Chastity closed the door softly and leaned against it. Verity and
the baby were both asleep and she hesitated to waken them. Or perhaps
it was just that she needed a moment to think.
She went to the dressing table, took off her wig and hat, and looked
in the cheval mirror. She was not in the habit of looking at herself
these days, for it reminded her of the past, and what her father had
done to her.
At first, with her hair a mere stubble, she had shunned mirrors and
willingly worn the ugly caps. As it had grown a little, she had taught
herself to accept the sight. It had become easier once she had thought
of wearing her brother Victor’s old clothes. She did make quite a
handsome boy.
Her father had cleared Walgrave Towers of all Verity’s and
Chastity’s garments so she would have no opportunity to use them, but
he had not thought of Victor’s and Fort’s. Fort’s clothes were far too
large, for her elder brother, Lord Thornhill, was twenty-eight and a
big man. Victor, however, was a slim eighteen. His old clothes had
needed only the slightest alteration.
But she hated dressing this way.
She longed to wear silk gowns again, and hoops, and impractical,
pretty satin slippers. She wanted to have long, lustrous curls brushing
her shoulders, a kissing patch by her lips, and a fan. She picked up
Verity’s comb and imagined it a fan. She extended it shut.
Do you love me
? She pretended to open and shut it.
You are cruel
. She touched it to her lips.
You may kiss me
. She drew it slowly across her cheek. I
love you, Lord Cyn
.
She dropped the comb. No, not that! How had she come to feel that
way about Cyn Malloren when she’d thought she would never trust a man
again? Perhaps it had been the look on his face when he held William.
Or his kindness to Verity. Or his kindness to prickly Charles.
Perhaps it was his joyous spirit, the sheer zest with which he faced life, his delight in challenge…
She turned away from the mirror, fighting the madness. There was no
place for fantasy at such a time of danger, and anyway, it would only
be the path to heartbreak. If she revealed herself to be a woman, she
would be a freak with cropped hair. She would probably have to tell him
she was that whore, Chastity Ware. Even if he was interested in her, it
would only be for a quick roll in the nearest bed.
Lud, but she must be a whore at heart, for that impossible notion sent a tingle of longing through her.
It was all the fault of that fake kiss.
She had never much cared for kisses. When Henry Vernham had forced a
kiss on her, she’d felt like gagging. She’d told her father, expecting
to have Vernham punished for it, but Walgrave had told her not to be
missish with her future husband. The next time Vernham had tried it,
Chastity had jabbed him with her embroidery scissors.
That memory brought a grim smile of satisfaction to her face. As
punishment, she’d had to endure one of her father’s chilling rages, but
Vernham hadn’t tried such an assault again.
Chastity had to confess, however, that while kissing Cyn Malloren,
she’d felt no urge to fight. The very opposite. His kiss had made her
feel warm and soft, and she’d wanted to deepen it, to explore him more
fully.
She pressed her hands over her face. And even if by some miracle he
cared, and still cared when he knew the truth, she could not let
anything come of it, for it would destroy him. They would never find
happiness among sneers and scandal, and, worse than that, he would not
tolerate any insult to her. Sooner or later it would come to a duel.
She would be his death.
Chastity made her grim resolve. She must put all sentiment aside and
concentrate on their purpose, getting Verity and William safe to
Maidenhead. Then she would send Cyn Malloren on his merry way
unencumbered.
She gently woke her sister and explained the problem. She soothed
Verity’s fears and helped her to prepare the baby. She smiled
encouragement. “Ready? Don’t worry. We’ll be out of here in a twitch of
a cat’s whisker, and Henry will decide he was mistaken in thinking he
saw me.”
Verity made a gallant attempt to smile back, and they went out to join Lord Cyn.
“Ready?” he asked. When they nodded he said, “The coach is waiting
and I’ve primed a gossipy maid with the story of my romantic flight
with my young lover.” He fluttered his lashes. “I think she rather
envied me—an old hen with such a tender rooster. So, heads down and
straight to the coach!”
They hurried down the stairs. As they crossed the hall toward the coach yard, Cyn said, “Go ahead. I’ll follow in a moment.”
