The Harlow Hoyden (28 page)

Vinnie listened as he requested two rooms for the night. She saw the landlord
balk at his story that they were brother and sister, but the duke’s manner was so imposing that the man scurried away with his head down.

“Come,” he said, leading her into another room, “I’ve gotten us a private parlor. I think it would be best if we ate quickly and then got some rest. I would like to start early tomorrow. Warm yourself by the fire. I expect the fare won’t be what we’re used
to but we must eat something. It’s been a long day.”

Vinnie sat down and waited for the duke to take a seat before making an announcement. “If we run into any of your acquaintance, you must call me Emma.”

“What?” He was in the process of opening his cloisonné snuffbox, and he froze at her words.

“You must call me Emma. We’re identical twins, sir,” she explained at his shocked looked, “nobody
would be any the wiser.”

He put the snuffbox down and examined her by firelight. “I cannot believe you are serious.”

“Reputations are all about perceptions; they have little grounding in reality,” she explained. “We might be at an inn together unchaperoned, but we have done nothing wrong. I see no reason why anyone should suffer if someone should happen upon us.”

“Emma would suffer,” he said
stiffly.

“I wouldn’t call having a husband who loves her suffering,” she said gently.

From the way his eyes narrowed, Vinnie knew he was about to give her a grand setdown. He’d had the same look on his face seconds before he treated the landlord like a troublesome fly.

“Don’t, your grace, you will not convince me that you don’t love her, and I’d rather not bestir myself for an argument,” she
said, fighting a yawn. “It has been a very long day.”

“Very well,” he conceded, wondering how and when he had given himself away, “but it’s of little significance. She will not have me.”

“Aha!” she exclaimed triumphantly. “I knew that was exactly the matter when I wrote to you.”

“She told you then?” he asked, his heart lightened by the idea that Emma had talked about him. Perhaps she regretted
her decision.

“Emma? You must be kidding, Trent. She is as closemouthed as an oyster. But I have eyes in my head and do not need to have everything spelled out.”

He turned to study the fire. “I see no point in continuing this conversation.”

“You are a sad disappointment to me, your grace.”

His lips twitched as he recalled that Emma had once said the very same thing to him. “Am I?”

“Yes, I’d
expect more from a hardened libertine such as yourself.”

“What would you have me do, Vinnie?”

“Be patient with her; understand that she has a terrible fear of marriage; respect her freedom, which she values more than anything; love her unconditionally—you know, the usual things a suitor must do to court a reluctant woman.”

Since these were the thoughts he himself had had when he first realized
that he loved Emma, he waved a dismissive hand. “It’s not something as innocuous as reluctance that I have to overcome. She’s indifferent to me.”

“She isn’t indifferent. She’s scared.”

The duke laughed harshly. “The Harlow Hoyden isn’t scared of anything.”

“You’re wrong, Trent, she’s scared of one thing.”

The duke was silent for long moments. It was only after the simple meal of chicken and
potatoes had been laid out and the serving wench departed that he looked at Vinnie. “You think she cares?”

“Whenever your name is introduced into the conversation, she leaves the room. She gets an unfocused, sad look on her face when she thinks nobody is looking. Sometimes I hear her crying behind her bedroom door and when I knock she pretends she isn’t there. Something is troubling her,” she
concluded, spreading soft butter on the bland boiled potatoes. “You are the most likely candidate. In fact, you are the only candidate. Please pass the salt. These potatoes have no taste whatsoever.”

Feeling like a lovesick puppy, Trent fought the compulsion to ask for more reassurances. Only a greenhead could talk of nothing but the object of his affection. He passed the salt and hoped that
Vinnie would volunteer more information without his having to request it.

She did not and the meal passed in comfortable silence. Vinnie was determined to give the duke time to digest what she had said. She would never forget the look in his eyes when he asked her if she thought Emma cared about him. It was the look of a man clinging to hope. He could scarcely let himself believe but neither
could he bring himself
not
to believe. The emotions churning inside him—as well as the emotions churning inside Emma—had nothing in common with the tepid feelings she and Sir Waldo shared. Vinnie was no romantic fool and she would happily settle for less, but she could not settle for so much less. In the unfortunate case of her fiancé, familiarity did indeed breed contempt. As soon as she found
him and assured herself that all was well with Emma, she would break the engagement. It would not do to earn the reputation of a jilt but it would also not do to shackle herself to a man she could not respect.

The duke was equally lost in his own thoughts. Hope was an insidious thing, and Vinnie’s words had scarcely reached his ears before they lodged themselves in his heart.
She’s scared of
one thing
. He recalled the conversation he and Emma had had about marriage and could well believe that she was afraid of love. And with good cause, he thought, recalling the misery of the last couple of days. No one would willingly seek out something that could send one spiraling to such depths. But the heights, he reminded himself, thinking of Emma in his arms. The heights could be dizzying.
Of course Emma wouldn’t know that. She was a green girl with no experience with men. It was all new to her. She didn’t know what pleasure could be found in the arms of a man. Indeed, he admitted that despite his vast experience, he was no expert on these matters either. He had never loved before.

The duke felt a great impatience and hurried through the meal, as if that would make the night pass
more quickly. He resented the dark sky and the miles that lay between him and Emma. He wanted her with him now. He wanted to look across the table and see her profile in candlelight. It was remarkable how Vinnie could look so much like the woman he loved and yet not affect him at all. He didn’t look at those very same dimples and feel happy. He didn’t stare into her identical blue eyes and feel
desire. All those years of believing that only a woman’s appearance mattered came down to this one moment in which he discovered that a woman’s appearance didn’t matter at all.

Vinnie suppressed another yawn. “I am thoroughly exhausted. Even if the bed upstairs is infested with bugs, I will fall asleep the second my head hits the pillow.”

