Her brow furled. “Don’t want to wake up.”
I was grinning now. “The carriage has stopped.”
Her eyes sprung open, her head lifting to meet my gaze. And then she was pulling back, red flooding her cheeks. “My apologies. I don’t know what happened.”
I shushed her. “You were sleeping with your head at an awkward angle. I felt you would be more comfortable this way instead of having your head banging against the side of the carriage.”
Her eyes remained fixed on mine for a moment. And then she nodded. “How very sensible of you.”
There was an odd note in her voice, but I chose to disregard it.
I pulled aside the curtain and glanced outside to see we’d arrived at the first posting inn along our route. The sun hadn’t yet risen, but a quick glance at my pocket watch told me it would soon.
“Do you want to go inside? The horses need to be changed, but that shouldn’t take too long. I was thinking we would remain in the carriage for this first stop, but if you need to visit the retiring room…”
Her cheeks were now fully red. “No, I am fine, my lord. How far are we from London?”
“Not far enough for my liking.”
Her head tilted to one side as she examined me. “And how far is it to Scotland?”
“Three hundred miles,” I said.
She was silent for a moment. “How many days will that take?”
“Three days at most, but I’ll be doing everything in my power to ensure we have a quick journey.”
She nodded. “I am fine for now. We can stay here while the horses are changed.” She looked outside, and in that moment, the first rays of sunlight peeked over the horizon.
“My uncle is home now. But if he behaves true to form and no one has realized I’m gone, he will likely be leaving soon on whatever business he does when he is away from home all day.”
“And your aunt won’t rise until noon?”
Diana nodded. “As long as they haven’t discovered my absence.”
I thought it an unreasonable assumption, but Diana was clearly neglected. For now, that would work to our advantage. With each mile we placed between us and the Tuttlefords before they realized Diana was missing, the greater our chances of reaching Scotland without being accosted.
“Very well. Stay here while I speak to the grooms. I won’t stray far, but I’ll request that breakfast be brought to us.” I began to rise, but Diana placed a hand on my arm to stop me. “Is something the matter?”
She was biting her bottom lip. “Are you sure you want to do this? Burden yourself with my problems?”
I frowned, hating her phrasing. “You aren’t a burden.”
She shook her head. “You and I both know that isn’t true. And I was happy, for a time, to allow you to spirit me away. But it seems that my inconvenient conscience is insisting I ask whether you’ve changed your mind…”
I reached for her hand and held it. Her gaze moved to where our bare fingers were linked, and I couldn’t help but notice how cold her hand felt. I would need to arrange for a blanket for her. The night had been cool, but it hadn’t bothered me.
I should have thought of that already. She was so much smaller than me, and the cold would affect her more. It would only grow cooler at night the further north we traveled.
“Nothing is going to stop me from taking you to Gretna Green and marrying you. You are the only person who can do that.”
Her lower lip trembled and then she stiffened. “Very well, my lord.”
I waited a moment since I could tell she wanted to say something else. When it became clear she wasn’t going to reveal what she was thinking, I exited the carriage and closed the door behind me.
My driver was already speaking to the inn’s head groom, arranging for fresh horses. Around us, the four outriders were doing the same. We’d make our way to the next inn before stopping to sleep for a few hours. But a sense of urgency was riding me hard. We were still far too close to London.
CHAPTER 12
