Chasing Eliza (Cavendish Mysteries 3)

“I need back-up.” He muttered weakly, before sweeping his cloak off his shoulders and dragging it around her, tying the laces at the top together tightly.

“Ouch!” Eliza protested as he jerked the cloak closed enfolding her in the long folds. “What’s wrong?”

The material of the breeches and even the shirt clung lovingly to every curve and hollow of her deliciously rounded frame. There was no way she would be able to pass as a man. As soon as any man with blood in his veins and eyes in his head saw her, he would know her sex right away and undoubtedly want to prove for himself that those luscious curves were real.

With the greatcoat, the hat and a horse, it may be possible if she kept her face partially covered that they might – just – get away with it. As long as nobody got too close and she didn’t remove the cloak. For his sanity, he prayed to the heavens above that she didn’t ever remove the bloody thing.

His libido had taken enough of a battering without being teased mercilessly for his forbearance. Shaking his head he gave her one last look and ordered her to walk around the room several times, prompting her to change her gait to walk like a man rather than a woman.

To Eliza it was all very surreal. The last thing she had expected of the day was having lesson in masculinity from Edward. Despite the gravity of the situation she began to giggle, the thought of the reaction they would get from people if he decided to kiss her swimming before her eyes, renewing her mirth.

“What’s so damned funny?” Edward grumbled after several moments of studying the startling change in her face when it was lit with happiness. Her eyes practically sparkled, impishly teasing him to join her. Her deliciously tempting lips were stretched over straight white teeth giving her a look of such adorable abandon that he couldn’t help but reluctantly smile back.

“Nothing.” Eliza replied, keeping her secret to herself. She couldn’t actually admit that she found the prospect of him kissing her hilarious and instead continued to smile gently to herself.

“If you think you can keep up the act, let’s go. Don’t speak to anyone, and keep your face partially hidden in the cloak.” He ordered eyed her lingering smile. He wasn’t sure she had even heard his last order, but couldn’t find the heart to snatch the first smile he had seen on her beautiful face so remained quiet.

“We’ll be lucky if we get out of the village alive.” He murmured quietly easing the door open and peering up and down the corridor cautiously before turning to eye her haughtily. “Just don’t take that cloak or hat off.” He ordered, pointing a long finger at her in warning.

Eliza huffed and followed him as he stalked out of the door. She had to practically run to keep up with his long legged stride. She was so intent in staring at his legs as he left the inn that didn’t notice when he suddenly stopped, and barrelled into the back of him with an ‘oomph’ of surprise.

Edward sighed deeply and hoped he didn’t have to put his hands on her. It had taken all of his determination not to sweep her into his arms for a kiss inside the room. He blithely ignored the soft press of her body against his back and glared at her while she regained her balance.

Edward closed his mouth with a snap, and swallowed harshly against the tight lump lodged in his throat. He couldn’t help but wonder if she was an angel sent from heaven to fulfil his every wish, or a demon from hell visiting him to tease and tempt him into insanity.

In the end their departure from the inn went without a hitch and within moments they had settled their bill, leaving the stable yard at a steady trot on horses that were practically bristling with energy.

It was a good thing too because the day was long and arduous. Although they stuck to the roads to make the riding easier, something she considered Edward had decided to do out of consideration for her, the hours sitting on a hard saddle began to take its toll on her bruised bottom. As the afternoon gave way to the onslaught of dusk she began to feel stiff and uncomfortable until she wasn’t sure how much longer she could continue.

Edward had regaled her throughout most of the journey with stories from his childhood and such humours anecdotes of his brothers that she couldn’t wait to meet them. She wondered if it had been his intention to try to alleviate the boredom of the miles and miles of empty road. Although she was glad the disguise had worked as well as it had, not having to think about anything other than which road to take was incredibly boring.

“Tell me about your childhood Eliza.” Edward murmured after several hours of desultory conversation touching on topics that were mundane and safe.

Eliza studied the horizon carefully for several moments before slowly shaking her head, shooting Edward a look of regret.

“No.”

“Why?” He studied the sudden sadness that had swept over her face and wondered if her childhood had been harsh. Although magistrates were paid well for their services, she had grown up with only a father to raise her.

Eliza sighed, wondering how to voice the tumult of emotions that battered her already bruised senses. She couldn’t bear to open up the box of memories; she was barely holding herself together as it was.

“It’s too painful right now.” She shot him a smile of regret, hoping he would drop the subject.

“Was it a harsh childhood?” He wanted to probe a little further, to get her to open up to him. He hated secrets and wanted her to trust him completely, even with memories that were painful to her.

“Oh! No, nothing like that.” He wasn’t going to give up until he had more information and she didn’t want him thinking ill of her father.

“Father adored mother. When she was alive the house was a happy place, full of teasing and laughter. Then one spring mother became ill and didn’t recover. When she died, father changed and was never the same after that.” Her voice turned whimsical as she remembered the change in the carefree childhood to the slightly sadder, more reserved childhood following her mother’s death.

“He did the best he could, but the laughter wasn’t as free-flowing and he spent so much time at work. I didn’t understand it at the time with being so young, but I think he tried to lose himself in work to cope with the grief.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to break open painful memories for you.” Edward murmured, wishing they had the time to stop so he could give her a hug. She looked so lost, so bereft as she visited the past that he suddenly wished he hadn’t broached the subject at all.

“It’s alright really; it’s just difficult to remember those happier times right now. It seems such a long time ago that it almost feels like it happened to someone else. When the smuggling became rife, father struggled with the amount of paperwork he needed to do to process everybody through the courts, so Jemima took over a lot of his writing, accounts and such. I took over the running of the house; the cleaning, laundry, that kind of thing. It worked well for us – until.”

“Until Scraggan appeared.” Edward finished for her, his voice hard and flat. If he could have caught sight of Scraggan there and then he would have happily run him through for all of the death and destruction he had caused so many people, not least the remarkable woman sitting beside him.

Silence settled between them as they rode through the patchwork of emerald of the rolling countryside, slowly making their way towards Huntingdon.