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He took a step toward her She turned fro her focus to the boy "I suppose I did"

"But you don’t even know us"

"You didn’t know me, and you tried to savewhile "We don’t need to know a person to kno to do right by them"

That seemed to make sense to the boy, and after a pause, he nodded and rose, going to help the young woman who appeared to have received a terrible blow to the head

King could no longer hold hi that came to mind, words fueled by panic and fury "That was an incredibly stupid thing to do"

Sophie pushed herself to her feet slowly "I was feeling nostalgic for your insults" He ignored the guilt that cahed "I suppose you came for your money"

I came to save you, you madwoman, he suddenly, irrationally wanted to say I caet his e for her childish behavior the night before

He’d co that she was not his problem

And, thankfully, she was unhars"

She shook her head "I can’t give it all to you I need soet me north To keep me until my father can send more" She paused "I shall pay you back With interest"

He crossed his arht now And I will pay your passage back to London Today No e and I don’t want you setting foot on terra firma until you reach the city limits Far from me"

She lifted her chin "No"

He shook his head "You don’t have a choice You stole froistrate for these idiots," he said, indicating the le stone, if we need to" He leaned forward and whispered, "I wonder what they do to thieves out here in the middle of nowhere?"

She stiffened "You wouldn’t"

He narrowed his gaze "Trythe way she paled at his threat "It’s what I do, darling"

She stumbled then, and he noticed that she was not simply pale She hite Dread pooled as he stepped forward to catch her as her gaze lost focus for a long moment, then returned to hiiven youperoing to like what comes next, then," He held her in one arm and opened the buttons on her liveried coat

She batted his hands away "Are youthe fabric aside "Shit"

"And now you are cursing in front of ine you don’t, as you’ve been shot"

"What? No I haven’t" She struggled as he guided her to the ground and worked her coat off She clasped his hand firaze "I haven’t been shot"

"All right," he said, returning his attention to his work "You haven’t been shot"

"I would know if I’d been shot"

"I’es of the linen shirt beneath, rending the fabric in two to get to the wound

"Stop!" she shrieked, her hands co to cover her bare skin "Scoundrel! You cannot simply access wohed at the words if he hadn’t been so worried "I assure you that I rarely have to resort to tearing clothing in order to access wo"

"That’s because you’ve been shot," he said, extracting a clean handkerchief fro it firmly to the wound in her shoulder He pulled her forward to look at the back of her "The bullet is still inside We have to get you to a surgeon"

She didn’t reply, and he looked up to find her unconscious "Shit," he said again "Goddaood cheek with his hand "Sophie Wake up"

She opened her eyes for a moment, then let them fall closed

Goddammit