Page 66 of The Miracle of Love
“No, we’re here to divert them from you.”
“Ah, purposely misdirect them. That is a good plan for now. But we’ll need to pass the crown off to you at some point after we recover it. You are the ones with the best chance of getting it safely into Wooton’s hands. Grace is too conspicuous.”
Donal nodded. “We’ll discuss it later. First, let us get settled in.”
Mr. Harcourt came over to them, spouting apologies. “We’ll have a few departures within the hour. You shall have those rooms. Just give my maids a little time to prepare them for you, gentlemen. In the meantime, our common room is open and serving meals.”
Lorcan tossed a few extra coins onto the registration desk. “Our appreciation for your services. We’ve traveled quite a way and I am starved.”
Deklan waited for the innkeeper to rush off before resuming the conversation. “Rafe knew we were headed to Bexhill, but he did not know Grace and I would be at this inn. How did you find us? And do not tell me you easily picked up my trail because I know it is not so. I was careful.”
“It was a hunch,” Lorcan said. “Only three suitably elegant inns along this main route, this one having the best food, the best accommodations, and also farthest off the path. A foreign agent would have to know of its existence to even begin to find it.”
Donal gave Deklan a poke in the ribs. “Who is that wasp-eyed woman staring at us?”
“She’s trouble. I’ve seen her before but cannot place her. She might have recognized me or perhaps she somehow caught a glimpse of Grace and thought she looked familiar. I’m trying to keep them apart. Grace and I are having all our meals sent up to our quarters. Speaking of which, I really had better let her know you are here.” He shook his head and grinned. “Grace may look demure, but she is now holding my knife and intends to use it on anyone who tries to hurt me.”
Lorcan laughed. “She’s protecting you?”
Deklan raked a hand through his hair. “Early on, I told her we were in this together to the very end because I wanted to calm her down. Of course, I am in it to the end with her. Wooton cannot take me off this assignment. But she has interpreted my words to mean we are responsible for each other. She will not leave my side while there is still breath in me.”
Lorcan gave him a playful punch on the shoulder. “Then you had better die fast. If it is any consolation, Cammy would do the same for me.”
“So would Lucy for me,” Donal said. “This is what comes of a love marriage.”
Deklan groaned. “Do not bring up that word again.”
“Love? Or marriage?” Donal asked.
“Both. And you can stop grinning at me. I had better get back to her. Come by our chamber after your supper tonight. We need to coordinate a plan of action once Grace and I find the crown.”
He returned to his room and knocked on the door, softly calling her name.
She threw it open and pulled him in. “What happened? Who were those men? Are we safe? Are you safe?”
He took the knife out of her hands and then untied her cloak to set it back on a peg beside the hearth.
He also noticed their packed travel pouches and was glad to see she had been prepared to run. “The riders were Lorcan and Donal.”
“Oh, thank heaven.” She sat on the bed and emitted a sigh of relief.
He shut their door and then crossed to the bed to sit beside her. “They’ll come by later to discuss what to do once we find the crown.”
“Assuming we find it.”
He nodded. “We will.”
“I’m sorry I put up such a fuss before.”
He took her hand. “Don’t be. I should have gone over escape strategies with you earlier. It was my fault. I did not feel the urgency. In truth, I doubt those agents will ever pick up our trail until we are back in London. But they’ll be waiting for us the moment we show our faces there and will descend on us like a pack of jackals, unless…”
“Unless what?”
“Grace, I’m thinking once we hand off the crown to Donal and Lorcan, I ought to keep you in hiding in the south of England rather than try to sneak you back into London.”
“Why the sudden concern?”
“Wooton may decide to keep quiet about the crown’s recovery until it is safely returned to that foreign government.”
