Otherwise Engaged by Amanda Quick Read Free Book Online Page A

unfolded his napkin. “This is just what I need.”
    She beamed and poured coffee into his cup.
    He forked up a bite of eggs and looked at Amity.
    “Tell me what happened,” he said. “I trust the press has exaggerated somewhat?”
    Penny responded before Amity could say a word.
    “Unfortunately, the incident occurred very much as the press portrayed it,” Penny said.
    “Except for the bit about me fleeing the carriage in my nightgown,” Amity said grimly. “That was a gross exaggeration. I was fully clothed, I assure you.”
    Before he could respond to that, Penny continued with the story.
    “A vicious killer they call the Bridegroom seized Amity right off the street in broad daylight and tried to overcome her with chloroform,” she said.
    “Chloroform.” Benedict felt his insides turn to ice. If the killer had been able to render Amity unconscious, it was unlikely that she would have escaped. “Damn it to bloody hell.”
    He realized that Penny and Mrs. Houston were looking at him.
    “My apologies for the language,” he said.
    It occurred to him that he had apologized twice before even finishing breakfast.
    Amity raised her brows. He got the impression that she was amused. It was, he reflected, not the first time that she had heard him swear. Nevertheless, he was back in London now. There were rules.
    “Fortunately, I was able to employ my fan before the chloroform took effect,” Amity said. “I leaped out of the carriage and ran for my life.”
    He frowned thinking about it. “Who drove the carriage?”
    “What?” Amity frowned. “I have no idea. It was a private carriage so I assume the coachman was in the employ of the killer.”
    He gave that some close thought. “It was a private carriage?”
    “Yes. In the rain, I mistook it for a cab.” Amity’s gaze sharpened. “What are you thinking, sir?”
    “That the coachman is either an accomplice or a member of the criminal class who was hired for the occasion and paid to keep his mouth shut. Either way, he will know something that could help identify the killer.”
    Amity’s eyes widened. “An excellent notion. You must mention that to Inspector Logan.”
    Benedict shrugged and ate a bite of sausage. “It’s an obvious avenue of investigation. I’m sure the police are pursuing it.”
    Amity assumed an ominous expression. “I would not depend upon that, if I were you.”
    Penny looked thoughtful. “Until Amity’s escape no one knew how the other brides were taken. They simply disappeared.”
    Benedict ate some more eggs while he pondered that. Then he looked at Amity.
    “Why you?” he asked.
    She frowned. “What?”
    “Do you have some notion of why, out of all the women in London, the killer selected you as a victim?”
    Amity looked at Penny, who cleared her throat discreetly.
    “I assume that you are unaware of the gossip, Mr. Stanbridge,” she said.
    “Gossip flows through London like the Thames.” He picked up his coffee cup. “What gossip in particular are you referring to?”
    This time it was Amity who answered.
    “The gossip about us, Mr. Stanbridge,” she said coldly.
    He paused the cup halfway to his mouth and looked at her over the rim. “Us?”
    She gave him an icy smile. “There has been a great deal of idlespeculation in certain circles about the nature of our association on board the
Northern Star
.”
    He went quite blank. “What in blazes do you mean? We were fellow passengers on board a ship.”
    Penny narrowed her eyes. “There have been rumors to the effect that your relationship with Amity was of an intimate nature.”
    “Well, she did save my life, which could certainly be viewed as an intimate sort of connection.” He stopped, aware that Amity and Penny were both looking at him in a decidedly odd manner. Belatedly, comprehension finally arrived.
    Thunderstruck, he looked at Amity. “Do you mean to say that there are rumors that you and I were lovers?”
    Mrs. Houston snorted and became very busy