Page 42 of Road Trip With a Rogue (Her Majesty’s Rebels #3)

Daisy shared the carriage with Ellie and Tess the following morning while the three men rode, and Perry and Violet occupied the second vehicle.

It was a journey the three women had made together on countless occasions, usually filled with a joyous round of lively discussion, and this time was no exception.

“How do I know Justin loves me?”

Tess’s brow wrinkled as she considered Daisy’s question.

“Well, it wasn’t obvious at first, I’ll admit.

He desired me before he actually fell in love with me.

But he shows his love in lots of different ways now.

Of course, he likes to give me expensive presents, like jewels and dresses and racehorses ”—she rolled her eyes at that particular absurdity—“but it’s the smallest things that mean the most. Like the way he always refuses to let the servants remove my cloak whenever we go to the opera; he likes to do it himself as an excuse to put his arms around me in public. ”

Ellie grinned. “Harry’s the same. He’ll always sit nearest the door because he knows I hate a draft. And he’ll offer to steal me a fan if I’m hot and have forgotten my own. Not that I’d ever let him, of course.”

“Justin stays in my bed on the week I’m having my monthly courses,” Tess added. “I know a lot of husbands keep to their own rooms, but he just holds me close, even though he knows we won’t be making love. And he’s always touching my hand or kissing my hair.”

“When we’re separated at a ball, or a party,” Ellie said, “Harry always manages to catch my eye from across the room. We have these little private jokes, just between us.”

Daisy bit her lip. She and Lucien had those.

“I suppose it’s not just about offering physical pleasure,” Tess continued thoughtfully, “but comfort, and companionship as well. Justin and I have plenty of shared interests, and we like doing things together, but we also have our own separate pursuits, and that’s important.

We both respect the work the other does, and we find ways to be flexible and understanding if work occasionally has to take precedence. ”

Daisy sighed. “Vaughan does all those things too. He kept me company when I was ill. And he’s always been appreciative of my skills and my work for King and Company.”

Ellie adjusted her spectacles. “I admit, it is sometimes hard to distinguish the difference between a man who’s merely enjoying your company and a man who’s fallen in love with you.

Men are terrible at saying what they mean, especially when it comes to matters of the heart.

They usually deny they’re in love at all until it becomes impossible to ignore. ”

“They’ll call it almost anything else too,” Tess chuckled.

“They’ll convince themselves it’s dislike, or jealousy, or even indigestion, rather than admit that they’re in love.

It’s only when they make unusually stupid decisions, or do something completely out of character, that proves they’re well and truly smitten. ”

“Vaughan never does anything stupid,” Daisy said miserably. “He’s far too self-controlled. And he’s such a scoundrel that to do something out of character he’d have to do something ridiculously sweet to prove his love.”

Ellie tilted her head. “Like what?”

Daisy shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s hardly the romantic type. I can’t see him proposing in a field of wildflowers, can you? Or getting down on his knees in the middle of a ballroom to profess his undying love.”

Tess chuckled. “You’d think less of him if he did. That’s the sort of thing Peregrine would do, and Violet would think it dizzyingly romantic.”

“True,” Daisy said. “I wouldn’t love him if he wasn’t a little bit wicked.”

Ellie was still looking pensive. “He should still propose some other way, though. It’s pretty clear you’re going to have to marry him to salvage your reputation, but if he proposed now, when there’s no real need, then it would show he isn’t just doing it out of duty.

It would show he actually wants your hand.

And that he’s willing to humble himself to get it. ”

Daisy snorted, remembering the way she’d rejected him at the inn. The only way I’d accept your hand, Vaughan, is if you put it between my legs.

She wanted him now. All of him, not just his hand. She wanted him, body and soul. And she wanted him to want her.

Bloody Hell.

The rest of the journey passed quickly, since the weather was fine and dry.

When Daisy recognized The Mitre at Barnet, she looked out the window and tried to pinpoint the exact spot she’d encountered Vaughan that fateful night, but the trees and bushes all looked remarkably similar, and she felt a pang of disappointment that she couldn’t identify the place.

