“What’s a Neds?” Welton asked.
“Ned Harris. My farmhand,” I said. “You offered him popcorn on the street yesterday.”
“Two-headed chap?”
“Yes.”
“Got it. Go on.”
“He asked me to leave with him. I was getting dressed when Robert broke into my room with a gun.”
“Lies,” Robert said.
“Not your turn to speak,” Welton said around a yawn. “But there was a gun fired in this home—your gun, I believe. We need to settle that—between Houses, if needed—before we deal with anything else.”
He pushed up off the couch and scrubbed his fingertips over his scalp, pulling his bangs back and shaking them, then letting them fall in a mess. “Coffee?” He shuffled to the kitchen, poured himself a cup, and looked over at me.
“No. What more do you need to know?”
He held the pot up toward Robert. “Rob? Coffee?”
Robert frowned and gave Welton a look of complete distaste.
“What crawled up your ass today, Robert?” Welton asked with a chuckle. “Has Slater been using you as a pillory boy again?”
“I was simply trying to keep Matilda safe from the intruder,” Robert said. “I had no intention of using deadly force.”
“Which is why you took your nondeadly gun into the room with you?” Welton asked. “I am assuming you’re not going to deny that you had the gun. Is this correct?”
“Yes. To defend Matilda from that . . . shortlife.”
Welton raised his eyebrows as he took a gulp of coffee. “And I see you’ve picked up Slater’s bigotry too. You really should trade up, man. Come on over to House Yellow. I’m sure Foster would love a fellow galvanized to play with.”
Foster was pacing the perimeter of the room. He grunted once, which made Welton grin.
“All right, Matilda,” Welton said. “Anything else? Spare no detail.”
“Neds asked me to leave with him. He said I was in danger, and then Robert came through the door with a gun. He threatened to shoot Neds. I stood in the way of his shot, kicked him, twisted his arm to make him drop the gun.”
Buck, who hadn’t taken his eyes off Robert said, “There are no guns allowed here. No weapons allowed, ever. You know that. Why in the world would you bring one with you?”
“I was concerned about Matilda’s safety.”
“And why would that be?” Welton asked.
Robert just glared at him. “Some matters remain within House.”
“That’s a dick reply,” Welton said with a grin. “All right, let’s declare someone guilty of something, mete out a price, and get moving. Robert Twelfth. Did you enter Matilda Thirteenth’s room with intent to do her or her House harm?”
“No, I did not,” he said.
“Matilda Thirteenth, do you wish to dispute his claim to innocence?”
I glanced at Abraham. He shook his head slightly.
“No. Is this done now?”
Welton held up one finger, so I waited.
