Chasing Eliza (14 page)

With the
greatcoat, the hat and a horse, it may be possible if she kept her
face partially covered that they might – just – get away with it.
As long as nobody got too close and she didn’t remove the cloak.
For his sanity, he prayed to the heavens above that she didn’t ever
remove the bloody thing.

His
libido had taken enough of a battering without being teased
mercilessly for his forbearance. Shaking his head he gave her one
last look and ordered her to walk around the room several times,
prompting her to change her gait to walk like a man rather than a
woman.

To Eliza
it was all very surreal. The last thing she had expected of the day
was having lesson in masculinity from Edward. Despite the gravity
of the situation she began to giggle, the thought of the reaction
they would get from people if he decided to kiss her swimming
before her eyes, renewing her mirth.

“
What’s so damned funny?” Edward grumbled after several
moments of studying the startling change in her face when it was
lit with happiness. Her eyes practically sparkled, impishly teasing
him to join her. Her deliciously tempting lips were stretched over
straight white teeth giving her a look of such adorable abandon
that he couldn’t help but reluctantly smile back.

“
Nothing.” Eliza replied, keeping her secret to herself. She
couldn’t actually admit that she found the prospect of him kissing
her hilarious and instead continued to smile gently to
herself.

“
If you think you can keep up the act, let’s go. Don’t speak
to anyone, and keep your face partially hidden in the cloak.” He
ordered eyed her lingering smile. He wasn’t sure she had even heard
his last order, but couldn’t find the heart to snatch the first
smile he had seen on her beautiful face so remained
quiet.

“
We’ll be lucky if we get out of the village alive.” He
murmured quietly easing the door open and peering up and down the
corridor cautiously before turning to eye her haughtily. “Just
don’t take that cloak or hat off.” He ordered, pointing a long
finger at her in warning.

Eliza
huffed and followed him as he stalked out of the door. She had to
practically run to keep up with his long legged stride. She was so
intent in staring at his legs as he left the inn that didn’t notice
when he suddenly stopped, and barrelled into the back of him with
an ‘oomph’ of surprise.

Edward
sighed deeply and hoped he didn’t have to put his hands on her. It
had taken all of his determination not to sweep her into his arms
for a kiss inside the room. He blithely ignored the soft press of
her body against his back and glared at her while she regained her
balance.

Edward
closed his mouth with a snap, and swallowed harshly against the
tight lump lodged in his throat. He couldn’t help but wonder if she
was an angel sent from heaven to fulfil his every wish, or a demon
from hell visiting him to tease and tempt him into
insanity.

In the
end their departure from the inn went without a hitch and within
moments they had settled their bill, leaving the stable yard at a
steady trot on horses that were practically bristling with
energy.

It was a
good thing too because the day was long and arduous. Although they
stuck to the roads to make the riding easier, something she
considered Edward had decided to do out of consideration for her,
the hours sitting on a hard saddle began to take its toll on her
bruised bottom. As the afternoon gave way to the onslaught of dusk
she began to feel stiff and uncomfortable until she wasn’t sure how
much longer she could continue.

Edward
had regaled her throughout most of the journey with stories from
his childhood and such humours anecdotes of his brothers that she
couldn’t wait to meet them. She wondered if it had been his
intention to try to alleviate the boredom of the miles and miles of
empty road. Although she was glad the disguise had worked as well
as it had, not having to think about anything other than which road
to take was incredibly boring.

“
Tell me about your childhood Eliza.” Edward murmured after
several hours of desultory conversation touching on topics that
were mundane and safe.

Eliza
studied the horizon carefully for several moments before slowly
shaking her head, shooting Edward a look of regret.

“
No.”

“
Why?” He studied the sudden sadness that had swept over her
face and wondered if her childhood had been harsh. Although
magistrates were paid well for their services, she had grown up
with only a father to raise her.

Eliza
sighed, wondering how to voice the tumult of emotions that battered
her already bruised senses. She couldn’t bear to open up the box of
memories; she was barely holding herself together as it
was.

“
It’s too painful right now.” She shot him a smile of regret,
hoping he would drop the subject.

“
Was it a harsh childhood?” He wanted to probe a little
further, to get her to open up to him. He hated secrets and wanted
her to trust him completely, even with memories that were painful
to her.

“
Oh! No, nothing like that.” He wasn’t going to give up until
he had more information and she didn’t want him thinking ill of her
father.

“
Father adored mother. When she was alive the house was a
happy place, full of teasing and laughter. Then one spring mother
became ill and didn’t recover. When she died, father changed and
was never the same after that.” Her voice turned whimsical as she
remembered the change in the carefree childhood to the slightly
sadder, more reserved childhood following her mother’s
death.

“
He did the best he could, but the laughter wasn’t as
free-flowing and he spent so much time at work. I didn’t understand
it at the time with being so young, but I think he tried to lose
himself in work to cope with the grief.”

“
I’m sorry, I didn’t want to break open painful memories for
you.” Edward murmured, wishing they had the time to stop so he
could give her a hug. She looked so lost, so bereft as she visited
the past that he suddenly wished he hadn’t broached the subject at
all.

“
It’s alright really; it’s just difficult to remember those
happier times right now. It seems such a long time ago that it
almost feels like it happened to someone else. When the smuggling
became rife, father struggled with the amount of paperwork he
needed to do to process everybody through the courts, so Jemima
took over a lot of his writing, accounts and such. I took over the
running of the house; the cleaning, laundry, that kind of thing. It
worked well for us – until.”

“
Until Scraggan appeared.” Edward finished for her, his voice
hard and flat. If he could have caught sight of Scraggan there and
then he would have happily run him through for all of the death and
destruction he had caused so many people, not least the remarkable
woman sitting beside him.

