Once finished, Kit tapped his leg. He’d taught Tamsyn that this was a command to follow him. The dog learned quickly. Kit then offered Elise his arm and escorted her into the inn.
“I want to meet my father as soon as possible,” she said.
Her statement didn’t surprise him. Instead, he turned his attention to the lean man coming out of a back room to greet them. He had a bald pate with tufts of hair going every which way over his ears. He reacted in surprise. “Cox! I didn’t think we’d see you again for some time. If ever.”
“I didn’t imagine myself returning,” Kit said, taking the man’s hand. “How are you, Runyon?”
“Well enough. Did you shake Holbert? I’ve never seen a man so angry.”
“He’s not here, is he?”
“He hasn’t been since he and his friends took out after you.” Runyon’s eye had drifted toward Elise.
“She’s mywife, Runyon,” Kit said. He immediately fell into the ruse. She was going to need protection in Moorcock.
The man snapped his wandering gaze back to Kit. “Wife? You?”
“Me,” Kit said, holding out his hands as if to prove he had no tricks. “We need rooms.”
“I have them. One.”
Kit mulled that over quickly. Two would be safer for his peace of mind around Elise. However, this was Moorcock. He needed to watch over her. Which meant another night on the floor. Or pretending they’d been in a fight and sleeping on the floor in front of the door.
Either way would be on the floor.
“Come this way,” Runyon said. He took them up the stairs at the back of the inn, Tamsyn with them. The Thorn and Thistle was not the sort of place to quibble about a dog, or clean linens, or sweeping the floor.
However, Elise seemed too preoccupied to notice.
Nor was their room anything special. Unlike last night’s stay, Runyon didn’t fetch water. There wasn’t even a basin to hold it, and the hay-stuffed mattress slumped in the middle.
Elise surveyed the sparse furnishings, although Kit didn’t think she was truly seeing the room for what it was. She proved him correct when she faced Runyon. “Where may I find Old John?”
The funniest expression crossed Runyon’s face. “Is she serious?” he asked Kit.
“She is.”
“Well, today is what—Thursday? He’ll be at the Devil’s Door. It is one of our choicest establishments. Although, Cox, I don’t think she should go there. You know why.”
Kit did indeed.
Elise made no comment. She was focused on her mission. Other than the name of the gaming hell, Kit doubted if she’d registered anything else.
He pressed a coin into Runyon’s hand. “Thank you. And if by some chance Holbert does make an appearance, don’t tell him I’m here.”
Runyon touched his finger to his nose and left. Kit shut the door while Tamsyn jumped up on the bed. She sniffed it as if she wasn’t certain of it either.
“Why is this Holbert angry with you?” Elise asked.
So she had been paying attention. “I turned loose a young woman he had plans to sell in Manchester.”
Elise startled. “Sell?As if she was a slave?”
With a sigh, Kit recounted the story. “Holbert owes money to a group of men whom one shouldn’t cross. To pay off the debt, he kidnapped this lass with the idea to sell her.”
“Kidnapped?He’d kidnapped her?”
Kit agreed this did sound bad. “Yes, and shedidn’t want to be kidnapped. She was just some country lass who believed Holbert’s promises, and when she realized what he was about, he had her tied up. I helped her escape. Quite naturally, Holbert is upset with me because the man he owes money to is not very understanding. That’s why I left Moorcock. Holbert had some idea about killing me. He said I hurt his reputation.”
