One Penny Surprise (Saved By Desire 1)

e. She prayed she would find a way to get out of the yard without Luke following her now. Rather than answer, she pushed to her feet and glared at him.

“I am sorry, you are out of time. I don’t have any information to give you and really, you should be asking yourself what you saw that morning because you are more likely to have seen something suspicious than me,” she replied calmly but matter-of-factly.

“Oh? How so?”

She wanted to say, ‘because your behaviour is far more suspicious than mine’, but didn’t. Instead she looked at him, then toward the door. “You chase pick-pockets, and you were the only person who saw someone apparently lurking in the woods and gave chase after who was, probably, a murderer. I didn’t.”

Before he could think of a response, she turned around, swept past the man at the bar and hurried out into the coaching yard only to stop at the sight of the confusing number of carriages, people, and horses practically everywhere.

Worried, she turned toward the portly yard manager.

“Please, sir, which is the coach to Cumbria?” Her eyes grew wide with dismay when the manager pointed to the back of a coach that was already rumbling out of the yard. She opened her mouth to call it back but was halted by another hand on her elbow.

“’ere, watch out. You need to stay out of the path of ‘em. They won’t stop for the likes of you.” Whatever else the yard manager said was obliterated by the loud toot of the horn that numbed her ears.

Poppy turned to ask the yard manager when the next carriage to Cumbria was due to depart, but movement within the darkened entrance of the tavern reminded her that Luke and his associate were likely to appear at any moment. Without thinking about what she was going to do now, she hurriedly left the yard.

Luke swore and watched her scurry into the main street. He suspected she had just missed her carriage and had decided to look for somewhere to stay until the next one left. Desperate not to lose her in the grimy streets of London again, he left Marcus to find out when the next one was due to depart and took off after her.

Curious to know where she intended to go now, he tugged the collar of his jacket up to ward off the morning chill, and followed her. He had to stay closer than he usually would when he followed someone because of the thick smog that threatened to swallow her completely, but that didn’t bother him. Right now he didn’t care whether she saw him or not. As far as he was concerned, Fate had just handed him an ace, and he wasn’t prepared to squander it.

“Well, well, well, look who we have here.”

Poppy’s step faltered, and she turned to stare at the owner of the voice that filled her with so much dread. Trying desperately to ignore the fear that made her tremble she tipped her chin up defiantly and glared at the one man in London she least wanted to meet.

“Clarence.”

“Leaving so soon?” Clarence drawled with a nod toward the coaching inn.

“I didn’t realise you were following me,” Poppy snapped. She forced herself to tip her chin up and meet his gaze with as much disinterest as she could muster. She refused to be cowed by him and glared at him with all the venom she felt while she waited for his inevitable demands.

“Did you really think I would let you get away?”

Luke melted into the shadows, mere inches from where Poppy stood and thanked the good Lord for the smog that protected him from prying eyes. Because of the density of it the normal sounds of the street were deadened which helped him to listen to the conversation between Poppy and the stranger without hindrance.

“I am going back to Cumbria to see what can be done about the house,” Poppy retorted.

“It is sold, so has nothing to do with you. You are wasting your time going back there.”

“My belongings are there,” Poppy countered.

“Not any more. They have been sold too. You are wasting your time, and money.” Clarence’s hard gaze slid downward to rest on the bag in Poppy’s hand. “Money that isn’t yours by the way. I want it back.”

“It’s not yours either,” Poppy replied. “I am giving you nothing.”

Clarence took a threatening step forward. His face flooded with anger. Rather than threaten her as she suspected he wanted to do he sucked in a deep breath to calm himself and levelled an evil stare on her instead.

“Give me the money, Poppy. I demand you hand it over. Did you really think you could steal from me and I wouldn’t know about it?”

Poppy didn’t deny lying to him, but she had no intention of being accused of stealing when she hadn’t.

“I am not a thief.”

His lip curled derisively. “You took money that wasn’t yours.”

“It isn’t yours either.” Poppy shook her head but wondered if he could see her through the gloom.

“That money is mine,” Clarence snarled. “You took it from me. Now I want it back.”