Lady In Disguise (The Langley Sisters) (19 page)

CHAPTER TEN

Looking out Freddy’s window he saw Olivia and Phoebe standing in the cold beside several other people. As they had bags at their feet he guessed they were waiting for the stage. Opening the hatch above his head, Will roared at Luke to stop at once. He had the carriage door open before it stopped and was out and striding across the street in seconds. She saw him coming and her cinnamon eyes were wide and wary as he reached her.
 

“Hello, my lord.” Phoebe gave him a nervous smile which instantly put him on alert. Nothing made Phoebe nervous.

“Phoebe, Olivia,” he acknowledged, keeping his eyes on the latter.
 

“L—Lord Ryder, how nice to see you again. Please let me thank you for the firewood, it was wrong of you to send those men to us on such a cold day but—”

“Where are you going on the stage, Olivia?” Will cut her off.

She hadn’t looked at him yet, her eyes were on the buttons of his waistcoat.
 

“Where are you going on the stage?” he asked again while he fought the urge to shake her.
 

Seeing her standing there with only her sister to protect her, looking small and vulnerable with her coat buttoned to the neck and her bonnet tied in a neat precise bow made him want to strike at something. It was freezing and could snow again soon. They were about to get into a coach with several other people whom neither he nor they knew. The thought of what could happen to them made him go cold all over, the carriage could have overturned or someone could have harmed the Langley sisters and he would have never known.

“On a trip, my lord.”

“And where is this trip taking you, Olivia?” His words were clipped and a long way from the gentleman she had once known.

Will noticed that for once Phoebe was happy to keep her mouth shut and let her sister do the talking.

“To London, to see our cousin.”
 

“Yet you never felt it necessary to mention this trip when I saw you at the Assembly, or when Freddy visited you yesterday, Olivia?”

“I… I did not think our travel plans would interest you, Lord Ryder.”

She was stuttering and anxious, but Will felt no sympathy for her, he was too angry.

“You thought your travel plans would not interest me?” He questioned softly. “Especially if those plans included a trip to London, a city I believe that you have never visited?”

She looked at him then, raising her chin several inches she attempted to glare at him which was spoilt by the fact that she was shaking.

“And where is Bella, don’t tell me you dragged her out in these conditions too?” Will looked around but could see no sign of the youngest Langley.

“Bella is at home safe and warm,” Phoebe said quickly, she obviously thought this would reassure him. She was wrong.

“And who is to accompany you both to London if your sister is at home, presumably with your servants, surely you had not intended to journey there unchaperoned?” Will knew that was exactly what Olivia had intended but he wanted to hear the words from her.

Her fists clenched and he wondered if she intended to hit him or if it was to stop her fingers from trembling.

“I do not need a chaperone at my age, Lord Ryder, nor are our travel plans any of your business.”
 

“Olivia,” Phoebe cautioned, but her sister was past listening.

“D—do you have a full itinerary of all the travelling plans of your acquaintances, my lord? Perhaps I should just send a note every morning as to my daily activities!”

“That’s enough, Olivia,” Will warned.

“Yes I believe it is enough,” she said, looking over his shoulder now. “Because here c—comes our stage, so please step aside at once so we can board.”

Will didn’t turn as the jangle of harnesses and thunder of hooves reached his ears. “You can travel with Mr Blake and I, we are also journeying to London.”
 

“Thank you, but that will not be necessary,” she said in a curt tone. “We have booked seats, therefore you need not trouble yourself any further on our behalf.”

“It is no trouble,” he said, picking up both hers and Phoebe’s bags before they could stop him and walking back towards his carriage without waiting to see if they were following.

“Freddy, you and Luke load these bags, Olivia and Phoebe will be accompanying us to London.”
 

“At once, my lord,” they said in unison, no doubt after one look at the savage expression on his face.

“Give us our bags back!”

Handing one to Luke he passed the other to Freddy and then turned to face the furious woman who now stood before him.

Pointing to the carriage he said—“In you get,”—with remarkable calm considering his insides were boiling.
 

“I certainly will not. Now give me my bag,” Olivia said through clenched teeth. It seemed she was no longer anxious, now she was furious. “My sister and I cannot travel alone with two men.”

“Yet you can travel alone with several men whom you do not know and lodge at some dirty carriage house for the night,” Will said, although this time his voice was louder.

“Give us our bags, Lord Ryder. I have no wish to miss the stage!”

“You can either walk into my carriage or I will throw you in there,” Will stated. “It is going to rain shortly and I, for one, have no wish to be standing here when it does.”

Her mouth opened and a screeching sound came out so she snapped it shut again. She then sucked in a large breath through her nose and tried again.
 

“We cannot travel with you to London. We have paid for our fares and lodgings for one night and we are travelling that way. Now, I must insist you give us our bags,” she said, her voice several octaves louder this time.

“No,” he said. “Get in the carriage, Phoebe,” he added, knowing she would see reason even if her sister didn’t.

“Come, Miss Phoebe, I shall help you,” Freddy said, taking her arm and urging her forward.

“Why are you doing this?” Olivia hissed at him. “I am an adult and as such I can take care of both my sister and myself.”

“You are a young woman who has never even left her village, Olivia. Now I don’t know why you’re doing this but am aware that if I return you to Willow Hall you will simply take another stage, therefore I shall escort you to London to ensure your safety.”

“You didn’t care about me five years ago so why now?”

