“Lord Hereford,” I say.
“Your Highness.”
He leans over and kisses me, lingering on that as well.
Not wanting to ruin the moment, I whisper against his lips, “Tommy and Kitty’s mother?” I glance over toward the kids. “They seem in good … spirits. Is she … have you …?”
“Nothing definitive,” he murmurs. “The local authorities are looking into Gail Walsh’s disappearance.” His cool tone hides everything I can suddenly feel from him through the bond, as if he’s opened that connection between us deliberately. He’s still so angry at everything that’s happened with the kids. “They’re … there’s enough evidence to treat her as a co-conspirator rather than a victim.”
My heart pinches, and I must not hide my grimace terribly well because he nods stiffly. “Do Tommy and Kitty … do they know?”
“Tommy is well aware,” Eli says. “Sully distracted Kitty with all the clothing he had delivered while Tommy and I typed up a preliminary statement. Just in case the locals get more aggressive about talking directly to the kids.”
I swallow harshly. “Do we … do we have to pursue it? Couldn’t we just …”
Elias touches my hip gently. “I think that as new as it is, the bond, and specifically their connection to you, is helpingstabilize them right now. But they need to know, Mirth. They’ll need to know whatever we uncover.”
“Mirth!” Kitty cries, spinning away from the window as if she’s only just realized there are other people in the box. “We placed bets on your horse!”
I pull away from the upsetting conversation with Elias, looping my arm through his and crossing toward the children still plastered to the window.
“Bets?” I say, just so Kitty knows I’m listening.
She nods enthusiastically. “With our own money.”
“Stolen money,” Tommy grumbles.
“It’s an allowance,” Kitty insists. “That’s what Eli said —”
“Lord Hereford,” Tommy interjects, correcting his sister.
Kitty bobs her head in acknowledgment but continues undaunted, “An allowance of the … principal. Plus those Möbius guys were assholes.”
“I’m not quite following,” I say, quashing an inappropriate smile at Kitty’s concise but blistering summary of the group that kidnapped and harmed her and her brother.
“Miss Kitty presented me with a dozen one-ounce gold bars and a half dozen silver bars this morning,” Elias says, epically smoothly. “Purloined, I believe, from the safe you cracked at the auction space.”
“Purloined, yes!” Kitty says, as if she couldn’t remember the word. “Like pirates.”
“Otherwise known as thieves,” Tommy says.
“They deserve it! How much money were they going to make, selling you and me?”
“Perhaps not the best conversation,” Elias says. “Given our surroundings.” He glances around pointedly.
With the windows all clear, the boxes on either side of us have a perfect view of us in the front seating area. As doesanyone with sharp eyesight or otherwise enhanced senses in the nearby stands.
Following Eli’s gaze, Kitty’s eyes widen. She looks utterly chagrined. “Of course, my lord. I understand.”
Tommy huffs doubtfully.
Kitty punches him in the chest.
He grunts. Given that his arm is still in a sling, the blow probably did hurt.
“Eli … Lord Hereford … said we could get a safe in our bedroom, my bedroom,” Kitty says, stepping closer to me and lowering her voice. “The earl said that was better. That he’d give us an allowance based on the principal. He wrote it all down. Like, all the numbers, and downloaded an app on my phone to show me how to track it.”
Seriously trying not to laugh about Lord Hereford being put in the position of potentially laundering the Möbius Group’s gold and silver, especially because I’d been in the room and not noticed Kitty taking the bars in the first place, I say, “A safe is always a good idea, Kitty.” Then I turn toward Eli, throwing a somewhat fake smile at the occupants of the box to our left as I blank on their names. “A bit advanced for a nine-year-old, no?”
