Chapter 3
Allegra wasn’t sure whether it was Max’s snoring that woke her or the whispering voices in the hall below.
Careful not to disturb her sleeping companion, she got out of bed and wrapped herself in her borrowed shawl.
She tiptoed over to the door, lifted the latch, and opened it a crack.
In the quiet of the night, the sound of people talking carried remarkably well, especially when they appeared to be arguing about something.
“I say we do it,” a voice she recognized as Mr. Pike’s said. “There’s something odd about those two. They’ve got no baggage, they haven’t even given us their names, and if they’re brother and sister, I’ll eat my hat. No one will miss them.”
Allegra’s breathing halted in sheer terror as she forced herself to keep listening.
“The horses will make us a pretty penny,” Billy said.
“I’ll have to sharpen my meat cleaver,” Mrs. Pike said. “I blunted it on all that lamb.”
“Let’s give them a couple of hours to settle in, and then we’ll take them.” Mr. Pike chuckled. “They won’t suspect a thing!”
“Poor little darlings.” Mrs. Pike gave a throaty laugh. “I can’t wait to see the expressions on their faces.”
Allegra carefully closed and locked the door and stood there shaking like a willow as a thousand conflicting thoughts raced around her brain. She padded over to Max’s side of the bed and shook his shoulder.
“Wake up!”
He tried to shrug away from her touch and she poked him hard.
“Please wake up!”
He opened his eyes and stared at her with a look of complete incomprehension.
“What the devil?”
She clamped her hand over his mouth. “Be quiet! I just heard the Pikes and Billy down in the hall plotting to murder us for the horses.”
He took hold of her wrist and removed her hand from his mouth. “You’re having a nightmare.”
“No, I am perfectly awake. I swear it,” Allegra hissed. She related everything she’d heard and said, “We have to get out of here. Help me get dressed.”
To his credit, he immediately got out of bed, got dressed, and helped Allegra into her clothing.
“Now, all we have to do is work out how to get out,” he murmured close to her ear. “I doubt we’ll make it unseen down the main staircase.”
“The window?” Allegra suggested.
Max went over, unlatched one of the windows, and looked down. “We might be able to climb down the ivy. It looks fairly strong, and we’re not too high up.” He turned back to her. “Do you think you will be able to manage it in all those skirts?”
“I’ll have to,” Allegra said. “But perhaps you could go first and find the best route.”
“Yes, and you can throw your bag, bonnet, and cloak down to me.” Max was already half out of the window.
Allegra took a moment to rearrange the bed to look as if they were sleeping in it and drew the curtains around all four sides. She went back to the window and looked out to see that Max had almost reached the ground. He turned and grinned up at her, gesturing for her to send down her reticule.
“It’s not that difficult,” he whispered. “The main branches are quite sturdy.”
Saying a prayer, Allegra climbed out, her booted foot scrabbling for purchase amongst the thick stems of the ivy.
She found a firm footing and reluctantly released her grip on the windowsill to seek another.
It felt like she was taking hours, but she was so afraid of falling that she knew she had to consider every move.
She was almost at the bottom when her foot slipped, she lost her grip, and fell backward right into Max’s welcoming arms.
“Well done.” He kissed her ear. “You are an exceptional woman.”
She was shivering so violently that he stepped them both back into the shade of the ivy and continued to hold her. She was the first to move away. “We have to go.”
“What about the horses?” Max asked.
“Wouldn’t it be better to leave them here? It might dissuade Billy and the Pikes from coming after us.”
“But if we leave the horses, we’ll be on foot, and they might catch us very easily.” He paused. “Perhaps I should make an attempt to take at least one of them?”
Allegra clutched at his coat in a manner most unlike herself. “I don’t want you to put yourself in danger.”
“I promise I won’t. Let’s find somewhere safe for you to hide, and then I’ll decide whether to come back for one of the horses or not.”
“All right.”
“Good girl.” He patted her cheek. “Now, let’s cross over into the shadow of that hedge and make our way along the road.”
Luckily there was enough moonlight for them to navigate away from the inn. They walked as quickly as they could, glancing back down the road to see if they were being pursued.
After about half an hour, Allegra spotted a white-painted, stone structure in one of the fields and pointed at it. “I could hide there.”
“Let me go and see if it is suitable.” Max vaulted over the gate and walked across the recently ploughed field, disappearing into the darkness.
Allegra shivered in her inadequate clothing, and was grateful when he came back fairly quickly.
