Page 50 of Miss Flibbertigibbet and the Barbarian
Nicholas studied her for a second, then looked at Dickie. “Honington is only about a mile or so down the road, isn’t it?”
To Addie’s eyes, her brother didn’t look as eager as she was to be up and doing. He nodded. “That’s right. And it’s a hamlet. There’s nowhere to stay—there or anywhere near.”
“There’s nowhere to stop farther along, either,” Rory put in. “Not until we get to Sleaford, and if you want to check all the lanes along the way, especially about Ancaster, well, then, we’re not going to get to Sleaford tonight, not with it being Sunday evening by then and so few people about whom we can ask.”
Jed was nodding. “We’ll have to stop and ask at every farm and cottage. It’ll be slow going for sure, if we set off now.”
“So I was thinking.” Nicholas met Addie’s eyes. “And while we are, I assume, within reach of Aisby Grange, it’s some miles away, and returning there for the night will simply mean we have to ride all the way back to Honington in the morning.”
The prospect of returning home for the night didn’t appeal to Addie, not on any front. That her father would be enjoying another “good day” wasn’t a risk she wanted to take.
When she said nothing, Nicholas continued, “As I see it, our most efficient way forward is to remain here overnight and start off again in the morning, riding straight down to Honington and Conran’s lower field and starting our search from there.”
She fought back a scowl and saw his lips twitch.
“At least,” he offered, “we’ll know we are, once more, on the right track. On the right road, heading in the right direction.” He glanced around the table. “We need to make sure that we stay on the right road from now on.”
Determinedly, Rory added, “Even if that means checking every lane the blackguard could have gone down.”
Nicholas—and everyone else in their party bar Addie—nodded in agreement.
Addie swallowed a sigh along with her disappointment. After a few fraught seconds of wrestling her impatience into submission, she stated, “In that case, we should speak with McGrath about hiring some rooms.”
* * *
Feeling thoroughly stymied—crimped and caged—in the matter of chasing the thief, perhaps not surprisingly, Addie found her mind turning to the possibilities of making headway on the other front she was increasingly determined to pursue.
She had no idea what Nicholas thought of what was developing between them and where—if anywhere—it might lead.
She certainly didn’t know, and it was that lack of knowledge that she was set on rectifying. At least as a first step.
There might be further steps after that—steps she might wish to take once she understood what might be—but as of that moment, the question uppermost in her mind was defining the nature and extent of the attraction that had flared to such powerful life between them.
How to accomplish that…
Once they’d arranged for rooms for their party, she retreated to her chamber and changed out of her riding habit into a simple summer gown of pale-green cambric. Suitably garbed, she went downstairs determined to forge ahead.
Nicholas’s and Dickie’s rooms were along the corridor from hers. Although the pair had followed her upstairs, while she’d been changing, she’d heard their footsteps passing her door and returning downstairs.
A quick glance into the taproom confirmed that Nicholas hadn’t taken refuge there, although Dickie, Rory, Jed, and Mike were gathered about a table by the window.
So where was Nicholas?
Given his passion for horses, she opted to check the stable first.
Sure enough, as she was crossing the cobbled yard at the rear of the inn with the open stable door her goal, Young Gillies strode out of the barn, making for the inn’s back door. Grinning cheerfully, he saluted her. “If you’re looking for Mr. Cynster, my lady, he’s in with Tamerlane.”
She smiled back. “Thank you.” And confidently, she walked on.
It was late on a summer’s afternoon, and few people were about. With no guests arriving at the inn or likely to over the next hours, the three stable lads were engaged in a rowdy game of marbles on the tack room floor. Unobserved by the three thoroughly absorbed players, Addie grinned and started down the aisle of horse stalls.
The light was dim, and the air, sweetened by the scent of fresh hay, was faintly dusty. Horses occupied several of the stalls. Some glanced at her curiously, but most didn’t bother. The single long aisle was empty, but as she walked farther along, a horse whinnied, and Nicholas stepped out of the last stall in the row and closed the gate behind him.
He saw her approaching and, strolling to meet her, arched a brow.
Serenely, she smiled. “Having spent so many hours in the saddle, I thought I’d stretch my legs in a walk.”
His gaze rested on her for a moment, then he asked, “Where were you thinking of going?”
