt ill. Her stomach was clenched along with her fists, and Tilly was sure this morning’s meal was about to end up on the street before her.
Dear Lord, Ambrose was fighting, and it was all her fault.
He was protecting Ruby because he was a gentleman, which she’d always known because she’d seen the way he looked after his sisters, but often refused to acknowledge.
The thought of anyone hurting him, of him bloodied and beaten at the hands of this bullish man, had her wanting to cry.
“What do we have here?”
The words were spoken in a cultured voice and had Tilly looking over the crowds. Three men stood there. Lord Seddon, Lord Sinclair, and his brother, Mr. Sinclair.
“Excuse me, yes, make way. Thank you.” Mr. Sinclair was the first to reach her.
“Well now, this is a surprise, Miss Wilson, and after our lovely dance at the Holton Ball just a week ago too.”
“M-Mr. Sinclair,” she said, attempting a curtsy, which was not easy, as people pressed in on them from all sides.
“No curtsy is required, I assure you. My brother may be a pompous lord with expectations that everyone should curry his favor, but he can go without today.”
“Idiot,” Lord Sinclair muttered, his eyes on the fight. “Move your feet, Talbot!” he then bellowed.
“Hello, Tilly.”
“Lord Seddon. I’m sorry, it is my fault that Lord Talbot is fighting, but I should be extremely grateful if you would help stop that man from hurting him.”
“Knowing Talbot as I do, Tilly—and my name is Leo, as I believe I have already told you—I doubt anyone could make him do anything.”
“Talbot can hold his own,” Mr. Sinclair said. “Fret not, Miss Wilson.” He then produced something from his pocket that looked like a half-eaten pie and took a large bite.
“Move faster!” Lord Sinclair roared. “Don’t give him a target, Talbot!”
Ambrose took a punch to the stomach and returned it with a left and then a right to Dill’s jaw. The man stumbled but stayed upright.
“It will take more than that, Ambrose. Do as we taught you!” Leo bellowed. He himself was now eating something minty. He held the paper out to her, and as she was feeling light-headed, she took a sweet seeing as Barnaby had eaten hers.
“Look for weakness!” Mr. Sinclair called over the roar of the crowd now gathered.
Ambrose dodged and weaved, and Dill kept coming, although his nose was now bleeding and his jaw swelling.
“Finish him, Dill!” another roared, “Or we’ll have to step in.”
“You’ll do no such thing!” Lord Sinclair said loudly, his voice carrying to everyone in the circle. “We may be noblemen, but we can fight, I assure you.”
That caused a few murmurs, but no one moved to intervene.
Leo leaned down to whisper words in her ear. “Do you carry something with a thimble attached to it, Tilly?”
“I-I—yes,” she said, unsure how anyone could know that. She opened her reticule and found the small chain she’d attached the thimble to and showed Leo.
“Ah, well then, it makes perfect sense that I needed to find it and that the search led me to you.”
“And away from the pie cart,” Mr. Sinclair said.
“We had concluded our business, Cam,” Leo said. “I only came with you Sinclairs for the food because I thought we were going to a tavern, not a cart.”
“They are spectacular pies.”
She wanted to yell at the men to be quiet, as Ambrose was fighting, but of course she would never do such a thing. Instead, Tilly watched him shift his weight to the right and then to the left.
“Watch now,” Leo whispered in her ear.
She did, and Ambrose kicked out and caught Dill in the chest. He stumbled back. Ambrose followed and punched him hard in the jaw. The man fell to the ground, where he stayed.
Tilly then watched as Ambrose hauled in a deep breath. His chest rose and fell in rapid succession as he regained his breath before moving to stand over the man.
“You will never touch Miss Little again—or any woman. Do you understand?”
Dill didn’t reply fast enough to that question, so Ambrose bent and grabbed the man’s shirt front, then hauled him off the ground. “Do you understand?”
“Y-yes,” Dill stammered.
Ambrose dropped him, and the man’s head thunked on the ground.
“Well done, Ambrose,” Leo said when he reached them.
“Nothing more to see here. Get about your day,” Lord Sinclair said, dispersing the crowd. “Who does this man belong to?” he added. “Remove him at once.”
Dill was hauled away by two men, his feet dragging on the ground.
Tilly hurried to Ambrose. “Are you all right? You’re bleeding.” She pulled out her handkerchief and pressed it to his jaw.
“I told you to stay with Ruby.” He glared at her. “When are you going to actually listen when I tell you to do something?” Anger snapped and sizzled in his eyes.
“Who is Ruby?” Lord Seddon asked.
“She is there, leaning against the wall with her dog, Barnaby.” Tilly thought it an excellent idea to leave at that moment, as the large lord continued to glower at her. “Good day, and thank you, my lords, Mr. Sinclair.” She bobbed a curtsy. “I will go to her now.”
A hand wrapped around her wrist. “You’re not going anywhere, and Ruby is merely a few feet away.”
“Someone explain what is going on and why I suddenly feel like I need to find something with the Seal Of Solomon on it?” Leo demanded.
Tilly felt her stomach clench as Ambrose turned to glare at her. “Did you take that book from down there?”
“Ah—well, as to that—”
“You went back down there alone?” he bellowed. “You are without doubt the most reckless, irresponsible—”
“No, of course not,” she lied. In fact, Tilly had gone down there and taken another look at the book, as she knew it likely held the clue as to what was going on in that room. However, she was not admitting to it.
“You’re lying.” He jabbed a finger at her. “Your eyes are squinty.”
“They are not.” She blinked twice.
“If we could focus, please. I want to know why you are here,” Leo said. “And further to that, who is Ruby?”
