The Earl's Secret Bargain (14 page)

“Two if we leave early in the morning.”

“I prefer the ride to be as comfortable as possible.”

“I understand, and I’ll have a better carriage before the day is
up.”

“Thank you.”

She turned and left the room. As soon as she was out of sight, he collapsed in the chair and breathed a huge sigh of relief. It was a start in the right direction. They still had a long way to go, but at least she was willing to give it a try. He couldn’t ask her to do any more than that.

Regina woke from her slumber, surprised she had fallen asleep in the carriage. Even if it was the most comfortable one she’d ever been in, the swaying back and forth wasn’t easy to get used to. She opened her eyes and saw the green pasture outside the small window. In the distance, she saw another carriage. She’d seen a couple others along the way on the well-traveled road, but she didn’t think so many people would be out traveling in the middle of July. With a shrug, she straightened in her seat and worked the kinks out of her muscles the best she could, given the confines of the carriage.

It was well past noon, and they’d been traveling since that morning. This marked the first day of their journey to Toby’s countr
y estate. She supposed she should start thinking of it as her estate, too. She was the mistress of it, after all. But it would take time to adjust to her new life.

When she told Toby she wanted to leave London, she felt so confident that she was making the right decision. But now doubt started creeping in. Should she have stayed in London? Would it have made any difference?

With a glance at Toby, she saw he was sleeping. The book he’d been reading had fallen off his lap and onto the floor. This time he’d chosen to read something of a political nature. If she had to read something that boring, she’d fall asleep too, though to be fair, it was probably the tedious journey that got to him rather than the contents of the book.

She picked
up the book and set it on the spot between them, accidentally touching his leg as she did so.

He stirred and
straightened up. “What?”

“It’s nothing. Go back to sleep.”

It’d been the most they’d said to each other since she talked to him yesterday in the drawing room. It wasn’t that she’d been avoiding him, but helping her lady’s maid get her things together had taken the rest of the day, and they had left as soon as they ate that morning.

Now, as they traveled through the country, she had occupied her time with some embroidery while he
read. Both were quiet activities that required no conversation, something that suited her just fine. She wasn’t sure if she felt like talking to him yet. She had enjoyed her conversations with him in the past, but that was before she learned about the wager.

At the moment, s
he just wanted to do her embroidery and forget about everything. She needed to get to Greenwood. Once there, she’d take it one day at a time. She gathered the embroidery that she’d tucked in her valise and started working on it, taking comfort in the repetitive motion of pulling the thread through the fabric.

Several minutes passed before Toby
broke the silence. “Do you enjoy doing that or are you doing it because there’s nothing else to do?”

“I enjoy it,” she replied. “It gives me something to work on, and it’s soothing.”

Hoping that would be the end of their conversation, she turned her attention back to it, but he asked, “What else do you like to do?”

Just as she feared, b
y waking him up, she had instigated a conversation with him. She should have been more careful with that book. “If you don’t mind, riding in a carriage all day gives me a headache, and I have a hard time engaging in a conversation. Can we wait until dinner to have this discussion?”

Though he looked disappointed, he nodded and picked up his book.

She hadn’t said it to be mean. She really did get a headache, and talking only made it worse. It was much easier to focus on what someone was saying when she wasn’t bouncing around all day.

When it came time to give the horses another break
, she went on a brief walk. Now she remembered why she dreaded the trips to London and back to the country. The long days in the carriage had a way of exhausting a person, which was ironic given all that she ever did was sit. The walk up the incline in the terrain was surprisingly invigorating, easing a lot of the tension in her body. She made it to the top of the incline and paused when she saw the same carriage in the distance she’d seen when she woke up from her nap.

Wasn’t
it odd that it stopped when hers did? Adjusting her hat to better block the sunlight from hitting her eyes, she tried to get a better look at the carriage. From where she stood, it was hard to make out the details of it, but she saw it had a darker color. It was either maroon or a rich brown shade.

But
it wasn’t in the best of shape. It was something a common gentleman might own. She bit her lower lip and thought over all the gentlemen her father knew who might own something like it, but she couldn’t think of a single one.

“Are you ready to go?” Toby called out from behind her.

She turned and saw he was at the bottom of the incline. She considered asking him to take a look at the carriage but decided against it. It was silly, after all. What were the chances someone would actually be following them?

She could hear her mother
saying, “Regina, you’re so quick to assume the worst. Whoever’s in that carriage is probably just tired and needed to take a break like we did. Let your imagination rest.”

Regina gave one last good look at
it before she turned back to her carriage.

When she reached Toby, he said, “We could stay for a while longer if you want to keep walking.”

“No, I’m ready to leave.”

Even if she couldn’t explain why the carriage unnerved her, she knew better than to go against instinct. It was best that they leave.

The rest of their day was a quiet one, and despite her apprehension about possibly being in the same room with Toby, she was relieved to reach the inn. She wanted nothing more than to stretch out on the bed and close her eyes. After she put her embroidery back in the valise, she got out of the carriage. From the looks of it, Toby seemed equally relieved that their journey was over for the day.

Toby cupped her elbow with his hand and led her away from the carriage.

“Are you taking me for a walk?” she asked.

“No, but I will if you want me to,” he replied.

“I’d rather eat.” Now that they were out of the carriage—and would be for the rest of the night—she could think about food again. And her stomach was more than happy to remind her it’d been morning since she had a good meal. “What is it?”

“W
ould you like your own room?”

“I thought I made it clear we w
on’t be sharing a bed, at least for a while.”

