Anita Mills by The Rogue's Return Read Free Book Online Page A

seen, and then, apparently feeling better, she joins us for a nuncheon in a private parlor,” he explained patiently. “We rest the horses, get some sleep, and pronounce Miss Morland better ere nightfall. Before dusk, we press on for Nottingham.”
    “Really, I do not mind staying in the carriage, sir,” Anne said. “Perhaps one of you could borrow a needle and thread of the proprietor’s wife, and I could restitch my dress whilst you are gone inside.”
    “ ’Twould cause too much comment. Besides, if Cribbs and Davies elect to remain with the carriage, they’ll need to sleep on the seats. If not, you are open to the importunities of any who might discover you.”
    “Still—”
    Dominick turned to Bertie again. “I presume you did not intend to go to France without clothes, did you, Bascombe?”
    “No, but dash it, I—”
    “Then ’tis settled. I am quite certain Miss Morland would welcome a bed as much as you or I, for she looks positively hagged.”
    Between fending off Albert Bascombe’s head from her shoulder and contemplating the awful fate that surely awaited her in Newgate, Anne had slept very little also. The appeal of a bed was almost too great to deny. And her stomach had been rumbling uncomfortably for hours. “But I have no money, sir—not even a shilling.”
    “He’ll frank you—won’t you, Bascombe? He’s got deep pockets—earl of Haverstoke’s heir, after all.”
    “Don’t mind the money,” Bertie conceded, “but I dashed well don’t like the idea of lending her m’clothes! Took Stultz a month to get the coats right, don’t you know?”
    “Stultz?” Dominick’s eyebrow rose. “My dear fellow—”
    “Oh, I tried Weston, but he was wanting to pad m’shoulders too much to get the fit,” Bertie remembered in disgust. Then, recalling the matter at hand, he argued, “She still don’t look like a fellow to me. For one thing …” He reddened uncomfortably. “Well, for one thing, the front of her … well, you know, she’s …” His hands gestured to his chest. “Dash it, but you ain’t blind—look at her!”
    “She can move her zona up and tighten it. There’s not too much to flatten.”
    Anne stiffened at the perceived criticism of her person. “Sir, but you are—”
    “Offending your sensibilities?” Dominick supplied for her. “ ’Tis the truth, after all. Let us face the facts of the matter, Miss Morland—for at least another twenty-four hours we are fugitives together, are we not? We are speaking of survival rather than sensibility.”
    “See, she don’t want to do it!” Bertie crowed triumphantly.
    Ignoring the younger man, Dominick went on, “Now, when we reach the Red Hart, Bascombe will go in and procure a private parlor and bedchambers for us, saying you cannot travel further, for you have cast up your accounts all the way from …” He paused to consider a likely place, then finished with, “… St. Albans.”
    “I am never carriage-sick, sir.”
    He favored her with a decidedly pained expression. “Today you are, my dear—desperately so, in fact.” Leaning toward her, he ran his fingers through her hair, trying to rearrange it. “ ’Tis a trifle too long for a decent Brutus, but perhaps ’twill not be noted,” he decided. Sitting back, he surveyed his handiwork and sighed. “Not a very fashionable cut, I’m afraid.”
    “Not even a bed and a meal could prompt me to cut it again,” she managed evenly. “And there is no need to insult me, is there?”
    “Decent-looking female,” Bertie hastened to assure her. “He don’t mean you ain’t—just thinks you don’t look much like my nevvy, that’s all.”
    “Bascombe, when I am in need of interpretation, I will ask for it. Now, Miss Morland, once you are in your chamber, Bascombe will bring you a change of clothing and hand it through the door. You will answer only when he knocks twice.”
    “But she don’t even know how to tie a cravat, I’ll be bound!”
    “Being a