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Delbridge, Mr. Ware. Now you must rest.”
    “I do not think that I can do anything else.” He picked up the wig she had worn and examined it as though he had never seen it before. “I cannot recall ever having felt so exhausted.”
    “You expended a great deal of energy tonight. You require sleep, a lot of it.”
    “You will be here when I wake up?”
    “Mmm.”
    He tucked the wig into the pocket of his coat and smiled faintly. “You’re lying.”
    “Really, sir, this is not the time to engage in an argument. You need rest.”
    “There is no point running from me, Leona. You and I are bound together now. No matter where you go, I will find you.”
    “Go to sleep, Mr. Ware.”
    He did not argue. He settled deeper into the corner of the seat, legs outstretched so that his thighs brushed against hers. She watched him for a long time.

4
    WHEN SHE WAS SATISFIED that he was, indeed, sound asleep, she rose, kneeled on the cushions and pushed open the trap door to speak to Adam.
    “How is your patient?” Adam asked, over his shoulder.
    “Sleeping. The poison was very strong. For a time there I was afraid that I would not be able to save him.”
    A gust of cold wind carrying the first splatters of rain blew into the carriage.
    “What sort of poison induces nightmares?” Adam asked.
    “I don’t know. Mr. Ware claimed that Delbridge used it to cause two men to go mad. Both victims died within hours.”
    Adam flicked the reins, urging the horses to a faster pace. “Delbridge is obviously more dangerous than we believed. He was supposed to be nothing more than an eccentric collector.”
    “It is worse than you know. I did not get a chance to tell you earlier, but there was a dead woman in the museum at the mansion. Her throat was slit open. It was . . . ghastly.”
    “Bloody hell.” Adam was so shocked he hauled on the reins, throwing the horses off stride. Hastily he corrected the action. “Who was she?”
    “I don’t know. She must have been one of the women that Delbridge brought in to entertain his guests. Evidently she went to the gallery to meet a man. The killer got to her first.”
    “Please do not tell me that our passenger was the killer.”
    “No.”
    “How can you be certain?”
    “Two reasons. First, he did not murder me when I came upon him standing over the body. If he was guilty I’m certain he would have wanted to get rid of a witness.”
    “Good lord above. You found him standing over the body ?”
    “The second reason I am convinced that he is not the murderer is because he did not kill the two guards patrolling Delbridge’s gardens.”
    “What two guards are you talking about? There weren’t supposed to be any guards there tonight.”
    “It appears that Mr. Pierce’s information was wrong on several counts.”
    “Bloody hell,” Adam repeated, this time very softly. “Leona, this is shaping up to be an unmitigated disaster.”
    “Nonsense. I admit there were a few complications, but they have all been sorted out.”
    “Trust you to think positive in a situation where any sane person would be contemplating the purchase of passage to America or some other conveniently distant place.”
    “Only consider the facts, Adam. We are safely away from the mansion, and there is no way Delbridge can ever discover who took the crystal.”
    “You are forgetting one major complication,” Adam said darkly.
    “What is that?”
    “The one that is presently asleep in the carriage. What do you know about him?”
    “Very little, aside from the fact that he is an incredibly powerful psychical hypnotist,” she admitted.
    “A psychical hypnotist ?”
    “He dealt with the two guards as well as one of Delbridge’s guests by putting them into an instant trance. It was astonishing. I have never seen anyone do what he can do with mesmerism.”
    “And we are helping him return to London?” Adam was appalled. “You must be mad, Leona. Everyone knows that hypnotists, even those without paranormal