He grinned, and that damn dimple in his left cheek that I’d been obsessed with for years made an appearance. “Are you sure about that?”
I looked away. I may have developed a romantic interest in Lord Clifton, but that didn’t mean that I was going to make a fool of myself over him. His ego was already large enough.
I took a final sip of my tea and faced him again. “We should leave soon. Surely the carriage is ready now.”
He shook his head. “I don’t recall you being quite so practical when you were younger.”
“Yes, well, losing both of my parents and having to live with relatives who barely tolerate my presence will do that to a person.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “That was insensitive of me. My apologies.”
I wasn’t angry with him, but I couldn’t talk about this right now. My grasp on my emotions was tenuous at the moment, and I didn’t want to risk embarrassing myself by bursting into tears.
I stood and raised my hood. When he offered his arm without a word, I slid my hand into the crook of his elbow. He covered my hand with his and squeezed it slightly, a silent apology that wasn’t necessary. I’d already forgiven him.
CHAPTER 13
CLIFTON
I was relieved that Diana wasn’t the type of woman who made constant demands. With each mile we traveled, it became increasingly clear that she wasn’t one of those frivolous women who complained about every inconvenience. The type who were tolerable only in short bursts. Despite the fact I’d been smart enough to limit my romantic encounters to women who wouldn’t demand more than I was willing to give, it would have been a special kind of hell to find myself bound in marriage to one of them.
While I found Diana’s patience admirable, I couldn’t help but feel like a monster every time she cringed when the carriage drove over a rut. There was a peaked look in her eyes that had me convinced she was suffering from a headache, but she never complained.
Thankfully, this stage of the trip wasn’t long, and we were pulling into the next inn by midday. I descended first and turned to help Diana from the carriage. She’d raised her hood again, and anyone seeing the two of us would know exactly what was happening.
Not that we were on our way to Gretna Green, necessarily, but that the young woman accompanying me was trying to conceal her identity. I saw the glances cast in our direction, but the curious onlookers did nothing more than take note of the situation. The sight was common enough at coaching inns, after all.
I exchanged a few words with the driver to let him know we’d be proceeding as originally planned. With a nod, he moved to the back of the carriage and unfastened the smaller portmanteau Moreland’s staff had packed.
I took the leather bag and moved to stand next to Diana. She glanced at me, her curiosity clear, then her gaze swung back to the carriage when it began to pull away. Instead of waiting for the stable hands to change the horses, the carriage made its way back to the road. The four outriders followed it.
Diana frowned. “Where are they going? Surely the carriage isn’t going to leave us here without the trunks?”
I examined her features. She was squinting now, but since the day was overcast, it wasn’t bright here. Which meant my suspicion was correct, and she did have a headache.
“We’re going to travel by post chaise from here. It will shorten the travel time significantly, and anyone asking about my carriage will be following it along a circuitous route back to my estate.”
Her nose scrunched. “And what about the highwaymen? Won’t we need the outriders? My aunt always made a great deal of fuss about the risk of being robbed while traveling to London.”
Of course she did. I wasn’t surprised to learn that Diana’s aunt was melodramatic. “We’ll be taking the Great North Road. With all the posting inns along the way, traffic will be steady. Highwaymen are more likely to be found in novels.”
She nodded, a slight smile turning up the corners of her mouth. “I concede your superior knowledge on the subject. And I must congratulate you on your plan to throw pursuers off our trail.”
I inclined my head. “I thought it wise. You should also know that the driver is carrying a letter I composed to my mother, telling her about our elopement.”
Diana winced. “I hope she won’t think ill of me.”
“My mother adores you. She will be ecstatic when she learns we’re marrying. She’ll survive the disappointment of not being able to plan the wedding.”
“I guess we’ll see,” she said, a wistfulness in her tone.
I knew for a fact that my mother would be overcome with joy. She’d started dropping hints about how nice it would be to have a grandson or granddaughter and about how she hoped she wouldn’t have to wait too much longer before that happened. She knew better than to try to coerce me in that direction and hadn’t pressed, but this would definitely be a pleasant surprise.
“I’m going to see you settled inside first before I speak to them about our travel arrangements.”
“Are you sure that’s wise? I can wait in the yard while they prepare the post chaise.”
I shook my head. “We’ll need to stay here for a few hours. It shouldn’t be an issue if we have that head start before your guardians notice your absence.”
