Kire13

"I'll find Alex and Lissy," I suggested.

Julia furrowed her brow. "Find them? They're with Ruby."

"I know."

"You don't want to see the babies?" Julia asked as she placed her hand on her hip.

"I will," I said, feeling a bit defensive. "Later."

Now was not the time for me to impose on Meg and Charles. They needed this time to themselves to spend with their newborn babies.

Julia shrugged but decided not to argue or press for answers. I followed her down the stairs and paused briefly in the hall once I heard Hermine Leach and her intolerable cackle.

"She's auditioning for the lead in a New York production," Julia said, sounding quite proud of her friend.

"If the performance is for the deaf, the show will never close," I said dryly.

Julia looked over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes. "Two cottages," she reminded me with a shake of her finger and a smile.

"Yes, yes," I droned.

She headed toward Meg and Charles' room while I started toward the kitchen where I heard Alex imitating a baritone. He was purposely singing until he ran out of breath and apparently Ruby and Lisette found his antics terribly amusing. They were laughing so hard they sounded as though they were having fits.

I stood in the doorway unnoticed for a brief time and watched as Alex stood on a stool and sang to his adoring audience of two. He swayed back and forth, precariously perched on his stand like a songbird.

Suddenly he threw his arms out and nearly lost his balance, which made Ruby gasp in horror. Lisette looked over her shoulder and saw me in the doorway. She offered a smile and an enthusiastic wave of acknowledgment while Ruby clutched tight to Alex as though she was suddenly aware of the danger.

"Come down right this moment before your father sees," Ruby admonished.

"His father has seen," I said, startling Alex and Ruby. Lissy only smiled in my direction, an impish little grin belonging to my sweet, innocent daughter while her brother was chastised for his boorish behavior.

"I would not have let him fall," Ruby assured me.

"If he falls, I have no doubt he would spring up once more," I replied. If his skull was as thick as mine, he would undoubtedly be on his feet in no time at all.

"Did you like my performance, Father?" Alex asked, his voice bubbling with excitement.

"As a comedy?" I asked.

He gave a toothy grin and eager smile. "Monsieur Leach says I have my comedic timing down to an art form—and he would know."

I issued a sideways glance in his direction and saw Ruby place her hands over her heart as though his words were the most endearing she'd ever heard.

"Does he own a watch?" I asked dryly.

"He owns a clock shop in Germany," Lisette chimed in.

"Naturally," I said under my breath.

Typical Englishman, I thought, insulting country after country by opening establishments beneath the Leach name. Archie was as much an entrepreneur as he was plague throughout Europe.

"They just finished a light lunch," Ruby interrupted. "What would you like to eat, Monsieur?"

From the corner of my eye I spotted a heap of soiled linens piled into a basket near the back door. They were soaked in blood, which made my heart stutter as I thought of Meg.

I wondered if Julia had been dishonest with me and if Meg was truly doing well. I didn't see how she could possibly lose so much blood and still be alive, much less able to care for two infants.

When I had been in Persia, my own sheets had been soiled in such a manner and I had been unable to walk for weeks. The thought made me shudder.

"Monsieur?" Ruby questioned. "Are you unwell, sir? You look quite pale."

I sucked in a breath and turned my attention back to Ruby. "Nothing for me," I mumbled.

"Nothing?" she asked, sounding almost insulted.

"Not now," I replied, still distracted by a dozen thoughts racing through my mind.

Lisette stepped closer and issued a scrutinizing gaze not unlike her mother. For such a young girl, she managed to muster a good deal of concern by scrunching up her nose and frowning.

"I beg your pardon?" I said, acknowledging her.

She shrugged but said nothing in return.

"Your mother says you quite enjoy browsing the stores," I commented.

She eagerly nodded. "Yes, of course."

"Of course?" I questioned.

She blushed. "Mademoiselle Leach says browsing the windows is a lady's sport."

"How would you like to engage in a lady's sport for the afternoon?" I asked.

