Page 38 of Presenting Miss Letitia (Once a Wallflower 1)

“He sounds like a good man.”

“Yes, he was.” Her voice caught.

What happened to her father? He hoped to hear more about that later. He tried to harden himself against the fragility he heard in her voice. “You neglected to tell me you saw Marston and Lady Fraughton in the library.”

“Would it have stopped you seducing her yourself?” she asked casually.

“I wasn’t seducing her,” he growled. “I wanted that letter and anything more she could tell me.”

“What was in the letter?”

“It concerned the meeting at Ascot races,” he said shortly, determined that any further interest in this affair was nipped in the bud.

“Is that all there was?” she murmured, her breath tickling his neck.

He declined to answer while he kept up the pace. The men would not be far behind them and moving faster unless finding Elford delayed them. Dawn had broken, casting a pink glow in the sky. Would the excisemen still be about? Or would he and Letty be left stranded? There was a church in the village, he remembered, if they must, they could hide there. But some of these churches sheltered smugglers and even stored their goods. How long could they hide before they were found?

The thunder of horsemen riding hard came from somewhere behind them.

Chapter Fourteen

The horsemen would soon be upon them.

Letty’s arms almost strangling him, she cried out. “It’s them, they’re coming after us!”

“Hush. Too many.” Brandon lowered her to the ground.

A squadron of dragoons in their blue and gold, swept around the corner and surrounded them; hard faces beneath elaborate helmets, their fierce swords swung at their hips. A customs officer rode at the head.

They looked so fearsome that Letty clutched hold of Brandon’s sleeve.

“Cartwright, Captain.” Brandon gently released her hand and stepped forward to address the officer. “We are very pleased to see you.”

The captain dismounted. He offered his hand. “Captain Dogwood, sir. Are you in need of assistance?”

Brandon shook it. “You might say that. Miss Bromley and I have fallen foul of smugglers.”

The officer’s eyes widened. “Well, that is right up our alley, Mr. Cartwright. Where might they be hiding?”

Once Brandon had explained, the captain sent his dragoons to Elford Park with an order to begin a search and detain the inhabitants should any contraband be found.

“I shall require you to accompany me, Mr. Cartwright. We need a witness. Lord Elford might prove difficult.”

“If you wouldn’t mind one of your men taking Miss Bromley to a respectable inn,” Brandon said. “She has hurt her ankle.”

“I am perfectly all right,” Letty protested, annoyed that Brandon dismissed her like a fragile china figurine. And after all they’d been through! Hadn’t she proven herself capable?

“I know you are, but what will follow is something I would rather spare you,” Brandon said.

/> At the captain’s order, one of the soldiers dismounted. “Allow me to assist you onto my horse, Miss,” the big soldier said. “I believe you will find the Star Inn in St. Mary’s Bay comfortable. The proprietor is a good man.”

“Please have a physician attend Miss Bromley’s ankle,” Brandon said with a sharp nod in her direction. He turned away to talk to the captain.

Letty could do nothing other than agree and permit the fellow to lift her onto his horse. That familiar light in Brandon’s eyes told her she’d get nowhere with him if she argued. Denying her the satisfaction of witnessing the men’s arrest didn’t trouble him.

The soldier mounted behind her. One hand on his saber, and one on the reins, he rode silently with her along a road that took them through fields of sheep and grazing cows. Letty gripped the pommel as the earthy, dank smells of the marshes gave way to the fresh salty brine of the Channel, and the strong odor of fish. The dragoon put her down outside a two-story, whitewashed inn facing the shore. Courteously, he offered her his arm to escort her inside.

The innkeeper hurried out to greet them. After a rudimentary explanation of her falling foul of robbers, he offered his sympathy and observed that nowhere was safe anymore. Then to tidy herself, he directed her to a chamber with a maid to attend her. She removed the now filthy cloak, washed her face, and attempted to deal with her hair, which proved impossible because all the hair pins had disappeared, along with the flowers. The knot she twisted it into wouldn’t hold, so she shrugged and left the room.

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