Free The Ruin Of A Rogue by Miranda Neville Page A

a label. “ A gun which burst in the hand of Lord Grey’s gamekeeper, without his receiving any hurt. A remarkable circumstance considering how greatly the gun was shattered .” She shook her head in wonder at the shapeless lump of metal. “I should have been so frightened to see it. Isn’t it amazing?”
    He tried to conceal his astonishment at her interest in this ridiculous object, and failed. “Incredible,” he said.
    “I’m so glad we came here. Thank you! I shall look at everything!” She concentrated fiercely on a case labeled “Remarkable Horseshoes.” “The shoe of a Tuscan mule, fancy that. You’ve been to Italy. Can you tell me what is special about it?”
    “It looks like a perfectly ordinary horseshoe to me. But then blacksmithing is not one of my talents. Shall we move on to the next room? Perhaps the displays there are more interesting.”
    She agreed, but only once she’d finished looking over a case full of rusty weapons. “Plants and animals next.”
    “Not even whole animals,” he said. “I wouldn’t mind seeing a stuffed elephant or tiger.”
    Anne pored over a case full of bits of birds. “It says here that the beak of the rhinoceros hornbill bird is remarkable for the curious appendage on its upper mandible.” Darting over to another case, she rhapsodized over a curious fungus, a nicker-nut (whatever that was), parts of fishes, cotton pods, a rolled-up armadillo, several complete homes of white termites, and a dismal exhibit labeled “Sundry Seeds, Leaves, and Other Parts of Curious Unknown Plants Brought from Botany Bay.”
    “Have you ever been there?” she asked brightly. He deserved to be transported to the colony for convicted criminals.
    “I’ve never traveled beyond Europe.”
    “You must have seen so many exotic animals.”
    “Very few. My time has mostly been spent in cities. There are few armadillos roaming the streets of Berlin, Paris, and Naples.”
    “How disappointing. I thought you must at least have met a tiger. Or a hippopotamus.”
    “I did join the King of Naples’s wild boar hunt. Other than that, I’ve never had my courage tested by a wild animal.” He smiled winningly. “Should we meet one in these chambers I trust I would be capable of fighting it off.”
    When she ignored this attempt at flirtation, he managed to show dogged interest in case after case of minerals and sponges and who knew what else. After half a dozen rooms his façade was crumbling and he couldn’t hide the fact that he was thoroughly bored. So, unfortunately, was she.
    “I believe your maid is tired,” he said gently, reminding her that they weren’t the only ones suffering.
    The eyes of the middle-aged woman, who had trailed them patiently for two hours or more, gleamed with relief.
    “Oh, Maldon! I’m sorry. Your feet must be hurting you,” she said guiltily. Then, lest her fish think he was off the hook, “Perhaps we could come back another day, Lord Lithgow.”
    “I should be honored. But it grows late and I wouldn’t wish Lady Windermere to be worried.”
    “I must confess,” she said, “that I am a little tired. Cynthia won’t worry when I am in your care, but I yearn for some tea.”
    “Are you sure? I wouldn’t wish to endanger your good name.”
    She waved off his objection. “Maldon is quite capable of protecting me.”
    “I assure you, madam, that you need no protection from me.”
    “Of course not. You are a gentleman.”
    He directed the driver to take them to a coaching inn, a little way beyond the bridge. If she was any judge of the matter he was in dire need of refreshment himself, preferably something stronger than tea. Good. She’d like to drive him to drink.
    The courtyard of the inn was thronged with people, not all of them respectable. Half a dozen passengers, laden with baggage, spilled from a stagecoach. Delivery carts brought meat and bread. A sad mongrel rummaged for scraps in a corner. Above them, on a second-floor gallery, the