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‘I don't have any plans to assassinate your friend!’
‘Don’t you? So, that look that said you’d like to ram a knife into his back, you give that to everybody?’
I promptly gave it to him, which seemed to amuse him to no end. He lifted his hand to his face to hide a chuckle.
‘I see. May I have the honour of learning your name, Miss, so I can denounce you at Scotland Yard when the deed is done?’
‘I,’ I said, with as much disdain as I could pack into my voice, ‘am Miss Lillian Linton.’ Unfortunately, there wasn’t as much disdain in my voice as I’d hoped, which probably came from the fact that some part of me was rather amused by the stranger and his waist full of tigers. ‘And I assure you, I have no intention of murdering Sir Philip. Why would I? He is courting my sister.’
‘Well, that alone would be a good reason,’ Captain Carter said cheerfully.
My mouth dropped open.
‘I- I thought he was your friend!’
‘He is. He’s also the biggest nincompoop between here and Yorkshire. I pity the lady who links her life with his. But fortunately, that’s not going to happen any time soon.’
At that, my face suddenly became deadly serious again. For a moment, this strange man had distracted me, but now it all came rushing back - Ella, Wilkins, the approaching proposal.
‘Did I say something wrong?’ Captain Carter enquired, obviously noticing my dark mood.
‘Not as such,’ I mumbled. ‘It’s just that I think you’re wrong.’
‘Wrong? Wrong in what way?’
‘In supposing that your friend wo
uld not marry for a long time.’
‘Why? Has he finally found a victim?’
I scowled at him. His amused, cavalier attitude made my blood boil. ‘Of course! Didn’t I just say he was courting my sister? He wants to marry her!’
‘You said he was courting her, all right,’ he agreed. ‘But the one doesn't necessarily imply the other. Not with him, anyway.’
I blinked, taken aback, the anger going out of me. ‘What the heck is that supposed to mean?’
‘That’s supposed to mean that if old Flip had married every woman he’d ever courted, he’d have a harem to rival that of King Tamba of Benares.’
‘Who?’
‘King Tamba of Benares. He was a 6th century king in India, and, according to some of the Hindu legends, he had a city of sixteen thousand women available to fulfil his every-’
Hastily, I interrupted him before he could go into any more detail. ‘I don't care about any King Tamba! Are you seriously suggesting that Sir Philip Wilkins does not intend to marry my sister, after courting her for several weeks?’
‘Certainly.’
‘But he has come to her house practically every day!’
‘A man has to spend his time in some way, doesn't he?’
‘He sent her flowers! Masses of flowers!’
‘He is a passionate botanist. Maybe you have noticed he likes flowers in general?’
‘Likes is not the word I would have chosen, Captain Carter.’
His lips twitched. Apparently, he really did know Sir Philip. At least well enough to know his interests.