“It’s a shrine of some sorts. As long as you are not troubled by spiders, I think you’ll be safe there.” He looked down at her. “I’m inclined to go back and see if I can get one of the horses.”
“Are you sure?” Allegra looked up at him. “I don’t want you to be murdered.”
“Well, that’s an improvement.” He hesitated. “If there is a lot of activity at the inn, I promise I’ll come back immediately.”
Allegra nodded. She’d never considered herself a hysterical woman, but the urge to burst into tears and beg him not to leave her was surprisingly strong.
He cupped her cheek. “I won’t abandon you.”
She swallowed hard. “You’d better not, because if anyone gets to murder you, it really should be me.”
He laughed and leaned in to brush a kiss on her forehead. “Let me lift you over this gate, and then I’ll be on my way. Don’t come out until you hear me calling your name.”
He hoisted her over the gate and quickly left.
Allegra hiked up her skirts and set off for the small white sanctuary on the field boundary.
It wasn’t large, and there was a comfortable stone bench for Allegra to sit on.
The offerings to whatever deity had once been worshipped there seemed to have been long removed.
She pulled her cloak tightly around her and turned to the open entrance, both hoping for and dreading the dawn.
To her surprise, she must have fallen asleep, as she woke with a shudder when someone called her name. She peered cautiously out of the entrance to see a familiar figure coming toward her over the field.
“Come on,” he called out to her. “The faster we can get away from here, the better.”
She rushed out to greet him, stumbling over the rows of ploughed earth. “Did you get the horse?”
“Yes, and I let the other one out to cause some confusion.” He grabbed her hand and steered her over to the fence, where a saddled and bridled horse awaited them. “I decided they owed us the saddle after plotting to murder us.”
“They absolutely do.” Allegra’s teeth were chattering.
He mounted the horse and leaned down to her. “Put your foot in the stirrup, and I’ll pull you up.”
She tried but couldn’t gain enough height.
“I’m sorry.” She looked up at him. “I can’t seem to manage it. My reticule is too heavy.”
He got down, picked her up, sat her on the saddle, and mounted again, drawing her back against his chest as he gathered the reins.
“Would you be more comfortable sitting sideways?” he asked, his voice close to her ear. “Or will this suffice?”
“This is … fine,” Allegra replied somewhat breathlessly as the heat from his body surrounded her. “I have pantaloons on.”
He went still. “I beg your pardon?”
“Underwear for ladies. It’s considered quite risqué, but it’s far more practical than being completely bare down there, especially in this current situation.”
The arm around her waist tightened, and he clicked to the horse. “We should be off. I don’t want Mrs. Pike and her meat cleaver chasing us down the road.”
Allegra shuddered. “And I thought she was so pleasant.”
They moved off at a gentle trot, and Allegra allowed herself to lean back against Max’s body. Despite the horrors of the night, she felt safe with him, which was somewhat surprising.
“She did ask a lot of questions, though,” Allegra murmured. “I suppose our arrival without a carriage or any baggage was fairly suspect.”
“That still isn’t a justification for murder,” Max said.
“We should report them to the local authorities,” Allegra said.
“And reveal our identities?”
“Then perhaps I’ll write a letter when I get home.”
“That’s a much better idea. At the moment, my attention is on securing accommodation as far away from the Queen’s Head as possible.” He looked ahead at the endless, empty road. “Although, where in God’s name we are heading, I have absolutely no idea.”
Allegra woke up to a gentle dawn light and the smooth motion of the horse beneath her. For a moment she allowed herself to enjoy the shelter of Max’s arms before forcing herself to sit more upright.
“Good morning, my lady.”
She hastily wiped at the strands of hair sticking to her mouth. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I do apologize.”
“You didn’t miss much.” In the light of day, he looked both older and more worried. “I haven’t seen a soul.”
“And I think we’re heading in the wrong direction,” Allegra said. “I tasted salt on my lips.”
“Which I assume means we’re getting near the coast.” He sighed. “Damnation.”
“If we do reach the coast, all we have to do is follow it, and we’ll eventually end up in Suffolk,” Allegra reminded him.
“True, as long as we’re not abducted by pirates or press-ganged by the Royal Navy.”
“I doubt they’d have much use for me, sir,” Allegra said.
“Haven’t you heard? There are female pirates.”
Allegra’s stomach growled loudly, and Max looked down at her. “We should find somewhere to stop and rest the horse.” He looked ahead and pointed to a dip in the road. “I think there’s an abandoned windmill down there, which means there’s probably a stream where we can get some water.”