A Bright Particular Star (13 page)

S
he stepped out
from behind her protector
, exclaiming,
“
You!
”

Mr
Grey smiled disarmingly.
“
A pleasant surprise, I hope, Miss
Devereux
. My apologies for intruding, but I had no idea you intended to travel so far from home today.
”

“
Nor I you!
”
Soph
ie regarded him with suspicion
.
“
You made no mention of it this morning.
”

“
It was a spur of the moment decision.
”
Without taking his eyes from her face,
Mr
Grey added in a matter of fact tone,
“
Put
your pistol away,
Mr
Cavanagh.
I’m
sure you
’
ve no real desire to shoot me
,
and saddling the landlord
with a corpse at this hour
would prove an inconvenience
.
”

Theo
did
not do as he was bid.
Instead, he brought the
pi
stol into
full
view and watched
Mr
Grey through narrowed eyes.
“
I’m
protecting Miss
Devereux
’s
interests.
”

Grey
’s
enigmatic gaze swept over him
.
“
I have no quarrel with that.
You appear to be well-versed in the sport of shooting
…
that
’s
a fine
-
looking pocket piece.
Manton
’s
, I
fancy?
”
He indicated
Theo
’s
short
barrelled pistol
.

“
Made to my specificatio
ns,
”
h
e replied,
a trace of pride in his voice
as he held
up
th
e pistol
for
closer inspection
.
“
As sweet an act
ion as you
’
ll find anywhere.
S
uperb balance too.
”

“
I
’
ll take your word for it.
Do you visit the shooting gallery for practice?
”

“
Yes, a
nd I can take the top
pip out of the five of diamonds at fifteen yards.
”

“
Admirable
!
”
Mr
Grey
strolled
further into the room
.
“
We must test our skill
sometime
.
I’m
a visitor
of
Manton
’s
too.
”

“
Is
that where I
’
ve seen you before?
”
asked Theo, his brow creasing
.

“
I d
oubt
it
.
M
y
sessions
always
take place in private.
”

“T
he devil they do!
”
said Theo, momentarily
diverted.
“
How did you arrange
that?
”

“
I
’
ll tell you if you
’
ll put your
pistol away,
”
replied his companion, in a dry voice, pulling at the fingers of his driving gloves.
“
I’m
sure you
’
ve ascertained by now that I present no danger to Miss
Devereux
, or to yourself.
May I join you for a while?
”

Theo glanced
at Sophie
.
When she nodded, he
shrugged and
replaced the pist
ol in his boot.
He drew a
chair from by the
wall and placed
it at the table, saying,
“
Please do
…
we
’d
like to know why you are here.
”

“
And why have you been following us,
”
added Sophie, s
itting down opposite their visitor
.
“
It was you, wasn
’t
it?
”

Mr
Grey
stretched out one long
, top-booted leg.
“
Following is a rather simplistic description, Miss
Devereux
.
As I said, it was a last minute decision to travel to London
.
When I stopped at
T
he Castle, I found the landlord in an agitated state o
v
er the
disruption that had taken place
earlier.
He was all too willing to pour the tale of M
elville
’s
iniquity
into my ear.
When he d
escribed
Mr
Cavanagh
’s
travelling companion I felt sure it must be you, having had the p
leasure of meeting you both
this morning.
Naturally, I was surprised
.
I had no idea you were plann
ing a journey
and
,
in the circumstances
,
I confess, a little concerned for your welfare.
You introduced
Mr
Cavanagh
as
an acqu
aintance but even so, I determined to
satisfy myself that you were safe
.
I soon caught up and
kept my distance, content to observe for a time.
You seemed to be a passenger of your own free will, but I wanted to make sure Cavanagh was be
having in an honourable fashion—
”

Theo uttered a choked protest,
“D
euced
cheek!
”

Mr
Grey raised amused brows but pressed on,
“
Everything seemed normal, but I still needed to satisfy my curiosity, and my conscience.
Having guessed you would b
e st
aying at
T
he Pelican
overnight
, I dec
ided
to
see if you needed any assistance.
Peregrine would desire me to do that much at least.
”

“
Have yo
u spoken to him today?
”
she asked
in an urgent voice.

“
Peregrine?
I have not seen him
since yesterday.
”

“T
hank goodness
!
”
cried
Sophie.
When
Mr
Grey looked a query, she explained
,
“
I am anxious neither he nor my aunt
learn of my direction
.
”

“
I see.
”
Mr
Grey
’s
prescient
gaze
searched her face.
“
And Miss Sloane
…
does she know where you are
going
?
”

“
Yes.
”

A frown marred
his brow.
“
Won
’t
it
place her in a difficult position if she is pressed by her brother or
Mrs
Sloane?
”

“
Olivia will not betray me,
”
she replied.
“
I hope you will not either.
”

“
I would not betray a confidence, even if
I had the opp
ortunity.
”
Then, after a
hesitation, he went on
,
“
Pardon me, Miss
Devereux
, but was it not a little thoughtless to take your cousin into your plans and then leave her to deal with the consequences of your flight?
”

A
deep
flush stole into Sophie
’s
cheeks.
“
I did not feel comfortable about doing so, but Olivia was all encouragement for it.
You are not well acquainted with my family
or
my situation
, but I assure you I had good re
asons for leaving
as I did.
”

A half-smile curved
Mr
Grey
’s
mouth.
“
Your exact circumstances and destination are none of my business, of course, but I hope you will understand my concern and forgive my intrusion into your private dinner.
”

The flush on Sophie
’s
cheeks darkened to crimson
and she eyed him with resentment
.
“
We are not eloping if that is what you are thinking
!
”

“
I offered to escort Miss
Devereux
to London
,
”
interjected Theo
in a curt voice
.
“T
here
’s
nothing havey-cavey about it!
”

“D
ear me, no,
”
drawled
Mr
Grey, his brows lifting in
an expression of
innocent
surprise.
“
I would not suggest for a moment you had undertaken so crude a course.
”

“
Olivia will join me in London
soon
,
”
said Sophie.

“
Will she indeed?
”
he murmured.
“
And what of Peregrine?
Surely he will try to find you when he
discovers
you have left
.
He led me to
believe there was an
…
er
…
understanding between you.
”

“
Not on my side,
”
she assured him.
“
I hope to reach London bef
ore Peregrine finds me.
N
ow you see why I am
anxious he does not learn of my whereabouts.
”

“
I see.
Well, he
shall not learn of it from me,
”
replied
Mr
Grey.

Theo,
who had been
studying t
he other man
’s
profile intently
, remarked,
“
I
know
I have seen you somewhere before.
”

Mr
Grey flicked him a glance.
“
We have already
determined
it is not Manton
’s
.
”

“
Elsewhere in London then,
”
said
Theo, his brows knit in concentration
.

“
Most
likely,
”
Grey
replied
.
“
You could have seen me at any number of events.
”

“
It wasn
’t
at the usual places
, but for the life of me I can
’t
recall where.
”