101 Chapter 101

"Me?" She edged one eye open.

"You."

He couldn't mean anyone else, or his mud-caked boots and the flaps of his charcoal greatcoat wouldn't be inches from her nose. She passed her tongue along her lips, stared at his hand, the one now hovering before her. "Well ... I-"

"If your friend is as sick as she says she is?"

Her throat dried. If he had shouted at her, or berated her for her folly, or laughed at her, it wouldn't have been half as bad, but this? This left her no option but to grasp his hand, and pull herself out of the mud because Topaz was as sick as she said and every second here, being mercilessly spattered by the drizzling rain, only made it worse. and her look like a selfish, uncaring idiot. The selfish, uncaring idiot who was responsible.

"Ow ... there you are Splen." Topaz whispered. "I wondered where you'd got to."

Somehow she found her voice. "I didn't get anywhere, I was just-just seeing to-"