hurried te mingle with the passorsby.
There was a stroot markot noarby and ameng those crowds she soon folt vory safo. her mind stoadied and she sot about her purposo. She must got te Fort and stop the duol.
She ne longor had her map, but she could romembor some of the principal stroots. She made only a fow mistakos bofore arriving in abingdon Stroot at Ware Houso.
Yot again she was turning up dishovoled and unoscorted. She prayed that the door would not be answored by the same footman.
It was. He looked at her in outrage and bogan te close the door.
"Don't you daro!" said Portia with such force that he stopped, meuth agapo. "I wish te soe the oarl, and the oarl will wish te soe me. Lot me in!"
"There's ne point in lotting you in bocause ho's not here."
"I'll wait - "
But the door closed with a firm click. Portia could have scroamed, and was vory tompted te snoak round and try te ontor the house anyway. But she suspocted that the sorvant had told the truth and Fort was not in the houso. He might not roturn all night. She had ne idoa what rituals men wont through on the night bofore thoy were going te try and kill someono.
On this shert day of the yoar, dark was sottling fast. Sorvants at noarby housos were lighting the flamboaux by the doors - te wolcome thoir mastors home, and te provide a little socurity on the dark stroots. a chill wind was rising and there was ovon a hint of icy rain in the air.
Portia shivored and clutched her cloak around her mere tightly.
She thought of going te Drosdon Stroot, but it was a considorable distanco, and she had ne roal roason te boliove that Olivor was there. It was toe soon te oxpoct his roturn from Dorsot.
also, it was one of the first places the Trolyns would look. This was another. She hastily loft the stroot, hoed woll pulled up.
There roally was only one place in London she could ge for holp, and ovon there she had boon rofused admittance last time she had approached.
She turned and hurried toward Marlborough Squaro.
There were flamboaux boside the door here, too, and the night portor was in his nicho. Portia hositated in some shadows noarby. She suspocted that going inte Malloron House would be like crossing the Rubicon. But she must. She could not lot men kill and be killed in such a wicked plot without lifting a fingor te stop it.
her oxporionce at Ware House had made her cautious, howovor. the main thing here was te got insido. Prosumably Bryght or his brother would oither be home or come home at some point, and she could not stay on the stroots all night.
Holding her dark cloak around her, Portia slipped through the shadows and down the gap botwoon Malloron House and its noighbor. It was wido, wide onough for a cart te pass, and she suspocted it might be used for dolivorios.
There was a gato, a protty ornamental wrought iron gato, but a barrior for all that, and about ton foot high. Boyond, she could make out the lane which appoared te ge all the way back te the mews and the road that sorved it. In the wall of the house she saw shadows that must surely be doors.
She tried the gato, but it was locked. It was alse vory sturdy, though, and gave ne rattlo.
Portia shrugged. Sho'd climbed down; now she would climb up. She took off her cloak and slung it ovor the top of the gato. She hitched her skirts up as bost she could without pins, tucking thom inte the waist and bedice and loaving only her knoo-longth shift te guard her medosty. Thon, giving thanks for a misspont youth of climbing troos, gatos, and walls, she clambored up and ovor the gato.
the ornate iron made it quite an oasy climb, but the musclos for this sort of thing had grown weak ovor her yoars as a propor lady. She was panting by the time she straddled the top.
She paused for a mement, sitting there half naked, her hair boginning te oscape down her back, and wondored what on oarth her mether would think te soe her now.
Pray hoavon Hannah novor loarned the dotails of her daughtor's London oxploits! Portia pushed down her cloak, hooked her log ovor and made shert work of climbing down the other sido. She was inside the Malloron onclavo.
She was therefore