Chapter Five
“Confound it, Lady Prudence! I thought my nose deceived me when I smelled perfume!” His shocked gaze took in her appearance, down to her boots. “What has occurred to cause you to ride alone at night, dressed in this manner?”
As Lord Hereford loomed over her, his gray eyes steely, Prue had the strangest desire to giggle. She coughed, her hand to her mouth.
“Are you going to explain?” he asked after a few minutes had passed.
Exhausted and fed up with male interference, she squared her shoulders.
She was tired of defending herself against forceful gentlemen.
What sort of acceptable explanation could she come up with, anyway?
Certainly not the truth. It was unlikely he’d believe it.
Something plausible that would permit her to continue on her journey unhindered.
“I’m on my way to visit my great-grandmother in Richmond.
” She shrugged her shoulders with a casual indifference she didn’t feel, daring him to challenge her, as if her mode of travel were an entirely normal occurrence.
Disbelief reflected in his eyes, his dark eyebrows snapping together. “All the way to London in that gear and riding that horse?”
Prue shrugged. “It really is no concern of yours, my lord. I plan to arrange for this horse to be returned to my father’s…
” Her breath hitched. “Stables. But I must hurry now to be added to the waybill, before the stage stops at the coaching inn for breakfast.” She tried to step around him, but he blocked her, the mere size of him like a wall between her and freedom.
She glared up at him, so exasperated, she could scream.
He cocked an eyebrow. “Why not travel in relative comfort and safety in Mr. Stanton’s coach?”
He seemed to know a lot about her circumstances. “I have my reasons.”
“You are fond of running away, are you not, Lady Prudence? You left Lord Bain’s in a similar fashion.”
She stared at him. “Were you watching me?”
“I happened to catch sight of you through my window, riding down the carriageway. Bareback, no less!” He glanced pointedly at the men’s saddle. “Do you have an aversion to sidesaddles?”
“What woman doesn’t? Would you care to ride one?”
He ignored that. “What reason has driven you to take such a dangerous course? Is it because of the new earl?”
Prue bristled. “Mr. Stanton is not the earl until he receives the Letters Patent from the Crown. And he has no control over me.”
“If you think that disguise will protect you on your journey, you are foolish.” His gaze dropped to her bosom. “Now, in the dawn light, I can quite clearly see you are a woman, as will everyone else.”
She shrugged, wishing she felt more confident, while his words robbed her of her earlier zeal. “It’s a risk I intend to take,” she said firmly. “If you’ll please step aside, I shall arrange with a stablehand to return the horse to Sedgwick Hall.”
“You’d trust them with this fine thoroughbred? I’ll ensure it is safely delivered. If you will wait here.”
Before Prue could protest, he seized the bridle and led the horse inside.
Through the doorway, she saw him pay the man.
If only she’d insisted on paying herself!
Now she was beholden to him. She deliberated about how to make her escape from him but soon realized such an attempt would be foolish.
He knew of her direction, and his long strides would reach her well before she gained the safety of the coaching inn, especially hobbling along with a sore blister on her heel.
Prue had never liked these boots, and they had been made especially by George Hoby!
Arguing with Lord Hereford would only cause a scene.
And she couldn’t afford to draw attention to herself.
He emerged within minutes and took firm hold of her elbow with his big hand. “Allow me to assist you back into the curricle,” he said crisply, brooking no argument.
“No…” Prue pulled away. After the long night without a shred of sleep, with parts of her aching that she couldn’t mention, she was tempted to do as he’d commanded.
But what did he plan to do with her? Return her to her home?
Or would he take her somewhere where they could be alone?
It would be foolish to trust him. A flush warmed her cheeks.
His questions had brought her escape plan into stark reality and if she couldn’t get a seat on the stagecoach, it was doomed to fail.
But it was her plan and as she had no other option, she must try.
Prue was heartily sick of being treated as if she didn’t have a brain in her head.
“Thank you, my lord, but I assure you there’s no need to concern yourself with me. ”
A tick in his strong jaw revealed his displeasure and drew her attention to his firm-lipped mouth. She stiffened as the memory of his kiss sent warmth rushing up her neck.
“Have some sense, Lady Prudence. You can’t be seen wandering about the village on your own, and in those clothes!”
“I intend to wait in the inn parlor for the stagecoach.”
“Alone? It is barely dawn.”
“The stagecoach arrives early for the passengers to have breakfast. It should be here within the hour.” Prue’s limbs felt leaden, and she tried not to flinch at the prospect of remaining awake and on her guard among strangers.
Her eyelids grew heavy, her eyes burning.
She rubbed one with a finger and looked away, not wishing for him to see the doubt on her face she struggled to conceal.
“And when the coach deposits you at the Belle Savage Inn in Ludgate Hill, how do you intend to get from there to Richmond?”
“By hackney, of course. I have the money.”
“Jarveys are not keen to travel that far from the city, and few would take you up, dressed as you are.”
She held her valise in front of her like a shield. “I have a gown with me should I feel the need to change, and shall manage quite nicely, thank you.”
He shook his head. “It is far too reckless a scheme and in no way can it succeed.” He waited, his lips pressed together while she fiddled with the annoying capes of her father’s greatcoat swamping her shoulders.
Worse, the sash holding up her breeches had loosened, and she feared they would drop to her ankles.
She fought not to give in to the temptation to hoist them up.
“It’s an inconvenience to me, but I’m prepared to return you to Sedgwick Hall,” he said finally. “Hopefully, before your absence is noticed.”
No! She refused to return to Roland. She visualized his smug expression in her mind’s eye.
How to escape this large, distracting man?
Aware vital minutes were ticking by, she glanced nervously down the street, fearing her cousin would soon appear.
“I wouldn’t dream of inconveniencing you.
In any event, my absence could have already been discovered.
Surely, you would dislike my cousin finding us alone together?
He will think the worst, and who knows where that might lead?
You might be forced to marry me,” Prue added, pleased, perhaps to have thought of something to rattle him, as he had done her.
It didn’t. He merely laughed, but without any real humor.
Almost as soon as the words had left her lips, her prediction about Roland proved right.
The thunder of horses’ hooves and the jingle of traces heralded her father’s black coach with the earl’s crest on the door panel, advancing smartly down the street with lanterns blazing.
“Roland’s here.” She gasped, looking around wildly for somewhere to hide.
Who had given her away? It would not have been loyal little Allie.
Had Roland opened her bedchamber door to check on her during the night? She shuddered.
Lord Hereford had turned to observe the approaching vehicle.
He grabbed her arm and drew her into the shadows, pressing her against the stable wall and towered over her, making her aware of his lithe, steely strength.
“If you tell me what has occurred to send you fleeing from your home in this fashion, I might consider helping you.”
“You would?” she asked hopefully. All her stubborn determination to make her own way now seemed too hasty.
Prue eagerly grasped at his suggestion but knew she would have to be quick.
If Lord Hereford discussed her with Roland, her cousin would say she was grief-stricken and muddled in her thinking.
He would make it sound so convincing! Men were always inclined to believe each other before they did a woman.
She’d find herself back at home and kept under strict guard.
Watching from the shadows while hiding behind Lord Hereford’s broad frame, she watched the coach sweep past, thankfully without seeing her. It pulled into the forecourt of the coaching inn a half mile farther along the road. “You wouldn’t understand,” she said at last.
“As it happens, I am also on my way to London,” Lord Hereford said behind her. “If I better understood your situation…?”