The hint of fiery warmth suited her.
“Perhaps we should be on our way,” she said. Her tone wasn’t nearly as soft as the one she’d used for his daughter and Mason felt a bit cheated.
He glanced to Freddie, who quietly returned his gaze, awaiting his reply.
“Take your time,” he replied, stepping forward to hold a hand out to Claire. When she reached him, he swept her up into his arms. “There’s no rush. We’ll be in the parlor.”
Lady Katherine’s brows tugged into a frown. She clearly didn’t like having her wishes overridden. Mason didn’t bother holding back his chuckle as he strode from the room.
Chapter Five
Katherine waited a few moments after the irritatingly amused Mr. Hale stepped out of view before turning back to her little brother. It took everything in her not to draw him back into another embrace. Her relief at finding him alive and well was immense—as was her surprise that Hale had actually delivered her to him—but she knew the display of physical affection would only discomfort her brother. The last thing in the world she wanted was to be the source of any more stress than his ordeal had likely already caused him.
When she’d awoken that morning so many days ago—it felt like a lifetime already—to find him gone from his bedroom at their house in Mayfair, she’d swallowed down her instinct to panic. Her brother was getting older, and he’d been struggling with his grief over their father’s tragic death and the loss of the only home they’d ever known. She knew he liked to go off alone when he was distressed, and she had been trying to allow him that even though everything in her wanted to swoop in and rescue him from his hurt and confusion.
When her extensive search of the house and grounds came up fruitless, she’d been beside herself. Fear had nearly debilitated her until she’d realized that giving in to the panic wouldn’t find her brother. Lord Shelbourne’s advice to handle the matter discreetly had been difficult to accept when she’d wanted to alert every constable in the city. But he’d convinced her that a widespread search could put her brother at greater danger. Despite the days of no word, the method had finally paid off.
Though she held herself back from embracing him again, she soaked up the sight of her brother’s face—a perfect blending of their father’s stern intelligence and their mother’s deep compassion—and felt nearly overwhelmed with relief at having him safely within reach again.
As his steady gaze met hers, she offered a tentative smile. “I’m guessing you have quite a tale to tell.” And she had so many questions.
A brief shadow crossed his features before he replied. “There are things you won’t enjoy hearing about.”
Katherine’s chest tightened. What had he been through? She wanted to wrap him up in her arms and never let him go. She restrained herself. Barely.
Gesturing toward an unfortunately colored lime-green sofa set before the fireplace, she said, “Perhaps we should sit.”
He nodded and led the way.
Settling in beside each other, she offered her hand, palm up in the space between them. For the first time in a long time, her brother did not hesitate to put his hand in hers. The solid warmth of his palm and the strength on his fingers intertwined with hers was assuring.
“The beginning is usually a good place to start,” she suggested.
Her brother took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Keeping his gaze trained on the edge of the pink-and-white patterned rug spread out on the floor in front of them, he began. “You know how I have a hard time getting to sleep sometimes?”
Katherine nodded. It had been that way since he’d been a baby. He’d never wanted to go down for naps and had fought bedtime like it was some sort of punishment. When he was little, Katherine had often sat at his bedside, telling stories about mythical creatures that lived in the woods near their home or singing soft lullabies to ease him to rest. But it’d been years since she’d done that.
“Well,” he continued hesitantly, “after we came to London, I’d get so restless at night. I just couldn’t be still. So...I started going for walks.”
Fear and anxiety gripped her. “You went out in the city alone?”
He nodded and sat a little taller, though he still avoided looking at her.
Her little brother had been walking the streets of London. At night! Possibly for months.
“Walking up and down the avenues and boulevards helped bring things into focus,” he explained. “I could envision how the city’s pattern spread out around me, how the lines flowed and intersected. Around every corner, a new corridor would open up. It felt endless but measurable. Every block was the same as the one before but also utterly different. It...calmed me, I guess. The more familiar the expanding grid became, the more balanced and, I don’t know, steady, I felt.”
Katherine sighed.
From a very young age, Frederick had displayed evidence of having exceptional intelligence. He’d learned to speak early and by three years of age had amassed an extensive vocabulary. He’d mastered reading and sums shortly afterward. But he’d always had an intense affinity for patterns. Intricate designs and complex systems fascinated him. He adored mazes and puzzles, but eventually he struggled to find any that challenged him.
Katherine understood why he’d be drawn to explore London’s many thoroughfares and crooked lanes. Despite the inherent dangers.
“The somber streets became so familiar to me it didn’t even occur to me to be scared.”
Katherine had to forcefully remind herself that Frederick was safe and sitting right there beside her. She squeezed his hand. “What happened?”
“Two men in a carriage caught me unaware. I should have tried to run, but by the time I realized they meant to abduct me, it was too late. They wrestled me into a carriage and took off at a terrible speed. We didn’t stop until we got to an old
