He knew she was thinking that now she would not have to stand trial or explain what had happened and his arms tightened around her as he said,
“I want you to understand that you must not be involved in any way.”
He looked out of the window before he went on,
“They will find my cousin in the morning and the ropes from the balcony outside this room. The story I shall tell is that he must have lost his balance coming down from the roof.”
Hermia lifted her face to look up at him.
“Everybody will – know he intended to – kill you.”
“Officially nobody must know that,” the Marquis said sharply. “The Magistrates will be told that it amused him to climb over roofs and play pranks on people at night and, having had too much to drink, he slipped and fell.”
“They will – believe that?”
“I will m
