“I won’t involve you either.”
Zaira was silent for several seconds. “You won’t deny me this adventure, will you? I need it as research for my next book.”
“I’m not daft, Zaira. I know you’re making an excuse.”
“I’m not. This is the most fun I’ve had in ages.”
Alannah bit back her whispered retort. How could she turn down the offer when the fearsome truth was that she didn’t have a way to sneak back into the city without help.
As if sensing her victory, Zaira spoke again. “I’ve put on one of your black skirts. All I need now is your cloak.”
“You cannot pretend to be me.”
“I can, and I will. I’ll ride out disguised as you—”
“I don’t ride well.” She’d only done it a few times in her life, had never needed a horse in Tralee.
“They won’t know that. Besides, I can pretend to be awkward if you think that would be best.”
Alannah scrambled to come up with a different plan than the one Zaira was concocting.
“Once I leave,” Zaira whispered, “if anyone is waiting in the woods or on the road, they’ll follow me for a ways.”
“I don’t like this idea at all, so I don’t.” Alannah didn’t want Shaw and Charlie to get near Zaira. What if they did something to harm her?
“You’ll wait until I’m gone, then you’ll ride my horse and head out the other way on the eastern road back to St. Louis.”
“I won’t take your horse.”
“You have to. You’ll ride as fast and hard as you can straight to Oscar’s Pub.”
“To Bellamy?”
“Aye. Bellamy might be annoying and arrogant, but he’ll shelter you. I know he will.”
A flicker of hope fanned inside Alannah. If Bellamy hid her, that would give her more time to figure something else out.
“Do you know how to get to Oscar’s Pub?”
“I think I can find it.”
“You’ll need to stick to the alleyway behind the pub. There’s a stable there where you can tie up my horse. Then you can go into Bellamy’s studio.”
“His studio?”
“’Tis a little storage shed behind the pub.”
How did Zaira know so much? And what did she mean by studio? Now was neither the time nor the place to ask.
“I’ll go to Bellamy,” Alannah whispered. “But I don’t want you to be riding out pretending to be me.”
“I’ll be fine.” Zaira’s response contained too much confidence. And perhaps a wee bit of naïveté. “It’ll be a grand adventure.”
Alannah wanted to argue further, but Zaira was already lowering a cloak out the window. “Here’s mine. Now hand me yours.”
Alannah managed to somehow shrug out of her garment. If someone was watching the window, the shadows of the slanted veranda roof would likely keep them from seeing the exchange. But she pushed hers swiftly toward the window anyway.
A moment later, Zaira spoke again. “As soon as I’ve been gone about five minutes, go to the barn. The coachman will have my horse waiting for you.”
