Page 53 of Snowbound Regency Christmas
Unfortunately, he recognised the two men sitting beside him in the coach. Angus Rhys had been sentenced to three years of hard labour for house-breaking. He’d had an additional year added to his sentence for breaking the arm of a fellow inmate. But it was Timothy Pip that put Devin’s nerves on edge. Rhys’s partner had been on trial for murder at the same time. Ultimately, his barrister had been able to reduce the charges from manslaughter to breaking and entering because of the lack of an eyewitness. The only person in the house at the time of the theft had been an older woman who had died from a stab wound.
Despite his animosity towards Miss Julia Sullivan, he couldn’t help but wish that she’d been on a different mail coach. At least one of these men was a murderer. And he wished that he wasn’t so damned attracted to her—the one woman that he could never have.
There was a little pink in Julia’s cheeks from the cold, but her complexion was peaches and cream without a blemish to be found. Her hair was light and could have been called brown or blond, but the closest colour he could think of was honey. Sweet, rich honey with the sunlight shining through it. Her figure was still slight, but with feminine curves that he very much appreciated. And like a fool, he’d smiled at her. He was only a man after all and she was a beautiful woman with large blue eyes that a fellow could get lost in.
His heart hardened. Poor Joshua had gotten lost in her blue eyes and much good it had done him. Although Joshua had never complained, Devin was still angry on his behalf. He glared at the vixen and she had the audacity to smile back at him. He would like nothing better than to bring her down a peg or two.
Devin was fuming by the time he got out of the cold mail coach and picked up his trunk. Miss Sullivan’s portmanteau was nearly as large as herself and he wanted her to ask for his help, just so that he would have the pleasure of refusing her. It was petty of him, but it might have made him feel a little better. But the minx didn’t. She hoisted her portmanteau and trudged through the snow without a glance back at him.
A small stirring of admiration for her spunk grew in his chest, but he pushed it down and trailed after her. He needed to keep a close eye on her with a murderer on the loose. Mr and Mrs Mack were in front of him and squabbled the entire way as their child continued to cry for her doll. The two house-breakers behind him talked in low tones. He felt their gazes on his back as if they eyed him like a pigeon waiting to be plucked. Devin would definitely be bolting his bedchamber door tonight and he would tell Julia to do the same. No matter how much he resented her past actions, he had no wish for her to be robbed or stabbed. This pair of crooks were capable of anything. Joe followed behind the thieves and Devin wondered if it was for the other passengers’ safety or his own. He didn’t like having his back to those men.
Instead, he watched Julia Sullivan scramble through the snow to keep up with Mr Denard and the horses. Her skirts were soaked through and Devin could have sworn he heard her teeth chattering from ten paces away. Still, she didn’t complain or slow down. Not that either would have done her any good. The horses were laden with the mail and Devin was determined not to assist her. Aside from keeping her safe from the two thieves.
Holding his own trunk aloft, Devin’s shoulder ached where he’d fallen off a tree and dislocated it as a lad. He was beginning to lose the feeling in his fingers and his nose felt frozen enough to snap off, when he finally saw a small light in the distance. Trudging through the snow, he wished that he had stayed in London for Christmas. But his brother had begged him to return to Riverdale House and Devin didn’t wish to disappoint him. Poor Joshua had gone through enough disappointments in life. Their father had been bedridden and died young, leaving Joshua with a great responsibility at a tender age. Then his brother had become engaged to Julia, only to have her call it off in the cruellest of manners.
No.
The snow did not matter. Devin would be there for his brother—always. Joshua had been more of a father than an elder brother. His brother had asked very little of Devin, yet given him everything. These thoughts gave Devin the energy to make the final steps toward the posting inn.
Four feet of snow rested against the walls of the building and covered part of the windows. A small path was carved through the snow that led from the stoop to the door. Already new snow had begun to collect there.
‘In you go, missy,’ Mr Denard said to Julia. ‘I have to take care of the horses and keep an eye on His Majesty’s mail.’
She gave the man a nod as if speaking was too difficult. Devin watched Julia walk to the door, but she could not open it because she carried her portmanteau with both hands.
‘What is taking so long?’ Mr Mack demanded, his arms full of his family’s trunks.
‘I don’t have a free hand,’ Julia explained.
Mr Mack huffed impatiently. ‘Mary, open the door.’
‘But I am holding Lizzy.’
Devin realised that another marital fight was brewing. He decided to avert disaster by pushing forward and opening the door for them all.
‘Thank you,’ Julia said in a low, sultry voice that caused him to jump and something inside his chest to snap. She passed right by him and went straight to the fire. She placed her portmanteau on the floor and then sat upon it with her hands outstretched to the blue and orange flames.
Neither Mrs Mack nor her husband said a word of gratitude to him. Nor did the two thieves. Their eyes were on his trunk as if trying to see what was inside of it. Instinctively, Devin stepped closer to his property. Despite the inn being very small, he had no intention of sharing a bedchamber with these men. If he did, he’d be lucky if he still had his nightshirt in the morning.
Devin glanced around for the proprietor or a tapster, but it wasn’t until the little girl started crying that she was hungry that a small man with a most impressively long red beard came out of the back room. There was snow in his whiskers and Devin assumed that the man had helped Joe and Mr Denard put the horses in the barn first. The back door opened again and Mr Denard came through it. He did not engage with the angry and disgruntled passengers but merely went up the stairs and presumably to his room. Devin wished to do the same. He didn’t want to spend another moment in the company of his fellow passengers.
Everyone began speaking at the same time. The two rough men wanted blue ruin to heat up their insides. Mrs Mack wanted food for Lizzy. Mr Mack wanted a private room for his family. And the proprietor rubbed his eyes and then his beard as if he hadn’t expected to have any customers on such a snowy day.
The proprietor held up his hands as if he was being robbed by a highwayman. ‘Quiet, quiet. I can’t possibly hear you all at the same time. This is a small but respectable inn. My name is Peebles. My wife is making stew at this very moment for your supper and I will happily serve you spirits at the tap after you pay for your stay.’
Mr Mack harrumphed. ‘But we don’t know how long we will be stuck here.’
Mr Peebles smiled. ‘Denard says at least two nights. So please show me your coins and then I can lead you to your rooms.’
Julia stood up and moved from the fire, but the warmth of it was still in her rosy cheeks. She held up her reticule as if to take money from it. ‘I should like my own room. I am happy to pay for it.’
‘A private room for my family,’ Mr Mack said.
‘We can share,’ the two men said.
‘I require my own bedchamber as well,’ Devin added.
Mr Peebles held up his hands again as if to silence them all. ‘My inn is small with only four rooms. The driver and groom have already claimed one. I have three rooms left.’
