Page 30 of The Hired Hero
“Make sure it has passed before you try to sleep again.”
She looked confused. “Why…”
“Do you have them often?”
“No,” replied Caroline. “At least, not until recently.”
He gave a whispery laugh. “I can’t imagine why.”
Her knees drew up under the meager bedcover, and her arms wrapped tightly around them. “Would that the rest of this were only a nightmare as well, and that I could simply wake and find myself free of it all,” she said with a heavy sigh.
“Mayhap that will be very soon,” he replied softly. To his surprise, he found he cared more than he wished to admit that his words would prove true.
* * *
So,the farmer hadn’t been too deeply in his cups to make an accurate observation, noted the gentleman. He let the curtain of the carriage window fall closed and settled back against the soft leather. The hat might have obscured the features and the jacket covered up the slender figure, but to an observant eye, nothing could hide the fact that the “groom” did not move quite like a lad.
No, there was little doubt. It had to beher.
But what was the chit up to? Who was the man with her? And did the fellow know what she was up to?
That would add complications…
Then, suddenly, the gentleman’s mouth curled upward as he recognized her traveling companion.
Ha—the duke’s daughter couldn’t have chosen a less likely protector!
It took little imagination to picture what the infamous Earl of Davenport was up to. How he had managed to strike up an acquaintance with the young lady was a mystery, but his intentions most certainly were not. He was known for his outrageous larks, especially when it came to seducing innocent young ladies. This masquerade surely had one purpose—and one purpose only.
Well, that suited his own intentions quite nicely. The dissolute nobleman would hardly interfere with his plans for the duke’s daughter. No doubt he was already bored and, having ruined the chit, would be more than ready to move on to other entertainment. As to the girl’s reputation, it was hardly of consequence. She would not live long enough for it to matter.
The gentleman rapped softly on the trap and spoke briefly with his coachman. The fellow nodded, then pulled the scarf at his neck up to his ears and stepped down to make a show of tending to the pair of matched bays.
* * *
Davenport and Carolinetook their saddled horses from the stableboy, who gave a whoop of delight at the coin tossed to him by the earl. They mounted and rode out with hardly a glance at the carriage pulled off to the far side of the yard. With only a slight hesitation, Davenport passed by a rutted cart path and continued on to the main road.
They rode in silence, letting the horses have their head, but the air of tension had eased, even though barely a handful of words had been exchanged since the night before. When the earl reined his stallion to an easy trot, Caroline fell in beside him, content with the steady beat of the hooves as the only sound between them.
After a while, she ventured a question. “Where does this road lead?”
“It passes up through Salisbury, where we have a choice of routes to London. If we stayed on nothing but cart paths, we could spend days meandering through the countryside—and for what purpose? It’s more than likely we’ve already thrown off anyone seeking to follow us, so it seems in both our interests to head to Town by the quickest possible way.”
She nodded thoughtfully. “I think you are right.”
“Good heavens, will wonders never cease?” he replied dryly, though a flash of humor sparked in his eyes.
She turned to regard him with a serious countenance. “You think me a harridan?”
“I’m not sure—” His words were interrupted by the clatter of wheels as a sleek, well-sprung carriage drawn by a pair of matched bays flew by them.
Caroline stiffened in the saddle. “That carriage—it was at the inn this morning, I’m sure of it.”
“No doubt it was. We’re not the only travelers on the road, you know,” reasoned Davenport. “There’s no need to become upset over every carriage that happens to pass us.”
“The occupant of that carriage didn’t spend the night at the inn—I neither saw nor heard anyone else moving about in any of the rooms,” countered Caroline. “So why would it be stopped there at that early hour? It doesn’t make sense.”
That gave the earl pause for thought.
