Page 42 of Two of a Kind
Leah rolled her eyes. Now she would have to deal with being fussed over by the innkeeper’s wife in the morning. Men and their pride.
“I had to give the innkeeper some reason to hand over this mattress and blanket,” he said.
By rights, as an unmarried woman she should have been well pleased not to be sharing a bed with a man. Not to be lying beside James’s warm, hard body. Not to suffer the indignity of him draping his muscular arm around her waist, nor of listening to his deep breathing as he slept. And especially pleased not to be taking in the heady scent of his cologne. All those things she now found herself secretly craving.
She cautioned her heart. She had just escaped one near disaster—she shouldn’t go racing toward another possible one. Allowing a tender spot for James to form in her heart would be a foolish thing and could only result in having it bruised, or worse, broken.
“You did the right thing, James. And tomorrow morning I will make sure I am a little tired and unwell if any kind soul asks. There is one thing which would make our story more plausible,” she said.
“Yes?”
“I need a wedding ring.” Her gaze settled on his signet ring. The amber flames from the low burning fire were reflected on the gold band. The signet was black onyx inlaid with a gold horse and three stars: the Radley family crest. A reminder of his family’s powerful, ancient heritage.
He nodded, then removed the ring from his finger. With a smile, she held out her hand, and James slipped the ring onto the third finger of her left hand.
“With this ring,” she said, then softly chuckled. Their gazes met. James leaned forward toward her, and for a moment, Leah imagined that he was about to kiss her.
“Good night, wife,” he said.
A lump formed in her throat as he pulled away. He had called her his wife. With an odd sensation in her stomach, she turned and climbed into the bed.
James plopped the mattress down on the floor next to the bed and after taking off his jacket, he lay down. Within minutes, the sound of his soft snores could be heard in the room. Leah turned over and much as she fought it, fatigue finally caught up with her. They both slept the sleep of the exhausted.
After the second night, they fell into an easy pattern. Each morning they would rise early and make as much headway as they could during daylight before seeking a village off the main road in which they could stay. By the fifth day out from London, they were close to the tiny hamlet of Mopus Passage where Leah’s grandfather lived. A small stone marker on the side of the road was the first and only sign of their destination. From the few other travelers they had passed on the road, James began to wonder just how small the village really was.
“How many people live in Mopus Passage?” he asked.
“A handful. The inn was built only a few years ago, along with a half dozen houses. That is the sum total of Mopus,” replied Leah.
At least there was an inn where Leah could wait out of sight while James went on to Mopus Manor to speak with Sir Geoffrey. “Will you tell me why your father and Sir Geoffrey are not on speaking terms?”
She nodded to him. “Things had been bad for a number of years, but the final straw was a little over two years ago when my sister got married. My grandfather thinks that she was forced into marrying a man just like my father. And to be honest, I would have to say I agree with him. Your friend Guy, my brother-in-law, and my father were all unfortunately cast from the same mold.”
“So, Sir Geoffrey would likely be inclined to take your side if he knew the truth of what happened with your betrothal?” he asked.
“I hope so. He is the only person I can turn to right now. If he fails me, I have no one else whom I can trust,” she replied.
He could have argued that point with her but decided on leaving her remark unanswered. Today was a day for unity and giving Leah as much support as possible. From the way she kept wringing her hands, it was obvious she was nervous about what lay ahead for them.
“Once we reach the village, I shall go into the inn and secure us a room. After we have you safely tucked away, I will head over to Mopus Manor and do a sortie of the house. If I find any sign of your father or Guy being in residence, I shall return immediately to the inn and we can discuss alternate plans. If they are not, I shall make myself known to Sir Geoffrey,” said James.
“Agreed. And I will stay in our room until you return,” replied Leah.
A little more than an hour later, they turned off the old Malpas Road and into the stable yard of the Mopus Passage Inn. Leah had pulled up the hood of her cloak and covered her face the same as she had done when setting out from London. James helped her down from the barouche before handing the reins over to the inn’s stable hands.
“Don’t bring my trunk inside yet; we may not be staying tonight,” he instructed them. If Guy Dannon or Tobias Shepherd were waiting for them at Mopus Manor, he planned to take Leah and find an inn in the larger town of Truro which was only a few miles away. After that, they would be headed to Scotland as fast as possible.
The inn was a narrow two-storied slab stone building of recent build. From the look of the rest of the houses in the village, Mopus Passage was a new settlement. Leah caught his questioning gaze.
“During the war against the French, a number of small ports were established along the southwest coast to support the British navy. Smaller ports like this one took the bulk of the minor shipping traffic away from the major ports, enabling the navy to move its larger ships in and out of the south coast with ease,” she explained.
“That makes sense.”
Once inside the inn, they made their way upstairs. They locked the door of their room behind them and politely refused the offer of tea and locally baked pasties.
“Mopus Manor is farther along this road, only a half mile from here. You cannot miss it. The main house sits on a bluff overlooking the convergence of the Tresillian and Truro rivers. The road leading up to the house has a small dip in it. A narrow track which runs around to the rear of the house strikes out from the eastside of the dip. If you take your horse up the track, you can approach the house without being seen. That will give you a view of the stables before you arrive,” said Leah.
The stables would hopefully give James a clear picture of who was at the manor. Guy’s fancy travel coach with its gold striped details and red curtains would be easy to spot, although he doubted his friend would make the effort to follow his wayward bride to Cornwall. Leah had given James enough of a description of her father’s coach for him to be able to identify it if it was in the yard.
