"I am not crying, and don't be so rude."
"Now I'm rude, when it is you who has insulted me? You are an exhausting woman, Miss March."
Like a hot air balloon, she seemed to deflate.
"Actually, you are not the first person to say that."
"Imagine my surprise," Jacob muttered. "Now, back to the matter at hand, if you please."
She nodded.
"You said you believed your life was also in danger."
"I should not have said that, because that does not matter. What matters is that you help poor Lady Revel."
"Of course it matters if someone is intent on harming you, especially if the two issues are related. Now tell me what happened."
She thought about that briefly, her hands making little fanning motions on her skirts.
"Two days after I was dismissed, I tried to sneak upstairs and into Lady Revel's rooms, but that heinous cur saw me."
"For the purposes of this discussion, please call him Lord Revel."
"If I must," she muttered, and Jacob had to swallow a laugh.
"He threw me out of the house and I told him I would not stop until I found out what he was about. He then said I had better take care, as he would not want an accident to befall me."
"And then an accident befell you?"
She nodded. "I was pushed in front of an oncoming carriage."
"Good God."
"I'm quite agile, so I managed to run in front and it only clipped my boot."
"Hardly the point."
"I was then grabbed and dragged into an alley, but I'm also quite handy with my fists for a small person, and managed to escape."
"Good Lord." Jacob had never felt faint in his life, but right at that moment he thought the timing would be perfect.
"The third incident-"
"There's a third?"
"It happened when I went to visit Mr. and Mrs. Hardy, who are dear friends of mine, even if their son is somewhat of a nuisance."
Her face was like an ever-moving collage of expressions; now it was screwed up in concentration.
"Nuisance?" The topic was dire, but he had to admit to enjoying himself now. She was an entertaining woman.
One gray-gloved hand flicked at him.
"Silly fool believes himself in love with me, and presents me with dreadful poetry."
"Pauline?" he asked, almost desperate now to know her name. She shook her head.
"I was leaving Mr. and Mrs. Hardy's house after taking tea, and as I walked along beside the Thames, hands lifted me up and threw me over."
"Into the water?"
She nodded.
Dear God. Now he really did feel faint.
"Luckily, even though I had on my thick coat, I am a good swimmer, as my parents ensured all of us could swim well because we lived beside a river."
"And where are they?"
"Who?" She cast her large eyes his way again.
"Your parents."
"At home, I should imagine, in Kent."
"So that's the accent."
She nodded again.
"So you swam to safety?"
"Actually, I was struggling, and had gone back under the water a few times, but as luck would have it two men saw the fiend throw me in, and came to my aid."
Her eyes looked clear, but that could be a trick of light. He wondered in fact if she was unbalanced, and this entire story was made up.
"Do you not believe me, my lord?" She leaned forward, searching his eyes, and obviously she was not happy with what she saw. Her shoulders drew back and her chin rose. The glare coming from her now was fierce.
"As to that-"
"No, please say no more." She raised a hand, then started for the door before he could stop her. "I have no time to waste on someone who believes I would lie, which, by the way, I never do. I was raised a vicar's daughter, and let me assure you, my lord, that I was forced to read from the bible so many times when I was caught in the act of misconveying the truth, that I no longer do so."
She had the carriage door open now.
"Lie that is, not read the bible. Of course I do that, should I need to... which I don't, as I know it near word bloody perfect."
She spun to face Jacob, looking horrified.
"Forgive me, I had not meant to curse. It seems the circumstances have distressed me more than I had realized."
"Miss March, please just-"
"There is nothing further to say, my lord. I can see you do not believe me; therefore, I shall find someone who does."
"Miss March-"
She jumped from the carriage, which luckily had slowed to turn a corner, and stumbled, then fell on her bottom. She then leapt to her feet and disappeared before he could finish the sentence.
"Good Lord!" Jacob shook his head to clear it. He was a logical man. For the most, he was calm and even-tempered, but right at that moment he wasn't sure if he was standing on his head or feet. "Bloody hell," he said for good measure.