Page 35 of The Smuggler’s Escape

Chapter 9

The wind tossed Noelle’s hair into a mass of tangles because she had forgotten her bonnet, and the cold bit into her fingers because Richard still had her gloves, but she hardly noticed. How would she get through a whole day of wedding talk?

She would get through it because she had to, because the shopping trip and the wedding talk were a means to an end. She wished she knew how Richard intended to deliver the contraband without getting caught. Then she could at least make some alternate plans for when everything went awry.

She rode into Sir William Luttrow’s stable yard to find more disaster brewing. Lady Ariadne Luttrow had just returned from a morning ride to find two excisemen—the same two who had accompanied Lieutenant Hale the previous night—awaiting her pleasure.

Or displeasure, as it turned out to be. She was not an earl’s daughter for nothing.

“I don’t care what your orders are. Without a warrant or Sir William’s approval, you may search neither the stables nor any other building on his estate.” Lady Ariadne, perpetually at odds with her husband, took pleasure in going against his wishes.

For this particular instance, Noelle gave silent, heartfelt thanks.

Lady Ariadne handed her crop to Jackson, the middle-aged groom, and nodded to Noelle as she rode up. “Here is Miss de Vallon—sans hat and gloves, how untidy!—to instruct my daughters. Kindly be on your way and do not trespass here again. Sir William left this morning and will return in a week or so. If the matter is urgent, your superior officer may write to him in London.”

“Thank you, Lady Ariadne.” The elder of the two gave Noelle an insolent stare and said in a voice tinged with innuendo, “Good morning, miss.”

As if that weren’t enough to get Lady Ariadne’s nose twitching, the other exciseman reddened and said, “Best wishes on your betrothal, Miss de Vallon.”

Lady Ariadne’s bright blue eyes widened. Noelle thanked the younger officer and assumed a simper completely in contrast with an overwhelming desire to shoot the elder one. “Lord Boltwood and I became betrothed last night.” She took Jackson’s proffered hand and dismounted.

“How extraordinary!” Lady Ariadne cried. “He’s in mourning. Why, his father died only yesterday afternoon.”

The elder officer tipped his hat to Lady Ariadne and wheeled his horse. The younger gave Noelle an apologetic look and followed.

“Whatever was that about?” Lady Ariadne bent eagerly toward Noelle as the men trotted away. The groom, who had maintained a passive front until now, let out a long, slow breath, and the glance he cast at Noelle was far from relieved.

Noelle gave Lady Ariadne the sort of conspiratorial look she relished, and fumbled with the buckles of her saddlebag. “I’ll follow you indoors in a moment, Lady Ariadne, and tell you all about it.”

Lady Ariadne, thank God, accepted this suggestion with a sly grin. Noelle removed her sketching paper, watercolors, and pencils and muttered to Jackson, “I fear Hale will have someone follow Sir William and get permission today.”

The groom nodded as he refastened the saddlebag. “I’ll have to move the brandy someplace else.”

“You mustn’t move anything at all right now. Don’t turn your head, but there’s another exciseman watching from the trees next to the river.”

“I saw him.” Jackson narrowed his eyes. “Damned if I move, damned if I don’t. I’m thinking maybe I should shoot the bastard and be done with it.”

“No!” Noelle squeaked. “He’s only doing his duty.”

“Bloody softhearted woman,” Jackson said. “You don’t belong in the free trade.”

“Since it was you who introduced me to Mr. Towne, you’re not one to talk,” Noelle said. “Lord Boltwood will be here shortly, I believe. He has pledged to help us move the goods.”

“So Towne told me. I’m not best pleased at his lordship sticking his nose in our business.”

Noelle suppressed a surge of annoyance. How dared he object to Richard? “Nor am I, but he’s our best chance. Hale has no reason to suspect him, and he would hesitate to accost him even if he did. Be ready to load the goods quickly into whichever conveyance he brings.”

The groom led both horses toward the stable, grumbling under his breath.

Indoors, Noelle recounted the incident at the dovecote to the county’s most notable gossip. Not the truth—Lady Ariadne knew nothing of the smuggling going on under her nose—but a rather more venal version in which, Noelle realized ruefully, she figured as something between an adventuress and a slut.

“How marvelous!” Lady Ariadne embraced Noelle and kissed the air on either side of her cheeks. “Richard Boltwood is such a handsome man and exceptionally wealthy, too. You’ve done very well for yourself, my dear Noelle.”

Noelle accepted this sudden affection with the same indifference she had accorded Lady Ariadne’s cooler manner when Noelle had been only a teacher, and would give to her ladyship’s scorn in the unlikely event that they would meet again in some distant future.

On the way up to the schoolroom, Lady Ariadne said, “How clever of you to tryst with Lord Boltwood after dark and allow yourself to be discovered by the excisemen. Poor Richard is securely hooked now.”

Mon Dieu. Noelle did her best to look smug, although how she could have orchestrated such a scene, she had no idea.