The boy nodded.
Oliver smiled then. “Let me ask you this: Do servants look like me?”
The boy started, but then considered him, carefully trailing his gaze over every inch of him. Slowly, he shook his head. “They are not as big.”
“Just my size sets me apart?” What a strange conclusion to draw. He was tall, but so were many other people.
“And you are rather insolent.” The boy pursed his lips. “If you are not a servant, who are you?”
“I am someone your sister brought here to protect her.”
Leo’s eyes widened, and Oliver felt heated blue eyes light upon him.
“Protect my sister?” The boy swiveled to Lady Louisa. “Are you in danger?”
“Of course not!” Her burning look turned into a glare she directed his way before she softened and reassured her brother. “I am not in any danger, Leo.”
“You are not lying to me, are you?”
“No, I...” she started but Oliver cut her off.
“Not imminent danger, but that doesn’t mean there is no danger at all.” Saville, Lady Selena, and Warrick were proof of that, given what had happened back in London. There had been blackmail in abundance, and the two men had even been kidnapped, leaving it up to Lady Selena to rescue them.
“Will you stop!” Lady Louisa hissed at him. “He is just a child!”
Leo stepped forward, fisting his hands at his sides. “Does this have to do with the book you are searching for?”
“Correct,” Oliver said bluntly. “Did you hide it from your sister? Perhaps as a prank?”
“Yes, out with it, Leo!”
Leo wrung his hands together. “They said the book was dangerous. They said if I retrieved it for them then they would make sure it’s danger didn’t touch our family. They also gave me sweets.”
An exclamation of shock left Lady Louisa. “Who arethey?”
Oliver tensed, every muscle coiled as a jolt of foreboding gripped him. He kneeled before the boy when he wouldn’t meet their gaze. “Do you know who those men are?”
The boy shook her head. “There were two of them. They looked terrifying with scars on their faces.”
Louisa joined Oliver, lowering to look him in the eyes. “Where did they approach you?”
“At the bookshop when Miss Hale took me to purchase books,” he answered honestly. Then he hastily burst out, “It wasn’t her fault! She was busy speaking to the shopkeeper about a book we couldn’t find!”
“We are not blaming anyone,” Oliver said steadily, trying to reassure the boy. “We merely want as many details as possible.”
Oliver’s mind raced. Could it be their stepmother’s henchmen? But according to what he understood about the secret organization, they only hired women, and the men who were involved were limited. The evidence seemed to indicate that it stretched no farther than their husbands and sons. However, Lady Ridgeland had kept a hulking man at her side back in London, so he couldn’t completely disregard the possibility.
“Is there anything else you can remember about them?” Lady Louisa asked her brother.
Her brother bit his lip and looked away.
“Leo,” Lady Louisa said softly, “we need to know.”
“They said the book is dangerous. Is that true? Did I make a mistake?”
Oliver felt sorry for the child. None of this was his fault. “No, you are not to blame. You didn’t approach them. But we do need to find the book before it falls into the wrong hands.”
The boy looked at Oliver. “You are our protector?”
