Page 46 of The Lady’s No Angel

“That’s baulked lust for you,” Milly observed with a snort.

“Argh!”

Her shout of frustration soared into the sky above, where the joyful, cascading chatter of skylarks filled the air. Angel looked up, wishing she could fly and leave her troubles behind her too as she watched one spiral into the sky. Around them, the countryside wore a fresh cloak of green, the jaunty yellow blossom of the gorse and broom bushes brightening the edges of the fields.

“Everything all right?”

Angel started in surprise. Letting out a breath, she rearranged her face as Leo trotted up beside the gig, his expression one of concern.

“Quite all right, Leo, thank you,” she said, touched by his concern.

A slow smile curved his mouth as she said his name and Angel decided it might be safer to return to addressing him as Mr Cleaver. Still, he tipped his hat and slowed his horse again, returning to his conversation with Toby.

Angel turned and glared at Milly.

“Leo,” Milly mouthed, eyebrows aloft.

Angel pressed her lips together in a thin line.

“Oh, pet. Don’t be cross,” she said, laughing softly. Reaching over, Milly put her hand on Angel’s arm, making her look at her again. “You like him,” she whispered.

Angel’s shoulders slumped. “I know,” she said helplessly. “But what good is that going to do me?”

“You never know. Mayhap he likes you too. Certainly, he acts like he does.”

“He’s a man,” Angel grumbled. “That’s what men do. Good Lord, Milly, how have you lived this long and not got in the family way if you believe everything that men say?”

“Oh, I don’t. But I think I recognise a good man when I see one. I think your Mr Cleaver—Leo—has gone a fair way to proving he’s worth putting your trust in him.”

“You’re not serious?” Angel exclaimed, aghast at the suggestion. “You’re saying I should tell him about Pops’ treasure?”

Milly turned her head to gaze at the countryside about them and gave a little shrug. “I’m not saying anything, love. I’m just suggesting you think on it. After all, finding Jenny’s grave is just the start of it. How are you proposing to get your hands on it—whatever it is?”

A gust of wind caught at Angel’s skirts as the road crested a shallow rise, the shelter of the trees giving way. The skies seemed wider suddenly, less friendly, and a sudden stab of apprehension jabbed at her, reminding her of everything that was to come. The closer they drew to Jenny’s grave, the stranger and more dangerous the challenge became in her mind. This was what she had come for: to find Jenny and to retrieve Pops’ treasure—her inheritance—but things were suddenly a good deal more complicated than she had bargained for.

Though they had seen no further sign of the two thugs who had attacked Leo, she could not dismiss them. Perhaps the one Leo had felled had taken fright. Perhaps the one she had shot was badly hurt. A gunshot was no small thing, not if infection took hold.

Or perhaps they were closer than she realised.

Angel shivered. “Finding the grave is the first challenge. We do not know if there’s any sign, any marker. It might be impossible,” she said, though the thought of giving up and not completing her grandfather’s challenge made her want to weep. “But if we find it, then we must return at night and dig it up.”

“Lord have mercy,” Milly said with a shudder.

“I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted no part of it,” Angel said softly.

Milly sat up straighter, glaring at her. “I ain’t no white feather.”

Angel laughed, gazing at her fondly. “No, indeed. You’re pluck to the backbone. I know it. All the same, digging up a grave in the dead of night… well, I can’t say I’m looking forward to it.”

Milly let out an uncertain laugh, her complexion becoming somewhat pale and waxy. “No, pet. I can’t say I am either.”

Penenden Heath, Maidstone, Kent, 10th April 1816

Angel’s sense of foreboding increased as the landscape opened into heathland. Drawing back beneath the canopy of the gig’s hood, she told herself to buck up. Yes, she was exposed here, out in the open for all to see, but that meant she could see all around her too. Surely no one could creep up on her.

There would be no nasty surprises.

Hopefully.