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She moved down the street, her maid following closely at her heels.

Mr. Steele shook his head. She was still going, even knowing he might alert her father—thereby ending her chances at attending the assembly at all? This woman’s stubborn madness would be the death of them both.

If only she was teasing him once again. And yet, was it worth the risk of waiting to find out if she was?

He rubbed the back of his neck, a rod of worry lodged down his spine. How had he ever found himself between two decisions such as these—risk Miss Coventry’s life or risk his and Mother’s livelihood?

Still torn to pieces like an inconsequential piece of paper, he made his decision. If he accompanied Miss Coventry, at least he knew he could keep her safe.

“Wait,” he said, moving swiftly down the street, catching up to Miss Coventry and her awaiting maid. “I will go with you.”

Miss Coventry turned to face him with wide eyes. “You will?”

He nodded. “If only to keep you out of trouble.”

“You are certain?”

“Yes.”

She placed her hands over her mouth with excitement. “Thank you, Mr. Steele!” Then she waved him toward the Blue Boar. “Now you must move swiftly. The coach will arrive in just a few moments. Find something to wear to the assembly this evening and bring whatever else you might need. Oh, and do not forget to write the note to Father. Swiftly, Mr. Steele. Make haste, make haste!”

He shook his head at her urging, moving toward the inn in a daze. What had he just agreed to do?

CHAPTER TWENTY

Marianne was fairly certain she was going to a place after she died that did not involve eternal peace and rest. How could she have pressed Mr. Steele into doing something that involved so great a risk?

She knew he could have easily refused to accompany her, told father, and she would have been discovered in Wells within a few hours—stopping her chance at attending the assembly. It would have been the ultimate blow, being so close to freedom but only receiving a small bite as opposed to the feast she so desired.

Instead of allowing that to occur, she had absolutely played with Mr. Steele’s emotions in her coercion, and she really had given him no choice but to join her.

Yes, fire and brimstone were certainly in her future.

Mr. Steele returned shortly with his own portmanteau, and she stood in silence with him and Jane until the coach came moments later.

Fortunately, they were the only passengers who boarded the coach, otherwise their hour-long journey would have been fraught with even more misery as they hid their faces in the hoods of their cloaks.

As they situated themselves onto their respective seats—Marianne settling beside Jane with Mr. Steele across from them—Marianne finally removed her hood, leaning far back from the window to avoid any unsuspecting stares.

The horses were changed over, then the coachman boarded the stagecoach, and they were off.

She looked to Mr. Steele with a sigh of relief, but he simply stared out of the window, his leg bouncing up and down, a scowl on his brow.

She’d upset him, that much was clear.

She turned to Jane, the maid’s brow crumpled in worry as she also stared out of her window. There was yet another prime example as to why Marianne was a terrible person. She had coerced Jane—the maid tasked to care for Marianne’s dressing and hair, since Marianne wasn’t quite in need of a lady’s maid—and Jane’s sister to help her with her plan. The sisters were being compensated, but was it worth the risk?

She could not blame them for their anxiousness when her own nerves were as taut as Mr. Steele’s jacket stretching across his broad shoulders. She feared so much. Her reputation being ruined, offending her family, jeopardizing the maids’ and Mr. Steele’s employment.

But she also feared remaining at Daffley Park for the rest of her life without the chance for freedom. Without the chance to dance, socialize, and live.

No matter how her guilt felt seared into her conscience as if with a branding iron, she had come too far and involved too many people to turn back now, hadn’t she? Or did she simply need to find a way to coax Mr. Steele and Jane to be on her side?

“Have you everything you need, Mr. Steele?” she asked.

He nodded, still staring out of the window. “I do, and I’ve had more time to think, so I would like to say that I still heartily disapprove of what we are doing right now.”

The pout of his chiseled lips made him, dare she think it, adorable.