If He's Daring by Hannah Howell Page B

left trails through the light coating of dust on his face. Despite all of that, he was still the most handsome man she had ever seen. It annoyed her, for she was certain she looked as if she had been dragged through a hedgerow backward.
    “Why have we stopped?” she asked as he helped her out of the carriage.
    “If you look about you might notice that night has arrived,” he replied, easily catching Giles as the boy flung himself out of the carriage and then setting the boy on his feet.
    “But Morris . . .”
    “Cannot drive through the night any more than we can. I told you that before we left that clearing.”
    That was a truth she could not deny, even though she desperately wished she could. Some would travel the road no matter what the conditions, changing horses as they needed them, but she could not see Morris doing that. He liked his comforts far too much. Long hours spent in a carriage were not what anyone would call comfort. He also lacked the coin for such a thing and he certainly would not trust his precious horses into the long-term care of some stable boy at an inn. From what little she had ferreted out concerning Morris’s financial state, Catryn was not sure that he had the money needed to spend many nights at an inn, either.
    “I am also tired, hungry, and in need of a good wash,” he said as he collected her bags, shoved them into her arms, and then got a small one of his own from beneath the carriage seat. “And it does not matter how the man travels or where he goes. I will find him.”
    Before she could argue with that arrogant statement, he was striding toward the inn, Giles at his side. Catryn hurried to keep pace with him. Giles had told her that his father could find anyone and anything, but she had thought that was just a boy’s bragging about his sire. It appeared that Sir Orion also believed it. It was an odd thing for a man to boast about.
    Once inside the inn, Catryn was impressed by Sir Orion’s ability to get people to do his bidding. He gave orders in a way that made them sound more like requests. People obeyed without hesitation or argument, just as she had back at the clearing when he had told her to sit. They were all in their rooms with a hearty meal being readied for them before she even had time to consider what she might want to eat.
    She frowned as she quickly shed her travel-worn clothing, washed up, and donned a fresh gown. The man was obviously accustomed to being obeyed. Considering his excellent skills at command, that was no surprise, but Catryn was going to have to remind him that she was a grown woman, a widow, and a mother. She was more than capable of making up her own mind. The first thing she intended to do was request that a bath be readied for her so that she could have a long soak in hot water after her meal. The second was to make certain Sir Orion understood that she could pay her own way. She might have need of a man to rescue her son, an admission that still irked her, but she did not need one to lead her about like some helpless child.
    Her husband had tried that, she thought as she made her way down to the private parlor where she, Sir Orion, and Giles would dine. Old resentments she thought she had conquered rose up and she struggled against the anger they brought with them. Sir Orion did not deserve being stung by that bitterness.
    She paused to request her bath, asking that her travel clothes be cleaned as well, and paid for it, which further soothed her rising temper. When she entered the parlor she found Giles and Sir Orion seated at a table before a warm fire, slathering butter on large hunks of bread. They immediately rose and Sir Orion held a chair out for her.
    “My apologies,” she said as she sat down and they retook their seats. “I tried to be quick.”
    “You were remarkably quick,” said Orion as he served her some bread and nudged a small crock of butter toward her. “I told the maid not to bring the rest of the food in until she saw