Her books, her aunt, and her cat? Was he to cart her entire household across London? Perhaps she had a neighbor or a shopgirl down the lane he could accommodate too.
He gritted his teeth. “And your cat. Send your staff to their own homes for a while or to visit family.”
She nodded and gripped the folds of her skirts. “Where shall we go?”
“The last place the Raven will look for me. To the home of a member of Solomon’s.”
Were it not useful in that regard, he’d never seek out this man for assistance. It could work to his benefit, though. The closer he got to the club’s members, the easier it would be to uncover the identities of the men he sought. The men who’d been with his father when the accident had occurred; the men who were responsible for his death.
CHAPTER 7
Did you say Solomon’s?” she breathed. “The Solomon’s?”
“Unless there is another group of treasure hunters pretending to be scholars, then I suspect yes, the Solomon’s.
You’ve heard of them?”
“Of course I’ve heard of them. They are a legendary club whispered about in the shadows as if they were armored knights.” She tried to slow her breathing or at the very least the rate of her speech. “And you are one of them?”
He scoffed. “No. They hired me to find the box.”
“Ah.” She sank back against the seat. “They hired you.” It mattered little that he was not himself a member. Solomon’s reputation was impeccable. They would work with only the most honorable of men.
“Yes. One of their members has devoted his life to Pandora’s box and is extremely concerned with the antiquity falling into the wrong hands. So he and his friends”—he stumbled over the last word—“hired me to retrieve it from the Raven and return it safely to them.”
“They must certainly trust you.”
He shook his head. “No, I was merely the lesser of two evils. I can do things they are unwilling to do.”
“Solomon’s,” she whispered. His self-deprecation did little to damper her interest in the matter. Quite the opposite, in fact. His modesty was charming.
“They are only men. Nothing exciting about that,” he grumbled.
She smiled, feeling content and greatly relieved. “I trust the men of Solomon’s implicitly to care for Pandora’s box. Therefore, I must deduce that you are trustworthy, or they would never have employed you.”
Her confidence seemed to further annoy him. His jaw twitched.
As challenging as it was, she said nothing else for the duration of their trip. She neither wanted to annoy Mr. Grey nor waste the opportunity to think of a possible solution. Two hours later they had arrived at her home, and Esme still had no idea how to remove the bracelet. She shuttled Fielding into her study.
“Mr. Grey, please wait in here.” Horace jumped off a wingback chair and twined himself between her legs. She bent to scratch him behind the ears. It was nice to be missed. “I need to notify my aunt that we’ll be going away for a while and she’ll need to pack a few things. I’ll be down directly to help gather the requisite books.” She scooped up her cat, then left Fielding standing in the midst of her study.
Esme inhaled deeply. There had been moments when she’d feared she would never again see her aunt or her books or her home. Her home that smelled of freshly baked bread and was usually full of the sounds of her aging servants speaking too loudly to each other to make up for their diminished hearing. She made her way through the house and found her aunt coming down the stairs.
“Oh, Esme, you’re home, child. I heard the door; I hoped it was you.” She took several deep breaths. “We were so worried.” Her aunt was a round woman with rosy cheeks and bright blue eyes. Esme had always thought she resembled an aging cherub.
“Yes, I’m home. You will never believe what has happened to me, Thea.” She gave her aunt a squeeze. There weren’t many adults shorter than Esme, but Thea was one of them. “There is no time to explain it now, though. Rest assured that very soon I shall have a story to tell you that will make that curling rod of yours unnecessary.” She leaned in and kissed her aunt’s cheek. They might not be blood-related, but Thea was the only family Esme had. Their relationship had begun simply enough, a mutual love of books, but they were so much more now.
“I shall look forward to that.” Thea paused. “We tried to clean up your study as best we could.”
“Thank you.” Esme gave Thea an encouraging smile. “I know it won’t make any sense, and I don’t have time to explain right now, but we must leave. All of us. Within the hour.”
Thea’s hand flew to her ample bosom. “You are giving me such a fright, child.”
“All will be well.” Esme gave Thea another squeeze. “You go and pack some of our belongings. And let Mr. and Mrs. Craddock know they should go and visit their family until further notice.”
At Thea’s worried expression, Esme gently patted her shoulder. “I promise, all will be well. I shall be in my office with a visitor.”
Thea nodded cautiously, then disappeared through a doorway.