“I have not.”
The Bow Street Runner nodded. “I thought not,” he said. “There is nothing worse than watching the life draining out of someone’s eyes. No matter the reason you pulled the trigger, you lose a part of yourself in that moment.”
He gave her a look and continued, “Are you prepared to kill me?”
“I do not want to kill you,” she replied. “I just don’t want to go home to my brother.”
“That didn’t answer my question.”
Georgie kept her firearm unwaveringly aimed at the man before her. “Frankly, I don’t know what I am capable of.”
“Ah, an honest answer,” he said. “I can see it in your eyes. You are no killer.”
“You don’t know me.”
The Bow Street Runner smirked. “I know more about you than you realize.” He aimed his weapon at her. “Your brother requested that you were returned alive, but he never specified if you were to be unharmed.”
Georgie felt dread in the pit of her stomach at his words, mainly because she was afraid of what he might do to her. She wanted to believe that she could save herself by shooting him, but she wasn’t sure if she was strong enough to do what needed to be done.
In a voice that was far more confident that she felt, she said, “If you shoot me, then you will alert the whole orphanage to your presence.”
“I am hoping it won’t have to come to that.” He lowered his aim towards her leg. “It is a terrible thing to be shot. The pain is so intense that you will pray for death.”
Georgie knew what he was trying to do. He was trying to scare her into lowering her weapon, but she wasn’t about to give up so easily.
The Bow Street Runner brought his gaze up. “I chipped a tooth when the doctor removed a bullet,” he said. “I was given a stick to bite down on when he dug it out.”
“I know you are trying to scare me, but it won’t work. I would rather be shot tenfold than be returned to my brother.”
His eyes turned hard. “I thought you were a reasonable chit,” he growled. “I was wrong, and you will suffer for it.”
As he took a commanding step towards her, the door opened, and Alice stepped into the room with a glass in her hand. She let out a loud gasp as the glass slipped from her hand, shattering onto the floor.
The Bow Street Runner let out a groan. “Until next time.” He spun on his heel and shoved past Alice in haste.
Alice stood at the door, frozen in fear.
Georgie lowered her pistol and laid it on the bed. “Alice,” she encouraged. “Are you all right?”
Her lady’s maid blinked. “Why were you pointing guns at one another?”
“My brother hired a Bow Street Runner to bring me home,” she explained, “but he was caught off-guard when I retrieved my pistol from under my pillow.”
“You sleep with a muff pistol?”
“I do,” Georgie replied. “Evie recommended that I start doing so.”
“That was most fortunate.” Alice glanced down at the ground. “Look at the mess that I made. Don’t move, or else you might step on glass.”
The sound of pounding footsteps could be heard coming down the hall. A moment later, Wilson stepped into the room, his hair tousled.
“Is everyone all right?” he asked in between breaths.
Georgie bobbed her head. “A man attempted to abduct me, but Alice thwarted his plan by dropping her glass, alerting everyone to his presence.”
Wilson’s eyes grew wide. “Why would someone try to abduct you?”
“My brother hired a Bow Street Runner to bring me home,” she explained. “This isn’t the first time I have seen him. He tried to take me from the market, as well.”
