She narrowed her eyes. “You are taller than I imagined. Better looking too when you’re not at death’s door.”
“Thanks to your skill with nursing, I am recovering.”
Mrs. Tipps raised her brows. “Charming too.”
Belle was growing impatient standing on the street. She might have been impatient of Arundel charming everyone as well. “Might we speak to you inside for a moment?”
Mrs. Tipps shook her head. “Mr. Tipps is out. I don’t allow men into the house when he is away.”
Belle hardly thought Arundel had any intention of attacking her and beating her with her cane, but another press of Arundel’s hand kept her quiet. She didn’t like being shushed, though, and she gave his arm a pinch.
“I understand,” Arundel was saying. “I’m sure it’s been a trying few days for you with the fire and all the commotion of the other night. Thieves in London have become quite brazen.”
“Thieves.” Mrs. Tipps sounded doubtful. “I see.”
“While Miss Howard and I were being treated for injuries sustained during the fire, Mrs. Price was kind enough to look after Mr. Howard.”
“Trying to sink her claws in him, was she?”
Belle’s eyes widened. Ah-ha! Now Arundel would see what she had meant. Mrs. Tipps saw it too.
“I’m sure Mrs. Price was trying to be a good neighbor.”
Belle rolled her eyes, and Mrs. Tipps gave him a thin smile. “But she lost him, didn’t she?”
“Why do you say that?” Belle asked, ignoring the quelling look Arundel sent her.
“Because I saw him go into the shop, and I didn’t see him come out.”
“What else did you see?” she asked. “Did any—”
Arundel pressed her arm again. He cleared his throat. “Did you see anyone else go into the shop after him?”
Belle scowled at him. That had been the exact question she had planned to ask. He might be an agent for the Crown, but she wasn’t a dolt. To repay him for cutting her off, she pinched his arm again. Harder.
No response. She’d have to pinch elsewhere.
“Or perhaps some men were loitering about across the—ah!”
Belle bit her lip to keep from smiling. She’d given his bum a sharp pinch. That had gotten his attention.
“What was that?” Mrs. Tipps asked.
Arundel, professional that he was, never even glanced back at Belle, but before she could pinch him again, he caught her wrist and held it.
“Across the street,” he said. “In front of your window or just down the street a ways.”
“I didn’t notice anyone loitering, and I don’t tolerate anyone loitering in front of my stoop,” she said. Belle could attest to that. She’d seen Mrs. Tipps shoo away more than one group of young boys and girls playing in front of the door to the building. And some of those children lived in the flats above her. “But I did see two men go into the shop.”
Belle wrenched her wrist free from Arundel’s grip. “When? While my father was inside?”
“Calm yourself, Belle. I don’t sit in front of the window and spy all day like some.” She cast a gaze in the direction of Mrs. Price’s flat. But Belle knew that if Mr. Tipps was not at home that was exactly what Mrs. Tipps did.
“Surely you have other tasks to attend to,” Arundel said smoothly. “But you happened to pass by your window and saw the men enter the shop.”
“Exactly. I glanced out the window and saw the men enter the shop about a half hour after Mr. Howard went inside. I thought it strange since the sign on the door still read CLOSED and the shades were drawn.”
“Did you see them come out again?”
“I was quite busy,” Mrs. Tipps said, and Belle wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake her. “But I didn’t notice anyone leaving. Of course, I only have a view of the front of the shop, not the back. Really, I didn’t think anything of it until Mrs. Price came knocking a few hours later and asked if I’d seen Mr. Howard. She was quite distraught. She’d gone into the shop and found it empty.”
“But by that time, Mr. Howard had been gone for some time—if we assume the men who went in after him took him out the back.”
“Well, as I said, I was very busy, so I have no idea how much time might have passed.”
“Yes, you do. You were—”
Arundel put his arm about Belle’s shoulders and pulled her face into his chest. “Miss Howard is quite distraught. We’re almost done, Miss Howard,” he said, his voice soothing as he patted her shoulder. But his grip was iron. She fought it, but he held steady.
“How much time would you estimate?” Arundel asked. Belle ceased struggling and turned her head. Arundel continued, “Just an approximation.”
“Two hours. Perhaps three.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Tipps. Might I ask you one more question?”
“Of course.” Mrs. Tipps glanced at Belle. She realized she was still pressed against Arundel’s uninjured side. She’d forgotten to try and free herself. He was warm and smelled like the tea they’d enjoyed at Mrs. Price’s. But underneath that scent was the scent of him. Something about that scent, something about his touch, seemed to have the effect of causing her to forget herself.
“Could you describe the men who went into the shop?” Arundel asked. Pressed against him, his voice sounded deep and resonant.
“I didn’t really see them...”
“Anything you might remember,” Arundel said. “Color of their hats or coats? Tall or short?”
“Let me think.” Mrs. Tipps closed her eyes and put her fingers to her temples. Belle looked up at Arundel who rolled his eyes. She smiled. He was not taken in by Mrs. Tipps’s act either. It felt good to know he saw through her too.
“They were both rather short and stocky. Broad shoulders. Thick about the waist. I’m no fashion critic. They wore black or brown coats and hats. Nothing fancy. They weren’t from London.”
“Why do you say that?” Arundel interrupted.
Mrs. Tipps paused. “I don’t know. I just...I had a sense of them being from somewhere else.”
“The countryside?”
“Yes. They looked as though they belonged on a farm. Perhaps it was the boots they wore. Mr. Tipps and I don’t travel often, but we once toured the Lake District. I remember men working the fields we passed wearing boots like that.” She waved her hand. “But that’s just an impression. I didn’t really see.”
“I understand,” Arundel said. “But I’m thankful you were at home and happened to glance out your window. Your observations have been most helpful.”
Belle realized suddenly that Arundel was no longer holding her against him. Yet, she was still leaning against him. She straightened and stepped away from him.
“Do you know where Mr. Howard has gone?” Mrs. Tipps asked.
“Not yet. But I’ll find him and bring him back.” He winked. “Preferably before your stock of tea runs out.”
Mrs. Tipps smiled, and Belle was loath to admit that Arundel did have a way with people. If he could charm Mrs. Tipps, he could charm anyone. “Good day,” Arundel said.