Breaking the Rules Read Online Free PDF

well. “How did you come by that information?” he demanded.
    “Someone mentioned it. I don’t recall who.” Taynton looked a little uncomfortable, and clearly wished he’d held his tongue.
    “As it happens, marriage may indeed be in the offing,” Mr. Elcester said then, much to Ursula’s annoyance. Why confirm anything? Taynton had no need to know.
    “May I ask who the fortunate groom will be?” asked the innkeeper.
    “Lord Carmartin’s nephew and heir, the Honorable Theodore Greatorex.”
    The squirrel became suddenly excited, making strange little noises and twitching its bushy tail, at which Taynton’s breath caught slightly. A new wariness entered his eyes as he looked at Ursula, as if something had suddenly become clear to him.
    Ursula wondered if Mr. Greatorex was known to him. A direct question was necessary. “Mr. Taynton, are you acquainted with Mr. Greatorex?” she asked.
    “Why no, Miss Elcester. Why do you ask?”
    “It’s just that his name seemed to convey something to you.”
    “No, miss.” But his eyes were veiled.
    Mr. Elcester cleared his throat. “Well, I must ask you not to speak of this to anyone, Taynton. There is nothing final yet, so it wouldn’t do for there to be talk.”
    “You have my word, Mr. Elcester.”
    “And that goes for you too, Vera,” Mr. Elcester added, looking across at the blacksmith’s daughter.
    Vera bobbed another curtsy. “Not a word will pass my lips, Mr. Elcester,” she promised.
    Ursula noticed how often Taynton’s eyes rested upon Vera, but his expression wasn’t loving, more reluctant, almost as if he found her attractive and wished he didn’t.
    Mr. Elcester was ready to leave. “Good. Well now, Ursula, shall we ride back together?”
    “I’d like that,” she replied.
    “Through the woods?”
    At that Taynton spoke up quickly. “I would not advise that, sir.”
    “Eh? Why ever not?”
    “I’m given to understand there is a villain of some sort lurking there, an escaped prisoner, it’s said. I know nothing for certain, you understand, but it seems some of the local men have had unpleasant experiences, and have decided to give the woods a wide berth.”
    “This is the first I’ve heard of it,” Mr. Elcester declared, clearly astonished.
    “It may be a fuss over nothing at all, sir, I merely thought I should mention it.”
    Ursula did not like being advised by the innkeeper. “Mr. Taynton, I rode through the woods earlier on, and it was perfectly safe.” Their eyes met, and she knew that somehow he was aware of the difficulty she’d had with Miss Muffet.
    “That’s as may be, Miss Elcester,” he responded, “but people have been badly frightened by something there, and I have had reports of several horses almost bolting.”
    He did know about Miss Muffet! But how? The only other person to know about her mount’s fractiousness was Daniel Pedlar.
    The innkeeper addressed her father again. “Mr. Elcester, I know I may be speaking out of turn, but I have taken it all very seriously and rode to Stroud yesterday to report matters to the authorities. I am assured that a watch will be kept, but in the meantime it is advisable to stay away from the woods. Just to be safe.”
    Ursula’s father was in full agreement. “Oh, indeed so. Well, if the authorities have been notified, there is no need for me to act.”
    “No need at all, sir.”
    “Excellent.”
    The sound of a stagecoach key-bugle playing “Oh, dear, what can the matter be?” carried from the distance, announcing the approach of the Cheltenham Flying Machine. Taynton turned sharply to Vera. “Make sure they’re ready in the kitchens!” he called out with an imperiousness that bordered on the theatrical.
    “Yes, sir,” Vera replied meekly, but as she began to quickly lay the rest of the cutlery she still held, Taynton became irritated.
    “Remember, wench, I am your master!”
    Now he was being theatrical, Ursula thought,  not knowing whether to laugh because he