*Sterling*
The little thief is again in my kitchen, sitting at the servant’s table, stuffing food into his mouth as though he hasn’t had a nibble since his last visit. That Frannie has brought him here and not to her orphanage speaks volumes. Unfortunately, she isn’t saying quite as much, and I sense that whatever is troubling her is far more worrisome than discovering the lad’s parentage.
“So he’s Sykes’s son?” I repeat.
“According to Nancy, yes.”
I nod, “I suppose that explains his inability to appreciate your taking the lad.”
“I’m afraid if I take him back to the orphanage that Sykes might come after him there.”
I shift my gaze to her. She is looking up at me with absolute certainty in her eyes that I will offer the solution without misgivings.
“If he’s to stay here and sl
