“Here now, Ma’am. Let me take them for you…” Marsh was up the steps and relieving Willow of her burden in a trice.
“Thank you,” she frowned. “Harry?”
“A problem,” he sighed. “Apparently, sometime early this morning, our coachman here was set upon and knocked unconscious, and our coach was stolen.”
Willow sucked in a breath, her gaze meeting his and reflecting his own distress. “That is quite terrible.”
“Indeed it is, Ma’am. Nothing like that has happened round here in as long as I can remember.”
“Poor man,” Willow went to the coachman. “How are you feeling?”
“Got a bit of a headache, I’ll admit, Ma’am.”
“I’m sure you do, and I am very sorry that you were injured on our account. Although who would want to take the risk of stealing a carriage, I don’t know.”
“The horses too?” Harry looked at Marsh.
“Fraid so, sir.”
He bit back the oath that trembled on the tip of his tongue. “All right. Is there anywhere around here we could rent a couple of horses, d’you think?” He paused. “Actually, I’m not sure where we are, to be honest. I left all that to you…”
The driver nodded. “As well you should, sir. I can tell you we’re near Abbington Run…”
“Ah.” Harry glanced at Willow. “I have a friend close by then.” He turned to the innkeeper. “Would you know of Sir Roger Franklin?”
“Aye, sir, that I do. Lives not three miles down the lane from here.”
“Excellent.” He looked at Willow. “Here’s my plan. I will go to Roger and borrow a horse, which will get me to town quite quickly, if he is still possessed of a very good stable.”
“I see,” she said, her voice expressionless.
“And the minute I reach town, I’ll have a carriage sent for you, my dear.”
“I see.” She said again.
He sighed. “Should I bother arguing the point?”
She shook her head. “Not unless you want to waste time and your breath, both of which would be best saved.” She turned to the Marshes. “We are very grateful for all you’ve done for us, and sorry that we brought trouble to your door.”
“Not your fault, Ma’am,” said Mrs Marsh. “And don’t you worry none about this lad. We’ll have him up and around in no time at all.”
The ‘lad’, who was at least as old as Mrs Marsh herself, shot Harry a look that clearly said “help”. However, it was of no use. “You’ll be better here, under Mrs Marsh’s care, and you know it.”
“Aye, sir,” he sighed. “I’ll try to get back down south then, shall I?”
“Or London. Whichever is most useful to you. And thank you again.”
Turning to the Marshes, Willow managed a smile. “Well, in spite of this nasty incident, I must say we spent a delightful night here, Mrs Marsh. Your accommodations are most comfortable indeed. But now we must be on our way, since we have an important meeting in London, and we still have a distance to go yet. If you would hold our bags for us until we return for them, that would be of great help.”
The Marshes agreed immediately and promised to take good care of their belongings.
Thus Willow managed to end the conversation most effectively, and get them both on the road to Abbington Run in less than the half hour Harry had estimated it would take to leave the inn. Coinage had changed hands, and they were waved on their way quite enthusiastically.
“The sun should be rising soon,” he commented as they reached the lane in the half light of dawn. “We keep straight for a mile or so, most likely, and if we can see Abbington Run at that point, we can cut through the forest and save some time.”
Willow nodded. “And your ankle? Will it hold up?”
“It’ll damn well have to,” said Harry, voice determined. “This is too important to risk delaying any longer.”
