“No, I do not need your help.”
“What is your name?” Joseph infused some strength into the question.
She fell silent, so he waited patiently, his eyes on her, his body barring her exit to the road.
“Miss... ah... Higglesworth.” Her words came out in a rush.
“Come now, you can do better than that, surely?”
“I have no idea what you mean, my l-lord. Higglesworth is a perfectly fine name, and I’m sure my father would be insulted for your slur upon it. Now if you will excuse me, I will be on my way.”
“You shall ride my horse and I will walk, Miss Higglesworth.”
Of course he had no wish to walk, but his options were limited.
“No, thank you. I have no need of your accompaniment. Good day.”
Joseph watched as she shuffled sideways, her coat catching in the bush. After wrestling it free, she then skirted around him, dog still clutched to her chest, and her sack in the other hand, and made for the road. She wore boots at least. He hoped the soles bore no holes, or her feet would be wet and cold by now.
He returned to his horse and rested his forehead briefly on the heated neck before pulling himself once again up and into the saddle. All he’d wanted was a quiet, gentle ride to his estate, before he was greeted with the mayhem of his brothers’ arrival for the annual Stonleigh ball, which he also enjoyed. Yet still, he’d wanted a small allotment of time to himself, to ponder and solve several problems that he’d left behind in London.
Looking at the woman, he sighed again. He could not in good conscience leave her out here alone, no matter that she believed he should. Tapping his heels into Monty’s side, Joseph urged him forward. Pulling alongside her, he bent and caught the woman under the arms and lifted her up, ugly dog and sack, as well. She was not heavy, so the effort was not great. He then settled her in front of him.
“What are you doing? Let me down at once!”
Joseph winced as she screeched, her body going rigid. “Calm yourself,” he said in that voice that everyone but his siblings took notice of. “I have told you I mean you no harm. However, I cannot let a woman, even of your advancing years, walk about on these roads unescorted at this hour. Actually, at any hour,” Joseph amended. “So if you will not ride my horse while I walk, we will both share it.”
“I will not let you take me up on your horse. How dare you take such a liberty!”
She did not look at him, which he thought strange. If he was yelling at someone, he would do so to their face. In fact, her legs lay across his, but her body was twisted to face forward. Not a comfortable position, one would think.
“I fail to see how you can stop me, and your virtue is safe, as I only have to take one look at Mugwort to have my ardor cooled.”
Joseph smiled as she gasped, too outraged to speak.
“Furnish me with where you have run from, and I will take you back there at once. Only then will I let you down.”
“Please release me.”
“No.” Joseph felt the lick from Mugwort’s rough little tongue on the small exposed band of skin between his cuff and glove, on the arm he had around Miss Higglesworth’s slender waist. He wondered if it had been prompted by gratitude. The ugly little dog was tired, was his guess.
“I don’t like horses.”
Along with the lisp she had a gruff, deepish voice that seemed strange coming from a person of her size. He tried not to notice the slender curves of her body as he pulled her back between his thighs, nor the weight of her breast on the arm he held around her. Her coat was far too thin for such conditions. She was shivering, so he opened his and pulled her back inside. She was like a block of ice. He was amazed her teeth weren’t banging together.
“Th-this is highly improper. I want you to release me. ’Tis not right for you to be carrying me in such a way... in any way. I-I have no wish to be inside your coat at the same time as you.”
“Monty is a gentleman, I assure you.”
“He’s an ugly horse,” she snapped, trying to wriggle free.
“I hardly think, considering what you hold in your arms, that you have even a foothold in this conversation. Nor, may I add, about impropriety, as I see no companion at your side.”
“I am a servant, I have no companion.”
She had him there.
“Will you let me take you back to where you have come from, Miss Higglesworth, please? Surely whatever small misdeed your family or employer has done is not worth running away.”
