Page 43 of Under the Seductive Ladys Charm
There were no other travellers on the road. It would have been peaceful, Charlotte thought, if she had been completely unaware of how much trouble she really was in. The birds sang and sang, but Charlotte hardly heard them over the din of her panicked thoughts.
The sun took no mercy on her as it seemed to race across the sky. She had not even seen the inn yet so she knew she could not be halfway home. How far had she come? Charlotte was just about to stop as it began to get so dark that she could not see when her horse stumbled.
All Charlotte could do was let it happen. She fell free of the horse, thank goodness. She rushed to the horse, who was lying on his side. “Oh no,” she whispered to the animal. “Calm yourself. Be still.” She ran her hand along the horse’ side.
The horse’s leg had got caught in a hole. Luckily it did not appear broken, but the horse was so exhausted that it just rolled over and lay there breathing heavily. She wrapped her arms around the horse’s neck, which caused the horse to snort. “I am so sorry,” she whispered into his hair.
She sank down next to the horse and cried. There was nothing else to do, and no one to see, so Charlotte let herself sink into her despair. She sobbed as she lay against the fatigued animal.
Robbers would likely have her before morning, Charlotte thought glumly. Some unscrupulous rogue would be by soon enough to end her misery. She might as well just sit here.
“Sorry, Father,” Charlotte whispered. “Sorry, Charles.” Her eyes went up to the stars that showed through the breaks in the clouds overhead.
*
Graham stared at the groom. He had no more than pulled up when the man accosted him. “She just took it, Sir! She stole a horse!” The groom was beside himself.
“Which young lady are we referring to? Did my sister have a tantrum and take a horse?” Graham felt frustration seeping into his bones at the very thought that he might have to spend the remainder of his day chasing down his wayward sister.
The groom waved his hands to stop Graham. “No, Sir. It was that other lass that came with you from the country estate. She said she was going home.”
Graham grabbed the surprised groom by the shoulders. “Are you saying that Miss Browne stole one of my horses?” When the man nodded, Graham headed straight to the stables. “I don’t have time to wait for a team of horses. I shall go after her on horseback. I shall find her. If I am not back by tonight, then I have likely sought lodging along the road.”
The groom nodded. “Do you want someone to come with you?”
“There is no time for that.” Graham quickly saddled a horse and mounted it. “Alert Randolph that I have left and tell him what I said about lodging.”
“Yes, Sir,” the groom said with a nod.
Graham was swiftly off. He knew a short route through London on horseback and made good time getting on the road to Dallington. Even with his local knowledge, he knew he would never make it before dark to Dallington, which meant that Miss Browne would not be at the inn yet.
He spurred his horse on but allowed it to slow when it tired. In this way, he kept a good pace without wearing out his horse. Darkness overtook him. It was an hour or perhaps even two into the night before he heard a faint noise ahead of him.
He slowed his horse as he saw a shape at the side of the road that was large enough to be a horse. There was sobbing. “Miss Browne?” He called her name softly, wary of perhaps a trap set by bandits.
Miss Browne’s voice exclaimed, “Oh Lord Easterly!”
Graham slid off his horse. No sooner had his feet hit the ground than Miss Browne’s body collided with his. She wrapped her arms around him. “I did not think anyone would come!”
“I am here now,” Graham said soothingly. He embraced her gently, relieved to find her for the most part unharmed. “Is this horse lame?”
Miss Browne stepped back as if sensing suddenly their closeness. She wiped her tears away. “He tripped, but he seems unharmed, just tired.”
“Well, let’s see if we can get him to his feet,” Graham said as he walked over to the horse. “Come on now, old boy,” Graham said coaxingly to the horse as he tugged at its bridle.
The horse reluctantly came to his feet and Miss Browne breathed a sigh of relief. “I am glad that he was not harmed too much by my carelessness.”
“You may ride on my horse. If I am correct, there should be an inn just up the road a piece.” Graham helped Miss Browne up on his horse. He looped the reins from both horses in his hands and led them toward the inn.
Miss Browne whispered, “Are you certain of where this inn is? I should not like to think of you walking for miles on end.”
“Believe me, I shall ride your horse if I get tired,” Graham assured her.
Thankfully, after walking the horses for an hour, the welcoming light of an inn shown through the trees and Graham found himself quite relieved. He had not fancied walking another hour or two, no matter how pleasant Miss Browne’s company.
At the inn, Graham handed the horses over to the stable boys and went inside with Miss Browne. Soon enough they both had rooms and they were able to sit down over a warm meal in the main room. Graham lifted his glass of wine to the blonde across from him. “To our misadventure,” Graham said in amusement.
Miss Browne’s cheeks coloured in embarrassment as she clinked her glass against his. “I am sorry that I pulled you away from London. I did not think it such a rash thing until I was on the road and I realised that I had let my emotions carry me away.”
