Harrison immediately tried to reassure her they’d be stopping soon, but her hair was now coming undone from its pins and the long strands were whipping him in the face, making it next to impossible to speak or to see much, for that matter.
All he could do was keep a tight hold on Gertrude and pray that his stallion would become winded before they reached the next state.
It took three complete blocks before Rupert began to slow, and then, when he finally stopped, Harrison could not think of a single thing to say to the woman who shoved her hair out of her eyes, struggled upright, turned the upper half of her body toward him, then pinned him with a furious glare.
“Harrison! Good heavens, it’s you.” Her eyes narrowed. “Have you taken leave of your senses? What could you have been thinking, abducting me like that?”
Disappointment slid through him. “You only now realized it was me?”
Her eyes narrowed another fraction. “How could I have known it was you before this very moment? We were traveling at breakneck speed, and far be it from me to point out the obvious, but my skirt was practically flying over my head, making it somewhat difficult to see. Add in that you caught me completely unaware, and ... no, I didn’t realize it was you.”
He summoned up a smile, hoping it was the one he’d heard ladies found charming. Unfortunately, it did absolutely nothing to diminish the fury in Gertrude’s eyes. “May I assume you’re not even a smidgen impressed by how I was able to accomplish the feat of getting you up on my horse?”
“You almost killed me in the process, so if you’re ever planning on trying this particular feat again, you might want to practice—and not with a living lady as your subject.”
“I thought you might enjoy arriving at Rutherford & Company in ... what was that again ... oh yes ... style.”
“I enjoy arriving at fine stores in one piece, thank you very much, but now, if it wouldn’t be too much of a bother, you need to get me off this horse.”
Harrison frowned. “I’m not certain how to go about that safely.”
“Because my safety is obviously such a concern for you today.”
Before he could reply to that telling statement, the sound of horse hooves sounded behind them.
“I say, Miss Cadwalader, are you quite all right?”
Turning his head because there really wasn’t anything else for him to do, Harrison found Agent McParland drawing his horse to a stop directly beside them. There appeared to be a touch of satisfaction in his eyes—the reason for that becoming clear when Harrison realized Edwina was sitting securely behind Agent McParland, her arm wrapped around the man’s waist. She was smiling in clear satisfaction as well, even though she did scowl at him for just a second and roll her eyes.
“You’re supposed to pull a lady up and then behind you,” she whispered in a voice that still carried. “Which you would know if you applied yourself more diligently to those novels you pretend you don’t read, although given this disaster, you’ve clearly been skimming your way through them.”
Gertrude leaned over him to look at Edwina. “What novels?”
Edwina opened her mouth, but then closed it again, shaking her head. “You’ll have to ask Harrison, Gertrude. I may be annoyed with him, but we do share a sibling bond, one that prevents me from exposing all his secrets.”
Gertrude returned her attention to him. “What novels?”
To Harrison’s relief, Asher suddenly galloped into view, his hair distinctly disheveled, and his expression relieved once he caught sight of them. Pulling his horse to a stop, he got to the ground and moved to Rupert’s side. “That didn’t go quite as planned, but allow me to help you down, Gertrude.”
“How did it not go as planned?” Gertrude demanded. “And what exactly were the two of you planning in the first place?”
“That’s a little difficult to explain,” Asher said. “But if you would be so kind as to give me your hand, we can then continue our conversation when you’re safely on the ground.”
Sticking her hand out, even though she seemed to do so somewhat grudgingly, Gertrude slid less than gracefully from his horse. Thanking Asher, she stalked a good five feet away from Rupert, probably because Rupert was now tossing his head and pawing at the ground.
Harrison swung his leg over the saddle, dropped to the ground, told Rupert to behave, then blinked. To his utter disbelief, Agent McParland was not getting off his horse to assess the situation, something Harrison thought the Pinkerton agent would have done. Instead, he was already galloping away on his horse, Edwina waving cheerfully back at Harrison before she turned around, the sound of her laughter drifting back to him on the breeze.
“At least someone knows how to go about orchestrating a dashing gesture,” Asher muttered to Harrison as he took hold of his horse’s reins, then nodded to Gertrude, who was looking remarkably grumpy. “What say all of us walk back together to Rutherford & Company? I’ll buy you a nice cup of tea from the tea shop.”
Gertrude smoothed her hair. “There’s no need for either of you to accompany me, Asher. I’m perfectly fine—and some might say safer—walking by myself.”
Asher smoothed back his hair as well. “This area is known to have pickpockets lurking about. Best not to chance your well-being.”
“Because pulling me on top of a rabid beast wasn’t a risk to my well-being,” Gertrude replied before she lifted her chin and started forward, limping every other step.
“Are you hurt?” Harrison asked, hurrying to catch up with her.
“Lost a shoe.”
