Henrietta found Sebastian exactly where she’d left him, leaning casually against a red brick wall opposite the schoolyard. In broad daylight, he looked even more ruggedly handsome than she’d remembered. His coat was hanging open as usual and his dark hair was swept away from his face, all except for one black curl that seemed determined to take up residence over his nose. That appendage was also looking noticeably less bruised today, allowing her to focus on his twinkling dark eyes as she approached.
There was something slightly wicked about them, she thought as she came closer, or, if not wicked, then definitely mischievous. Yes, that was a much better word. There was no malice in them, although now that she’d got past the initial pleasure of seeing him, she wondered if she was simply being naive again.
He’d said that he was staying longer in Bath to visit old friends, but then why was he here with her? She thought she’d addressed the issue of potential misunderstandings the day before, but why was he helping her if he didn’t expect anything in return? They might have decided to be friends, but she still couldn’t help feeling a little suspicious. Not to mention alarmed when just the sight of him made her stomach start fluttering as if there were a swarm of butterflies inside looking for a way out.
‘So where next? Your brother’s house?’ He uncrossed his ankles and pushed himself upright to greet her.
‘Yes, although I’ve no idea what I’m going to say.’ She felt instantly anxious again. ‘I want to help him get better, but I feel so powerless.’
‘Maybe just tell him that.’ He looked sympathetic. ‘Is it far?’
‘Just a few streets away.’
‘Then let’s go.’ He bent his elbow and she curled her hand around it, without hesitation and without mistaking it for a wild creature this time either, which was definitely progress, she thought ironically as they made their way through the backstreets. His arm felt just as big and solid as it had the day before, although there was something reassuring and supportive about it now, too. Reassuring with butterflies. She wouldn’t have thought it possible to feel tense in two such different ways at the same time and yet she did, her concern for David vying with a new sense of repressed excitement with Sebastian.
‘Here we are.’ She stopped outside a small two-storey wooden building, squeezed between two equally ramshackle others. ‘Would you mind—?’
‘Waiting outside? Of course not.’
‘I don’t know how long I’ll be.’
‘Take all the time you need.’ Sebastian squeezed her arm gently before releasing her. ‘I’ll be right here.’
‘Thank you.’ She opened the door without knocking and stepped inside, only to find the room just as she’d left it. Messy, freezing and apparently deserted.
‘David?’ she called softly as she made her way through the downstairs, but there was no answer, not as much as a murmur of acknowledgement. Carefully, she climbed the steps up into the loft space, but that was empty, too, rumpled bedsheets the only evidence that her brother had ever been there. Everything else was eerily still and quiet and forbidding somehow. A lump of dread started to form in her stomach, apprehension getting the better of her nerves. If David hadn’t gone to work, then where was he? Surely he couldn’t have started drinking again already?
‘Henrietta?’ Sebastian’s shout summoned her back down the steps.
‘What is it?’ She hurried towards the front door, flinging it open and then stopping dead at the sight of her brother’s neighbour confronting Sebastian. ‘Oh! Is everything all right?’
‘So he is with you then?’ Mrs Roper’s belligerent expression bore a strong resemblance to Nancy’s. ‘He said he was, but you can’t be too careful.’
‘No, I suppose you can’t.’ Henrietta closed the door behind her, unable to mask her disappointment. ‘Mrs Roper, do you have any idea where my brother is?’
‘Not exactly.’ The neighbour looked as if she were suddenly keen to leave again. ‘My boy came back this morning saying David was awake and feeling a bit worse for wear, but sober enough.’
‘Oh.’
‘He was muttering some strange things though, my boy said, all about going away and making a fresh start.’
‘Going away?’ Henrietta felt as though she’d just been slapped in the face.
‘’Course we thought it was just the headache talking so I made him some tea and bacon, but by the time I brought it over, he was gone. So, I checked in his coffer, I hope you don’t mind, and it was empty.’
‘Empty...’ Henrietta swallowed, trying to maintain an outward appearance of calm when her insides felt like a butter churn. ‘But... I don’t understand—what about his sons?’
‘He did ask where they were, my boy says, so he told him they was with you and...well, David said something about it being for the best.’
‘What?’
‘But I’m sure he didn’t mean it like that. He loves his boys, there’s no doubting that. No matter how much he drinks, he won’t abandon them...not for ever, anyways.’
‘Didn’t he give any clue about where he was going?’
‘No, but if I hear anything I’ll send word straight to the shop. In the meantime, you take care of ’em boys and I’ll keep an eye on the house. I’ll give it a good clean up, too. Ready for when he comes back again. It’s the least I can do for Alice.’ Mrs Roper gave a loud sniff. ‘She was a lovely girl.’
‘She was.’ Henrietta found herself blinking furiously. ‘Thank you, Mrs Roper. I’m grateful for everything you’ve done.’
‘And you take care of her—’ Mrs Roper turned fierce eyes on Sebastian ‘—whoever you are.’
‘Oh, forgive me, this is Anna’s brother,’ Henrietta murmured, having forgotten about introductions until that moment. ‘Mr Sebastian Fortini.’
