window they’d opened. “You nearly caused us an accident! If you’re trying to rob us, be warned, I have a pistol in my hand at this very moment.”
She didn’t really have a pistol, but she should have had one, and she was now determined to buy one in the next town they came to.
She gripped the handle of the door, though, just in case the wild woman tried to yank it open. But the woman appeared to believe her about the pistol and quickly lost her belligerence. She began to whine instead about an ungrateful, willful, lying daughter with copper hair and the bluest eyes who had run away from home.
And just so they’d be sure to doubt the child if they were helping her escape, she added, “She makes up fantastic tales, she does. I ne’er know when tae believe her m’self. Hae ye seen her?”
Katey had just come from Scotland so she recognized the woman’s accent easily enough. And later she was going to laugh about the likelihood that her own mother might have said the same thing about her many a time.
Grace even whispered at her back, “Sounds like you, doesn’t it?”
Katey, still too angry to be amused, ignored her maid. Obviously, it hadn’t occurred to the woman that if they had the child, they’d know that the woman was lying about being the girl’s mother, simply because the child’s accent wasn’t the least bit Scottish.
In an attempt to get them out of there sooner rather than later, Grace stuck her nose out the window and told the woman, “We haven’t seen any children, but good luck in your search.” Then she shouted up at their driver, “Mr. Davis, continue on.”
But a few miles down the road, Grace looked out the window again and said, “I should have stayed out of it. She recognized me.”
“From where?”
“The inn. We passed each other in the corridor last night. I went downstairs to see if I could find something to eat in their kitchen. I didn’t want to disturb you for our food basket, in case you were sleeping already. I could see a bit of suspicion in her eyes back there on the road when I spoke to her. She realized I was in the same inn as she was last night. And she’s not going away.”
Katey frowned and leaned over to glance out the window, then gasped, “Good grief, she’s following us now? This is getting out of hand, isn’t it?”
Grace shrugged, then grinned. “I’m not worried about it. She’s alone. If that man you said she was traveling with was with her, he was doing a good job of hiding in their coach. And we do have Mr. Davis with us. You pay him enough that he can move his arse to take care of any trouble of that sort. What can she do?”
“I wouldn’t count on Mr. Davis helping,” Katey said as she sat back against the seat again. “He warned me when I hired him and his coach that if I wanted guards, I should hire some. He isn’t a brave sort. He hasn’t minded sleeping with the trunks, but I’ve wondered more than once if he’d actually try to stop anyone from taking them.”
“That he’s slept near them has been deterrent enough to keep anyone from nosing around.”
“I suppose, but I’ll make sure we have a real guard before we travel across the Continent. For that matter, I think I’ll buy our own coach before we set sail for France.”
Grace chuckled. “I’m glad you’re getting used to being rich.”
Katey blushed slightly. It had taken her some time to get used to being wealthy. Her family had lived comfortably enough, but owning the only store in a small village certainly hadn’t made them rich. Her mother had never mentioned the inheritance she’d received from her father, who had died soon after she’d left England, before he’d had a chance to strike her from his will. She hadn’t expected his money and didn’t want it, so she’d never touched it.
Katey only found out about the inheritance after her mother died. She’d still been in shock over Adeline’s death when the Danbury lawyer came to tell her about
She didn’t really have a pistol, but she should have had one, and she was now determined to buy one in the next town they came to.
She gripped the handle of the door, though, just in case the wild woman tried to yank it open. But the woman appeared to believe her about the pistol and quickly lost her belligerence. She began to whine instead about an ungrateful, willful, lying daughter with copper hair and the bluest eyes who had run away from home.
And just so they’d be sure to doubt the child if they were helping her escape, she added, “She makes up fantastic tales, she does. I ne’er know when tae believe her m’self. Hae ye seen her?”
Katey had just come from Scotland so she recognized the woman’s accent easily enough. And later she was going to laugh about the likelihood that her own mother might have said the same thing about her many a time.
Grace even whispered at her back, “Sounds like you, doesn’t it?”
Katey, still too angry to be amused, ignored her maid. Obviously, it hadn’t occurred to the woman that if they had the child, they’d know that the woman was lying about being the girl’s mother, simply because the child’s accent wasn’t the least bit Scottish.
In an attempt to get them out of there sooner rather than later, Grace stuck her nose out the window and told the woman, “We haven’t seen any children, but good luck in your search.” Then she shouted up at their driver, “Mr. Davis, continue on.”
But a few miles down the road, Grace looked out the window again and said, “I should have stayed out of it. She recognized me.”
“From where?”
“The inn. We passed each other in the corridor last night. I went downstairs to see if I could find something to eat in their kitchen. I didn’t want to disturb you for our food basket, in case you were sleeping already. I could see a bit of suspicion in her eyes back there on the road when I spoke to her. She realized I was in the same inn as she was last night. And she’s not going away.”
Katey frowned and leaned over to glance out the window, then gasped, “Good grief, she’s following us now? This is getting out of hand, isn’t it?”
Grace shrugged, then grinned. “I’m not worried about it. She’s alone. If that man you said she was traveling with was with her, he was doing a good job of hiding in their coach. And we do have Mr. Davis with us. You pay him enough that he can move his arse to take care of any trouble of that sort. What can she do?”
“I wouldn’t count on Mr. Davis helping,” Katey said as she sat back against the seat again. “He warned me when I hired him and his coach that if I wanted guards, I should hire some. He isn’t a brave sort. He hasn’t minded sleeping with the trunks, but I’ve wondered more than once if he’d actually try to stop anyone from taking them.”
“That he’s slept near them has been deterrent enough to keep anyone from nosing around.”
“I suppose, but I’ll make sure we have a real guard before we travel across the Continent. For that matter, I think I’ll buy our own coach before we set sail for France.”
Grace chuckled. “I’m glad you’re getting used to being rich.”
Katey blushed slightly. It had taken her some time to get used to being wealthy. Her family had lived comfortably enough, but owning the only store in a small village certainly hadn’t made them rich. Her mother had never mentioned the inheritance she’d received from her father, who had died soon after she’d left England, before he’d had a chance to strike her from his will. She hadn’t expected his money and didn’t want it, so she’d never touched it.
Katey only found out about the inheritance after her mother died. She’d still been in shock over Adeline’s death when the Danbury lawyer came to tell her about
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