Page 30 of The Honorable Rogue (The Notorious Nightingales #5)

CHAPTER THIRTY

“ I t’s all very odd,” Tilly said. “And yet exciting.”

“Exactly right,” Violet said as they walked across the street to join what she thought was a gaggle of the Crabbett Close residents.

“Like we’ve stepped out of our lives briefly and the restrictions placed upon us,” Tilly added.

“Which means what?” Ambrose snapped. “You are both dicing with ruin.”

“And yet I find I don’t care in this moment,” Tilly said. “I feel safe here with these people and a little freer.”

“Yes, because life is so hard.”

Alex moaned at Ambrose’s words.

“What?”

“You have sisters, man. Surely you know not to say things like that in their hearing?”

“Well, it’s not,” Ambrose said.

“We are aware our life is a great deal better than many. However, it’s still not as unrestricted as yours,” Violet snapped. “Now be quiet. I don’t want to argue with you anymore. I want to have fun. ”

“Well put,” Tilly added.

“This is madness,” she heard Ambrose say. “I’ve never seen or participated in such a thing… not that I know what this is.”

“Oh, for pity’s sake, Rosie, just because things are not within your control is no reason for you not to enjoy them,” Violet said.

“We need to find who wants to abduct you,” he muttered. “Playing some kind of game with people we don’t know is not achieving that.”

“Detective Fletcher!”

A man dressed in constable’s clothes was walking toward them. He had a spectacular moustache, blue tailcoat with armlets, white gloves, and a top hat.

“Plummy,” Detective Fletcher said, looking resigned.

“The man is a fool, but a good enough sort for all he doesn’t uphold the law worth a damn,” Charles said to Violet. “He’s in love with Miss Bud.”

“Does she return his feelings?” Violet asked as she slowed her steps to fall in beside Charles.

“I don’t believe so.”

“You should have told me it was you that day, Charles. I left that shop feeling lighter inside. You helped me so much.”

“I felt the same, but I did not know how to tell you.”

“When did you know it was me?” Violet asked.

“In the carriage the day you held my shoulder.”

She watched as he opened his jacket and took something out of his top pocket. The one closest to his heart. It was her handkerchief.

“I have carried this with me ever since that day, Violet.”

“Oh, Charles.” She sniffed back the tears.

He tucked her handkerchief back into his pocket, pulled a larger one from another, and handed it to her.

“Do we have anyone new here today? ”

“Mr. Greedy has the loudest voice in the close,” Charles said.

“We do!” Bramstone Nightingale called. “Lord Talbot, Miss Althorp, and Miss Wilson,” he added.

“Hello, Violet!” Mr. Alvin called to her. Several loud greetings followed this. Her brother sent a hard look that suggested there would be another lecture in her future.

“Wonderful, and Felix Acton is here with us. Fred is much better, and he will watch from the window. If you’ll all turn and wave,” Mr. Greedy said.

Everyone dutifully did as they were told, even Ambrose, and Violet saw a hand wave back.

“Dare we ask who is Fred?” Violet asked.

“Long story,” Charles said. “But he was hurt and can’t take part today.”

“Is this madness catching, do you believe?”

“Not at all, Talbot,” Charles said. “And if you let yourself, you may even enjoy it. These people are the best you will ever meet. I give you my word on that.”

Ambrose gave Charles a hard look but said nothing further.

“The teams are!”

“Teams!” Tilly clapped. “I get to be part of a team, Vi.”

“I heard that, Tilly.”

She was in Charles’s team with Matilda Nightingale and Ellen Nightingale. Tilly was with Ambrose, Frederica Nightingale, and Felix Acton.

“Now the aim is to consume your drinks, food, and finish the tasks in a timely manner and be the first to reach the end,” Mr. Greedy said.

“Are we really doing this?” Ambrose asked anyone who would answer. No one did.

“What is that?” Violet asked as Anna skipped by her eating something that looked delicious .

“One of Nancy’s sugarplums. They are the very best,” the little girl said.

“If you get me one, I will pay you for it,” Alex said.

“To the start!” Mr. Greedy yelled.

“Come along, Talbot,” Charles said. “Violet, you go to that table there and try not to reach for anything slimy,” he added. “Take Tilly with you.”

Ambrose reluctantly followed, and she went to stand with Tilly, Matilda, and several other ladies she did not know.

“The men and Mavis go first, as they seem able to hold their spirits better, from what I gather, but personally I’m not sure about that,” Matilda added. “Gray always ends up staggering by the end.”

“And what is it we are to do?” Tilly asked.

“Well, there are items at each table around Crabbett Close, and a team member must drink, eat, or do a task, then move on to the next, gathering other team members at each,” Matilda said.

“That doesn’t seem too difficult,” Tilly said.

“But what will we be eating?” Violet asked, remembering Charles’s words.

“Get ready!” Mr. Greedy called.

