Page 69 of Nothing Compares to the Duke
His eyes widened, then his mouth flickered into a mischievous smile. “Only on my shoulder, unfortunately. Necessary touching. You needed a pillow. I was willing to oblige.”
Though his tone was teasing, his steady gaze stoked a pulsing warmth inside her that had nothing to do with the heat of the afternoon sun.
Bella turned her attention out the carriage window to get her first glimpse of the sea. But there was no cottage or water’s edge in sight, though she could smell the sea in the air. The coach they’d hired had stopped at what looked to be an old weathered coaching inn.
“Thought we’d inquire here first,” Rhys told her by way of explanation. “I’ve asked the coachman to wait for us so we can return to London before nightfall.”
They’d been vague when departing in the morning, but Bella bid Meg good luck on her shopping expedition with the Duchess of Tremayne. She’d assured Rhys’s sister that she would see her at dinner that evening.
“That all sounds very sensible.” Now if only she felt that way.
She struggled to look him in the eye. They’d arm wrestled as children. She’d fallen on him body to body a few days ago. Yet something about the intimacy of napping against his shoulder, and enjoying it, unnerved her. Her attraction to him seemed to grow every time they touched.
He laughed as he exited the carriage and then turned back to help her down. “From you, Bella, that is an extraordinary compliment.”
The inn was sparsely occupied and Rhys seemed to be scanning the few patrons around tables for Mr. Radley. He’d described the older man as gray-haired, bespectacled, and obsequious. Most of the men tipping back tankards were gray-haired, including their coachman, though none wore spectacles.
Rhys approached the bar and spoke to the wiry old man behind it. “Do I have the luck of speaking to the innkeeper by any chance?”
“You do.” The older man assessed Rhys from head to toe and offered Bella a skimming glance. “What can I do for you, my lord?”
“What do you know of Tide’s End?”
The crown coin Rhys slid across the table seemed to interest the innkeeper.
“A well-built cottage right near the seashore. Follow the lane outside toward the east and you’ll find it yourself.”
“Is it let?” Rhys asked with that easy way he had of making it seem as if the answer didn’t matter to him at all.
“Indeed, Lord Radley seems to love the cottage, he does.”
“LordRadley?”
“Aye, my lord. Older gentleman. New to the village. I take it he rented the cottage quite recently. Comes to the inn for his repast now and then. Haven’t seen him in a few days, come to think of it.”
Bella stepped forward. “But you did see him as recently as a couple of days ago?” They were close and Radley might not have gotten too far away.
“Aye, miss.” The old man frowned and stared at the bar as if searching his memory. “Four days past.Come to think of it, he appeared as if he were ready to travel. Had bags with him and hired a coach.”
“Where did he go?” For the first time Rhys’s eagerness seemed to give the old man pause. His eyes narrowed under bushy gray brows.
“Couldn’t rightly say, my lord. He comes and goes as he pleases.”
“Whichever coachman took him, is that man here?” Rhys scanned the patrons seated at tables once more.
The innkeeper shook his head warily. “Never seen him before or since, my lord.”
“Thank you, sir,” Bella told the old man. “You’ve been most helpful.”
Rhys lifted one blond brow to indicate he didn’t quite agree but he followed her out of the inn nonetheless.
“This is a good thing. We can examine the cottage and see if he’s left anything behind that might tell us where he’s gone.”
“Agreed.” He looked over her head down the lane toward the seashore. “I’m not sure if I’m hoping he truly has departed or that he’s still there and we can haul him back to London.”
“There’s only one way to find out.”
They walked so quickly toward the cottage, Bella feared anyone noticing them might be alarmed or alert Radley to their presence if he was still in the village. But she understood Rhys’s anxiousness and felt the same.
