Page 82 of The Good Fortune of Miss Robbins

“I am the constable.” The man with Lord Brookhaven scowled. “William Thomas Beckwith the third, and I’m the constable for Grosvenor Square. So if you don’t mind, sir, I’ll ask you to stop disturbing the peace of this house and go home.”

“I see how it be.” Mr. White raised his voice again. “The rich man and the constable are stopping me from taking what’s mine. But I know my rights. And I’ll be back. You will see me again, and next time I’ll talk to the lady what stole my children. Dividing families and taking poor folkses’ children. Is that what you rich people do now? I have my rights, same as the rich.”

He walked away a few feet, then turned around and pointed a finger straight at me. “I won’t go quiet, y’ hear? I’ll be back for my kin.”

The three men were between me and him, so I wasn’t in any real danger, but my heart beat fast.

“Sorry about that, miss.” Henson took off his hat and nodded toward me. “I wouldn’t have let him get through the door.”

Lord Brookhaven looked at me with a concerned expression.

“Come inside, please, gentlemen.”

Lord Brookhaven said something to Henson, who moved away, then he and the constable came in.

I ordered a larger breakfast, and we all went into the breakfast room. I usually ate something small—a scone or fruit tart—before my walk, and then a bigger breakfast afterward, but I wasn’t sure I would even take a walk this morning.

Lord Brookhaven made all the introductions, and Mr. Beckwith, the constable, greeted everyone politely.

“Do you know this man, Gilbert White?” I asked Mr. Beckwith. “Do you think he could have been using the children for thievery?”

“He is a known pickpocket and petty thief, so I suspect he was.”

It was all I needed to know to quell the guilt I’d been feeling. I of all people knew the pain of having no family, no relatives of any kind. Or at least I’d thought I had no relatives, until my uncle died. I would have loved to have met him and to have felt some kind of connection to him. Why would I ever want to keep anyone from their relatives?

I didn’t want to deny Joshua and Sarah a relationship with their uncle. But if this man was a thief and was using them ... I was more determined than ever to keep them from him. But the fact that he found them useful would also make him more determined to take them back.

“What did you call your uncle?” I asked Sarah while Joshua was playing with the toy soldiers I’d bought him.

“Uncle Gil,” Sarah said quietly.

“Did he take care of you and give you a place to sleep?”

She stared at me blankly for a moment, then said, “We slept in the old building you saw. He slept there too sometimes.”

“What did you do when Uncle Gil was around?”

Sarah looked like she might cry.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” It was enough for me that he didn’t even provide them a safe or warm place to sleep and didn’t stay with them every night to protect them.

“I don’t think you would like me anymore if I told you.” A tear slipped down her cheek.

“Of course I would like you.” I squeezed her arm and looked into her eyes. “There is nothing you could say to make me not like you. Besides, if your uncle made you do something bad, that is his fault, not yours. He’s a grown-up, and grown-ups are supposed to take care of children, not ask them to do bad things.”

“He sometimes made us steal food.”

I nodded to show her it was all right and to encourage her to go on.

“He tried to make me steal from gentlemen’s pockets, but I was too scared.”

“I’m proud of you for telling me. And you don’t need to worry about him anymore, do you understand? I will protect you.”

She nodded but she didn’t look completely reassured. She bit her lip and went back to playing with her doll.

The next morning, I got ready to go on my walk as usual. Lord Markeley had not come to have his private talk, and I was greatly relieved.

Mrs. Drake and Hattie came with me, but Millicent stayed home. She wasn’t as much of a walker as I was, but she’d seemed distant lately. I hoped I was imagining it.