“Shh.” She drew back and looked at his face. It was clean of soot, but he still smelled of smoke. She’d need to fetch more water so he could bathe. “I was so worried about you last night. I thought I’d lost you. And then what would I do?”
“You’d have to fetch your own breakfast,” he said with a tentative smile.
“We can’t have that. From now on, you be more careful. No chasing after girls or trying to save people in fires. I can’t lose you, Joshua.” She hugged him again, and he patted her back, as though she were the one who needed comforting.
“You won’t lose me, Vi. I promise.”
“Good.” She drew back and kissed his forehead.
“But I can’t promise not to chase after any girls.”
She laughed. “I suppose not. Maybe wait another year or two, though, yes?”
“I’ll think about it.”
She sat in the other chair and began to eat the bread. A few minutes later, she heard the door and Georgie’s voice. “Hi, Pa! Joshua? Vi? I’m back.”
*
King had justfinished rinsing his hair with the water he’d held in reserve when Georgie stepped into the back room of the tavern. For a moment, the boy stared at him as though he didn’t know who he was, and then he grinned. “Hi, Pa!”
King didn’t know why being calledPashould make his heart feel as though it were one of Gunter’s ices on an August afternoon, but it did. “Good to see you back, Master George.”
Georgie called for Violet, and King hastily grabbed a towel and wrapped it about his hips. Just in time, it turned out, as Joshua and Violet came running down the steps. Violet had eyes for no one but Georgie, which gave King time to tuck the ends of the towel into place before Joshua grabbed hold of his little brother and Violet glanced at King.
And then she glanced again, her cheeks turning pink and her blue eyes widening. But that wasn’t shock in her eyes. King knew desire when he saw it. He’d been about to put on a shirt. Now he held off. She wanted to pretend she was unmoved by him, but he knew differently. He still needed to talk to her, but now Georgie was back, and she’d be busy with him. He might hope to have a word with her this afternoon, but then she’d be opening the tavern. Once the business opened, it would be even harder to take a moment with her.
Violet looked away from him—but not until her gaze swept down his chest—and hurried Georgie upstairs. King dressed in his best, which were the clothes that weren’t stained with soot or impossibly wrinkled. He attempted to tie a cravat without a looking glass, but gave up on the elaborate style he’d planned and tied a simple knot. His father was in prison. Certainly, he wouldn’t care about King’s appearance.
Except he probably would.
Joshua came down the stairs as King pulled his boots on. How he missed Danby in moments like these. The valet knew how to get the damn boots on without any fuss. He kept them polished, too. And after last night, King’s boots were sorely in need of polishing.
“Is your brother well?” he asked.
“Yes. He says Archie is doing much better and wants to come back in a few days.”
“Good.” Then Violet really wouldn’t need him.
“Are you going somewhere?” Joshua asked.
King glanced at him. The soot had been wiped from his face, but black streaks were still smeared along his neck and caked in the whorls of his ears.
“To the well, to fetch water for your bath.”
“Aw! I took a bath last week.”
King ruffled his hair. “After being trapped in a burning building, you must take another. Come with me.”
Joshua called up to Violet to tell her where they were going, and the two lifted the buckets and carried them out. They walked in companionable silence, moving aside as people passed them. It was full morning now, and those who had work were off to start their day. A few gave King odd looks, which told him he’d either done a poor job dressing or looked too good and out of place in Seven Dials.
They waited in line at the well, and when it was their turn, King hauled up the water and filled both buckets. On the way back, he glanced at Joshua. “Should we talk about last night? You disobeyed a direct order.”
Joshua’s shoulders slumped, which was a feat considering he was already hunched from carrying the heavy pail. “I know. I should have listened to you and met Vi.”
“Yes, you should have listened to me. You almost died. It was pure luck I found you when I did. You risked not only your own life, but mine as well. And what if your sister had decided to go in and look for you? I had to practically hold her back.”
“I can explain why I did it.”
