The Damsel by Victoria Vale

Author:Victoria Vale
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: 0
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 7

Robert leaned back in the chair he occupied, one leg propped up on a footstool and an ironed copy of the The Examiner spread over this thighs. His father sat upright in bed, eyes glittering with excitement as he listened to the latest news and gossip straight out of London. The papers were days old by the time they reached Suffolk, but the baron enjoyed the news anyway—particularly the bits of scandal and gossip he no longer heard firsthand. Being trapped in a sickbed meant he must live vicariously through Robert, and the stories his son carried back to him whenever he could.

“After several weeks without a sighting, it would seem the Masked Menace has reappeared,” he told the baron. “An anonymous man has reported being waylaid by the criminal some three nights before the publication of this column. He reports that the Menace knocked his driver unconscious, then bloodied his nose and injured his hand before making off with a pocket watch, a ring, a ruby tie pin, and a silver snuffbox.”

“Good Heavens,” his father murmured, running a gnarled hand over his balding pate. “It seems this Menace becomes more violent with each new report. I suspect it will not be long before he’s killed someone.”

Robert shrugged, glancing at a caricature of the Masked Menace. In it, he wore an ill-fitting opera mask over a contorted face drawn in the likeness of a demon. A pair of massive horns curled up from under the brim of a hat, while a long, forked tongue slithered from a mouth sporting spiked, jagged teeth. He held a gun in one hand and a dagger in the other, long talons clenched around both weapons.

He tilted the page to show the baron, who chuckled at the drawing.

“The stories about him are overblown and exaggerated,” Robert murmured. “The violence increases with each telling because it sells papers.”

“He is still a dangerous criminal,” the baron replied. “I will be glad when the Runners have brought him to heel. The roads and its travelers will be safer for it.”

“I could not agree more, William,” said his mother as she bustled through the open door.

She carried a tray holding the baron’s lunch, as well as a pot of tea and a few cups resting on saucers. Pausing to kiss Robert’s brow, she then turned to deposit it on the bed beside his father.

“I cannot stress how happy I am that you have not seen fit to return to London,” she declared as she went about pouring tea. “The road is no place for decent people during times like these. I shudder to think the danger you were in coming back from London all those months ago.”

Robert wanted to point out that the highway robberies hadn’t begun until after he’d returned from London, but held his tongue. She’d only maintain that he had been in danger somehow. There could be no arguing with her when it came to the matter of his health or safety.

“Here you are, dear.”

He

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