She frowned but nodded. “Who are you?”
“It’s not important who I am,” he said cheekily.
He thrust a note at her then scampered off through the crowd.
She glanced around to see if Ridge had seen the exchange and breathed a sigh of relief that he was still occupied with the driver of the second carriage. Robby was standing next to his brother, and Kavi and Udaya had already boarded the carriage.
She stuffed the note into the pocket of her trousers and climbed into the carriage. A few moments later, Ridge appeared in the doorway, and he heaved himself inward to sit beside her.
“I’ve procured lodging for us on the edge of town. One of the few inns that wasn’t destroyed in the fire.”
India nodded.
The carriage lurched forward and rolled away from the docks, further into the burned remnants of the city. Reconstruction had started, but was in its earliest stages.
India marveled that so much strife had happened so close to Pagoria, and yet Pagoria had gone unnoticed. Countless battles fought on the border of France and Spain, and yet if her father was to be believed, the ancient city had escaped unscathed.
She actually started to comment to Ridge when she caught herself. How close she had come to making a huge blunder.
In her defense, it wasn’t her nature to lie. Carrying out such a grand deception took more work than she was used to investing.
She bit her lip to keep silent and focused her attention out the window once more.
Thirty minutes later, the carriage rolled to a stop outside an older inn. Though nothing fancy, it was far better than the accommodations she was used to in her travels.
India stepped into the warm sunshine, the golden hue bathing her face. It was warmer here. And dryer. It reminded her of all the places she and her father had traveled. She had only been back in England a few months, but she had already become accustomed to the wet and chill of the weather. She had missed constant sunshine.
“You can go on to your rooms,” Ridge said to the assembled group. “I still need to see to our travel arrangements, procure the horses and necessary supplies.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to offer to help, but she bit her lip to keep silent. She needed the chance to read the note alone. Then make her plan to escape.
She smiled weakly at him and muttered her thanks. He held out a key to her as she passed, and her hand came into contact with his. He held it for longer than necessary, and when she looked up, his gaze probed her.
Her heart sped up at the promise in his eyes. A promise she couldn’t accept. With great effort, she yanked her eyes from his and walked into the inn and toward her room.
As soon as she was inside, she bolted the door and ripped the note from her pocket. With trembling hands, she opened it.
Meet me outside the inn as soon as the others
have gone to sleep. Do not tell anyone of your plans.
Many lives are at stake. Come alone.
Juan Miguel
She let out her breath in one long whoosh. This was it. The moment of truth. She crumpled the note in her hand then threw it into the fireplace. She would light a fire later and burn it.
She sank onto the bed, her legs shaking too badly to support her any longer. Her hands crept to her face as she covered her eyes.
In the back of her mind, she harbored the unrealistic hope that somehow Ridge wouldunderstandher betrayal, and when it was all over, he would pull her into his arms and say it didn’t matter.
She laughed. A pitiful, shaky laugh that bordered on hysteria. She was delusional. After what she was going to do, she didn’t deserve understanding.
Anger gripped her and she stood straight up, her fists clenched at her sides. Damn it, enough with the weak display of emotion. She was the only person her father could count on, and she would not let him down.
She would spend the rest of the day preparing what she needed for her journey north. She wouldnotspend the day languishing in the agony of what she must do.
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