Page 13 of Memories Made At Midnight (Chronicles of the Westbrook Brides #9)

On the track between Brighton

and Cumberland, England

Near The Frolicking Fox Inn

A DAY LATER ~ A FEW MINUTES PAST NINE IN THE EVENING

S troking Teddy’s soft fur, Beatrice gazed at the passing landscape. Dusk had settled on the countryside, a comforting blue-gray mantle deepening the forest shadows. Nala lay curled on the floor, snoring softly. As the miles passed and Brighton grew more distant, Beatrice hadn’t dared relax, but the tension knotting her stomach and shoulders had eased somewhat.

Though she hadn’t breathed a word to Cassius, he realized she’d caught Millborn’s cold. So far, Beatrice’s symptoms proved more of an annoyance than a worry. A sore throat, sneezing, and a stuffy nose plagued her, but not the bone-rattling cough, weakness, and fever her companion suffered.

Last night, Beatrice and Cassius hadn’t stopped to sleep—only to eat, change horses several times, and procure her the too-big and unremarkable dark blue gown, black cloak, and black bonnet with a veil that she wore to hide her identity. He had also purchased several squares for her to blow her leaking nose into.

She’d braided her hair and wound it into a knot at the back of her head, but she didn’t have any pins to secure it in place, so strands kept slipping loose. The color was unique enough that she needed to keep it hidden beneath the hideous bonnet.

Cassius hadn’t thought to acquire hairpins for her, but after she removed her bonnet for at least the sixth time and re-braided her hair, he’d used a knife to cut away a long strip of lace trailing down the back of the bonnet.

Beatrice had wound the lace around her head in a makeshift turban and tied it at the top before replacing the ugly hat once more.

They traveled as a bereaved brother and sister.

If anyone caught a glimpse of her, they might attribute her sniffles to tears, instead of a cold, reinforcing their ruse.

That charade had been Cassius’s idea. One he said he borrowed from a brother, though he didn’t expound on which sibling or what story lay behind the ruse. Perhaps she would find out when they reached Hefferwickshire House.

She eyed him covertly.

Perhaps not.

Though courteous and kind, Cassius seemed to have withdrawn into himself on the journey. He barely spoke and seemed distracted. She supposed the stress and tension of fleeing Brighton and the worry that Uncle Cedric might overtake them could have caused the change in Cassius. Probably concerns about his career plagued him too.

Though there’d always been an aura of seriousness about him, Beatrice missed the easy-to-talk-to man.

She’d had no right to overstep and impose upon him the way she had, and guilt nagged her conscience for embroiling him in her mess.

While other men might have denied her appeal without a second thought, Cassius Westbrook was a true gentleman. He held himself to a higher standard and would not dismiss her outlandish request.

Mayhap he had regrets.

She couldn’t blame him.

He’d ordered the horses changed every ten miles instead of fifteen to keep them fresh and able to travel at a faster pace. At great expense too. The coach made for an uncomfortable bed, though exhaustion had eventually claimed her in the wee morning hours.

A cramp in her neck had awoken her. All day, her muscles had protested the confined quarters and lack of movement.

How much worse must it be for a tall man such as Cassius?

Fatigue etched his handsome face and pinched the corners of his brilliant eyes, midnight blue, in the coach’s dim interior.

Unlike her fitful dozing, he’d remained awake to direct the coachmen along lesser-known roads. He also explained they were less likely to be set upon by highwaymen since knights of the road preyed upon vehicles traveling the more popular routes.

More than once, Beatrice had asked herself why he would go to such an extent to help someone he barely knew or, for that matter, why she’d felt she could ask him to aide her.

No answer presented itself for the former, but the latter was obvious.

Because she did trust him.

Had done so from the moment he’d turned from the folly at Highbury House and given her that disarmingly crooked smile.

She hid a yawn behind her hand.

Lord, she’d never been so exhausted, and to think they had at least two more days of this rugged journey ahead of them nearly made her weep.

Nearly.

But she would not.

Not even when the annoying summer cold made her want to curl up in bed and sleep for a week.

You are made of sterner stuff, Beatrice Blossom Carina Fairfax .

If this was what she must endure to free herself from Uncle Cedric’s clutches at long last, then she would travel for a fortnight or longer under these grueling conditions.

“I’ll rent two rooms tonight.” Cassius’s murmured comment pulled her attention back to the present. “You can bathe, eat, and sleep for a few hours.”

A hot bath to wash the sweat and road grime away sounded divine.

He rubbed a hand across his forehead, weariness etched upon his handsome features. “We’ll leave well before dawn. I’ll ask for enough food to last the day.”

Unless Beatrice had needed to use the necessary behind the inns that they’d stopped at to switch teams, she’d remained out of sight in the stifling vehicle. So had the dogs. The coach paused along the route to allow her pets to relieve themselves. The fewer people who saw her or the dogs, the better.

She fingered the ill-fitting gown.

Cassius had burned her other garments during one of their stops for the dogs.

