Read Online Stolen Away: A Regency Novella by Shannon Donnelly - Free Book Online
Authors: Shannon Donnelly
Tags: Romance
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he had not expected these tidings.
Folding his hands behind his back, Arncliffe smiled anyway. He could think of more questions, but none this lad could answer, so he only said, “Thank you, John. Smollet will see to your reward. Please ask him to call the others back. Oh, and is a fresh team at the ready as I asked?”
“Yes, m’lord. And thank you, m’lord.” With a bow, the groom took himself off. Arncliffe turned and strode through his town house to the back garden.
He had brought Audrey to Arncliffe House, for he could think of nowhere else for her to wait as he organized the hunt for word of Fitzjoy. He certainly did not want to leave her at some public inn, and she could not go home—although she ought to now, he thought. The groom had been quite specific about what the gatekeeper at the crossroads for the New Kent Road and the London Road had said of the woman traveling with Fitzjoy.
A right pretty piece.
The gatekeeper had remembered the Irishman, both for the early hour he had passed and the beauty of the lady with him. That description, however, seemed far too vulgar to fit any lady. Nor did suit it the possibility of a sister.
A right pretty piece.
Arncliffe frowned. Perhaps Fitzjoy, having given up hope for Miss Colbert, had sought consolation in other arms. Even so, that did not put Fitzjoy in the most pleasant of lights. What was Audrey doing conceiving a fancy for such an unsteady fellow?
A day ago Arncliffe would have described her as a sensible woman, dependable, and even-tempered. The sort to make wise decisions. He had thought her kind, elegant, but with a dry sense of humor. Of course, two weeks ago he would have described his betrothed in much the same terms, but she had since made him wonder if knew nothing of women. Perhaps that was the truth. With a shake of his head, he let himself out of the house and strode into the garden, which had just begun to hint at the lush flowering of summer.
Audrey glanced up. She rose from where she had been sitting on a stone bench set in an arched, wrought-iron arbor. For a moment he hesitated, his thoughts tangling suddenly like a schoolboy’s. She had washed the dust from her face and had done something with her hair, piling it loosely instead of pulling it back in a tight knot. That wretched bonnet was gone, and the late afternoon light pulled a soft nimbus from her hair, finding touches of gold in the brown. The light also outlined long, shapely legs within the thin muslin of her gown and shift.
Arncliffe’s mouth went dry.
He had never seen her this way before, and jumbled thoughts of ancient pagan priestess or goddesses flitted past, what with that proud carriage of hers and the lush foliage around her, and...
And what was he doing entertaining such notions when he was engaged to another? Had he not just condemned Fitzjoy for such fickle behavior?
Audrey game forward, her expression anxious as she asked, “You have word?”
To make amends for his gaping at her, he tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and started with her to the front of the house, keeping his eyes fixed on his steps and not on her. “Southampton it must be. His carriage passed by the tollgate at the Elephant and Castle in the early hours on the road southwest. I doubt we’ll cover the distance in anything less than eight or nine hours, but if you care to leave now, we’ve a few hours of daylight and a full moon tonight.”
“Yes, please, do let us leave at once.”
He stopped in the hallway and turned to her. He dared not say anything of the woman traveling with Fitzjoy—what if his suspicions were wrong and she was Miss Fitzjoy? Still, he had to give Audrey some warning of what they might discover at the end of this quest.
“Miss Colbert—Audrey, I...well, I am going to pry again. Are you certain you wish to do this? Having committed myself to another, I think I can speak from experience when I caution you to rethink your passion while you can. The heart can
Folding his hands behind his back, Arncliffe smiled anyway. He could think of more questions, but none this lad could answer, so he only said, “Thank you, John. Smollet will see to your reward. Please ask him to call the others back. Oh, and is a fresh team at the ready as I asked?”
“Yes, m’lord. And thank you, m’lord.” With a bow, the groom took himself off. Arncliffe turned and strode through his town house to the back garden.
He had brought Audrey to Arncliffe House, for he could think of nowhere else for her to wait as he organized the hunt for word of Fitzjoy. He certainly did not want to leave her at some public inn, and she could not go home—although she ought to now, he thought. The groom had been quite specific about what the gatekeeper at the crossroads for the New Kent Road and the London Road had said of the woman traveling with Fitzjoy.
A right pretty piece.
The gatekeeper had remembered the Irishman, both for the early hour he had passed and the beauty of the lady with him. That description, however, seemed far too vulgar to fit any lady. Nor did suit it the possibility of a sister.
A right pretty piece.
Arncliffe frowned. Perhaps Fitzjoy, having given up hope for Miss Colbert, had sought consolation in other arms. Even so, that did not put Fitzjoy in the most pleasant of lights. What was Audrey doing conceiving a fancy for such an unsteady fellow?
A day ago Arncliffe would have described her as a sensible woman, dependable, and even-tempered. The sort to make wise decisions. He had thought her kind, elegant, but with a dry sense of humor. Of course, two weeks ago he would have described his betrothed in much the same terms, but she had since made him wonder if knew nothing of women. Perhaps that was the truth. With a shake of his head, he let himself out of the house and strode into the garden, which had just begun to hint at the lush flowering of summer.
Audrey glanced up. She rose from where she had been sitting on a stone bench set in an arched, wrought-iron arbor. For a moment he hesitated, his thoughts tangling suddenly like a schoolboy’s. She had washed the dust from her face and had done something with her hair, piling it loosely instead of pulling it back in a tight knot. That wretched bonnet was gone, and the late afternoon light pulled a soft nimbus from her hair, finding touches of gold in the brown. The light also outlined long, shapely legs within the thin muslin of her gown and shift.
Arncliffe’s mouth went dry.
He had never seen her this way before, and jumbled thoughts of ancient pagan priestess or goddesses flitted past, what with that proud carriage of hers and the lush foliage around her, and...
And what was he doing entertaining such notions when he was engaged to another? Had he not just condemned Fitzjoy for such fickle behavior?
Audrey game forward, her expression anxious as she asked, “You have word?”
To make amends for his gaping at her, he tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and started with her to the front of the house, keeping his eyes fixed on his steps and not on her. “Southampton it must be. His carriage passed by the tollgate at the Elephant and Castle in the early hours on the road southwest. I doubt we’ll cover the distance in anything less than eight or nine hours, but if you care to leave now, we’ve a few hours of daylight and a full moon tonight.”
“Yes, please, do let us leave at once.”
He stopped in the hallway and turned to her. He dared not say anything of the woman traveling with Fitzjoy—what if his suspicions were wrong and she was Miss Fitzjoy? Still, he had to give Audrey some warning of what they might discover at the end of this quest.
“Miss Colbert—Audrey, I...well, I am going to pry again. Are you certain you wish to do this? Having committed myself to another, I think I can speak from experience when I caution you to rethink your passion while you can. The heart can
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