Chapter Eleven
There’s a sorry state to be in, an’ no mistake. Miss Sophy was in a deal o’ trouble, poor lass, but she’s no fine lady as wilts at the drop of a hat.
As if to illustrate this point, Balligumph drops his fine hat into the dust of the road—and then hastily scrambles to pick it up again. He winks broadly, and with a throaty chuckle, continues:
Ye may be thinkin’ this is all gettin’ a mite complicated-like. People pretendin’ to be someone else entirely, an’ poor Sophy not knowin’ who she’s talkin’ to—nor me neither! Ye’d be right, but I warn ye: that’s nothin’. Here’s where everythin’ really gets complicated.
I had another visit from Miss Sophy, an’ she was all rarin’ to put her plans into action. Didn’t have the first idea o’ where to start, mind, but that never stopped he
