In Which Our Hero Is Betrayed The next day, Robert didn’t slip into Molly’s pocket. He didn’t want to involve her any more than was absolutely necessary. The violence his cousin had directed at her still rankled. He’d always suspected John would push as far as he could to get what he wanted, but hurting a defenseless woman? How could he have fallen so low? It was fortunate Robert had been ready the day before, else she might be sporting bruises or worse. He thought of her offer. It had been incredibly generous and unexpected. A part of him had wanted to say yes, but decency had won out. He couldn’t risk her or her mother’s safety. Not only that, John had hurt her because she’d let Robert go. If she supported him further, who knew what lengths John would go to? It was time for Robert to take care of things on his own. So he waited for John, Serenia and Molly to appear in the garden for their late morning stroll. John could try to cajole Serenia into foregoing it—he found walks boring—but Robert doubted it would work.
