Thornbrook Park by Sherri Browning

long. You might find that he, too, has changed. You still have a brother, Marcus. I can’t tell you what it would mean to me to have a family again, a place to belong.”
    He didn’t set her straight on the impossibility of dealing with Gabriel. “You miss them? Even though they let you go so easily?”
    â€œI do. Please give Gabriel a chance. You’re not boys anymore.”
    â€œI’ll consider it if we can move on to brighter topics. Tell me about India.”
    Her face lit up. “It was a different world. But one I rather liked. I don’t miss the heat, the sand, the unrest, but I do miss the people, the colors, the smells, and a good curry.”
    â€œAh, curry.”
    â€œEnglish food tastes bland to me now, though Mrs. Mallows is a wonderful cook.”
    â€œOnly the best for my brother, the earl. But we’re back to unpleasant topics.”
    â€œIs that why you’re running off to London this morning? To get away from him?”
    He didn’t like the sound of it coming from her, that he had to resort to running away. Perhaps it was time he stopped running and faced all of his problems head on. After today.
    â€œAs I said, I have affairs to tend. But how lucky that we’re both escaping on the same day. We can return together as well, tomorrow morning.”
    â€œI made the return trip from India. I’m certain I could handle a train trip from London.” She straightened up, squaring her slender shoulders as if to prove her mettle.
    He shook his head. “There are ruffians everywhere.”
    â€œI might be looking at one.”
    â€œYou wound me.” He held his hands to his heart. “I want nothing more than to look after a lone damsel. Plus, I’ve enjoyed our conversation. I’m pleased that we get to continue it over dinner.”
    â€œI’m pleased as well. I look forward to seeing you again tonight.”
    ***
    Leaving the station, Eve felt disoriented. Marcus had pointed her on the way, but nothing looked as she remembered it. She might have managed to navigate Mayfair, but Cheapside? Shops had closed, new ones opened. How was she to find her way to Edgar Strump’s office?
    She walked along, careful to lift her skirts to avoid the mud that occasionally splattered up from the road, where a mix of carriages and cars shared the way. She knew that she had to walk away from St. Mary-le-Bow, cross the road, and continue down to the right. Or was it left? Ben would never have asked for directions. Not if his life depended on it, she suddenly recalled with a smile. But she’d never shared his hesitance to request help when in a bind. The problem was getting someone to stop long enough to pay her any mind.
    After the fifth person she stopped gave her the information she needed, she followed his instructions to the address, only a few blocks from where she’d started. She might have missed it except for the small sign over the doorbell that read “Marsh, Phillips, and Strump.” She rang the bell to no avail, and eventually turned the knob and walked in.
    She approached a man sitting at a desk not four feet from the door. “I’m Mrs. Kendal looking for Mr. Strump, please. We have business.”
    The sandy-haired man with spectacles trailing down his nose got to his feet. “I’m Gibbs, Mr. Strump’s assistant. Do you have an appointment?”
    â€œNo.” She’d been so eager to get on with the things that she’d never considered making one. “But please, ask him to make time for me. I’ve come from Yorkshire for the day.”
    Gibbs sighed as if she’d asked for the moon. “I’ll do my best. Please have a seat. Mrs. Kendal, you say?”
    â€œHe would be more aware of my husband, Captain Benjamin Kendal.”
    â€œA moment, Mrs. Kendal.”
    She did not take the offered seat in a row of dusty chairs lined up down the hall by the door. She paced, studying