Beatrice didn’t want to contemplate how much he had spent on her behalf.

Of course, she’d reimburse him and pay for the inconvenience she’d caused him as well, even if the stubborn man insisted she need not. When she finally controlled the fortune coming to her, that was.

A little thrill of excitement and hope sluiced through her at the thought.

She was wealthy.

Very wealthy and on her way to claiming her inheritance. And there wasn’t a blasted thing Uncle Cedric could do to stop her from acquiring what was legally hers.

Except prevent her from meeting with her solicitor.

This begged the question, why would he do so?

But then again, why had he lied and sabotaged her for the last couple of years?

Over and over, she’d ruminated about the reasons Uncle Cedric could have had for lying to her about her inheritance. His behavior made no sense. Initially, she’d believed he’d kept her from her bequest out of spite, but then why the sudden urgency to see her married?

Beatrice’s husband wouldn’t inherit either, which made Uncles desperation to see her married all the more confounding. Surely, Uncle Cedric was acquainted with the provisions of his mother’s will and the legacy she’d left to Beatrice.

Nala lifted her head and giving Beatrice a soulful glance, yawned.

The dogs had suffered from the cramped quarters too, though not nearly as much as Cassius with his long legs. He’d not grumbled once, but then she’d learned that much about him. He wasn’t the complaining sort.

“We’re nearly to The Frolicking Fox, Beatrice.”

She almost asked him to call her BeBe, but that seemed far too personal and intimate.

Cassius flicked a paint-stained finger toward her hat. “Lower the veil and keep your head down when we enter.”

He returned his perusal to the road ahead.

As if sensing they were about to stop, Teddy hopped off her lap and stretched, first his back legs, then his front.

A frown tugged Beatrice’s mouth downward.

“Cassius?”

“ Hmm? ” he gave her a distracted glance.

“My d-dogs are sure to give us away. How will we g-get them inside without anyone noticing?”

He swung his gaze between the animals.

Their flight would’ve been easier without her beloved pets. Yet he’d never suggested she leave them behind.

“Leave it to me. They’ll stay in the coach for now. After dark, I’ll walk them and see if I can bribe someone to let me sneak them up a back stairway.” He patted Nala’s head. “However, they might have to spend the night in the coach. If that is the case, I’ll stay with them.”

That hardly seemed fair, but what alternative was there?

A woman sleeping in a coach would arouse too much notice, and she risked being set upon by unscrupulous riffraff.

“My poor dears. Look what I’ve dragged you into, loves.” At least they were with her, and as much as Beatrice hated leaving them for the night, she couldn’t argue with Cassius’s logic. No one must notice them, and Nala especially, was hard to hide.

Hopefully, Dr. Lancaster had visited Millborn by now.

She frowned.

Would Uncle Cedric permit it?

A few minutes later, the coach slowed to a bumpy stop before a quaint two-story Tudor-style inn. Golden light glowed from the lower windows, framed by brown shutters, and one upper room as well. What must be the stables parallelled one side of the tidy courtyard.

As Beatrice had never traveled before, she did not know if this establishment was typical for lodging. It mattered not in any event. This is where they would sleep tonight.

The coachmen couldn’t go on either, though they took turns at the reins.

Cassius put a finger to his lips to indicate she should remain quiet before he jumped from the conveyance and shut the door firmly behind him. He murmured a few indistinguishable words to the drivers before sauntering toward the lodging house, his keen gaze taking in the surroundings as he went.

Several minutes passed—just enough time for her imagination to start to run amuck.

A trio of men passed by, their unassuming clothing revealing them as commoners. They spoke in low tones, and she shrank into the vehicle’s shadows.

Nala issued a low growl and Teddy’s ears perked up.

“ Shh .” Beatrice ran a hand over each of their heads. “ Quiet .”

They knew that command well, for she’d made certain Uncle Cedric could never complain the dogs were too noisy to be in the house. Both dogs promptly settled their head on their forepaws, their faithful gazes trained upon her.

Daring to lean forward to peek out the window, Beatrice only saw one other nondescript coach in the courtyard. However, several horses milled about a corral adjacent to the stables.

Cassius had said this route was less traveled than the Great North Road when weighing whether speed or secrecy was their greatest concern. He’d settled on somewhere in between. Tomorrow, they’d reach the major route and make for Hefferwickshire House hell-bent for nothing.

His words, not hers.

After closing her eyes, Beatrice rested her head against the gray velvet squabs and let her mind wander to what she would do first after she claimed her fortune.

Retrieve my other animals from Highbury House and set up a sanctuary.

Retire Millborn to a cozy cottage .

Find a place to live—not in Brighton .

Not as long as Uncle Cedric lived there. Especially now that she knew the truth of his deception. That meant she wouldn’t see Cassius anymore, and her heart panged with sadness and regret.

She really liked him. A lot. He’d become a trusted friend—maybe something more.

He cannot be anything more, you gullible goose.