Chastity wondered frantically what he was up to, but now wasn’t the
moment to debate the matter. She steered Verity out to the waiting
coach. From within, she watched anxiously for Cyn’s appearance.
She ducked back when she saw Henry Vernham stalking toward the inn.
Through the edge of the window, she saw Cyn emerge and wanted to scream
a warning. He stopped. Vernham stopped.
Cyn did a perfect play of a terrified, guilty female. He shrank
back, half-covered his face with the paper in his hands, then scuttled
past Vernham and into the coach. Vernham sneered after him and
continued into the inn.
Cyn took his seat, an ostler slammed the door, Hoskins cracked his whip, and the coach pulled out into the high street.
Verity was pressed into the corner, clutching William far too tightly. “Did he see me?”
“Of course not,” said Cyn, tossing the crumpled paper onto Chastity’s seat. “And we’re away now.”
“But he’ll pursue us!”
“Why? He thinks he saw Charles, and that makes him think you’re in
the area. He’ll inquire of every inn in Salisbury and find no Charles,
and no one to fit your description.”
“But,” said Chastity, “what if he thinks to inquire about babies?”
“Good point,” said Cyn with a sharply appreciative look. “With that
tack he’ll soon find that the naughty lady of the meadows had a babe
the right age. He just might put the pieces together.” He looked at
Verity. “How clever is this man?”
She bit her lip. “He’s no fool. He’s a self-centered wastrel, but he has a shrewd brain when he cares to use it.”
Cyn opened the hatch. “Spring ‘em, Hoskins.” The carriage bumped and rolled as the team went into a gallop.
Verity was white as a sheet. “We can’t possibly escape! If they catch us, Lord Cyn,
promise
you’ll do all in your power to get William away.”
“Of course we can escape,” he said firmly, “but I promise nothing
will happen to your child.” He put a hand over Verity’s and looked into
her eyes. “Trust me.”
Chastity felt a pain in her chest, a real physical pain. If only Cyn
would look at her as directly and promise to keep her safe. Oh, she was
in a sorry state.
She remembered him describing his trade as an officer responsible
for the lives of many men; she saw he would be good at it. He would be
lighthearted in season, keeping spirits high, but underneath there
would always be the steel of courage and efficiency.
She reminded herself of her resolve, but the awareness of her love
was too new, and she found herself staring at him, drinking in every
detail…
She wrenched her eyes away. They focused on the paper he’d tossed on
the seat beside her. Her heart thudded. He had stopped to purchase an
up-to-date copy of the
Gazette
. The front page was crushed back and she could see the headline of an item, baronets widow and HEIR MISSING.
Oh, sweet heavens.
The names would be disguised in the usual way…
widow of Sir W***m V****m, of Gloucestershire
…
but everyone who was anyone would know. Would the paper hint at past
scandals in the family? More than likely, she thought with a shudder.
What newssheet could resist such a juicy
on dit
?
Cyn hadn’t linked the Earl of Walgrave with Chastity Ware, she
reasoned. He had been sick when the full torrent of Chastity’s scandal
had burst. He must have heard something, however, during his months in
England. Let the name Ware enter into things and he must surely make
the connection.
The gossipmongers and the caricaturists had quickly made the link
between Chastity Ware and Haymarket ware, or whores. And what fun they
had with her Christian name! As soon as Cyn read the paper, he would
know all. He would despise her—or, even worse, he would consider her
fair game.
The newspaper assumed the nature of a cocked pistol, ready to be
triggered by the next bump in the road. She tried desperately to think
of a plausible excuse to throw it out the window…
“Charles!”
She jumped at Cyn’s sharp voice and guessed he had been trying to gain her attention.
“Yes?”
“Pull yourself together. It’s understandable for Verity to be a
little overset, but I expect you to be made of sterner stuff. We are
making plans.”
At least that meant he wasn’t reading the paper. Chastity assumed
her apparent maleness like armor. “Good,” she said crisply. “What are
we to do?”
Cyn eyed her keenly for a moment, then nodded. “It is my assessment
that even if Vernham does pursue us, he won’t catch us till late
afternoon. He’ll have to stop and check each inn in case we’ve halted,
and that will slow him. We can relax and make plans.”
