“Three hours,” I said, ignoring the desire to swat her hands away and sink my fingers into her hair again. “We can’t risk staying longer than that. I’ll leave you now and go downstairs to make sure everything is arranged for the next leg of our journey.”
She grabbed my arm before I could turn away. “Clifton, you need to rest as well.”
I turned back to look at her. “I will. Lay down for a little bit. I’m going to go speak to the innkeeper. Make sure that they’re following my instructions and that nothing will go awry. Most importantly, I need to put the fear of God into them. If my name won’t do it, I’ll drop Rexford’s. Let them know how displeased he’d be if word got out that this inn can’t be trusted to guard their clients’ privacy.”
She smiled fully then, light coming into her eyes, and I found my chest constricting. How was it possible that this beautiful woman standing in front of me right now was the same cautious wallflower I’d convinced to run away with me?
“I have no doubt that invoking Rexford’s name will terrify them.”
I put a hand to my chest in mock outrage. “I am wounded that you think they wouldn’t be afraid of me.”
She laughed softly and made her way to the bed. She moved to the far side and sat on the edge. She turned slightly to look at me over her shoulder. “Thank you for everything, Clifton.”
I nodded, incapable of speech, and watched as she lay on the bed, her back to me. The long waves of her hair flowed across the counterpane.
Leaving the room was one of the hardest things I’d ever done.
CHAPTER 14
DIANA
“Diana, it’s time to wake up.”
I sighed, wanting to protest. But then I realized that voice didn’t belong to my aunt’s maid. It was male.
Clifton’s.
When I opened my eyes, I saw that he was sitting in a chair, watching me.
As always, my first thought was to take note of just how handsome he was with his dark hair, blue eyes, and a face that seemed designed by God himself to break hearts everywhere he went. I knew that many women admired him. I’d seen the way their gazes followed him. It didn’t seem possible that we were on our way to Gretna Green to wed.
After a few moments I realized he’d changed his clothing. He was no longer wearing the charcoal trousers and tailcoat with the blue waistcoat that nicely complemented his eyes. No, he was now wearing fawn-colored trousers and a hunter green tailcoat with a lighter green waistcoat.
I sat up. “Dare I hope that you have a change of clothing for me in that portmanteau?”
One corner of his mouth lifted. “Of course, there are no less than three dresses in there for you. Moreland’s wife insisted you should have a choice when it came to what you wanted to wear on your wedding day. I’m surprised she permitted a change of clothing for me.”
I glanced at the window, relieved it was still light out. “How long have we been here?”
“Three hours.”
I already knew the answer, but asked anyway. “I don’t suppose you had a chance to rest?”
He shook his head. “I thought it best to watch over you. Does your scalp still ache?”
I lifted my hands to my hair, exploring my scalp. “Only a little. Nothing beyond the normal tenderness I feel when I put up my hair.” I sighed. “Speaking of which, I should do that now.”
I stood and crossed to the dressing table where Clifton had scattered my hairpins. As I passed, I was thankful to see that there was a jug of water in the washing stand tucked away in one corner of the room.
I cringed when I caught sight of my reflection in the dressing table mirror. My hair was a tangled mess. I turned to look at Clifton, whose eyes had been fixed on the wild tresses.
“I don’t suppose Victoria thought to include a hairbrush.”
“Of course,” he said after several seconds of continuing to stare at me. No doubt he was wondering how I was ever going to tame it. Fortunately, while it might look unkempt, my hair didn’t normally tangle.
I smiled my thanks when he reached into the bag and turned to hand me the hairbrush. “My aunt has been trying to convince me to cut my hair.” I turned to look at my reflection. “She’s probably correct. If I cut it so that if falls just past my shoulders, it would be so much easier to put up.”
“No.”
