“I beg your pardon.” Royce did not look at her. A muscle jumped in his jaw. “My behavior was inexcusable.” He marched to the door and opened it, then turned back. “Lock your door—and that window.” He hesitated, then finally, with a stiff nod, said, “I shall see you tomorrow morning.”
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He turned and left. Mary stood for a moment, staring at the blank door. She could not seem to move or even think. Finally, she went to the door and turned the key, then checked the window to make sure the latch was in place.
Slowly she sank onto the bench at the foot of the bed. She pressed her fingers to her lips, still tingling from Royce’s kisses. What had she done? What had she been thinking? And how in the world was she going to face Royce again?
The group that assembled the next morning around the breakfast table was a sluggish one—all of them bleary-eyed and quiet, their movements a trifle slow. Even Miss Dalrymple was not her usual self, not even correcting the girls once.
Mary, her eyes smudged dark with lack of sleep, came into the room last. She cast a quick glance around the chamber, her eyes lighting immediately on Royce, then just as quickly flitting away to each of her sisters. She slipped into her seat and was grateful to have a cup of coffee poured for her instead of the ubiquitous tea.
As she sipped it, she studied the others once more. Rose yawned, her eyes dull, her gestures listless. Even Lily, usually full of chatter, was silent, toying with her food. Anger welled in Mary. She might be a little sleepy—she’d had the devil of a time trying to fall asleep again last night—but at least she was not suffering from the effects of a narcotic. Clearly the dose had been large—the man could have seriously harmed one of them. What if one of her sisters had simply not awakened from her sleep?
She brought her cup down with a snap. “Do any of you remember anything about last night?”
Everyone but Royce turned a blank stare upon her.
“What do you mean, Mare?” Camellia frowned at her. “About supper?”
“No, about the enormous din I created screaming.” Several mouths dropped open. “You were drugged. And someone tried to abduct Rose.”
A babble of questions followed this pronouncement, and Mary went through the story in more detail—leaving out everything that had happened after she and Royce returned to her bedchamber. There was a long moment of silence after she finished.
“I cannot believe we missed the whole thing!” Lily cried rather petulantly.
“I know. The only excitement in days, and we were sound asleep,” Camellia added in disgust. “I wish I had had a crack at the man.”
“Yes, your gun might have come in quite handy,” Royce offered, a twinkle in his eyes. “I presume you sleep with it under your pillow.”
“Don’t be daft.” Camellia sent him a scornful look. “It was in my bag, not even loaded.” She brightened. “I shall take it out now, though, and carry it with us. Do you think there’s a chance he will try again?”
“Camellia!” Rose exclaimed. “Don’t even say such a thing!”
“Well,” Miss Dalrymple said with the air of one making a pronouncement, “I must say, I have never had this sort of thing happen at any of my other places of employment.”
“I daresay,” Royce agreed mildly. “No doubt the earl would have been reluctant to hire you if kidnappings had been a regular occurrence at your places of employment. However, I suspect that you might as well get used to such things now.”
Miss Dalrymple goggled at him.
“Who do you suppose it was?” Lily asked. “Do you think it was like the wicked Duc de Montclair, and he saw Rose from afar and lusted after her?”
Miss Dalrymple let out a gasp. “Miss Lily! Mind your language.”
Wrapped up in her story, Lily went on, “Maybe he saw you in London, Rose, and he followed us here, and then he stole you, intending to have his way with you.”#p#分页标题#e#
“Honestly, Lily, you and Camellia act as if you’re glad someone tried to carry me off !” Rose glared at her sister.
“No, of course not. But you must admit, it’s the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to us.” Lily fell silent, looking somewhat chastened.
Rose turned to Mary, a question in her eyes, and Mary knew she was thinking about Cosmo, just as she had. Mary gave her a subtle shake of her head, and Rose said nothing.
“I know who it could be!” Lily exclaimed, snapping her fingers, her momentary constraint vanished. “That man who followed us the other day! You said that the man last night was large, and so was he.”