It wasn’t the first time this morning that she’d chided herself for the lapse. No doubt Anthony battled the same self-blame. However, they couldn’t find the thieves, nor their belongings; they had to address this threat instead.
With a grimace, Anthony adjusted the cloak he’d used for a pillow over his shoulder to cover his weapons. “Even if I am armed, I have no ammunition—that was in the pack. If Stills was the man responsible for taking our belongings, he undoubtedly left himself the bullets and gunpowder necessary to defend himself.” Hesitantly, Anthony stroked her cheek. “Besides, you aren’t armed, and I’d fear too much for your safety to confront him now. Such a confrontation can be frightening.”
Charlie arched her eyebrows. “Do you think I’ll fall to pieces the moment the first accusation is thrown?”
His silence spoke volumes.
She gritted her teeth. “Anthony, I’m not a watering pot. I won’t dissolve to tears at the first sign of danger. Surely we’ve been traveling together for long enough for you to realize that.”
At the chastisement, one side of his mouth lifted in a half grin. “You’ve proved that, but you still amaze me with your resilience and pluck. Any other woman of my acquaintance would have reached her limit.”
This time, she couldn’t suppress a roll of her eyes. “Perhaps you’ve been acquainting yourself with the wrong women. Any woman related to you, for instance, would act exactly as I am. Lud, Lucy would probably attempt a coup here and now.”
“I’m thankful you have more sense than her, then.” His chest expanded as he drew in a deep breath. As Lieutenant Stills finished watering the horses and turned, Anthony angled his back toward him and lowered his head closer to Charlie’s. His lips brushed against her cheek in a faint caress as he continued to speak. “We’ll stop at the next inn we find. We’ll confront him there.”
Charlie pursed her lips. When she turned her head, the corner of her mouth brushed against Anthony’s. Her breath hitched as she battled the ache to kiss him once more. “Are you certain it’s wise to confront him out of turn? He might just deny the entire debacle.”
Tucking another strand of hair behind her ear, Anthony whispered, “What do you propose? We can’t let him continue to sabotage us. No more can we bring him with us—what if he poses a danger to Mother?”
Why was he touching her so intimately? Only last night, he’d opted to sleep on the floor again. He hadn’t kissed her for days, and she feared she’d misinterpreted the inclination on his part. She swallowed hard. “I can’t think properly when you touch me like that.”
A wolfish smile spread across his face as he dropped his hand to her shoulder. He seemed inordinately pleased with himself. “Is that so?”
“It is. This hardly seems like the most appropriate time. Later, when we’re alone… ” Lud, what was she saying? Her cheeks heated.
His smile faded. He leaned his forehead against hers once more and whispered, “I hope to discourage Stills from eavesdropping by making it look as though we’re having an intimate conversation.”
“We are having an intimate conversation!”
“I meant of the sort he wouldn’t want to overhear. The sort lovers have.”
Charlie had never been privy to such a conversation, so she decided to let the subject drop, even though she thought all these delays were driving him mad. What would they be talking about so closely that wouldn’t be fit for prying ears?
Anthony swallowed audibly. “We won’t be able to stand like this forever. What is your idea?”
“We catch him in the act.”
To her surprise, Anthony tilted his head and kissed her. Her knees weakened once more, and she leaned against his muscular frame, letting him take command of her body. After a brief melding of mouths, he lifted his head. She kept her face turned up, hoping for another. When he didn’t offer it, she opened her eyes. His hazel eyes were warm, his mouth soft and in the very beginning of a smile.
“Was he looking at us?” she asked, her voice hoarse.
“I haven’t the faintest.” He traced her mouth with his thumb. “Forgive me, but I couldn’t resist.”
“There’s nothing to forgive.” She wished he’d do it more. Unfortunately, her courage fled, and she bit her lip as she returned to business. “You like my idea, then? If he thinks we’re able to procure another horse, he’ll try to stall us or stop us in some way. If we catch him while he’s in the act of sabotage, he’s more likely to tell us the truth.”
