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Authors: Deborah Simmons
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hand. He lifted his head in surprise to see her silently motioning him toward the window, where something had drawn her attention. He stepped behind her, looking over her shoulder into the courtyard below. The Long Man was not a posting stop, so the cobbled area was relatively quiet, making it easy to spy the two men leaning against one wall in the deepening shadows.
Kit felt the tension in Miss Ingram’s body and had to stop himself from drawing her back against him in comfort. “I don’t see how anyone could have tracked us here,” he assured her. “They would have had to follow us from the cottage, and we saw no signs of that.”
“They could have been waiting on the road.”
“For how long? And which roads?”
“Any road that leads to London,” Miss Ingram said. She turned her head slightly. “If we go to Cheswick instead, perhaps we can lose them.”
Kit stifled a groan at the familiar refrain, but he was not surprised to hear it. Someone as determined as Miss Ingram did not give up easily. And hadn’t she told him earlier that she would go by herself, if necessary? The memory of that threat, coupled with her impassive features and the presence of the two men below, however innocent they might be, made Kit distinctly uneasy.
He might have been blind before, heedless of the signs of approaching trouble, but he was more observant now, and his observations told him that Miss Ingram might very well slip from the room the minutehis back was turned, going from danger into danger. Alone.
And that’s when the truth hit him. It didn’t matter whether her chase was a foolish one, leading nowhere, and it didn’t matter what his own feelings about the possible existence of a Mallory might be. It didn’t even matter whether Miss Ingram was being completely honest with him. The only thing that mattered was keeping her safe. And since he could not force her to go home, the only way to protect her was to go with her.
Kit admitted there were other, less admirable reasons to remain in Miss Ingram’s company, his own selfish desires among them. But first and foremost in his mind was the task he had undertaken when her coach had broken down on its way to Oakfield. He’d failed his sister, but he wasn’t going to fail this woman.
“All right, we’ll go to Cheswick,” he said. If Miss Ingram was startled by his sudden capitulation, Kit did not see it, for his attention was fixed on the men below. Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to see what they were up to, he thought. But as he watched, the taller fellow pushed away from the wall, revealing not the nondescript clothing of their attackers, but livery. And very fine livery, at that.
Kit was glad he had not gone down to confront them since he was already plagued by one arrest warrant. “These two may be similar in height, but that’s not the way our pursuers were dressed.”
Miss Ingram turned her head, as if to argue, but a knock came at the door, and she moved quickly away. She slid into a shadowed corner, as though expectingthe two men to burst in. Kit knew that was highly unlikely, but reached for his pistol nonetheless just as the door opened to admit a harried-looking chambermaid.
After handing them a tray of food, she lit the fire and was on her way, leaving them to their supper. Kit let Miss Ingram have the chair and pushed the bed stairs between them, so that she could place her plate on the top step while he sat on the floor and used the bottom.
The room was dark but for the fire, and for a while they ate in silence, broken only by the crack of the logs. Kit told himself that the only difference between this night and the last was that their room was smaller and better appointed. Yet somehow this evening seemed more intimate. Perhaps it was the earlier hour or the fact that they were sharing a meal.
Last night Kit had leaned against a door, staring at a dark shape that was hardly recognizable. But tonight, the firelight danced across Miss Ingram’s face,
Kit felt the tension in Miss Ingram’s body and had to stop himself from drawing her back against him in comfort. “I don’t see how anyone could have tracked us here,” he assured her. “They would have had to follow us from the cottage, and we saw no signs of that.”
“They could have been waiting on the road.”
“For how long? And which roads?”
“Any road that leads to London,” Miss Ingram said. She turned her head slightly. “If we go to Cheswick instead, perhaps we can lose them.”
Kit stifled a groan at the familiar refrain, but he was not surprised to hear it. Someone as determined as Miss Ingram did not give up easily. And hadn’t she told him earlier that she would go by herself, if necessary? The memory of that threat, coupled with her impassive features and the presence of the two men below, however innocent they might be, made Kit distinctly uneasy.
He might have been blind before, heedless of the signs of approaching trouble, but he was more observant now, and his observations told him that Miss Ingram might very well slip from the room the minutehis back was turned, going from danger into danger. Alone.
And that’s when the truth hit him. It didn’t matter whether her chase was a foolish one, leading nowhere, and it didn’t matter what his own feelings about the possible existence of a Mallory might be. It didn’t even matter whether Miss Ingram was being completely honest with him. The only thing that mattered was keeping her safe. And since he could not force her to go home, the only way to protect her was to go with her.
Kit admitted there were other, less admirable reasons to remain in Miss Ingram’s company, his own selfish desires among them. But first and foremost in his mind was the task he had undertaken when her coach had broken down on its way to Oakfield. He’d failed his sister, but he wasn’t going to fail this woman.
“All right, we’ll go to Cheswick,” he said. If Miss Ingram was startled by his sudden capitulation, Kit did not see it, for his attention was fixed on the men below. Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to see what they were up to, he thought. But as he watched, the taller fellow pushed away from the wall, revealing not the nondescript clothing of their attackers, but livery. And very fine livery, at that.
Kit was glad he had not gone down to confront them since he was already plagued by one arrest warrant. “These two may be similar in height, but that’s not the way our pursuers were dressed.”
Miss Ingram turned her head, as if to argue, but a knock came at the door, and she moved quickly away. She slid into a shadowed corner, as though expectingthe two men to burst in. Kit knew that was highly unlikely, but reached for his pistol nonetheless just as the door opened to admit a harried-looking chambermaid.
After handing them a tray of food, she lit the fire and was on her way, leaving them to their supper. Kit let Miss Ingram have the chair and pushed the bed stairs between them, so that she could place her plate on the top step while he sat on the floor and used the bottom.
The room was dark but for the fire, and for a while they ate in silence, broken only by the crack of the logs. Kit told himself that the only difference between this night and the last was that their room was smaller and better appointed. Yet somehow this evening seemed more intimate. Perhaps it was the earlier hour or the fact that they were sharing a meal.
Last night Kit had leaned against a door, staring at a dark shape that was hardly recognizable. But tonight, the firelight danced across Miss Ingram’s face,
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