“Your cousin Vanessa?”
Cecily nodded her head dolefully. “So, you see, it was not only me that was quite deceived.”
“I take it Vanessa is very young,” Mina said dryly.
“Oh no, she is nineteen, quite the same age as me,” said Cecily naively and Mina reflected that Hill school had not prepared her for the snares of fortune hunters at all.
“I take it that Sir Matthew was not aware of this connection?”
Cecily quailed and shook her head. “N-no,” she admitted. “You see, Mr. Brinton said that his reputation had been sadly soiled by some unfair rumors which meant my guardian would quite take against him, if he knew of our friendship. Vanessa agreed that it seemed most unjust.”
“So now it turns out those rumors are likely well-founded,” Mina pointed out.
Cecily’s bottom lip wobbled. “Y-yes,” she agreed, ducking her head. “Oh Miss Walters,” she gulped. “Whatever am I going to do? Sir Matthew is going to be so very angry with me!”
After some gentle but firm questioning as she poured the tea, Mina ascertained that the most Mr Brinton had subjected Cecily to had been some rough words and a little manhandling. Cecily had most imprudently allowed herself to be persuaded to sneak out of a tea party to meet with him in the garden of her unsuspecting host. She had then been bundled quite roughly into a waiting carriage and threatened with all manner of eventualities if she ‘played Mr Brinson false’.
Mina was not sure if the scoundrel had meant to actually marry Cecily or to blackmail her guardian for her quiet return, she only knew that she had to do her best to try and minimize any damage Cecily might have wrought upon her reputation. Speed was really was going to be of the essence, she thought as she watched Cecily force down a piece of bread and butter and drink a cup of milky tea. It occurred to Mina, that her old pupil had not evinced any curiosity whatsoever as to how Mina had wound up at The Merry Harlot. Such was youth, caught up only in its own toils and troubles, she thought wryly.
“I’m going to have to go back downstairs now,” Mina said firmly. “To see if I can find some conveyance to take you home.”
“Oh!” Cecily’s eyes widened. “But couldn’t I stay with you, Miss Walters?” she pleaded, looking much younger than her nineteen years.
Mina reached across and patted her hand. “Cecily, you must see that your return is imperative. If you were to remain away from home overnight without your guardian’s permission, I’m afraid your reputation would be quite ruined.”
Cecily’s lower lip wobbled. “But I would be with you,” she said. “No one could be more respectable!”
Mina sighed. “You sit here and finish your supper. I will be back shortly.” She wasn’t looking forward to this interview with Nye. Indeed, she suspected he would be most angry when he knew how she had willfully misled everyone earlier. For an instant, she remembered how he had referred to her as his woman, and the color in her cheeks deepened. She couldn’t focus on that right now. She needed to sort out this situation with Cecily.
A quick scout around downstairs for Nye was fruitless, and Mina deduced he must be in the public bar. She would have to use strategy, she thought with determination, as he had expressly forbidden her from entering the taproom. Thoughtfully, she took up the hurricane lamp from the hall and carried it out of the front door and into the yard outside.
Pausing there a moment, she lifted it above her head and then slowly made her way across the courtyard in the direction of the stables, giving everyone plenty of time to spot her out of the window. Sure enough, she had only just reached the stable entrance when she heard the door of the inn wrenched open and a hurried step on the cobbles.
Concealing her smile of triumph, she dodged into the stable and then turned to calmly face her pursuer. Sure enough, it was Nye, a thunderous frown on his face.
“What the hell are you doing out here?” he demanded as soon as he’d swung inside.
“Ah good, there you are,” she greeted him briskly. “I need your help with a matter concerning an ex-pupil of mine.”
He stared at her. “What?”
“I need to get her back to a place called Upton-Gadsby that’s at least a forty minutes from here if I can take Cecily’s word,” she explained. “It’s a matter of the utmost urgency.”
“Back to?” he repeated blankly.
“Yes. She’s here and she needs to be there.”
“Well, what the hell is she doing here?” he demanded, his voice rising with ire.
“I’m afraid there was something of a misunderstanding,” Mina said evasively.
His gaze narrowed. “Such as?”
“Can we not focus on that right now? I really do need to get her home post-haste, or she will face some rather dire repercussions.”
He huffed out a frustrated breath. “You always talk like that?” he asked.
“Like what?”
He shrugged. “I’ve not got much book-learning,” he said cryptically.
“Oh,” Mina paused. “You seem to follow my meaning just fine,” she said a trifle awkwardly. After all, would it not be a far worse thing if she talked down to him?
He shot her another straight look. “Upton-Gadsby?”
“Yes,” she agreed. “Do you know it?” He gave a short nod. “Do you have a conveyance, or could you get a hold of one?” She hesitated. “I could pay.” He lifted a brow at that. “It seems I still have a half-sovereign at my disposal,” she added boldly.
He gave no response to that, just stared into space a moment. “So, this solves
