He laughed at the Lill’s shocked expression and shrugged amiably as she looked increasingly uncertain.
“You know you can’t blow your nose in a place like this without half the town remarking on the quality of the embroidery.”
“Oh, I—I wouldn’t know, sir. Mr Marwick is a law unto himself. If you’ll excuse me. I’ve things to do.”
“Certainly, certainly. But if you ever have need of me—you or Miss Marwick,orher brother—please know you can call upon me. I am the soul of discretion. Don’t forget now,” he advised, giving her the benefit of his toothy grin before she hurried away.
“What do you know?” Izzy demanded once they were alone, narrowing her eyes at her father.
“Who?Me?Why, nothing at all, child. I cannot think what you mean,” he replied, a touch indignantly, and carried on towards the hotel, leaving her to follow him.
Tunbridge Wells, Kent, 20thJanuary 1816
The coach swayed, rain drumming on the roof and joining with the rumble of the wheels and the clatter of hooves, a sound so monotonous that Alice knew she’d hear it long after she got out of the carriage. Outside, daylight was fading, dusk settling over the sodden countryside, though there were still several hours of travelling to endure. Alice could not wait to get home, but she worried for Aubrey.
“Are you certain you wouldn’t prefer to stop overnight? I have Alfie’s clothes, so there’s no risk to my reputation. I could change easily enough.”
She watched as Aubrey turned away from the window. It had been a long and exhausting day, and they’d been travelling for hours, though Alice had slept through much of it. Aubrey had clearly spent that time thinking, though, probably worrying about his cousin and how his family would react to meeting her, and he looked rather tired. He had lit the carriage lamps, anticipating the coming darkness, and his face was a tableau of warm skin and weary shadows. Though she would much rather carry on with their journey, she had caused him enough trouble already.
He smiled, his head resting against the squabs as he shifted to look at her. “No. I’d rather get back. Poor Lill will worry herself frantic if we don’t appear and explain everything.”
She smiled, touched that he put Lill’s feelings over his own tiredness. It might seem an obvious thing, but she knew it would never occur to most men of his ilk to think of others, let alone to put them first. He was an unusual man, open and willing to learn, to do his best to understand those around him, even if their experiences were far outside of anything he lived himself.
Shifting closer, she laid her head on his shoulder.
He leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, making her feel cherished in a way she had never believed possible for her. “You remember what we decided?”
Alice glanced up at him and smiled. They had agreed to keep it as simple as possible. Aubrey had been tempted to add a good deal of extra information but Alice, well versed in deception, had explained that it would only make people suspicious. “Alfie is my brother. He’s an excellent fellow but has been in a few scrapes. Though he knew it was wrong, he assisted in the robbery of the diamonds.”
Aubrey nodded. “And his payment was the brooch, which he gave to you.”
Reaching out, Alice smoothed down his lapel, creased from where she had slept against his chest. “And when I discovered the brooch he’d given me belonged to your mother, I was distraught. Realising I was sweet on you, he decided to get the rest of the diamonds back, to make things right.”
Aubrey nodded approvingly, reaching for her gloved hand and holding it between both of his. “And when you discovered what he meant to do, you got frightened, especially as an old acquaintance of Alfie’s wrote to say Silas Mourney was after them too.”
“So I went after him, dressed as a footman, and helped him get out of the house by wearing the diamonds and diverting attention—with yours and the duke’s help, of course.”
“Just so.”
Alice sighed, frowning as the now familiar landscape seemed to welcome her home. How strange, and yet how lovely, to feel as if she truly had a place to call home. She snuggled closer to Aubrey, relishing his warmth as the cold had seeped into her bones hours ago.
“Do you think anyone will believe it?” he asked, an anxious note behind the words.
“Certainly. It’s close enough to the truth.” She wished she could believe all their troubles were behind them. She kept her worries to herself for now—Aubrey had endured enough in recent days, and she was reluctant to burden him further. Yet so long as Silas Mourney remained at large, she would never be safe.
Therewasthe possibility that Tommy and his accomplice had already confessed everything, and perhaps Silas had even been apprehended. Honour among thieves was a rare commodity. If it served their interests—or if they faced the gallows themselves—Tommy and his confederate would have no qualms about implicating Silas as well. The thought sent a chill through her, and she realised she did not need to think too hard about giving up this way of life as Aubrey had asked her to do.
Though it had been a precarious living, there had been exhilaration in pitting her wits against locks and the law and she had expected to feel at least a little sorry that part of her life was over. Hearing Tommy Greaves speak of the delight he’d take in seeing Alfie hang had given her a jolt though, had made herrealise how close she had come. She did not want to hang, did not want to risk her future again.
“Alice?”
She looked up, discovering Aubrey’s green eyes solemn in the dim light of the carriage. “We still have so much to discuss, love, and I know you’re tired, but there are things I need to say.”
Alice stiffened, the cold in her bones suddenly turning to ice as all her old doubts rose to the surface. “Oh?”
He nodded, looking increasingly grave. “This is neither the time nor the place that I would wish to do this, but… but I am afraid that if I don’t say it now, you’ll get some daft idea into your head and run away before I can do so.”
“Run away?” Alice repeated, wondering if the foolish man had any idea how thoroughly smitten she was.
