Tobias stood. ‘It is unsafe for anyone to go other than myself.’
She stood up too. He loomed over her, the face that was so dear to her hard and unyielding, but she would not be cowed. ‘So you will walk in there and ask whether or not they are my parents, they will say that they are not, and then what?’
‘I like to credit myself with more intelligence than that.’
That was a fair point, but she was not about to give in when he was being entirely unreasonable. ‘You cannot stop me.’
Folding his arms over his chest, he glowered down at her. ‘That is patently untrue.’
She puffed herself up to her full height, which was not very tall at all. ‘Would you lock me in my room to prevent me from leaving? Because that is what it would take.’
His nostrils flared. ‘You know that I would not do such a thing. But I would ask you to be sensible. You may not be in physical danger from your parents, but they have brought other people with them and we do not know what they will do if provoked. It is not safe.’
‘I am not going to wander into the inn alone. I am quite content to see them from the window. If that makes you feel better.’
‘It does not.’
Irritation warred with the knowledge that he wasn’t trying to be controlling. It would be easy to snap at him, to point out exactly why his tone was upsetting her, but she managed to bite her tongue. ‘I need to see who these people are, Tobias. You may not like it, but you must accept that it is the quickest way forward.’
Tobias’ lips were thin, his skin a stark white. ‘You…’ He pushed a hand through his hair. ‘I do not like it, Grace. I could not bear it if something were to happen to you.’
And that was why she could not remain cross with him. He may be trying to dictate to her what she could or couldn’t do, but his reasoning was from a good place. Tobias was not Ichabod. Nor was he her parents. ‘I will not come to harm, because I will be with you.’
He let out a long sigh. ‘Very well. You can come with us, but the moment I tell you it is time for us to leave, we leave. No arguments.’
‘Yes, I promise. I did last time, remember?’
He nodded tersely, his eyes tight. Grace could see what a struggle it was for him to give in to this, could see what it was costing him to let her walk into what he thought would be a dangerous situation. She did not take it lightly that he had conceded to her wishes and that he trusted her. But she would think on that later. For now, she had to prepare to confront her parents for the last time.
Chapter Thirty
The inn in which her parents were supposedly staying was not a long ride from the main house, but the journey there seemed to take forever. Freddie and Tobias were grim-faced, the other men who had accompanied them equally so. It had been decided that Edward and Christopher would stay at Glanmore Park in case Grace’s parents sent people to take Charlotte from them there. Neither man had been happy to be left behind, but Tobias had been in a mood that left no room for arguing. The man next to her wasn’t the same man who had brushed his fingers through the long strands of her hair and described it as golden. But he also wasn’t the same man who had glowered at the edge of the ballroom, not engaging in social niceties. He was fire and brimstone and retribution.
They rode together in his phaeton, the wind whipping at her bonnet with such force, she pressed a hand to the top of her head to stop it from flying off. Neither of them spoke. Tobias’ hard-edged jaw did not invite comment. Fragments of thought were whispering through her brain: the potential reaction of her parents to seeing her, what the brothers would do to the people who had caused Sebastian’s death and, after this, whether things would ever be the same between her and Tobias. She could not keep her focus on any of them, not when they were moving so quickly.
The nearest village was a warren of narrow streets, flanked by grey stone houses. The inn sat next to a river, which ran through the heart of the place. Grace had never been in it, but it looked clean and neat, with a garden full of flowers and herbs to the right of it. A stable for the inn was to the left, but Tobias did not bother with it, handing control of the horses to two of the men he had brought along for that express purpose.
The taproom was warm and smoky, dimly lit even though it was still daylight outside. Once Tobias stepped inside, it did not take long for conversation to die. Grace, who was standing directly behind him, saw all eyes turn to take him in. While some men stood when they realised who had entered their space, others were too shocked by his arrival to move.
The innkeeper gathered his wits first and hurried towards them, wringing his hands. ‘How may I be of service, Your Grace?’
Tobias’ slight pause, the quick intake of breath before he spoke, was only noticeable to Grace. Knowing how hard it was for him to speak in a stressful situation, she stepped a little closer to him, offering her silent support. ‘I understand you have two Americans staying with you,’ said Tobias. ‘Be a good man and direct me to where they are right now.’
The innkeeper licked his top lip. ‘I have two guests who fit that description. They are taking dinner in the parlour, Your Grace,’ he replied, not making the slightest attempt to protect the privacy of his patrons. ‘It is the second door on the left.’
Tobias nodded his thanks to the man and swept through the inn like an avenging angel, entering the narrow passageway with no thought to his own safety. Grace hurried after him, flanked by Freddie and two of Tobias’ men. The others, she knew, were surrounding theinn, cutting off exit points and hunting for the men her parents had brought with them.
Without knocking, Tobias strode into the parlour, Grace just behind him, before coming to a dead stop.
Her parents were sitting at a small table, her mother sipping a glass of wine, her father cutting into the thick crust of a pie. The scene was so ordinary and domestic, it was hard to imagine these two older people, who were enjoying a meal together, were responsible for chaos and gut-wrenching pain.
Seeing them shouldn’t have been a shock, but somehow it kicked the breath out of her lungs, her heart slamming against her ribs.
Her father had gained weight since she had seen him last, his stomach protruding over his neatly cut pantaloons, giving him an avuncular look. Her mother, with her grey hair neatly pinned back, could have been anyone’s grandmother.
It was her mother who recovered first from the unexpected intrusion. Ignoring Tobias’ towering presence, she stood, holding out her arms and saying, ‘Grace, how wonderful to see you.’
If Grace hadn’t been subjected to a childhood where her mother frequently put on displays of maternal affection in front of others, she might have believed this gesture was genuine.
