Olivia's pride was certainly wounded, and she considered another swig of the flask and this time spitting it in the boys face. But would that make her any better than him? No, it wouldn't. And it was even more unladylike than her most well-known vice. She lifted an arm, using the sleeve of her gown to wipe the muck from her face as she snorted at him.

"Right. It won't happen again," she promised without going into detail--certainly, this warranted getting a weapon of her own. She settled that thought in the back of her mind and clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth.

Whether or not Olivia would admit to being robbed by a child was up in the air. Most of it depended on whether or not she encountered someone else, namely a member of her family before she could get to her room. She shooed Edward again and grimaced at the smell clogging her nostrils.