The Wedding Runaway (11 page)

They caught the next passenger ship to England
,
but winter storms delayed their arrival. They had put into port at Dover and had to travel the breadth of England to get to Plymouth where Lydia
'
s ship had docked.

But then the trail went cold.

"
We need supper
,"
said Oscar.

"
James is talking to the innkeeper about lodgings. We might have found which way Lydia went and been on her trail tonight.
"

Trevor decided he
'
d warm his hands first
,
before moving to see if there was food to be had. He knew Oscar was impatient with the whole process of finding his runaway bride
,
but he didn
'
t need to despair yet.

They
'
d searched high and low
,
visiting all the inns in Plymouth
,
and then all the coaching houses
,
anywhere a girl might hire transportation. At first they thought they
'
d found her. One innkeeper remembered leasing a room to an American woman and her maid
,
but no one remembered seeing the tall blond American girl leave town. Yet
,
she wasn
'
t here.

Trevor had spent the better part of the day checking ship manifests to see if she had booked passage on another ship. A storm had been blowing in from the sea
,
making his trek from one shipping office to the next fraught with the sting of sea spray and a biting wind.

"
Where could she be?
"
moaned Oscar.

"
I
'
d bet money she headed for London.
"

Oscar
'
s near desperation had kept them searching long after they should have quit for the day. Trevor was fairly sure that no stone in Plymouth remained unturned. The question was if they should turn the same stones again tomorrow
,
or should they just move on to where they all suspected and Trevor hoped Lydia had gone.

Oscar sank down on a bench and covered his chiseled features with his hands.

Damn
,
the man was melodramatic. Then again, so was Lydia at times. Perhaps it really was love.
"
She had Jenny with her. If anything was terribly wrong
,
Jenny would have sent word. She
'
s got a sensible head on her shoulders, even if Lydia doesn
'
t.
"

Trevor probably shouldn
'
t have said anything so disparaging about his sister to the man who wanted to marry her. That the man was willing to travel across the ocean in a freezing and damp cabin spoke of his earnestness. For the love of Peter
,
what did Oscar see in Lydia? Trevor didn
'
t know that he
'
d go to such bother for a woman if she weren
'
t his sister.

A certain English beauty he
'
d met five years ago during his Grand Tour sprang to mind as a woman who should have prompted a strong emotional pull
,
yet when the time came to go home
,
he
'
d gone.

Although the memory of Lady Helena haunted his dreams
,
he never would have made the journey back to England if Lydia didn
'
t need retrieving. He just didn
'
t believe in grand passions. When it came to a wife
,
an American girl was likely to be much less bother.

When he met Helena
,
she was eighteen
,
beautiful and perfectly prepared to marry a prince or royal dignitary. Her bloodlines were exemplary
,
her loveliness beyond compare
,
her manners and sense of propriety perfect. Not to mention there was always someone watching over her
,
just in case her decorum slipped.

The thought of her shiny hair
,
stands of shimmery copper laced with molten gold and liberally threaded with cinnamon
,
dried his throat. The luster of pearls tinted her skin
,
and her eyes glowed emerald green. All in all
,
she was priceless
,
too precious for a common man like him
,
but that never stopped him from wanting her.

He
'
d been tolerated in London society more because as an upstart American
,
they didn
'
t know what else to do with men of his ilk. While tolerated, he was never allowed to forget that the stink of the merchant class followed him.

In England
,
the gentry only made their living by owning and managing land
,
and they excluded those who made their living in trade of any sort. Or well
,
many of them tried to keep out those who had labored for their monies. The lines tended to blur around the edges of society. That acres and acres of good land were free for the taking in America struck Trevor as ironic.

"
But how could Lydia just disappear?
"
Oscar asked. He dropped his hands and looked around the common room as if she might be hiding in a corner.
"
How could she be all right with no man to protect her for all this time?
"

"
If you haven
'
t realized
,
Lydia can be headstrong. She got it into her head that she should move to New York after Mother died. Had her bags packed and everything.
"

Seeing how far the six-year-old would drag her carpet bag down the lane had amused all five of her older brothers. She trudged a mile
,
the bag bumping awkwardly against her leg and making her list heavily to one side. She would have gone farther
,
but James had tossed her over his shoulder and carried her like a sack of potatoes. Even though she was clearly exhausted
,
she
'
d fought them the whole way home.

"
I can
'
t imagine why she ran away. I was so careful with her. I always showed her the greatest respect
,"
Oscar said.

"
Maybe too much respect
,"
offered Trevor.

Oscar shook his head.
"
No
,
I had it from Benjamin Lee that she cried off after he stole a kiss in the apple orchard.
"

Well
,
perhaps that explained his sister
'
s sudden reversal on her decision to marry Benjamin. Perhaps she didn
'
t know that kissing could be a pleasant experience
,
and she needn
'
t worry. If she found a gentleman too forward
,
one yell would have all five of her brothers at her side ready to defend her honor
,
with force if necessary. Besides, she always seemed the type of girl who could handle any situation.

