Page 32 of The Viscount's Code
“Oh, dear,” she said, as she took the hand he offered in order to disembark. “I didn’t realize that we would be stopping overnight.”
“Foxearth cannot be made in a day,” he said with a sigh. “Unless I had ridden.” He couldn’t help his pointed look toward her. “And then, I would never have had a stowaway.”
“And your journey would not have been nearly as entertaining,” she finished with a smile.
She was right about that, but he wasn’t about to admit it.
“How shall this work?” she asked in a whisper, her arm curling around his as they walked slowly toward the entrance. The light had dimmed for the day, but the inn was alive. The attached tavern – one which he could certainly not take her to – was full, with guests still arriving. “I have no chaperone and no maid. I could pretend I am a widow, I suppose. But then how would we explain my relationship with you?”
“I suppose I could be your paramour.”
His jest was worth the shocked look on her face, and he couldn’t resist a small smile.
Her eyes narrowed when she realized that he had been teasing her, and she then brought her other index finger to her lips. “Perhaps I enter alone, pretending that I am an actress, on my way to join a theatre group. That would be most thrilling. What do you think?”
“I think that if others hear of an actress in a building – alone – who looks as you do, then you might attract attention of a kind that you would rather not receive. Besides,” he looked her up and down. “You are not dressed the part.”
“Isn’t that the beauty of an actress – that I can be whoever I want?”
“Yes, but an actress would not be able to afford the clothing you are wearing. And I’m sure they will have already noticed that we arrived together. The servants will talk.”
“I could be your sister,” she said. “It is not nearly as exciting, but it would work.”
The thought of her posing as his sister was most unwelcome, which didn’t make a great deal of sense, but he also knew it would never be believable. A woman of her quality would most certainly have a chaperone, or barring that, a maid. But the truth was, no matter who she posed as, he could never allow her to stay in a room alone. Word travelled fast of single women in an inn, especially one as beautiful as she. He wouldn’t be able to sleep all night for fear of what dangers might await her.
He stole a glance at her. The problem was, she was such an innocent that she would likely not even realize justwhyit would be too dangerous.
“It is not safe for you to stay alone,” he said, and when she turned to him and opened her mouth, he held up a hand. “You chose to come along,” he said, “and, unfortunately, there are some consequences. One being that a woman such as yourself would be too… tempting for men who might know of your whereabouts tonight.”
“So what am I to do?” she asked with some dismay.
“You will have to pose as my wife. It is the only way to keep you safe.”
She blinked at him. “Yourwife?”
The sound of that should fill him with horror. And yet, somehow, it sounded rather… right.
“Yes,” he grunted, not trusting himself to say more. “We will have to stay together, but of course I will see to your modesty.”
“Very well,” she said demurely, looking down and away from him as they stepped through the door into the inn, and he thought he could see her cheeks blushing a very deep pink. Well, then, it seemed he had some effect on her.
No one questioned them when they asked for a room, not blinking when Anthony requested dinner to be received there. He took a moment to speak to his driver, explaining the situation as best he could, hoping he could trust the man with their secret, even if he wouldn’t trust him around Lady Hope.
He didn’t think he could trustanyother man to look after her or keep her safe. It was a task that he seemed to have taken on himself, no matter how unwelcome it had originally seemed. He vowed to live up to that task – until this was finished, at least. For even though he knew her father would have his hide for allowing this to happen if he discovered them, at least he could assure him that he had done all in his power to return her as she had left.
“Well, then,” Lady Hope said, turning about the room, her hands clasped in front of her, the smile on her face rather forced. “This is…”
Anthony smirked as he could tell she was searching for a word to positively describe their surroundings, but he wasn’t sure that even she with her sunny light on everything she came into contact with would be able to come up with one for a room like this. He waited patiently, arms folded over his chest.
“Interesting,” she finished.
“Interesting?” he repeated, hiding his smile. “And just what, pray tell, is interesting about it?”
“Well, the colors,” she said, her eyes roving around the room. “The brown in the curtains and on the bed would hide any dirt. That is some ingenuity.”
He laughed then. A deep laugh, one that came from his stomach, and she looked at him with so much surprise that he laughed even harder.
“I didn’t think you could do it,” he said.
