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She was not in the least iance, she told herself, though her heart proceeded to raise a fuss all the same

“How dare you?” she said, rather breathlessly “I a a hole” She lifted her chin and turned to leave

He seized her wrist “What you are capable of is beside the point I’ll do what needs to be done, and that doesn’t include spending the night worrying about the safety of a rash female”

Worrying? Was he truly anxious about her safety? Really, that was rather quaint of hiainst her ribs Then she became acutely aware of the hand closed about her wrist and asensation of weakness in her limbs Baffled, she stared hard at his hand He quickly released her

“Excuse me,” he said “I did not mean to manhandle you”

“No, I suppose not,” she answered, feeling dreadfully confused “Not unless I’ather”

He gave her a faint smile “But you won’t be, will you, Miss Desmond? You won’t try my patience, I hope?”

Miss Deshed and promised to do as he bid

Chapter Twelve

As he learned a while later, Mr Langdon had not told falsehoods after all There had indeed been a summons for Lord Berne, who had already left to accompany his parents back to Streetha Hall

Relieved that he would not have to endure his friend’s quizzing, Jack quickly set about preparing for his evening’s skullduggery The first order of business was to get rid of his valet, as given the night off Though Mr Fellows lingered in the house until after dinner—to make certain his master donned proper attire—he did leave at last, and Jack could ransack his oardrobe free of prying eyes and ironic comments

Eventually he found an old set of clothing suitable to his purposes After donning these, he sat doith a volume of Andrew Marvell’s poetry to wait

Delilah had intended, as soon as she returned to the house, to inform her father of Atkins’s apparent treachery She could not Mr Desone out and did not plan to return until very late that evening, Lady Potterby disapprovingly inforrand-niece

“Soht, I suppose,” Lady Potterby muttered “But that is to be expected I only wonder he has remained so quietly at home all this time”

As predicted, he did not return for dinner and when, several hours later, he had not yet put in an appearance, Delilah decided this was just as well She really ought not say anything to hione Otherwise he et himself taken up for assault on an innocent man

Since no festivities were scheduled for tonight, the householddismissed her maid, Delilah was curled up in theseat of her bedcha out at the darkened expanse of park towards Rossing Hall

She would have preferred a view of the garden, but her roo side of the house As it was, she doubted she’d be able to see anything, even if Mr Langdon did co whether he would

Still, she waited and watched as the old clock in the hall downstairs tolled eleven o’clock, thenwhen she discerned a faint light an pounding

Lud, wasn’t that just like hirooms was up and about in his quarters by the stable and spied the light?

Jack darkened his lantern and placed it on the ground Having decided that, if caught, he would si a spade, which he now plunged into the earth He had just emptied his third shovelful when he heard a faint creak, then rustling There was a light patter of footsteps, and Jack looked up to see a dark figure approaching It was not a tall, dark figure He uttered a sigh

“I told you to keep away,” he whispered as the figure drew near “Must you be so pigheaded?”

The object of his rebuke hesitated but a don was able to ascertain that Miss Desmond had thrown on a coat obviously not her own The coat, which dragged on the ground, would have coh she clutched her large wrapping tightly about her, a peep of white at the neck and another near the toes sufficiently indicated as beneath