“It’s only the phone.” Mrs. Dawson winked and reached to answer it. “Hello?”
Amber avoided listening, but Mrs. Dawson’s body tightened as she spoke. “Oh, I’m sorry Mr. Lyons, but I’m a bit indisposed at the moment. Would it be too much trouble for you to come back in an hour?” Mrs. Dawson placed a hand over the phone and whispered. “It’s Helen’s boss. He’s at the gate.”
“Why is he here?”
Mrs. Dawson shrugged. “Hold on, Mr. Lyons.”
“What should we do?”
“He already sounds suspicious. If we turn him away, he might linger and be here when Helen and the others return.”
“Is it safe to allow him in?” Only one maid wandered the grounds. Hardly any protection against a man.
“He’s never threatened me.” Mrs. Dawson placed her attention back to the man on the phone. “Come on in, Mr. Lyons. I’ll have Amber meet you at the door while I find something suitable to wear.”
After disconnecting the call, Mrs. Dawson waved Amber toward the front door. “Talk with him for a few minutes, see if you can use that extra sense of yours to find anything out. I’ll call Helen and make certain she doesn’t come back with him here.”
Amber’s heart jumped in her chest. She knew how to greet visitors, but this one posed a threat to Helen, or so they thought. By the time she reached the door, Mr. Lyon’s knock sounded in the hall. She flattened her hand over her stomach and twisted the handle.
The man standing in the doorway wore a simple smile that brightened when his eyes met Amber’s. “You must be Amber.”
“Yes. Mrs. Dawson will be down in a moment, won’t you come in?” Stepping aside, Amber let the man pass, ignoring the fluttering in her insides. It was common for women in this century to meet strange men without a chaperone at their side. The experience however, was new for her.
“Thank you,” Philip said. “Are you Mrs. Dawson’s nurse?”
Amber shook her head. “House guest.”
He moved his head to the side. “Ah.”
She would have offered to take his coat had he been wearing one. “Shall we wait for Mrs. Dawson in the library? She’ll only be a minute.”
“Fine.”
Amber felt his stare as she led him into the dark room. “Can I get you anything?”
“I’m fine, thank you.”
Philip stared at her after sitting on the edge of the sofa. Their conversation stalled and awkward silence filled the room. “What brings you here today, Mr. Lyons?”
“Mrs. Dawson and I have a mutual friend who has gone missing. I was hoping she’d have some information.”
Amber couldn’t tell if he was sincere with the cloak covering her shoulders. His dark eyes didn’t hold his thoughts.
“Philip.” Mrs. Dawson leaned on her cane as she entered the room. Amber eyed the stick, but didn’t say a word about it. The older woman limped toward them and Philip stood.
“I’m sorry to bother you, but I was hoping you’d heard something.”
“Nothing I’m afraid.” Mrs. Dawson turned toward Amber. “Can you be a dear and ask Mavis to make tea?”
“I’ve come at a bad time. I won’t be staying,” Philip said. “I know Helen would want me to check on you.” His gaze drifted to Amber. “But I see you have company.”
“No need to worry about me, Philip, but thank you for your concern. Have you heard from the authorities?”
Philip hesitated before shaking his head. Amber wasn’t sure if Mrs. Dawson noticed his hesitation, but she had. Trying to stay unnoticed, Amber pulled one arm out of her cloak and adjusted to the weight of anxiety surrounding her. Her heart started to leap and a small ache pulsed behind her right ear.
It didn’t seem as if Philip would be staying long, and losing this opportunity to read the man might not come again.
“They spoke with my staff and interviewed her neighbors.”
“I somehow think she’ll turn up.”
Philip’s eyes narrowed. “What makes you say that?”
“She’s a resourceful girl. Maybe she’s met a man who whisked her away.”
How clever of Mrs. Dawson to offer a plausible explanation for Helen’s disappearance.
“Don’t you think she’d call if that were the case?”
Amber slid the cloak off one shoulder and took a deep breath.
“Have you ever been in love, Philip?”
“No, can’t say that I have.”
Amber grasped the edge of the cloak and allowed it to leave her back. The room pitched and swam, causing nausea to rise in her throat. Mrs. Dawson and Philip were deep in conversation, neither of them paying her any attention.
Amber hugged the cloak to her stomach. Mrs. Dawson’s anxiety rose in Amber’s mind.
Mavis, was questioning the sudden appearance of all Mrs. Dawson’s houseguests, worried that they were there to steal some of Mrs. Dawson’s wealth.
“Love makes a person do crazy things.”
The pounding behind Amber’s ear surged through her head and her palms began to sweat.
“Has Helen told you about a man in her life?” Philip asked.
“No.”
Amber felt a twinge behind the word, telling her Mrs. Dawson lied.
“I hope you’re right. That this search for her is in vain.” Philip’s words held the same twinge. He didn’t want Helen to show up with a man on her arm. He lied, but why?
“Do you think she’ll return with a suitor?” Amber asked.
Philip turned and fixed her with a stare.
Mrs. Dawson eyed the cloak and forced her concern away.
“As long as she returns, I really don’t care who she shows up with.”
Again with the lies.
Stepping closer, Amber smiled. “I hope you’re right, Mrs. Dawson.”
Every step closer to Philip felt as if she walked in mud. Something dark hovered over the man, but Amber couldn’t read it. She let the cloak dangle in her arms. When she was close enough to the man, she pretended to trip.
Philip held out a hand to steady her. When his fingers touched her flesh the mud around his emotions splashed away and left dirty, readable water.
Philip Lyons was not an innocent man searching for a friend.
Helen would do well to stay clear of him.
“How clumsy of me. Much thanks,” she told Philip before shaking his hand off. As much as she probably should have held on to learn more of his secrets, the pain of his presence was unbearable.