Anthony nodded. “We’ll do it in a village, preferably one big enough to have its own magistrate. I don’t have enough coin for a horse, though. I’m not even certain I have enough to house us, if the innkeeper won’t be convinced to charge the lodging to my brother.”
“We must try,” she told him. “It’s our best chance to end this without bloodshed.”
“I agree, love,” he whispered, stroking her chin. “Will you ride the horse again, then? I know you’d like to walk, but we can’t risk Stills harming our last horse in any way.”
She narrowed her eyes. Was he telling the truth, or was he only concocting the lie in the hopes of convincing her to ride? Unfortunately, he made a convincing point. “Very well, but once we’ve dealt with this threat, we are sharing the horse equally.”
Anthony nodded. “You have my word. Are you ready?”
A flock of birds erupted in her stomach at the thought of traveling all day with a man who might mean them serious harm. Nevertheless, she maintained her composure and nodded. “Let’s reach this village as soon as may be.”
20
By the time they reached a village Anthony deemed large enough to spend the night in, he looked haggard. Charlie supposed she might as well, if she’d had to walk all day. Their pace had been slowed to accommodate the lame horse, which Anthony had been loath to leave at the side of the road to fend for itself.
The sunset painted the sky in a brilliant array of red and gold as Anthony led the horse through the neat village street toward the crossroads at its center. Buildings encircled a three-story edifice, the biggest in the village by far. The painted swinging sign depicted a mug of ale but had no words.
When Anthony helped her from the horse, he lingered, hands on her waist as he waited to see if she could hold herself upright. His palms splayed against her, warm.
“Can you stand?” he asked, his voice rough.
She nearly pretended weak knees, simply for the excuse to keep him near. If he kissed her, she wouldn’t have to pretend. However, they weren’t in a clearing in the middle of a deserted forest; they stood in the center of a populated village. Even if he claimed them as man and wife yet again—which they had already decided they must in order to be united against Lieutenant Stills whenever he made his move—kissing in public would be unseemly.
She mustered a shaky smile. “Yes, thank you.” Her voice emerged breathless. Their kiss in the forest had been so tentative—sweet, almost, in comparison with their other two kisses. She couldn’t help but feel as though something between them had changed.
However, as he stepped back, he gave no indication that he was as affected by their nearness. She stifled her disappointment as he announced his intention to bring the horses to the stable. This was also according to plan, a plan they’d hatched little by little as they stopped to rest and water the horses. Each time, he had remained near to her, caressing her cheek or toying with her hair. He hadn’t kissed her again, however much she had hoped that he would. In fact, their conversations after the first had been entirely too brief, a few sentences at most.
While Anthony and Lieutenant Stills stabled the horses, where Anthony was to inquire of the stable hands whether they had any additional horses they could buy or trade for their lame mount, Charlie entered the inn. Anthony’s part in the ruse would soon be set, when his inquiries alerted Lieutenant Stills to the notion that they had enough money to replace their mounts. While the potential traitor was thus occupied, it was Charlie’s duty to uncover whether
or not this town housed a magistrate who might be able to help them.
The common room of the inn was full, with people clustered around a woman who played a pianoforte and sang like an angel. The words were a bit rougher than one might find in a London drawing room, but her performance was nothing short of stirring. The rapt attention she drew from the customers, mostly male, meant that Charlie was able to slip up to the long counter lined with stools and catch the attention of the barkeeper.
“Hello, sir. Would I be able to let a room from you, or is the innkeeper around?”
The young man, a few years shy of Anthony’s age at her guess, gave her a ready smile. “That’s my pa. I can help you, miss.”
“Mrs.,” she corrected. “Mrs. Graylocke. My husband and our friend are bringing the horses round to the stables at this moment.”
Calling herself Mrs. Graylocke felt strange and yet liberating at the same time. The thrill she got from lying tingled through her as though she were the spy her mother was.
