Upon the Open Road
Chapter nineteen
Juliet felt as though some unseen hand had plucked her from her own familiar life and then dropped her in a stranger’s, for her heart beat in a rather unfamiliar rhythm as she followed Keir away from the inn and down the road toward Liverpool.
As they had set off from Whickerton Grove the day before, Juliet had assumed—there was that word again!—that they would take a carriage. Keir, however, had insisted that they would be faster on horseback. “Ye do want to reach him before he sets sail, do ye not, lass?”
Juliet had felt herself nod, her eyes seeing and her limbs moving as though on their own, as though she was not the one in control. It was an odd feeling!
Fortunately, after speaking to her grandmother, Keir had managed to sneak them out of the house with no one else the wiser.
More than anything, Juliet had dreaded meeting her family’s curious gazes, their eager questions assaulting her like a thousand needle pricks.
She would not have known what to answer.
Her thoughts were a jumbled mess, doubts warring with hope, eagerness in an open battle with caution.
One moment Juliet felt a surge of energy at the prospect of confronting Christopher, of finally receiving answers, and in the next, utter terror seized her, sending a chill through her that made her shiver uncontrollably.
After one day on the road, they had stopped at an inn; yet Juliet had barely slept that night and so they had set out early the next morning.
Would they make it in time? It was the one question that kept repeating in Juliet’s mind.
What if she had waited too long? What if Christopher was already gone?
“Ireland is not at the other end of the world,” Keir remarked with a bit of a grin as he urged his mount closer to hers. “Even if he’s already left…” He lifted his brows meaningfully and his grin broadened.
Juliet could not help but laugh, and it loosened a knot deep inside. She breathed in deeply. “Are you saying I should go to Ireland?”
Keir shrugged. “If need be.”
Juliet smiled at him. “Life is simple to you, is it not?” she asked him, bewildered by the certainty she always saw in his gaze. Oh, if only she could call a sliver of his certainty her own!
He offered her a regretful grin. “I find people tend to make it more complicated than it needs to be.” He sighed, then looked at her. “Dunna waste this chance, lass. Be bold.”
Juliet chuckled nervously. “I’ve never been bold.
I…I’m not the bold one. Harriet and Louisa are.
Even Christina and, yes, Leonora, especially after everything she has been through, everything she has faced so bravely.
But me?” She scoffed, shaking her head. “I’ve never done anything… bold in my life.”
Grinning, Keir leaned closer, his blue eyes sparkling with mischief. “Then ‘tis about time, lass.” Good-naturedly, he bumped her knee with his own, then spurred on his horse, urging her to follow.
Laughing, Juliet did, and all of a sudden, the odd thumping in her chest no longer felt all that…odd.
Coming around a bend in the road, Christopher pulled his mount to a halt when he saw two riders approaching from up ahead. At first, they were no more than blurred shapes in the distance, illuminated by the midday sun. Then, however, as he moved closer, he could tell that it was a man and a woman.
Christopher could not say what it was, but from the first, he could feel a nervous tingle chase itself up and down his arms and legs, as though they were connected to him.
And then he recognized Juliet.
Perhaps it was something in the way she sat atop the horse, or the way she tilted her head or…
Christopher did not know, but he was certain it was her. Instantly, his heart skipped a beat…and his gaze wandered to her companion.
It was none other than Keir MacKinnear…her betrothed!
His insides turned and twisted painfully as he kicked his horse’s flanks. What were they doing here? Had something happened? To his sister, perhaps? But then, why would Juliet and Mr. MacKinnear be the ones to go after him? It did not make any sense.
As the three riders drew closer to one another, Christopher’s gaze remained locked on Juliet. Her cheeks were flushed, and loose tendrils danced down her temples. Her green eyes shone vibrantly, and yet something hesitant rested in them as they met his. What could be the meaning of this?
Christopher was about to ask for an explanation when the Scot spoke first. “Ah, Lord Lockhart, how fortunate for us to meet ye here.” Then he turned and grinned at Juliet, something…meaningful in his gaze.
Tensing, Christopher huffed out an irritated breath. Were they already able to converse without words? This was not what he had had in mind when he had decided to turn back and speak to Juliet. At the very least, he would have expected to have some priva—
“Off the horse with ye, lass,” the Scot instructed, “and speak to the man. I’ll be,” he looked around, “over there.” He gestured to a grove of trees near the bend that had first obstructed Christopher’s view.
Juliet nodded, her face suddenly pale before she inhaled a deep breath and dismounted.
After watching Mr. MacKinnear ride away, Christopher turned back to Juliet with wide eyes.
If he did not know any better, he would think that Mr. MacKinnear was…
somehow…on his—Christopher’s—side, leaving them alone together so they could talk.
This did not make any sense, either! He dropped to the ground and then led his horse over to her.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, once more glancing over his shoulder at Mr. MacKinnear’s receding back.
This was truly odd! Was the man not supposed to stay at his fiancée’s side?
A hesitant smile slowly claimed Juliet’s face. “I came to speak with you.”
Christopher stilled, for not only her words but also something in her gaze echoed within him. Was she here for the same reason as he? Had she come to—?
Swallowing hard, Christopher nodded. “Shall we…?” He looked around until his gaze fell on a lonely tree off to the side, its softly swaying leaves painted in warm colors of brown, red, orange and gold. “Over there?”
Juliet nodded, and together, they left the road and walked across the meadow toward the tree.
Neither one of them said a word, and Christopher could feel his heart almost beat out of his chest. He carefully lifted his gaze and looked over at her, only to feel as though struck by lightning the moment his eyes met hers.
After tying their horses’ reins to a low-hanging branch, they finally stood before one another, nothing left to distract them from the weighty moment that had found them both so unexpectedly.
Christopher was about to ask what she was doing here when he saw Juliet straighten and then draw in a deep breath, as though she were a soldier readying herself for battle. A moment later, she blurted out, “Do you love me?”
Christopher almost rocked back on his heels.