That was the question that bedeviled Luten as he made his preparations for Newmarket. Public exposure, preferably at a cart’s tail, occurred to him, only to be rejected as ridiculously lenient. Dunking in a pond for the witch that she was beguiled him for five minutes. The two criteria eventually settled on were humiliation and publicity. The humiliation, complete and utter, must occur in a public place, to serve as a warning to others of her sort (and to retaliate for Luten’s public disgrace at his club). After Miss Barten’s stunt in sending him off to Tunbridge Wells, Luten was convinced Peter could not be at Newmarket, as she said. He would not dash around the countryside again, being made a fool of. Certainly not! He’d send his groom to do it for him. By the time his groom returned to London with word that Clappet was indeed at Newmarket, Luten was at his wits’ end with impatience. He set out at four o’clock in the afternoon, thus ensuring himself of an uncomfortable night at a public inn.