Years of defending herself against the rambunctious antics of five older brothers made her tough. Tough enough
,
that her forthright and bossy manners had scared more than one suitor away.

James entered the common room
,
his towering blond head nearly scraping the ceiling beams. He glowered as he crossed the room and patrons and waitresses alike sidestepped
,
even if they weren
'
t in his path. Trevor had the same imposing height
,
but he tried to temper it with easy smiles.

A smaller man, boldly wearing a scarlet coat with blue lapels and a brass horn hanging from his belt, followed James.

"
Listen to what he
'
s got to say
,"
ordered James.

Trevor signaled a waitress with four fingers and pointed to a tankard on a nearby table.

He slid onto the bench seat beside Oscar as James and the stranger took the opposite side of the scarred bare wooden table.

The waitress set four pewter mugs on the table filled with a dark liquid. James drank with an absentminded scowl. Oscar curled his nose
,
but Trevor and the older man drank heartily and enjoyed the beer.

"
Well
,
as to your inquiries
,
we did have American passengers
'
round about three months past. A young man and a girl.
"

James and Trevor exchanged glances.

"
What did this young man look like?
"
Trevor asked.

"
A bit like the two of you. Same yellow hair. Younger though
,
not got the height you two got yet. He a brother of yours?
"

"
We think he
'
s our cousin
,"
said Trevor.

James frowned at the lie. Trevor rarely troubled himself to shade the truth
,
but he had his reasons.

"
Where did this young man go?
"
James asked.

"
Booked passage to London
,
he did. Set him off at the Swan with Two Necks.
"

"
At the what?
"
asked Oscar.
"
How could a swan have two necks? I don
'
t see what this has to do with Ly—
"

Trevor stood and knocked the bench to a tilt that made Oscar grab the table to keep from spilling out of his seat. Size had its advantages.

"
Hey
,
you big oaf
,"
snarled Oscar.

Trevor clapped him on the shoulder.
"
Sorry
,
friend
,
thought I
'
d see about getting us supper.
"
He just might see
,
while he was inquiring
,
if they could burn Oscar
'
s portion.

"
The Swan is a post inn in London.
"
James frowned down at his pewter mug.

The dapper little man gulped down his dark brew and pulled out his watch.
"
Well
,
best be going
,
sirs. Can
'
t be late. Mail coach is always on time.
"

James stood and thanked the man with a handshake. Trevor shook his head as the coachman stared blankly at his empty hand. Clapping an arm around his shoulder, Trevor steered the little man toward the door
,
and dug a couple of silver coins from his pockets.

"
You
'
ve been most helpful.
"
Trevor pressed the coins into the man
'
s hand.

"
This boy in trouble?
"

"
Not trouble
,
but too young to be traipsing around a foreign country all on his own.
"

"
Run off wit
'
a maid
,
did he? Poor lad
,
fancied himself in love
,
I
'
ll bet.
"

"
Foolish notions youngsters can get
,"
Trevor said non-committally.

Lydia had gone to London as he
'
d hoped
,
as he wished. He wanted to hug his sister for bringing him back here
,
after she was properly chastised
,
of course. In London he might chance upon Lady Helena again
,
and that as much or more than for Lydia was why he had braved the bitter winter seas. But would she want to see him? Would she remember? Would she be married now?

It had been five years since Trevor had been to London. Five long years and there was no way she
,
his English beauty
,
had been waiting for him. Especially since he
'
d never promised to return. And she
'
d never really been his.

Chapter Five

Lydia reluctantly slid into the carriage seat across from Victor. She glared at him. In truth she was sweating like a hard-run horse. She wanted to spend time with Victor
,
but a tailor would undoubtedly see through her disguise.
"
We should go to the Tothill Fields. There is a balloon ascension today.
"
She held out a handbill she
'
d been passed in the street.

"
Clothes first
,
Leonard. That you look like a country bumpkin really reflects badly on me.
"

Lydia folded her arms across her chest.
"
Then you would do better to not be seen with me.
"

"
Clothes
,
Lenny. They make the man.
"

Or they exposed the woman. Half of her feared her secret being revealed
,
half wondered if...but
,
no. If Victor realized she was a woman
,
like all other men he would decide she couldn
'
t make rational decisions about her future
,
couldn
'
t exist without a man
'
s support and protection
,
then he would send her home.

Or he could take advantage of her plight. She had been raised all her life to avoid being alone with a man not related to her. She had been warned that a situation like that could lead to too much temptation and too much intimacy. She shifted in her seat.
"
I
'
d really like to see the balloon ascension.
"