Though he winced, he nodded. “You did.”

“Then why did you ask?”

“Sometimes there’s not enough rooms available. In case they only have one, I’ll give it to you.”

She hadn’t considered that possibility, but she understood it might be the case. She also knew the stables or carriage would be an uncomfortable place to spend the night. “If that’s the case, we’ll share a room, but nothing will happen between us. Agreed?”

“That’s fair. And thank you.”

But as it turned out, his fears were for nothing. There were enough rooms available, and soon she was sitting in front of the vanity, brushing her hair. What she really wanted was a bath, but she could wait until they got to Greenwood.

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts of soaking in a
tub. With a sigh, she put the brush down and went to the door. “Who is it?” she called out.

No answer came, and Regina hes
itated to open it. There was no telling who was on the other side. But something told her she should.

She retrieved a hatpin and held it behind her back. If someone on the other side intended to harm her, she’d use it. Granted, it was a feeble method of protecting herself, but it was all she had. With her free hand, she opened the door a crack and saw a lady who thought nothing of show
ing her cleavage to the world.

“Yes?” Regina asked.

The lady cleared her throat and spoke in a soft voice that required Regina to strain in order to hear her. “Lord Davenport asked for me.”

Regina frowned. This lady worked here, and as much as Regina’s mother tried to shelter her, Regina knew this lady did m
ore than serve meals and clean rooms. She also offered her services to gentlemen. “If that’s true, why are you at my door?” Regina asked, choosing her words carefully.

“This is Davenport’s room. Isn’t he here?”

“You were listening when the innkeeper gave us our rooms. You might have been hiding in the shadows, but I remember you.” When the lady tried to bolt down the hall, Regina grabbed her arm and pulled her into the room. She shut the door and blocked the lady’s exit. “What’s going on? Why would you come here asking for my husband?”

Her
lower lip trembled. “Please, my lady. I don’t want any trouble.”

“If you didn’t want trouble, you shouldn’t have come to my do
or and lie to me. My husband didn’t send for you. Who did?”

“I didn’t want to do it. But money’s
been tight.”

“Someone paid you to come here and pretend my husband asked you to
join him in bed?” When the lady started crying, Regina forced her tone to soften. She might not like any of this, but it was apparent the lady felt like she had no choice but to deceive her. “Who put you up to this?”

“I
can’t say. I promised not to speak his name.”

Sighing, Regina went over to her vanity. After setting the hatpin down, she picked up her ret
icule and pulled out some money. Returning to her, she showed her the money. “I won’t tell anyone you came here, but I do want to know who sent you and why.”

Sniffing, the lady wiped her tears with the back of her hand and shook her head. “I don’t know why. All I have is this.” She pulled out a fol
ded piece of paper from her pocket and gave it to Regina. “I can’t read, so I don’t know what it says. I was only told to give it to Lord Davenport.”

Regina opened the paper with a glance at the lady in front of her. The la
dy didn’t want to do this. That much was obvious. Her need for money must be great. Forcing her gaze to the paper, Regina read the note addressed to her husband, “No one makes a fool of me.” It was signed by Lord Pennella.

“Where is this ge
ntleman who sent you here?” Regina asked as she handed the lady the money.

“He’s in his carriage.”

“Can I see the carriage from my window?” Regina asked as she walked over to it.

“It’
s on this side of the inn, so yes, my lady.”

Regina peered out the window
, and her gaze went to the familiar carriage she’d seen a couple times earlier that day. “What does it look like?”

“A dark brown and reddish color.”

Yes, that was the same carriage all right. So she hadn’t been overreacting. And now she knew that leaving London hadn’t stopped Lord Pennella from acting like a spoiled brat who was having a temper tantrum because he didn’t get what he wanted. Well, there was only one way to put a stop to this nonsense, and Toby wasn’t the one to do it.

Regina marched over to her door and opened it. “I want you to get the innkeeper to accompany me out to the carriage.”

The lady’s eyes grew wide. “You can’t mean to confront him.”

“Oh, that’s exactly what I’m going to do, but I’m not stupid enough to do it without some help.”
Lord Pennella had just proven how underhanded he was, and she wasn’t about to face him alone.

Though the lady didn’t seem convinced this was the best course of action, she hurried out of the room and led Regina down the stairs to where the innkeeper was going through his ledger.
As she explained what Regina wanted, Regina went to the window near the entrance and saw the carriage hadn’t budged. What was Lord Pennella waiting for? Did he want Toby to confront him?

Granted, she didn’t
know Lord Pennella very well, so it was hard to figure out his motive. But if he was willing to run after her and Toby, she had no doubt he sent the missive on her wedding day in hopes that she’d be there to see it.

Gritting her teeth, she thought over what she was going to say to him. All he needed to know was that she caught him and knew exactly what was going on.
Obviously, she was supposed to believe Toby wanted to take someone else to his bed. And she was supposed to believe that all Toby did was make wagers on how foolish she was.

The innkeeper came over to her. “I was told someone has bee
n bothering you and you need my assistance.”

“Yes, that is correct. Will you escort me to that carriage over there?” She pointed to it.

He nodded.

“Thank you.”

Relieved he didn’t ask her why or suggest she have her husband escort her, she led him outside. She didn’t want Toby involved in any more of this nonsense. And if Lord Pennella saw her without him, it might make more of an impression on him. He wasn’t going to manipulate her like he had manipulated her husband.

She s
tormed up to the carriage and yanked the handle of the door before the coachman could open it for her. She got a wicked satisfaction in watching Lord Pennella jump in his seat.