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“You’ve seen them interact in the evening away from their employer’s influence,” Gage said, presumably to Anderley. “Do they genuinely seem so loyal to one another?”

There was a pause as the valet considered the question. “I suppose so. At least, on the surface. But Sullivan was the newest of them. If they were going to break ranks to tell tales about anyone, it would be him.”

“Then perhaps you should continue your acquaintance with them.”

“What if Sullivan warned the others about him?” I cautioned.

“I suppose it’s possible,” Gage conceded. “But not likely. Either way, be careful,” he told Anderley.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bree’s lips purse with displeasure, and I couldn’t say that I blamed her. For all their talk of precautions, they didn’t seem to be taking enough for either of our liking.

“What of the other employees? Have you noticed anything suspicious about them?” I asked, curious what his impressions of them were away from Picardy Place.

“Most of them seem to be exactly who they say they are, and eager to return home. Several of them have families in Liverpool.”

I glanced at him swiftly, sensing the but .

“But the two assistants—Fletcher and Rimmer. They both seem to be hiding something.”

“What makes you say that?” I asked as Emma dropped down onto her bottom.

“Their speech and mannerisms. Neither of them is entirely comfortable with the others. And I don’t think it’s merely because the others report to them.”

I trusted Anderley’s instincts. Both because he was sharp and because I’d sensed something similar. But that didn’t mean their secrets had anything to do with the floor collapse. They could be related to something different. At least, I tried to tell myself that.

“We have another potential problem,” Gage declared, and I wished I could turn my head to see what he was thinking, but Emma was now leaning down, peering under the table.

She was quite intelligent, and I had no doubt she was pondering whether she could get to the pretty flickering flames by crawling underneath it.

The question was whether she would recognize the heat coming from it quickly enough to deter her.

I slid to the edge of the sofa, ready to spring into action if needed while Gage explained what we’d discovered about my name not being on the invitation list.

“If not this Mr. Rimmer, could it’ve been someone else from the auction house who sent m’lady the catalog?” Bree asked in concern.

“It’s possible,” Gage replied. “Though the three likeliest to do so denied sending her one.”

Emma scooted her little body underneath the wood just as I dropped to my knees from behind, grabbing her about the waist to stop her. She protested—loudly—but I held fast, pulling her out and lifting her into my arms as I gently scolded her. “No, Emma. The fire will hurt you. No.”

She arched her back, continuing to express her displeasure, but I kept my arms tight around her as I sat back down on the sofa.

“I know the fire is fascinating, but you can’t touch it.

” I grasped her little hand, holding it out toward the flames, though of course not near enough to actually harm her, and then recoiling it as I exclaimed, “Ouch!” She quieted, watching me with wide eyes as I did this twice more and then pressed kisses to her cheek and temple just below her cap, her golden curls tickling my nose.

Anderley reached down to snag her doll Rosie from the rug, offering it to her.

She tipped her head back to look at him almost upside down, and he smiled uncertainly.

Though never unkind, the valet didn’t generally seem to know how to behave with children, and in that moment, I found his awkwardness endearing.

Perhaps because I was the one who was so often awkward.

Emma seemed to agree, smiling back at him as she accepted the doll. I sat her upright so that she could better see the handsome, dark-haired fellow next to her.

“The likeliest solution,” Gage said, picking up the threads of our conversation, “is that someone who received an invitation from Winstanley and Sons then forwarded it to Mrs. Gage because they knew she would be interested, but failed to include a note explaining.”

“Failed tae or deliberately wished tae mislead her,” Bree warned.

“That’s the question, isn’t it?” Gage agreed, sounding far more uneasy than he had at Picardy Place. “Did any of the names on the invitation list strike you as someone who would do such a thing, either well intentioned or not?”

“Not at first glance,” I said. “But I’ll take another look. I intended to anyway.”

His eyes glinted with strong emotions, and I could easily guess where his thoughts had gone looking at me holding Emma.

None of us wanted to face the same sort of danger we had found ourselves in last November in Cornwall.

“I don’t want to jump to any conclusions.

Not when the idea of you being lured there as the target seems pretty implausible.

But then many of our theories have seemed implausible.

So I’d rather you not leave the house without an escort of some kind. Even to walk to your sister’s house.”

“That seems sensible,” I concurred, knowing it would ease his mind and mine.

Emma cooed as if to say she assented as well, and we all chuckled. One thing was clear. She was following in her father’s footsteps. A natural mediator, if ever I saw one. But everything else seemed as murky as Nor Loch.