“Ah,” he said, inclining his head. “Love … for you and young Scott, then, eh?” He was baiting her. He would get at the truth about the two of them, perhaps through the back door. Something had preceded her intense need to run. That was the question uppermost in his mind. Why had she suddenly decided to run?
She made a face at him, and that surprised him as she wagged a finger and vehemently declared, “That is a very silly notion. I would have expected it from another, but not from you. Anyone should be able to see that I adore Scott but only as a sister adores a brother. We have been brought up in one another’s way, you see, and it was only natural that Scott should want to rescue me before my guardian arrived to take me off.”
He was intrigued in spite of the nagging and cautious man in his head telling him not to get involved. Right then, that part of this very odd tale rang true. Right, so her very real guardian had for some unknown reason decided to descend upon her. Now he needed to know why she felt it necessary to run.
He asked, “Ah, so this night … Scott was saving you? How exactly was he going to do that? By running off without even a change of clothing?”
She shuffled in place and uncurled her legs from under her before sitting forward. “We had word that my guardian was spending the night at a nearby inn and would arrive to take me off in the morning. I have friends in town, and my staff … well they are more family than servants.” She sighed sadly. “We had a plan, Scott and I, but it all went wrong, you see. We suddenly had no time, and then I was late getting out of the house … and then the blasted highwaymen, and what must Scott do but go running off to rescue whoever … and get himself shot!”
Ashton swallowed his laugh and attempted to look serious. “Indeed, but what was this plan that went awry?”
“We thought to make the trip to London. We were supposed to get off early enough that only the last hour or so would be in darkness.” She stopped, appeared to think this over, and looked doubtful as she sighed and added, “I suppose that was our first mistake. The other was not anticipating that there might be highwaymen running amok on the king’s roads.” She shook her head. “I should have brought my gun and hurried after Scott … perhaps I could have shot one of them dead.”
“Er … or gotten shot yourself. Seems to me your guardian might have had a good notion to bring you under his eye.” At this point he could not help the chuckle that escaped him, for she gave him a darkling look. He waved this last off and said, “Sorry … but tell me, do you own a gun?”
“Well, of course I own a gun, and I know how to use it, but one cannot predict everything, can one?”
“No, that is the trouble even with plans that have been thought out well in advance and examined. Apparently, yours was thrown together at the last minute.”
She eyed him gratefully. “Yes, thank you, you do understand.”
He repressed his amusement, for she looked so damned serious, and said, “Well, as to that, I may, but I do feel that some more thought should now be put into the matter. Don’t you agree?”
“Oh, yes, but we are in a bit of a muddle, and I am not sure just what is to be done,” she answered, looking as though she might cry.
He reached over and touched her fingers. “There, there. You aren’t alone, you and your young gallant. We shall come about.”
“How?” she almost wailed.
“Scott shall recover from his wound, and by then we shall have it all managed right and tight,” he answered, attempting to bolster her spirits.
“Yes,” she said, brightening at once. “You are too kind, but, yes, Scott will recover, and we will push on, but still … we have a few obstacles.” She chewed her lip as she obviously tried to think this out.
“So the two of you decided to head for London. What exactly did you have in mind?”
“Scott has an aunt. She is not always disagreeable and might in fact, Scott says, take to the notion of showing us about town and perhaps even presenting me. Scott was sure she would fund the project and I could pay her back when I get control of my trust fund. It isn’t so far off that I will come of age and be in charge of my inhe
ritance, you see, and my guardian will not be able to tell me what I can or cannot do.”
She spoke with such vehemence combined with yearning that he did not have the heart to point out all the problems she and Scott might yet have to face. Instead, he chuckled, leaned forward once again, and tweaked her chin.
“Well, for now, my lovely, let us attend to our dinner,” he said, wanting her not to think about the matter. She needed time to recover from the night’s events. He looked towards the serving girl who had just appeared in the doorway laden with a tray of food and smiled to add, “It smells delicious, does it not?”
“Oh, yes,” Felicia agreed, popping yet another piece of her roll into her mouth.
~ Seven ~
FELICIA PUSHED AWAY her dish of apple pie and groaned. “I can’t eat another bite.” She eyed Ashton comically and added, “Even though I want to. Because it ’tis absolutely delicious.” She got up and walked towards the wide window.
Ashton chuckled and asked, “What are you doing now?”
She looked over her shoulder and told him, “I was just thinking, I should take a stroll outdoors.”
“At this hour? No, no you should not,” he said. He was in a quandary as to what he should do to manage his own affairs while attending to this sprite of a woman in breeches. Obviously his plans to attend his sister at Easton had been shot to smithereens. Now here he was with the most enticing chit, who captivated him with her bewitching smile and her saucy manners. But it was more than that. He couldn’t leave the two, Scott and Felicia, to fend for themselves. It was unthinkable. Daffy would do just fine until he could manage to attend her. He was sure his sister would not easily forgive him for this, his latest what she was sure to call ‘wickedness’ in leaving her to take care of his ward. He did know her, though, and once she heard about the plight of the young man abovestairs and this wayward young woman, she was sure to relent. What else could he do? He simply had to help them.
There was nothing for it, because that lad abovestairs would surely have bled to death had he not happened along. Daffy would, in the end, understand, and while she was in charge of his ward he was confident that all would go along beautifully well in that matter.
As he looked at Felicia’s provocative figure in her tightly fitted breeches, with her high boots all dusty, as was her linen blouse, he realized he was more than a little attracted to the minx. He shouldn’t be, but there it was. His better judgment bade him look away. She was too young … too untried … too!