At that moment the men rejoined the ladies. Harriet noted that her husband had that look on his face. One that no one else would be able to read, but she knew him well enough now she knew a lot of what was going on with him. Smug.
She was attempting to figure out his mood when the duke, Lucien’s father, suggested cards, but Harriet’s father declined due to the late hour. She was glad her father had an escape and glanced at her mother; she was not too happy with having to leave. Late or not.
As they were saying their goodbyes, she felt Lucien draw closer. She felt his hand on the small of her back. Her mother was having a hard time of it, but Harriet wasn’t sure why.
After they left, the two couples said good night and Lucien and Harriet made their way upstairs to their suite. Tomorrow would be an extremely busy day and require them rising earlier than usual. They would be traveling most of the day to get to Dover and the ship that awaited to take them across the channel and to France.
Chapter Twenty
The hustle andbustle of getting their trunks loaded on to the coach took no time. Once everything was secured, Harriet and Lucien climbed aboard for the trip to Dover. Harriet had at first thought his parents would see them off, but neither of them did. She’d made sure she would be comfortable for the journey. The dress she wore was one of her favorites for days like today. She didn’t wear a corset which made traveling much easier.
Lucien chose to sit across from her to give them both extra room for the journey. He carried a book with him as did Harriet. But rather than read, they were both sound asleep once they were on the outskirts of London. Their late night had proven to take its toll this morning.
She woke up hours later. There was no vibration to the coach, meaning they were stopped somewhere along the way. She peered out the window and saw a fresh team was being changed out with the ones they’d started with.
At that moment Lucien entered the carriage with a small basket in his hand. His eyes lit up when he saw her awake. Sitting down next to her, he opened the cloth revealing fresh baked scones with butter.
“I thought you might be hungry.”
“That’s so thoughtful of you. I am hungry,” she said, picking out one of the fluffy scones. She picked up the knife in the basket and slathered the top with fresh butter before sitting back to enjoy her first bite.
“They’re very good,” he said finishing off one and grabbing another.
“And you must be very hungry,” she replied with a smile.
“Famished.”
“Where are we?” she asked before taking another bite.
“Just outside a village called Rochester. We’re making good time,” he replied.
Harriet glanced at the basket which now sat between them. She picked up another scone and fixed it as she had the last one. “Will we go directly to the ship and stay until it departs or find a hotel?”
“We’ll go directly to the ship, if that’s all right with you,” he replied.
“That’s fine with me. That way we’ll only have to move the trunks once.”
“Correct.”
She sighed. “I can’t believe we’re going to have all this time to ourselves.”
“I’m looking forward to it, though I hope you don’t tire of having me around all the time.”
“Never,” she replied.
It was early afternoon when they arrived in Dover. Finding the ship wasn’t hard and Lucien stepped out of the carriage and spoke with one of the men standing next to the entrance to the ship. Harriet sat inside the carriage watching him as he spoke with this man. When they finished conversing, Lucien turned and walked back towards the carriage.
“Come, we can board now,” he said.
“How soon before we can leave?”
“Once the tide changes, which will be in a few hours.”
Harriet said nothing but began to step out of the carriage. She put her hand over Lucien’s as she stepped out of thecarriage. A breeze cooled the air because they were at water’s edge.
The inside of the ship was bustling as the crew made preparations for them to depart. A young man showed them to the cabin they’d occupy as the ship made the crossing. The cabin was cramped. A small table and two chairs along with a bed which was built in were all the furnishings.
“I’m going to find the captain. There’s the basket we purchased so feel free to eat. Lock the door behind me and don’t answer it to anyone but me.”
