Page 47 of The Artisan and the Duke
“The life of the rich has made you soft,” David remarked with a challenging grin. “Or was all that old bravado just for show?”
Jules shook her head and gave the reins a snap. As her horse galloped forward, Jules called, “You want to goad me? Fine. Just try to keep up.”
David’s laughter came from behind Jules. She heard the beating of his horse’s hooves. The night was dark with the cloud cover. The lightning in the distance seemed more to the right now that they had turned off the road.
Perhaps by going this way they would avoid the rain altogether, Jules thought with a hopeful heart. If the highwaymen truly were hiding somewhere nearby, then galloping like mad persons probably was not the best idea. Jules pulled back on her reins, and her horse slowed.
“Tired already?” David asked with a grin when he rode up beside Jules.
Jules shook her head. “I just thought that perhaps if we are trying to sneak up on someone that we should be quieter,” she said with annoyance to the man. Jules sighed. “How were the others holding up when you saw them last?”
David’s smile faded, and he shook his head. “They were angry, lashing out at everyone and anyone. They even thought I was in on it because you and I were close,” David said.
As soon as he said the words, it was as if the man suddenly remembered why he had made the long trip to the country to begin with. “So, now you pretend to care?”
“I came to the inn,” Jules reminded him. “I would not have done that if I had not cared what happened to my old friends.”
David nodded. “Could have told me that day I saw you on the street. Why pretend he was some common lad?”
“Their world is so complicated, David,” Jules said softly. “We weren’t even supposed to be there. We were …” Jules’ voice softened, and she let her words trail off.
David frowned. “What was it you were doing?”
“We were looking into the fire. We were trying to figure out what had happened and why,” Jules said quietly.
David snorted. “Really set things to right, did you? Seems to me that we all still got blamed for it,” David said. “I suppose it was worth it for the Duke, though. He got you for a few hours’ work.”
“That’s not fair, David,” Jules said. She glanced at the man and shook her head. “When did you get so callous?”
David narrowed his eyes at Jules. “When did you get so blind? You used to stand in the pulpit and scream the betters down off their pedestals. Now, look at you in your finery. It’s laughable really how quickly you changed your mind once the spoon was held out to you,” David bit out each word before he turned away from Jules as they rode on.
“I did what I thought was best for my family, and I will not be looked down upon by you,” Jules said as she squared her shoulders.
David said, “Ah, so that’s where your family went. I figured it was something like that when I came by to check on them only to be told that they had left with some man in a carriage. Were they your dowry or your price?”
Jules shook her head and pressed her lips together. Nothing she said would make David change his view of her, and Jules found she did not really care. Had that been her not so long ago? Jules pondered how much she had changed her views as they rode on in silence.
***
The rain slackened up enough that Gregory and the boys decided to brave the wetness to get somewhere dry. As they rode, they saw a figure riding towards them. Gregory held up his hand for the boys to wait as they came to a halt behind him. He rode out towards the figure. “Thompson?” Gregory called.
“Your Grace, you are a sight for sore eyes,” Thompson said with relief. “Lord St Claire sent me to tell you that they had been detained.”
Gregory laughed with relief at the news. “Let’s go back and tell them that they should have sent you sooner, shall we?”
Talbert and Olly heartily agreed as Thompson turned his horse around and fell into a gallop beside them. The rain was not nearly as unpleasant knowing they were headed towards a reunion and a good sleep. Gregory clapped Thompson on the shoulder as the man rode beside him. “Did the weather make them take shelter for the night?” Gregory asked of the older man. Thompson had worked for the estate for about five years, and Gregory had grown to like the man over that time.
Thompson shook his head and frowned. “They did not tell us for sure what we were stopping for. I got the impression that they were going to the inn to meet up with a friend of the Duchess,” Thompson said honestly.
“After some time, the man still had not shown up, so Lord St Clair came to send me out. As I was leaving actually, the Duchess and a man came up, and I was under the impression that they would be leaving right behind me.”
“Is that so? Well, then we should meet them soon enough,” Gregory said.
Talbert asked, “If they are headed this way, does that mean we won’t get to sleep?”
“You can sleep, even if I must pull your horse with you asleep on it, Talbert,” Gregory assured the man, which caused Olly great amusement.
After some time, they still had not seen any sign of the carriage. They reached the inn with no sightings of a carriage or horse. Gregory and Thompson exchanged worried glances as they stopped outside the inn. “I will go inside and make enquiries,” Gregory said. A stable boy ran up, but Gregory waved the boy off, “Leave my horse be until I return. I may need to leave again.”
