I smiled and pulled my un-eaten sandwich out. When the bus came, the bus driver looked at me in a knowing way, and I sat, alone on the empty bus. I du... in my pocket and looked at the paper I had balled up in the bottom of it.My god. It was a 9, not a 4.I looked at the paper, unbelieving and astonished. I had misread the number the first time I called, and, assuming I had been a fling, never called back. If I called, she would think I was a complete asshat and not want to talk to me. But it was. The same smile every blackmailer gives after he realizes that the fish has caught the bait.He started talking. With the level of detail with which he had pieced all the information, I could foresee what was inevitable. Despite us being discrete, he understood it all. Picking us from outside the brothel, the protesting activists, the information he had from the local news, and finally our conversation.By that time, we had reached our destination. Before we got out, I gathered the courage to ask. Every time they made a rest stop, Thomas offered Abby his hand to assist her in getting out of the carriage. Abby always refused, but when they stopped at an inn for the evening she tripped on her skirt and tumbled down into his arms. It made Thomas’ heart soar to be able to hold Abby close again, but for her it was a complete disaster to find herself all of a sudden back in the embrace of the man she was trying so hard to avoid. However, he had caught her fair and square. Abby could not be. "Are these what you want?" Ooh, baby, let me see." Sorrel crawled to the edge of the bed and reached for Pepper's tomatoes. She stepped back. "Stop teasing me, or I'm going to get rough with you," Sorrel threatened."Yeah, I'm scared of you and your little celery there," Pepper said."Little? I'll show you, woman."Sorrel jumped off the bed, grabbed Pepper by the shoulders, and flung her onto the mattress. She laughed as he leaped on top of her, stopping himself at the last minute with his hands.