“Not yet.” He reached out again, this time placing his hand on her bare forearm. Then, to her disconcertion, he kept it there, warming her arm . . . and to her shame, her insides. “Tell me how your search for your sister goes.”
“I’ve discovered nothing new, though I have a feeling Nanci might know more than she is letting on.” Briefly, she also told him about how she’d started showing street merchants Miranda’s picture.
“That was another good idea.” He smiled at her encouragingly. “I had an idea too. How about I accompany you to the police?”
“I told you. My father already went there once. They laughed at him.”
“No offense, but sometimes the police must pick and choose which cases they try to solve. They might put a bit more thought into saying no to me.”
“Thank you, sir. I would be so grateful if you could do that.”
He smiled. “We, right? I wouldn’t think of going without you.”
“And where would that be?” a voice called out from behind them.
Only then did Reid’s hand fall. Rosalind turned around with a deep sense of foreboding. “Miss Veronica. I . . . I was just returning Miss Livingston’s gown.”
Veronica’s lips thinned with a barely controlled fury. “Is that what you were doing? Because it sounded to me like you were doing something far different.”
Before Rosalind could say a word in her defense, Reid spoke. “Come now, Veronica. Aren’t you being a bit dramatic? There was nothing more going on here beyond a small conversation.”
“I am a lot of things, Reid. However, naive is not one of them.” As she turned to Rosalind, her voice lowered. Turned malicious. “I believe I warned you about what would happen. If I were you, I’d try to act surprised when it did.” She turned and walked away.
And Rosalind realized that she’d just made her very worst mistake. “I’d best be on my way, sir.”
Reid’s eyes narrowed and he reached out again, like it was taking everything he had to not pull her close to him. “Wait a moment. It sounded like she was threatening you. What did Veronica mean?”
Oh, the temptation was there. She ached to give in to every weakness she had and tell him the truth, reveal that she was close to being out of work and a place to live.
But then she noticed just how incredulous he was. He really had no concept of what it meant to be completely at another’s mercy. And for some reason, she was in no hurry to dispel his confusion. Besides, there was nothing he could do anyway. The very last thing her reputation needed was for him to show a real regard for her.
Carefully, she removed all expression from her face, turning it into a mask. “That was nothing you need to worry about, sir.”
He gripped her arm. “Rosalind, the truth, now.”
“No, now I must see to my job.” Pasting a smile on her face, she murmured, “I have a dress to deliver, you see.”
Only after she delivered the dress, walked down the hall, and finally was walking upstairs to her room did she let herself react to Veronica’s words. With shaking hands, she wiped away the two tears that had dared to slip from the corners of her eyes. At last, something at Sloane House was now abundantly, beautifully clear. She would soon be out of a job.
The only question was when . . . and what she would do next.
CHAPTER 18
When Reid was twelve, he lost his brother. Calvin had come into the world four years after him, and though Reid would like to say he had welcomed his baby brother with open arms, that would surely be a lie.
From the time Calvin had been old enough to walk, he’d been determined to tag along after Reid. Reid had no choice but to accept his brother’s company. However, he did his best to ignore him.
As the years passed, Reid came to notice something: Calvin was everything he was not. Whereas Reid was known to be impatient and selfish, Calvin was always willing to give of his time. In addition, ownership meant nothing to Calvin. He shared his toys, his food, his time, his attention with whoever needed it. Their little sister, Beth, two years younger than Calvin, adored him. She merely tried to stay out of Reid’s way.
By the time Calvin was eight, there were many things about him of which his family could be proud. He loved sports and excelled in them. He was handsome too. Their mother used to say that Calvin’s looks would garner them all nothing but trouble.
In fact, on more than one occasion, Reid remembered thinking that his brother had been gifted with a great many blessings in life. So many that it was sometimes hard not to be jealous. And Reid probably would have been jealous, except for the fact that Calvin did have one substantial flaw. Calvin was a liar.