That was the one she’d meant to take. Instead, she’d slept and now her sister would probably wonder where she was when she failed to show up at six o’clock that evening. It would most likely be closer to nine before she arrived.
Accepting there was little for her to do about that at this point, she accompanied Philip into the dining room where he ordered some eggs, ham, and toast, along with a hot pot of tea.
“We no longer need to play pretend,” Leonora said once her food had arrived and she’d taken a couple of bites. The reality of this had settled like a brick in her belly ever since he’d told her that those who thought they were married had gone. When she and Philip continued on their journey, it would be with a new group of passengers.
“I know.” He almost sounded regretful, but surely that wasn’t possible, not after he’d adamantly refused further intimacy with her last night.
“I should go fetch my things,” she said after finishing the rest of her breakfast in silence.
“I’ll help,” he offered.
They returned upstairs to collect their luggage, and Leonora hoped briefly that maybe, just maybe, he’d tell her they ought to continue their farce. But of course he didn’t. Why would he? They were practically strangers, after all, and she was being far too fanciful for her own good if she imagined he’d want a real romantic attachment with her on the basis of a single day’s acquaintance.
And yet she could not deny the emptiness inside or the curious longing she had for the touch of his hand. She wanted him to wrap his arm around her shoulders as he’d done yesterday and hold her close to his side. She wanted to bask in his warmth, savor his strength, inhale his scent and...
It was a hopeless dream, a ridiculous one if she were honest with herself. Philip Dalton was a successful businessman. What use could he possibly have for a woman who was struggling simply to pay her rent and avoid eviction? He was everything she aspired to be while she would just be a millstone around his neck.
“Are you ready?” he asked, waiting for her by the door.
She gave him an absent nod. “Yes.” It was a lie of course, but to ask him for more than he’d already offered, to risk spending the next twelve hours with a man who told her he’d only intended to offer protection, nothing more, wasn’t something she wished to endure.
At least this way she could let herself think that if things had been different, if they’d met in some other way, gotten to know each other better...that maybe then they might have had a chance of something more. So she followed him back downstairs and out into the courtyard. Her legs were numb, not from the cold but from heartache. How was that even possible? There had to be something wrong with her. To like a man so much after knowing him so briefly, to physically need him in a way that made her soul hurt with longing, was madness.
But what could not be denied was the spark that ignited the moment he took her hand to help her up into the coach. She sucked in a breath and instinctively turned her head, meeting his gaze. His eyes were shadowed by the dim morning light protruding beneath a grey cover of clouds, but there was interest there, an awareness humming between them.
Say something.
Please.
Tell me that this, whatever this is, isn’t over.
He placed his hand at her back, and his fingers curled briefly into her flesh before pushing against her to nudge her inside. She stepped forward, away from his touch, and sat down next to the window. When he climbed in after her, he took the opposite bench, officially confirming that yesterday’s experience would not be repeated.
Leonora turned to look out the window while the rest of the passengers boarded. She continued to do so while the carriage took off and until she was ready to take a nap since it saved her from having to look at Philip. Wanting him was something that needed to stop. She had to distract herself somehow with other things, so that was precisely what she did until they arrived in Sheffield.
Darkness had settled across the landscape by the time they rolled into the Black Raven’s courtyard a few minutes after nine. Leonora was the last to disembark, and when she reached the door, Philip was there to help her down.
She glanced at his hand. “Thank you, but I believe I can manage.”
“Leonora...”
Was that pain in his voice? “It’s all right. I am all right.” But if she touched him again she feared she might never recover. “Please.”
He lowered his hand and took a step back allowing her to climb down on her own.
“I have your valise,” he said, gesturing toward the piece of luggage sitting next to his own on the ground. “Are you expecting someone to come and meet you?”
His question made her realize how little they really knew about each other. They hadn’t even discussed where they were going, who they intended to visit, what their plans were for the future...
“I’m here to see my sister, but she expected me to arrive at six, so I doubt—”
“Miss Compton?” A broad-shouldered man with tufts of gray hair showing beneath the brim of his hat approached them. He shifted his gaze to Philip. “You wouldn’t happen to be Mr. Dalton by any chance?”
“Indeed I am.”
The man smiled. “Excellent.” He tipped his hat. “I’m Mr. Vance.”
“Then you must be here to collect me.” Philip glanced at Leonora and paused as if just now realizing that Mr. Vance had inquired if she was Miss Compton.
