Bloody hell, she’d missed her chance to catch her sisters alone! Kathleen wasn’t in the parlor, she was standing right beside her.
“Yes, ma’am,” she said in a very low tone. “Plagued by unsightly blemishes, ma’am.”
“The bane of some children, I suppose. Our cook, Mrs. Griggs, might know of a remedy. Why don’t you run along and ask her?”
Vanessa bolted down the hall to the back of the house. But she couldn’t talk to the cook. She knew Mrs. Griggs well from all the times she and the twins had run into the kitchen for a sweet treat. They’d all three been daring back then, ignoring their mother’s litany that “Ladies do not go in the kitchen, do not make friends with the servants, do not, do not, do not . . .” As children, that list of “do nots” had seemed endless.
She did pass through the kitchen, but quickly, to go straight outside to the stable. She’d take that ride now. One of the stable boys helped her saddle Snow quickly, but Donnan arrived before she left.
“Did you get settled for the duration?” she asked. “Any complaints?”
He didn’t answer and was frowning at her. “Why are ye still wearing those clothes?”
“Because my mother doesn’t know I’m home yet, and I didn’t mean that sort of complaint.”
“And why doesna she know?”
“Because I haven’t told her,” she replied. “I want to talk to my sisters first, but I’m having a deuced hard time getting them alone.”
“So yer not trying tae escape?” he said, staring at her horse.
She laughed. “No, just going out for my last ride before I’ll need an escort.”
“Ye still need an escort. I’ll join ye.”
“No, you won’t, not this time. This is my very last day of freedom. Tomorrow I’ll be back in a dress and you can escort me then, but not today. Besides, my mother’s property is huge. If I see anyone a’tall, I’ll race back home. Now where are you off to?”
“Tae visit the town nearby tae see if they’ve any good taverns worth a second look.”
She grinned. “At least two as I recall, maybe more by now. Dawton town is rather big. But by all means, see for yourself, and you can save me the trip if you’ll post this for me?” She handed him a letter she’d written to her father to let him know she’d arrived safely.
“Ye dinna put the address on it,” he said as he glanced at the envelope.
“Because it needs to go to your father’s house and I haven’t dug into my trunks yet to find the address. Your father knows to send it on to mine.”
“Ye Blackburns act like bluidy spies,” he mumbled.
She grinned. “Not really, just protecting my father’s privacy. Father did warn you that no one can know where we’ve been.”
“Aye.”
She gave him a wave as she mounted and went around the house and started riding southeast toward the lake a few miles away. But she soon noticed Monty had the same idea. She ought to avoid him. The man was trouble—for her senses. But she was too curious to find out how the rest of the dinner with her family had gone after she’d quit spying last night. So she whistled loudly, as her father had taught her to do, and he reined in to wait for her.
“You’re not worried about being spotted out here?” she asked when she was abreast of him.
“The point of coming this far north was to find safety in a remote area, which this corner of Cheshire certainly is. And your mother appears to have extensive lands with nary a forest in sight! You can see someone coming for miles.”
“Not that far, but I get the idea.”
“I’m not worried a’tall. Dawton Manor is far from the main roads. But if you’re worried about your family’s safety, don’t be. We lost our pursuers days ago. I assure you I was keeping a close watch on our journey, if you didn’t notice. And your servants have been warned not to mention houseguests to anyone outside the house, and Charley and I shall avoid Dawton town. By the by, I did tell your mother that she didn’t need to entertain us. We can ride, and I was shown to the extensive library. And there are a number of pretty maids in the house . . .”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Is that so? My mother will never allow such shenanigans under her roof. Did you fail to notice how utterly proper she is?”
“Ah, but ladies have been known to turn a blind eye if circumstances demand it, and she’s not going to want to annoy George when she is so delighted that he remembered her well enough to ask for a favor. But I do find it curious that you knew what I meant.”
The grin on his face made her think he might only be teasing, but she didn’t really think so. Besides, what he did was really no concern of hers. Still it rankled for some reason. She turned the conversation to a different topic.
“Did you enjoy dinner last night?”