Silence
settled between them as they rode through the patchwork of emerald
of the rolling countryside, slowly making their way towards
Huntingdon.

They
paused several times to rest the horses and eat, but to anyone who
was passing, they were just two men travelling together who didn’t
warrant a second glance. Eliza wasn’t certain but thought she may
have seen two of Scraggan’s men heading in the opposite direction
several miles back. After one brief, cursory glance, neither man
looked at them again, seemingly oblivious to the opportunity they
had missed. They had been close enough to leave Eliza feeling
somewhat uncomfortable, all traces of her earlier enjoyment
vanished in an instant.

Edward
mentally cursed the men, and watched the shadows of doubt and worry
steal the lingering contentment from Eliza’s face. He hated to see
the shadows of fear lurking in those beautiful amber
eyes.

“
Do you think they realised it is us?” Eliza murmured, too
afraid to glance over her shoulder.

Edward
leant forward ostensibly to brush something off the toe of his boot
and cast a quick glance behind them as he did so. Although the men
had stopped, they weren’t looking at them or giving chase. He
frowned and considered their options for several moments. The light
had already started to fade. He didn’t want to spend another night
chasing through unfamiliar roads again, the dangers were just too
inherent to risk Eliza’s life.

“
I think we will put a bit of distance between us and find
ourselves a coaching inn. Unless I am mistaken, Wellby is just a
few miles down the road. We can lose them there and find ourselves
somewhere to stay. I don’t know about you but I’m hungry.” He
glanced across at her, frowning at the sudden paleness of her
cheeks. “We’ll be fine.” He hoped the calmness of his voice and
apparent relaxed pose would be enough to reassure her that
everything was under control.

Although
she flicked a brief smile at him, her eyes remained shadowed and
solemn and he knew she wasn’t convinced.

“
Let’s go.” He ordered, nudging Guinness into a canter. Within
moments she appeared beside him, all too willing to put as much
distance between them and Scraggan’s men as possible.

“
Maybe she was tired.”
He mused
considering the miles they had covered that day. He was feeling
exhaustion pulling at him and he was used to riding frequently. For
someone who hadn’t ridden for a while, he was surprised she wasn’t
falling off the saddle in pain.

It was
with a huge sense of relief on many levels that they rode into the
stable yard an hour later. Ordering the ostler to accommodate their
horses and keep them in the stable out of sight, he escorted her
into the tap room and drew the innkeeper to one side.

Eliza
watched the man’s eyes bulge as he glanced at the small mound of
coins in his hand before quickly pocketing them. He immediately
bowed and offered them anything they needed. In addition to the
man’s silence of their presence in the inn, Edward ordered a meal
be sent up to their room, ignoring the raised eyebrows as the man
considered Eliza for several moments. Squinting at her more closely
for several moments, his eyes popped wide as realisation dawned as
to her true sex. Eliza merely stared at him steadily, before slowly
dropping one eyelid in a cheeky wink.

Edward
bit back a chuckle as he watched ruddy colour suddenly sweep over
the man’s face as he turned himself inside out deciding whether to
greet her as ma’am or sir, either or both. Shaking his head
ruefully at her, he caught her elbow and escorted her up the
stairs.

“
Minx.” He whispered, solely for her ears. Rewarded with a
quirk of her lips. He really should chide her for revealing the
truth of her identity, but was greatly relieved that despite the
exhaustion of the day she was still sufficiently light hearted to
impishly tease the man. His heart swelled with newfound pride in
her and respect for her courage and fortitude in the face of
adversity.

Eliza
smothered a yawn as she swept into the room, relieved that the day
was now over and pleased with the distance they had covered. In a
strange kind of way it had been nice to spend the time with Edward,
without the threat of Scraggan looming over them so intently, and
even nicer to learn something about him that wasn’t marked by
smugglers, secrets and lost relatives.

“
I’m going to the tap room in search of some brandy and leave
you to freshen up. I’ll be back in a while.” Edward murmured eyeing
the dark shadows beneath her eyes. He wondered if she would still
be awake when he returned and doubted it. He didn’t wait for her to
respond and quickly turned on his booted heel, cursing the response
of his wayward body at the sight of the large bed waiting for them.
With the taste of brandy already teasing his tongue, Edward quickly
took the stairs two at a time, hoping that time, distance and the
hustle and bustle of the busy tap room would give him something
else to think about.

Unfortunately the busy tap room was far too noisy for his
wellbeing. His head began to throb with the mingled voices, loud
laughter and clanking of pottery and tankards. He watched two
heavily laden trays of food disappear upstairs and heard his
stomach rumble despite the din of the room. The scent of the food
tantalised his nostrils and after ordering and waiting for a bottle
of brandy to take to his room, Edward returned to the
room.

Slowly
lifting the latch on the door, Edward pushed it open without
stopping to knock. The sight that met him was one that would remain
with him for the remainder of his days.

The
shutters were closed and curtains drawn to ward off prying eyes.
The fire glowed heartily in the grate, bathing the darkened room in
a cheery glow. Eliza was standing before a small table in the far
corner of the room, a ceramic bowl of water in front of her. The
white shirt she had been wearing was unlaced down to her waist, the
ripe mound of one breast pressing dangerously against the loose
confines of the shirt that was hanging open. The breeches she wore
clung lovingly to the rounded curve of her bottom as she bent over
the bowl to trail the moisture over her neck and chest, totally
oblivious to the dampness of the increasingly see-through material.
Her soft moan as she enjoyed the delicious slide of the water was
pure sensuality.