The hint of a wry smile appeared on her lips. She didn’t believe him. “I used you to try and convince Guy not to offer for me. I lured you into a room and then kissed you with the sole intent of making you go and tell him that I was not suited to be his wife. You obviously decided I was a foolish chit who did not know what she wanted. I wonder if you even told him about the kiss.”
“I tell him about the kiss, but it clearly made no difference. And I have never thought you a foolish chit. How about we put the worry of what we think of one another aside for the time being. All of those conversations can wait. First, we need to eat. Then we should discuss what is to be done tomorrow,” he said.
She released her other arm from about his waist. James felt the pang of regret as Leah moved away.
“What is happening tomorrow is that I am getting onboard the coach for Exeter,” she said. She rose from the bed, and after crossing the floor, took a seat in the small fireside chair. “I shall sleep here tonight,” she said. Her fingers tapped the hard arms of the chair. She softly nodded, looking for all the world like she was totally convinced she could actually sleep in such an uncomfortable place. There was little chance she would get any rest there.
James shook his head. “If anyone is going to sleep in the chair, it is me. My mother would have my guts for garters if I left a young lady to sit in a chair all night.”
He suspected they could argue that particular topic for hours if he allowed himself to get dragged into it. But sleeping arrangements were not important at this moment. Before they sat down to supper, he wanted to know more of Leah’s plans. To decide how best he could help her. “Where exactly is Mopus Passage?”
“Mopus Passage is a tiny village on the Tresillian River, right where it meets the Truro River. When I say village, I mean it is a collection of houses and a tavern—nothing more. Truro is the nearest town, some two miles away,” she replied.
“Won’t your family know to look for you there?” he said, stating the obvious.
She nodded. “No doubt they will eventually, but my grandfather is a powerful man. My father hates him, not the least because he knows Sir Geoffrey has the wealth and political connections to be able to stand up to him. I am certain that my grandfather will do everything he can in order to save me from having to go back to London and face my father’s wrath.”
Her words were heartbreaking. While James had been concerned about her family pressuring Leah to return to London and marry Guy, she was more concerned with the threat of retribution from her own father. It was truly awful.
Leah sat with her head bowed, her gaze cast down to the floor. When she looked up at James, more tears filled her eyes. “You think that I jilted Guy because I didn’t love him. That is only part of the truth. Did you know that he planned to use me to seduce his political allies and opponents? The fact that my father knew of his intentions only serves to make it that more repulsive.”
“Leah, I am so sorry. I was aware that Guy planned to use you to further his political ambitions, but I had no idea he intended to corrupt you. I tried to talk him out of marrying you because I thought the two of you were ill suited. But he simply wouldn’t listen. I cannot believe that your father approved the marriage. I only wish I had done more to save you.”
Leah shrugged. “My father was complicit in Guy’s plans, so there was nothing you could have done. My mother was no better. She told me to accept my lot and submit to Guy’s wishes,” she replied.
James was close to tears, his body shaking with barely suppressed fury. He had abandoned her. While he had been with his cousins in Derbyshire and worrying about his own future, Leah had been fighting a battle for her soul.
How could he profess to love her when the truth of Guy’s plans for Leah had been staring him straight in the face all along?
You failed her.
“I must admit to having been more than a little shocked when I saw you after I returned to London. I was a fool in thinking that you were resigned to your fate. I failed you, Leah, and for that I shall always be sorry. But I swear that from now on, I shall protect you. No one will take you back to London against your will,” he said.
“Don’t make promises you cannot keep, James. My father has ways to make people suffer long after they think they have gotten the better of him. He specializes in revenge.”
James got to his feet. It was another three or so days of travel to the west country—time during which Tobias Shepherd could catch up with them and attempt to snatch his daughter back. James had to concentrate his mind and efforts into keeping Leah safe.
A knock at the door tore him from his thoughts. He motioned for Leah to hide on the floor on the other side of the bed. Once she was hidden from view, he opened the door.
“Ah, food. Good, thank you,” he said.
A maid carried a tray into the room and set it down on the table. The heady smell of hot stew and freshly baked bread filled the cramped space. The maid looked down at Leah where she lay on the floor and raised an eyebrow.
“Have you found it, dearest?” asked James.
“Not yet, but I am certain I dropped it over here somewhere,” replied Leah.
The ruse worked and the maid gave a bob of a curtsey, then left the room. Leah climbed up off the floor and hurried over to the food. Picking up the knife which had come with their supper tray, she began to cut the half-loaf of bread into generous slices. She handed James a piece, then dipped her own slice into one of the bowls of stew. She stood with her back against the wall while she quietly ate.
James offered her the single chair to sit and eat, but she waved him away. “I have been sitting down all day. I need to walk or at least stand,” she replied.
James followed suit with the food, standing to eat. While he ate, he pondered the situation which they now both faced.
He had to get Leah to her grandfather without her family discovering where she was. The risk with staying at the coaching inns and travelling by way of the main roads was that it left them exposed to being discovered. They needed a way to get to Mopus Passage without being found by the Shepherd family.
And then he had an idea.
“I shall be back shortly. In the meantime, lock the door after I am gone and don’t open it unless you hear my voice,” he said.