“But what if he alerts others, such as the military?”
“That is a danger, though even that sort of pursuit should be
considerably delayed. I’m sure we have a good head start, but if
Vernham does become suspicious we cannot possibly make Maidenhead
without being caught. If we try to stop for the night on this road, he
will come up with us, and these moonless nights are too dark for
traveling.”
“So what are we to do?” asked Verity with a calm which spoke volumes for Cyn Malloren’s ability to inspire trust.
“I suggest we leave the London road and go to Winchester.”
The sisters shared a look of astonishment.
“Winchester?” echoed Verity. “Why?”
He settled back. “Because no one will expect you to head in that
direction, and I have a friend there who will shelter you. Inns are too
chancy with the hunt so widespread.”
“True,” said Verity, “but if Henry guesses we are his quarry, he’ll still be able to track us, stage by stage.”
A little smile played on Cyn’s lips. “Yes, but he’ll be looking for
an older lady, a youth, and a maid with a baby. He may suspect that
Charles is Adrian, but it’s less likely he’ll realize I am male.
Therefore, I propose that we transform ourselves into a new party.”
Chastity’s imagination was caught. Faith, but he was a cunning rogue. “What kind of party?”
“A military gentleman traveling with his wife.”
“I am to be your wife?” asked Chastity, a traitorous thrill in. her heart at the thought.
Cyn raised his brows. “You, sir? Why complicate matters like that?”
Chastity remembered the deception with a bump.
“Verity can play that role,” he continued. “We are not, after all,
trying to hide her from those who know her, just obscure the trail. We
will also get rid of the baby.”
“
What
?” Chastity and Verity cried in unison.
“Not really,” he said with a grin. “But if Sir William will
cooperate, we’ll put him in my portmanteau when we’re in public. If
not, I’m sure it will surprise no one that a military man and his wife
should have a child.”
“And what of me?” asked Chastity, ridiculously hurt at the image of this happy family which excluded her.
“I suppose you should once more be the groom. The flat-brimmed hat is very concealing.”
“I am to ride on the box?”
Cyn frowned. “No. Not just because of Hoskins’ hostility, but because you would be very visible up there.”
Verity frowned. “But I don’t see how this will get me to Nathaniel. I won’t give up my purpose, my lord.”
“Of course not, but it’s clear now that the London roads and
Maidenhead are the center of the search. If the search is as thorough
as it appears, I’m not at all sure we could get you close to your major
in any disguise. I’ll visit Frazer and tell him the tale, then he will
join you in Winchester.”
Verity laughed. “It’s wonderful. I really think it will work!”
“Of course it will,” he said with superb self-confidence. “So, I
will assume my uniform—with great relief, I assure you. You will don my
other female outfit and be my wife, and Charles will become the groom.
We will leave unexplained your presence inside the coach, Charles.”
Chastity had been thinking over this ingenious plan and had spotted
a flaw. “But how are we to effect this change with no one the wiser? If
one party enters an inn and another emerges, someone will be bound to
notice.”
Cyn’s eyebrows rose. “My dear Charles, with such a head for detail
you should consider a career as a quartermaster. And we can’t stop the
coach,” he mused, “and change by the roadside, for the postilions would
see all…”
“We’ll have to do it in the coach,” said Chastity slowly, her mind
working out the details. “At the next stage we’ll pull out the
necessary boxes from the boot. That will arouse no suspicion. We will
pull down the blinds and all contrive somehow to transform ourselves
over the next ten miles. We’ll keep the blinds down when we change
horses, while Hoskins gives the new postilions to understand that his
passengers are a military man with his family. Soon the blinds will go
up and there we’ll be!”
Cyn laughed. “Brilliant! The naughty lady and her Adrian, along with
their suspect maid and baby, will have fallen off the edge of the
earth. With the amount of traffic on this road I doubt Horrible Henry
will ever sort it out, but with luck he’ll spend days trying. I salute
you, young Charles, indeed I do. If you have any interest in a military
career, I’ll find a place for you in my command any day.”