She tugged her hand free after a moment of silence had passed, then turned away. "I shall fetch you a drink."
"Not from out there."
Pru hesitated at the door and glanced uncertainly back to see him gesture to the cupboard along the wall. "There is whiskey in there."
After a moment, Prudence nodded and moved to the cupboard. Opening the door she found a bottle of whiskey and two glasses inside. She took one and filled it, then carried it carefully back to the desk.
"Thank you." Stephen accepted the glass, took a mouthful of the golden liquid, swished it around, then stood and moved to the window to spit. He did that twice more before allowing himself to swallow the next drink. Then he glanced at Prudence and smiled.
"Thank you." His voice was raspy, but still soft as he raised a hand to caress her cheek. "I appreciate your care."
Prudence felt her face flush. She was not sure herself whether it was with pleasure at his touch, or with embarrassment at being praised when she had been the cause of his ailment. She did know she was disappointed when his hand slipped away from her cheek and he turned to pick up his glass again. He had just taken another swig when a knock sounded at the door.
Swallowing, he set the glass back on his desk, then moved around her to shield Prudence from view. "Enter," he called out.
Prudence heard the door open; then a male voice announced, "This was found floating in the ale barrel."
By lifting up on her tiptoes, Pru was able to just see over Stephen's shoulder and glimpse what was held out by the man in the doorway. Her bottle, she saw with a wince. The man added, "It looks a deliberate attempt to poison our patrons."
"What?" There was no mistaking the shock in Stephen's voice. "Why would anyone wish to poison our-"
Prudence backed away as he suddenly spun to glare at her. Forcing a smile, she exclaimed, "I am sure whomever it was had no intention of poisoning your patrons. They most likely meant to-"
"To poison one particular patron?" he asked coldly. "Such as your father, perhaps? That mug I drank from was meant for him, after all. You poisoned my ale!"
He moved toward her, his repressed fury evident, and Prudence did the only thing she could think to do; she made a run for it.
"Do not let her get away!" she heard Stephen shout, but at that point the devil himself couldn't have caught her. Propelled by fear, Pru was running so fast she wasn't even sure her feet were touching the floor. She was out the door and racing along the alley to the front of the building in a trice. Jamison, bless his heart, either heard the rapid tap-tap of her feet, or saw her approaching. Whatever the case, he was off his seat and had the door open when she got there.
"Get us away from here, Jamison. Quickly!" she cried as she lunged into the carriage. The door was closed behind her before she even landed on the seat.
"What happened? Ye haven't lost me my job, have ye?" Lizzy cried as the carriage shifted under the weight of Jamison remounting the driver's bench.
Prudence grabbed at the seat and waited until the carriage had lurched forward before answering.
Chapter Four
"Poisoning the punch, are we?"
Dropping the dipper in the punch bowl, Prudence whirled to find the owner of that silky voice, eyes wary as she met Lord Stockton's mocking gaze. She hadn't seen the man since the night of the little accident at his club. Well, all right, the night she had poisoned his patrons. Which had been two nights ago. Pru had considered sending him a letter of apology explaining the situation, but had decided against it, thinking that such an apology really should be given in person. But here was her chance, and she wished she had sent him a letter. Or that she had refused to allow Eleanore to talk her into coming tonight. Forcing Prudence to attend her mother's ball had been Ellie's attempt to cheer her friend and distract her from the Prescott family's mounting bills.
Prudence was neither distracted nor cheered. She was terribly conscious of the fact that she was wearing a borrowed gown, and nothing could make her forget the subtle snubs she was receiving, or the fact that no one had asked her to dance.
"You have yet to answer my question," Stephen said, drawing her attention back to him. "Are you poisoning the punch? I ask only because I should like to know if you are out to torment all of the ton for your father's misdeeds, or are concentrating solely on ruining me."
Catching the startled glances being cast at them and the way people around the punch bowl were suddenly setting down their empty glasses, Prudence forced a stiff chuckle. "Oh, my lord, you are such a wit. But you should not jest like that or people might truly believe that I would do such a thing."
"The ones who suffered so foully at my club the other night, thanks to your poisoning, would have no trouble believing-"
Prudence cut him off by grabbing his arm, jerking him away from the table of refreshments and toward the balcony doors. She had no delusions about her strength. The only reason she managed to drag him out of the ballroom was because he let her. Since it suited her needs at the moment, she could only be grateful for his docility.
Prudence pulled him outside, shivered as the winter chill struck her skin, then led him along the wall of glass doors until they reached those leading into Lord Kindersley's office. Ellie's father didn't like anyone in there, but it was too cold to stay outside, and she needed privacy for this confrontation.
"So, what plans have you for tonight?" Stephen asked as she entered the gloomy room and turned to face him. "You have already both started a riot and poisoned a large crowd. Perhaps you intend to start a fire to roast all of-"
"Please stop," Prudence said wearily. She was not surprised by his irritation, but with all the troubles plaguing her, did not have the energy to fend it off. "I did not intend to start that riot. I was attempting to protect one of your serving women from a rather nasty client of yours."
"I know." Stockton 's mouth was a bit tight, but some of the tension had left his body. Prudence felt some relief at that. She was even happier to see the last of that tension leave him as she explained, "Neither did I intend to poison your patrons. The bottle of emetic must have fallen into the barrel while I was searching about for the lid on the floor. I did not realize that it had or I would have warned someone… Probably," she added, because she wasn't at all sure she would have. She had been so determined to see her father out of Ballard's. She still was, for that matter.
"Emetic?" He grimaced with distaste at the realization of what had forced him to hang out his office window. "I take it the emetic was meant for your father?"
"Aye. Ellie suggested that perhaps getting him to refrain from imbibing would put an end to his gambling as well. It seemed plausible, so…" She shrugged.
"Ellie? Eleanore Kindersley?"
"Aye." She brightened slightly. "Do you know her?"
"She is the daughter of our host," he pointed out gently. "And I do know that she is your friend."
"Oh." Prudence accepted the information, then, recalling a suggestion Eleanore had made earlier that day, managed a pleasant smile and raised her hand. "Well, I vow here and now, my lord, that you need no longer fear my disrupting the workings of Ballard's. I will not attempt to gain entrance again."
"Hmmm." He considered her doubtfully. "Never again, eh?"
"Never ever," Prudence teased lightly, mimicking Plunkett's deep voice, and felt optimism rise within her when a reluctant smile began to pull at the corners of his mouth. Then he forced it away, a scowl coming in its place.
"You do realize that you have caused me a good deal of trouble?"
"I am sorry for that."