“She’s not well,” Lord Sinclair said suddenly, moving away from them to where Ruby leaned against the wall, eyes closed now, clearly in pain.
Tilly followed, as did the others.
“Ruby, these are good men. Please don’t be afraid.” She put her hand on the woman’s arm. So much pain, she thought, looking into her eyes.
“Well now, aren’t you a grand fellow,” Mr. Sinclair said, patting Barnaby. He then dug into his other pocket and pulled out another pie. He broke it in half and placed it on the ground before the dog.
“She has no bleeding inside, but she still needs rest and care,” Lord Sinclair said, turning to look at Tilly. His eyes were so bright, it was hard to look directly into them now.
“I will see she gets it,” Tilly assured him. “She is coming back with me to The Iris Club.” She didn’t look at Ambrose after this declaration. No doubt he would disapprove and call her actions rash, but that club was hers, and she could do whatever she wanted there.
“Where is your carriage, Ambrose?” Leo asked.
“I told my driver to head to Trotter Street, as it is wider with more traffic and therefore safer,” he said, glaring at Tilly again.
“I will get a hackney cab for Ruby, Barnaby, and myself,” Tilly said quickly. “If you will—”
“Shut up,” Ambrose snapped. “Come, Ruby. It is not far.”
Tilly didn’t argue, as the other men were listening, and he had every right to be angry with her. Her actions could have gotten him hurt worse than he was, and she felt guilt over that. She knew that she and Ruby owed him a great deal for what he’d done today.
Yes, she likely shouldn’t have come here alone, but she had, and thankfully they were going to leave with Ruby, and not too much damage done. Her eyes shot to Ambrose. His face looked sore. Her guilt increased.
Tilly didn’t answer to many people in her life. Even her parents let her come and go as she pleased, sure in the knowledge that her actions would be rational and not dangerous—which they perhaps had been today, she conceded.
“If you are finished with us, we shall return home to our sister, who is a healer, and send her to The Iris Club, Miss Wilson,” Lord Sinclair said.
“Well done on the club, by the way, Miss Wilson. Capital idea that the women in our family are enjoying very much,” Mr. Sinclair said. “Good day, and take care.”
“Thank you very much for your help and your kind words,” Tilly said. “If you both wish to leave also, I can deal with this,” she added, looking from Leo to Ambrose.
“You cannot be serious?” Ambrose growled.
“That will do, Talbot,” Lord Sinclair said. “I believe Miss Wilson is doing good deeds, and while I think coming here alone was rash, it was because her heart is kind.”
“Thank you, my lord.”
His smile was lovely. She’d heard the rumors about these Sinclairs and Ravens and the kind of people they were. Good people, most said. Odd people, others said.
“Come along, Cam. We shall make haste to find Essie, as I see no trouble around them,” Lord Sinclair said. “Do either of you like the color turquoise?”
“Why would you ask us that?” Ambrose asked, staring at the peer.
“Curiosity, as it is the color of both you and Miss Wilson,” Lord Sinclair said. “Good day to you both, and if you should need us again, please send word.”
She thought that an exceedingly odd statement but didn’t say so.
The two men left, and she was grateful Leo was here and she was not alone with the angry Lord Talbot.
“I am Lord Seddon, and along with these two, we are going to help you, Ruby. I hope you don’t mind me calling you that?”
Wide-eyed, Ruby shook her head.
“Well then, let’s go, as I think we have drawn enough attention,” Ambrose declared.
He looked a little savage with the sluggish bleeding of his lip and bruises already forming on his face.
He was no longer the refined, elegant gentleman she saw at society events.
Tilly thought it best she didn’t provoke him further right now, which wasn’t entirely her fault.
The man just had to open his mouth and he irritated her sometimes.
The two men put Ruby between them.
“You lead the way, Tilly.”
She picked up Ruby’s box of belongings and started walking.
“Barnaby,” Ruby said.
“He’s following,” Tilly said. “Come along, Barnaby. You can walk with me.”
She heard a loud sigh and then watched as Ambrose removed his necktie. After wrapping it around the dog’s neck, he handed the end to Tilly without a word. She took it and resumed walking.
People watched, but no one approached. They showed special interest in Ambrose and had undoubtedly seen him fighting Dill, but they only looked.
Finally, they reached his carriage, and his driver didn’t comment as he studied them, which showed remarkable restraint considering the odd party they must present.
Leo opened the door, and they helped Ruby inside. Barnaby leaped in after her.
Tilly could do nothing to stop her squeak of surprise as hands lifted both her and the box and tossed them onto a carriage seat. She only just managed not to hurl the entire contents around the carriage by clutching the box close.
“Was there any need to do that?” she demanded when she’d righted herself.
“Believe me, there was every need,” Ambrose replied.
“Well then,” Leo said, climbing in to take the seat across from Tilly and Ruby.
Ambrose joined him.
“How about you elaborate on what is going on, as I feel there is more to everything and that what you are not telling me is in some way connected to the Solomon Seal.”
Ambrose told him, slowly and concisely, with Tilly chiming in when he missed something.
Ruby kept her hand on Barnaby’s head as the carriage rolled through London. The buildings changed from slums to grander properties, and then they were stopping outside The Iris.
Leo opened the door and turned to help Ruby down with Ambrose’s help. Barnaby followed next.
“Right, then. Let’s get Ruby inside,” Tilly said, starting toward the club. She held the front door open for the others to enter, and they all filed inside. She hoped not too many women were here already, as seeing men in their sanctuary would surely upset them.
“Dear Lord, what are they doing here? I thought we made this a women-only club!”