and find a bed elsewhere, but neither Portland nor Keith agreed to this.

“You cannot go out, Captain,” Portland began. “You and I shall sleep on these chairs. They are comfortable enough are they not?”

“You outrank us both, Fotherby,” Keith agreed. “Why do you not take the bed?”

The surgeon stared hard at the two younger men who had carefully positioned themselves between him and the door. “Why are you both so anxious about my leaving? I am quite accustomed to London by night, and it does not worry me.”

“Even so, Fotherby,” Portland said, glancing sideward at Keith. “It would be rude to turn down Keith’s invitation, would it not?”

Feeling suspicious of the two men’s behaviour yet accepting Portland&rsquo...

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