Violet looked to where the men were all lined up. Mungo stood next to Gray, and they appeared to be jostling each other. Mavis was on the left outside, and Charles the right. He caught her eye and smiled.

“Are you in love with that man, Vi?” Tilly whispered.

“I believe I could be,” she said honestly. “For so long it was only Tobias, and now….”

“Now there is Charles. He’s a good man, Vi. He would not have done what he did to keep us safe were he not.”

“I have come to realize that, Tilly, and now I wish to ask you something. Ambrose?— ”

“Absolutely not. He is a snooty lord with far too high an opinion of himself. We loathe each other,” Tilly declared.

“All I said was Ambrose.”

“I know what you were going to say,” her friend hissed.

“She doth protest too much,” Violet whispered.

“No, she doth not.”

“Go!”

The men and Mavis started running toward them with determined looks on their faces.

“Now, Miss Violet, you get to choose from a drink or food at this table,” Miss Alvin said as the men bore down on them. Despite the balmy day, the woman was wrapped up like a mummy in several scarves.

“Hello, what did you select?” Charles said, reaching her.

“Well, as to that….” Violet’s words fell away as she looked at the bowl and mug.

Charles grabbed the mug, which left her the bowl. Picking it up, Violet sniffed.

“Pickled whelks,” Leo said smugly. “You learn to like them.” He handed them to Anna, who dutifully swallowed them down.

“I’m not eating those,” Tilly said, snatching up the mug before Ambrose could.

“It’s strong,” Charles warned her.

“So I should drink it,” Ambrose said, stealing it back. “You eat this.” He handed her the bowl.

“It’s pickled in Mr. Alvin’s special recipe that his family has handed down through the years. It has a touch of mutton fat in it,” Charles added.

Violet pressed a hand to her mouth to stop from retching.

“It’s an Alvin staple food. What I just drank was gin, treacle, and mutton fat,” Charles said.

“S-stop,” she whispered, looking at the food in her hand .

Tilly looked at Violet, and then they both exhaled and swallowed the pickled whelk.

“That’s the spirit,” Charles said, taking Violet’s hand as she gagged again. “Now run.”

“Running after that is not w-wise,” she said.

“Unhand my sister!” Ambrose roared.

“No.” Charles continued, running to the next table.

“Mavis, I insist you stop!” Alex wheezed, trying to catch her.

“At the next table and drink,” Theo added.

“Why, you bloody little turncoat,” Leo muttered from beside them.

“I’m in a winning team, Brother, you can hardly fault me for that,” Theo said.

“Mavis always wins, and Theo takes it the hardest when he loses,” Charles said, releasing Violet. “I’m sure he bribed Mr. Greedy to be put in her team this time.”

“Hello, Lord Talbot,” Tabitha Varney said. With her was her mother, who Violet had met at knitting group.

“Ah, good day to you.” Ambrose nodded.

“He’d make an excellent husband, don’t you think, Miss Varney?” Charles said.

“He would,” Alex added. “Has just the right amount of handsomeness and intelligence. Plus, he’s wealthy, or so I hear.”

Violet giggled as Tabitha leaned closer, showing off her breasts, and Ambrose reared back like she’d slapped him. Her brother then elbowed Charles in the ribs, which had him wheezing.

“He is still injured, Brother. Have a care,” Violet said. She was then subjected to another hard look from Ambrose.

“Pick something,” Mrs. Varney said, nudging her flirting daughter to one side.

Violet scanned the table and grabbed the mug this time, clutching it to her chest, and sloshing a little over the rim as Charles looked at her.

“I’ll take the cake then.” He looked smug.

“There’s cake?” Violet studied the plate he reached for. “I thought the food was of the slimy, smelly variety?”

He took a large bite.

“That’s unfair. I did not know the rules,” she protested.

“You have eyes, and had you looked, you would have found the cake instead of the alcohol or kipper.”

“There is a riddle also, and each team must solve theirs,” Tabitha Varney said, smiling at Ambrose as she leaned forward to hand out the papers.

“You look very nice today, Tabitha. Mr. Thomas was just commenting on that very fact,” Violet said sweetly.

Charles hissed something foul, and beside him Mungo made a noise that she thought could be a laugh, but it was hard to say.

“Shrew,” he whispered in her ear. “I’ll make you pay for that.”

There was much to worry about in her life in that moment, not least among which was the fact someone wanted to abduct her, Charles, and likely Tilly, and yet right then she felt a well of happiness. It was Charles of course. The deep ache she’d carried for so long had eased inside her. She would always love Tobias, but now she could love another also.

“Read the clue, Matilda,” Charles said with his eyes on Violet.

“I speak without a voice and hear without ears. I have no body, but I come alive with wind. What am I?” she asked.

Violet couldn’t drag her eyes from Charles.

“That’s easy,” Ambrose said. He then threw back the alcohol and choked, coughing loudly. “Th-that’s even more potent than the last one,” he gasped .

