A Bright Particular Star (26 page)

“
Blast your eyes
!
”
he cried,
before
wheeling his injured mount away towards the
thicket with
his companion in
close
pursuit.

“
Bowyer,
”
drawled
Mr
Grey
with unruffled calm
, watching the receding
figures,
“
I am at a loss to
know whether I should offer my congratulations or commiserations
on your marksmanship
.
W
ere you aiming at the
horse or the man?
”

Bowyer
’s
battered,
leathery face creased into a grin
.
“
Neither, Sir.
I
t was a perfect shot, given I
was aiming between the two thieving culls to scare
’
em off.
I would
have preferred to do
’
em a deal more damage
, but t
hought it be
st
not to blow
their brains out on to the road,
on account of
ladies
being present
.
”

“
We are
o
bliged to you,
Mr
Bowyer,
”
declared
Sophie
warmly
.
“
If only the wretch had not taken off with my reticule!
”

Peregrine
’s
face held a look of
awed
stupefaction
.
“
A blunderbuss!
Upon my word
, Lucius, does you
r valet
always travel so well armed?
”

“
Invariably.
One never knows what miscreants one will encounter
during a summer
’s
morning
.
”
Mr
Grey turned to his companion
.
“
Miss Sloane,
you
’
ve suffered a dreadful shock.
Are you al
l
right?
”

Olivia
blinked
several times
, and then re-focused her gaze on his face.
“
Q—
Quite
all right
, thank you.
”
She gave an uncertain laugh.
“
No one has been hurt, so I suppose I may count it an adventu
re
.
”

A
smile tugged at his mouth
.
“
Pluck to the backbone,
”
he murmured,
saluting
her fingertips
with a soft kiss
.
“
I knew it.
”

Theo, his arm
still about
Sophie
’s
waist, said,
“
I’m
sorry you
’
ve lost your reticule.
Was there anything of value in it?
”

“
Only a few coins,
”
she sighed.
‘t
he rest, such as it amounts t
o, is packed among my clothing
,
but
I have so little
ready
funds
I c
an ill afford to lose any
.
”

Theo
stared
at the thicket into which
the
men had disappeared.
“
It
’s
almost unheard of to be held up in broad daylight
on a post road
.
Most fo
otpads wait for
darkness
.
”

“D
o you think it
’s
connected with last night?
”
she whispered.

“
It has to be.
Did you not think it strange
they on
ly
asked for your
reticule?
W
hy did they not demand
the gentlemen
’s
pocket books
first which were likely
to contain better pickings
?
”
Studying
Gr
ey,
Peregrine
and Bowyer,
Theo muttered
under his breath
,
“T
he deuce
of
it
is
,
I don
’t
know
who to trust.
”

“T
hank y
ou for taking c
are of me
—
again.
I shall be forever in your debt.
”

His
gaze held hers
.
“
Are you regretting your decision to set out in search of Verney?
”

Flushing,
she said with forced lightness,
“
Oh no,
I want to see James again!
Besides,
I’m
having
such adventures en route
and
even though y
ou must be thinking otherwise
, I cannot regret meeting you.
”

“
You
have no idea what is going through my h
ead at this moment.
”

She gave him a quizzical look.
‘
T
ell me.
”

“
Never mind.
This is neither the time nor the place.
S
tay close
an
d wear that dashed pin
at all
time
s
.
”

“
Are we go
ing to sit here all day?
”
grumbled Peregrine.
‘
T
hose
devils need reporting to the magistrates and I want my lunch!
”

“
C
an you
think of nothing
else
but your stomac
h?
”
said
Mr
Grey
, with a disapproving glance
.
“S
till, I concur
we sho
uld leav
e this place
.
There is nothing more to
be done now they
have fled
.
”

T
hey reached Maidenhead
without further incident
after midday.
The Sun
Inn
was
b
usy, but
a private parlour
was
procured and
lunch
ordered
.
Peregrine
, still livid
about being held up
,
went to seek out the magistrate
.
He returned
in a foul mood
in time to snatch
a slice of cold pie and a plate of ham and eggs
before
a servant came in to say
the horse
s had been changed
.

The remainder of the journey pass
ed uneventfully.
Salt Hill
, Slough and Colnbook
were negotiated
easily and the potential terrors
of Hounslow
Heath failed to materialise, although Sophie
was relieved
when
they
had
left the
no
torious
haunt
behind them
.

T
he Bell
and Anchor
outside
the
Hammersmith turnpike
was reached late in the afternoon
.
Theo
’s
suggestion
of
stay
ing
there
overnight
and finish
ing
the journey into
London
the next morning
had been
met
with
universal
approval
.

Olivia had been the first to agree and
Sophie mused that whatever else
resulted from her impetuous flight, it had given
her cousin
the opportunity to shine
.
Even t
he incident in Maidenhead thicket
had not unnerved Olivia
.
S
he
was growing in self-assurance
with every hour
.
A
smile played
about her lips
,
her
eyes sparkled, her
cheeks were becomingly
tinged with pink
and she had begun to take a greater
part in conversation
, even arguing
a point
with Peregrine.

But being removed from
oppression was not the sole
reason for Olivia
’s
newly-found
poise and confidence
.
Grey was
always
at her side
.
His reserve wa
s never abandoned, but he
seemed determined to
be
a
charming
companion
and
make the
rest of the journey enjoyable
for Olivia
’s
sake
.

Grey
made no
demur about staying overnight and
Peregrine
,
professing
himself eager for another evening of cards
,
also declared it
a capital idea
.

Sophie, growing
more nervous
with
eve
ry mile she drew
closer
to London
, was more than
happy to spend one more night in Theo
’s
company.
She and Olivia had
decided to share a room
, which Theo
agreed was advisable
under the circumstances.
The events of the last two days had
taxed her more than she cared
to
admit
and she felt tired and dishevelled.
A good night
’s
slee
p would see her refreshed.
S
he wanted to
look h
er best when she arrived at
James
‘s
door
and she
tried
to focus on that
meeting
rather than
her
parting from
Theo
.

After a change of clothes, t
hey
gathered in t
he
small private dining room.
D
inner turned out
to be a surprisingly upbeat affair.
Peregrine
was in a
good mood and
made h
erculean effort
s to be
sociable
throughout
the meal.

“
I
’
ll
be putting up at Limmer
’s
,
”
he declared
, as the covers were being removed
.
“
M
ean
s
I
’
ll be able to call on you regularly,
c
ousin.
”

Sop
hie
stifled a sigh
, thinking
s
he would prefer a
trip to
the dentist than
a
morning
call
from Perry
.