Page 268 of Once an Angel
Justin slid open the window and craned his neck for a glimpse of Emily's plum-hooded head in the graceful brougham in front of them. "Nonsense, Penfeld. You know Emily has a penchant for getting
into mischief. London is full of dangerous sorts who might take advantage of that. I simply want to
ensure her safety."
Penfeld suspected his master's motives had more to do with Emily's transformation than London's dangers. Now that his little caterpillar had sprouted wings, he didn't want to risk her flying away.
"But we've been following her all day, and she has been the very model of propriety."
"That doesn't alter my responsibility to her. It's no more than any other guardian would do."
The valet rolled his eyes and muttered, "In a pig's eye."
Justin drew back his head. "Pardon me?"
Penfeld cleared his throat. "Impeccable, sir. I said your devotion to your ward was impeccable."
"Hmm." Justin leaned back in the seat, smirking. "I thought that was what you said."
* * *
Emily poked her head out the brougham window for the sheet pleasure of watching Justin's handsome, dark head disappear again. She threw herself back in the seat, biting her lip to keep from laughing. With
a frame as rugged and masculine as Justin's, he was hardly unobtrusive lurking behind lampposts and skulking outside ladies' dress shops. Why, she could hear the chattering of Penfeld's teeth through the window of the last haberdashery!
Lily shot her a curious look. "Why are you looking so pleased with yourself? Have you tacked a note saying 'Pinch me' to my bustle?"
"Would I do such a thing?" She leaned forward and whispered, "Actually I stuffed a dead hedgehog in your muff."
Lily jerked off her ermine muff and shook it in horror.
"For heaven's sake, I was only joking!" Emily assured her.
She hung out the window again, checking the progress of Justin's carriage. A hansom cab had come between them, and the coachman was frantically searching for a way past. She could well imagine the shouted instructions he was receiving from his master.
Lily squealed, startling her into bumping her head. "Good Lord, what was that for? Did you see a mouse?"
"No. I saw a house."
Emily blinked. Lily was even more unintelligible than her mother at times.
Lily caught the collar of her cloak and dragged her to the opposite window. "Look!" She clapped her hands over Emily's eyes. "No, wait. Don't look. Someone might see you. All right, you may look now."
All Emily saw was a rather ordinary-looking gray town house, fronted by a wrought-iron fence and a neatly trimmed lawn.
Lily lowered her voice to a theatrical whisper. "Mrs. Rose lives there with all of her little blooms."
"Mrs. Rose," Emily echoed softly, pushing back her hood.
She stared up at a lighted window on the second floor, thinking of Tansy. A sharp pang of nostalgia touched her. She wondered if her friend was still warmed by her fancy gentlemen with their gentle
hands and generous purses?
Lily threw herself back in the seat, sighing in content. "Harvey will have a Hereford if he knows we took this route." She giggled slyly. "Sometimes I wish he'd take this way himself. I try to lie very still and endure his attentions as Mama taught me, but I shouldn't mind so much if he snuck off to fertilize someone else's bloom. '
Lily began to sing under her breath, some ditty about the bees buzzing around Mrs. Rose's garden.
Emily sank back, fingering the soft wool of her cloak. She was hard pressed to imagine lying still