‘The Countess’s brother?’ Mrs Roper’s expression turned instantly to one of dismay. ‘I do beg your pardon, sir.’
‘Don’t mention it.’ He inclined his head. ‘You were absolutely right to be suspicious. I’m sure Mr Gardiner would be most obliged.’
Henrietta reached for his arm before he could offer it, glad of the support as he led her back towards Belles. Now that the initial shock had passed, she felt as though she were walking through a cold fog, unable to see what was going on around her and feeling numb all over. It was taking all of her energy just to put one foot in front of the other. As for her mind... The same questions kept swirling around her head. Where was David? How could he have got up that morning and just left? Or had he been planning to do it for weeks, simply waiting for an opportunity to leave the boys with her? No, surely he wouldn’t have done anything so calculating? Surely he wouldn’t have done this deliberately to her, to his sons, to all of them?
‘Can you think of any place he’s likely to go?’ Sebastian’s voice jolted her back to the present and thankfully out of the fog. They were already turning the corner on to Swainswick Crescent, she noticed, though she had no memory of even crossing Pulteney Bridge. ‘Do you have any other family?’
‘No, it’s been just the two of us, and then Alice, for years.’
‘It still might be worth paying a visit to Ashley.’ He looked thoughtful. ‘With your permission, I’ll take a ride out there and see. If he’s walking that way, then I’ll likely pass him on the road. If not, I can leave word at the local tavern to contact you if he makes an appearance.’
‘No.’ She shook her head. ‘There’s no need to involve yourself any more in my troubles. I’ve put you out enough.’
‘Not at all. I want to help and it’s a nice day for a ride.’
‘You don’t have a horse!’
‘But I do have friends with horses.’
‘Mr Fortini—’
‘Sebastian.’
‘Sebastian... I’m very grateful for your help, but you said that you were staying in Bath to catch up with old friends. How can you do that if you’re chasing after my brother?’
‘There’s plenty of time for both.’
‘Is there? Because I don’t want to inconvenience you or to keep you from your family either. They don’t even know that you’re back in England. They’ll still be worried about you.’
‘Ah, but not for much longer. I wrote to both Staunton Manor and Feversham Hall this morning. That should put Anna and my mother’s minds at rest.’
‘Good.’ She let out a heartfelt sigh of relief. ‘I’m sure it will.’
‘Although I admit it felt slightly absurd to be writing to such addresses, never mind to a countess.’
‘But why should it? Your grandfather was a duke, wasn’t he?’
‘He was.’ His steps faltered briefly as his brows snapped together. ‘Did Anna tell you that? We hardly ever spoke about it growing up.’
‘Ye-es.’ She was faintly perturbed by the stern change in his demeanour. ‘She told me just before her wedding to the Earl. All about your mother eloping with a footman, too. It sounded very romantic.’
‘I suppose it was, until her family cut her off without a penny. Or has she forgotten that part?’ He clenched his jaw, his throat working silently for a few seconds. ‘Now, what time do your nephews finish at school?’
‘Midday.’
‘Then I’d better hurry if I’m going to get to Ashley and back in time. With your permission, I thought I’d take them to Sydney Gardens this afternoon. They need to start cadet training in earnest if they’re going to be captains by the time they’re twenty.’
She hesitated, still uncertain about accepting his help, but they were friends now, weren’t they? And if it helped to find David... The thought decided her.
‘I think they’d enjoy Sydney Gardens very much. Definitely more than whatever jobs Nancy has planned, but I’d like to come, too, if she doesn’t mind looking after the shop. I need to tell them that they’ll be staying with me for a little while and they’re bound to have questions.’
‘Good point.’
‘I was actually wondering whether it might be better to tell them that David’s unwell? Then if—when—he changes his mind and comes back, they’ll never know that he left.’ She paused. ‘What do you think?’
‘I can see why you might want to, given the circumstances...’ Sebastian made a face.
‘But?’
‘But if he doesn’t come back and they think that you deceived them... It might make things worse in the long run. They seem like bright boys and you don’t want to lose their trust.’
‘So, you think that honesty is the best policy?’ She chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully. ‘Maybe you’re right. I just can’t bear the thought of them being hurt any more or feeling they’re not wanted.’
‘But they have an aunt who loves them.’ He stopped outside Belles and turned to face her, his dark gaze boring into hers so intently that she could almost feel it like a touch on her skin. ‘Don’t underestimate that.’
She felt her breath catch, her legs feeling slightly unsteady all of a sudden, unable to think of a response. There it was again, that temptation to lay her head on his shoulder, only not to cry this time, just to be close, to wrap her arms around him and feel his arms around her. What would his shoulders feel like beneath her fingertips? What would it be like simply to be held?
‘Now, if you’ll excuse me.’ His gaze dropped to her lips for a fleeting moment before he moved away. ‘I need to go and see a man about a horse. I’ll see you this afternoon.’
She nodded, feeling oddly disorientated as he bowed and walked away. She still wasn’t entirely sure why he was helping her, but at that moment she was extremely, possibly foolishly, glad that he was.