Here she was, taking on a new identity for the sake of her mission and learning information that would help the coup they planned. This after adventuring through the British countryside, which, much to her disappointment, looked much the same as the woods and pastures surrounding Tenwick Abbey. It wasn’t nearly the exotic adventure she dreamed of, but the fact that she’d found herself mired in this situation with Anthony…
She swallowed and smiled once more. “I’m afraid we must beg special favor. Are you familiar with the Graylocke name? Perhaps Tenwick?”
“Of Tenwick Abbey? You’re married to a duke’s son?” He set down the silverware he’d been polishing and tugged on his forelock. “Are you some grand lady? You’re pretty enough to be.”
That had been the ambition of her family, when she’d initially made her coming out, for Charlie’s beauty to ensnare the heart of a lord so they no longer had to live with the deplorable Lord Harker. Although her older sister had thought herself plain, in the end it had been her beauty and wit to ensnare the heart of a lord. She was the true Mrs. Graylocke, not Charlie.
Charlie had never wanted that future for herself. Not bewitching a man with her beauty—as if that were her only amiable quality. And certainly not marriage. Not even… with Anthony.
Blast. Where he was concerned, she feared that she would relinquish her dreams of adventure. When he kissed her, that felt like an adventure in itself.
She bit her lip and told the barkeep, “I’m no lady. My husband is—”
Was Anthony a lord? She’d only ever heard him called Captain Graylocke. Wait… his younger brother, Gideon, was a lord, so Anthony must be as well. He didn’t act like one. Then again, all the Graylockes were much humbler than the typical aristocratic family.
Charlie smiled and completed, “Captain Anthony Graylocke, the middle child.” That sounded odd. Anthony was a war hero. Surely he should be known for something other than the fact that his father—and now brother—was a duke.
The young man smiled at her. “Well, I can see how a pretty bit o’ muslin like you caught his eye. You’ll want two rooms, or three?”
Three? He must assume that Anthony, like most London lords, would want to sleep away from his wife. Then again, given the glint in the young man’s eye, perhaps he was hoping to join her in bed himself. Not bloody likely. Charlie clasped her hands together so hard, her fingernails left crescent-shaped imprints in her skin. If Anthony had been here…
Remain calm. She was in public and would take care to remain that way. In the meantime, perhaps she could use the young man’s interest in her appearance to her advantage.
She gave him what she hoped was a helpless look. “I’m so happy you recognize my husband’s family, because you see, we were robbed in the last inn we stayed in. We have no belongings to speak of and little money. Would it be possible to send the accounts of our stay to Tenwick Abbey to have them paid? We’ll take two rooms and two meals and be on our way with as little trouble as possible.”
The young man frowned. “I’d have to ask my pa, but I don’t see as how that would be a problem. Whenever a lord passes through, we usually send the bill that way.”
Perhaps Anthony had been right to choose a larger village than the others they’d passed along the way. Charlie wondered if a smaller inn would have been so accommodating.
“Thank you. And”—she leaned forward, lowering her voice—“who would we turn to in matters of law around here? We’re so far from London, I’m not sure if I should hope for a magistrate.”
The barkeep puffed up. “Not so far from London, madam. It’s only a day and a half away. Perhaps you can make it there in one if you push hard.”
If that were true, they weren’t nearly as close to Tenwick Abbey as they’d hoped. Anthony’s ancestral home resided two days’ travel away from London. Should they alter their destination?
The man added, “And we do have a magistrate in town, as it so happens. Sir Walter. He lives not half an hour down the main road on the way to London.”
Charlie smiled, this time with relief. They had an ally nearby after all, if Lieutenant Stills proved too much to handle. “Thank you,” she said with feeling. “I’ll be certain to tell my husband of this and learn what he’d like to do regarding the theft.”
Or in this case, the suspected traitor.
She laid her hand on the counter. “Would you be able to talk to your father about those rooms? We’re dreadfully tired, and I’m certain my husband will want to retire the moment he returns from the stables. We’ll eat in the room as well, if possible.”
“I’ll ask straight away,” the young man said as he backed away from her.
