She had beautiful blue eyes, though. Instead of lowering them as was the norm, she kept them fixed on Lord Flint, wide and staring, a rabbit keeping sight of the fox.
“Miss Murphy?” Lord Flint greeted her, his voice gentler than it had ever been with Felicity, which made her relax a bit.
Then he smiled, and even Miss Murphy relaxed a bit.
“This is the master, Nora,” Mrs. Windom said. “It's his house you're in.”
Miss Murphy bobbed a curtsy.
“May we speak to you a moment?” Lord Flint asked.
The girl looked over her shoulder into the narrow, bare room. “Er...I...”
“Well, that was maladroit of me, wasn't it?” He looked down at his own staff as if waiting for an idea or chairs, whichever came first.
Felicity shook her head, even more amused. “The Chinese Suite has a lovely little sitting room,” she offered. “Maybe we could go there.”
Flint blinked at her. “How do you know? You haven't moved yet.”
She grinned at him. “There was very little to do the last four days.”
So, they retreated to the Chinese Suite a floor below; Lord Flint and Felicity, anyway. Higgins and Mrs. Windom, not voluntarily, were sent for refreshments.
“Now then,” Flint said, flipping his tails and taking one of the red silk chairs.
Felicity sat on the gold settee. Miss Murphy stood very straight and still next to her until Lord Flint remembered to motion her down into another red silk chair.
“You were brought here by my coachman,” Flint began.
Miss Murphy cast a quick look around, as if expecting eavesdroppers. “I was, my lord.”
“Can you tell me from where?”
“The Three Tuns.”
Flint nodded. “Before that.”
The girl sat mute. Flint waited. Felicity wasn't quite sure what she was supposed to do.
“I asked you a question, Miss Murphy.”
Still he was met with silence.
He got to his feet. The girl flinched, as if expecting attack. It was then Felicity saw the faint shadows along the side of her throat. Bruising. She looked more closely, but with long sleeves, it was impossible to tell if the girl had suffered more injuries.
“Who tried to choke you?” Felicity asked abruptly.
The girl flushed, then went dead white, her eyes huge in her thin face. Flint was staring at Felicity as if she'd lost her mind.
“You are safe here, Miss Murphy,” Felicity promised.
Miss Murphy looked over at Flint, who sat back down.
“Yes,” he said. “Absolutely safe. You were told you'd be safe here, weren't you?”
This time they at least got a small nod.
“And so you are. Are you going to America as well?”
