Page 75 of A Deal for the Duke’s Virgin

He glanced over his shoulder again, and this time he recognized the woman sitting in the front seat beside the driver. Yes, she was swathed in a rough cloak and an ugly woolen dress, but could it be her?

Well, now he had to know.

He halted abruptly, the horse’s hooves sending up sparks on the cobbles. Behind him, the cab screeched to an equally ignominious stop, and the woman lurched forward with a squeak.

He certainly recognized that squeak.

Silence ensued, and he squinted across the distance between them. “Thalia?”

She flinched. “Um. G-Good evening to you, Your Grace.”

The driver glanced slowly between them. “Not a very friendly greeting,” he commented.

It seemed to mean something because Thalia snorted and rolled her eyes at him.

Christian angled his horse back towards the cab, hooves clicking on the cobbles. “What are you doing out at this hour?” he demanded. “It’s midnight.”

“I could ask you the same.”

He lifted his eyebrows. “I am a man, my dear. I face a rather different set of dangers.”

She bit her lower lip. “Well, I am here because I wanted to help. With that thing we discussed,” she added carefully.

He considered. Of course, it would be easier to send her home. Safer, too.

“Very well,” he heard himself say. “You can come along with me. I daresay you’ll have to perch on the back of the saddle.”

The driver heaved a sigh. “I’ll drive her there. I’ll drive you both there, it seems.”

Christian gave a wide grin. “Thank you, good sir. I should warn you, though, that we’re going on a long way.”

The cab crawled to a halt in front of a grimy-looking pub. The Highland Road.

“Didn’t think we were going outside of London,” the driver complained.

“Barely,” Christian pointed out. “We are barely outside of London.”

The man sniffed.

Thalia dug into her pocket, taking out a reticule. Christian heard coins clink, and at once, he withdrew his wallet. He handed over a generous sum to the driver, whose face relaxed a little.

“That’s generous, Your Grace. That’ll be enough for me to go on home, I reckon. Unless you want me to wait around and take you back? I don’t like the idea of the young lady being abandoned in the dead of night.”

“I shall take care of her,” Christian assured him. “She’ll get home safe.”

The driver eyed him for a long moment and was apparently satisfied by what he saw in his face. He took the money and gave a nod of agreement.

Thalia alighted neatly, nodding and smiling up at the driver. “Thank you,” she said, “for everything.”

He nodded back with a smile, and off he went.

That left her and Christian standing on the roadside, with his horse nudging the back of their shoulders.

“Well,” she said, turning to face him, “why are we here?”

“This road leads through the north to Scotland,” Christian explained. “It’s the most common path for travelers to take. They mostly stop at this pub before they start their journey in earnest. Anyone traveling to Scotland would likely have stopped here. A woman certainly would.”

“Why a woman, specifically?”