So far, her part in the plan had gone smashingly. Had Anthony’s?
The hostler made a disapproving noise under his breath as he examined the horse’s foreleg. “You shouldn’t have traveled with her so far,” he admonished. “She needs time off that leg, more of it now that she’s spent the day making that injury worse. It might have been healed in a week.”
Although Gray had expected that pronouncement, it chafed nonetheless. He didn’t have a day to spare, let alone a week. He stifled his irritation. “I’m afraid I’m in rather a hurry to be home to Tenwick Abbey. Do you know if there are some horses for trade or sale? If we can trade this one for a fresh horse, or purchase another, it would much speed along our journey.”
Frowning, Stills stepped closer. A couple inches shorter than Gray, the lieutenant lowered his voice to such a degree that Gray had to lean his head closer.
“Sir, we’ve been robbed. We don’t have the blunt to purchase a new horse. I don’t know how we’re to let rooms for the night.”
“I keep the bulk of my coin in my boot. An old habit, after I was pickpocketed one too many times. It’s enough for one horse, maybe two if someone will trade in the injured nag. My family name should do to purchase us rooms for the night.”
Gray voiced the lie in the same cavalier manner he might have answered before he’d started suspecting Stills of being his enemy. The pit of his belly was as hard as rock. He didn’t want to believe it, even if the evidence suggested Stills was responsible for their setbacks. This was a man Gray had fought alongside, a man he had entrusted his life to on more than one occasion.
Now, as he studied his longtime companion, Gray couldn’t help but wonder if the flash of disapproval across the other man’s face was his imagination. He might have been seeing signs that weren’t there.
The hostler, unaware of their exchange, waited for Lieutenant Stills to clasp his hands behind him and take a step back before he spoke again. He trained his gaze on Gray.
“The innkeeper might be persuaded to sell one of the bays.” He pointed to the far corner. “They don’t get much exercise, these days, as the family has little cause to travel. I can ask and perhaps spread the word around town.”
“Do that,” Gray answered decisively. “We’ll need to leave not long after dawn tomorrow. I’ll confer with you then on th
e decision. And see if anyone would be willing to frank the cost to my brother, the Duke of Tenwick.” If he found someone willing to relinquish their horse on his word that his family would pay, he might be able to procure mounts for both him and Charlie, after all.
Turning, he left their mounts in the stable hand’s care and strode to the inn. He hoped that he and Stills had dallied long enough for Charlie to make her inquiries.
His second-in-command fell into step behind him as they entered the inn. The whispered chatter paused a minute as the patrons swung their gaze toward him. As the son of a duke, Gray was accustomed to scrutiny. He kept the cloak around his shoulders to shield his state of undress beneath and strode for the blonde seated on a stool at the end of the bar. As he reached her, the woman at the pianoforte began to pluck at the keys and drew the attention of those gathered in a ring around her.
Gray bristled as he witnessed the young man behind the counter, of an age with his younger brother, lean forward and give Charlie a wink. She shifted in place. Was she flattered?
He smothered the hot feeling in his chest as he laid his hand on the small of her back. “Hello, darling,” he said, his voice tight. “Did you manage to procure us rooms?” He didn’t take his eyes off the young man making calf eyes at her.
Perhaps he had no right to be jealous, seeing as he hadn’t done the honorable thing and offered for her hand. They’d been alone together. If anyone learned that they’d shared a room—never mind that he’d slept on the floor—her reputation would be ruined. He should ask her to marry him. It was the right thing to do.
So what was stopping him? When she turned her gaze up to him with a smile, his heart skipped a beat. She was too beautiful by half, wild and somehow ladylike at the same time.
She had the mettle to do whatever was necessary, and the strength of character not to fall to hysterics at the least setback. She might make him a very good wife—whether he would make her a good husband was hard to say. He’d been waiting for years for the wild streak in him to fade before he considered taking a wife. It hadn’t yet, but if she was a bit wild at heart, too, maybe it didn’t need to.
Captivating the Captain (Scandals and Spies Book 6) Page 13
