Read Online In Pursuit of Eliza Cynster by Stephanie Laurens - Free Book Online
Authors: Stephanie Laurens
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out of their clutches tomorrow.” He made the statement sound like a fact. “As it happens, getting you free is likely to be significantly easier in Edinburgh than here.”
She frowned. “Because Jedburgh’s such a small town?”
“Partly.” He met her gaze. “In his letter Devil mentioned a tale the kidnappers had concocted to ensure Heather couldn’t easily get help, even from the authorities …”
She was already nodding. “About them fetching me for my guardian? Yes, they’ve mentioned it. Threatened it, as it were.”
“Well, that’s the other reason trying to rescue you while we’re in or near Jedburgh isn’t a sound idea. All they’d need to do would be to alert the garrison, and they’d have quite a force to throw against us — and it’s possible they could close the border before we reached it, too.”
“Definitely not a good option.”
He hesitated; from his expression — definitely intelligent — she suspected he was thinking, assessing. “On top of that,” he eventually said, “Edinburgh has pertinent advantages. It’s a large city, so hiding ourselves in it once we have you free of them won’t be such a problem. And even more helpfully, I have friends, good friends, in Edinburgh itself.” He caught her gaze. “I’m sure they’ll help.”
He paused, searching her eyes, her face — she wasn’t sure what he was looking for, much less what he would see — then he somewhat diffidently said, “If they head on tomorrow morning, as I think we’re safe in assuming they will, they’ll reach Edinburgh about midday. You said they expect to hand you over to the laird on the day after that, so they’ll have to hold you somewhere in or very close to the town. Do you think you can bear to go on with them, at least until they halt wherever they intend to spend tomorrow night?”
She considered, then said, “Well, yes, I can manage — I really don’t see that we have much choice.”
He grimaced. “No good or wise alternatives, anyway.”
She nodded. “So I’ll play along and let them take me to Edinburgh.” She caught his gaze. “Then what?”
“I’ll follow, note where they take you, then I’ll come and rescue you tomorrow night.” His gaze was direct, open, and reassuringly steady. “We’re not going to let them hand you over to this blackguardly Scotsman, so tomorrow night I’ll come for you.”
She looked into his eyes, sensed the determination behind his steady gaze, and nodded. “All right. But it will definitely need to be tomorrow night — it won’t be like it was with Heather, where they waited for days for the laird to arrive. I overheard Scrope tell Taylor that he’d sent a message north before they even left London. Scrope is keen to get me off his hands and into the laird’s as soon as he can.”
“Wise man. It’s definitely safer for him that way — he doesn’t risk losing you as the others lost Heather.”
“Hmm. So, your friends … are you sure —” She broke off, glanced at the door and heard footsteps approaching. Eyes wide, she turned back to him.
“Yes, I’m sure,” he whispered back, already pushing at the casement.
She didn’t have time to reply. She grabbed the window, hauled it shut, snibbed the catch, yanked the curtains closed, then managed to start walking toward the bed before the key scraped in the lock.
The door opened, revealing Genevieve. The maid saw her, took in her slow gait, then turned to murmur a goodnight to Scrope, whom Eliza glimpsed in the shadows of the corridor. The stealthy scrape of a boot on slate tile reached her ears, masked by the dual male rumbles that came in reply to Genevieve’s words; Taylor was in the corridor, too. Reaching one of the two narrow beds the room possessed, Eliza slowly let herself down; listening carefully, she confirmed that one of the men went into the room to her left, while the other took the room to her right.
Scrope was taking no chances.
After casting her a sharp
She frowned. “Because Jedburgh’s such a small town?”
“Partly.” He met her gaze. “In his letter Devil mentioned a tale the kidnappers had concocted to ensure Heather couldn’t easily get help, even from the authorities …”
She was already nodding. “About them fetching me for my guardian? Yes, they’ve mentioned it. Threatened it, as it were.”
“Well, that’s the other reason trying to rescue you while we’re in or near Jedburgh isn’t a sound idea. All they’d need to do would be to alert the garrison, and they’d have quite a force to throw against us — and it’s possible they could close the border before we reached it, too.”
“Definitely not a good option.”
He hesitated; from his expression — definitely intelligent — she suspected he was thinking, assessing. “On top of that,” he eventually said, “Edinburgh has pertinent advantages. It’s a large city, so hiding ourselves in it once we have you free of them won’t be such a problem. And even more helpfully, I have friends, good friends, in Edinburgh itself.” He caught her gaze. “I’m sure they’ll help.”
He paused, searching her eyes, her face — she wasn’t sure what he was looking for, much less what he would see — then he somewhat diffidently said, “If they head on tomorrow morning, as I think we’re safe in assuming they will, they’ll reach Edinburgh about midday. You said they expect to hand you over to the laird on the day after that, so they’ll have to hold you somewhere in or very close to the town. Do you think you can bear to go on with them, at least until they halt wherever they intend to spend tomorrow night?”
She considered, then said, “Well, yes, I can manage — I really don’t see that we have much choice.”
He grimaced. “No good or wise alternatives, anyway.”
She nodded. “So I’ll play along and let them take me to Edinburgh.” She caught his gaze. “Then what?”
“I’ll follow, note where they take you, then I’ll come and rescue you tomorrow night.” His gaze was direct, open, and reassuringly steady. “We’re not going to let them hand you over to this blackguardly Scotsman, so tomorrow night I’ll come for you.”
She looked into his eyes, sensed the determination behind his steady gaze, and nodded. “All right. But it will definitely need to be tomorrow night — it won’t be like it was with Heather, where they waited for days for the laird to arrive. I overheard Scrope tell Taylor that he’d sent a message north before they even left London. Scrope is keen to get me off his hands and into the laird’s as soon as he can.”
“Wise man. It’s definitely safer for him that way — he doesn’t risk losing you as the others lost Heather.”
“Hmm. So, your friends … are you sure —” She broke off, glanced at the door and heard footsteps approaching. Eyes wide, she turned back to him.
“Yes, I’m sure,” he whispered back, already pushing at the casement.
She didn’t have time to reply. She grabbed the window, hauled it shut, snibbed the catch, yanked the curtains closed, then managed to start walking toward the bed before the key scraped in the lock.
The door opened, revealing Genevieve. The maid saw her, took in her slow gait, then turned to murmur a goodnight to Scrope, whom Eliza glimpsed in the shadows of the corridor. The stealthy scrape of a boot on slate tile reached her ears, masked by the dual male rumbles that came in reply to Genevieve’s words; Taylor was in the corridor, too. Reaching one of the two narrow beds the room possessed, Eliza slowly let herself down; listening carefully, she confirmed that one of the men went into the room to her left, while the other took the room to her right.
Scrope was taking no chances.
After casting her a sharp
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