Read Online No Choice but Seduction by Johanna Lindsey - Free Book Online
Authors: Johanna Lindsey
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have you and are taking you back to your family. So the easiest way for us to convince her that she’s on the wrong track is for us to not travel immediately to London.”
“You want to rent a room at the inn here and wait her out?” Grace guessed.
“That would be ideal, but how are we going to get Judith inside when the woman is watching us this closely? We need to lose her first, and the only way to do that is to convince her she’s wrong. This town isn’t far enough off the highway for her to think we aren’t still heading to London. But if it appears that we’re retracing our steps—”
“North?” Grace cut in.
“Yes, maybe even back to Northampton, since it’s not that far from here. I know that’s going out of our way, but she’s more likely to think she’s wasting her time and take her search elsewhere if she sees us riding in the opposite direction of London.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Grace admitted.
“I know,” Katey said, pleased with herself. “We can even get a room in a different inn and have a nice lunch sent up while we pass a few hours, just to make sure she’s no longer in the area. I’d like to give her time to get off the highway so we don’t run into her again later. And we’ll still have plenty of time to get Judith home before nightfall.”
“That’s assuming she doesn’t follow directly behind us all the way back to Northampton.”
“Well, let’s find out.”
They implemented the new plan, heading back the way they’d come. Grace still kept a close eye on the road behind them. It was disappointing to see that the Scotswoman hadn’t given up yet. She was still back there, though at a greater distance. And then it was a relief to see her stop a rider heading in their same direction.
Grace closed the curtain over the window and sat back in her seat with a smile. “Doubt is taking hold of her. It looks like she’s starting to stop others to ask if they’ve seen the girl. Before long we might even lose sight of her.”
Chapter Seven
A LL RIGHT , Y ANK,” Anthony said, “I’m going to trust you to carry out the switch. But I’m not going to be far away in case anything goes wrong.”
Boyd was inordinately pleased that Anthony Malory was expressing confidence in him. Perhaps it was because his family still viewed him as the “baby brother,” a hothead who was quick to engage in fisticuffs. While his brothers grew older, they failed to notice that he did, too. Yes, he admired pugilists greatly and welcomed any chance to test his own skills, but he was far less impulsive than he’d once been. He was gratified that a Malory, and one he actually admired, recognized that he was capable of handling such a tense, important situation.
Anthony wasn’t about to wait until tomorrow for the exchange to take place when he could try to find his daughter today. Northampton was only a few hours’ hard ride away, after all. They could be there and search the entire town before nightfall. Not that they were going to do anything so obvious. They didn’t know how many people were involved in the blackmail scheme and couldn’t take the chance that the criminals would be watching for a search like that, or even watching the roads. Which was why Anthony, Jeremy, and Boyd left London in a coach.
Three horses were tied to the back of it in case they needed to move more quickly. But the coach would conceal Anthony, who would, they assumed, be recognized, and Jeremy, who closely resembled Anthony. Boyd merely rode along with them while they figured out their separate plans of action.
“They’d be stupid to set up a meeting place near their own town,” Anthony speculated. “So I seriously doubt they live anywhere near Northampton, which eliminates a door-to-door search. But they might be holding Judy in an abandoned house or barn, someplace where they can keep Judith without drawing notice to her.”
“You think they’d sneak her into an inn?” Boyd
“You want to rent a room at the inn here and wait her out?” Grace guessed.
“That would be ideal, but how are we going to get Judith inside when the woman is watching us this closely? We need to lose her first, and the only way to do that is to convince her she’s wrong. This town isn’t far enough off the highway for her to think we aren’t still heading to London. But if it appears that we’re retracing our steps—”
“North?” Grace cut in.
“Yes, maybe even back to Northampton, since it’s not that far from here. I know that’s going out of our way, but she’s more likely to think she’s wasting her time and take her search elsewhere if she sees us riding in the opposite direction of London.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Grace admitted.
“I know,” Katey said, pleased with herself. “We can even get a room in a different inn and have a nice lunch sent up while we pass a few hours, just to make sure she’s no longer in the area. I’d like to give her time to get off the highway so we don’t run into her again later. And we’ll still have plenty of time to get Judith home before nightfall.”
“That’s assuming she doesn’t follow directly behind us all the way back to Northampton.”
“Well, let’s find out.”
They implemented the new plan, heading back the way they’d come. Grace still kept a close eye on the road behind them. It was disappointing to see that the Scotswoman hadn’t given up yet. She was still back there, though at a greater distance. And then it was a relief to see her stop a rider heading in their same direction.
Grace closed the curtain over the window and sat back in her seat with a smile. “Doubt is taking hold of her. It looks like she’s starting to stop others to ask if they’ve seen the girl. Before long we might even lose sight of her.”
Chapter Seven
A LL RIGHT , Y ANK,” Anthony said, “I’m going to trust you to carry out the switch. But I’m not going to be far away in case anything goes wrong.”
Boyd was inordinately pleased that Anthony Malory was expressing confidence in him. Perhaps it was because his family still viewed him as the “baby brother,” a hothead who was quick to engage in fisticuffs. While his brothers grew older, they failed to notice that he did, too. Yes, he admired pugilists greatly and welcomed any chance to test his own skills, but he was far less impulsive than he’d once been. He was gratified that a Malory, and one he actually admired, recognized that he was capable of handling such a tense, important situation.
Anthony wasn’t about to wait until tomorrow for the exchange to take place when he could try to find his daughter today. Northampton was only a few hours’ hard ride away, after all. They could be there and search the entire town before nightfall. Not that they were going to do anything so obvious. They didn’t know how many people were involved in the blackmail scheme and couldn’t take the chance that the criminals would be watching for a search like that, or even watching the roads. Which was why Anthony, Jeremy, and Boyd left London in a coach.
Three horses were tied to the back of it in case they needed to move more quickly. But the coach would conceal Anthony, who would, they assumed, be recognized, and Jeremy, who closely resembled Anthony. Boyd merely rode along with them while they figured out their separate plans of action.
“They’d be stupid to set up a meeting place near their own town,” Anthony speculated. “So I seriously doubt they live anywhere near Northampton, which eliminates a door-to-door search. But they might be holding Judy in an abandoned house or barn, someplace where they can keep Judith without drawing notice to her.”
“You think they’d sneak her into an inn?” Boyd
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