Ana had never met the fiery Irishwoman introduced to her as Móirín. She’d never once called at Thurloe, yet, she and Elizabeth appeared to be friends. Her attire was comfortably middle class, yet the alarming details Mr. Walker was sharing of the state of things at the Darby house didn’t cause Móirín to so much as flinch.
“How much of this does Mrs. Darby know?” Móirín asked.
“However much Hollis is up there telling her now,” Mr. Walker said. “Cain’t say I know what that’ll be. He don’t want to worry her, but he ain’t looking to lie.”
Poor Hollis. What a situation to find himself in.
“I’ve not heard any whispers of new gambling establishments among the folks I work with,” Móirín said. “Sounds to me like you’ve a criminal ring targeting, at least in part, the fine and fancy.”
“How do we get to the bottom of something like that?” Elizabeth asked.
“You send in someone fine and fancy,” Móirín said. She hooked a thumb over her shoulder, pointing toward the doorway of Elizabeth’s office. “Someone like that lad, there.”
Sure enough, Hollis stood on the threshold, having arrived completely silently and without drawing the notice of anyone other than Móirín, who hadn’t even looked backward. How had she known he was there?
Hollis came inside. “I’ve been thinking the same myself.”
“Rest your bones.” Móirín motioned to the only empty chair in the room, one, sadly, nowhere near Ana. “Tell us what you’ve in mind.”
He dropped onto the chair. “I need to get myself invited to one of these games.”
Everyone in the room nodded. Everyone but Ana. Those “games” were the reason Hollis’s brother was missing, the reason his home had been ransacked, the reason a fire had been lit at the back door. How could they think diving into that cesspool was a good idea?
“You cain’t go in alone,” Mr. Walker said.
“But he, alone, has the standing,” Móirín said. “We haven’t another option.”
“He can’t.” Heat spread over Ana’s face when they all looked at her. “None of the gentlemen ever arrives alone.”
Hollis nodded. “They arrive always and only in pairs.”
Elizabeth stood and walked away, her expression mirroring the others in the group, all clearly deep in thought.
“I could wrangle someone to come with me,” Hollis said, “but I won’t place an innocent person in a dangerous situation.”
“I suspect it doesn’t work like that, anyway.” Elizabeth paced back toward them. “If these were games anyone could walk into, you would have heard more whispers about them in Society.”
“Makes sense,” Mr. Walker said. “I’d guess the players arrive in pairs because one is bringing the other.”
They were all catching on very quickly. She seemed to be the only one missing a piece of the puzzle.
“You’re needing someone to get you in,” Móirín said. “Your brother could, if he weren’t cowering somewhere, hiding from the roughs that run the games. Did you recognize anyone else arriving at the fancy copper hell?”
“Lewiston,” Hollis said. “But he arrived with my brother, which would make asking him to take me a little suspect.”
“Ask Alistair Headley,” Elizabeth said. “There’s nothing else for it.”
“He knows I don’t like him.”
“He knows no one likes him,” Mr. Walker tossed in.
Elizabeth shushed him with a wave of her hand. “His gambling is better known than Mr. Lewiston’s. If you tell him you’re looking to improve your fortunes but don’t care for the lower-class establishments, he’ll take you to Thompsons’.”
Hollis sighed. “I’m not certain I love my brother enough to join forces with Alistair Headley.” There was a forced quality to the jest. He was, no doubt, nearly overwhelmed with worry. “When we find Randolph, I’ll kill him.”
A few chuckles rumbled around the room. They were all so comfortable with these inherently uncomfortable discussions. Dangers. Criminals. Derring-do. Perhaps Hollis being behind the Rollins’s home hadn’t been a mere coincidence. Perhaps he’d been undertaking something himself.
Mr. Walker rose and stood beside Elizabeth. “Do you want me to stay at the school tonight, dove?”
She shook her head. “Ol’ Joe’s here. He’ll keep us safe.”
“You do have an extra degree of risk with Mrs. Darby and the children staying here.”
“That’s why I’m here.” Móirín rose. “I’m not as quick with my fists as he is, but I can wield a weapon with the best of ’em.” She crossed to the door. “I’ll settle in upstairs. Am I to keep my bein’ here a secret from Mrs. Darby and the little ones?”
“For now,” Hollis said. “I’d rather they were none the wiser about the precautions we’re taking. No use alarming them more than they already are.”
Móirín gave a quick nod and slipped out.
“I’ll have a word with Ol’ Joe before I hop off,” Mr. Walker said. He and Elizabeth left as well.
Ana released the breath she’d been all but holding.
Hollis sat beside her. He wove his fingers through hers. “I wish I’d been at my brother’s this morning like I was meant to be. You wouldn’t have been required to face this alone.”
“What happened this morning was frightening, yes, but it was not unfamiliar.” She rested her head on his shoulder. “After my father’s business failed and we’d sold our belongings to make good its debts, some who’d been defrauded decided getting their investments repaid was not enough. They, who had wealth beyond what we’d ever known, ransacked our house, taking anything that caught their eye.”
“Then I am not the only one who is acquainted with the shadows.”
She sighed and turned toward him, curving into his comforting strength. “What shadows are you familiar with?”
“I work amongst the poorest in London—rescue efforts and raising funds for education. It is dangerous at times.”
“Is that what you and your Irish friend were doing the day you visited Father?” she asked.
“Why do you—” He stopped. She felt his chest move with a silent laugh. “Yes. That is what we were doing.”
“You were very convincing,” she said. “I’m not at all certain which parts of that day were lies.”
“Lies?”
Her heart dropped, but she didn’t shy away. “Your reason for being there. Your reason for staying. Your insistence you enjoyed your visit.”
He slipped his hand from hers and wrapped his arms around her, tucking her closer. “Our initial reason for being in the neighborhood was not quite what we told you, but the rest was true.”
Ana looked up at him. “And did you enjoy riding in the park with me and going to the theater and all of that?”
“‘All of that’ has been the highlight of the past months,” he said.
“For me as well.”
He leaned achingly closer.
“Hollis.” Mr. Walker’s voice pierced the moment.
“Oh, bother,” Hollis whispered as he pulled back. He did not, though, drop his embrace.
“Ol’ Joe needs a bit more information.”
Hollis met her gaze again. “Remind me next time we have a few minutes together to pick up where we’re leaving off.”
Heat touched her cheeks, but she smiled. “I will.”
He rose and crossed the room. At the door, he paused and turned back. “And remind me as well to ask you how long you’ve been the Phantom Fox.”