Chasing Eliza (8 page)

“
Lymster is back on that road.” She nodded towards the narrow
strip of road barely visible through the night. “You ride Guinness
and I’ll ride your horse. If you wear the cloak, they will think
you are me and will most probably chase you, but on Guinness they
don’t have a chance of catching you. He is too big for me to
control if he decides to take his head and I don’t feel comfortable
riding him at a gallop, especially on my own.”

She
watched with satisfaction as Edward reluctantly dismounted and
donned the cloak, seemingly accepting the wisdom of her plan. A
tiny shiver of awareness swept through her, as he placed his hands
on her waist and hoisted her up on to the smaller horse, pausing
only long enough to make sure she had the reins before mounting
Guinness and shaking out the cloak behind him.

His eyes
met and held hers through the darkness.

“
This is sheer insanity.” He growled hating to acknowledge
that together their chances weren’t good. They could out-run a
group of three men – maybe, if they were lucky. But they couldn’t
out-run a continual flow of people. The horse would grow tired
sooner rather than later given their exertions already. It was
growing increasingly more important that they found somewhere to
rest and take sustenance.

“
If you can find somewhere to gain some provisions for us then
bring some with you.” Eliza offered cheekily, trying to alleviate
the sheer terror thrumming through her veins, only this time her
fear wasn’t just for herself, it was for him too.

“
You had better be there.” Even through the darkness Eliza
could see the distinct glare of warning in his steady
eyes.

She was
in the process of turning her horse around in the opposite
direction to Edward when a hand on her thigh stopped her. Her head
turned just in time to capture the swoop of his lips against hers.
Her instinctive gasp was captured by his hot mouth as he kissed her
swiftly with no trace of tenderness. The large palm he slid into
her hair cupped the back of her head, holding her steady to the
hungry possession of his dominance as he sought to convey all of
the words he could not put voice to, through the persistent
pressure of his kiss. Although brief, Eliza felt she had been
branded and sucked in a stunned breath when his lips broke away
from hers just as quickly.

“
Be safe.” He whispered, turning his horse away with one last,
lingering gaze. “I’m waiting until dawn only and if you are not
there I am coming after you.”

With
that promise lingering on the air between them, he nudged Guinness
through the foliage towards the field on the far side of the woods.
Eliza watched until he melted into the shadows before nudging her
horse in the opposite direction.

It was
the hardest thing she had ever done; riding away from his
reassuring presence. It wasn’t until the silence of the woods
settled around her that she realised just how much she had come to
depend upon him, how important he was for her safety. She could
hear the pursuers crashing through the trees behind her, urging her
onwards without mercy. Sending a silent prayer heavenwards she
cleared the trees and immediately nudged her horse into a
gallop.

As she rode through the night, Eliza’s thoughts were firmly
focused on the man she had just sent in the opposite direction. He
had fought for her; killed for her while asking for very little in
return. He was even taking her to his brother-in-laws for
protection, so what exactly
was
in it for him. His actions had already gone far
beyond those of a concerned relation, so what was it all about? Why
was Peter searching for Jemima with such determination?

She
raised a hand to her ribs and the thin packet of papers nestled
beneath her breast and frowned as she studied the ground racing
past her. For some reason Peter and Edward, and especially Scraggan
and the men giving chase, must be desperate to retrieve the
information the papers contained if they were going to such lengths
to capture her and Jemima.

Without
the thick warmth of the woollen cloak, she was absolutely freezing.
Her fingers had long since gone numb as they clutched the reins
tightly, her toes tingling with advancing chill. She was glad
Edward wasn’t riding alongside her to witness the attractive
picture she must make, sitting stride her horse with her hair wild
and hanging hither and thither, her nose red and running like a tap
and her teeth clacking together with frostbite, she was hardly a
picture of female temptation.

She
wondered how he was getting on, and if he had managed to remain
ahead of his pursuers. A quick glance around her confirmed that
nobody had bothered to chase her, it appeared that the plan had
worked and Scraggan’s men had been fooled into thinking she was
Edward. She wondered briefly how they could be so stupid and
shivered as the possibility they may not be rang in her mind.
Despite their apparent success, they themselves could find they had
been duped into believing they were free. Was she being set up? Was
Scraggan going to appear in the road ahead of her, ready to make
sure she didn’t take her secrets anywhere else?

She
shivered and turned in the opposite direction to the one she really
needed to take. Although it hadn’t been discussed with Edward, a
circuitous route to the barn seemed best.

Dawn was
peeking over the horizon by the time Eliza made her way along the
hedgerow to the small village of Lymster. She was frozen, exhausted
and trembling with hunger but was worried about Edward and his
wellbeing. Coping with the situation she was in was bad enough but
to think she had potentially caused the death of someone who had
tried to protect her was horrifying, especially when it concerned
Edward’s life.

At the
moment he didn’t understand just how much danger he was really in.
She had seen with her own eyes just how brutal Scraggan and his men
could be, but did it make it right to tell Edward everything she
knew about Scraggan? Could she really involve him in her
plight?

He was
only trying to help his brother-in-law, but even Peter had no idea
just what dangers he was facing in trying to locate Jemima. She
fingered the gold coin tucked into the top of her dress and
considered her options for a moment.

Although
it was going to be a long journey, she could make the Great North
Road. When she got to one of the main post chaise routes, she could
catch a chaise to London or continue to ride on the horse she had
as long as she took the journey a bit at a time and gave the horse
plenty of rest. Thanks to Edward’s generosity, she had enough
coinage to purchase a change of clothing, something to blend in
with the locals and food. Probably even enough to get back to
Padstow.

