I turned back to her with a raised brow. “I noticed.”
“You do not need to be snippy.”
“You abducted me in a decrepit carriage. I have a right to be a tiny bit snippy.”
She crossed her arms over her chest with a huff in the same manner she used when she was cross with her brother.
“I’ll allow a bit of snippiness if you provide a solution.”
With a sigh, I snatched my coat from the opposite bench and tucked it haphazardly into the door once again. I’d be lucky if the garment survived the trip.
“Fine, you may be as churlish as you wish.”
“Thank you for the permission.” I eyed the poorly built corners of the carriage with some trepidation. I wasn’t at all confident my coat would be sufficient.
“Do you suppose we’re nearing the next inn?”
“I hope so, if only for my empty belly. And perhaps we can find a more effective solution to the window there.”
I fussed with the coat, trying to keep the worst of the rain off my person when she asked, “You intend to marry, do you not?”
Not particularly interested in traversing this path with her, I gave a half-hearted shrug hoping she would take that as a sufficient response.
“Kate is trying to make you a match,” Davina added.
“Oh?” I asked, resolutely facing the window, hiding my wince.
“You know she is,” Davina retorted. “She’s not subtle and you’re not a simpleton.”
“If I remember correctly, she thrustyouin my direction as an option the night of the masquerade.”
“Thatwas a desperate attempt to keep me from the gaming tables.”
“You’re not wrong.” At last, I turned back to her. She’d been observing me, her head tilted curiously like a puppy. “Still, I’m sure she wouldn’t attempt to dissuade you if you took a liking to me.”
“And you?” she asked, glancing distractedly at the seat beside her where a few raindrops found their way through the cracks in the wall.
“Oh, Katie has little use for my opinion. In this or any other matter.”
Davina gave me a little laugh. “It is good that you are aware of your own irrelevance.”
“Of course. If anyone should have the final say in my future marital bliss, it is Katie.”
“Quite right.”
“Does His Grace take your opinions into consideration? I imagine his choice would impact you more than mine would impact Kate.”
“Xander considers everyone’s wishes except his own in that respect.”
“Oh?” I asked, wondering at her careful wording. Unfortunately, the ground beneath the carriage shifted from dirt to an uneven cobblestone, signaling our arrival at the next inn.
DAVINA
Distracted by our arrival, Kit carefully untucked his coat from over the window. The rain had slowed considerably but was still pattering away on the roof. He settled the coat overtop my shoulders. The damp hadn’t penetrated the wool to the soft fabric satin and I was grateful for his effort. Then, after fetching the bonnet I’d abandoned as soon as we’d entered the carriage, he plopped it on my head just as Rory began to unbuckle the door.
She wore an oversized men’s great coat and an expression of irritation.
“Do you want to wait for the rain to clear?” Kit asked her.