"With you?" she questioned, sounding incredulous.

I feared she would refuse an afternoon in public with me, but nodded all the same. To my surprise, her eyes lit up and she grabbed my hand.

"Who are we purchasing a gift for?" she asked, keeping her voice low as though she hoped we were conspiring together.

"An old friend of mine," I told her, bending at the waist so that I looked her in the eye. "And something for your mother as well." I turned my head to the side and raised my left brow. "And perhaps you may select a gift for yourself if you are on your best behavior."

She looked as though she harnessed herself perfectly. With a lick of her lips and a very serious nod, she stood a little straighter. "Always," she promised.

I turned to Alex, who looked skeptical. "May I stay here?" he asked, his voice edging on whining.

"You may help Mademoiselle Leach rehearse if you like." In the back of my mind I felt as though I had just offered my son as tribute, but he seemed delighted by the idea.

"She will be my leading lady," he said, pronouncing each word as though he had been coached by Archie Leach himself.

I turned to Lisette. "Front door," I said to her. "Five minutes."

She nodded eagerly and skittered out the back door to her home. Ruby looked from me to the back door and mumbled that she would help Lisette dress for the weather.

"Father," Alex asked suddenly once we were alone.

I turned to him and nodded.

"An old friend?" he asked.

"A very old friend," I assured him.

"Old like Grand-mere or old as in you haven't seen him in a very long time?"

"A friend I have not seen in thirty years," I told him. I could see myself in his excitement and curiosity, a hint of the boy I had been ever so briefly.

"Will you see him again?" he asked, his hopeful tone matching Julia's.

"She," I corrected. "And I doubt it. Thirty years is a long time."

"Well, it is a long time, but do you know Grand-mere said she lost one of her favorite necklaces and didn't find it for almost five years?" Alex told me. "She said it was tarnished, but with a little bit of polishing it looked almost the same. She never thought she would see that piece of jewelry again."

I took his words to heart and motioned him toward me. Just as he always did, he flung his arms around me with as much exuberance as he could muster. Now that he was no longer a small child, he sometimes knocked the air from my lungs, but I never scolded him for his affection. Holding him close, I kissed the top of his head.

"I will remember your words," I promised him.

He looked up at me and smiled. "I'm going to rehearse," he said before he let go of me and darted out of the kitchen.

I returned upstairs to my room, opened my desk drawer, and removed an envelope containing a thousand francs, which I normally kept on hand should Madeline or Alex present a disaster needing immediate funds.

I returned down the stairs with sufficient money for our afternoon excursion. Pulling on my leather gloves, I found Lissy patiently waiting at the front door with her hands behind her back and her dark blue coat buttoned all the way to the top.

"Monsieur," I heard Charles call out. "Is that you?"

I looked over my shoulder toward the study. "Yes, I was just about to leave," I answered.

"May I have a word with you, if you would not mind?" he requested.

I glanced at Lissy, who nodded in return, which I assumed was her permission for a brief delay.

I pulled off my gloves and walked into the study where Charles sat fidgeting. He immediately looked up when I entered the room and offered a sheepish smile that didn't fit him one bit.

"Why aren't you with your wife?" I questioned.

"She's sleeping," he replied. "She deserves as much rest as she can get."

He looked quite troubled still, which was not like Monsieur Lowry. He was normally a calm and even-tempered man who rarely seemed perturbed by what I considered daily irritations. Again I thought of Meg, the bloodied linens in the kitchen, and her current state of health. I also considered her newborn son and wondered if his color had not stayed pink.

"What happened to Mademoiselle Leach?" I questioned.

"Returned home, I believe," he said plainly. If I had been him, I would have spoken with immense relief that she had gone elsewhere.

Finding Charles alone, I scanned the study, finding no books or articles out of place. He was, by every meaning of the word, alone.

"What is on your mind, Monsieur?" I asked as I stood in the doorway.

"My son," he answered.

That made two of us.