Read Online Edith Layton by Gypsy Lover - Free Book Online

“Did I say thank you?”
    “You’re welcome,” he said gravely. “Now, will you sit down?”
    She went to the chair and sat, drawing her skirts primly around her ankles.
    He nodded, and leaned against the wall by the window. “Now,” he said. “Want to tell me the real reason you’re chasing the heiress?”
    She took a deep shuddering breath. “What happened to them? The men, I mean.”
    “Oh, them. No worries. They’re gone. Not free,” he added quickly, when he saw her eyes widen. “In custody, you could say.”
    “The Runners?”
    He laughed. “No. Nor with the local justice of the peace. The Runners are too far off and there was no reason to wake the justice. No, I’ve friends. They’re taking care of those nasty blokes. For a profit, so I know it’s being done right. That’s how everything gets done in this world. A man can be any kind of evil and get away with it. But not if he interferes with business. Money is God in most civilized places.Matters more than life, actually. That’s why a fellow can get his neck stretched for stealing a man’s snuffbox, same as for taking his life. Blood and money comes to the same thing in the world of justice.”
    “They’re not coming back?” she asked.
    “Never. They’re being delivered to those who’ll appreciate their company the most, and come down heavy for it. See, I heard about them before I met up with them. Those dirty guts have been preying on people up and down the Brighton road. There’s a reward out. Coaching companies don’t like someone spoiling their business. Of course, His Majesty’s Royal Mail would be interested in them, too.” His voice curled with irony as he added, “But though there’s little justice for the wicked in this land, there are loopholes, now and then. I didn’t want them to find any. Bribes, blackmail, luck—oh, there are ways a villain can escape his fate. So I thought it best they never got even so far as Tyburn tree. They won’t. The gents that run the coaching lines will see to that. Don’t trouble yourself. It’s over. They’re gone.”
    He straightened and stared at her. “Now, why the devil are you chasing after the chit? And why were you such a fool as to meet those devils alone, in the dark? Or were you meeting them for the first time? Are you as innocent as you pretend, after all?”
    “I met them because I was a fool,” she said sadly. Her eyes widened. “But the serving girl? Is she in league with them?”
    “She’s in league with whoever’s got coins in their pocket. Forget her. More. Tell me more.”
    “I told you, I’m Rosalind’s companion, or was. When she disappeared they blamed me for not keeping closer watch on her. I couldn’t bear the way they were looking at me. The Runner in charge, Mr. Murchison, suggested I leave for a spell.” She raised one hand. “I know. I think he might have wanted me to leave so someone could follow to see where I was going. But I changed coaches and believe I fooled whoever that was several miles back on the road, and he lost my trail.”
    “Now, why would you do a thing like that?” he asked softly, but with new interest.
    Her temper flared. “Because if you’d been accused, if not in so many words, of being in league with a runaway heiress, and then, when you were already packed and ready to go visit with your old governess, and then, and only then, remembered your charge might have given you a hint of where she was off to”—she drew in a much needed breath—“would you have changed your story?”
    He laughed. “I wouldn’t be doing any of that, so I couldn’t say. But I can sympathize. I’m not fond of Runners, though I’ve met one of two who are decent enough. Murchison is, by the way.”
    She stared. “You know him?”
    “Yes,” he said and finally moved. He began to pace her little room. “So where is she going?”
    She hesitated. “What is your interest in this, sir? You said you’re a gypsy, but you don’t sound or look