Could
she really leave Edward? He had faced death in an attempt to help
her, did he really deserve being left to cool his heels in a barn
in the middle of nowhere? He had faced death to help her, but by
continuing to try to fight her seemingly insurmountable cause, he
was unwittingly putting himself in so much danger Eliza could see
no way of him surviving.

Her
thoughts immediately turned to their kisses back at the tavern.
Despite her first impressions of him as a cold, hard warrior he had
been nothing but tender and considerate of her and hadn’t really
taken anything that she wasn’t prepared to give. The memory of his
soft lips plundering hers swept through her mind and she knew she
couldn’t do it. She couldn’t knowingly put any man – especially
Edward and even Peter, whoever he might be – at risk in such a way.
They might not know the depths that Scraggan would sink to, but she
had first-hand experience of it. While she had breath in her body
she couldn’t sit back and let them face the same fate as her
father.

Eliza
reined to a stop and glanced around her. The milestone on the floor
pointed half a mile to Lymster to the right or three miles to
Murray to the left. With a regretful glance towards Lymster, Eliza
turned her horse to the left and studied the first tendrils of dawn
shimmering on the horizon with a sense of foreboding.

Wherever
this new daring path would lead her she wasn’t certain, but at
least now it posed no risk to anyone other than herself.

She
could only hope Edward would understand.

Chapter
Four

Edward cursed
fluidly as he paced the empty barn. The heels of his boots echoed
harshly against the packed earth in the gloom of the cavernous
structure. When he reached the huge wooden doors at the far end, he
turned and stomped all the way down the length of the barn Eliza
had suggested they meet up in.

He hated
to admit it, but knew she wasn’t coming. Dawn had turned into
mid-morning, which had rapidly succumbed to noon. He frowned and
wondered if she had been caught by the men giving chase, but
immediately dismissed the notion. He was fairly certain the second
group of men had been the only remaining group in the area. He had
raced for miles with all three of them behind him and hadn’t seen
anyone else.

Even if
they had immediately turned around and galloped all the way back to
the woods, Eliza would have had a good hour to get away from the
area. On foot, she would be able to generate a considerable
distance between herself and the unknown pursuers but on horseback
she could generate significant distance to evade
capture.

He
immediately thought of their conversation where Eliza had pushed
him to leave without her. Instincts told him that even then, she
had no intention of meeting him. He had just wasted a morning
waiting for her for nothing. Cursing his own stupidity, Edward
walked round the barn, occasionally glancing out of the narrow
slits in brickwork that posed as windows for several moments before
making another circuit of the barn.

His
patience was already worn thin through lack of sleep and
frustration at Eliza or Jemima, or whatever her name really was. He
didn’t want to get caught up in another night-time attack from the
unknown pursuers. They had already proved to be a most persistent
adversary. Whatever they wanted Eliza for had to be so important
that they would be prepared to pursue her doggedly for miles to get
it back. Or get her back, whichever it was he wasn’t certain
either, but knew for a fact that Eliza had more information than
she was letting on.

He
wondered briefly if he should just go straight to Havistock and
inform Peter that he had found Jemima’s sister and leave everything
to his brother-in-law. After all, it had been Peter who had been
searching so desperately for Jemima. Edward had done as much as he
had been able, but events had thwarted him.

But the
warrior within him refused to back down and just simply slink home
without knowing for certain what had happened to her. He refused to
acknowledge defeat.

With one
last dark look at the empty barn, Edward remounted Guinness and
left in search of a place to stay for the night, preferably who
served food in copious quantities. Wherever Eliza was, a spiteful
part of him hoped she was hungry.

Eliza
was cold, tired and starving - so hungry, she was ready to eat her
own boot. Although morning had arrived in a blaze of sunshine,
Eliza found little in the crisp air and sunlight beaming down on
her to be happy about.

She
nudged her exhausted horse into a quicker walk, well aware of the
raised eyebrows she had caused in the last village. It was only
then that she stopped to realise just how strange she must look.
Not only as a single woman riding alone without a chaperone, but a
single, dishevelled woman who was cold, unkempt and without even a
cloak to cover herself.

She
fingered the gold coin in her dress thoughtfully. It would be more
than enough to cover the cost of a room, and food for the night,
but could she risk it? Would she be able to purchase a room for the
night dressed as she was? Although she hadn’t donned the dress
Bernard had laid out for her, the stares she had garnered as she
had ridden through the village made her feel as though she was
wearing a sign proclaiming: ‘Harlot’.

Even if
she could find a tavern to furnish her with a room for the night,
she had no idea which was a reputable tavern. After all, look at
the one she had ended up working in. Eliza shook her head and
fervently wished she had foreseen the need to meet up with Edward
in the barn as planned, at least then she would have someone to
talk to. On her own, she had far too much time to think and that
frightened her.

Although
she had ridden some considerable distance since leaving Edward, she
still hadn’t made it to the Great North Road, and didn’t want to
ride any further dressed as she was. She was scared, alone and
terrified at the possibility that the men had caught Edward last
night haunted her conscience. She couldn’t bear it if he
mysteriously disappeared as Jemima had.

As she
passed she eyed the whitewashed walls of the small coaching inn
longingly. Like a beacon of light in the middle of a storm-tossed
sea, Eliza eyed the wide edifice hungrily and seriously
contemplated going in. From the outside the property appeared well
kept, with freshly painted walls and a myriad of vibrant flowers
scattered haphazardly around the small garden out front. A bawdy
house in disguise wouldn’t be so well kept – would it?