“But I’ll feel better if I at least bash their heads.”
“Aye, but then ye’d need to kill them or they’ll be waking and thinking they’ve come exactly tae the right place.”
“They already know, just not where we’re staying,” Montgomery said, confident that the rebels wouldn’t be here now with their interpreter if they knew Charley was staying at the manor. He explained about the encounter that had occurred on Blackburn lands, ending with, “And no, your lass wasn’t part of that fight.” Well, mostly she wasn’t.
But Montgomery paused, then grinned. “These blokes weren’t supposed to get this close,” he continued. “So it appears we will be traveling with the ladies to London after all—and as you say, these three need a reason to waste their time around here.”
“Dinna sayIgave ye that excuse,” the Scot growled low as he slammed a mug down in front of Montgomery.
Montgomery laughed. “No, Charley beat you to it.”
Chapter Twenty-eight
“WELL, DON’T YOU LOOK—different!” Vanessa exclaimed.
Charley had come out to bid them farewell, and Vanessa didn’t recognize him at first without his magnificent mane of golden locks. He’d dyed his hair black! It still cascaded down his shoulders and back but was certainly no longer the beacon it had been. She still couldn’t believe it, considering how vain the boy was, so she tugged on a lock to see if it was a wig. It wasn’t, but the tug made him laugh.
The twins had regaled her yesterday morning before she left for her ride with an account of Charley’s announcement that he was a king, but then in the afternoon they brought her the disappointing news that he’d confessed that he’d been joking about it. Vanessa didn’t mention that fib to him now, or ask which of his statements had actually been a fib, but she did wonder why he hadn’t gone to this extreme to disguise himself before leaving London. “Why now?” she asked.
“Anything to remain near your side, dearest lady,” he said with a wide smile. “Even if I weren’t in love with you, which I most assuredly am, you also have my undying gratitude for your brave assistance yesterday.”
Remain? She hadn’t heard much after that. And then she saw his coach behind her mother’s two coaches, already loaded with his many trunks, and her heart beat a little faster. She gasped, “You’re traveling with us?”
“Did Monty not tell you?”
No, Monty didnot. But she hadn’t exactly seen much of him yesterday after he left to deal with the wounded men they’d left behind, only at dinner last night where they weren’t alone. Charley hadn’t attended that dinner, neither had Kathleen, but the twins had been with them and had talked excitedly about departing for London in the morning. Monty hadn’t looked disappointed by that news. She had thought he must have already heard about it with the house bustling most of the day with so many preparations for their impending departure. But now she wondered if he had already decided he and Charley would travel with them. But why? Didn’t that defeat his purpose in coming here? Or did he no longer think the manor was safe after the encounter yesterday?
Confused and yet still incredibly pleased by the unexpected arrangement, she warned Charley, “Dye doesn’t last very long, so I hope you have more.”
“Indeed, Monty brought me an ample supply when he returned from town yesterday. And I shall ride with you ladies to keep you entertained.”
“No, you won’t,” Monty said as he rode forward, leading Snow with him. “A week of listening to your incessant chatter and Lady Kathleen will bar us from her London residence. Seeing the ladies at mealtime will suffice for you, boy.”
Charley huffed and moved to his coach. Monty tossed Vanessa Snow’s reins, saying, “I saw him saddled, so I assumed you are going to ride today.”
“Just part of the way,” she said. “He’s not used to the sidesaddle yet.”
“And neither are you?”
“I learned. My father made sure of it. I just don’t like it any more than Snow does.”
“But ladies must persevere.”
He appeared to be waiting with some curiosity to see if she would jump up to mount as she usually did. Of course she couldn’t do that now when she was wearing a riding habit, and he knew that, was already starting to dismount to help her when a footman ran forward with a stool she could use as a mounting block.
Once she was mounted, he asked, “Has your mother seen that horse?”
“No.”
“You like annoying her, don’t you?”
She grinned. “Is it that obvious?”
He laughed. “A little. Care to mention why?”
She didn’t and said instead, “I’m more curious about why you didn’t say something last night about your decision to return to London.”
“Because it wasn’t yet a foregone conclusion. I was still debating the merits of it.”
