think of any reason why you should say that if it werenât true,â she said pensively. âBut then, I cannot think of any reason why Aunt Charity should claim to be taking me there and actually be taking me in the opposite direction, either.â
âNor why she should give you something that would make you sleep so soundly you wouldnât even wake when she carried you to the room of the most disreputable person she could find, undressed you, and put you into bed with him? Aha!â he cried, slapping the tabletop. âDisreputable. That was the word I was searching for.â
âDo you have to sound so pleased about it?â
âI canât help it. You have no idea how irritating it has been, not being able to come up with the words I want,â he said, wiping the gravy from his plate with the last slice of her bread.
Her bread. The bread sheâd ordered.
Though, to be fair, he had shared some of his own meal with her. If he had taken the last slice of her bread, at least heâd made up for it by sharing his steak and onions.
âI wasnât talking about that,â she protested.
âWhat, then?â
âI meant about the conclusions you have drawn.â
âWell, Iâm pleased about them, too. That is that things are becoming clear.â
âAre they?â
âYes.â He finished the bread, picked up his tankard, emptied that, and sat back with a satisfied sigh. âI have ruled Hugo out of the equation. You,â he said, setting the tankard down on the tabletop with a sort of a flourish, âare an heiress. And villains are trying to swindle you out of your inheritance. First of all they told everyone they were going to take you to Bath, and then set off in the opposite direction. Where exactly they planned to take you, and what they planned to do when they got there, we may never know. Because one of the horses went lame and they were obliged to rack up at The Bull. Where they were shown to rooms on the very top floor.â
He leaned forward slightly.
âThere were only three rooms on that floor, if you recall. Yours, mine, and I presume theirs?â
She nodded.
âYour aunt saw me, reached an unflattering conclusion about my integrity on account of my black eye and travel-stained clothing, and decided to make the most of what must have looked like a golden opportunity to dispose of you. You have already admitted that you believe your aunt gave you some sort of sleeping draught.â
âWell, I suppose she might have done. I didnât think it was anything more than hot milk at the time, butââ
âHow they managed to administer something similar to me is a bit of a puzzle,â he said, cutting her off mid-sentence. âBut let us assume they did. Once I lay sleeping heavily they carried you to my room, safe in the knowledge that there would be no witnesses to the deed since we were isolated up there.â
She shuddered. She couldnât bear to think of Mr Murgatroyd touching her, doing who knew what to her while she was insensible. Oh, she hoped heâd left the room before her aunt had undressed her. At least she could be certain he hadnât done that himself. Aunt Charity would never have permitted it.
âThen, in the morning,â Gregory continued, âthey set up a bustle, pretending to search for you. They must have summoned the landlord and dragged him up all those stairs, attracting a crowd on the way so that they could all witness you waking up naked in my bed.â
âThere is no need to look so pleased about it. It was horrid!â
His expression sobered.
âI beg your pardon,â he said. âBut you see I have led a very dull, regulated sort of existence until very recently. Suffocatingly boring, to be perfectly frank. And I had come to the conclusion that what I needed was a bit of a challenge. What could be more challenging than taking on a pair of villains trying
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