It seemed significant. Not merely as the spot where two men had died, but as the start of their unexpected adventure.

“Do you want us to take you to Dalkeith House?” Tess asked as they rattled toward Knightsbridge. “Or would you rather come back to Wansford House with us?”

Daisy often stayed with Tess and Justin when her father and brothers were out of town.

“I’m not sure my father’s at home. If I’m lucky, he’ll be off visiting and won’t even have noticed I’ve been missing.”

It was a forlorn hope, but there was still the slight chance that none of the gossip about his wayward daughter would have reached his ears.

“I should to go and see Violet’s father, first, and explain why I didn’t complete my mission,” Daisy said.

Ellie nodded. “Peregrine mentioned that he and his uncle were going straight there to talk with Mr. Brand.”

“Would you like us to come with you?” Tess asked. “On behalf of King and Company, Harry can be there as ‘Mr. King,’ too, if you want extra support.”

“No. It’s all right. I appreciate the offer, but this was my mission. My failure. I’ll own up to it directly. I’m just sorry we’ve lost Brand’s five hundred pounds, that’s all.”

Tess gave a gentle snort. “You won’t need to worry about money if you marry Vaughan. Even Justin’s in awe of his skill on the stock market. The man could buy you a new knife every day of the year if you wanted one.”

“I don’t need any more knives,” Daisy said despondently. “What I need is a husband who loves me.”

Ellie patted her knee. “You’ll get one. I’m sure of it. Remember what that hermit said about true love and dark highways?”

Daisy rolled her eyes. “That fact that we put any store in the random scribblings of a man paid to wear a false beard and live in a fake grotto in Vauxhall Gardens just shows how desperate we all were to find husbands a couple of years ago.”

“True, but he hasn’t been wrong yet,” Ellie countered stubbornly. “If your fortune had said something about hot air balloons, or boats, or haunted castles, then it would be different. But you have to admit that it seems more than mere coincidence. It feels like fate. Destiny .”

Daisy was saved from having to reply as they drew up outside Wansford House. Ellie and Tess both descended to join their husbands on the front steps, while Daisy remained in the carriage.

She hoped Vaughan might accompany her for the final part of the journey, but he chose to keep riding.

At least he hadn’t joined Perry and Violet in the other carriage. That would have been the ultimate snub.

Violet and her father lived not far from King he’d thwarted her at every turn, but she refused to pin the blame on him.

“Again, I apologize. If there’s anything King and Company can do to make amends—”

Violet, apparently reaching the belated realization that her father’s indulgence only extended to herself, interrupted her.

“Now, Papa. Don’t be mean to Miss. Hamilton. It wasn’t her fault. We were too far ahead. She didn’t stand a chance of catching us.”

Violet was conveniently forgetting just how close it had been, but Daisy wasn’t about to correct her. Better for Brand to think he’d set her an impossible task.

“You know what I’m like when I set my heart on something.” Violet reached over and took her father’s hand. “I’m dreadfully stubborn. Just like you. I couldn’t help it.”

Brand let out an unhappy huff, as if acknowledging that rather backhanded compliment.

Violet continued. “You told me you were exactly the same way with mother. You said you took one look at her across the sheep-pen at the Harrogate country fair and just knew she was the one for you. You didn’t stop until you’d made her your wife.”

Brand’s rugged features softened, just slightly. “That’s true enough. It was a love-match between your mother and me.” He glanced over at Daisy. “My Susie was taken from us far too soon. She died of a fever when Violet was just ten years old.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Daisy murmured.

“Well, it was the same for myself and Perry,” Violet insisted doggedly. “Love at first sight.”

Brand scowled. “But to elope, against my wishes—”

Violet squeezed his hand. “I know you’ve been worried that Perry’s a fortune hunter, but that’s not true at all. Tell him, Your Grace.”

She turned her beseeching blue eyes on Vaughan.