Hattie watched her leave, mouth agape. Did the woman listen to nothing? They had made an agreement to each hear the other out, for heaven’s sake.
Clicking her tongue, Hattie directed her horse to follow Lucy. She couldn’t very well leave the woman alone in the woods or she would probably lose her way clear up to the duke’s front door.
By the time Hattie reached the edge of the trees, Lucy had dismounted and ran into the dense woodland. She jumped from her horse and left it standing beside Lucy’s at the perimeter of the woods, looping both horses’ reins around a low branch.
The trees were too close together to make riding easy, and Hattie was glad to be on foot. She could run quickly, snatch her sister-in-law, and get back out before disturbing anyone.
And, if she was honest, she’d keep an eye out for Romeo.
“Lucy,” she called as softly as she could. “Wait!”
Lucy glanced over her shoulder, smirking, but didn’t respond or slow down. She moved deeper into the woods, jaggedly creating a trail that drove them closer and closer to Wolfeton House.
Anxiety skittered through Hattie as they passed the heart of the forest, every step edging them nearer to the duke’s estate. If they were not careful they would soon be in his courtyard, face-to-face with Devlin, the man who’d appeared to manage the duke’s livestock. Or, as luck would likely have it, the chicken itself.
“Stop!” Hattie called. “This is not funny, Lucy. Come back here!”
Lucy ignored her, seeming to pick up speed. Her easy ability to hike through the rough forest was almost more shocking than the way she deliberately went against everything Hattie had asked of her.
Clutching the long skirts of her habit, Hattie increased her pace. She would drag Lucy from these woods if that’s what it took.
Lucy staggered to a sudden stop, and Hattie’s heart plummeted to her stomach. Her entire body tensed when she looked beyond her sister-in-law and found a tall, dark-haired, devilishly handsome figure standing just beyond her. Hattie slowed her steps, pausing just behind Lucy.
DratLucy and her wretched wayward behavior. This was the precise situation Hattie had needed to avoid. She would have been better off leaving Lucy to wander the woods alone. But then if she’d found Bentley on her own, whatever would she have done?
Lucy shot Hattie a brief, excited smile over her shoulder, her eyes bright with mischief. “See? Fate.”