His brows lifted. From his expression, she believed he intended to refuse, but then his gaze returned to the uncorked bottle in his hand. He lifted it nearer and inhaled the scent.
Then he drank directly from the bottle.
Mary pressed on at once. “There is a chair beside the dresser, sir. I should welcome some company. Will you sit with me while I eat my supper?”
He did not sit immediately, though his gaze lingered upon the chair. He remained standing while she tore the bread roll in half and dipped it into the broth he had brought her.
The meal was meager. A few vegetables floated in the broth beside a thin piece of mutton. Perhaps he believed distress would have robbed her of appetite.
Mary ate with deliberate slowness to place him at ease and allow the spirits time to work upon him.
The plan succeeded.
She kept silent and avoided looking directly at him, though she heard him drag the chair from the wall and settle into it. She also heard each swallow he took from the bottle.
He had brought pecans with the tray. After finishing the bread and broth, she cracked each nut with care and ate the meat bit by bit.
By the time she finished, he had consumed about a quarter of the bottle.
Ease settled over him now. He slouched low in the chair and grew talkative. His words had begun to slur.
Fear tightened within Mary. Another man might come to investigate why his companion had not returned.
What could she do?
Nothing.
Chapter 30: Into The Night
She could do nothing except wait and pray that he would continue drinking.
She finished the pecans and, lacking any other occupation, she considered what to do next, for she did not risk turning her attention fully upon him. She did not wish to rouse suspicion, so she poured more water into her glass and drank it slowly.
To occupy herself further, she lifted her sleeve and examined the laceration. It was not bleeding. Not deep. It would not require stitches.
She had begun considering what might have inflicted the injury when the man spoke, his words thickened by drink.
“Pardon me, missy. When I grabbed hold of you, I did not expect you to weigh so little, and we both fell into the back of the cart. Your sleeve caught on the iron tines of the hay fork. It tore the cloth and scored your arm.”
Mary looked at him in surprise. She had not expected an apology.
“It is not deep, sir. It shall heal quickly, particularly now that it has been cleaned.”
She drank more water while he took another swallow from the bottle.
His speech was very slurred, and he slouched down low in the chair.
She spoke with care. “Sir, you need not answer if you prefer not to, but I should like to know why I was taken from Rosings Park.”
His eyes narrowed. “Your mother made a bargain with the devil, missy. They stole our goods, and no one steals from the Aldington Gang without paying for it.”
“The Aldington Gang?”
“You have never heard of us? We move goods from France into every part of England.”
Mary inclined her head in acknowledgment. “Ah. I understand. And my mother somehow became entangled in the affair.”
“We were close behind them, and we reckoned they had to hide the goods quick or lose them.”
