Ruined in the eyes of society, and removed from the only world they’d ever known, the Nightingale siblings vow never to be victims again. They will build their new life on what they’d once ignored. Being a clairvoyant is an excellent survival skill.
Could she be the one to save him?
Leopold Nightingale was a man who could find things no one else could. He’d denied this gift until the night a bracelet slid into his head, especially as it was on the arm of the woman he’d once loved.
Lady Hyacinth Armstrong was destined to be his wife, but when society turned on his family, he did the only thing he could, Leo walked away from her. When years later he finds her in dire need of his help, he’s shocked to find her a widow. His second surprise comes as she’s no longer the sweet natured lady she once was. But one thing was soon startlingly clear to him, the woman intrigued him far more now than she used too.
Could he see the woman behind the façade this time?
When Lord Seddon saves Cyn from two thugs, her shock at seeing him again soon turns to anger over his disappearance. She’d once loved him desperately. Now she wants to slap him… hard, especially when he tells her his actions were completely justified.
Marriage had given her two children and a life to live as she wished, but there are those who would see her stopped for the path she had chosen. Cyn will do what she must to keep her charges safe, but never again would she give her heart away to someone who cast it aside so easily. Even if it’s the only man she’s ever loved.
Chapter One
Leopold Nightingale, bearer of the disgraced title of Viscount Seddon, listened to the clip-clop of hooves as he and Ram rode through the rapidly darkening London streets.
Once, he would have been preparing for an evening out in society. Some ball or function where his chief aim would have been to ensure he looked his best and people knew it.
Leo was often disgusted with memories of the man he’d been… and angry. He felt like he was always angry. He just rarely let anyone see what lay beneath the controlled facade he outwardly portrayed.
“I thought the Butcher was a bit off his stride this evening,” Ramsey said.
“It’s the first time he’s been knocked out in fifty fights, I believe,” Leo added.
When Ramsey Hellion had knocked on the front door of his family’s home, Leo had been enjoying a rare moment of solitude, as his aunt and uncle had taken everyone out to the park. He had said, politely, that he had no wish to go to a boxing match. Ram had then debated with him, which he excelled at, until Leo had yielded simply to shut him up.
“I fear, after the beatings he has taken in his lifetime, he will not be a happy old man when the day he retires eventually comes,” Ram said.
“I know how long I take to recover from a fist in the face,” Leo said.
“When did you last receive a fist to the face?”
“Not that long ago, actually.”
They were silent as they navigated around a large, lumbering landau. Leo glanced in the window, and a woman caught his eye. He drew back slightly, which had Ram obscuring his view. It was possible she walked in society and they’d once known each other. Leo had no wish to become reacquainted. The reaction was pity or disdain. He liked neither, so he avoided those from his old life whenever possible.
“Do you plan to hide forever from both your title and the world you were raised to live in, Leo?” Ram said.
The words nearly unseated him, but squeezing his thighs into the saddle, Leo stayed upright.
“I beg your pardon,” he said in his most haughty Viscount Seddon voice. The title may be as useless as the man he’d inherited it from, but occasionally it came in handy.
“You heard.”
“I have no wish to continue this discussion.”
Leo had been raised a nobleman. He’d loved his life, because it had allowed him to do as he wished. As the heir, he’d been a spoiled and small-minded fool. He’d cared little about anyone but himself. All that had changed with his father’s death and the shame and disgrace that followed.
The Nightingales had been plunged into turmoil. If it weren’t for their father’s youngest brother and wife, Leo wasn’t sure where they would have ended up. He liked to think he was strong enough to have cared for his siblings, but it wasn’t as if he’d been equipped to cope with what life had thrown at them. His uncle and aunt had stepped in and taught the Nightingale siblings to be a family, and he would be forever thankful for that.
Ram snorted. “My cousin is the haughtiest bastard I know, even if your sister has softened him ever so slightly. Your pompous tone does nothing to deter me, Leo.”
Ram was cousin to Leo’s brother-in-law, Gray. Leo usually enjoyed his company, as the man was funny, intelligent, and as yet unwed, like him.
“I left because my father’s actions made it impossible to stay.” His tone was icy.
“That was years ago, Leo. Will you let him keep you from what you once loved?”
The vision slid into his head so fast, it unseated him, and he slid sideways. Ram’s hand shot out and steadied him.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s just my way of saying what I’m thinking. Both a curse and a blessing, so my mother tells me, but it does cut through all the chatter around an issue,” Ram said.
“I—ah….”
“Leo? What’s wrong?” Ram’s words were urgent now.
“I have to go.” He looked around him. “That way.” He pointed to a narrow lane to his left.
“To avoid me?”
“No.”
“All right, then. Why?”
“I need to find something, Ram. You go home.”
“No.”
“Pardon?”
“No. I am not leaving you in your current shocked state to ride about darkened streets alone,” Ram said calmly.
“I am more than capable of looking after myself,” Leo said. He then briefly closed his eyes and pictured the single gold cuff link.
Why did he need to find it now, tonight?
“Yes, I know you are, and that you Nightingales are all well-schooled by your uncle on how to defend yourselves. However, I am not going anywhere.”
“Please leave,” Leo said, wondering what was driving him to seek the cuff link his grandfather had given him. He couldn’t even remember when he’d lost it.
“You Nightingales have many gifts, but you are not alone in that, you know,” Ram said as Leo started his horse moving again.
“What the hell does that mean?”
Left, the voice inside his head said. Suddenly the lethargy that had been dogging his footsteps for days fled, and in its place was the hum of expectation. Why?
“It means I am not a wet-behind-the-ears weakling,” Ram said. “I am more than able to protect myself in a dangerous situation. I don’t just have a handsome face and sharp wit, you know.”
