Mandy

Within a few moments after they parted from Chauncey, the twins were tooling their horses carefully along the edge of the woods to the open road.

Mounted on her gelding with her blonde hair wrapped in a black bandana and a billycock hat angled low over her forehead, she smiled at her brother. She wore his shirt and a hooded cloak, over a pair of breeches (also his from his youth) and riding boots. She was thrilled to be out in the fresh air and on horseback, even if it was in broad daylight. No one would get close enough to discern that she wasn’t a lad.

“It is so good to be outdoors, isn’t it Neddy?”

“Aye, I’m prime for a bit of sport,” he said and chuckled.

“Ned, let’s have a bit of fun with Skip,” Mandy suggested.

“How?”

“I’d say we look every bit the high toby, don’t you think?”

He laughed, “You could say that I do, but you? Naught but a slip of a girl, no size to you.” He shrugged. “Besides, what toby worth his salt robs a coach in broad daylight?”

She took out her horse pistol and waved it with a laugh, “A daring one! And I can talk cant with the best of ‘em. Now, stubble it covey. What I lack in size…I make up with this.” She lifted the pistol.

“Game you are. Right then, let’s give him a fright.”

They passed through the glen to onto Abbey Road and took up strategic positions. They hadn’t long to wait as the carriage could be heard lumbering toward them. They pulled up their scarves to their eyes and their hoods over their heads and Mandy was struck by how warm it was even with the sun on its way down.

“He is coming—there just around the bend,” Mandy said excitedly.

As the viscount’s coach slowly managed the curve in the road and approached the clump of woods that would border it on either side, Mandy could hear the viscount’s driver whistling. She turned and motioned to her brother as she urged her horse forward, gun lazy in her hand.

They rode onto the road, blocking it.

The carriage slowed to a complete stop at her brother’s command, and Mandy marveled at his deep disguised voice. It nearly made her lose control and laugh, but she managed to restrain herself.

However, suddenly Ned cursed beneath his breath as he saw the driver reach for something. “Our little hoax is getting dangerous,” he whispered to his sister before he pointed his empty gun and demanded, “Put your fambles to the sky, m’buck…that’s right, that’s the way of it.” Ned rode up and stood in his stirrups to reach for the gun on the driver’s seat. “Aye, I’ll just hold this barking iron of yers so no one gets hurt.”

Mandy was grinning beneath the scarf and wanted to clap. She looked toward the open window of the coach and thought how odd that the viscount had his hat pulled low over his eyes, and she leaned toward that window and said, “Well now, m’fine covey. Out with ye!”

When no one responded and the door remained closed, she wondered if she had used a deep enough voice and lowered her voice to repeat, “Out now covey. Whot? Be ye asleep?” She clucked her tongue and added, “Come then before I must let some of that fine gentry blood of yers.”

Ned sat his saddle and grinned to whisper that she did indeed have an excellent command of thieves cant, when something suddenly caught his attention and Mandy saw his fine brows rise up with surprise.

Her own attention went to the carriage door which had finally swung open.

A male descended from its confines and he most certainly was not their friend, the visc

ount. Who was this? Where was Skip? And oh no, they were in for it now.

What should they do? She glanced hurriedly toward Ned who appeared dumbfounded. No help there. Should they just turn and ride off as fast as they could.

Who was this man in Skips’ coach? It didn’t make sense. She thought she might get to the bottom of it and in the lowest hardest voice she could muster, she said, “Hold up there, gent…time to stand and deliver.”

He brought up his face to hers and for a moment, his blue eyes turned her into a mindless container of mush.

He stood less than a couple of feet away and she knew this was the time to flee, but all she could do was stare into those glittering blue eyes of his and lick her lips beneath the dark wool scarf covering them.

He didn’t say a word and she gulped because she couldn’t say a word.

In addition to his bright eyes was the fact that he was the best looking man she had ever seen in her entire life and something inside of her tingled.

The gentleman in question decided to speak and he told them as his glare encompassed them both, “The last time I leveled the gun I now have under my cloak, the hightoby did not survive the encounter.” His voice was low, hard and Mandy had not doubt that what he had just told them was the truth.

He frowned as his gaze met hers and added, “I am loathe to destroy my very fine cloak and you two do not look old enough for the trade you seem engaged in, so then, what to do?”