Page 30 of Persuasions of an Earl's Daughter

The woman paused, glanced him up and down, and gave him a broad, gap-toothed smile. “Hasn’t been an inn since old Mr. Beaufort died. Think his children have been fighting over it ever since.”

Lilly joined August and the look of interest in the woman’s gaze dulled.

“Is there somewhere else we can stay? We’ve been travelling for some time.”

“You can try the Swedes. They’re just down by the river.” The woman jerked her head to the right, indicating where the village dissected into four at a crossroads. “They’re happy to take lodgers though be warned they’re a little…” The woman shrugged. “Well, you’ll find out soon enough.”

August thanked her and she ambled off, whistling a tune that made August wince.

“Shall we see if we can find these Swedes?”

“I do not think we have much choice.” He grasped his horse’s lead. “Cannon needs a rest, and you most certainly need a bath.”

“Charming.”

He flashed a smile. Anything he could do to keep her at a distance would be for the best. With any luck, he’d have them back to arguing before long and any thoughts of this wild attraction to her would fade swiftly enough.

Chapter Eleven

There had been many a day when Lilly had pictured going out on adventures. As a child, she’d practically hungered for it. She blamed being born to a merchant father and the daughter of a duke who had refused to marry for anything other than love. It was practically in her blood. She’d imagined epic journeys, sailing ships around the world to places where the sand was white, and the seas were as blue as August’s eyes or climbing mountains to look out over beautiful expanses of hills and valleys as the sun bathed the land in gold.

Chasing after horse thieves could most certainly be considered an adventure. However, she hadn’t imagined her clothes clinging to her like mud, dry and crispy. If she dared to run a hand through her hair, she doubted she could pull it past the knots.

She also never considered a man like August might be at her side or that she would have to spend much of the journey with her arms about his waist, trying not to note the hard muscles of his body and how they flexed beneath her fingertips or what an excellent rider he was.

It wasn’t that she’d never pictured adventuring with someone at her side, it was just that they’d never been real, and they’d never been like August. Their faces had been blurred, their traits vague. Here was a flesh and blood man and she hardly knew what to do with him.

Lilly nibbled on the end of a thumb nail and looked around the quiet village. “Actually, perhaps we should continue on.”

Riding behind him gave her too much time to recall him lying next to her, his arms banded about her, the sensation so alien yet comforting. However, looking at him, having to talk to him was worse. She forgot who he was if she looked at him for too long.

Perhaps there was something about him that scrambled a woman’s mind. When one looked into eyes that blue framed by such long lashes one couldn’t recall much but how beautiful he was. Lilly couldn’t blame any of his conquests for falling for him. If he decided to seduce someone, she suspected they would be utterly powerless against him.

But he wasn’t trying to seduce her. He’d even said as much. Which was good. And it wouldn’t work anyway. As much as she kept pondering the planes of his face or quite why a man so wealthy and privileged looked so comfortable in an old jacket with buttons almost worn smooth, she knew him. She’d followed his escapades, had she not? Even if he had not firmly informed her, he had no intention of pursuing anything with her, she would not want him. Her parents raised her to be cleverer than that.

August shook his head. It wasn’t that Lilly was ungrateful to him. In fact, she was feeling far warmer to him than she should. As strong and as independent as she prided herself on being, she didn’t know the road to Grantham well enough and the journey wouldn’t be without its dangers. A man like August at her side would aid her in finding Icarus quickly and he had come to rescue her, despite her having already rescued herself.

She just couldn’t forget his motivations.

He wanted Icarus not her.

She had no doubt he would use this journey as a chance to persuade her to part with the horse so she would have to be on guard.

“Come, let’s find this house.” August held out a hand and Lilly went to take it then froze.

He glanced between his hand and hers then fisted it at his side, clearing his throat as he nodded down the road. “We shouldn’t waste any more time.”

“Agreed.”

August led the way to a snug cottage tucked by the riverbank. A neat, thatched roof hung over tiny windows and a door Lilly was certain August would have to duck through. She remained slightly behind him. It felt safer.

Why had she even tried to take his hand? Why had he offered it to her? They weren’t husband and wife as they had pretended to be, and they certainly weren’t even friends so why had that even been an instinct? At the rate she was going, she’d have to take another plunge into the river.

She eyed the fast flowing, clear water rushing over reeds and pebbles. Perhaps it would shock her mind out of her endless ramblings and doubts as to how to deal with this man. It should be simple. He was no more than an escort. It was like riding next to Mr. Davies at her father’s estate. They would pass time by pondering the weather or how the crops where doing then he would deposit her wherever she needed to be.

Of course, Mr. Davies was the same age as her father, happily married with several grandchildren, and as lovely as the man was, she doubted he’d ever looked like August.

Or been as puzzling.

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