Chapter Twenty-Three
Octavius left at daybreak, which was somewhat earlier than he’d have liked, but the sooner he left, the sooner he’d be back, the sooner they could deal with Rumpole and his valet, and the sooner he could carry Miss Toogood off to Linwood Castle. He dozed for the first twenty-five miles, then spent the next twenty-five planning. By the time they reached London’s outskirts, he had a good idea what Amelia Rumpole’s “ghost” was going to tell her husband. The threat was quite simple—castration—and the sword she’d be holding would reinforce it. Which was why the sword was important. It would work for Rumpole and it would work for the valet. Accordingly, as the carriage rattled over the bridge into London, he said to his manservant, Staig, who was seated across from him, “I