“An echo,” Violet said, dragging her eyes from Charles.

“Well done,” he said.

“Do I really have to eat the sm-smelly kipper?” Matilda said, looking like she was ready to cry.

“Matilda, it’s beneath you to try that on Miss Althorp,” Mungo thundered. He was throwing back the alcohol while beside him Gray appeared to look around desperately for someone else to drink his.

“Try what on?” Violet asked, still clutching the mug.

“She is the Nightingale who cries on demand,” Charles said, taking another large bite of cake.

“Is that honey cake?” Violet asked as he made a humming sound.

His answer was to smile.

“Hurry it along, Tilly. I will not be beaten by my sister,” Fred said, eating the kipper.

Tilly muttered something vile under her breath and sipped the alcohol, and Violet did the same. It was like firewater.

“Bottoms up, my sweet,” Charles whispered in her ear.

She drank the rest down in a single gulp.

“Well done,” Mungo said. “But have a care. The stuff you’ll drink here is potent.”

“I am tall when I am young, and I am short when I am old. What am I?” Ivy asked.

“That’s a hard one,” Bram said, sipping his drink.

Violet wondered if he ever appeared flustered or in a hurry. It certainly didn’t appear that way, and she was sure his family had tested him a time or two.

“A candle,” a young girl she didn’t know said.

“Excellent, Molly,” Bram said. “Now let’s go.”

They were running again. Before them, Mungo veered to the left and into Gray, who staggered sideways but managed to stay upright .

“He usually falls,” Charles said. “For a detective at Scotland Yard, the man cannot hold his liquor.”

They went to two more tables, and by the time they reached the last, she had laughed more than she had in weeks. Felix Acton spent most of the time thanking Charles for saving him, which she had told him she wanted details of later.

“Mungo, I wonder if you could come and look at the leg on our chair after,” Tabitha Varney said when they reached the last table. Her eyes were now fixed on the Scotsman. She gave him a flirty smile that made him growl.

“Of course he can,” Gray shouted. “Hesh… he would love to help you,” the detective said, listing slightly to the right. “He’s rather partial to you, Miss Varney,” he added, dodging the fist Mungo swung at him.

Violet watched Felix take the cake, which left a biscuit, a plate of something suspicious that wobbled, and a mug of something for his team.

“You drink this one,” Charles said, picking up the mug. “It’s Mr. Peeky’s spiced rum. I promise you’ll like it, but maybe just sip it.”

“Elllllen,” Gray called.

“You are a disgrace to Scotland Yard,” Mungo snapped.

Gray then danced a jig in front of the Scotsman, which had everyone laughing—even Mungo snorted.

Violet sniffed the contents of the mug and then took a sip. “Ooh, very nice.”

He took the biscuit, and Matilda the cake, which left Ellen with the wobbly food.

“What is it?” Violet whispered.

“Aspic jelly.”

She shuddered.

“Winner!” someone bellowed, and she turned to find Mavis and her team all hugging one another .

“That woman,” Alex snapped. “She cheats, and I include my youngest brother in on that now.”

“Mr. Thomas,” Mr. Peeky said. “I wonder if I may borrow that book on astronomy for my nephew that you purchased for your brother. He has a fascination with the subject and has read everything I have on it. I assure you it will be returned in the condition it currently is in.”

“Of course, I have no problem with him reading it. I will get it for you now, as I told Bram I’d collect Lottie. The games are finished, and she’d like to be out here,” Charles said. He then ran a finger down Violet’s cheek before leaving.

She felt the need to smile.

“Whatever I drank was excessively strong,” Ambrose said, wandering up, looking far more amiable than he had before the Crabbett Close games started. “It’s just as well I ate three pieces of cake to soak it up.”

“Cake? And you didn’t share,” Tilly said.

Ambrose grinned at her, and the shock on her friend’s face told Tilly she’d never seen that look before.

“Here is some cake,” Mrs. Varney said, holding out a plate.

Violet ate and talked to people while waiting for Charles to return. She wasn’t entirely sure she was comfortable about what she now felt for that man, but Violet also knew she could not shut the emotions away again.

“We need to return to the house and continue our research,” Bram said. “Where is Charles?”

“He went to get Lottie and a book for Mr. Peeky’s nephew. But he has yet to return,” Violet said, wondering why she was suddenly on edge.

“Something is not right.” Alex appeared. “I just had a visit from George Nicholson. He’s agitated and keeps showing me Ellen’s favorite book.”

“Where is Ellen?” Leo pushed by his brother. “I have an urge to find that little bird necklace Gray gave her. ”

“What’s going on?” Gray demanded.

“I fear something is not right and that Ellen is involved,” Leo said.

“Dear Lord, Charles!”

Violet found Flora white-faced behind Leo.

“What’s happened, love?” Ram reached for her as she swayed.

“Charles is in danger. I can feel it.”