Will wasn’t about to answer that question and seeing the desperation in Olivia’s eyes knew that she was past reasoning with so he took the choice away from her and simply picked her up and walked into the carriage, setting her down on the seat. Freddy quickly closed the door behind him.
 

“Go, Luke!” he then roared and the carriage was soon travelling out of Damply.      

The journey to where they would stop for the night was probably the longest of Will’s life. Freddy and Phoebe talked of everything and nothing to break the strained silence and beside him Olivia looked out the window, her back stiff and her gloved hands clenched tightly in her lap. Every inch of her was rigid and he could only imagine the furious thoughts that were tumbling around and around inside her head.
 

“Will… will we stop soon, my lord?”

“Yes, Phoebe, not long now,” he said, knowing that the strain was getting to her as well. She kept looking at Olivia and then back to him and her eyes were clouded with worry.

“It will be all right,” he mouthed. She nodded once but said nothing further.

Finally as the sky began to darken and the snow fell, they pulled into the inn they were scheduled to stop at.
 

“Freddy take Olivia inside and organize rooms for her and her sister. Olivia and I will be along shortly,” Will said as the carriage stopped.
 

“Yes, my lord.”

Squeezing Phoebe’s hand as she reached for her sister, he signalled for her to leave, she gave him a long look and then followed Freddy from the carriage.

“I’m sorry that you’re angry with me, Olivia, but I’m not sorry that you are not, at present, on an uncomfortable stage with people you do not know, staying at an inn with no one to protect you.”

She didn’t move, just looked out the window as she had for the entire journey. He could see her face now as it was dark outside, saw the strain and fatigue etched in every line.

“When I saw you and Phoebe standing there in Damply, alone with your bags at your feet, I thought of Thea,” he lied, because his sister would never be in that position, he and Joe would make sure of it. “I knew that if she was ever in that situation I would hope someone came to her rescue.”

“It was a stage, Lord Ryder, hundreds of people travel on them every year.”

It was a start that at least she was talking to him.
 

“And hundreds of people get robbed and abused. Do you want your sister to be one of those people, Olivia?”

“You had no right to do what you did. Perhaps if you had reasoned with me or at the very least asked us to join you, but you didn’t, you—”

“I asked but you refused,” Will interrupted her. “Furthermore the stage was arriving and if I had not taken decisive action you would have gotten in it somehow.”

“It was my decision not yours, you had no reason to interfere, my sister and I are nothing to you.”

“That is not true, you have always meant a great deal to me, Olivia,” Will said softly. “Will you tell me why you were catching the stage from Damply to London?”

“That is none of your concern and you should not have intervened.”

“I will not apologize for protecting you and your sister.”

“Why do you care? If we choose to walk all the way to London it should be of no matter to you, Lord Ryder.”

She still faced the window, and for that Will was glad, because he did care but had no intentions of telling her that yet.

“Any person would care if they saw a friend waiting for a stage when they could journey to London in the comfort and security of a carriage.”

Her shoulders slumped and then slowly she turned to face him.
 

“I would never put my sister in danger, Lord Ryder, and I do not like being manipulated and handled by you.”

“Me or anyone?”

She stifled a yawn behind one hand.
 

“Come, you are tired and in need of a good meal and sleep. Tomorrow you will be invigorated and ready to launch another attack on me, but for now we shall call a truce.”

Her hand touched his arm as he turned to step from the carriage.

“I still do not believe what you did was right but there is little I can do now but accept your assistance in getting to London. I shall insist on paying my share of tonight’s lodgings.”

She gave him a fierce look that was spoilt by another yawn.
 

“Come.” He wasn’t going to let her pay, of course, but tomorrow was soon enough for her to learn that. “I’m hungry and cold and have yet to adjust to this bloody English climate.”

Inside they were quickly led to a small room that had a roaring fire where Phoebe and Freddy were warming themselves.
 

“Livvy?”

“It’s all right, Phoebe, I can do nothing but yield so you will ride to London in comfort tomorrow,” she said hugging her sister.

“Excellent, then come and join us before the fire. A maid will shortly bring us tea,” Mr Blake declared.

“Tea.” Will shuddered as he removed his outer clothing whilst Livvy did the same.

“I read somewhere that drinking tea is a sign of intelligence,” Livvy said as she walked to the chair before the fire. Will swallowed his smile. She may be tired but her sharp tongue was still working.

The dark panelled room was not overly big. Blue rugs appeared swept and clean at their feet and the couch and chairs had plumped pillows at their backs.
 

“Have you stayed here before, my lord?” Phoebe questioned.

“No, my brother recommended it to me. Of course he’s a Duke, so we shall see if the service matches his expectations.”

The tea and, thankfully, ale arrived and was quickly dispensed and the thick slices of orange cake were eaten with relish.
 

Will watched Livvy hand her cup to Phoebe and then rest her head on the back of the chair, in minutes she was asleep. Moving closer he warmed his backside and looked down at her. Her hands were folded one on top of the other in her lap, knees pressed together, even in slumber she was contained, making sure to keep up appearances. He wanted to lean closer and kiss one satin smooth cheek and whisper in her ear to let go and that he would keep her safe, make her a million promises just to see the pain and worry leave her eyes.
 

 
It had to be longing that he felt looking at her, but he wasn’t sure he felt comfortable with the emotion given he had little experience with it. Will had been a loner for years but returning home he suddenly had a family who stirred up his feelings and now this fierce little hellion, who was determined to keep him as far away as possible, which only made him want her more.