“Imagine my surprise,” Leo said, wondering what he was about to step into. “But I don’t think I’ll need your protection, thank you.”
“I was raised in India, as you know, Leo,” Ram continued, drawing Leo’s attention back to him. “My parents put me in the care of their staff—Kavya and her husband, Ishaan. They were wonderful people who taught me a great deal. Part of my education at their hands was learning to fight. So have no fear that I will not aid you should it come to that.”
Leo looked at Ram. He was a man who did not seem bothered by much and was most often laughing. Leo’s sisters Frederica and Matilda said he was handsome, and they had made him promise that one day he would wed one of them. However, perhaps there was a great deal more to him they had yet to see.
“Now, where is it we must go?”
“Left,” Leo said. “We go that way.” He pointed to a street.
“Why?”
“I just need to.”
“It is to do with this gift you all have. Or, more importantly, the one you deny?”
“I don’t deny it,” Leo lied.
“Of course you do. Ellen said you refuse to acknowledge it, and then suddenly you’ll appear with something that has been lost for some time, or you’ll say things like ‘We need to go there and find this.’”
“Shut up, Ram.” Leo rode his horse down the narrow lane and then turned right at the end.
“What are we looking for, Leo?”
“A cuff link.”
He could feel Ram’s eyes on the side of his face. “You are joking, surely? How is it possible to find something so small?”
He blew out a loud breath. How the hell did he answer that? “Any chance you can just shut up?”
“No chance at all,” Ram said. “I like to think of it as one of my finest qualities.”
“Persistence?”
“Annoyance,” Ram said.
Leo let the voice inside his head direct him down narrow roads, where danger could lurk in crevices.
“Be alert, Ram.”
“Aye.”
Leo wasn’t sure how far they’d traveled, but as yet, they had not reached where he was supposed to go… which was foolish, as he was the one guiding himself. Even thinking those thoughts made him sound like a fool.
“We are heading to the Thames, Leo.”
“I can see that, Ram.”
“South Bank,” Ram added, “near Vauxhall Gardens.”
“I can see that too.” He could feel the tension inside him climb as the water appeared before him. His throat felt tight, and his body was so tense, his back ached.
“Is that the Duke of Allender’s yacht?”
“How would I know what his yacht is like?” Leo asked, his eyes scanning the area before him.
He felt twitchy as the crowds grew. This was a haunt of the wealthy. Men and women wandering about to be seen. Some heading to the gardens, as he once would have been.
“Are we any closer to your location?” Ram asked, raising his hat. “Good evening, Lady Pickle. How lovely you look.”
The lady tittered at him. Her eyes then landed on Leo, and the smile fell from her lips. Leo nodded and rode on.
What am I doing?
“When did you lose this cuff link, Leo?”
“Many years ago.” The urgency was almost choking him now. Leo kept his eyes forward, searching for… what? Would he simply find the cuff link on the road before him? Why now?
Moving closer to the water, he dismounted, watching as a small rowboat approached.
“Hold my horse, Ram.”
“Pardon?”
Leo threw the reins at him.
“What’s going on?” Ram asked.
“Oh, it is you, Mr. Hellion,” a woman gushed. “I had so hoped to see you this evening.”
“Miss Tattling, my night is now complete with your arrival.”
Ignoring the flirting going on behind him, Leo made his way to the edge of the bank and looked at the rowboat’s occupants. Beside the oarsman, there were three others on board. Two women and a man. He recognized the man, as he was the only one facing Leo. Lord Charles Bancroft.
“Lord Seddon? I say, it is you.” A voice to his left queried.
Leo was already tense, but having someone from his past approach made him more so. He turned from the rowboat. “Mr. Anderson.” He bowed.
“Wonderful to have you back among us, my lord.” The man looked genuine, but you could never really tell. Leo nodded, bowed again, and walked away from him without a word to where the boat would reach the bank.
Taking the steps down to the small platform, he heard the voices behind him. His name was being thrown about like leaves in the wind now. He’d just done what he loathed: shown his face willingly in society.
The boat bumped into the dock, and the oarsman climbed out, as did Lord Bancroft. He turned to help one woman out. Leo stood back, watching. His cuff link was close, but why did he need to find it now? As that thought entered his head, he watched the other woman stand. She then looked his way and stumbled. Seconds later, she was tumbling into the water.
“Cyn!” the other woman screamed.
Leo tore off his jacket and jumped in. He could swim; his uncle had taught him that also.
“Hurry!” the woman cried. “Charles!”
“I can’t swim, damn it!” Bancroft said the words as he climbed back into the boat and grabbed an oar.
Leo saw the woman surface a few feet in front of him, her hands slapping the water to keep herself above it, but she sank again. Leo dived and grabbed a handful of her clothing. Tugging hard, he pulled her into his body, and then, wrapping a hand around her waist, he kicked his legs and took them to the surface.
“Stop struggling. I have you now.”
She was gasping for air, her arms still thrashing.
“You are all right,” Leo soothed.
He made his way to where hands waited to pull her up. Leo pushed her from behind, and soon she was in the arms of the woman who had been in the boat with her.
“Give me your hand, sir.” Leo looked up into the face of Lord Bancroft.
“Lord Seddon?”
“My God, Leo!” Ram arrived at a run, dropping to his knees beside Bancroft. He then helped pull Leo onto the platform.
“I am all right, Ram,” he said when he’d regained his feet. “Just wet.”
“Thank you, Seddon.” Bancroft held out his hand. “She would have drowned had you not saved her, as I cannot swim.”
He shook the hand and then looked at the woman. She had her back to him, but Leo desperately needed to see her face. He moved closer to where she stood with the other lady.
“Are you all right?” The expectation inside Leo rose as she turned to face him, and then he realized why. He was looking into the eyes of the woman he’d once vowed to marry.
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