A Bright Particular Star (22 page)

A stout man with bushy eyebrows and a nightcap askew on his bald head complained bitterly about the fracas and the dramatic tendencies of the weaker sex.
In doom-ridden accents, he said his wife had suffered an attack of the vapours as a result and was now sitting up in bed, shaking like a blancmange.

These observations incensed another onlooker, a large, avuncular-looking man who briskly adjured the stout man to shut his mummer
—
couldn
’t
he see the young lady was upset and had suffered a shock?
The first guest took exception to this, jutting
out his chin and replying
when he had paid good money to stay at a hostelry, he didn
’t
expect his slumbers to be disturbed by the smashing down of doors and a scream that made his hair stand on end.

Raising his brows, the avuncular-looking man observed in a dry voice
this was unlikely
since it must have been years since that billiard ball had seen any hair.

A
large-bosomed lady, whose
grey curls were bobbing up and down vigorously under the lace night cap tied under her chin,
then
declared she felt sorry for Sophie, but was ready to faint
herself at the thought
of lunatics, murderers
or rakes on the loose.

Mr
Grey
’s
smooth
voice intervened into th
e
mêlée
.
“
In my opinion it
is odiously ill-mannered to argue
in this fashion in front of distressed ladies.
”
Flashing a
devastating
smile, he kissed the large lady
’s
hand.
“
Madam, pray do not be alarmed.
These gentlemen,
”
—
he indicated Peregrine and Theo
—
“
and I will undertake an investigation with the
landlord as to what has
occurred
here.
You have my word you will not be ravished in your bed.
”

D
isappointment flitted across her features
but
,
blush
ing and
disarmed by his
smile, she collected herself enough to stammer
, “
T
-Thank you,
S
ir!
I feel much better already, knowing
you
will be dealing with the matter.
To be sure, I don
’t
know what the world is a-coming to, what with ladies being accosted in their bedchambers!
At least it gives me comfort to know there are stil
l chivalrous gentlemen like you
who are willing to
protect us defenceless females.
”

Mr
Grey acknowledged this gravely, before
turn
ing
to the landlord.
“S
tir yourself and check the place for intruders
!
We will assist you.
Everyone else should return to their beds; there is nothing more to be done here
at
present.
”
He put
a hand under Olivia
’s
elbow, urging her
sotto voce
to comfort her cousin until he returned.

Theo, who had p
laced
himself between Sophie and the doo
rway, murm
ured
,
“
I
need to help Grey sort this out.
You
’
re cold
…
put something on, and I
’
ll be back soon.
”

Sophie
’s
lips wobbl
ed into a smile.
She
walke
d away, retrieving her shawl from
the floor and wrapping it round her quivering
body.
Shock was setting in.
H
er movements felt strange, mechanical almost, yet she was shaking all over like a leaf in an autumn gale.
Now the room was bathed in candleligh
t, she felt a fraud
.
She knew she had not imagined what had happened, but it seemed fantastical all the same.
Only her scattered belongings rea
ssured her she was not going
mad.

“S
ophie, are you alright?
”
said Olivia, watching her anxiously.

“
Yes
…
now.
”

Olivia lowered her voice.
“D
o you think the person was after the Star?
”

“
I don
’t
know.
As far as I am aware, only
Mr
Cavanagh, Perry and Eudora know I have it
with me, perhaps
Mr
Grey
,
too
,
if Perry has told him.
”

“D
o you trust
Mr
Cavanagh?
”

A faint blush rose to her cheeks.
“D
espite our brief acquaintance, yes, I do,
”
she murmured.
“
Perry is far too indolent to be ransacking rooms at the dead of night.
That leaves
Mr
Grey, but I can
’t
help thinking he would choose a more s
ubtle method
.
More likely to be an opportunist
thief after some easy pickings
…
stupidly, I forgot to lo
ck my door
.
”
Sophie did not want to consider the matter too closely just now
.
T
he idea it was a deliberate attempt to get hold of the Star made her feel even more uncomfortable.

“
One of the servants may have overheard Perry ta
lking and decided to steal it.
Y
ou know how careless he is.
”

“
It
’s
a possibility, but this is a busy inn and people are arriving at all hours.
A stranger could easily slip in and try to take a few trinkets from unlocked rooms.
”

The crowd was slowly dispersing.
Theo, Peregrine and
Mr
Grey had left with the landlord to make a
search.
Only
Eudora remained.
She walked
over, her back ramrod straight
, her manner imperious
.
“
Well, Sophia, you are obviously convinced someone was in your room so I suppose I must take you at your word.
A shocking thing indeed but perhaps, given yo
ur deceit and
your behaviour
, not ent
irely undeserved
.
”

“
Mother!
”
cried Olivia
,
with a fi
erce look.
“T
hat is a dreadful
thing to say!
This has n
othing to do with Sophie
.
She has suffered a terrible
shock and
the least you could do is offer her
sympathy.
”

“
And what sympathy did she extend to me when she dashed off
in that
disgraceful
manner?
”
said
Mrs
Sloane
coldly.
“
One can only h
ope this incident will
bring
her to her senses.
”
She glared
at Sophie.
“T
ake this opportunity to po
nder on your situation, my girl!
I hope in the morning
you will have
decided to return home and marry P
eregrine
. For what is left of the night, you may share Olivia
’s
room.
I am going back to bed before my headache grows any worse.
”

With that, she turned on her heel and marched out.

Sophie watched her de
part
.
“S
he doesn
’t
believe me
.
”

“
Ignore her,
”
commanded Olivia
bluntly.
“
Let
’s
start gathering up your things so you c
an move into my room.
We can
check as we go
to see
if anything has been taken.
”

They began to collect the strewn clothing and other items and it soon became clear nothing was missing.
Even the small amount of coins in her reticule remained untouched.
Shortly
afterward
, Theo returned with
Mr
Grey and Peregrine.

“
A
s I suspected, there were no escaping robbers with sacks full of booty,
”
drawled Peregrine, his hands thrust into the pockets of his dressing gown.
“T
oday
’s
adventures must have given you nightmares.
”

Theo threw him a look full of scorn
.
“
Just because we haven
’t
found an intruder doesn
’t
mean someone wasn
’t
in Miss
Devereux
’s
room.
”

“
Have you checked the wardrobe,
cousin
?
” continued Perry with a mocking smirk.
“
Perhaps the culprit is hiding in there.
”

“
Perry
,
if you don
’t
shut up at once,
I
’
ll hit you o
ver the head
with this
!
”
said
Olivia, wielding Sophie
’s
hairbrush.

He gave a
start of surprise.
“D
ear me, so you have suddenly
discovered some spirit,
”
he sneered,
his eyes boring into her.
“D
on
’t
be a little fool, Olivia!
As if
I would listen to your threats—
”

“S
loane,
”
interpolated
Mr
Grey
in biting accents
,
“
if you aspire to join the ranks of the Four Horse Club, or any othe
r exclusive
club
,
learn not to
ins
ult ladies.
There is no better
i
ndicator of bad manners and lack
of breeding
.
”

Peregrine
’s
bluster fell a
way under
Grey
’s
icy stare.
“
Er
…
of course
.
Olivia knows I don
’t
mean it.
”

His sister raised her brows but made no comment.

“
You must agree it
’s
been a wild goose chase,
Luc,
”
said
Peregrine defensively.
“T
here
’s
noth
ing unusual to be seen anywhere
in the building.
”

Sophie glared at him.
“
I did
not
imagine it!
”

“
I know you didn
’t
,
”
Theo
assured her
.
“T
here
’s
nothing more to be done tonight so I suggest we all go back to bed.
”