Quite a parade following him and the boy out of London this morning, he thought. It was a good time to look into those saddlebags he’d taken from the foreigners. Something in there might shed light on why those miscreants had been willing to shoot to kill in order to capture the boy. Or did they just want Charley dead?
Stepping outside, he saw a lone horse tethered there, then he was startled to hear, “Ye can be at ease, mon, there’ll be no muir attacks. My brother will be standing guard oot here for the rest o’ the night.”
Montgomery glanced to his side, then up, bloody hell, quite a bit up. He certainly wasn’t used to standing next to a man who was taller than himself. Nor had he heard the Highlander come out to join him on the porch.
“Then once again, much appreciated, but I still want to have a look around the stable.”
As he entered the stable, he was puzzled by the man’s vigilance and his and his brother’s willingness to go to such trouble. No doubt a purse was involved. The innkeeper could have hired them after the disturbance, at least until there was no longer a lord under his roof. Nobles traveled in their own coaches, after all, and didn’t usually stay in coaching houses specifically built for stage passengers.
He found the two saddlebags where Arlo had tucked them between Charley’s trunks. The first one revealed no clues of any sort, was just stuffed with clothes. The second bag appeared to be the same, but rummaging on the bottom of it, he felt something hard and pulled out a silver inlaid locket. He opened it and saw a small portrait of a young child with short ash-blond hair and a silken jacket—and jewels. A very young Charley? And if the foreigners had carried it with them, did that mean they didn’t know what Charley looked like now?
Monty began to think he’d put himself into the middle of a high-stakes, dangerous game, safeguarding a boy with perhaps an inheritance so grand that there were other claimants willing to kill for it. No wonder George was giving him a parcel of land and a manor house for taking this problem off his hands.
When he got back to the inn, he double-checked that the door to the boy’s room was locked. Back in his own room, he was pleased to see that the ax had been removed from the door and the wench appeared to be asleep. He removed his greatcoat, lay down on the floor, and was soon asleep.
But when he awoke in the morning, Nessi was gone. She might even have slipped away last night, for all he knew. And if she had, he wouldn’t be able to say he was surprised. Traveling with his entourage was turning out to be a little more dangerous than she might have anticipated. More dangerous than he’d anticipated, too. But her defection still annoyed him, a lot, so his rap on Charley’s door was a little too loud.
“Let’s go, boy! A quick breakfast then we’re back on the road.”
He didn’t wait for a response, and a good thing, since he found the lot of them at one of the tables downstairs already eating. Including Nessi. Well, he’d misjudged her. While he felt inordinately happy that she hadn’t left, he wasn’t going to allow the wench to distract him from what was important, keeping his mysterious ward alive.
To that end, he held Arlo back when everyone left the table and handed the servant the locket. “Is that your young lord when he was a lot younger?” At Arlo’s nod, he added, “So his pursuers don’t know what he currently looks like?”
“His face, probably not. He lived in seclusion. But his hair—”
“Yes,” Montgomery cut in dryly, “it’s no doubt legendary. Then it needs to be dyed or kept out of sight. And you need to tell me the real reason he’s a target.”
“He said he told you.”
Montgomery’s eyes narrowed. “Are you really going to keep his secret when his life depends on my knowing?”
“You know he is important enough for the Prince Regent to ask you to keep him safe. Act accordingly,” Arlo said, and followed the others outside.
Had he just been put in his place by a servant?
Chapter Ten
VANESSA STOOD WITH SNOWoutside the inn, waiting for her traveling companions to congregate and for the coach to arrive. It was barely dawn, cold enough for her to have put her scarf on, which provided the additional advantages of holding her hood in place and covering more of her face. She’d ignored the tub in the common bathing room, wouldn’t have used it even if there had been time, but she’d taken a few minutes to splash water on her face and arms, so she did feel somewhat refreshed. And she was excited to continue her journey with her unusual traveling companions for a few more days. She’d already forgiven Monty for being so high-handed last night when she’d wanted to help. It had been bad enough when he’d thought her a girl, but now he apparently thought she was too young to be useful in a dangerous situation.
She felt her cheeks grow warm at the memory of the way he’d slipped his arm around her waist last night. She’d thought something else had been about to happen, and her stomach had actually fluttered, but he’d rudely toted her back to the bed.
He hadn’t known he was carrying a girl, obviously, but she’d still been furious at his strong-arm tactics and might have bitten the knee in front of her face if she weren’t deeply unsettled by being in close proximity to that magnificent body she’d admired earlier that night, even in that absurd position.
She understood now what he’d meant about “calling a truce.” He’d obviously been testing her to see if she was a girl, but she had passed his test and could comfortably continue to travel as a boy in his company.
“So you’re staying with us despite the mayhem?”
She glanced covertly to the side and saw Monty in his greatcoat stepping out of the inn. And lo, he’d even tied a cravat after leaving the dining table. If he hadn’t left his auburn hair loose about his shoulders, he would have been the epitome of a dashing, well-dressed nobleman.
As for his question, having seen him practically naked last night—and what a delightful show that had been—she had no desire to part company with this bunch until she had to. They were still proving to be far too interesting as companions.
“We still seem to be going in the same direction,” she answered.
“I was surprised to find you asleep last night when I returned to the room. Not a bit of curiosity over how an ax got embedded in our door?”
“I was curious last night, butsomeonekept me from investigating.”
He chuckled. “The disturbance was over, so you didn’t miss anything exciting, Ness.”