Trent smiled. “I trust there are no bugs, but you might
want to check the sheets before climbing in. I judge this inn to be decent and well kempt, but then, as you’ve pointed out to me, all my judgments are not sound.”

Swallowing the last of the tasteless potatoes, Vinnie stretched. “I vow, my muscles have never ached quite like this before. But then I have never spent quite so many hours in a curricle before. Do you think tomorrow promises more
of the same?”

“No, I expect to catch up to Emma by midday. We will leave early, about an hour before daybreak, to catch the first glimmer of light.”

“In that case, I shall take myself off to bed right now,” she said, standing. “It’s almost midnight and an hour before daybreak sounds frighteningly soon.”

It was not soon enough for the duke. His mind was racing with such flights of fancy that
he feared he wouldn’t sleep a wink. Thoughts of Emma consumed him. “I think I shall stay here and have a glass of port before retiring.”

“Good night, your grace. You will instruct the servants to pound good and hard on my door at the desired hour? I fear I will not wake otherwise.”

Vinnie concerns proved justified, and it required extended knocking on the door to wake her. She climbed out of
bed, feeling every muscle in her body ache, and went about her morning toilette. One could not feel refreshed after putting on the clothes one wore the day before, but at least her eyes were open. She found Trent in the parlor drinking tea and ordered a cup for herself. They did not linger long, and within a few minutes they were on the road again.

They drove for an hour before they came to a
posting house. The duke told Vinnie to stay put for he would only be a minute, but she insisted on climbing down. “Your conveyance is well appointed to be sure, but the seat grows harder with each passing mile,” she explained.

Trent laughed, gave her his arm and led her into the inn.

“What? Back so soon? Did you forget something, missy?” asked Mrs. Biggley as soon as she saw her. She had a load
of firewood in her arms.

Vinnie felt the duke stiffen beside her. “I was not here before. You have me confused with my sister. We look very much alike.”

“Very much?” repeated the landlady. “Forgive my language but you’re a damn near matched set. Are you going to see your mother, too? Makes no sense to me, a train of siblings traveling to see your ailing mother one after the other. What, can’t
you stand each other enough to travel together?”

“A train of siblings?” asked the duke. “There were others?”

“Who are you?” She crinkled her eyes suspiciously. “Another brother, I suppose. I knew something was havey-cavey about the whole business. A sister and a brother traveling together without any luggage, going to see their dying mother, following two hours behind their older brother. No,
not the goings-on of respectable people. And she asking for a pistol.” She put the firewood down in the taproom and returned, her cheeks flushed from the exertion. “Yep, the whole business was havey-cavey.”

“She asked for a pistol? Did you give her one?” The thought of Emma driving around the countryside armed with a deadly weapon horrified him.

“Sold her my son Harry’s for a pretty penny.”
Misinterpreting the duke’s look, she said defensively. “Well, I had to sell it for a profit, didn’t I? It was me son’s only pistol and I have to buy a new one now.”

“Did she say why she needed a pistol?” asked Vinnie, more curious than worried. She knew Emma was a perfect shot and would never hurt herself or anyone else by mistake.

“Wanted it for protection. She and her brother were held up
by highwayman miles back. Lost the luggage in the scrape. Or so she said. I believed her at the time. Now that there are two of you, I’m not so sure.”

“When did they leave?” the duke asked, impatient now to be gone. Emma had a pistol. The very idea terrified him to the bone.

“Ye just missed them,” she answered and watched the fine gentleman turn on his heels and march out. “Maybe a half hour
ago,” she called to his departing back.

Vinnie ran after Trent and sensing his concern, she said, “It’s all right. Emma is a sure shot. She won’t accidentally shoot Philip.”

The duke helped her into the vehicle. “I’m not concerned about Philip.” He grabbed the reins in his tense fingers and set the horses in motion.

“She will not hurt herself either.”

“It’s not Emma’s life I am concerned about.
It’s Sir Waldo’s,” he said tersely, urging the horses on. They were only a half hour behind!

“Sir Waldo’s? I know Emma has no affection for the man and would greatly like to see him out of my life, but my sister is no murderer, sir!” she protested, offended on her sister’s behalf. “How dare you even think it!”

“Vinnie, I love your sister with all my heart, but I fear she isn’t in her right mind
at the moment. You know she isn’t logical in her hatred for your fiancé. She’s so convinced that he is a villain that she can’t think straight. Remember Mr. Squibbs? Your sister befriended him so she could learn how to crack safes but not just any safe—Sir Waldo’s,” he said, looking at her to monitor her reaction.

She paled. “What?”

“She and I broke into your fiancé’s house looking for proof
of his wickedness. I knew her plan was a dangerous waste of time, but I couldn’t let her go on her own, as she threatened to.” He returned his eyes to the road, especially careful to avoid all potholes since time was now of the essence. Who knew how close on Waldo’s heels Emma was. “It is my fear that Emma wants to believe so badly that Windbourne is a villain that she has convinced herself that
he’s a traitor to his country.”

“What?”

“You heard what Squibbs said. Emma thanked him on behalf of our country after listening to Windbourne’s conversation. Who knows what she overheard, probably Windbourne talking about some investments he made in France, but she must have misunderstood.”

“Emma is not a fool.”

“Then you believe Windbourne is a spy?”

Vinnie found that impossible to credit.
“There must be some misunderstanding here, on her part
and
ours.”

“Very well. But your sister is chasing after a man whom she believes is a traitor to his country and she has a gun. I am terrified of what might happen. Not for Sir Waldo’s sake, Vinnie, though I am sorry to say it for I know he is to be your husband, but for Emma’s. She must not kill an innocent man,” he said in a hard voice.
“She must not have that on her conscience.”