Page 9 of A Wild English Rose
The lid of the bench seat opposite him lifted, and Lady Cecily Norris crawled out, travel bag in hand. She dropped the lid and sat down, letting out a great sigh. “Those things are a little more cramped than I remember them. Though I was ten years of age the last time I hid away in one,” she said.
Thomas sat staring at her, stunned for a moment at her sudden appearance. She gave him an encouraging but cheeky smile. “You did say I should come to Rosemount Abbey and see your horses sometime. I decided that I should take you up on your offer. It does still stand, doesn’t it?”
He nodded. She was nothing if not unpredictable. “Yes. The offer still stands. Though you didn’t have to hide away in my coach in order to come.”
She pointed at the beef sandwich on the seat next to him. “Could I please have some of your food? I am starving. I didn’t manage to eat breakfast and having to smell that for the past hour has been a trial.”
Thomas unwrapped the sandwich and gave it to her. She tucked into it with unrestrained relish. He pulled out one of the small bottles of ale and uncorked it, handing it to her.
Cecily downed it in several large gulps and handed the empty bottle back to him with a smile. “Forgive my manners. I was raised at Chatsworth House from a young age. The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire were never ones to stand on ceremony when it came to food. In fact, most of the time we dined where we pleased, and that was often seated on the floor with the dogs.”
His brow furrowed. “So, you didn’t grow up with your family? That is odd.”
She waved his concerns away. “Happens to a lot of children of London society. I have friends from my childhood who are far closer to me than any sibling could ever be, not that I really know any of my brothers and sisters. They were all long married by the time I came along.”
“I don’t suppose your parents know where you are,” he ventured.
“No, and I intend to keep it that way. My father and I went to see Lord Horsham today, and after a short private meeting with him I decided that he was not the man for me. My father would no doubt have a differing opinion, so I thought it best that I make myself scarce for a little while.”
“And you thought Rosemount Abbey would be a good hiding place?” he replied.
She shrugged. “Something like that. Just until I can come up with a plan, one that does not involve me going back to London and marrying that ancient relic.”
Chapter Nine
While Cecily appeared quite at ease with having stowed away in the coach and making her escape from London, Thomas was less so. From his limited experience of daughters of London society Thomas knew that young ladies did not just simply run away from home.
He rapped on the roof and, after getting the driver’s attention, instructed him to pull over to the side of the road. Jumping down, he helped Cecily out onto the roadside.
“I thought you might want to stretch your legs a bit since you were cramped inside the bench box for the past forty-odd miles,” he said.
“Yes, thank you.” She held her arms out wide, then rolled her shoulders. Thomas stood patiently waiting while Cecily ironed out the kinks in her muscles.
“Now before we continue on, I should like to ask a few questions,” he said.
She smiled at him. “Yes, of course. But before you do, I should let you know that yes, I am certain that this is what I want. And no, I won’t be changing my mind and pleading to return to London. I have had plenty of time to think things overwhile cramped inside the bench and my mind is made up. Now what would you like to ask me?”
She had read his mind when it came to the most obvious of questions, and she had left him in no doubt as to her intentions. But from the size of the small travel bag she had packed, Thomas suspected Cecily had not put much more thought into her plans other than the immediacy of escaping London.
“Do you have any money?” he asked.
She did a good job of hiding her discomfort at his question. “A little. Enough to keep me going until I can secure a place somewhere. After that, I shall write to my father and see how he views the situation. I am sure I could find employment as a lady’s companion or something.”
Cecily would not meet his gaze. Instead, she began to fiddle with a small silver ring on her right hand. She slowly twisted the ring round and round her finger.
Finally, when he could not stand it any longer, Thomas reached out and took hold of her hand. “You don’t need to be afraid. I won’t send you back to your family, nor will I turn you out on the side of the road. You will be welcome to stay at Rosemount Abbey for as long as you like.”
His parents would be in London for another two weeks; it would give him time to help Cecily consider the options she had.
And possibly find some new ones.
“Thank you. I appreciate your kindness. I could do a with a friend right now,” she replied.
As he helped her back into the coach, Thomas had one last question on his mind. “Your father does not know where you are, does he? If I am going to have an irate earl descend upon me from a great height, I would like some prior warning.”
“No. Most definitely not. My father is not a man blessed with a forgiving nature. I expect if he found you and I alone in thiscarriage right this minute he would not hesitate to beat the both of us to within an inch of our lives.”
Thomas made a mental note to do all he could to keep Lord Norris from discovering where his daughter was, though he had an inkling that time was not on their side. Cecily’s father had seen them together at the party. That, coupled with his own departure from London on the very same day that she had disappeared, would make putting two and two together a very simple equation. His mind was working at a fevered pace as the coach pulled away from the roadside and continued on.
